What Else Is Blue: Senior Day Part 2

In Part One, we went through the seniors for women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, rowing, softball, men’s swimming, men’s tennis, men’s track, and wrestling. In the last What Else Is Blue until the fall, today we’re covering the rest of the winter and spring sports.

Softball

The softball seniors will graduate having won two straight Big Ten regular season titles, with a sweep of both the regular season and Big Ten Tournament titles in 2019. They made the NCAA Tournament all three years, earning a seed and hosting rights as juniors. Some or all of the softball seniors may choose to return if the NCAA grants an extra year of eligibility.

Abby Skvarce started 12 games during her senior season and hit .297, which was the team lead. In her prior career she had primarily appeared off the bench, and will graduate with a .337 average.

Madison Uden was a regular starter for most of her sophomore, junior, and senior years, achieving 30 RBI seasons as both a sophomore and junior. As a junior, she hit a game-winning extra inning RBI in the NCAA Tournament against James Madison.

Thais Gonzalez worked her way into a platoon in the outfield her senior year, starting 11 games. While she did not have enough at bats to qualify as the team leader, she hit well, batting .357 in 28 at bats.

Hayley Hoogenrad was a regular starter each of her final three years as a Wolverine. She hit .250 as a senior, with her best game being a 2-3, 3 run affair against Florida.

Women’s Tennis

The women’s tennis team’s seniors won two Big Ten Championships, and made the NCAA Tournament all three years. As juniors, they helped Michigan make it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, after beating DePaul and Kentucky in Ann Arbor, both with 4-0 sweeps. Some or all of the tennis seniors may choose to return if the NCAA grants an extra year of eligibility.

Chiara Lommer will graduate with an 89-30 record in singles play. She participated in the NCAA Singles Tournament as a junior, earning a first round upset and finishing the season ranked #43. She won the ITA Midwest Fall Championship as a sophomore, and was the runner-up in the same tournament as a junior.

Gulia Pairone transferred from Arkansas her junior year, and spent two years at Michigan. She will graduate having finished the season ranked #30 in the country in singles play. As a Senior, Pairone won the ITA Midwest Fall Championship. She went 38-24 in singles during her career.

Lera Patiuk primarily played doubles during dual matches. She went 6-1 at doubles with Alyvia Jones as a junior.

Wrestling

The wrestling seniors earned two consecutive top-5 finishes at the NCAA Championships their sophomore and junior years, part of a run of four straight top 10s. They topped out at third in the deep Big Ten, finishing seventh their senior year.

Eligibility is tricky with these Wolverines. Stevan Micic, Myles Amine, and Logan Massa are all fifth-year seniors as it is, but qualified for Olympic redshirts so they could spend the year training for Olympic qualification and the Olympics themselves. Micic and Amine have already qualified for Tokyo, whenever it happens. It would be extraordinary if the NCAA granted them a third redshirt, even given the circumstances. As such, we’re going to mention them here.

Myles Amine was a three time All-American, finishing fifth, fourth, and third at 174 pounds during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. He also claimed two consecutive runner-up performances at the Big Ten Championships. Amine redshirted his freshman year, and redshirted again as a fifth year senior to prepare for the Olympics. Amine is already qualified for the 2020 Olympics, having reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, competing for San Marino.

Austin Assad redshirted his freshman year, and then spent much of his sophomore and junior years out with injury. As a senior, he won the 125-pound division at the Cleveland State Open, and started eight dual meets at 133 pounds as a redshirt senior.

Logan Massa made the NCAA tournament in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons after redshirting his freshman year. He did not compete this year, having taken an Olympic redshirt. Massa’s best NCAA finish was third place at 165 pounds his sophomore year. He also earned three consecutive top 5 finishes at the Big Ten Championships. Massa has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, originally scheduled for April but now postponed.

Jackson Striggow compiled a 19-10 record at 197 pounds as a redshirt senior. Striggow finished in seventh place at the Big Ten Championships, and had qualified for his first NCAA Championship.

Ben Lamantia finished with a 6-5 overall record as a redshirt senior, competing at 149 pounds. He finished in fifth place at the Michigan State Open this year.

Stevan Micic finished in the top five in three consecutive NCAA Championships, competing at 133 pounds. His best finish was his junior year, when he was runner up. Micic also won the Big Ten title in that same year. Micic has already qualified for the Toyko Olympics, having made the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Wrestling Championships. He competes for Serbia. Like Amine, he redshirted both his freshman year and his fifth-year.

Water Polo

The water polo seniors will graduate having never lost a conference tournament game. These Wolverines won the CWPA Championship all three times they competed in it. During their tenure, the Wolverines were always in the top 12. They made three straight NCAA Tournaments. They may be granted an extra year of eligibility.

Cameron Cordial is a goalkeeper. On her Senior Day, she made three saves in one quarter against Santa Clara.

Heidi Ritner is also a goalkeeper. Ritner started every game during her tenure at Michigan, compiling an 88-33 record. Ritner was first team all-CWPA her junior year and second team all-CWPA her freshman year. She holds the school career record for wins, as well as the single-season record with 30 her sophomore year.

Rachel Sodokoff scored a goal against Santa Clara on Senior Day. As a sophomore, she recorded a career high in steals, with 3 against Brown.

Skyler Pyle had consistent scoring both her junior and senior years. As a junior, she was sixth on the team with 40 points, scoring 21 goals and 19 assists. As a senior she had a career high with four assists against Wagner.

Men’s Gymnastics

The men’s gymnastics team will leave after a run that included two straight top 3 Big Ten finishes and a berth in the NCAA Championships. Michigan claimed second in the Big Ten their sophomore year. Their junior year the Wolverines finished third in the Big Ten but won their NCAA Qualifier to move on to the Championships, where they finished fourth. This year Michigan was the team to beat in the Big Ten, and ended the season at #2 in the country.

Mitchell Brown competed at the NCAA Qualifiers in Pommel Horse during each of his first three seasons. He earned his first event win as a junior, winning on parallel bars at the Windy City Invitational.

Parker Chiapuzio earned a career-high 14.25 on floor in a meet against Iowa as a junior. He competed on the floor again as a senior.

Socrates Gavallas did his best work when it counted: his career high on parallel bars was a 14.0, in his senior year during Michigan’s win over then-#2 Oklahoma.

Mack Lasker won four career event titles, all in pommel horse. As a sophomore, he qualified as an individual to the NCAA Event Finals in horse, and finished 33rd with a 12.966. He was a captain as a senior.

Justin Murphy participated in the NCAA Team Finals as a junior, scoring 13.066 on pommel horse. He would score two 13.35’s in that event as a senior, including against Oklahoma.

Thomas Paul returned after missing his junior season. He earned a 13.7 on the still rings against Minnesota.

Uche Eke was a fifth year senior. He earned three event titles during his career, two in pommel horse and one on parallel bars. Two of those titles came this year. As a sophomore, Eke competed at the NCAA finals on bars.

Women’s Swimming

Women’s swimming won two Big Ten Championships and came in second twice during the tenure of these seniors. They also earned two consecutive top five finishes at the NCAA Championships, coming in third last year. At season’s end, women’s swimming was ranked fifth in the nation.

Jackie DeLoof’s best individual event finish was a 53.36 in the 100-yard freestyle against MSU her senior year, where she earned fifth place.

Chloe Hicks transferred to Michigan from Virginia Tech her junior year. She earned two top-five finishes at the Big Ten Championships, including bronze in the 200-yard backstroke with a 1:52.92 her senior year. She was invited to the NCAA Championships in that event.

Vanessa Krause won the Big Ten Championship in the 200-yard butterfly her sophomore year. She had five top-five finishes at the B1G Championships, including the win, and a fourth-place finish in the 100 fly her senior year. She finished 8th in the 200 fly at the NCAA Championships as a sophomore. She was invited to the NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200 fly all four years, as well as the 50 free as a sophomore and junior.

Jacqui Schafer won the 200-yard backstroke in the meet against MSU her senior year, with a 1:59.81. Her best performance at the Big Ten Championship was in that event her sophomore year, when she finished eighth.

Miranda Tucker won four Big Ten Championships her senior year. She swam a 58.15 in the 100-yard breaststroke, and participated in gold medal teams in the 400-yard freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. As a sophomore she was the national runner-up in the 100 breaststroke, and 4th at the NCAA Championship in the 200 breaststroke. As a junior she came in 7th in the 100 breaststroke. While she spent her freshman year at Indiana, Tucker was invited to the NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke all four years of her college career, as well as the 200-yard individual medley her freshman, sophomore, and junior years.

Men’s Golf

The men’s golf seniors will graduate with their best performance being a fourth place finish at the Big Ten Championships their junior year. They weathered a coaching change, as the Wolverines hired Zach Barlow for their senior season. The golf seniors may be granted an extra season of eligibility.

Brent Ito was consistently among the top Wolverines on the leader board. He led the Wolverines in three events each during his junior and senior seasons, including a 9th place finish in the season opener this year.

Tasai Negishi primarily played as an individual during his career, including one event as a senior. His career-best score was a 230 at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate as a junior.

Women’s Golf

These women’s golf seniors helped their team to one NCAA Championship qualification during their freshman year. They may have the option of taking an extra year of eligibility.

Hannah Ghelfi was a regular starter her junior year. Her best individual finish was at the Glass City Invitational her senior year, where she finished ninth with a 220.

Alisa Snyder appeared in both the NCAA Regional and NCAA Championship her freshman year, finishing 76th and 113th, respectively. Her career-best score was a 215 at the Westbrook Spring Invitational her junior year, where she had two under-par rounds and finished 19th.

Men’s Lacrosse

The men’s lacrosse seniors will graduate having helped the Wolverines through a transitional phase in team history. Michigan hired just their second head coach, Kevin Conry. These seniors saw Michigan earn a school record 8 wins in both their freshman and sophomore years. Michigan was 4-3 at season’s end. They may be granted an extra year of eligibility.

Avery Myers was a prolific scorer during his junior season, coming in second on the team with 24 goals. He was injured for the entirety of his senior season. Myers is 10th in school history in points, with 53.

Finn Goonan started one game as a senior, a win over St. Johns. As a junior Goonan was second on the team with 31 ground balls, and also forced 11 turnovers.

JP Hatch transferred to Michigan from UM-Dearborn. He saw game action once, in a win over Canisius.

Matt Trowbridge started six games in goal his senior year, compiling a 3-2 record. He had a season high in saves with 12 against Cleveland State.

Harry Bogle played in two games as a senior, registering one shot on goal.

Matt Dellacroce played in six games as a senior. He scored his first career goal against Canisius. He was fifth on the team with 13 ground balls.

Christian Ford played in seven games as a senior, starting against Yale. He earned five goals and an assist this season, scoring two each against Canisius and Merrimack.

Peter Hollen is a graduate transfer, who played club lacrosse for USC before transferring to Michigan last year. He recorded 15 ground balls and caused seven turnovers in his first season. This season, he made six appearances, causing a turnover against Cleveland State.

Patrick Tracy will graduate with 11 career goals. He earned a hat trick against Lafayette in 2017.

Rocco Sutherland is a fifth year senior. He was fifth on the team in points this year with 15. Sutherland spent his senior season injured, but as a junior was second on the team in assists. Sutherland is fourth in school history in assists with 39, and 7th in points with 42.

Women’s Track

The women’s track seniors finished in fifth place at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships twice, during their sophomore and junior years. As freshmen, they finished in 14th place at the Indoor National Championships. The eligibility situation for track is complicated, as it is both a winter and spring sport.

When discussing individual Big Ten Championships, assume I’ve combined indoor and outdoor unless I specify otherwise. Like the men, I will omit anyone who did not participate in track their senior year on account of primarily being cross country runners who used track for offseason training.

Erin Connor participated in the shot put. Her career-best throw was a 14.5m throw that earned her the runner-up position at the outdoor Stanford Invitational.

Micaela DeGenero earned three career top-10s at the Big Ten Championships, including two her junior year: she came in 7th in the indoor 800m with a 2:08.57, and in sixth in the outdoor 1500m with a 4:21.40.

Julia Hall’s best individual finish at the Big Ten Championships was this year, when she finished 10th at the indoor 600m, in 1:31.12. She also participated in a runner-up distance medley relay in the Big Ten Indoor Championships as a freshman.

Jade Harrison earned a Big Ten Championship as part of the indoor distance medley relay team her sophomore year. As a freshman, she was part of a team that finished fifth in that same event at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earning All-American status. She holds the school record in the 400m, at 52.84.

Kathryn House earned three career top-10 finishes at the Big Ten Championships. Her best finish was during her senior year, when she ran a 9:34.59 to earn 7th in the 3000m.

Courtney Jacobsen has two career top-10 Big Ten Championship finishes, in the weight throw and the hammer throw. As a senior, she came in fourth in the weight throw with a 20.16m throw.

Tiana Luton ran the heptathlon early in her career before focusing on the 60m dash and 60m hurdles. Her career best in the 60m dash was a 8.02 in Ann Arbor, at the Power Five Invitational.

Jena Metwalli finished in 9th place in the mile at the Big Ten Indoor Championships as a senior, running a 4:49.02.

Katt Miner is a high jumper who as a senior won the bronze medal at the Big Ten Indoor Championships with a jump of 1.76m. It was her second Big Ten top-10 finish.

Maddy Trevisan earned her best finish at a Big Ten Championship her sophomore year, when she ran a 35:02.22 in the outdoor 10,000m. She participated in the NCAA Preliminaries in that event, finishing 28th. Trevisan also participated in cross-country.

Jada Wimberly spent her senior year continually improving on her career best in the high jump, which topped out at 1.77m. She earned 11th at the Big Ten Championships. Wimberly redshirted her sophomore year and will be eligible to return.

Meg Darmofal is a fifth year senior who has qualified for two NCAA Indoor Championships as part of the distance medley relay team. Her team earned a Big Ten Championship event when she was a fifth year senior, and when Darmofal was a senior they finished in sixth at the NCAA Championships. They had qualified for the Championships again this year. Additionally, Darmofal won silver as an individual in the mile at this year’s Big Ten Indoor Championships, running a 4:44.05.

Jeryne Fish competed in the long jump. As a fifth year senior this year, Fish earned her first top-10 Big Ten Championship finish, finishing 10th with a jump of 5.73m.

Maegan McCarthy competed in throwing events, competing in the hammer throw, weight throw, discus, and shot put at least once each, but exclusively in the shot put as a fifth-year senior. At the Battle of the Blues meet (against Duke and North Carolina) her junior year, she finished 2nd in shot put and 3rd in discus.

Briana Nelson holds the school record in the weight throw, at 20.21m. She threw that distance in this year’s Big Ten Indoor Championships, where she finished fifth.

Faith Reynolds’ best event finish was as a senior, when she came in fourth place in the mile at the Silverston Invitational in Ann Arbor. She ran a 5:05.23.

Emma Sloan is a graduate transfer from Brown. She came in 12th at the Big Ten Championships in the 3000m, running a 9:46.43.

Annie Taylor is a graduate transfer from Cornell. She earned a fifth place finish in the 800m at the Big Ten Championships with a 2:07.07.