MICHIGAN YEAR IN REVIEW: 2007-2008

	WOLVERINES: YEAR IN REVIEW

Team	Big Ten finish
W Soccer	Season: 9th Record: 3-9-6, 1-5-4
M Soccer	Season: 7th Record: 10-7-2, 0-4-2
Cross country	Men: 5th Women: 3rd
Football	Season: T-2nd Record: 9-4, 6-2
Field hockey	Season: 1st Record: 16-7, 6-0
Volleyball	Season: T-5th Record: 24-11, 10-10
Swim. & diving	Men: Big Ten champs Women: 2nd
Gymnastics	Men: 4th Women: Big Ten champs
Indoor T&F	Men: 6th Women: 2nd
Wrestling	Big Ten's: 3rd
Ice hockey	Season: 1st - CCHA Record: 33-6-4
M basketball	Season: 10th Record: 10-22, 6-14
W basketball	Season: T-7th Record: 19-14, 9-9
Outdoor T&F	Men: Big Ten Champs Women: 2nd
Golf	Men: 5th Women: 5th
Rowing	Big Ten's: 5th
Tennis	Men: 4th Women: 2nd
Baseball	Season: 1st Record: 45-12, 26-5
Softball	Season: T-1st Record: 52-8, 18-2

Men's cross country
The Michigan men's cross country team finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships, scoring four runners in the top 30.

The Wolverines continued their postseason run at the 2007 NCAA Regional Championships where they finished tied for first with Wisconsin. By finishing in the top two, Michigan earned an automatic trip to the NCAA Championships.

The team ultimately wrapped its season when it finished 24th our of 30 teams at the NCAA Championships.

Women's cross country
Nicole Edwards led the Michigan women's cross country team to a third-place finish (90 points) at the Big Ten Championships and a chance to bid for their sixth NCAA Regional Championship.

Edwards followed this performance by repeating as the individual regional champion to lead the women's cross country team to a second-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. Like their male counterparts, the team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

Erin Webster crossed the line 25th (21:00) to earn All-American honors, as the team finished 21st at the national event.

Field hockey
The Wolverines wrapped up their regular-season conference slate with a perfect 6-0 record.

The team opened postseason play in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals as the No. 1 seed against fourth-seeded Penn State. Stephanie Hoyer netted the game-winning goal 5:27 into the overtime frame to propel Michigan to a 3-2 victory to advance to the championship game against Iowa.

The Iowa team was too much for the Wolverines as Michigan suffered a 4-1 loss, but the team still played well enough to make an NCAA Tournament appearance. The team advanced to the quarterfinal round after claiming a 1-0 overtime victory over Ohio. The win set them up for a match against Wake Forest.

Despite owning advantages in shots and penalty corners, the Wolverines (16-7) suffered a narrow 3-2 loss against Wake Forest in the NCAA quarterfinal round.

Men's soccer
It was a tough year in Ann Arbor for the men's soccer team. After going winless in the regular season, the team had an early exit in the Big Ten Tournament, losing 1-0 to Ohio State in the first round.

On the brighter side, four members of the team received awards from the Big Ten when the league announced its All-Conference and individual awards. Junior midfielder Jake Stacy was named to the All-Big Ten Big first team. Sophomore forward Peri Marosevic and junior defender co-captain Michael Holody were each named to the second team, while senior forward and co-captain Michael Parke earned Michigan's Sportsmanship award.

Women's soccer
The tough luck in soccer carried over to the women's side as well. The team finished the regular season with a tough match against Michigan State that ended in a 1-1 tie to wrap the season with a 3-9-6 record.

Three members of the team were recognized by the Big Ten conference. First-year Wolverines Amanda Bowery and Jackie Carron were both named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and graduate-senior defender Lindsey Cottrell was chosen as U-M's Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Shortly after the season ended, head coach Debbie Rademacher announced that she would resign. She was the program's first and only coach in its 14-year history compiling a record of 160-108-37 (.585).

Football
Lloyd Carr's final season didn't start well. Check that. It didn't start well at all. One week after Appalachian State stunned Michigan, 34-32, in the season opener, Oregon thumped the Wolverines, 39-7.

As if the unheard of 0-2 start wasn't bad enough, both defeats came in front of the home faithful at the Big House. It wasn't the way Michigan, which opened the season ranked No. 5, wanted to start the season, that's for sure. More important, it wasn't how senior leaders Jake Long, Mike Hart and Chad Henne had hoped to start the final season of their collegiate careers.


