The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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58 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2024 BY ANTHONY BROOME Men's Gymnastics First Event: Maize and Blue Intrasquad (Dec. 7) Season Outlook: Michigan returns 14 gymnasts who competed in the 2024 NCAA Championships, including five All-Americans and a national cham- pion in graduate student Paul Juda. He'll look to keep the Wolverines in national title contention under head coach Yuan Xiao and will be joined by Big Ten champions Landen Blixt and Frederick Richard along with Lais Najjar, who competed at the Paris Olympics in addition to Juda and Richard. The Wolverines have a golden opportunity with the conference and NCAA Championships both set for Ann Arbor next April. TOP THREE ATHLETES Grad student Paul Juda: The Olympic bronze medalist is a three-time NCAA All-American and last year's national floor exercise champion. He is returning for sixth season in Ann Arbor after per- forming in four meets last year in his second season as team captain. Junior Frederick Richard: The three-time NCAA All-American and Paris Olympian won Big Ten Gym- nast of the Championships last year and Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors for his strong perfor- mances throughout the season. He and Juda helped Team USA to its first team medal since 2008 in the Paris Games. Junior Landon Blixt: An NCAA All-American in the floor exercise last season for the second time, he also won a conference championship in the event en route to first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second time in his career. Women's Gymnastics First Event: Intrasquad Exhibition (Dec. 6) Season Outlook: U-M is gunning for its 28th Big Ten championship this season and has the chance to do so at home with the conference champion- ships coming to Crisler Center for the first time since 2015. Head coach Bev Plocki will do so with a group that has some familiar names stepping into bigger shoes, since standouts Sierra Brooks and Gabby Wilson have moved on. TOP THREE ATHLETES Grad student Carly Bauman: The 2024 team cap- tain returns to the same role in 2025 after grabbing first-team All-Big Ten honors and the Team Specialist Award last season. She recorded 18 scores of 9.900 or better including 8 on uneven bars, 6 on beam and 4 on floor. Graduate Reyna Guggino: A second-team All-Big Ten performer last season, she was also named the team's most improved gymnast in 2024. She was a two-time Big Ten Specialist of the Week and was named a team captain ahead of the 2025 campaign. Senior Jacey Vore: The recipient of the Team Coaches, Team Scholar-Athlete and Chip Hills Spirit Awards competed on uneven bars and beam in every meet last season, sharing a beam title win against Georgia. Men's Swimming/Diving First Scoring Event: W, 261-90 vs. Wisconsin (Oct. 18-19) Season Outlook: The first year under head coach Matt Bowe saw the program take a step forward in terms of individual and team performance last season. Now, the task will be building on it and continuing to push the program forward after a third-place finish in the Big Ten and 14th-place showing at the NCAA Championships. TOP THREE ATHLETES Graduate Bence Szabados: He competed in the 200- and 400-yard freestyles at the NCAA Champi- onships and finished first in the 100-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Conference Championships and was a CSCAA All-American in 2022 and second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2023. Senior Gal Groumi: A well-decorated performer, he was a first-team All-Big Ten and All-American in the 200-yard butterfly in 2023, six-time CSCAA All-American in 2022 and a Big Ten champion in the 200-yard IM and 100-yard butterfly in 2023. Senior Cameron Gammage: He competed in the 1-meter diving and 3-meter diving prelims with re- spective scores of 311.70 and 334.60 at the NCAA Championships and holds the school record on the 1-meter springboard with a 406.30 mark. Women's Swimming/ Diving First Scoring Event: W, 279-69 vs. Notre Dame, W, 238-115 vs. Wisconsin (Oct. 19) Season Outlook: The 12th-ranked Wolverines return 13 of 14 All-America performers from last season after Matt Bowe improved the team by 11 spots in the conference and 114.5 points from its finish at the NCAA Championships in 2023, which was the largest jump in the nation. TOP THREE ATHLETES Junior Katie Crom: The 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten champion in the 200 butterfly captured two Big Ten titles last year and earned All-America honors in the 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle events. Junior Kiarra Milligan: A second-team All-Big Ten performer in 2023, she followed it up with a 10th-place finish in the 1-meter diving event at the Big Tens, along with a 16th-place effort in the 10-meter and 12th in the 3-meter. Sophomore Stephanie Balduccini: She per- formed at a high level during her freshman sea- son, including a ninth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle and 11th in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships, setting personal bests in both events. She also earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Water Polo Season Outlook: U-M finished its second season under coach Cassie Churnside with a 21-11 record ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Winter Sports Previews Grad student Paul Juda (above) helped Team USA to its first team medal (bronze) in men's gyn- nastics since 2008 ae the Paris Olympic Games, along with his U-M teammate Frederick Richard. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS