The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan Announces 2020 Hall Of Honor Class The Michigan athletics department announced its six-member class of 2020 for the Hall of Honor May 21. The group includes 12-time women's gymnastics All-American Sarah Cain (1997-2000); three-time All-American field hockey player and former U.S. National Team member Kelli Gannon (1997-2000); former All-American and Pro Foot- ball Hall of Famer Ty Law (1992-94); baseball All-American Jim Pacio- rek (1979-82); two-time consensus All-American and standout football player Tripp Welborne (1987-90); and volleyball star Lexi Zimmerman (2007-10), the only four-time All-American in program history. The induction ceremony will take place at a date to be determined. The U-M Athletics Hall of Honor was established in 1978 to recog- nize individuals who have made significant contributions as athletes, coaches and administrators to the tradition of Wolverine athletics and, in doing so, have enhanced the image and reputation of the University of Michigan. Tripp Welborne was one of just 21 players in program history to be named a first-team All-American twice (1989 and '90) in his career. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY R i s i n g s e n i o r s w i m m e r S i e r r a Schmidt is having success in the pool and in the classroom, while also get- ting the unique opportunity to gain experience in her field of interest at the same time. The Erdenheim, Pa., native is the daughter of two U-M athletics grad- uates — Joseph and Mindy — that competed in track and cross and coun- try during their time in Ann Arbor. The decision to follow in their footsteps was an easy one. "I fell in love with Michigan," Schmidt said. "I fell in love with the culture the athletics community has. When I grew up, my parents always emphasized academics and the importance of it. "When I visited Michigan and I saw a lot of student-athletes that were very, very good swimmers, but also accom- plished students, as well as accom- plished in the careers that they were looking to go into, I loved that. And, the team aspect was everything that I wanted." Ever since making the move to U-M, she has excelled, racking up accolades. Not only has she earned four All-Amer- ica honors and three more All-Amer- ica honorable mentions as a freestyle swimmer, but she is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and two-time Scholar All-American. A film, television and media major, Schmidt is setting herself up nicely for a career after graduation. She pro- duces hype videos for the women's swimming and diving team in the lead up to events; and she also is an editor for WOLVTV, a student-run television network on campus. It's a busy schedule, but worth every second of her time and ounce of hard work. She came into college wanting to be involved with film, and the ex- perience she's getting is only affirming her desire to follow that career path. "Movies and TV shows were a huge part of my life growing up," Schmidt said. "Like most kids, I spent a lot of time in front of the television and get- ting really connected with certain se- ries and characters. "When I came to Michigan and I started to make the videos for the team, I really found my passion — making things for people to enjoy and for peo- ple to get inspired by. I'm really lucky that I get to make that for the team. "The people at WOLVTV have been amazing. They're super passionate people. Those two things concurrently really kind of sealed the deal to me to say, 'Okay, I really want to be an editor; I want to help make the final adjust- ments and stitch everything together so that it's content that people will really enjoy just like I did when I was a kid.'" Her first three years at U-M have flown by, Schmidt said. She's accomplished a lot already, but is still hoping to get more out of her final year in Ann Arbor. "The biggest things that I want to do is I want to push myself to reach my potential as a college athlete," Schmidt said of what she hopes to be able to say she did as a senior. "I want to try to finish off my college career with a bang and make the team as successful as possible. "But, I think at the end of the day, I just want to enjoy the moments that I have here at Michigan. When I grew up, my parents always told me about all of the amazing friends that they made at college and the amazing ex- periences they had — from some of their best races to little moments with certain teammates. "I think as I head into my senior year, that's the biggest thing that I want to do, is to create those moments and re- lationships that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I want to just enjoy every moment that I have left here." — Clayton Sayfie Schmidt earned a pair of All-America honors in both 2019 (1,650-yard freestyle and 800 freestyle relay) and 2020 (1,650 freestyle and 500 freestyle). PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Student-Athlete Of The Month Rising Senior Swimmer Sierra Schmidt