The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2018 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Water polo senior attacker Caroline Anderson: She to- taled nine points in March 10 victories over Brown and No. 17 Princeton to give her 396 for her career, setting the school record in the process. Anderson broke Shana Welch's previ- ous program record of 394 points, which she accumulated during a four-year career in Ann Arbor from 2004-07. The senior actually holds the all-time Michigan mark in assists as well, with 234. She will continue to build on both of those records with 12 matches still remaining in the regular season. Softball junior second baseman Faith Canfield: She hauled in Big Ten Player of the Week honors March 5, and added two of the three national Player of the Week awards March 7 (from ESPNW and NFCA). Canfield put on an impres- sive performance at the annual Judi Garman Classic March 1-3 in Fullerton, Calif., going 11 for 19 at the plate (.579 average) during the five-game event, with two home runs, six RBI and a .895 slug- ging percentage. She also had consecutive four-hit games in victories over No. 8 Baylor and No. 18 Louisiana-Lafayette. The Maize and Blue posted a perfect 5-0 record at the event. Ice hockey alumnus Andrew Ebbett: He scored two goals in Team Canada's 6-4 win over the Czech Republic Feb. 24 to claim the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, becoming just the seventh U-M hockey player to earn a medal at the Olympics. Ebbett competed at Michigan from 2002-06 and racked up 143 points (38 goals and 105 assists) during his career — he also helped lead the team to three CCHA Tournament titles (2002, 2003 and 2005). He appeared in five games for the Canadians throughout the 2018 tournament, tallying three points (two goals and one assist) with a plus-3 plus/minus and serving as an alternate captain. Baseball sophomore right-handed pitcher Karl Kauffmann: He earned the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award March 6 after leading the Wolverines to a 5-0 victory over No. 8 Stanford March 3 in the second game of a doubleheader. Kauffmann tossed a career-high 6 2 ⁄3 innings in what was only the third start of his career. He also struck out a career-high 10 batters, while surrender- ing just three hits, and earned the victory in the process. Michigan's victory ended Stanford's 10-game winning streak and handed the Cardinal its first loss of the season. The weekly Big Ten honor, meanwhile, was the first of Kauffmann's career. Men's golf senior Kyle Mueller: He won the individual title with an 8-under-par 208 (71-71- 66) at Pepperdine's Southwestern Jones Invita- tional Feb. 26-27. Mueller's performance was highlighted by seven birdies and a final-round 6-under-par 66. The medalist honor was the fourth of his career — he also won the 2014 Wolverine Intercollegiate, the 2016 Windon Memorial Classic and the 2017 Aggie Invitational — and then he later tied for first at the 2018 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate March 3-4. — Austin Fox Michigan Continues Strong First-Round Play Under Beilein BY ANDREW VAILLIENCOURT Michigan has made the NCAA Tournament eight times in head coach John Beilein's tenure with the Wol- verines — and has established a reputation for winning at least one game in the Big Dance. In those eight appearances, Michigan is 6-2 in the first round and 7-1 in the team's opening game. The difference in those records comes from 2016, where Michigan beat Tulsa in the First Four before advancing to play No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the first round. The one season where U-M fell in its first game was 2012, when Ohio got the best of the No. 4-seeded Wol- verines. They are not just beating small mid-major schools in the first round either. By year, U-M has been a No. 10 seed, a No. 8 seed, a No. 4 seed, a No. 4 seed, a No. 2 seed, a No. 11 seed, a No. 7 seed and, this season, a No. 3 seed. In Michigan's first-round game this year, it defeated Montana 61-47 — despite spotting the Grizzlies a 10-point lead to start the game. Montana head coach Travis DeCuire was complimentary of the Wolverines after the contest. "Their defense was a little better than ours tonight, but all respect to that team," DeCuire said. "It's a very well-coached team, probably one of the better coached teams in the country. "They don't beat themselves. They defend, and they don't take bad shots, so that's going to be a very dif- ficult team to beat." MICHIGAN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST- ROUND GAMES UNDER JOHN BEILEIN Year Opponent Result 2009 Clemson W, 62-59 2011 Tennessee W, 75-45 2012 Ohio L, 65-60 2013 South Dakota State W, 71-56 2014 Wofford W, 57-40 2016 Notre Dame L, 70-63* 2017 Oklahoma State W, 92-91 2018 Montana W, 61-47 * Michigan beat Tulsa in the First Four before facing Notre Dame John Beilein's teams have won its first game at both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments in seven of his 11 years at the helm. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL