The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 67 OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE they were unbelievably selfless, hard working, team oriented and that's what makes a great championship team — every single person believing in their role and doing it to the best of their abilities." The team, which set a school record with 16 shutouts, also won the Big Ten Tournament — by a combined score of 6-0 in three games — and hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. After two shutout victories at home, they traveled to Louisville, Ky., to face Maryland Nov. 17 in the NCAA semifinals. WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CLAIMS SECOND CONSECUTIVE CONFERENCE TITLE Michigan women's cross country head coach Mike McGuire saw his team capture its 11th Big Ten title under his tutelage (since 1992) Oct. 29 in Bloomington, Ind. Despite the fact that his teams have won 10 other conference championships in his career, McGuire admitted the feeling never gets old. "They are always special," he said. "We had a veteran crew led by two fifth- year seniors in Jamie Morrisey and Gina Sereno, along with several other seniors in the lineup. "It was a great way for them to finish up their Michigan cross country careers." U-M won a Big Ten title last year as well, and McGuire noted how difficult it is to win the league in consecutive years. "It's never easy," he admitted. "You appreciate the titles because you know how much work goes into them, but it's a team effort. Everybody involved plays a factor — the training staff, the weight room staff and obviously the student- athletes. It's never an easy task, and that's why I don't take it for granted. "We felt all along like we had a shot to win it — it was a goal from the first day of the season. We knew we had a big void to fill with the graduation of Erin Finn, so reaching our goals this year was a collective effort. I'd say we demonstrated that very well." McGuire revealed that several runners took major steps forward this season from last, and that was one of the biggest factors that led to this year's success, especially at the Big Ten Championships. "I'm proud of how much growth and improvement we had," he said. "We had three athletes who improved their place from last year in a big way. Jamie Morrisey moved up 22 places [to finish third], [sophomore] Madeline Trevisan moved up 19 spots [to place 16th] and [redshirt junior] Claire Borchers moved up 21 places [for 17th]. "[Fifth-year senior] Sarah Zieve, [fifth- year senior] Sophie Linn and [redshirt junior] Ellie Leonard were all better than they were last year as well." McGuire was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the 11th time in his career Oct. 31, but he was quick to give credit elsewhere. "I'm honored to be recognized by my peers, but it's a byproduct of having the best team out there," he said. He also insisted the team still has goals it wants to accomplish. "We'd like to continue our momentum and improve our national ranking. We'll need our best race to crack the final four and get to the podium [at the NCAA Championships] — we feel we're capable of doing that." The back-to-back Big Ten titles marked the first time the Wolverines accomplished the feat since winning five straight from 2002-06. U-M checked in at No. 8 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll released Oct. 31 and clinched a berth to the NCAA Championships for the 16th straight year with a team title at the Great Lakes Regional Nov. 10 in Terre Haute, Ind. Like at the Big Ten meet, Morrisey and Sereno were the top finishers. Morrisey placed third at Big Tens, followed by Sereno in fourth, while at regionals Sereno was the top finisher, taking runner-up honors, and Morrisey was third. MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY SQUAD WINS SECOND LEAGUE TITLE IN THREE YEARS Men's cross country head coach Kevin Sullivan led his Wolverines to their second Big Ten title in three years Oct. 29, and was named conference Coach of the Year in the process. However, he explained the runners deserve the credit for his personal award. "It's a testament to the guys on the team," Sullivan said. "They're the ones who line up and race. I'm helping guide them and get them to the line, but there's no timeouts or substitutions once the gun goes off — it's on each individual guy." The Maize and Blue had a disappointing campaign last season, and Sullivan discussed how this year's championship was redemption in some ways. "We finished fifth last season in the Big Ten, and that's not a position we want to be in," he recalled. "We're constantly striving for Big Ten championships, or at least being competitive at the conference level. When it came to championship time last year, we weren't competitive. "The Big Ten is traditionally one of the stronger cross country conferences in the nation, so it's certainly a challenge. We knew coming in there would be four or five teams ranked in the top 30 in the country that we were going to be battling. We certainly felt good about where we were at, but knew it'd be a difficult task." One year after missing the NCAA Championships, Sullivan detected a driven team from day one and that came to fruition with the league title. Michigan's women's cross country squad won the Big Ten and NCAA Great Lakes Regional crowns ahead of the NCAA Championships, which were slated for Nov. 18 in Louisville, Ky. PHOTO BY JAMES BROSHER