The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 77 BASEBALL Michigan split a four-game series with the West- ern Michigan Broncos from Feb. 16-18 in Phoenix, kicking off the 2024 campaign with a 2-2 record. The season began with a 14-13 loss to WMU in 11 innings on Feb. 16 and an 11-9 10-inning loss in the first game of a Feb. 17 doubleheader. The Wolver- ines rallied over the next two contests, grabbing a 9-4 7-inning win in the second tilt on Feb. 17 and a 6-2 victory in the finale. The season rolls on at the College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, with games set against Oklahoma State (Feb. 23), No. 7 Oregon State (Feb. 24) and No. 2 Arkansas (Feb. 25). All games will be broadcast via FloSports. SOFTBALL The Wolverines got out to a 6-3 start to the 2024 campaign after trips to Tampa and Boca Raton, Fla., in the first two weekends of the year. The USF-Rawlings Tournament visit included wins over Illinois State (5-3), Bethune-Cookman (3-2), No. 17 Florida (2-1, in 10 innings) and Oregon State (2-1) and a 1-0 loss to USF. At the Joan Joyce Classic in Boca Raton, U-M earned victories over Seton Hall (3-0) and Maine (11-0, 5 innings) with losses to Louisville (2-0) and Florida Atlantic (1-0). An ad- ditional game with Seton Hall was called due to rain with one more out remaining to make it an official contest. The UC Santa Barbara Tournament is next on the docket with games against Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, and UC Santa Barbara from Feb. 23-25. MEN'S GYMNASTICS U-M had a pair of Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honorees in February with sophomore Fred Rich- ard (Feb. 5) and graduate student Paul Juda (Feb. 12) walking away with honors. Richard's nod came from his performance against Illinois, where he took event wins on the high bar and parallel bars. The honor is the seventh of his career and second this season after earning specialist of the week on Jan. 22. Juda's recognition came for his performance in a win over Nebraska on Feb. 10, grabbing the highest all-around score in the NCAA (86.2000) and a vault score of 15.10. It is the second weekly honor of the season for him and ninth overall in his career. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS The No. 11-ranked Wolverines (5-4 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) continued their conference slate with wins at No. 22 Nebraska on Jan. 27, a close loss to No. 13 Michigan State Feb. 4 and wins at No. 16 Min- nesota Feb. 10 and vs. Rutgers Feb. 16 in Toledo. Looking to the future, Michigan announced a pair of signees for the 2025 roster on Feb. 15 in Peyton Davis and Audrey Sanger, who will join the program next season. Davis, a West Chester, Pa., native, comes from First State Gymnastics and is a three-time develop- ment program national qualifier. She was the 2023 Region 7 beam champion and also has floor titles to her name in 2021 and 2022. Sanger is an Oakland, Calif., resident compet- ing with Pacific West Gymnastics, participating in USAG Nationals in 2022 and 2023 and a winner of the Level 10 California beam state title. "We are very excited to be able to announce the addition of two really amazing athletes to our in- coming class for next year," head coach Bev Plocki said. "Both of these young women are expected to make immediate contributions in our lineups. They have had a great deal of success in their USAG careers and will bring a high level of competitive experience. We are thrilled to welcome them to the Wolverine gymnastics family!" SWIMMING AND DIVING Select swimmers from both the men's and women's teams raced for season- and personal- best marks at the Michigan First Chance Meet on Feb. 17-18 at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor in hopes of boosting their résumés heading into the postseason. The men's team is off to Columbus, Ohio, for the Big Ten Championship meet from Feb. 28-March 2, while the women will head to West Lafayette, Ind., from Feb. 21-24 for their Big Ten title competition. WRESTLING No. 10 Michigan took care of its business in a dual meet at No. 23 Indiana in the Big Ten regular-season finale on Feb. 16. The Wolverines won eight of the 10 matches, including three with bonus points in a dominant 30-6 takedown of the Hoosiers. Sophomore Nolan Wertanen (125 pounds) and senior Dylan Ragusin (133) grabbed back-to-back bonus wins in the first period, while Jaden Bullock (184) rallied to earn a victory. Senior Joseph Walker (174) also earned a 4-3 win over No. 21 Donnell Washington. In addition, the Wolverines got wins from freshman Sergio Lemley (141), graduate Aus- tin Gomez (149), redshirt senior Cameron Amine (165) and graduate Lucas Davison (heavyweight). Next up is a match at Central Michigan on Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. before the Big Ten Championships at College Park, Md., on March 9-10. WATER POLO No. 8 Michigan climbed over the .500 mark to an overall record of 8-5 on the season with a 3-0 showing at the Indiana Classic on Feb. 17-18 with wins over Salem (17-1), Iona (19-9) and California Baptist (17-9) for the event. The Wolverines head to the Barbara Kalbus In- vitational in Irvine, Calif., on Feb. 23-24 with a date against UC Irvine and a to-be-determined opponent. They return to CWPA play on March 2-3 with the Conference Crossover against Brown, Princeton and Harvard — Anthony Broome ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Winter/Spring Sports Roundup Sophomore Fred Richard was named Big Ten Men's Gymnast of the Week Feb. 5 for his event wins on the high bar and parallel bars versus Illinois. It was the second weekly honor for him this sea- son and seventh of his career. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY