The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2022 the U-M record by 5 strokes and beat her previous best by an outstanding 10 shots, becoming only the second Wolverine to win the individual title. Included was a career-best 66 (-5) in the second round in which she notched 11 pars and 6 birdies. The sophomore finished 32nd in the NCAA Regional and tied for 100th overall in the NCAA finals. Her best golf is still ahead of her. BEST WINS Male Team Win Of The Year — Football, Nov. 26 Vs. Ohio State: Head coach Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines picked up perhaps the program's biggest win since the 2003 victory over the Buckeyes, and its first win against Ohio State since 2011. Hassan Haskins scored 5 rushing touchdowns, Aidan Hutchinson notched 10 tackles and 3 sacks and the Wolverines dominated in the second half to secure a 42-27 victory over their biggest rivals. Michigan started quickly on its first possession, driving the field for a touch- down on a reverse by sophomore A.J. Henning. Haskins scored the other five touchdowns, running through the Buck- eyes for 169 yards on 28 carries on a snowy afternoon in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes moved the ball on of- fense, but Michigan's defense was up to the task in keeping OSU out of the end zone on several trips to the red zone. Quarterback Cade McNamara com- pleted 13 of 19 passes for 159 yards in vic- tory. A week later, U-M went on to capture the program's first Big Ten title since 2004 with a 42-3 win over Iowa in the title game. Female Team Win Of The Year — Basketball Sweep Vs. Maryland: Maryland entered the 2021-22 season as the standard bearer in the Big Ten. The Terps had captured six conference titles and one second-place finish in their first seven seasons in the league and fielded an outstanding team again heading into their eighth. Michigan, though, entered this year's first game 5-1 in Big Ten play and 14-2 overall. The Wolverines burst out to a 15-5 lead in College Park Jan. 16, led by as many as 26 over the nation's No. 8 team and stunned the Terrapins with a 69-49 win. They snapped the Terps' nation-leading 31-game home winning streak in the pro- cess. Maddie Nolan hit 7 3-pointers for 21 points to lead the way. A month later, led by All-American Naz Hillmon and her 29 points, the Wolver- ines completed the season sweep in Ann Arbor. A 21-11 run to end the third quarter when they were down six proved to be the difference in a 71-59 win Feb. 20 that gave Michigan the season sweep over the perennial Big Ten giant. The Wolverines got 11 points each from Nolan and freshman Laila Phelia in the win and dominated the glass, 45-27. MOST IMPROVED TEAMS Most Improved Male Team — Foot- ball: After going 2-4 with several players sitting out in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, head coach Jim Harbaugh's team made the College Football Playoff for the first time, finishing third nationally. The Wolverines handled Ohio State (42-27) to capture the Big Ten East Division, and then hammered Iowa 42-3 in the Big Ten Conference title game. New defensive coordinator Mike Mac- donald got the most out of his group and was a difference-maker on that side of the ball, with edge Aidan Hutchinson leading the way for the unit. Hutchinson finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting. On offense, senior running back Has- san Haskins ran for 1,327 yards and a program season-record 20 touchdowns, while quarterback Cade McNamara be- came the leader under center Michigan had been lacking for many years. He didn't put up huge numbers, but he did what was asked of him. The Wolverines lost only one game in the regular season, a controversial 37-33 setback at Michigan State. Nonetheless, they advanced to the CFP before falling to eventual national champion Georgia 34- 11 and finishing third in the final polls in an incredible bounce-back season. Most Improved Female Team — Lacrosse: Michigan struggled to a 3-9 record in 2021, including 3-8 in Big Ten play. It ended the season with six straight losses, in fact, including a setback to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament. The 2022 campaign would be a different story. The Wolverines opened the season with seven straight wins and nearly pulled an upset over No. 11 Denver in the eighth. They got off to a 5-1 lead in the first quar- ter and led 8-5 heading into the fourth be- fore the Pioneers finished the game with four straight goals to steal the win. U-M would finish 11-7 overall, includ- ing a 17-11 win over No. 16 Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines had beaten the then-No. 5 Irish in South Bend early in the year (11-7 on Feb. 13) as well. The season ended with a 15-12 loss to No. 6 Northwestern in the NCAAs. Michigan fell behind 5-0 and couldn't re- cover. Regardless, the turnaround over the previous year was impressive. The Wolverines outscored their oppo- nents 219-167 in 2022, led by senior Kaley Thompson's 32 goals and senior Kaitlyn Mead's 28. BIGGEST UPSETS Best Male Team Upset (Tie)— Foot- ball Vs. Ohio State; Wrestling In The Big Ten Tournament Over Penn State: On a snowy afternoon in Ann Ar- bor — not the blizzard that Ohio State fans would have you believe, but a light dusting — the Wolverines dominated the Buckeyes in the trenches for their first win over their rivals since 2011. Michigan took a 14-13 lead into the half, came out smok- ing in the second in taking a 28-13 lead on two scores from running back Hassan Michigan held visiting Maryland to 33.3 per- cent shooting in a 71-59 win in February. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN