The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2022 THE WOLVERINE 35 BREAKOUT PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR Male Sport Breakout Performer Of The Year — Paul Juda, Gymnastics: Juda has been good — great, frankly — for a while now, but he took it to another level in 2022. A year after he earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors and earned All-America honors in the pommel horse (sixth overall) and all-around (sixth), the junior won NCAA titles in the all-around and on the vault. He also placed second on the high bar and was a bronze medalist with the Michigan team. Juda won six All-America honors over- all, including floor, still rings, parallel bars and high bars, in tying Sam Miku- lak's modern-era school record of six All- America honors. He was the first since Mikulak in 2014 to win the all-around. Juda also performed well at the Big Ten meet, winning the all-around April 1 and the high bar on April 2. He beat the 14 mark, an outstanding score, on 28 of his routines this season in becoming one of the nation's top collegiate gymnasts. Female Sport Breakout Performer Of The Year — Monet Chun, Golf: The Ontario, Canada, native and her team- mates were robbed of the fall 2020 season by COVID during her freshman year, but Chun has been on the ascent since. She started all eight events as a frosh, finish- ing in the top 10 four times, and helped lead the Wolverines to the second Big Ten runner-up finish in program history. Chun took off in 2021-22. She led Michigan to its first Big Ten title with an 8-under at the championship, winning by 4 shots. In the 54-hole event, she set Juda won NCAA titles in the all-around and vault this year. PHOTO BY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Male Sport Coach Of The Year (Tie)— Jim Harbaugh, Football; Sean Bormet, Wrestling: Coming off a disap- pointing showing in COVID-shortened 2020, Harbaugh re- ceived a pay cut and then promptly turned in one of the most impressive coaching performances of his outstanding career. The Wolverines went 12-2 to finish third nationally with a controversial loss at Michigan State and a national semifinal Orange Bowl loss to Georgia as the only blemishes. Led by quarterback Cade McNamara and running back Has- san Haskins, Michigan found new life on offense and even survived losing senior receiver Ronnie Bell to a knee injury in the opener against Western Michigan. On defense, edge Aidan Hutchinson dominated on his way to 14 sacks to finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting, while fellow end David Ojabo broke out with 11 sacks. Harbaugh didn't win Big Ten Coach of the Year — that went to Michigan State's Mel Tucker — but he should have. Bormet, meanwhile, led Michigan wrestling to a stun- ning Big Ten title at the championships, with the Wolverines topping heavily favored Penn State. The National Wrestling Coaches' Association coach of the year led Michigan to a 12-1 dual-meet record and second place at the NCAA Champion- ships (to PSU). Nick Suriano captured the 125-pound NCAA title to cap a perfect 16-0 season at 125 pounds, and U-M tied a program record with six total All-Americans. Female Sport Coach Of The Year — Kim Barnes Arico, Basketball: Michi- gan notched the best finish in program history in the NCAA Tournament, making the Elite Eight for the first time ever after finishing 13-4 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines beat American and Villanova to reach the Sweet 16, where they handled South Dakota. They then battled Louisville, a team that beat them by 22 earlier in the year, to a stand- still for much of an Elite Eight contest before the Cardinals pulled away with 10 straight points late for the victory. Barnes Arico notched Big Ten Coach of the Year honors for a second time (2017 was the first) after leading her squad to No. 4 in the polls, the highest ranking in program history, during the season. Michigan finished 25-7 overall, and she finished as a semifinalist for national coach of the year honors as well. Her top player, Naz Hillmon, became the program's first All- American. COACHES OF THE YEAR Barnes Arico was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for women's basketball for the second time. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Chun became only the second U-M woman to win the Big Ten individual championship. PHOTO BY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY