The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 59 ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE ference. U-M earned four of its seven wins during the last nine conference matches, so the hope is that with good health and enhanced contributions from the rest of the roster, the program gets back to where it expects to be in the thick of the Big Ten race. TOP THREE ATHLETES Senior Jacque Boney: Started 27 of the 29 matches she played in last season, recording time in 96 total sets. Boney led the team with a .315 hitting percentage, and recorded 236 kills, 53 digs and 64 blocks on the campaign. Ju n i o r S e re n a Nya m b i o : L i ke Boney, Nyambio made 27 starts in 29 appearances with 96 total sets played. She led the team with 88 blocks and 0.92 blocks per set and recorded 154 to- tal kills last season. Sophomore Valentina Vaulet: Played in all 29 matches last season, ap- pearing in 93 sets with 15 starts. Vaulet led the team with 36 service aces on the year along with 236 kills, 85 digs and 35 blocks. She led the team in kills in 9 matches and recorded one double- double in 2023. Don't Miss: vs. Michigan State Sept. 27 in Ann Arbor Men's Golf First Event: Sept. 1-2 at the Island Resort Intercollegiate in Bark River, Mich. Season Outlook: U-M made the NCAA postseason for the first time in six years in 2023 with Hunter Thomson's invitation to the West Lafayette (Ind.) Regional, tying for 27th with a 2-over- par 218 in the event. The Wolverines performed in 11 events with eight top- five finishes and finished tied for 10th at the Big Ten Championships with a team score of 907. Thomson and company will look to improve on that mark as they move into the 2024-25 season, which spans the entire school year. TOP THREE ATHLETES Fifth Year Ben Hoagland: One of four Wolverines to start 12 tournaments, he helped Michigan post four top-three finished. Hoagland averaged a career- best 72.61 scoring average, good for third on U-M last season. Senior Hunter Thomson: He was a first-team All-Big Ten performer last season in addition to earning PING All-Midwest Regional honors. He has started 36 consecutive tournaments for the Wolverines and has not missed an event in his career, posting seven ca- reer top-10 finishes with a 72.06 career scoring average. Senior Yuqi Liu: Among the U-M golfers to start 12 tournaments last sea- son along with Thomson, Hoagland and Will Anderson. He finished the season with a career-low 73.81 scoring average with five rounds below par and three sub-70 tallies on the year. Don't Miss: Big Ten Championships April 25-27 at Baltimore Women's Golf First Event: Sept. 2 at the Boiler- maker Classic in West Lafayette, Ind. Season Outlook: The U-M women played nine events last season with four top-five finishes, headlined by a fourth- place tie in the Big Ten Championships and a ninth-place showing at the NCAA Auburn Regional. Head coach Jan Dowl- ing's squad faces some big changes after seeing Monet Chun and Hailey Borja move on, but Lauren and Syndey Sung, along with Mara Janess, will have a chance to become faces of the program. The Sungs are the second pair of twins to play together at U-M, joining Tiffany and Tegan McCorkel (1994). TOP THREE ATHLETES Junior Lauren Sung: Played in 10 tournaments last season with eight starts, leading the Wolverines in one event at the NCAA Auburn Regional, tying for 30th place. Sung was the team's fourth-leading scorer last year with an average round of 75.23. Junior Syndey Sung: Appeared in nine tournaments with seven starts and playing in her second NCAA postseason tournament with the Wolverines. She finished the season with a 76.00 scoring average, just behind her sister in fifth place on the team. Redshirt sophomore Mara Jan- ess: A Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2024, Janess appeared in seven tour- naments with five starts last year and played in her first postseason at Michi- gan. She finished the season with a 76.26 scoring average, good for seventh best on the team. Don't Miss: Mary Fossum Invita- tional Sept. 22-23 at East Lansing, Mich. ❑ Senior men's golfer Hunter Thomson was a first-team All-Big Ten performer last season in addition to earning PING All-Midwest Regional honors. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS