The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 11 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Men's lacrosse freshman attack man Michael Boehm: He was tabbed as the Big Ten Fresh- man of the Week for the first time in his career April 27, af- ter registering two goals and four assists in Michigan's 13- 12 setback against No. 8 Rut- gers April 25. Boehm's four assists tied an all-time school record for a single contest. He also became the first Wolverine freshman to earn the weekly honor in more than a calendar year, with Josh Zawada last doing so Feb. 11, 2020. Water polo junior center Erin Neustrom: She was pegged as the CWPA Player of the Week April 26 after recording six goals in Michigan's two wins over Mount St. Mary's and No. 20 Bucknell April 24. Neustrom logged a three-goal hat trick in the CWPA Championship semifinal against the former, before notching another hat trick and two assists in the final versus the latter. The junior scored or contributed to five goals against Bucknell, which were equal to the number of goals the Bison scored in Michigan's 12-5 victory. Sof tball junior pitcher Alex Storako: She compiled a 2-0 record in U-M's series win against Northwestern April 23-25, earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors as a result. Storako racked up 17 strikeouts over 14 innings and held her Wildcat oppo- nents to just a .152 batting average. Her best showing came in Michigan's 2-0 victory in the series finale when she struck out 10 batters and allowed only four hits in a complete-game shutout. Baseball redshirt junior outfielder Danny Zimmer- man: He put on an outstand- ing performance at the plate in Michigan's 21-5 oblitera- tion of Minnesota April 16, cranking two home runs and driving in six runs. His first dinger was a solo shot to lead off the second inning, while his second long ball came in the form of a grand slam in the fifth inning. The latter was Zimmerman's third straight at-bat with a home run and his fourth bomb in the span of 11 at-bats. — Austin Fox Getting To Know Former Football Wide Receiver Brendan White Former Michigan football wide receiver Brendan White joined the Wolverine program as a walk-on in 2015, but did not see game action during his first three seasons with the squad. His patience paid off in 2018, however, with the wide receiver appearing in 11 of Michigan's 13 outings that year (10 on special teams and one on offense). White saw the field in three more games as a fifth-year senior in 2019, before graduating with a de- gree in mechanical engineering. Here are a few other interesting facts you may not have known about him: Nickname: "Everyone on the team called me B-White. Nobody ever called me by my first name." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "I went to Maize and Blue Deli a lot for sandwiches. Mani [Osteria] was a good one too." Best meal he can cook by himself: "I make a pretty mean omelet. I also grill quite a bit and make really good steak and potatoes." Hobbies: "I like to read and keep up with the football team, and have gotten into running lately. I also like to travel and see new places." Favorite TV show: "'The Office.'" Favorite movie: "'The Other Guys.'" Dream vacation: "Australia. We went to Africa a few years ago, and that sparked my interest." Favorite place he's been to: "I'd say South Africa, but just barely. Paris is a close second. Cape Town was a beautiful place and a ton of fun." Favorite professional athlete: "Since [former NBA guard] Kobe Bryant died, I've been getting into some of the stuff he would do and read, so I'd say I admire him the most. From a mentality standpoint, he's a pretty easy pick. [Los Angeles Rams and former Detroit Lions quarterback] Matt Stafford is another good one. I grew up watching Detroit hockey and admired a lot of their players too." Role model: "My dad." Why he chose Michigan: "Michigan was always a dream school for me, because I grew up in the state, was a fan and my dad went there. It was a goal of mine to wear the winged helmet. I grew up playing a lot of sports, and football was the one that made the most sense for me to accomplish that dream." What he's doing professionally now that his football days have come to an end: "I am a project engineer at Stryker, which is a medical device company." His overall experience at Michigan: "It was challenging, but re- warding and interesting. I had a lot of memorable experiences and came in contact with so many incredible people who I'm still friends with to this day. A football team is so big and has so many people of different diversities on it. I don't think a group of people with that many different backgrounds exists anywhere else. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world." — Austin Fox White appeared in 14 games during his Michigan football career, which ended after the 2019 season, before graduating with a degree in mechani- cal engineering. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY