The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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34 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2023 2022-23 YEAR IN REVIEW The Michigan offense scored 5 touchdowns of 45-plus yards, and the defense came up with 2 red-zone stops and 2 interceptions. All in all, it was a masterpiece of a performance. The Wolver- ines celebrated accordingly, planting an 'M' flag at midfield after staking their claim on control of the rivalry. FEMALE SPORT BEST WIN OF THE YEAR TRACK 4X400 RELAY AT SIMMONS- HARVEY INVITATIONAL Michigan's best win of the year by a female sports team began with an unfortunate fall by graduate student Sophie Isom on the first leg of the 4x400 relay Jan. 21 at the U-M Indoor Track Building. It was how the Wolverines' relay team rebounded that was special. They were 30 seconds behind the field due to the tumble, before Isom rallied to finish off her portion of the race. She handed the baton to sopho- more Savannah Sutherland, who ran a 51.45-second split. Fifth-year senior Aurora Rynda, who clocked a 54.61-second third leg, and junior Ziyah Holman, who extended the lead, put the Wolverines in the pole position and closed things out. Incredibly, given the early race adversity, U-M finished with a time of 3:42.43, more than 8 seconds better than second- place Ohio State (3:50.73). MOST IMPROVED TEAMS OF THE YEAR MALE SPORT MOST IMPROVED TEAM OF THE YEAR LACROSSE The Maize and Blue had finished with records worse than .500 for four straight seasons from 2019- 22 and went winless, 0-5, in the Big Ten in 2022. Sixth-year head coach Kevin Conry had a 4-21 Big Ten record in his first five seasons on the job. The Wolverines were "fed up with losing," senior Oliver Mirer told The Wolverine, and Conry, his staff and the players did something about it, putting to- gether a resurgent 2023 campaign. The Wolverines beat two ranked teams in the regular season — at No. 19 Delaware and at No. 2 Maryland (U-M had won only 19 road games in its previous 11 seasons since becoming a varsity sport) — and finished fourth in the Big Ten standings, before even more fun began. U-M took down Ohio State (14-10), Penn State (17- 15) and Maryland (14-5) to win the Big Ten Tourna- ment championship, the Wolverines' first-ever title. That earned them a bid to the NCAA Tournament, also a first, where they beat favored Cornell 15-14 in overtime on the road. Conry & Co. fell to Duke, the eventual NCAA runner-up, 15-8 in the second round, but the season was a smashing success. FEMALE SPORT MOST IMPROVED TEAM OF THE YEAR TRACK AND FIELD Michigan hadn't placed better than fifth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships since 2016 (tied for first) before winning its first title since that season in 2023. The Maize and Blue were seventh at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships the year prior, making a huge leap. This past season also marked U-M's sixth time ever winning both the indoor and outdoor conference titles in the same year. The Wolverines finished 14th at the NCAA Champi- onships in June. Their 17 points were just 2 shy of a top-10 ranking and marked their highest team finish since 2009. At the event in Austin, Texas, sopho- more Savannah Sutherland claimed victory in the 400-meter hurdles (the first-ever Wolverine to do so in that event). All four Wolverines who competed — Sutherland, fifth-year senior Aurora Rynda (800 meters), junior Aasia Laurencin (100-meter hurdles) and junior Ziyah Holman (400 meters) — scored and earned first-team All-America status. BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR MALE SPORT BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR MASON PARRIS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS, WRESTLING In the NCAA final in 2021, the U-M heavyweight fell to Minnesota's Gable Steveson, who later won an Olympic gold medal. Parris made it back to that point this March and wouldn't be denied. The fifth-year senior never trailed against Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet in the 5-1 decision to capture the national championship and highlight the Maize and Blue's sixth-place team performance at the event. That was his third win of the season over Kerkvliet, which included one for a Big Ten title weeks earlier, exacting revenge after the Nittany Lion de- feated Parris three times in 2022. Parris' championship was U-M's second in as many seasons, with Nick Suriano winning at 125 pounds in 2022, but only the Wolverines' 24th of all time and seventh since 1986. He's one of four Wolverines to win the NCAA championship at heavyweight. The four-time All-American dominated throughout the NCAA Championships, outscoring opponents 49-6 in five matches, including a 16-1 technical fall over Iowa's Tony Cassioppi in the semifinals. Parris posted a perfect 33-0 record on the season, in- cluding 17 victories over nationally ranked opponents, with 21 bonus wins. He took home the Dan Hodge Tro- phy as the nation's most dominant wrestler, becoming U-M's first-ever athlete to receive the award. FEMALE SPORT BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR SAVANNAH SUTHERLAND AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS, TRACK AND FIELD The Canadian's performance in winning the NCAA Despite a fall during the first leg, U-M's 4x400-meter relay squad of (clockwise from the left) Aurora Rynda, Savannah Sutherland, Sophie Isom and Ziyah Holman made up a 30-second deficit to win the race by more than 8 seconds ahead of second-place Ohio State at the Simmons-Harvey Invite Jan. 21 at Michigan. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Michigan captured its first Big Ten Tournament championship with a 14-5 win over Maryland and followed that up with its first NCAA Tournament appearance (and victory) with a 15-14 overtime win at Cornell. Senior Josh Zawada (9) finished as U-M's leader in career goals (119) and points (213). PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY