The Wolverine

August 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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AUGUST 2018 THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANDREW VAILLIENCOURT T he University of Michigan's varsity athletic teams won 12 conference championships across its 29 sports during the 2017-18 school year. Four of those championships were regular-season titles, while the other eight came via conference tourna- ments. That total equals a school record set in 2004-05, and is believed to be a Big Ten record for conference champion- ships in a single school year, according to MGoBlue.com. The four regular-season championships came in wom- en's gymnastics, field hockey, softball and men's soccer. They combined to go 103-27-3 (.774 winning percentage) overall and 40-5-1 (.870) in Big Ten play. The eight conference tournament winners were men's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, women's gymnastics, women's tennis, women's water polo, and women's swimming and diving. Women's gymnastics dominated the Big Ten field, recording its 23rd conference title in coach Bev Plocki's career. That ties the record for most league champion- ships by a single coach in Big Ten history, matching the mark set by former Indiana men's swimming and diving coach Doc Counsilman. It's the fifth consecutive year that Michigan has won the league, and they were led by Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Year Paige Zaziski, a senior. Field hockey saw remarkable growth from last season. The team won nine more games than it did in 2016-17 and dominated its way to both a regular-season and conference tournament title, reaching the NCAA semi- finals and setting a school record for victories. Senior midfielder/back Katie Trombetta was the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Tournament MVP, and was also named a first-team All-American. Softball continued its winning tradition, reclaiming the Big Ten regular-season crown after having its streak of nine straight conference titles snapped last year. Fresh- man pitcher Meghan Beaubien led the NCAA with 33 wins, against only six losses. She became the second Wolverine to be named a first-team All-American as a freshman, joining Sara Griffin (1995), and was named the league's Pitcher and Freshman of the Year. Inside Michigan ATHLETICS Michigan Brings Home 12 Conference Championships In 2017-18 Michigan swept the men's and women's trophies at the Big Ten Cross County Championships for the first time since 1993. PHOTO BY JAMES BROSHER/MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY

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