The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE 68 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2017 after missing the first half of the season due to academic ineligibility … Marody has three points in four games and is now the center of the first line … Fresh- man goaltender Hayden Lavigne leads the team with a 2.36 goals-against aver- age and a .932 save percentage. — Orion Sang MEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD The preseason USTFCCCA rankings released Jan. 9 tabbed Michigan No. 26 nationally and fourth in the Big Ten, behind No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Penn State and No. 21 Ohio State … Michi- gan's middle-distance and distance ath- letes opened the 2017 season in Nash- ville, Tenn., competing at the Vanderbilt Invitational Jan. 13-14 … The Maize and Blue won distance medley relay on day one … U-M kicked off its season in full Jan. 14 with a number of its athletes competing in the Simmons-Harvey In- vitational at the U-M Indoor Track Build- ing; the meet signified the last colle- giate competition in the historic venue, which opened in 1974 … The Wolver- ines won six different events, includ- ing victories from freshman Stephen Hagan (200 meters), sophomores Joe Ellis (weight throw), Kevin Hall (mile) and Matthew Plowman (800 meters), junior Grant Cartwright (shot put) and fifth-year senior Drake Johnson (60-me- ter hurdles). — Austin Fox WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD The preseason USTFCCCA rankings released Jan. 9 tabbed Michigan No. 12 nationally and second in the Big Ten, trailing only No. 10 Purdue … The Wol- verines kicked off their season Jan. 14 at the U-M Indoor Track Building, marking the final collegiate event at the historic venue that opened in 1974 … Michigan unveiled its championship banners for the 2016 outdoor track and field and 2016 cross country Big Ten champion- ships during the meet … The Maize and Blue claimed four event titles (high jump, 60 meters, 400 meters and 600 meters) while also setting 15 new per- sonal records … On Jan. 14, five U-M athletes were inducted into the wom- en's track and field program's Hall of Fame, including Melissa Bickett (2001- 04), Casey Taylor (2006-09), Rebecca Walter (2003, 2005-06), Richelle Webb (1991-94) and Erin Webster (2004-07). — Austin Fox MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING On Jan. 3, Michigan ended its 2017 training trip by winning 11 of 12 events and finishing in first place at the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Fla. … Senior Vinny Tafuto won both the 100-meter butterfly (53.86) and the 50-meter but- terfly (23.79, a new meet record) … Michigan placed first, second and third in the 50-meter and 100-meter races of the breaststroke events, with freshman Jacob Montague winning both (28.35, 1:01.28) … The Maize and Blue featured three different winners in the freestyle events, culminating with seniors Cam- eron Stitt (3:57.88) and Jack Mangan (3:58.55), sophomore Mokhtar Al-Yamani (4:01.44) and freshman Charlie Swanson (4:01.76) finishing first, second, third and fourth in the 400-meter freestyle … Ju- nior Tristan Sanders won the 100-meter backstroke (54.07) … On Jan. 4, Tafuto was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week, while Montague was tabbed as Freshman of the Week … Though Michi- gan fell 167-133 at No. 5 Indiana Jan. 13, it got individual victories from Sanders (200-yard backstroke), junior PJ Ransford (1,000-yard freestyle) and freshman Felix Aubock (500-yard freestyle). — Austin Fox WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING On Dec. 21, freshman Kristen Hayden finished 10th (678.00) in the finals of the women's three-meter springboard com- petition at the 2016 U.S. Winter National Championships … Michigan ended its 2017 training trip with a first-place fin- ish in the Orange Bowl Classic Jan. 3 in Key Largo, Fla.; the Wolverines won all 12 events, while setting nine new meet records in the process … Sophomore Yirong Bi won the 400-meter freestyle (4:10.80), and fellow sophomore Siob- han Haughey won the 100-meter free- style (55.25) and the 200-meter indi- vidual medley (2:17.14) … Freshman Vanessa Krause came out victorious in both the 50-meter butterfly (27.84) and the 100-meter butterfly (1:00.92), while junior Clara Smiddy came out on top in the 50-meter backstroke (29.15) and the 100-meter backstroke (1:01.39) … Junior Emily Kopas set new meet records for the 50-meter breaststroke (31.93) and 100-meter breaststroke (1:09.37) … On Jan. 4, Kopas was named Big Ten Swim- mer of the Week, while Krause earned Freshman of the Week honors … On Jan. 13, Michigan won 12 of 16 events in a 211-87 victory at No. 13 Indiana, in which Haughey claimed three victories, while Bi, Krause and Smiddy each captured two. — Austin Fox WRESTLING (4-3 OVERALL, 1-3 BIG TEN) In a Jan. 6 match against Iowa, No. 10 redshirt freshman Myles Amine earned a 6-5 decision against No. 13 Alex Meyer at 174 pounds; the victory marked Amine's fourth over a ranked opponent this sea- son … On Jan. 13, the Wolverines picked up their first Big Ten win of the year with a 25-16 defeat of Maryland … Amine and 197-pound redshirt freshman Jackson Striggow each earned major decisions against the Terrapins … Redshirt fresh- man 165-pounder Logan Massa turned in the most dominant win for the Maize and Blue, scoring seven takedowns, a reversal and 2:36 riding time to capture a techni- cal fall … Massa, who is ranked second nationally at his weight class, has now col- lected 12 bonus-point wins on the year, while Amine has garnered 10 … Michigan won four matches (earning bonus points in two) in a 28-15 defeat at No. 6 Nebraska Jan. 15 … Redshirt freshman 133-pounder Stevan Micic handed the Cornhuskers' Eric Montoya, who was ranked No. 3 nation- ally, his first loss of the season with a 13-7 upset victory … Micic was ranked eighth in the land heading into that bout. — Austin Fox Redshirt freshman 133-pounder Stevan Micic, who is listed No. 4 nationally by FloWrestling, is one of four Wolverines ranked in the top 10 of his weight class by the website. PHOTO BY TONY ROTUNDO