The Michigan Wolverines had yet another great year in the spring sports department. The men’s and women’s tennis, rowing, baseball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, and men’s and women’s track and field teams were all competitive as they fought for an NCAA Championship.
We start off with the men’s tennis team who recorded a 13-12 overall record and a 6-4 Big Ten mark. The Wolverines began the 2006 campaign with four straight wins against Western Michigan, Ball State, William & Mary, and Rice. Michigan struggled, however, when they faced #7 Virginia and #11 Louisiana State; dropping both matches. They followed up that string of losses by winning two out of their next three including a 6-1 win at Alabama. The Big Blue had back-to-back games with nationally ranked opponents, #2 Pepperdine and #10 Texas. They dropped both games but after their next loss at Texas A&M, racked off five wins out of their following six games. Intra-state rival, Michigan State, was one of the victims in Michigan’s run but along with the Spartans were Big Ten foes Purdue, Wisconsin, and Iowa. They finished their regular season going 1-4 and collected a 12-10 record. Bruce Berque’s club tied for third place in the Big Ten Tournament that featured a 4-2 first round win over Indiana. Michigan sadly ended their season in the NCAA Tournament against #25 Arkansas in the regional in Columbus. The men’s tennis team was lead by junior and co-captain Brian Hung and sophomore Matko Maravic in the doubles competition. The pair posted a 26-10 record including 7-2 in Big Ten play. Junior Steve Peretz guided Michigan as he accomplished a 16-16 record in singles play. Starters, Peter Aarts, Scott Bruckmann, Mike DePietro, Ryan Heller, Brian Hung, Matko Maravic, Andrew Mazlin, and Steve Peretz all return next year for the Wolverines.
The women’s tennis team had some very positive results from their season as well. Head coach, Bitsy Ritt, guided this team to a 17-8 record and competing in Big Ten play by going 8-2 on the year. In the 17-win season by the Wolverines, they knocked off #22 ranked Tennessee by a score of 5-2. That victory sparked a four win streak that sent Michigan sailing into the latter part of the season. The Ladies in Blue capped the regular season in great shape entering the Big Ten tournament; with a five game winning streak that included a road win over arch-rival Ohio State. Michigan continued their winning ways by taking two games in the Big Ten Tournament against Wisconsin and Iowa. That propelled them into a Big Ten championship duel with #11 Northwestern. They started off well with a 1-0 lead, but the Wildcats stormed back to take the crown, 4-2. Michigan accomplished an NCAA Tournament win over Nebraska but had their season upended by #2 Notre Dame. Freshman Chisako Sugiyama and senior captain Debra Streifler led Michigan with a combined 51-19 record in the singles department. Sugiyama finished the year on a 10 match winning streak. In the doubles arena, junior Kara Delicata and Debra Streifler recorded a 15-4 record including a perfect 10-0 mark in Big Ten play.
The Michigan rowing team also had impressive production on the season. The Lady Wolverines captured wins against #17 Tennessee, Iowa, and #15 Wisconsin. In the ACC/Big Ten double duel on April 1st, Michigan finished first against #13 Michigan State and Duke. Michigan also came .33 of a second away from upsetting #3 Virginia and 1.84 seconds away from top five competitor, Southern California. In the preliminary heat at the Big Ten Championship, Michigan claimed first but finished second in the Grand Final to take an overall fourth place. The Lady Rowers finished off their season at the Central/South Region Sprints in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Mark Rothstein’s bunch finished second in the preliminary heat but finished third and sixth out of the six competitors in the Semifinals and Grand Finals. Michigan missed out on a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Rich Maloney’s baseball ball club had fantastic results and accomplished feats that haven’t been done in a while in Ann Arbor. Michigan captured the regular season Big Ten title to earn the #1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 1997. The Wolverine baseball squad earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament with their first Big Ten Tournament title since 1999. In the NCAA Tournament, Michigan pitcher Paul Hammond led the bunch to an 11-1 rout of the Stetson Hatters. Michigan’s season ended though as they lost for a second time to Vanderbilt, 5-4. Michigan was lead by senior captain catcher Jeff Kunkel who batted .335 on the year with 28 RBIs. Freshman sensation Adam Abraham, Big Ten Tournament MVP, had a break-out season in which he drove in 31 runs and hit six homeruns. Freshman pitcher Chris Fetter led the pitching squad with a 2.22 ERA and a 5-2 record and is returning for the 2007 season.
