The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Getting To Know Women's Basketball Junior Guard Maddie Nolan A starter at guard, junior Maddie Nolan picked up right where she left off at the end of last season, when she played a big role off the bench in the program's first-ever Sweet 16 run. Through seven contests, she averaged 7.6 points, 4.4 re- bounds and 2.3 assists per game, and led the team with 13 made three-pointers. Here are some things you might not have known about Nolan: Best Part About Being From Zions- ville, Ind.: "I love Zionsville. I think my favorite part is just the people that are in the town. They're super supportive, and I still frequently talk to a lot of my best friends from there." Nickname: "If there were one, my team and our strength coach call me Mad Dawg, but not a lot — just here and there." Favorite Restaurant In Ann Arbor: "Neopapalis, even though it hasn't been open for a while." Best Meal She Can Cook By Herself: "I make really good omelettes. It depends on the day, but I usually make bacon or sausage, with cheese. Sometimes, I get spinach or mushrooms, tomatoes, olives. I mix it up. A little bit of everything." Favorite Professional Athlete: "Tamika Catchings [a retired 10-time WNBA All-Star small forward]. I grew up an Indiana Fever fan, and to be able to watch her in person consistently was so fun and cool. To watch the Fever win a championship with her there was awesome." Sports She Enjoys Playing Besides Basketball: "I really like Spikeball — that's a fun one. I used to play volleyball, so sometimes we'll pepper with other kids on the team." Favorite TV Show: "Narcos." Favorite Movie: "Anchorman 2." Why She Chose Michigan: "Growing up as a kid, I always wanted to play at the Power Five level. The competition that you face, in the Big Ten, especially, is top-tier every night. So when you come to a school like Michigan, you're going to improve a lot. "Then the academics here, which are tops in the world, and when I came on my visit, you could tell the team had a real family culture here. That was something I wanted to be a part of." What She Hopes To Do After Michigan: "I'm a sport management major, and I'm minoring in community action and social change. I'm hoping to work with sports teams or universities, and do their community engagement — setting up opportunities for the organization." Favorite Memory At Michigan: "It would be hard not to say the Sweet 16 run. Being in the bubble was so fun with everyone, and making history, knowing that you're going to be a part of Michigan basketball forever. And getting to hang out with the team, because you couldn't hang out with any- one else outside of the bubble, we just had a really good time." Overall Experience At Michigan: "Every day, I'm just grateful to even be able to practice and play. I think I've gotten much more out of it than I even expected. "Coming into Michigan, I knew it was a great school, but I didn't realize how many connections we have. Those connections that you can make at Michigan are insane. And you could tell it was a family culture when I came on my visit, but you never truly know how you personally are going to fit in until you get here. Being able to make the relationships and friendships I have so far has been amazing." — Clayton Sayfie Nolan is enrolled in Michigan's School of Kinesiology and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21. PHOTO BY BEN SOLOMON/NCAA PHOTOS MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK CROSS COUNTRY GRADUATE STUDENT WINS NCAA ELITE 90 AWARD Women's cross country runner Alice Hill, a graduate student in her fifth sea- son, was announced as the winner of one of the highest academic honors in collegiate athletics, the NCAA Elite 90 Award, Nov. 20. She is the first athlete in U-M track and field/cross country history to win the prestigious award, which is annually given to the partici- pating student-athlete with the high- est cumulative grade-point average at each of the NCAA's 90 championships. The Ann Arbor native holds a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average after graduating with dual majors in neuroscience, and ecology, evolution and biodiversity, and is studying ecol- ogy and evolutionary biology for her master's studies. She is the fourth Wolverine female to claim the award, joining Annika Hoff- mann (2019, rowing), Kinsey Vear (2016, rowing) and Danielle Johnson (2016, water polo). Hill was the Wolverines' No. 5 finisher at each of their postseason races, plac- ing 36th at the Big Ten Championships, 33rd at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 181st at the NCAA Championships, where U-M placed 22nd. — Ryan Tice WRESTLING ADDS NATIONAL CHAMPION TRANSFER The No. 4 Michigan wrestling team was already primed to make a title run in Detroit this March with the return of two graduate-student Olympians (Myles Amine and Stevan Micic), and then Nov. 28 they added the most intriguing name in the transfer portal, former Rutgers na- tional champion Nick Suriano. Suriano won the 2019 NCAA title at 133 pounds and was a two-time All- American with a record of 54-4 dur- ing his time in Piscataway. He placed second at 125 pounds in 2018, and at- tended Penn State before that. Suriano could make a massive im- pact at 125 or 133, though he has not competed collegiately since winning his NCAA crown. Whichever weight he goes, he will immediately give the Wol- verines another title contender. — Ryan Tice