The win was exactly what the Wolverines needed. Not only did it send Carr into retirement as a winner, but it also gave Michigan its first bowl win since 2002. It was an impressive finish to something that started so poorly.

After the season, Michigan hired West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez as Carr's replacement. The move brings with it a wide-open offensive attack, a fact that spelled the end to the anticipated Ryan Mallett era. Mallett, the expected starting quarterback, transferred to Arkansas following the Rodriguez hire.

Volleyball
Michigan and Michigan State finished tied for fifth in the conference with 10-10 marks in Big Ten play. The Wolverines went undefeated in non-conference action to finish with a 24-11 overall record and a No. 19 final ranking.

Michigan earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championship, marking its seventh NCAA appearance in the last nine seasons and its fourth in the last six. The Wolverines opened competition with a sweep of Miami (Ohio), followed by a second-round sweep over Colorado State. This set them up for NCAA Regional match against Big Ten rival and No. 1-ranked Penn State.

Eventual champ Penn State was too much to handle as the Wolverines fell in three games to wrap the season with a 24-win campaign, the third-highest total in program history and the most under head coach Mark Rosen.

Men's swimming & diving
The University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team held the lead from the opening dive until the last touch of action in the Big Ten Championships, scoring runaway victories in 13 of the 18 swimming events. The Wolverines compiled 1,081.5 points to bring home the team title for the 33rd time and first since 2003.

The Wolverines were fueled by senior Alex Vanderkaay, who claimed his third individual title of the championships and was named Big Ten co-Swimmer of the Year and co-Swimmer of the Championships. Michigan coach Bob Bowman was crowned conference Coach of the Year as well.

With 271.5 total team point's, Michigan recorded the best conference finish at the NCAA Championships, coming in sixth. Racking up individual titles for Michigan were Scott Spann and Alex Vanderkaay.

Women's swimming & diving
The women's swimming & diving team finished second at the Big Ten Conference Swimming and Diving Championships for the second straight year.

Michigan turned in conference records in the mile and 200-yard butterfly, while junior Emily Brunemann was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and Chris Bergeré was tabbed as the conference's Diving Coach of the Year.

The Wolverines also set a Big Ten Championships record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with the foursome of Kelly, Hannah Smith, Jaeger and Mueller edged out the nearest competition by half a second as they cruised to an NCAA 'A' cut of 3:17.47.

Junior Emily Brunemann claimed the national title in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:53.69 -- a full four seconds ahead of the field -- at the NCAA Championships. Her title helped boost Michigan to a ninth place finish with 130 points, besting all other Big Ten teams.

Men's indoor track and field
Junior Adam Harris and sophomore Frank Shotwell each claimed titles as the Michigan men's track and field team finished sixth (70 points) at the Big Ten Championships.

In the NCAA tournament, it was again Adam Harris making headlines. Harris took fourth place in the 60-meter dash to net the first All-America distinction of his career, headlining the team's performance. With Harris' five points, the Wolverines finished in a six-way tie for 44th place.

Women's indoor track and field
Despite winning four Big Ten titles (800-meter run, mile, 60-meter hurdles, high jump), the women's track and field team finished second at the Big Ten Indoor Championship.

Junior co-captain Bettie Wade, senior co-captain Nicole Edwards and junior Geena Gall of the women's track and field team each earned All-America honors -- Wade in the pentathlon, Edwards in the mile run and Gall in the 800-meter run -- at the NCAA Indoor Championship.

These outstanding performances, combined with junior co-captain Tiffany Ofili's national title in the 60-meter hurdles, led Michigan to a third-place team finish with 39 points, the highest finish in U-M history at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Wrestling
Freshman Kellen Russell, fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum and senior/junior Steve Luke each captured individual titles at 141, 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, to lead the Michigan wrestling team to third place (97.5 points) at the Big Ten Championships

The Wolverines sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships advancing four individuals into the quarterfinal round and two to the finals.

Tannenbaum and Luke fell just short in their bids for individual national titles, both losing by narrow decision margins, at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Behind the performances of four All-Americans, the Wolverines took a share seventh place (69 points) in the team race, their eighth consecutive top-10 finish at the national event.

Men's basketball
The Wolverines played their first season under new head coach John Beilein. With their 5-13 record in the Big Ten, Michigan earned the No. 9 seed and a first round matchup against No. 8 Iowa.

The team won that opening game, a 55-47 triumph over Iowa. The win put Michigan into the quarterfinal round against No. 1 seed Wisconsin.

A solid defensive effort was not enough for the Wolverines, as they lost to the Badgers, who would go on to win the tournament. The Wolverines finished their 2007-08 season with a 10-22 overall mark.

Shortly after the season ended, Beilein announced that junior forward Ekpe Udoh made the decision to leave the Wolverines basketball program and transfer to another school.

Women's basketball

The women's basketball season might best be remembered for coach Kevin Borseth's post-game press conference after a loss to Wisconsin in late February. The team held a 20-point lead with less than 15 minutes to go, but the Badgers stormed back into contention due to a 33-12 run, and they were able to escape in the closing minutes thanks to crucial offensive rebounds and free throws.

However, the team did put up a valiant effort in the Big Ten Tournament. They opened the tournament with a win over Penn State but ultimately fell in the quarterfinals to Iowa.

The team reached the postseason as it was selected to compete in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) earning a first-round bye. Following wins against Virginia Commonwealth and Southern Miss, the Wolverines met conference foe Michigan State in the quarterfinals. Their season came to a close with a heartbreaking 45-40 overtime loss to the Spartans.

Ice hockey
Michigan continued its dominance in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) as it was  atop the standings for almost all of the season and earned a bye through the first round of the CCHA Tournament. The Wolverines eliminated Nebraska-Omaha in the quarterfinals, Northern Michigan in the semifinals and Miami (OH) to win the CCHA Tournament Championship.

Michigan captured its eighth CCHA title in program history with the victory and its first Mason Cup since 2005. The Wolverines garnered both the regular-season and postseason championships for the sixth time as well.

As a result of winning the CCHA Tournament, Michigan received an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and earned the top overall seed.

Tournament wins over Niagra and Clarkson set the Wolverines up for a Frozen Four meeting with Notre Dame. After facing a 3-0 deficit through the first 20 minutes of play, U-M scored three straight goals, two in the second period and one early in the third, to knot the game at 3. The Fighting Irish reclaimed the lead at 4-3, but Michigan forced overtime with a goal before regulation expired.

Overtime was not on the Wolverines side as the Fighting Irish got one in, bringing Michigan's season to an end with an overall 33-6-4 record.

Aside from the CCHA Championships, another highlight of the season was senior forward Kevin Porter being named the 28th recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, handed out to college hockey's top student-athlete.

Men's gymnastics
Sophomore David Chan of the Michigan men's gymnastics team earned Michigan's highest score of the season in any event with a 16.200 on vault and junior/sophomore Phil Goldberg earned the team's season high on the rings with a 15.600, as the Wolverines finished in fourth place for the second straight year with a score of 353.000 at the Big Ten Championships.

The team was then selected to compete at the 2008 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships. This marked the 10th straight season under head coach Kurt Golder that the Wolverines have been selected for the national meet. The team took third in the qualifiers and ultimately finished in sixth for the team finals.

Women's gymnastics
The Michigan women's gymnastics team won its 16th Big Ten conference title in convincing fashion, ousting six other Big Ten opponents on their way to victory. The team was led by event titles from sophomore Sarah Curtis and freshman Kylee Botterman.

The Wolverines had its season come to an end with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships Preliminaries. The silver lining was the performances of Botterman and junior Becky Bernard who each earned First Team All-America honors on the uneven bars.

Men's golf
Led by a three-under 285 championship total from junior Bill Rankin, who finished third individually, the best Michigan finish since 1999, the University of Michigan men's golf team had its best Big Ten Championships finish in a decade with a fifth-place 1,194 72-hole conference tournament total.

Following the championships, the team earned a bid to the NCAA Central regional, marking the first time the Wolverines played in the NCAA postseason in eight years. The team fell three shots shy of finishing in the top 10 and advancing to the NCAA Championships, closing its 2007-08 season with a tie for 12th place at the NCAA Central Regional.

Women's golf
The Michigan women's golf team closed its season with a career-best 301 72-hole championship total from sophomore Ashley Bauer and a Wolverine freshman record 305 from freshman Min Yean Tan, the University of Michigan women's golf team closed with a fifth-place showing at the 2008 Big Ten Championships at Penn State's Blue Course. The Wolverines closed with a 1217 72-hole total, the fourth best in U-M history, to close among the top half in the conference tournament.

Men's tennis
The Michigan men's tennis team opened the Big Ten Conference Championship with a hard-fought 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Penn State. The No. 4-seed Wolverines fell behind 2-1 to the No. 5 seed Nittany Lions before securing three straight singles wins to advance to the semifinals for the fourth straight season. The Wolverines winning luck ran out as they dropped a 4-1 match to No. 1 seed Ohio State.

Despite the loss, the Wolverines received their third straight NCAA bid. Following wins over Western Michigan and Texas Tech, the men's tennis team saw its 2008 season come to a close with a 4-0 setback to No. 1-ranked Virginia in the third round of the NCAA Championship.

Women's tennis
Having the second best record in the Big Ten, it was no shock when the Wolverines met the Wildcats in the championship match. The Wildcats, No. 1 in the Big Ten and nationally, were too much for the Wolverines as they dropped a 4-0 decision.

With their runner-up finish, the Wolverines received an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Championship. Following a strong 4-0 win over Furman in the first round, the Wolverines saw their season come to an end with a 4-1 loss to Clemson in the second round.

Softball
In their regular season finale, the Michigan softball team defeated Penn State, 3-0, to claim a share of the Big Ten Conference championship, sharing the title with Northwestern.

Michigan was the tournament's No. 2 seed after the Wildcats won the coin-flip tiebreaker to serve as the tournament's host.

In the event's opening game, Michigan was eliminated from the 2008 Big Ten Conference Tournament after falling 2-1 to Michigan State.

Not a team to give up, the Wolverines stormed ahead into the 2008 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 overall seed.

The team topped Wright State, Notre Dame and Kent State to work their way into the NCAA Super Regional and a meeting with Virginia Tech. After winning the first game in a best-of-three series, the team dropped the next two games and saw their season come to an end.

Rowing
The Michigan women's rowing team finished in fifth place out of seven teams at the 2008 Big
Ten Rowing Championships. Michigan's strongest effort came from its first varsity effort,
which finished third overall.

At the Central/South Region Sprints, the team earned a fourth-place regional finish and placed fifth overall.

The Wolverine first varsity eight spearheaded the effort by earning the bronze medal. The third-place showing is the boat's best result at the Central/South Region Sprints since 2004, when it also took third.

The Wolverines concluded their 2008 campaign at the NCAA Championships, where their 10th-ranked first varsity eight placed fifth in the petite final -- 11th overall.

Men's outdoor track and field
The University of Michigan men's track and field team won the team title at the 2008 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, accumulating 92 points on the final day, May 18, to overtake defending champion Wisconsin. Junior Adam Harris and senior/junior Dan Harmsen each won an individual title and contributed to a relay championship to lead the Wolverines charge.

Harris claimed Michigan's first Big Ten 200-meter dash crown since 1982 with a career-best and regional time of 20.75.

Harmsen won the 400-meter hurdles with a regional time of 51.12, leading a 19-point Michigan output with three Wolverines in the top five of the event. Harmsen is the first Wolverine hurdler to win the Big Ten title in the 400-meter hurdles since 1997.

Women's outdoor track and field
Senior co-captain Nicole Edwards, junior Casey Taylor and freshman Emily Pendleton of the Michigan women's track and field team each won her respective event, Sunday May 18, as the Wolverines finished second at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

Edwards won the tightly contested 1,500-meter run by less than half a second, clocking an NCAA regional time of 4:23.15

Taylor's leap of 42-8 1/4 in the triple jump was an NCAA regional mark and produced her first Big Ten title.

Pendleton also earned her first Big Ten tile with her discus throw of 171-5. The performance is an NCAA regional mark.

Baseball
As postseason play opened, the Big Ten Conference announced the 2008 All-Big Ten teams and honors. Head coach Rich Maloney repeated as Big Ten Coach of the Year, while senior 1B Nate Recknagel and junior RHP Zach Putnam were named the Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

On the heals of winning its third consecutive Big Ten Conference championship, Michigan baseball roared into the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. Following a round one bye, the team won three straight games to land in the championship game against Purdue.

With a 3-2 victory over No. 2-seeded Purdue, Michigan baseball claimed its eighth Big Ten Conference Tournament championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

Information for this report was provided by mgoblue.com and bigten.org.

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