The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Female Breakthrough Performances In 2011-12 bel, a pole vaulter, first turned heads in the in- door season, taking seventh place at the Big Ten Championships with a vault of 12 feet, 7.5 inches. In the outdoor season, she finished strong as Sophomore Kiley Tobel, Track and Field: To- well, taking sixth at the Big Ten Championships (12-8), 12th at NCAA qualifiers (12-7) and 18th at the NCAA Championships (12-9.5). But her biggest accomplishments came dur- ing the regular season. On Feb. 18, she cleared 13-10.5, smashing the indoor program record of 12-11.5 set by Elizabeth Boyle in 2003. Tobel also broke Boyle's outdoor record. On May 13, she vaulted 13-11, besting Boyle's mark of 13-6.25. Sophomore Yugene Lee, Golf: The sopho- more was one of just three golfers on the team to start all 12 tournaments. She earned second- team All-Big Ten honors and was named to the all-tournament team at the Big Ten Champion- ships after tallying her best score of the season with a 1-over-par 217, shooting 75, 72 and 70 in the three rounds. It was good enough to take second place at the tourna- Outside hitter Lexi Erwin started 34 matches as a sophomore in 2011, and she ranked second on U-M in kills with 361. ment. Purdue's Laura Gonzalez barely squeaked out the win for the conference title, scoring an even-par 216, just one stroke ahead of Lee. Sophomore Lexi Erwin, Volleyball: After starting two games as a freshman, Erwin, an outside hitter, was an inte- gral cog in the Wolverines' offensive game in 2011, starting 34 matches and registering 361 kills — second on the team behind senior Alex Hunt. Erwin had double-digit kills in 22 matches, with a career- PHOTO COURTESY U-M MEDIA RELATIONS in the CWPA Western Division Championship and recorded six hat tricks on the year. Nolan is also an aggressive defender, ranking second on the team in steals with 48. Nolan was named to the All-CWPA Western Division first team and took second-team CWPA all-tournament honors. Sophomore Joanna Sampson, Gymnastics: The Wolver- best 23 kills in a 3-2 loss to No. 14 Minnesota, and posted nine double-doubles (with kills and digs) on the season. Sophomore Kelsey Nolan, Water Polo: Nolan had a solid She had a career-high five points in a 7-6 win over Hartwick ines' MVP, Sampson qualified for the NCAA Championships on the vault, winning her second consecutive NCAA regional title with a 9.925. She also scored highly on the floor (9.8) and beam (9.75) freshman season, tallying 39 points. But she exploded during her sophomore campaign, scoring 39 goals and adding 30 assists for 69 points, second on the team behind junior Kiki Golden (108 points). Ten honors for steeplechase during the outdoor season and second-team all-conference in the 5,000-meter run during the indoor season. 8. Sophomore Nkem Ezurike, Women's Soccer: Ezurike was a dom- inant offensive threat for the Wolver- ines in 2011. She tallied a point on all but nine of Michigan's 26 goals on the year, leading the team with 11 tal- lies, six assists and 28 points. Her offensive prowess reached a the vault (9.925), while U-M teammate Sachi Sugiyama won the event with a 9.95. She earned All-Big Ten honors. — Andy Reid peak Oct. 16 when she tallied the seventh hat trick in program history, scoring all three goals in a 3-1 win over Purdue. Ezurike earned second- team All-Big Ten honors. 9. Senior Dan Madwed, Men's Swimming And Diving: Madwed's senior-year accomplishments would constitute an impressive career, for most. He earned four All-America honors: 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly, 400-yard freestyle relay and 800-yard freestyle relay. He was also an honorable mention All-American in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay, and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Madwed took third at the NCAA Championships in the 100-yard but- terfly (45.57) and set a program, conference and Big Ten Champion- ships record in the 200-yard butterfly (1:41.70), while also winning the 200- yard freestyle, the 800-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay at the league meet. at the event. At the Big Ten Championships, Sampson tied for second on he was named the 2012 Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships. 10. Junior Kiki Golden, Water After his dominating performance, Polo: Golden was an offensive force for the Wolverines in 2012, compil- ing 107 points on the season. Kelsey Nolan, who ranked second on the team, tallied 38 fewer points than Golden, who also led Michigan in both goals (70) and assists (37). Golden was named CWPA Western Division Player Of The Year, first- team all-division and first-team all- tournament. Just Missed: Amanda Chidester (softball), Matt Thompson (golf), Alex Hunt (volleyball) and Emina Betkas (tennis). ❑ AUGUST 2012 THE WOLVERINE 39