The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 51 ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE MEN'S GYMNASTICS The No. 7 Wolverines posted a season-high score in a Senior Day win over No. 3 Ohio State, winning 328.100-322.00 at Cliff Keen Arena on March 15. Seniors Javier Alfonso, Syam Burada- gunta, Paul Juda, Logan McKeown, Lais Najjar, Rithik Puri, Chris Read, Evgeny Siminiuc, and David Wolma were all honored following the meet. Sophomore Charlie Larson (floor exercise), McKeown (parallel bars) and Juda (high bar) won event titles for the Wolverines in the victory. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS Seventeenth-ranked U-M ended its regular sea- son on March 15 with a 197.050-196.675 loss to No. 12 Alabama in the first-ever podium meet inside Crisler Center. Freshman Sophie Parenti earned two career highs with a 9.850 on uneven bars and 9.875 on floor exercise in the leadoff spot and grabbed a share of the floor title along with graduate Carly Bauman. Freshman Peyton Davis also tied a career-best mark of 9.850 on the floor. Four Wolverines were named to All-Big Ten teams on March 17, with Bauman earning first- team honors for the second time in her career. Sophomore Kayli Boozer and freshmen Sophia Diaz and Jahzara Ranger were named to the sec- ond team, with the latter two also making the All-Freshman team. MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING Michigan will send seven team members to the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Champion- ships. Colin Geer and Tyler Ray will swim in three events each. Geer will compete in the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly, as well as the 200-yard individual medley. Ray will take part in the 100- yard and 200-yard butterfly in addition to the 50-yard freestyle. All-American Gal Groumi will race in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM. The group is rounded out by Jon Jøntvedt (1,650-yard freestyle), Ozan Kalafat (100-yard breaststroke), Eduardo Moraes (500-yard free- style) and Lorne Wigginton (400-yard IM). The NCAAs begin on March 26 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING The No. 8-ranked Wolverines will travel to Federal Way, Wash., to compete in the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships March 19-22. Thirteen Wolverines — 12 swimmers and one diver — qualified for the national championships, led by Stephanie Balduccini. The sophomore is coming off a strong performance at the Big Ten Championships, taking gold in the 200-yard free- style and also capturing Big Ten titles in the three freestyle relays. She ranks third in the nation in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.16. Senior Lindsay Flynn enters her final NCAA Championships with momentum after winning the 100-yard freestyle conference title in Colum- bus, Ohio, in February. Flynn also anchored the 200-yard medley and 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays that captured Big Ten wins. Hannah Bellard will look to add to a stellar sophomore season after winning the 200-yard butterfly at Big Tens. Her winning time of 1:52.04 ranks fifth in the nation. TRACK AND FIELD Sophomore Trent McFarland of U-M's men's track and field team took home gold in the mile run on March 1 at the Big Ten Indoor Champi- onships. The squad finished eighth in the event with 35 points, 10 of which came via McFarland's victory. On the women's team, a trio of Wolverines participated in the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 15, tying for 28th place and finishing with 8 points. Senior Savannah Sutherland ran a personal-best and program-record 51.23 seconds in the 400-meter dash and placed fourth. Gradu- ate Aasia Laurencin and sophomore Elizabeth Tapper finished sixth and 12th, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles and shot put events. WATER POLO The 16th-ranked Wolverines (9-7) grabbed a 9-7 victory over No. 8 Harvard at the Aztec Aquaplex in San Diego. Seven U-M players scored goals in the outing, with Sophia Panossian and Ari Karampetsou leading the way with 2 goals apiece. Panoissian's second wound up being the game- sealing score for the team. Junior Lulu Hirschfield, senior Ashley O'Neill, junior Brooke Ingram, grad- uate Kasey Umlauf and freshman Matilda Waugh had the other goals in the contest. — Anthony Broome had back. So, when you have a good year, it's easy to want to come back and then want more. And that's a testament to this group that we have this year. "The girls and the athletes that we have in the program now come to Michigan and get recruited to come here for that reason. To be winners, to be champions and to really keep working for that next level. "We're in a pretty good spot after eight years." One of the messages preached in the building is for players to take account- ability and own the program. Nielsen is happy with how that has played out in the early stages of the 2025 campaign. "I thought last year's team was really invested and hardworking," Nielsen said. "And I just think every year there's just a little bit more and little things like what time they get to the field, how seriously they take their recovery, how much film they're watching separately from prac- tice. Just those little things that they're doing on their own as a team, that's been a big message for us since our first loss of the season. Transferring ownership onto them. And they've latched onto that since the fall and now are being reminded of it in season, but it's their team. "Ultimately it doesn't really matter how hard coaches work if players aren't going to invest on their own. They're the ones that can get it done. This group is doing that really well." The team is led by seniors Jill Smith and Kaylee Dyer, who entered Big Ten play with a combined 59 points between the two of them. "They're really a one-two punch, which from a defensive perspective is tough to stop," Nielsen said. "They're working really well together this year, which is cool to see. Both work really hard, Jill specifically, just one of the most competitive people I've ever met, re- minds me of myself in that way a little bit. What's been really cool is she's always had that competitive fire. "Lacrosse here in Michigan still isn't what it is on the East Coast. She was dominant in high school and put the team on her back a lot of times, but what's been really cool is to see how her hard work has translated into learning more about the game and improving her IQ. Even still, we watch film once or twice a week, and she's still asking questions and learning and evolving and growing as a player." Michigan knows that Big Ten play is a different monster and could set the table for a potential NCAA Tournament run. Nielsen said all of the coach-speak ap- plies in terms of the message to the team. "It's all the coaching clichés," she said. "It's 'One day at a time,' and 'One game at a time.' While we wish we were un- defeated, it hasn't gone that way. Right now, it's a true reset moment. The Big Ten is a different season. And how you set yourself up in conference play, obvi- ously, everyone knows can make or break the postseason. It's understanding that without making it pressure." ❑