The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526802
14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Graduate Men's Gymnast Paul Juda U-M graduate gymnast Paul Juda was busy planning a vacation with his girlfriend, Reyna Guggino, a Wolverine gymnastics competi- tor herself, around the time that prepara- tions for Olympic trials were underway. After his trip to the Paris Olympics that included a bronze medal representing Team USA, Juda told U-M host Jon Jansen on the "Conqu'ring Heroes" podcast that it was his partner that gave him the final push to pursue his dream. "What girl wouldn't want to be told all about their future vacations and future life?" Juda said. "My girlfriend said, 'Paul, you've got one shot at this dream. You can be done after, I don't care, but I'm not going to let you throw in the white towel on your own dream.' And I thought, first of all, 'Wow, that's a punch in the face.' "It took me a minute to really understand where she was coming from. I definitely slammed the door and was pissed, but she was saying the right thing. I'm really grateful to have somebody in my life that can kind of push me in that way." Juda's bronze medal came as part of the men's gymnastics team final in the Paris Games, competing in the floor exercise, pommel horse, vault and horizontal bar. It was the USA's first team medal in 16 years. The success helped mark off some major boxes he had heading into the event. "My goal at the Olympic Games was to have the most amount of fun possible. And to leave for home healthy or leave and get back home healthy and happy," Juda said. "And I can't tell you how easy it is to play with house money. I thought that while I was competing, I had already won. I had be- come an Olympian. And this was my lifelong dream. What's even more fun than fun is winning. And I realized how awesome it would also be to gain an Olympic medal. "I had rehearsed that moment in my head visually, with mental visualization and mental imagery training and kind of sensory training, too. I knew what I was getting ready for." Juda, who was an Academic All-Big Ten selection last year, earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at U-M. He's returning to Ann Arbor for a sixth season of eligibility as he finishes up studies in real estate development in the Rackham Graduate School. "I've known for a long time since I've had the COVID year and the redshirt year," Juda said. "I had applied to the master's of accounting program here at Michigan. And I knew that it was going to be a phenomenal program and I was going to do great in it. "There was one moment in particular where I realized my calling of why I'm coming back for a sixth year. We were at the NCAA Championships last year and the confetti came down on Stanford. I looked over at everybody and I said, 'This is why I'm coming back.' None of this again. I don't want it. "And it's a plug for the men's gymnastics team this year. We're hosting so many competitions during the year in Cliff Keen Arena. And on top of that, you can't beat the admission price. It's free. "It would be awesome to have a swarm of Michigan people, maybe a Maize Out, maybe something. … This is our house. We want to defend it." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Football junior Dominic Zvada: The place- kicker shared Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors with U C L A k i c ke r M ate e n Bhaghani following Week 1. Zvada connected on field goals of 43, 53 and 55 yards and made 3 ex- tra points in a 30-10 win over Fresno State Aug. 31. He was also hon- ored as one of three Lou Groza Award "Stars of the Week" nationally. Zvada followed that up by making 2 field goals, including a 52-yarder, in a loss to Texas. Field hockey graduate Kate McLaughlin: The 5-foot-8 forward posted 4 goals and an assist in a two-game stretch, wins over Boston University (5- 2) and Providence (8-1) Sept. 6 and 8, earning her Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. She had a hat trick with both the game-tying and game-winning goals in the first half of the victory over Boston University. Through six games, she led the Maize and Blue with 9 goals, surpassing her previous career high of 6. M e n 's g o l f s e n i o r Hunter Thomson: The 2024 first-team All-Big Ten selection led the Wolverines for the 24th time in his career, tying for sixth overall with a 212 (-4; 74-70-68) total at the Island Resort Intercollegiate in Bark River, Mich., Sept. 1-2. That marked the Cana- dian's 17th sub-par 54-hole score of his career. Michigan finished fifth as a team and had one other competitor, fifth-year senior Ben Hoag- land, finish top 20 (tied 19th). Women's tennis fresh- man Emily Sartz-Lunde: The Norwegian paired with Moroccan Malak El Allami to win the U.S. Open Junior Girls Doubles title at the 2024 event in Flushing Mead- ows, N.Y., going 5-0 to earn the crown. She also competed in singles but fell in the first round. All told for her ju- nior tennis career, Sartz-Lunde won three ITF singles titles and five ITF doubles titles. — Clayton Sayfie Juda returned to a hero's welcome in Ann Arbor after he and U-M teammate Frederick Richard helped Team USA to a bronze medal in men's gymnastics at the Paris Olympics this summer. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS