The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 59 ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE and a 7-2 mark in the CWPA, placing second in the conference. The team's 2025 schedule was not yet available as of this edition. TOP THREE ATHLETES Sophomore Emma Gustafsson: She scored 42 goals and dished out 30 assists during her fresh- man season, finishing second on the team in both categories. Sophomore Jillian Schlom: She appeared in all 31 games last season and grabbed CWPA Rookie of the Week honors the week of Jan. 31. Junior Grace Walsh: The team's most experi- enced remaining goalkeeper appeared in seven contests last season. She allowed 20 goals and made 32 saves in her appearances. Wrestling First Event: Clarion Open, Nov. 3 Season Outlook: U-M opened the year ranked 10th in the country and returns an All-American and three NCAA qualifiers, headlined by Dylan Ragusin, Sergio Lemley and Jaden Bullock. TOP THREE ATHLETES Graduate Dylan Ragusin: An All-American at 133 pounds, he claimed a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a 4-2 record and placed second at the Big Ten Championships. Sophomore Sergio Lemley: He qualified for an NCAA Championships berth at 141 pounds and posted a 1-2 record. Previously, he finished in fourth place at the Big Ten Championships and recorded a 19-9 record during his first collegiate season. Graduate Jacob Cardenas: A two-time All-Amer- ican at 197 pounds, Cardenas transferred from Cornell. He has placed fourth (2024) and eighth (2023) at the NCAA Championships in his career, posting a 71-22 record in three prior seasons with the Big Red. ❏ Fall Sports Roundup Men's Cross Country Michigan finished fifth out of 15 teams in this year's Big Ten Championships in Savoy, Ill., headlined by a trio of top-30 finishes from Nathan Lopez (26th), Caleb Jarema (27th) and Jack Spamer (28th) in the 8-kilometer event. An ad- ditional six Wolverines placed in the top 60: Trent McFarland (38th), Luke Ven- huizen (39th), Peter Baracco (45th), Zach Stewart (50th), Jozef Meyers (53rd) and Heath McAllister (56th). Postseason competition continues on Nov. 15 at the NCAA Great Lakes Re- gional in Norton, Ohio. Women's Cross Country The U-M women produced a ninth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships on Nov. 1 from the Orange and Blue Golf Course in Savoy, Ill. Oregon took home the conference crown in its debut season, followed by fellow first-year member Washington. Junior Penelopea Gordon led the Maize and Blue in the 6-kilometer event, coming in 23rd with a personal-best time of 19:53.4, while graduate Mary Caroline Heinen finished 50th. The women also will next compete Nov. 15 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Norton, Ohio. Field Hockey Finishing the season 14-5, the program is set for its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and ninth in 10 seasons after missing the Big Dance last year. U-M clinched its spot with a Big Ten Tournament win over No. 1 and previously undefeated Northwestern in the championship game, earning the Big Ten title and the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament. A potential rematch is looming. The Wolverines begin NCAA play with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to face Virginia on Nov. 15. No. 2 seed Northwestern is the host school and will play the winner of the Miami (Ohio) and Vermont play-in game, with the winners facing off on Nov. 17. Men's Soccer The 8-3-7 Wolverines are heading to the Big Ten Tournament final after beat- ing UCLA in penalty kicks on Nov. 10. Michigan's tournament run was set up by a win over No. 6 Indiana (1-0) on Nov. 7 before a 1-1 tie against the Bruins led to a 4-2 win in penalty kicks for the Maize and Blue in Bridgeview, Ill. It is the first time the program has advanced to the conference tournament final since 2019. Waiting on the other side of the bracket are the rival Ohio State Buckeyes, the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten, on Nov. 17 in Columbus. The two previously met on Oct. 4 in Ann Arbor, a 6-3 victory for OSU. Women's Soccer The 2024 campaign came to a close on Oct. 27 with a 1-0 loss at the Dan Mc- Climon Track/Soccer Complex to Wisconsin. The defeat dropped the Maize and Blue to a 3-13-2 mark in the regular season with a 2-8-1 record in Big Ten play. U-M found a way to close out the home slate on a positive note, though, on Oct. 20 with a 2-0 win over Purdue in Ann Arbor. Junior Jenna Lang finished the season with the team lead in goals (5) and points (10), followed by a trio of classmates in Taylor Brennan, Kali Burrell and Abby Zugay finishing with 5 points apiece. Volleyball After a scorching hot start to the 2024 season, Michigan enters mid-Novem- ber looking to snap a five-game losing streak headlined most recently by a loss at No. 9 Purdue in three sets. The setback dropped the team's mark to 6-8 in conference play heading into a critical stretch of the season. Opportunities to get back on track begin in the form of a two-game road trip that starts with a Nov. 15 showdown versus Michigan State in East Lansing before heading to Minneapolis on Nov. 17 for a match with No. 16 Minnesota. U-M is next at home on Nov. 21 against Maryland and will host Oregon on Nov. 23. The regular season concludes with a game at Indiana on Nov. 27 and the finale versus Northwestern in Ann Arbor on Nov. 29. Men's Golf U-M concluded its fall campaign with an 872 team total and a fourth-place showing at the Quebein Cup in Greensboro, N.C., on Oct. 15, which was the team's fourth top-five finish in six events this autumn. Senior Hunter Thomson shot an even-par 210 for a runner-up finish, the sixth of his career and his third top-five finish of the fall season. The spring campaign begins with a trip to Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, from Feb. 9-11. Women's Golf The Wolverines closed out their fall slate with a ninth-place showing at the Nanea Invitational in Hawai'i, headlined by junior Lauren Sung's second top-20 finish of the fall, sitting 16th on the leaderboard. Freshman Suzie Tran's 226 tally gave U-M two top-35 finishes in the event. The focus now moves to winter training before jumping back into action in Sarasota, Fla., on Feb. 16-17 at the Spartan Suncoast Invitational. — Anthony Broome The ninth-ranked Michigan field hockey team knocked off No. 1 and undefeated Northwestern 1-0 on Nov. 10 to capture the ninth Big Ten Tournament title in program history. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS