The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2017 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Student-Athlete Of The Month Swimming and Diving Senior PJ Ransford PJ Ransford came to Michigan knowing exactly what he wanted to do. He was going to swim and study engineering, both of which he has done at the highest level since arriving in Ann Arbor. "I wasn't sure what type [of engineering], but I had a lot of interest in math, science and technology in high school," Ransford said. In the classroom, the Pittsford, N.Y., native has excelled while study- ing mechanical engineering. Ransford has been named a three-time College Swimming Coaches Association Academic All-American. He also earned the 2017 Elite 90 Award for men's swimming and diving, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumu- lative grade-point average participating at the finals for each of the NCAA's 90 championships, thanks to his perfect GPA. He is just the fourth from U-M (in any sport) to win the prestigious honor. Swimming and engineering both helped Ransford end up at U-M, but the fact that his father is a former Wolverine did not. "My parents were worried that was going to influence my decision when I was getting recruited," he said. "I came to Michigan because they have an incredible swim team, especially a storied distance program. Being a distance swimmer, I felt like Michigan had the best distance group in the country. Their engineering school is incredible — also one of the best in the country — so for me it was a perfect fit." In the pool, Ransford has been at the head of the pack from an early age. He began swimming at the age of five, and shortly after that found his way to the distance specialization of the sport. In high school, Ransford was a four-time New York state champion and he has only gotten better from there. In 2015 and 2017, he was named an NCAA All-American in the 1,650-yard freestyle, and he was the 2016 Big Ten champion in that race. He has also excelled on an even bigger stage, placing fifth in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and 16th in the 400-meter freestyle. Though the balance between his school and athletics takes ex- treme discipline, Ransford sees it as a simple process. "You've got to be really efficient with your time," he said. "There's no secret … I've been really good about not procrastinating in college, and that's also a big help." Though Ransford enters his senior year this fall, he hopes to con- tinue his engineering education as a graduate student at U-M. He isn't as sure about what the future holds for his swimming career, although he did make the 2016-17 U.S. National Team. "I need to figure that out in the next couple months," Ransford said. "I'm taking it one step at a time. I wish I had that figured out already." With one more year of college eligibility, Ransford has time to make that decision, but if his résumé is any indication, there is still plenty more to come from one of Michigan's top distance swimmers. — Leland Mitchinson Ransford earned All-America honors in 2015 and 2017 for the 1,650-yard freestyle, and won the Big Ten title in that race in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Wrestling associate head coach Sean Bormet: The 1994 U-M graduate and current assistant will serve on the coaching staff for the United States men's freestyle team at the United World Wrestling Cadet World Cham- pionships from Sept. 7-11 in Athens, Greece. Bormet is a three-time winner of the Terry McCann Award as the USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year (2006, 2008 and 2010) and is viewed as one of the country's top freestyle coaches. Women's basketball freshman Hailey Brown: Brown played on the No. 4-ranked Canada Basketball U-19 Team from July 22-30 at the FIBA World Cup in Udine and Cividale del Friuli, Italy. The forward from Ontario helped Canada capture the bronze medal — the country's first ever at that age level — with a 6-1 record. Brown averaged 10.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game, and notched double-dou- bles versus Korea (10 points and 13 rebounds) and China (13 points and 13 rebounds). Baseball pitching coach Chris Fetter: Michigan head coach Erik Bakich announced July 24 that the former Wolverine has been hired to serve as the team's pitching coach. Fetter was previously the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor league pitching coor- dinator, and he served as the pitch- ing coach at Ball State in 2015. Prior to his graduation from Michigan in 2009, Fetter was a four-year letterwinner with the Wolver- ines, an All-American, a three-time All-Big Ten selec- tion and the owner of the school record for innings pitched (332 1 ⁄3). Women's lacrosse assistant coach Ana Hene- berry: Heneberry was added to the women's lacrosse staff as an assistant coach July 17. She spent the last three years at Boston University, working primarily with the team's defense, which is the same po- sition she'll hold at U-M. Heneberry played lacrosse collegiately at Loyola (Md.) from 2009-12, where she helped lead the Greyhounds to back-to-back conference titles during her final two seasons. Women's gymnastics assistant coach Scott Vetere: Vetere was named an assistant coach for the women's gymnastics team July 28. He graduated from Michigan in 2003 and was as an assistant coach for the men's gymnastics team from 2005-09. Dur- ing his collegiate days, Vetere was a 10-time NCAA All- American and a member of Michigan's 1999 national championship team; he was also a six-time member of the U.S. National Team. — Austin Fox