The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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60 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2022 OLYMPIC SPORTS sists) and 26 shots on goal. He recorded his first career hat trick and scored all 3 of the team's goals in a win over North- western Sept. 26, earning him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. • Senior defenseman Ryan Schultz — He made 17 appearances with 16 starts during his junior season with 3 total points (1 goal, 1 assist). Schultz was second on U-M in minutes played with 1,515 accumulated during the year. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten hon- oree (2020 and '21) is majoring in busi- ness administration. • Sophomore goalie Hayden Evans — The Ross School of Business enrollee started 13 games in goal during his debut campaign, posting a 1.26 goals-against average and a .738 save percentage with 48 stops in 2021. Evans recorded a shut- out win vs. Wisconsin on Oct. 15 and his play earned him Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors a year ago. Don't Miss — vs. Ohio State (Ann Arbor), Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Women's Soccer First Event: The season already in progress — U-M notched a 2-1 win vs. No. 20 Washington State Aug. 18 and suffered a 1-0 loss vs. Butler Aug. 21. Season Outlook: No. 9-ranked U-M is coming off one of its best seasons in program history and looking to repeat its success from last fall. Head coach Jennifer Klein led her group to a Big Ten Tournament Championship, an appear- ance in the NCAA Elite Eight and an 18-4-3 record on the season. The Wolverines have a solid com- bination of experience and youth in the mix and return 26 of the 46 goals scored during last season. Ten play- ers (six starters) return with at least 20 matches played, while Klein added nine new faces, including graduate transfer Margot Ridgeway from NC State. Additionally, U-M's coaching staff was overhauled. Sammy Boateng and Tori Christ replaced Katie Hultin and Tiffany Hansen as Klein's assistants. Boateng spent the last three seasons as head coach at Western Michigan Uni- versity. Christ, a United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Program member, was at Boston University coaching the goal- keepers for the last three years. Top 3 Athletes: • Senior Hannah Blake — The Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch in 2022 played in 21 matches with two starts last season, missing parts of the year due to New Zealand National Team duties. Her 4 goals ranked third on the team. • Senior Dani Wolfe — She played in 25 matches with 17 starts at center forward during 2021. Wolfe was tied for second on the team in goals with 5 and was third on the team in assists (4), racking up 14 total points. The el- ementary education major was third on the team in shots (51) and shots on goal (21). • Sophomore Avery Kalitta — Her meteoric rise through the program has helped earn her recognition as one of U-M's Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch. Kalitta played a reserve role early on in the 2021 season but wound up playing 24 total matches (9 starts) and started at midfield in every game of the team's NCAA Tournament run. Don't Miss: Senior Day vs. Nebraska (Ann Arbor) Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. ET. Volleyball First Event: vs. Old Dominion (at Flagstaff, Ariz.) Aug. 26. Season Outlook: U-M went 18-12 overall and 11-9 in conference play last year, finishing 5th in the Big Ten and falling to Ball State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Similar expectations have been set for the 2022 season with poll makers listing the Wolverines tied for 6th in the conference with Illinois ahead of the new season. The 2022 team welcomes back 14 let- ter winners from last season, headlined by starters Jess Mruzik, Jess Robinson, Hannah Grant, May Pertofsky, Jacque Boney and Scottee Johnson. U-M also added transfer Allison Jacobs from UCLA and a pair of freshmen in Molly Simmons and Serena Nyambio. Top 3 Athletes: Junior Jess Mruzik — This first- team All-Big Ten performer in 2021 was named to the 2022 preseason all-con- ference team at outside hitter. She also grabbed American Volleyball Coaches Association All-North Region first- team honors and AVCA honorable men- tion All-America recognition last year. Mruzik had a career-best 31 kills and 53 total attacks in a match against Duke, and she led the team in total points with 446 on the season after appearing in all 30 matches (109 sets). Senior Jess Robinson — Played in all 30 matches last season with 181 kills, 3 assists and 2 aces at middle blocker. Robinson was second on the team in blocks with 98 (7 solo), recording a career-high 10 blocks in a match with Navy on Sept. 3. She was a Big Ten Dis- tinguished Scholar in fall 2021 and is enrolled at the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Senior May Pertofsky — Pertofsky received AVCA All-Region honorable mention recognition after appearing in 28 matches (102 sets) in 2021. She re- corded 228 kills, 95 blocks, 47 aces, 75 digs and three assists last year, and is also enrolled in the LSA college at U-M. Don't Miss: vs. defending national champion Wisconsin (Ann Arbor) Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. ET. ❏ Junior outside hitter Jess Mruzik returns to the volleyball lineup after a stellar sophomore season in which she earned first-team All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten honors as well as AVCA All-America honorable mention. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY