The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Getting To Know Redshirt Junior Breaststroker Miranda Tucker Women's swimming and diving redshirt junior breast- stroker Miranda Tucker took an interesting path to Michi- gan. The Plymouth, Mich., native began her collegiate career at Indiana, but de- cided to transfer to U-M after just one season in Blooming- ton. Since arriving in Ann Arbor, Tucker has been named a second-team All-Big Ten hon- oree, while also earning All- America honors in the 100- (second nationally) and 200-yard breaststroke (fourth), and honorable mention All-America status in the 400-yard medley relay. Here are a few other interesting facts you may not have known about her: Nickname: "A lot of my teammates call me Mir. Some people named Miranda will go by Randy, but I've been just a good ol' Mir." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "There's one up State Street on campus called Totoro that I like a lot. It's a little Japanese restaurant my teammates and I go to." Best meal she can cook by herself: "I'm pretty good at breakfast. I can make a hearty breakfast for my teammates." Hobbies: "I'm an artsy kind of person, so I love to draw, sing and dance, even though I'm not a good dancer at all." Favorite TV show: "'Impractical Jokers.' I love comedy." Favorite movie: "I really liked James Cameron's 'Avatar.'" Dream vacation: "Anywhere quiet and preferably warm — probably a beach. I could see myself laying in the sand all day." Favorite place she's been to: "I've only been out of the country once, and it was for a swim competition in Taipei. I'd love to travel around the world some more, because being there was quite the experience. It was a little warm, but I handled it well." Favorite professional athlete: "I swim with a lot of them, so I like a lot of the stereotypical Olympic swimmers — Michael Phelps is really cool. There are a few Olympians I've raced against before and see as complete sweethearts, such as Brie Larson and Micah Sumrall." Role model: "My sister. She's 13 years older than I am, so I watched her go through college and jobs. She's an absolute genius, and I really look up to her." Why she chose Michigan: "I was originally at Indiana, but I've always been a homebody. After a year at IU, I just wanted to go home and see my dogs and family, so I came back to Michigan and fell in love with the people." What she hopes to do after swimming and diving: "I'm studying art history at the moment, so I would love to work in a museum some- day — I think I could live in one. I could also see myself selling art and auctioning it off." Her overall experience at Michigan: "It's been lovely. I have grown so much as a person, athlete and as a student in so many ways, and I just continue to improve myself." — Austin Fox Tucker earned All-America honors last year in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, while she also swam on the 400-yard medley relay team that earned All-America honorable mention. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Women's swimming and diving freshman butterfly specialist Maggie MacNeil: On Jan. 9, she was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season after her meet-record-setting perfor- mances in the 50-meter butterfly (26.87) and the 50-meter back- stroke (27.36) at the Orange Bowl Classic Jan. 3 in Key Largo, Fla. MacNeil also swam on both the 200-meter medley relay (1:52.28) and the 200-meter freestyle relay (1:44.00) at the event, both of which were new meet records. Men's soccer senior midfielder Robbie Mertz: He was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the fourth round (No. 76 overall) of the MLS SuperDraft Jan. 14. Mertz became the 13th Wolverine to be taken in the event, and the sixth since head coach Chaka Daley took the helm in 2012. As a senior in 2018, the midfielder was a first-team All-Big Ten selection after he started 21 matches and tallied two goals and four assists. Mertz will team up with former U-M defender Marcello Borges in Colorado, who was also chosen by the Rapids Jan. 11 with the 28th overall pick in the second round. Men's swimming and diving junior breast- stroker Charlie Swanson: On Dec. 18, USA Swimming an- nounced he had been chosen to represent the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games, which will take place Aug. 6-10 in Lima, Peru. The event is the world's third-biggest international multisport games (surpassed by only the Summer Olympics and Asian Games), and Swanson will swim in the 400-meter individual medley there. The junior currently lays claim to being the two-time de- fending Big Ten champion in the short-course 400-yard individual medley. Women's basketball senior center Hallie Thome: She was tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Week Jan. 14 after register- ing double-doubles in contests against Northwestern Jan. 8 and Maryland Jan. 12. In a 79-78 over- time victory over the Wildcats, Thome scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked three shots and dished out two assists. She followed that performance up by pulling down 10 boards and pouring in a game-high 25 points in Michigan's 83-69 loss at No. 9 Maryland. The 25-point show- ing gave Thome 1,911 career points, making her just the third Wolverine in program history to ever cross the 1,900-point threshold.