The women’s golf team, consisting of three seniors, finished in the top ten in nine out of their 11 tournaments. After placing sixth in their first two events, the Lady Wolverines defended home turf by capturing the Wolverine Invitational on October 1. The Embassy Suites Invitational and The Landfall Tradition saw Michigan in the 11 spot at the end of the day in their tournaments to follow the Wolverine Invitational. Michigan then went on to notch a top five finish in next two events; the Rio Verde Challenge (2nd) and the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational (5th). The last challenge before the Big Ten Tournament, the Illini Spring Classic, viewed Michigan capture a second place finish. In the Big Ten Tournament, the Maize and Blue were steady in fifth place in the first two days of competition but sprung up to fourth place on the third and final day. That led to the NCAA Central Regional in College Station, Texas. Despite senior Amy Schmcker’s top 100 individual performance, Michigan finished tied for 71st. Head coach Kathy Teichert guided senior Amy Schmucker to single season UM record by posting an average round of 75.03. Schmucker also finished first at the Rio Verde Challenge.
Andrew Sapp, coaching the Wolverines golf club for the fifth season, saw many ups and downs with this year’s squad. Michigan started off well at the Hawkeye Regional, placing third, and the Wolverine Intercollegiate, placing first. They then went on to tie for fourth out of the 16 competitors at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and putting forth a sixth place effort at the 49er Collegiate Classic. The Maize and Blue rolled off four straight non-top ten finishes but capped the season with two top eight completions at the Boilermaker Invitational and the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Michigan failed to qualify for an NCAA Tournament berth by finishing 10th in the Big Ten Tournament. Senior Christian Vozza led the Wolverines by playing 33 rounds of golf and posting a 75.24 average and placing first at the Wolverine Intercollegiate.
The 2006 men’s track and field team advanced to the NCAA Championship this season. Led by freshman sprinter, Adam Harris, Michigan tied fifth in the Big Ten Tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tennessee. Before the Big Ten Tournament output was many different challenges around the country. At the Central Collegiate Championships, the Wolverines were able to get a first place finish. The Maize and Blue also placed fourth in the Big Ten Indoor Championships in February. At the Mideast Regional, seventh season head coach Ron Warhurst’s squad placed 23rd, and in the National Championship placed in a tie for 30th. The NCAA Regional Qualifiers were Adam Harris (10.46 100-Meter Dash), Stann Waithe (46.15 400-Meter Dash), Rondell Ruff (1:49.35 800-Meter Run), Mike Woods (3:43.78 1,500-Meter Run), Lex Williams (3:47.19 1,500-Meter Run, 4:06.71 Mile Run, and 14:07.18 5,000-Meter Run), Jeff Porter (13.93 110-Meter Hurdles), Dan Harmsen (51.94 400-Meter Hurdles), Andrew Bauer (9:02.37 3,000-Meter Steeplechase), Brad Miller (2.10m High Jump), Sean Pruitt (17.08m Shot Put), and Paul Sarantos (16.80 Shot Put).
The women’s track and field finished in the top five four out of their six scoring events. Michigan claimed first in the Michigan Collegiate as well as the Big Ten Indoor Championships. The Wolverines also claimed second in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and earned a spot in the NCAA Championships by placing fifth in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tennessee. James Henry, coaching his 22nd season with the Wolverines, led Michigan to 13th place at the NCAA Outdoor championship. Geena Gall set a new UM record with her 2:02.73 in the 800-meter run. Another UM school record was broken when Tiffany Ofili scored a 13.37 in the 100-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoors.
Last but certainly not least, the University of Michigan women’s softball program had arguably the most successful season in the spring sports division for the Wolverines. The Ladies in Blue tallied a 44-14 record as well as claiming the Big Ten Tournament title. The Wolverines conquered many nationally ranked foes that included a 10-2 drilling of DePaul (21st), a two game sweep of Georgia (13th), 1-0 win over Auburn (17th), 2-0 shutout of Cat Osterman and Texas (4th), 3-0 over Louisville (20th), Northwestern (runner up in the National Championship) once in the regular season and later in the Big Ten Tournament final, sweep of Oklahoma (20th at the time), and a 5-1 win over Tennessee (5th). The Wolverines were led by their senior pitcher, Jennie Ritter, who led the team and was third nationally in ERA, 0.77. She also accomplished the 1,500 career strikeout total and put down 451 batters in this past year alone. Senior Becky Marx led Michigan in batting with a .327 batting average, 49 runs batted in and 13 homeruns. Carol Hutchins’s team saw their quest for a defending national championship combust when the Tennessee Lady Vols knocked them off in the game three of the best-of-three series in Knoxville, Tennessee.
With the outstanding individual and team performances by the spring sports, came another regular. Michigan claimed the Pontiac Challenge Cup, a competition with intra-state rival, Michigan State, for the sixth straight time. The Wolverines have never lost the cup but tied in the beginning year, 2003-04, twice. Michigan is 7-0-1 in Pontiac Challenge Cup competitions.