Michigan to Open 2019 Season with Two Games in Golden State

» Michigan begins its sixth season as a varsity program and its second under the direction of head coach Hannah Nielsen.
» The Wolverines are coming off their best season in program history, winning seven games in 2018.
» U-M returns all but one starter from its 2018 lineup, including leading scorer Adriana Pendino.
» Michigan is 3-0 all-time against California as they will meet up for the first time since the 2017, while U-M and UC Davis will play for the first time in the history of the two programs.

THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 8 -- at California (Berkeley, Calif.), 5 p.m. PST
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Saturday, Feb. 9 -- at UC Davis (Davis, Calif.), 6 p.m. PST
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• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
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The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team will kick off it's 2019 season with a pair of west-coast games, first taking on California on Friday (Feb. 8) at 5 p.m. PST, then battling against UC Davis for the first time in program history on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 6 p.m. PST.

Series History With California

• Michigan meets up with California for the fourth time in the six-year history of the program.
• The Wolverines hold a 3-0 record in the all-time series with the Golden Bears, with Michigan's last victory over Cal coming in 2017.
• U-M earned narrow victories in its first two meetings with Cal, winning, 13-12, in overtime in 2014 before taking a 16-14 victory in 2015.
• Following its narrow victories, the Wolverines defeated the Golden Bears, 14-4, in their 2017 meeting.
• Molly Garrett and Chandler Kirby each had points in the last meeting with Cal; Garrett scored and Kirby assisted on the goal.

Scouting Cal

• The Golden Bears posted a 6-12 overall record (2-8 Pac 12) in 2018.
• California was outscored, 237-177, in 2018, as it averaged 9.8 goals per game and carried a .071 shots-on-goal percentage.
• Leading scorer Kristen Swanson returns for her final season after scoring a team-best 43 goals, including 13 free position goals.
• Eliza Christman ranked second on the Golden Bears with 33 goals last season, and Nikki Zaccaro had a team-best 20 assists, while scoring 11 goals.
• Defensively, Kendall Swenson looks to anchor the defense after ranking third last season in caused turnovers with 12, while Zaccaro will look to step up on the draw control after winning 20 in 2018.
• In goal, Jenny Wilkens started 18 games last season, carrying a .384 save percentage and picking up all six of Cal's wins. Wilkens made 132 saves a year ago and averaged 13.18 goals against.

Series History with UC Davis

• Saturday's meeting with the Aggies will be the first between the schools in program history.

Scouting the Aggies

• UC Davis had a winning season in 2018, going 8-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
• The Aggies scored 160 goals last season, averaging 11.4 goals per game with a .775 shots-on-goal percentage and 27.4 shots per game.
• Senior Taylor Cuenin will look to lead UC Davis for the second straight season after scoring 38 goals in 2018 and having a team-best 23 caused turnovers.
• The Aggies will be looking for someone new to hand out assists this season as Kate Fellner, who had a team-best 20 assists a season ago, graduated.
• Goalkeeper Grace Richards led UC Davis in ground balls with 29, while Cuenin was all over the field last season, ranking second with 28 ground balls.
• Richards started all 14 games in net with a .459 save percentage and 123 saves.
• Opponents averaged 11.87 goals a game against Richards, while she picked up all eight of the Aggies' wins.

What's Back?

• Michigan returns 29 letterwinners in all from the 2018 campaign and lost just four letterwinners.
• U-M returns all but one starter from its 2018 lineup, including leading scorer Adriana Pendino.
• The U-M roster is comprised of 12 seniors, 11 juniors, seven sophomores and 10 freshmen.

Preseason Honors

• Michigan was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, while Maryland was chosen to win the Big Ten after winning the Big Ten Tournament for the third straight season a year ago.
• Junior Molly Garrett and sophomores Caitlin Muir and Maggie Kane were all named to the Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Players to Watch List for the 2019 campaign.
• Garrett scored 16 goals and had two assists for 18 points in her sophomore season, while leading the team with 50 draw controls.
• Muir ranked third on the team in points with 30 as a freshman, scoring 18 goals and adding a team-best 12 assists.
• Kane scored 16 goals in her first season at Michigan, while picking up 21 ground balls and adding 47 draw control wins.

Getting in The Record Books

• The Wolverines' 2018 season was highlighted by the program's first win over a ranked opponent, beating then-No. 16 Penn State, 12-11, on a last-second goal.
• Michigan etched the 2018 season in the record book a total of 17 times, including picking up a school-best 27 ground balls at Central Michigan (March 11), tying for second in most assists in a single game with seven against East Carolina (April 21), and causing 15 turnovers against Butler (Feb. 16).
• In Nielsen's first season, Michigan also ranked in the school's top 10 for most points in a single game with 23 against East Carolina (April 21) and tied for sixth in single-game goals with 16 against ECU as well as sixth in largest margin of victory, defeating Canisius 14-3.
• Individually, Nielsen led 16 different Wolverines to etch their names in the Michigan record book on 79 different occasions in the 2018 campaign.

Oh Captain, My Captain

• Head coach Hannah Nielsen named Maggie Handlan, Alli Kothari and Molly Garrett captains of the 2019 Michigan women's lacrosse team.
• Garrett, a junior midfielder, will look to lead the offense in the 2019 campaign after emerging as the draw-control leader in the 2018 season with 50 draw-control wins and also scoring 16 goals.
• Handlan, a senior defender, will work with fellow senior Madison Richardson to anchor the back half of the field this season. Handlan had 30 ground balls and caused 20 turnovers for the Wolverines in 2018.
• Kothari, a senior goalkeeper, will return for her third season on the field after sitting out her freshman season due to injury. Kothari earned three wins in net last season, while making 80 saves.

Ticket Information

• Individual and group tickets are on sale for all nine home games this season.
• For group experiences, call (734) 647-1268 or email gobluegroupsales@umich.edu.
• Visit the women's lacrosse tickets page for more information and to purchase tickets.

Up Next

• Friday, Feb. 15 -- vs. Central Michigan (U-M Lacross Stadium), 3 p.m. (Home Opener)
• Sunday, Feb. 17 -- vs. Dartmouth (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), noon