The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 59 ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE BASEBALL U-M moved to 8-6 with a 5-2 win over Pep- perdine on March 7 to take the series. Fresh- man Jack Laffitte and redshirt junior Greg Pace Jr. had 3 hits apiece, while Pace scored 3 runs. Senior Kurt Barr struck out 5 batters in 6 innings to grab his second win of the season, and senior David Lally Jr. closed it out with a 3-inning save, his first of the year. SOFTBALL No. 31 Michigan (19-6) grabbed a 7-1 win over Bryant to close out the Hokie Invitational in the spring break finale on March 6. Fresh- man Grayson LaMarche allowed 3 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts in 5 innings, and senior Indiana Langford had 3 hits with 2 runs. Junior Ella Stephenson homered in the first inning and finished with 3 RBI. WOMEN'S GOLF Senior Lauren Sung led U-M for the fourth time in seven events with a 216 at the Ga- tors Invitational in Gainesville on March 8, helping the team tie for seventh place in the event. Senior Mara Janess, freshman Reese Ng and freshman Jaymie Ng, in her first col- legiate start, finished 39th, 40th and 41st, respectively. MEN'S GYMNASTICS Senior Fred Richard has been named a final- ist for the 2026 Nissen-Emery Award, which honors the senior male gymnast who "has not only established an outstanding record of achievement during his college career but also an athlete who has demonstrated good sportsmanship, fair play and a high standard of athletic excellence." Three Wolverines have won the award all- time: Paul Juda (2023), Sam Mikulak (2014) and Justin Toman (2012). The program's most recent finalists were Evgeny Siminiuc and Ja- vier Alfonso in 2024. The Big Ten Championships are scheduled for April 3-4 in Lincoln, Neb. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS The ninth-ranked Wolverines took down No. 14 Clemson at Crisler Center on March 6 in a 197.225-196.975 victory. Graduate student Carly Baumann posted two 9.950s to win the uneven bars and floor titles, while sophomore Jahzara Ranger won her third beam title of the year with a 9.950. Graduate Reyna Guggino won a share of the vault title in the event. The Big Ten Championships will take place March 20-21 in Champaign, Ill. MEN'S LACROSSE Michigan fell to 3-4 on the year with a 17-7 loss to No. 5 Harvard on March 7 in Houston. The Crimson closed the game on a 10-2 scor- ing run after leading 7-5 at the half. Junior Alex Gatto scored 2 first-half goals, and class- mate Nick Roode scored 2 second-half goals for the Wolverines. Junior Jackie Weller won 9 faceoffs in the contest. WOMEN'S LACROSSE The No. 8-ranked Wolverines (5-2) used 3 fourth-quarter goals to grab an 8-7 win over No. 14 Colorado in Ann Arbor on March 8. Grad student Ava Class and senior Calli Norris each had hat tricks in the victory, while Eliza- beth Johnson made 10 saves in the cage for the Maize and Blue. The game featured three ties and two lead changes, with senior Peyton Shreves scoring an unassisted game-winner with three minutes remaining. SWIMMING AND DIVING The women's team scored 1,243 points to claim the Big Ten Championship title on Feb. 21 in Minneapolis. U-M edged out second- place Indiana (1,084 points) to earn its first conference championship since 2018 and its 18th all-time. That leads all Big Ten programs. The women's national meet runs from March 18-21 in Atlanta. The men finished second in the Big Ten Championships a week later in Madison, Wis. No. 3 Indiana won the team title with a 1,544-point output. The men's national championships will take place March 25-28 in Atlanta. TENNIS The U-M men earned their first Big Ten win of the season on March 8, a 4-1 victory over Nebraska in Ann Arbor. Redshirt fresh- man Max Dahlin grabbed both a doubles and singles win in the event that helped U-M im- prove to 5-5 and 1-1 in Big Ten play. The Wol- verines debuted a doubles pair of senior Mert Oral and junior Alex Cairo that helped the team take the doubles point with a 6-1 win. The Michigan women wrapped their first weekend of Big Ten play with a 4-0 victory over Penn State at home, winning the doubles point and the first three matches off court in straight sets. Their record stood at 4-5 and 1-1 in conference play after the victory. MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD For individuals from this year's team quali- fied for the NCAA Indoor Championships March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark., with Miles Brown, Brendan Herger, Camden Law, and Trent McFarland representing the program. The foursome will compete in the distance medley relay after winning the event at the Big Ten Championships with a 9:38.72. The group had a 9:14.80 at the Alex Wilson In- vitational to close out the regular season, which ranks No. 3 all-time on the NCAA's all- conditions list. WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD Junior Elizabeth Tapper was selected for the NCAA Indoor Championships after finishing fourth in the shot put at the Big Ten Cham- pionships with a season-best mark of 17.38 meters, which measured No. 10 in the NCAA this season. It is her second consecutive ap- pearance at the NCAAs. WRESTLING The Wolverines finished fifth out of 14 teams at the Big Ten Championships and saw graduate Taye Ghadiali grab the heavyweight title with a 5-2 win over Nebraska's A.J. Fer- rari. Ghadiali trailed by two points late in the third, but a takedown helped the top-seeded wrestler in the Big Ten and fourth-ranked per- former nationally capture the crown. Ghadiali will be one of six U-M grapplers at the NCAA Championships (March 19-21) along with graduate Lachlan McNeil (third at Big Tens at 149 pounds), redshirt fresh- man Brock Mantanona (third at 184), redshirt sophomore Beau Mantanona (fifth at 174), redshirt freshman Cameron Catrabone (fifth at 157) and graduate Diego Sotelo (sixth at 125). — Anthony Broome WINTER/SPRING SPORTS ROUNDUP The Michigan women's swimming team cap- tured its first conference championship since 2018 and its 18th all-time to lead all Big Ten programs. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY