The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 59 OLYMPIC SPORTS Olympic Sports Roundup Baseball (15-7 Overall, 15-7 Big Ten) Michigan picked up a thrilling 8-7 win over Michigan State March 21, trailing 7-0 entering the bottom of the ninth inning before scoring all eight runs that frame and coming out victorious in walk-off fashion. Men's Cross Country Fifth-year senior Devin Meyrer was named the Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year March 18, thanks in large part to his second straight All-America per- formance at the NCAA Championships March 15 … He finished the 10-kilometer race in 24th place, leading the Big Ten's three All-Americans. Women's Cross Country Michigan finished 17th out of 31 teams March 15 at the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla. … It marked the team's 10th straight top-20 national finish … Redshirt freshman Samantha Tran was tabbed as the Big Ten Cross Country Fresh- man of the Year March 18, after she placed 90th at NCAAs … She was the sixth-best rookie in the entire race and one of just two that finished from a Big Ten program. Field Hockey (9-2 Overall, 6-0 Big Ten) The Wolverines picked up back-to-back 3-0 shutouts of Michigan State April 2 and 4 in East Lansing to sweep the season series against the Spartans … U-M won the Big Ten regular-season title with a 2-1 triumph at No. 11 Maryland April 10 … The Big Ten Tournament begins April 20. Men's Golf Michigan finished seventh out of nine teams at Indiana's Hoosier Collegiate Invitational April 3-4 … The Big Ten Championships are set to begin April 30. Women's Golf U-M came in third place out of 15 clubs at Arizona State's Ping/ASU Invitational March 26-28 … The Big Ten Championships will open April 23. Women's Gymnastics (20-2 Overall, 7-1 Big Ten) Michigan checked in second out of nine teams at the March 20 Big Ten Cham- pionships … U-M picked up wins in the NCAA regional second round and NCAA regional final April 2-3 to advance to the NCAA semifinals April 16 … The Wolver- ines tied a school record with a 198.100 score on its way to capturing the program's 13th regional crown … Junior Natalie Wojcik was named the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches Association Northeast Regional Gymnast of the Year April 6. Men's Lacrosse (2-6 Overall, 2-6 Big Ten) Junior goalkeeper John Kiracofe was chosen as the Big Ten Co-Specialist of the Week April 6 after he made 16 saves in U-M's 13-10 win at Johns Hopkins April 4 … The Big Ten Tournament starts May 1. Women's Lacrosse (3-4 Overall, 3-4 Big Ten) The Wolverines grabbed an impressive 12-9 win at No. 7 Penn State March 19 … As of April 5, the team is ranked 13th in the IWLCA coaches' poll … The Big Ten Tournament begins April 29. Rowing Michigan captured 12 of 14 races at No. 6 Ohio State March 27. Men's Soccer (6-3-1 Overall, 5-3-1 Big Ten) U-M kicked off the Big Ten Tournament with a 1-0 shutout of Michigan State April 10, and will next square off with Penn State April 14. Women's Soccer (5-3-3 Overall, 5-3-3 Big Ten) Michigan's season came to an end April 9 when its Big Ten Tournament show- down against Indiana was deemed a no contest due to coronavirus concerns within the Wolverine program. Softball (16-4 Overall, 16-4 Big Ten) U-M's rivalry series against Michigan State that was set to take place April 2-4 was postponed due to coronavirus concerns … The Wolverines won three of four games at Ohio State April 9-11, capping things off with an 11-0 obliteration in the series finale. ships, and was joined by sophomore Paul Juda, the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, and freshman Evgeny Siminiuc. Juda took third in the all-around and placed second on parallel bars and high bar, while Siminiuc finished third on parallel bars. Head coach Kurt Golder was hon- ored as the conference's Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his 25-year career at U-M. The Wolverines are the No. 2 NCAA seed for the NCAA Qualifier April 16 in Minneapolis. — Clayton Sayfie NCAA REMOVES MICHIGAN HOCKEY FROM TOURNAMENT DUE TO COVID-19 PROTOCOLS The No. 2-seeded Michigan hockey team (15-10-1) was set to take on No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth in the open- ing round of the NCAA Tournament March 26, but was not allowed to play due to positive COVID-19 tests within U-M's Tier I testing group. According to the NCAA, that group is the "high- est exposure tier and consists of stu- dent-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and physical therapists, medical staff, equipment staff and officials." The game was ruled a no-contest. The decision was made by the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Commit- tee, in consultation with the NCAA Medical Advisory Group. The move by the NCAA served as disappointing — and baffling — news for the program. "I'm devastated for these players. These student-athletes have done a wonderful job all year of making sac- rifices to get to this point of the year," head coach Mel Pearson said. "It's un- fortunate. I don't completely under- stand the final decision, but I have to respect it. "They've given so much and to get this opportunity taken away from them, it's hard to swallow. I know it's just a game, but it's extremely impor- tant to these young men. It's two years in a row now we've been denied an opportunity to compete in the national championship. It hasn't quite sunk in yet. … Michigan hockey will be back. Stronger and ready to go next year." This season's NCAA Tournament bid was the 38th overall in U-M his- tory, which is tied for the most with Minnesota. The Wolverines have a 53- 30 all-time NCAA Tournament record, including a Division I-record nine na- tional championships.