The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Student-Athlete Of The Month The Michigan Field Hockey Team It always seemed like the Michigan field hockey team was close, but never quite there. But as Eileen Brandes, majoring in biology with a minor in French, is set to graduate in May, she and the Wol- verines finally reached it — a team-wide GPA above 3.0. "As a program, our student-athletes know that it's important to do the best they can academically," head coach Marcia Pankratz said. "It's an important piece to what they're doing, and it's not an easy thing — to balance all of it. I'm very proud of them. They're just great kids. "It's something they know is the right thing to strive for. We're trying to do better each and every semester. They represent something bigger than themselves and they know that. standard, Michigan was honored recently with the NFHCA National Academic Team Award. "It says a lot of our under- For reaching the 3.0 " classmen and how they're getting in the right direc- tion, have to be a straight-A stu- dent, but to be above a 3.0 is a very solid GPA, and it says a lot to be able to achieve that at Michigan while being a student-athlete. "I'm really proud of the girls with what they've done. " Brandes said. "You don't Eileen Brandes and the rest of the U-M field hockey squad posted a team-wide GPA above 3.0. ual National Academic honors from the NFHCA, joining sophomore Rachael Mack, sophomore Samantha Gray, redshirt freshman Lauren Hauge and true freshmen Aline Fobe and Axelle Wouters. Brandes won the individual honor for the fourth time in her career, Brandes was one of six members of the team to also garner individ- " becoming the fifth Wolverine ever to do so. "School is the most important thing. That's why they're at the Uni- versity of Michigan — to be students," Pankratz said. "And they're Brandes is moving on, but she is encouraged by what the team's academic success means for its future endeavors. "Individually, there will always be people who get good grades, but " you're in a team sport, you can't excel without the rest of your team, so to reach this goal, it epitomizes what we do together, athletes after that. Not only is it trying to do the best in the class- room that they can, but it's setting them up for the rest of their lives. They're helping themselves become successful adults. They do a terrific job at it. Baseball sophomore Michael O'Neill: The out- fielder has twice been named the Big Ten Player of the Week this season. He took home the title Feb. 27 after hitting .533 with five doubles and three RBI while stealing five bases in weekend action Feb. 24-26, and was named the conference's best again March 5 after a weekend in which he hit .500 with three home runs and nine RBI. In 16 games through March 13, O'Neill was hitting .394 with six home runs, 17 RBI and 10 steals. Softball freshman Lauren Sweet: The rookie TOP PERFORMERS OF THE MONTH MICHIGAN'S catcher has been getting it done for the Wolverines this season, leading U-M with a .323 average through 23 games. Sweet was especially effective at the Citrus Classic March 2-4. Back- stopping Michigan to a 4-1 record, the Corona, Calif., native hit .500 (7 for 14) with five RBI. She ranks third on the team this spring with 11 RBI, third in home runs (two), and first in hits (20) and slugging percentage (.516). Men's swimming and diving junior Ryan Feeley: The Rye, N.Y., native will be one of 13 Wolverines to represent Michigan at the NCAA Championships March 22- 24. Feeley has qualified in two events, boasting the nation's fastest time this season in the 500-yard freestyle (4:15.12) while swimming the fourth- fastest time in the 1,650-yard freestyle (14:45.23). Feeley leads a strong U-M contingent — sopho- mores Connor Jaeger and Sean Ryan rank third (4:15.65) and fourth (4:16.47) nationally, respec- tively, in the 500-yard event. Women's gymnast sophomore Joanna Samp- son: An all-around champion in back- to-back meets, Sampson scored a 39.250 to record the night's best score in a narrow loss to No. 1 Utah Feb. 17 and then recorded a 39.375 to best Oklahoma's gymnasts in another close defeat to the second-ranked Sooners Feb. 24. The Willow Grove, Pa., native has now cap- tured the all-around title three times this year. Water polo junior Kiki Golden: One of Michi- said. "To do it during the season, it shows how much we have each other's back. "We'll be in a hotel room the night before a game, and you're help- " Brandes ing each other out. If you took a similar class, you're asking your teammate if she needs any help. We're being proactive and getting it done, because ultimately, your grades are what's going to help you in the next phase of your life. " 18 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2012 — Andy Reid gan's top offensive performers in each of her first two seasons, Golden has emerged as U-M's go-to scorer this year. The Danville, Calif., native led the Maize and Blue with 37 goals in 18 games through March 13 and needed just two more to eclipse her career high of 39 in 2011. Golden has scored in 16 contests this season and has notched a hat trick in five of those 16. She is also the active leader in goals among the Wolverines with 115, needing nine more to crack U-M's all-time top 10.