The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 61 OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE same day … Senior first baseman Tera Blanco and junior second baseman Faith Canfield both joined Beaubien as All-Big Ten first-team selections, while junior catcher Katie Alexander landed on the All-Big Ten second team … On May 10, Beaubien was named one of 10 finalists for both the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Freshman of the Year awards … U-M earned its 24th consecutive bid to the NCAA Championship and will open with Notre Dame in the Lexington (Ky.) Regional May 18. MEN'S TENNIS 22-5 OVERALL, 8-2 BIG TEN Michigan picked up a 7-0 victory over Nebraska on its Senior Day April 22, concluding the year with an 11-1 re- cord at the Varsity Tennis Center … Se- niors Alex Knight and Runhao Hua were each chosen as All-Big Ten first-team selections April 26 … After falling to Illinois 4-1 April 28 in the Big Ten Tour- nament semifinals, Michigan began NCAA Tournament action by blanking Cleveland State 4-0 May 12 … Senior Carter Lin won his 20th singles match of the year in the victory … U-M shut out No. 25 Notre Dame 4-0 May 13 in the second round of the NCAA Tourna- ment to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 2008 and just the fourth time since 1980 … Michigan is scheduled to take on UCLA May 18 in Winston-Salem, N.C. … Knight checked in as the No. 17 singles player in the May 3 Oracle/ITA Division I rankings, while Hua was tabbed at No. 47; the two were also pegged as the No. 23 doubles duo … The outlet placed the Maize and Blue as a team at No. 15 … Both Knight and Hua will take part in the NCAA Individual Championships as singles players and a doubles team. WOMEN'S TENNIS 18-10 OVERALL, 10-1 BIG TEN The Wolverines kicked off the Big Ten Tournament by blanking Michigan State 4-0 in the quarterfinals April 27 … U-M grabbed a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 19 Illinois in the semifinals, in which junior Brienne Minor and sophomore Chiara Lommer's victories at No. 3 and No. 2 singles, respectively, clinched the win … The Maize and Blue took down No. 12 Northwestern 4-3 in the champi- onship match April 29, marking the third conference tournament title in school history … Junior Kate Fahey earned her second consecutive bid to the NCAA Singles Championship … On May 3, she was tabbed as the Big Ten Athlete of the Year, while Minor and Lommer also earned All-Big Ten recognition … Michi- gan checked in at No. 17 in the May 3 edition of the Oracle/ITA Division I poll … The outlet tabbed Fahey at No. 29 and Lommer at No. 97 in the singles rankings … Michigan defeated Hawai'i 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tour- nament May 11, but its season came to an end with a 4-0 loss to No. 15 Stanford in the second round May 12. MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD Fifth-year senior distance runner Ben Flanagan made his 2018 outdoor debut April 21 at the Stanford Cardinal Clas- sic, claiming the victory in the 10,000 meters with a 29:33.07 performance that was the second fastest of his career … On April 28 at the National Relay Championships, junior thrower Andrew Liskowitz broke the school's shot put re- cord by recording a win at 20.28 meters (66 feet, 6.5 inches); he earned Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week recognition May 2 as a result … On the first day of action at the Big Ten Outdoor Champi- onships May 11-13, Flanagan tallied his second league title in the 10,000 me- ters in three seasons, crossing the line in 30:23.86 … Senior thrower Joe Ellis accumulated a third-round hammer throw of 72.72 meters (238 feet, seven inches) to set a new school record … U-M finished fourth out of 12 teams on the final day of action at the event, and were led by individual wins from junior sprinter Taylor McLaughlin and fifth-year senior distance runner Aaron Baumgarten in the 400-meter hurdles (49.62) and the 5,000 meters (14:21.28), respectively … The NCAA East Prelimi- naries will be held May 24-26 in Tampa, Fla., and qualifiers will advance to the NCAA Championships June 6-9 in Eu- gene, Ore. WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD Senior middle-distance runner Jamie Morrissey recorded a 4:11.48 in the in- vitational section of the 1,500 meters at the Stanford Cardinal Classic April 21, moving her up to No. 3 on Michigan's all-time list for the fastest-ever time by a Wolverine prior to the postseason … She earned Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week honors April 25 … Fifth-year se- nior distance runner Erin Finn grabbed her program-leading 10th career indi- vidual conference title at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 11-13, when she ran the 10,000 meters in 32:45.51 … U-M wrapped up the event by finishing in a tie for fifth place out of 13 teams … The NCAA East Preliminar- ies will be held May 24-26 in Tampa, Fla., and qualifiers will advance to the NCAA Championships June 6-9 in Eu- gene, Ore. ❏ The women's tennis team (ranked No. 23 nationally at the time) went 10-1 in Big Ten play during the regular season, and then ripped off three straight victories April 27-29 — over Michigan State, No. 19 Illinois and No. 12 Northwestern — to claim the third Big Ten Tournament title in program history. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY