The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 59 ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE BASEBALL: The Wolverines took care of business with a 15-5 win over Northwestern on May 14, raising their record to 26-22 (13-8 Big Ten) under first-year head coach Tracy Smith. Graduate student Cody Jefferis hit for the cycle and collected six RBI in the win, doubling in the third inning, homering in the fourth, singling in the sixth and finishing it off with a triple in the seventh. He is U-M's first player to hit for the cycle since Jason Christian in 2007. Michigan finishes the home slate with a May 16 game against Xavier before the weekend regular- season finale series against Ohio State. The Big Ten Tournament runs from May 23-28 in Omaha, Neb. SOFTBALL: U-M softball missed the NCAA Tour- nament for the first time since 1994, dropping its final record to 26-25 (10-13 Big Ten) on the season after a loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. Graduate Lexie Blair was named first-team All- Big Ten for the fourth time in her career and also earned an All-Defensive team nod. Sophomore pitcher Lauren Derkhowski and freshman Indiana Langford, also named to the All-Freshman squad, made the second team. Junior Keke Tholl was named the team's sportsmanship honoree. MEN'S GOLF: The season came to a close on April 30 with rain canceling the final round of the Big Ten Championships, sealing a 13th-place finish for the Wolverines. Sophomore Hunter Thomson and junior Jack O'Donnell led the way with ninth- and 46th-place finishes, respectively. WOMEN'S GOLF: Michigan closed out the year with a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Champion- ships (April 21-23) and a ninth-place finish (May 8-10) at the NCAA Westfield Regional. Junior Monet Chun (-4) and senior Hailey Borja (-3), finished 13th and 17th, respectively, in the regional. MEN'S LACROSSE: Michigan (10-6) went on the road for its first-ever NCAA Tournament game and defeated No. 6 Cornell 15-14 in an overtime thriller. Grad student midfielder Peter Thompson led the way with an assist and 4 goals, including the game- winner. Michael Boehm added a hat trick, pushing his total to 45 goals for a new U-M single-season record. Freshman goaltender Hunter Taylor made a season-high 16 saves against the Big Red. U-M advances to the NCAA quarterfinal round in Albany, N.Y., on May 14, where it will face No. 1-seeded Duke at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU. WOMEN'S LACROSSE: U-M's season came to an end on May 14 after an 8-7 loss to No. 1 North- western in its third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Junior goalie Maya Santa-Maria made 10 stops in the cage. The Wolverines finished the year with a 12-8 overall record and a fourth-place showing in the Big Ten. ROW I N G: The 11th-ranked rowing squad grabbed its eighth Big Ten title in school history on May 14, taking down rival Ohio State by a five-point margin in the team standings. Gold medal efforts from the 1V8, 1V4 and 2N8 boats helped seal the title-winning performance for the Wolverines. U-M heads to Pennsauken, N.J., from May 26-28 for the NCAA Championships, hosted by Temple University. MEN'S TENNIS: Senior Ondrej Styler starred in a 4-3 win over No. 10 USC in the NCAA Super Regional match on May 12, sending the seventh- ranked Wolverines to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second season in a row. Fifth-year Andrew Fenty and junior Gavin Young recorded the other singles wins, while Fenty/Young, Patrick Maloney/Nino Eh- renschneider and Styler/Jacob Bickerseth grabbed doubles victories. The Wolverines advance to the Elite Eight to play No. 2 TCU on May 18 in Orlando, Fla. WOMEN'S TENNIS: The fifth-ranked Wolverines rallied from a 2-0 deficit to rattle off four straight match victories, knocking off No. 1 Virginia on May 13 to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history. Virginia grabbed the doubles point before junior Kari Miller, junior Jaedan Brown and freshman Lily Jones won U-M three of the four sets it needed. Junior Gala Mesochoritou closed out the event with the clinching point. U-M takes on No. 3 Georgia on May 17 in Lake Nona, Fla. MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: U-M scored six points in six events on the last day of action at the 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Championships on May 14, earning a fifth-place finish on Indiana's campus. Senior Josh Zeller (13.40) claimed a silver medal in the 110-me- ter hurdles while junior Dubem Amene took bronze in the 400-meter finals with a time of 46.20. The postseason continues with the NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla., from May 24-27. WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: Five U-M women grabbed Big Ten titles, and the program walked away with the Big Ten Championship on the cam- pus of Indiana May 14. The top finish is the second women's title under program director Kevin Sullivan and the first outdoor title since 2016. It is also the sixth time that Michigan has swept Big Ten titles in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Junior Ziyah Holman starred for the Wolverines, setting school records in both the 200- (23.08) and 400-meter (50.90) events. Her 400-meter time was a career-best and a Big Ten meet record. Junior Aa- sia Laurencin (400-meter hurdles), sophomore Sa- vannah Sutherland (100-meter hurdles), fifth-years Corinne Jemison (discus) and Aurora Rynda (800 meters) also won titles in their respective events. The postseason continues with the NCAA East prelims from May 24-27 in Jacksonville, Fla. WATER POLO: The Wolverines finished the season with 23-10 record (9-1 Big Ten) with a 16-6 victory over Saint Francis on April 30, earning a third-place finish in the CWPA Cham- pionship. Kata Utassy broke the program record for most goals by a junior (83) and points in a single sea- son (143). Junior Libby Alsemgeest set a U-M mark for most drawn exclusions in a year (80), while Alex Brown set the mark for most saves by a senior with 327. — Anthony Broome The U-M women's track and field team had five individual event champions crowned en route to capturing the 2023 Big Ten team title May 14 at Indiana. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Maize & Blue Highlights