The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ FEBRUARY 2026 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Sophomore Gymnast Sophie Parenti U-M sophomore Sophie Parenti has two Olympians for parents, Eddie and Paige, who swam and dove for Team Canada, respectively, but she has made her mark as a gymnast in Ann Arbor. Despite the sport change from mom and dad, Parenti feels their presence when she competes. "It's really inspiring," Parenti, a Los Altos, California, native, said in a feature on MGoBlue.com. "I would say, not only that they both were able to compete in the Olym- pics, but that's also where they met and where their relationship started," she said. "A lot of people ask me if I ever felt pressure from them because of that. I never thought of it that way, and it never felt that way. Growing up, sports was a big part of my life, but they were always for fun and to grow. Ultimately, I would just say it's really inspiring. They always understood where I was coming from. When I had hard days, when I was tired, they can relate to that." Parenti, now enrolled in the Ross School of Business in her second year, is enjoying the problem-solving aspect of her current educational path. "I love school, and I really like numbers. It's like a puzzle I get to solve, and it's really fulfilling and satisfying to get a right answer," Parenti said. "I feel like a lot of business focuses on that, but there's also the collaboration and teamwork side that Ross really highlights, which is also something I enjoy. "Being on a gymnastics team, working with other girls, that's a big part of my life. And then also the project-based learning. In middle school, I went to an untraditional school, where a lot of the work was project-based instead of tests. I really like doing stuff like that, like case studies, hands-on learning." In her spare time at U-M, which can be minimal for a student-athlete, she is part of the E-Board on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the Graham Family Athletics Career Center. Her work with the GFACC also gave her the chance to travel to Washington, D.C., over the summer to meet with several industry professionals of varying backgrounds. "We got to go to the Secret Service, which was so cool. It was amazing. They really got me thinking maybe I should apply for that," Parenti said. "We visited Fox News, the Pen- tagon, Deloitte, and the World Bank. Just getting that experience and talking to people was very beneficial. While a company may seem like it focuses on one thing, there are all these different people with different backgrounds and different skills that come together. It was definitely eye-opening for me." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Field hockey graduate student Abby Tamer: The Whitmore Lake, Mich., native was named a National Field Hockey Coaches Asso- ciation All-American for the second consecutive season, earning second- team recognition. She's the 16th Wolverine in history to earn multiple All-America cita- tions, after being named a first-teamer in 2024. She led the Wolverines in scoring for the second consecutive season, notching 8 goals and 3 assists for 19 points. Football graduate student Max Brede- son: The Hartland, Wis., native was named the Lowman Trophy winner as the nation's top full- back. It was presented by Barstool Sports' "Par- don My Take" podcast. He and his brother, Ben, make up the only pair of brothers to be two-time captains at Michi- gan. Bredeson led the country's tight ends with an 85.2 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus and was a third-team All-Big Ten pick by the coaches. Men's basketball sophomore Morez Johnson Jr.: The 6-foot- 9, 250-pound Riverdale, Ill., native was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Jan. 5, shar- ing honors with Purdue guard Braden Smith. Johnson was stellar in w i n s o ve r M c N e e s e State and Southern California, averaging 26.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1 block in those two contests, highlighted by a career-best 29-point performance versus the Trojans. Women's basketball sophomore Olivia Olson: The star guard scored in double figures in each of the Wolver- ines' first 16 games, help- ing the team to a 14-2 record, with six games scoring 20 or more points, including 21 in wins over Minnesota Jan. 5 and Wisconsin Jan. 11. At that point, she was averaging 17.9 points per game. — Clayton Sayfie Parenti, the daughter of two former Canadian Olympians, is now in her second year at U-M's Ross School of Business. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY