The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 23 2023-24 YEAR IN REVIEW of times," head coach Ronni Bernstein said on the "Conqu'ring Heroes" pod- cast with host Jon Jansen. "Last year was a tough one because I don't think we played our best. In the big moments, we didn't execute. I think the doubles point, we kind of let go. "This team just believes in themselves so much. We've seen it all year where no matter the nonconference schedule that I put in front of them and through the Big Ten schedule with the pressure of the matches and the level of opponents that we played, we've shown up every match. I expect no different [in the re- gionals]." Unfortunately, the regional hump was a bit too large to climb through, with U-M dropping a 4-1 bout to fifth- ranked Pepperdine in Stillwater. It was a rematch from earlier in the year with the Waves sweeping the season series. "We fought hard," Bernstein said, via The Michigan Daily. "You could tell we were trying to hold on but just didn't have our best tennis tonight. If we could have come through in a few of those moments, maybe we could have put a little more pressure on them and split some sets to get to thirds. The fight was there, but we just couldn't get it done. "It would have been nice to have played a better match today, but we have good kids who care a lot. They are hurt- ing now." Michigan still sent a healthy con- tingent of stars to the NCAA Singles Championship in seniors Kari Miller and Gala Mesochoritou, and junior Julie Fliegner. Mesochoritou fell in the sec- ond round to No. 13 Celia-Belle Mohr from Vanderbilt (6-0, 6-2), while Jae- dan Brown and Miller fell in a three-set heartbreaker to No.10-ranked Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova from Stanford (6-4, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (5)) in the first round. Fliegner fell in the first round to No. 2-ranked Amelia Rajecki from NC State (6-0, 6-2). In her singles match, No. 5 Miller was upset in the first round by Stanford's Yepifanova. Miller still walked out of the season with a laundry list of honors, headlined by U-M Athletics naming her and foot- ball running back Blake Corum as the department's athletes of the year. She earned All-America honors in both sin- gles and doubles in 2024, tying Brienne Minor for the most in program history with four. Her final No. 5 ranking in sin- gles is the second-best in U-M history. Miller was also a member of the Big Ten all-conference team along with Mesochoritou and Fliegner. Bernstein grabbed Big Ten Coach of the Year hon- ors for the third straight season. Despite the bittersweet ending to the year, the season was incredibly reward- ing for women's tennis, and it took a hands-on effort to get the job done. Bernstein raved about the work that was put in by everyone within the pro- gram. "It's everybody from the coaches to the players to the support staff," she said. "It's been a complete team effort. It's just been great as a coach to watch this team come together. We have such good leaders and big personalities. "All our seniors in a different way set the tone differently on the court. Some of them do it off the court, too. These guys just stick together. They had meetings before each match. They come together and talk about what they're going to do. "This is everybody. I think that's what makes a team. There's not some- one that's setting the tone and telling them what we're going to do. They all are doing it together. When that hap- pens within a team, I feel like good things happen." ❑ ❱ Head coach Ronni Bernstein "It's been a complete team effort. It's just been great as a coach to watch this team come together. We have such good leaders and big personalities." Runners-Up 2. Lacrosse — The Wolverines had their best season in program history, making their first-ever trip to the NCAA quarterfinals and finishing the year ranked No. 5 in the country. Their top-five ranking was their first, and they ranked as high as No. 2 at one point. U-M led the nation in scoring defense all year and finished with wins over seven ranked opponents and a 16-4 overall record (4-2 Big Ten), tied for second in the conference. The team also had three IWLCA All-Americans for the first time in Goalie of the Year Erin O'Grady, Maddie Burnes and Jill Smith. 3. Rowing — The squad won its ninth Big Ten championship and second in a row en route to the program's best finish in the NCAA Championships since 2021, finishing seventh in the country. Michigan had a dominant showing at the Big Ten Championships, claiming its third title in the last four seasons with five gold-medal performances and two silvers in the seven boat classes to score 189 of a possible 192 team points. U-M had a pair of second-team CRCA All-Americans in Zara Collisson and Katie Easton, who were also first-team All-Big Ten performers along with Jana Peachey. Mark Rothstein was also named Region 4 Coach of the Year with his staff receiving Staff of the Year honors. 4. Softball — It was a story of two different seasons within one campaign for U-M, which went 33-9 over its last 42 games to finish second in the Big Ten during the regular season, won the 11th Big Ten Tournament title in pro- gram history and finished with a 43-18 overall record (18-5 Big Ten). Second-year head coach Bonnie Tholl guided the Wolverines to their first 40-win season since 2019 and got the team back to the NCAA Tournament after missing in 2023. The season came to an end in the NCAA Regionals. Sophomore right-handed pitcher and third baseman Maddie Erickson and junior outfielder Ellie Sieler were All-Great Lakes Region first-team performers and made first-team All-Big Ten along with senior catcher/first baseman Keke Tholl and junior right-handed pitcher Lauren Derkowski — who also won Big Ten Tournament MVP honors. Utility player Ava Costales and outfielder Ella Stephenson made the Big Ten All-Freshman team, while junior infielder Ella McVey, Derkowski and Tholl finished with conference all-tournament honors. 5. Gymnastics – U-M finished the 2024 campaign ranked No. 19 in the country after a 18-10 overall record (8-1 Big Ten), a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and a trip to the NCAA Regional second round. Sierra Brooks and Gabby Wilson closed out their storied careers with All-America honors in Fort Worth, Texas, while senior Carly Bauman also competed at the NCAA Finals. The campaign was the 32nd straight appearance in the regional round for head coach Bev Plocki and company. Wilson was named a finalist for the AAI Award, considered the Heisman Trophy of women's gymnastics. — Anthony Broome