The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 53 OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Best Win: 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 15-10) over Northern Arizona Aug. 30 Michigan used double-digit kills from four players — senior Sydney Wetter- strom, sophomore Paige Jones, and freshmen May Pertofsky and Jess Rob- inson — in a stirring comeback perfor- mance. Senior setter MacKenzi Welsh had 52 assists and junior libero Natalie Smith had 12 digs to aid in the victory. MVP: Senior setter MacKenzi Welsh The senior captain contributes in all phases of the game, recording a team-best 296 assists, in addition to 10 blocks, 50 digs and six service aces for Michigan in the opening eight contests. Player To Watch: Freshman middle blocker/outside hitter May Pertofsky Playing like a veteran in her debut sea- son, Pertofsky leads the Wolverines in blocks (22) and ranks second with 3.11 points per game. Must-See Match: Sept. 22 vs. Notre Dame The Irish return U-M's visit from four days earlier for a 3 p.m. matchup in Ann Arbor. ESPNU will provide television coverage. U-M SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAMS KEEP STRIVING FOR MORE Michigan swimming and diving head coach Mike Bottom summed up the team goals for the 2019-20 season for both men's and women's teams with a couple of simple sentences. "We're looking to be a team this year like we've never been," Bottom said. "We're working to get a real under- standing of our purpose, not just in the pool, but our purpose as champions — to be together, to support each other. "Whatever place we finish at the end of the year, we want to have our shoul- ders back, our heads held high and know we've reached as close to our po- tential as possible." A more in-depth look at the men and women is below: Men's Swimming and Diving Big Ten Predicted Finish: Battle for first place with Indiana Coach's Expectations: "We always want to compete for the Big Ten cham- pionship," associate head coach Josh White stated. "We want to improve at the NCAA Championships. "We've got a really good returning team. We've got a lot of seniors who provide great leadership. We're also returning Felix Aubock, who had the third-most individual points at the NCAAs [last year]. We've got a lot of po- tential and living up to that potential is really important to us this year." Top Swimmer: "You have to go with Felix Aubock because he's the reigning NCAA champion in the 1,650 [meters]," White said. "He's coming in motivated and has started off practice a world ahead of where he started last year. We're excited to see what he can do through the entire range of his events. "[Senior] Charlie Swanson was the fifth-fastest swimmer in the world in the 400 IM [individual medley] this summer. That was a big step forward for him at the international level. "He's an exciting swimmer who has defied expectations. He came in as a tall, skinny guy who was known to be great at distance events. People said he really didn't have any speed. Last year, he was on our 200 and 400 freestyle relays. His range of events is unbeliev- able. It's fun to watch him take on new challenges." Swimmer To Watch: "[Sophomore] Patrick Callan is somebody we're really looking forward to watch continue to develop," White said. "He had a good year last year and was the highest- placing freshman at NCAAs in the 500 freestyle." Top Diver: "[Junior] Ross Todd re- gained a spot on the Australian Na- tional Team this summer," diving coach Mike Hilde said. "He's very close to mak- ing an Olympic spot at the individual 10 meter. He earned us a medal at the Big Tens." Must-See Event: Michigan travels to Bloomington, Ind., Nov. 2 to face off with conference rival Indiana, which placed third at the NCAA Champion- ships last year on the strength of four national titles. Women's Swimming and Diving Big Ten Predicted Finish: A Big Ten title is clearly within the reach of this year's women's team. Coach's Expectations: "Here at Michi- gan, we always want to challenge for a Big Ten team title," associate head coach Rick Bishop said. "It takes a real team to win a championship, and we hope to have greater depth in individual scoring. "Last year we had some superstars on the team, which created an opportunity this year for people who weren't at that level to step up. We're going to have to have greater depth." Top Swimmer: "We've got a world champion [gold medalist in the 100-me- ter butterfly at the 2019 FINA World Championships, beating defending Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom from Sweden] in sophomore Maggie MacNeil from Canada, but we also have some phenomenal athletes from Team USA," said Bishop. "[Junior] Sierra Schmidt was an NCAA finalist in the 1,650 and U.S. team member this summer. She was runner-up at U.S. Nationals." Swimmer To Watch: "We've got a great freshman in Kaitlyn Sims," Bishop noted. "She walks in the door with the potential to be scoring at the NCAAs." Top Diver: "Junior Christy Cutshaw is one of our more powerful divers," diving coach Mike Hilde said. "Junior Camryn McPherson, a transfer from Ohio State, is going to be very, very good." Must-See Event: All roads lead to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Big Ten Champi- onships Feb. 19-22. ❑ Senior Felix Aubock swam in the 2016 Olympics, was the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year as a freshman in 2016-17 and broke through for his first NCAA championship last year in the 1,650- yard freestyle. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS