The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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42 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2019 BY ANDREW HUSSEY M ichigan continued a strong spring with softball, women's tennis and water polo all sweep- ing their conference titles, with each finishing first in the regular season and then capturing the league tour- nament. Women's lacrosse finished its most successful season in program history, while men's tennis ad- vanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Women's golf finished seventh in the Big Ten, but had an exciting freshman emerge this season. Here's a further look at each of those teams whose seasons are complete: WOMEN'S GOLF Best Performance — Finishing fifth at the Lady Buckeye Invita- tional: In their final regular-season tournament, the Wolverines finished in the top five for the second time. Freshman Ashley Lau tied for ninth, which was the first top-10 place- ment of her career. Sophomore Ash- ley Kim tied for 13th, while senior Elodie Van Dievoet tied for 19th. MVP — Lau: She was the third freshman in program history to lead the team in scoring average, posting a mark of 74.16 strokes per round. Honors: Junior Hannah Ghelfi was Michigan's Big Ten Sportsman- ship Award honoree. Notable: Lau was U-M's only rep- resentative in the postseason, receiv- ing a bid as one of six individuals invited to the NCAA East Lansing Regional … This was the Wolver- ines' fourth individual invitation in program history … She finished tied for 47th. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (16-4 OVERALL, 4-2 BIG TEN) Best Performance — Knocking off No. 9 Denver 12-10 Feb. 26: U-M went on the road to pick up a non- conference victory against a top-10 foe. It capped a run of three straight ranked wins for the Wolverines and was part of the team's incredible 13-0 start. MVP — Sophomore attacker Caitlin Muir: She had 59 points this season to become the first player in Michigan history to eclipse the 50-point mark. Her 21 assists were a single-season best in program history, and she had 12 multi-goal games. Honors: Muir and senior defender Madison Richardson were unani- mous All-Big Ten selections … Soph- omore midfielder Maggie Kane was also selected to the All-Big Ten team … Senior goalie Mira Shane, junior midfielder Molly Garrett, Kane and Muir were second-team Intercolle- giate Women's Lacrosse Coaches As- sociation West/Midwest All-Region … Shane was named a Tewaaraton Award nominee, which is given to the top lacrosse player in the country. Notable: The Wolverines made their first postseason appearance in program history and defeated Jack- sonville, 13-9 … Michigan fell 9-5 to Denver in the second round of the NCAA Tournament … U-M defeated six ranked opponents and finished the year with 16 victories — the most in program history. SOFTBALL (45-13 OVERALL, 22-1 BIG TEN) Best Performance — Defeating No. 12 Minnesota in Big Ten Tour- nament Championship May 11: The Wolverines won their 10th Big Ten Tournament title by defeating the Gophers 3-2 behind a strong outing from sophomore pitcher Meghan Beaubien. Going five innings, she gave up only two runs and was named Big Ten Tournament MVP. MVP — Beaubien: After an im- pressive freshman season, she rep- licated her success in 2019. Her 30 wins ranked second most in the Big Ten, while her ERA of 1.87 and 229 strikeouts were fourth. Honors: Freshman outfielder Lexie Blair unanimously earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, while Beaubien and senior second baseman Faith Canfield were also selected to the top team … Blair was named to the All- Freshman team, joining pitcher Alex Storako … Senior outfielder Natalie Peters and senior first baseman Alex Sobczak were named second-team All-Big Ten … Beaubien, Canfield and Sobczak were selected to the All-Defensive team by the league … Beaubien, Canfield and Blair were OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Michigan's Spring Teams End Successful Seasons Freshman Ashley Lau led the Wolverines with a scoring average of 74.16 strokes per round. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY