The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 59 BY ANTHONY BROOME T he University of Michigan has always possessed brand power and iconog- raphy that few institutions in the world can match. U-M is an attractive place to be with its academic reputation and top- flight athletics facilities. Through the halfway point of the fall season, teams across the athletics de- partment were performing at a nationally elite level, and a handful were among the country's very best. As of Oct. 22, Michi- gan had 11 programs ranked in the top 15 nationally in their respective sports. Eight of those 11 were inside of the top 10. The "big three" — men's ice hockey (No. 1), men's basketball (No. 6) and football (No. 6) —headline the Wolver- ines' rankings, but plenty of others have been performing at a high level in their own right. Field hockey (No. 2) roared out to an 11-0 start before falling to No. 1 Iowa 2-1 in a shootout Oct. 15. The Wolverines put that loss behind them with a 5-3 win over Indiana Oct. 17. Women's swimming and diving (No. 4) finished in first place at the SMU Clas- sic the weekend of Oct. 8-9 and won a dual meet against Oakland Oct. 9. The men's swimming and diving team (No. 6) matched the women's results, capturing the title at the SMU Classic and defeat- ing Oakland. The wrestling team, led by graduate senior Myles Amine, carries a rank of fifth into the season according to Flo- Wrestling. The Wolverines kick off their campaign Nov. 6 at the MSU Open. Women's cross country began the season 11th in the nation, but a pair of first-place finishes at the Greater Lou- isville Classic Oct. 2 and Penn State National Open Oct. 15 helped them jump up two spots to ninth. Men's cross country (No. 15) finished first at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invita- tional Sept. 10 and second at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational Oct. 1. They followed that up with an eighth- place finish at the Nuttycombe Wiscon- sin Invitational. Both the women and men closed out their regular seasons Oct. 22 at the EMU Fall Classic. The Big Ten Championships are Oct. 29 in State College, Pa., with Regionals Nov. 12 in Evansville, Ind., and NCAAs Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla. Women's basketball (No. 11) is coming off a Sweet 16 run in 2020-21, its most successful season in program history. The Wolverines tip off their season Nov. 9 at Crisler Center against IUPUI. Women's golf ranked 15th in the na- tion after finishing first in the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 13-14) and turning in seventh-place finishes at both the Windy City Invitational (Oct. 4-5) and Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Oct. 15-17). ❏ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Michigan Ends October With 11 Teams Ranked Inside The Nation's Top 15 MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING First Event: Oct. 9 at SMU Classic, first place of six teams (336) Season Outlook: The Wolverine men are looking to win their third straight Big Ten championship, but hope they can do so without the drama of last season. Michigan had to erase a 26.5-point deficit on Indiana on the final day of the year to repeat for a conference title. Their resolve will be tested once again with a target on their backs heading into the 2021-22 campaign. Top Three Athletes Senior Will Chan: Chan earned first-team All-Big Ten hon- ors last season in addition to All-America selections in the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays. He was a conference champion in the 200-yard medley relay and finished 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke (51.95), 37th in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:56.64) and 46th in the 50-yard freestyle (20.05) at the NCAA Championships in March. Senior Patrick Callan: Callan was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, a three-time honorable mention All-American (200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle relay) and a Big Ten champion in the 800-yard freestyle relay during the 2020-21 season. Callan earned a spot on Team USA's fourth-place 200-meter freestyle relay squad in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the NCAA Championships, he finished 13th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:33.19), 13th in the 500-yard freestyle (4:13.49) and tied for 42nd in the 100-yard freestyle (43.60). Sophomore Jake Mitchell: Mitchell was a first-team All- Big Ten performer last season, the conference's Freshman Winter Sports Previews Michigan's No. 2 field hockey team had notched eight ranked wins through Oct. 25, including a thrilling double-overtime victory over No. 6 Northwestern Oct. 8. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY