The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 31 2022-23 YEAR IN REVIEW 2023 and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. In her career, she earned Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association first-team All-America honors seven times — in the all-around (2021), vault (2022), uneven bars (2021, 2022), bal- ance beam (2021) and floor (2021, 2023). Brooks, a two-time team captain, is also a shining star outside of the field of com- petition. She is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was the presi- dent of the Student- Athlete Advisory Committee (SAC) during her senior season. She is a business administration major at the Ross School of Business. "She's really an unbelievable young woman in terms of being the full pack- age," head coach Bev Plocki told The Wol- verine. "She is unbelievably intelligent, she's unbelievably gifted athletically, and she's a good person. She's giving of her time, support and empathy toward oth- ers. She's incredibly organized. "She's just remarkable. We tell her all the time, she could be the first female president of the United States, and then she reminds us that she's not majoring in politics. I'm like, 'I think maybe you should be!' "I love all of my young women that have gone through our program, but there are a handful that really stand out. You could point to them and say, 'This young woman could do anything in life she wants to do, because she's got all the tools, she's got the drive, the desire, the confidence.' "I just look forward to seeing what she's going to do post-college. I think she'll be amazing at whatever that is." The Illinois native had plenty of op- tions coming out of high school and athletic genes running through her veins. Her father, David, played base- ball at Eastern Illinois, and her mother, Shannon, was part of the Bradley Uni- versity dance team. "Michigan was always a school that stood out to me since the early recruiting process. The academics alone are ex- tremely impressive, and the athletics are also at such a high standard," Brooks said earlier in her career. "Once I found out about all of the resources given to stu- dents and student-athletes I was sold. "They truly set you up to succeed in every way if you are willing to put the work in." Brooks' long list of successes at Mich- igan have a lot to do with how she is wired. One of the hardest workers on campus regardless of sport, she has been setting herself up for success since her earliest days. "Coming out of the womb, she's been incredibly independent and very driven," her mother told The Michigan Daily. "David used to say that she doesn't get cheated. She wakes up, and she makes the most of her days. "She's always been a busybody, always wanted to do very, very well with things, and she's willing to put in the work. We saw that as a child, and to this day, she does not get cheated. She tries to maxi- mize everything." It all starts at home, and the founda- tion for Brooks' success came with her upbringing and the support system around here. "My family is incredible," Brooks told The Daily. "I've always been my little brother Brandon's b i g ge s t fa n , a n d I've loved being a role model for him. I adore him, and he adores me. "And then my parents are there to pick up the phone whenever possible. I call my mom five to seven times a week just to talk through things. … And my dad is someone who just listens and hears me out when I want to get something off my chest. They have been very pivotal to my success." ❏ Runners-Up Sierra Brooks took the top spot for this year's Female Athlete of the Year honors, but there were plenty of other standout performers at Michigan during the past school year. Here are the runners-up in order of consideration by vote of The Wolverine staff. 1. Savannah Sutherland, track and field — The Borden, Saskatchewan, native won the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June and placed seventh in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, earning first-team All-America honors in both events. Her winning time of 54.45 in the 400 hurdles was a Michigan school record, a career best and the Canadian U23 record, and surpassed the standard to compete at the world championships. Sutherland also placed second in the 400-meter dash and fifth in the 200 meters at the 2023 Big Ten Indoor Championships, and then at the outdoor league championships she won the 400 hurdles and was on the U-M relay squads that finished second in the 4x400 and third in the 4x100. Sutherland was named the Women's Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year. 2. Ziyah Holman, track and field — Holman, a junior from Hyattsville, Md., placed sixth in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June to earn first-team All-America honors. In May, Holman won the Big Ten outdoor meet title and set the U-M record in the 400 meters (50.90), placed second in the 200 meters, and was part of U-M's second-place 4x400 relay and third-place 4x100 relay. She was named the Women's Track Athlete of the Championships. Holman also captured the indoor 400-meter title at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in February and was on U-M's winning 4x400 relay and distance medley relay. 3. Leigha Brown, basketball — The eighth Wolverine player drafted all time by the WNBA, Brown parlayed her success at U-M into being selected in the second round (15th overall) by the Atlanta Dream before being traded to the Connecticut Sun. She was named All-Big Ten first team by the coaches and media and received Associated Press All- America honorable mention recognition for the first time in her career. Brown, who averaged 17.5 points, 5.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds per contest, appeared in 30 games, starting 28 times with 25 double-figure scoring efforts, and had 13 20-point games and two 30-point outings. She is one of 13 players in program history with 300 career assists, gathering 303 in three seasons after playing her first two seasons at Nebraska. Brown had a career-high 36 points and 9 rebounds in a 74-61 loss to Ohio State Feb. 20. 4. Jill Smith, lacrosse – The Tewaaraton Award nominee racked up several honors during her sopho- more season in Ann Arbor, receiving Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association second- team All-America and first-team all-region honors. Smith broke the U-M points record with 77 and scored the most goals in program history with 65, also adding 12 assists while starting 19 of 20 games. She also was a first-team All-Big Ten pick and made the Big Ten All-Tournament team. — Anthony Broome ❱ Women's gymnastics coach Bev Plocki, on Brooks "She is unbelievably intelligent, she's unbelievably gifted athletically, and she's a good person. She's giving of her time, support and empathy toward others."