The Wolverine

June-July 2017

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/822315

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 12 of 75

JUNE/JULY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 13   INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Tennis junior Alex Najarian: The Birming- ham, Mich., native earned All-Big Ten honors for the second time in her career May 4. She was undefeated in the Big Ten regular season at the No. 3 singles position for the Wolver- ines and helped her squad with the regular-season conference title. Along with doubles partner Kate Fahey, the duo is ranked No. 9 nationally and earned the Big Ten's automatic bid in the NCAA Doubles Championship. Track and Field freshman Roland Amarteifio: In his first year as a Wolverine, Amarteifio has had an impressive outdoor season. This spring, he set a career best with a time of 54.48 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles at the Texas Invitational April 14-15, and then improved on that with a time of 54.26 at the Jesse Owens Invitational April 21-22. Both races were top-15 finishes. The rookie out of Evanston, Ill., also took eighth place in the 110-meter hurdles (a wind-aided time of 14.35) at the Longhorn Invitational April 28-29. Tennis junior Alex Knight: The product of Miami Shores, Fla., was one of two Wolverines to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, following a conference season in which he had a 10-1 singles record. With an overall singles mark of 24-9, Knight led the Wolverines in wins and also finished with a 19-6 doubles record. Last season, he was named second-team All- Big Ten. Water polo freshman Maddy Steere: This season, Steere became the fourth Michigan freshman to score 50 goals in a season. The first-year Wolverine from Australia earned All-CWPA first-team honors and was named to the CWPA Champi- onship All-Tournament first team. Through 36 games this season, she was third on the team in points (99) and fourth in steals (43). Track and Field freshman Courtney Jacobsen: The East G re e nw i c h , R . I . , n at i ve h a d posted four top-six finishes dur- ing outdoor season as of May 8, including a pair of third-place showings. She posted a career- best 59.64 meters in the hammer throw twice this spring, including a fifth-place finish at the Longhorn Invitational April 28-29 in the second-to-last event before the Big Ten Championships. "Both Taco [Charlton] and Jourdan [Lewis] will do a great job be- cause they like football, they like to practice football, they like to do the dirty, tough stuff and they've got good courage — great courage — great physical skills and they've done it in games. You're not just looking at two guys who have potential, they've realized their poten- tial." — Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh on Jourdan Lewis and Taco Charlton, who were both drafted by the Dallas Cowboys (MLive) "It's not often you're in a melting pot of people from around the world. So to be able to have a quick interaction, to feel each other out and then to dive into each other's lives a little bit is really unique." — Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight following a meeting with refugees during the team's trip to Rome (ESPN) "This will be a good measuring stick for us to see who's really inter- ested and find out more. It was beneficial to say, in some of those situ- ations, you better go get the ball yourself because sometimes there's not a lot of passing going on, sometimes there is … it depends who your guard set is. For them to go through the interviews is beneficial, as well." — Wolverine basketball coach John Beilein on underclassmen Moritz Wagner and D.J. Wilson, who will be participating in the NBA Draft Combine before deciding if they will return to school (TheWolverine.com) "This seems too easy. The former No. 1 recruit in the country was the No. 1 pick in Michigan's spring game draft. He learned from defensive linemen Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley last year. Gary has the tools to be one of the most disruptive players in the nation. In Don Brown's scheme, that's going to happen." — Sporting News on listing Gary as one of the nation's four breakout defenders for 2017 THEY SAID IT Tyler Donohue, recruiting analyst for Cox Media, in a series of three tweets on the sophomore defensive end. White is a member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame and was a 10-time first-team All-Pro in the NFL "First time covering The Opening's NJ regional without [Rashan Gary] on field (he attended as guest in 2016) … Was told of longtime NFL scout's 1st look at Rashan. After quietly observ- ing drills, he said: 'That's a new breed of cat right there.' That veteran NFL scout then came up with a comparison for Rashan Gary's impact on defense. It's lofty: Reggie White." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolverine - June-July 2017