The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
MARCH 2022 THE WOLVERINE 11 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Getting To Know Women's Track And Field Senior Jessica Mercier Jessica Mercier has been a household name within the U-M women's track and field program since her freshman year, when she earned sec- ond-team All-Big Ten honors on the pole vault. She is the co-school record holder on the outdoor pole vault at 4.25 me- ters and holds the mark for the indoor pole vault after post- ing a 4.36-meter mark Feb. 12 at the Windy City Invitational, which slots fourth in Big Ten history. Here are some things about Mercier that you might not have known: Best Part About Being From White Lake, Mich.: "I enjoy that there are a lot of lakes nearby. There are lakes everywhere, so the beach is never more than a mile, two miles away. The parks are always open; there are so many parks nearby. But it's also not like you're in the middle of nowhere, either." Nickname: "Just, 'Jess.' I went by Jessica my whole life until I got to col- lege and you have to reintroduce yourself to everybody. I just got so lazy, I started going by Jess." Favorite Restaurant In Ann Arbor: "The Fleetwood Diner. There's no specific reason why, other than it's got that weird diner feel to it, and me and my friends always go there. Every time, we end up sitting and talking for like four hours." Best Meal She Can Cook By Herself: "Tacos. I feel like I'm pretty good at making shredded pork tacos." Favorite Professional Athlete: "[Snowboarder and skateboarder] Shaun White. I don't know why, but he's the only athlete that I actually follow, in terms of statistics and watching his videos. There's no particular reason, other than I just love how positive he is. I just love watching him and the attitude he gives. He doesn't slow down with age." Sport She Enjoys Playing Besides Track And Field: "In the summer, I enjoy playing sand volleyball, but I'm so bad at it that you wouldn't even think I'm a Division I athlete [laughs]." Favorite TV Show: "'Psych.'" Favorite Movie: "Either 'The Princess Bride' or 'Inception.'" Why She Chose Michigan: "Academics, for sure. Originally, I wanted to go into aerospace engineering, and this school has aerospace engineer- ing, so that's one of the reasons why I chose it." What She Hopes To Do After Michigan: "I'm going to take a gap year. I'm going to walk the Appalachian Trail for a year. And then just go into industry, probably, after that, for chemical engineering." Favorite Memory At Michigan: "There's this golf course up by North Campus, and me and a bunch of my friends recently went out sledding. We literally had 10 people and only two sleds, and it was so fun because we were using anything but a sled." Overall Experience At Michigan: "It's rigorous and tough finding the balance of work, school and athletics." — Clayton Sayfie Mercier shares the school record in outdoor pole vault (4.25 meters) and set the indoor mark Feb. 12 (4.36) with the fourth-best showing in Big Ten history. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTO you cannot measure the impact Al has had on the University of Michigan and so many other people and places. My family and I will miss him and his friendship. The world has lost one of its best!" Private funeral services took place at Temple Beth Israel Cemetery with a celebration of life set to be announced and held at a later date. The family asked that instead of flowers, those wanting to pay tribute to Glick may make memorial contributions to Mott Children's Hospital or Henry Ford Allegiance Health. WARDE MANUEL NAMED TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF COMMITTEE Director of athletics Warde Manuel is set to join the College Football Playoff selection committee, which was announced on Jan. 25. Manuel joins former Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuck and former USA Today sports- writer Kelly Whiteside as newcomers. The group will be chaired by North Carolina State athletics director Boo Corrigan, who is entering his second season on the com- mittee. He will lead the 13-member panel that is tasked with figuring out which four teams will play for the national champion- ship. Corrigan replaces Iowa athletic director Gary Barta following the expiration of his term. Other members with expiring terms were Paola Boivin, Charlie Cobb and Tyrone Willingham. The new members added to the committee will begin their terms in the spring of 2022. "Chet, Jim, Warde and Kelly will be out- standing additions to the committee as we enter our ninth season," CFP executive direc- tor Bill Hancock said. "Their expertise, knowl- edge and integrity, along with their love of college football, will allow them to fit right in with the returning members." The selection committee is a mixture of fig- ures across the landscape of college sports. Three former players, two former coaches, a former writer and seven athletics directors make up the group. Each Power Five confer- ence has an athletic director on board, with the American Athletic and Mountain West conferences also included. Manuel's selection to the CFP committee comes after his program made football's fi- nal four for the first time. The Wolverines lost 34-11 to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl CFP semifinal, but are looking to bounce back and make a return trip soon. Now, Manuel could wind up having a hand in shaping what the road to a national cham- pionship might look like. — Anthony Broome