The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526802
OCTOBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 59 Men's Cross Country U-M took care of business in the first meet of the year when it hosted the Michigan Open on Aug. 30, racing against Detroit Mercy and having a pair of top-five finishers in the event. Junior Kyler McNatt finished third with a time of 15:25.80. Senior Anthony Hancock placed fifth with a 15:27.3. Junior Ian Hill took eighth (15:28.6), sophomore Nolan Clark grabbed ninth (15:29.7) and senior Jack Spamer (15.33.1) finished 10th. Michigan is next in action on Sept. 27 when it travels to Madison, Wis., for the Nuttycombe Invitational, hosted by the Badgers. Women's Cross Country The Wolverine women swept the top- five finishers in their race against Detroit Mercy at the Michigan Open on Aug. 30, led by graduate Kayla Windemuller, who won the event for the third straight year in a time of 17:46.6. Senior Samantha Hastie finished second with a 17:48.3 while junior Penelopea Gordon took third with a 17:52.5. The marks for Has- tie and Gordon were personal bests. Grad transfer Mary Caroline Heinen (17:57.9) and junior Rylee Tolson (17:59.6) came in fourth and fifth, respectively. Next up is the John McNicols Invita- tional hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind., on Sept. 21. Field Hockey Michigan got off to a 5-1 start thanks in part to the play of graduate Kate McLaughlin, who picked up a pair of Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors in the first two weeks of the season. For the week of Sept. 9, McLaughlin posted 4 goals and an assist between a pair of road wins at Boston University and Prov- idence. The Sept. 16 honor came after an 11-point performance the previous week with 4 goals and 3 assists in home wins over Ohio and Central Michigan. On the season, McLaughlin had a team-best 9 goals through six games. Her previous career high was 6, which she posted in both 2022 and 2023. Men's Soccer After finishing 2023 with five total victories, the Wolverines equaled that mark through their first seven matches of the season en route to a 5-0-2 record to kick off the 2024 campaign. All of the matches thus far have been in Ann Arbor, including the first pair of Big Ten outings of the year, which included a 2-1 win over Penn State on Sept. 13 and a 1-1 draw against Washington on Sept. 16. Next up for the Wolverines is a trip out west to take on UCLA on Sept. 21 before heading to Piscataway, N.J., to face Rut- gers on Sept. 28. Women's Soccer U-M got off to a rough start in 2024 with a 1-6-1 overall record on the year, headlined by an early slate that has seen the Wolverines take on seven top-100 teams in the first released RPI of the sea- son. So far, U-M has faced four teams in the polls in No. 12 Penn State, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 16 Xavier and No. 19 Colorado. The Wolverines look to turn things around with a road trip to Minnesota on Sept. 19 before hosting Nebraska on Sept. 22. Volleyball Michigan stumbled through last sea- son with a 7-22 record, which included a four-match losing streak to end the year. Through the early part of the 2024 campaign, second-year head coach Erin Virtue has led the program to a complete 180-degree turn, starting with a 9-0 re- cord. The most recent triumph came in the form of a four-set victory over Oakland University (25-12, 22-25, 25-18, 25-11) on Sept. 15 at Cliff Keen Arena. U-M looks to keep the momentum rolling on Sept. 20 with a trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on UNC in the Big Ten/ACC Chal- lenge. Men's Golf U-M posted its second 290 team total in as many tries this fall to close with a 14th-place finish at the Inverness Inter- collegiate in Toledo, Ohio, on Sept. 10. Senior Hunter Thomson led the team for the 25th time in his career with a 43rd- place finish and a 215 total on the week- end. Freshman Dean Muratore posted a career-best total of 213 and tied for 33rd. Next up for U-M is the Canadian Col- legiate Invitational in MacTier, Ontario, from Sept. 16-17. It is the third of five fall events scheduled. Women's Golf The Wolverines tallied a 301 final- round total to cap off a 915 54-hole showing at the Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette, Ind., on Sept. 3. The outing was led by a pair of freshman standout performances, with Suzie Tran placing 15th and Mimi Guo tying for 16th in the event. Redshirt sophomore Mara Janess tied for 37th, giving U-M a trio of top-40 finishes and a team finish of ninth among the 15 schools in atten- dance. Next up is a trip to East Lansing for the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State on Sept. 22-23, played at Forest Ak- ers West Court. — Anthony Broome ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Fall Sports Roundup Senior Maddi Cuchran surpassed her career high in digs with 28 in the win against Notre Dame Sept. 7. The U-M volleyball team raced out to a 9-0 start this fall. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS