The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 51 BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan's pedigree of national individual excellence contin- ued into the month of April with gymnastics stars Sierra Brooks and Paul Juda winning the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy as the top na- tional performers for their respec- tive women's and men's circuits. The dual honors make Michigan the second school in history to win both awards. Brooks, a senior, was named the winner of the American Athletic Incorporated (AAI) Award on April 11, making her the fourth Wolver- ine woman to earn the honor in its 31-year history. Natalie Wojcik won the award in 2022 and was preceded by Kyle Botterman (2011) and Beth Wymer (1995). The award puts Brooks into the books as one of the best in program history. Her senior season included becoming the first U-M gymnast to be named a three-time Regional Gymnast of the Year and the third Wolverine to be named a two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. Despite not competing this season due to an injury, Juda took home the Nissen-Emery Award from the Colle- giate Gymnastics Association on April 13. He is the third men's Wolverine gymnast to win the award and the first since Sam Mikulak won in 2014. Justin Toman was U-M's first winner in 2002. The Nissen-Emery Award honors the senior male gymnast who has an estab- lished list of collegiate accolades while also demonstrating "good sportsman- ship, fair play and a high standard of athletic excellence." MAIZE & BLUE HIGHLIGHTS Through April 17 Men's Gymnastics: Freshman Fred Richard won three NCAA individual titles (all-around, high bar and parallel bars) while leading Michigan to a run- ner-up finish with a team score of 419.889 at the NCAA Championships April 15 in State College, Pa. Stanford won the team event with a 422.458 and Illinois finished third with a 415.590. The second- place finish marked the third straight year that U-M placed in the top three and is the program's best finish since winning the title in 2014. U-M gymnasts earned 10 All-America citations, led by Richard's five — in addition to his three wins, he was second in the floor exercise and fifth in rings. U-M's five other All-Americans were soph- omore David Wolma (vault, third), junior Javier Alfonso (rings, eighth), senior Adam Wooten (high bar, third), freshman Landen Blixt (floor exercise, sixth) and senior Virgil Watkins (parallel bars, sec- ond). Women's Gymnastics: Graduate Abby Heiskell placed second on the uneven bars to finish second overall and grab first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Individual Event finals April 13. Senior Sierra Brooks (floor, fourth) and junior Naomi Mor- rison (vault, tied for fifth) both earned first-team All-America honors for their performances, while graduate Natalie Wojcik was a second-team All- American on the uneven bars. Women's Tennis: The sixth-ranked Wolverines won their 11th Big Ten regular season title in pro- gram history and 10th since 2010 after knocking off No. 7 Ohio State April 16. Michigan will be the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament April 28-30. Baseball: Freshman outfielder Jonathan Kim earned his first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor April 3 after a five-hit game March 31. Through 35 games, he led the Wolverines in batting average (.388) plus had 3 home runs and 22 RBI. S o f t b a l l : S o p h o m o re p i tc h e r L a u re n Derkowski earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors April 17 after compiling a 3-0 record, 0.32 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 21.2 innings. She allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 4 in a win over MSU, followed by back-to-back no-hitters in wins over Purdue April 14-15. Derkowski is the first Wolverine in program history to throw complete game no-hitters in consecutive starts. Men's Golf: Sophomore Hunter Thomson finished as the top golfer for the fifth time this season, posting a 212 (-4) to tie for 29th and helping U-M finish 13th at Missouri's Tiger Intercollegiate April 10-11. Women's Golf: Junior Monet Chun finished tied for first at the Lady Buckeye Invitational April 15-16, the second victory of her career. Men's Lacrosse: The Wolverines earned a historic 16-11 win at No. 2 Maryland April 1 — the first win in program history against the defending national champion Terps. Junior Michael Boehm had 4 goals and senior Josh Zawada added 3. Women's Lacrosse: Sophomore Jill Smith broke the U-M single-season points record with a pair of goals in a 14-7 loss to Johns Hop- kins April 13. Heading into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, Smith had 52 goals, 8 assists and 60 total points. Men's Tennis: Fifth-year star Andrew Fenty went 4-0 with two singles wins and two doubles wins the week of April 12, earning him Big Ten Co- Athlete of the Week. It was his third Athlete of the Week honor this season. Men's Track & Field: Junior Henry Sheldon was U-M's top finisher at the Mt. SAC Relays April 14 in Walnut, Calif., coming in third place in the pole vault, clearing 4.95 meters (16 feet, 2.75 inches). Women's Track & Field: U-M set a pair of school records in the Mt. SAC Relays April 15, headlined by the 4x100 relay from junior Aasia Laurencin, sophomore Savannah Sutherland, junior Ziyah Hol- man and sophomore BreeAna Bates (44.10). The second was set in the 4x400 relay with graduate Sophie Isom, graduate Nikki Stephens, fifth-year Aurora Rynda and Holman (3:33.12). Water Polo: For the fourth time this season and the second time in as many weeks, junior Kata Utassy was named CWPA Player of the Week. Utassy led the team in goals (72), assists (59) and points (131) to help fuel a 22-9 regular season. — Anthony Broome ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Women's And Men's Gymnastics Stars Win 'Heisman' Equivalents Senior Sierra Brooks won the American Athletic Incorporated Award as the nation's top female gymnast. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY