Season Review: 2019 Michigan Women's Lacrosse
6/5/2019 3:56:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
• Record: 16-4 overall, 4-2 Big Ten Conference (3rd)
• Big Ten Tournament: Semifinals
• NCAA Tournament: Second Round
Under the direction of second-year head coach Hannah Nielsen, the University of Michigan women's lacrosse team notched a program-best 16-4 overall record and a 4-2 record in Big Ten Conference play in 2019 and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines reached the NCAA second round and earned a No. 11 ranking in the final IWLCA national poll.
Team Highlights
• Nielsen and the Wolverines completed the best season in program history, surpassing the previous program-best seven wins (2018).
• Michigan was ranked in the top 25 from week two through the end of the season and earned top-10 rankings from week five on, with its highest national ranking of No. 7 on April 1.
• The Wolverines opened the season with a 13-game win streak and held the nation's longest active win streak (15) prior to their loss at No. 2 Maryland.
• U-M ended the 2019 season ranked at No. 11 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll.
• Michigan defeated six ranked opponents during the regular season, with consecutive wins against No. 25 Dartmouth, No. 14 Colorado and No. 9 Denver before going on to defeat No. 25 Towson, No. 19 Penn State and No. 18 Johns Hopkins.
• The Maize and Blue put together its first-ever undefeated regular-season home campaign with a 9-0 record at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
• As a team, U-M broke the school single-season goals record (261), tallied the most ground balls in a single game (30), ranked second in fewest turnovers in a single game (nine) and recorded the third-highest total of goals in a single game (20).
• Michigan spread the wealth offensively, as three players recorded more than 40 points in the same season for the first time in program history.
• In all, eight players notched double digit points in 2019, while 15 players had at least one point.
• The Michigan defense gave up the fewest goals in program history (182), besting its previous low of 202 from the 2017 campaign.
• For the first time since the Big Ten adopted a four-team conference tournament format, Michigan earned its first appearance and the No. 3 seed.
• Michigan not only made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, it also earned the No. 8 overall seed and the opportunity to host the first and second rounds at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
• Seventeen women's lacrosse players earned Academic All-Big Ten honors following the winter semester.
Individual Highlights
• Sophomore Caitlin Muir burst onto the scene in her sophomore season, as she set the Michigan single-season points (59) and assists (21) records. Muir became the first Michigan player to surpass 50 points in a single season.
• Sophomore Maggie Kane holds the Michigan record for consecutive games with a goal with 22, a streak that started on April 3, 2018 against Notre Dame and extended through April 23, 2019 vs. Detroit Mercy. The streak ended on May 3, when Northwestern held her without a goal in the Big Ten Tournament -- one of only two games this season in which she did not score.
• Senior Adriana Pendino broke the Michigan single-season goals record (41) in her final season as a Wolverine. She ranks fifth in career points (92) and goals (81).
• Junior Molly Garrett led U-M with 65 draw control victories, which ranks second in Michigan single-season history, and scored three game-winners for the Wolverines.
• Senior goalie Mira Shane earned the Michigan single-season wins record with 13, while her 139 saves rank second all-time in Michigan single-season history. Shane also holds the Michigan single-game saves record with 18 against No. 25 Dartmouth (Feb. 17).
• Shane left Michigan as its career leader in wins (24), saves (360) and save percentage (.451).
• Three Wolverines were named to the All-Big Ten team as Muir and Kane were unanimous selections and Madison Richardson rounded out the trio.
• Garrett and junior Nadine Stewart were named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team as Garrett scored six goals against Northwestern and Stewart had three draw controls, two caused turnovers and an assist.
• Garrett was the first Michigan player to be added to the Tewaaraton Award watch list before Shane became the first Wolverine to be named a Tewaaraton nominee.
• Garrett, Kane, Muir and Shane all earned IWLCA West/Midwest All-Region second team honors, marking the first time in the history of the program a player has earned the honor.
• Richardson earned a spot on the 2019 Senior All-Star Team after she anchored the Michigan defense. She ranked third on the team with 18 caused turnovers and added 25 ground balls to rank sixth.
Honors and Awards
Molly
Garrett
Maggie
Kane
Caitlin
Muir
Madison
Richardson
Mira
Shane
Nadine
Stewart
IWLCA
West/Midwest All Region (Second Team): Molly Garrett, Maggie Kane, Caitlin Muir, Mira Shane
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten Team: Maggie Kane (unanimous), Caitlin Muir (unanimous), Madison Richardson
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award: Mira Shane
Big Ten All-Tournament Team: Molly Garrett, Nadine Stewart
Academic All-Big Ten
Caroline Bilger, So., Communication Studies
Gabby Burns, Sr., Sociology
Katherine Galzerano, So., International Studies
Molly Garrett, Jr., Sports Management
Lilly Grass, Jr., Communication Studies
Maggie Handlan, Sr., Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience
Grace Hemmer, Sr., Psychology
Chandler Kirby, Jr., Political Science
Maddie Klee, Sr., Communication Studies
Alli Kothari, Sr., Statistics
Erin O'Shaughnessy, Jr., Environment
Sara Parnes, Jr., Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuropsychology
Adriana Pendino, Sr., Sports Management
Megan Schulte, Sr., Business Administration
Bronwyn Shields, Jr., Environment
Ariana Vespa, Sr., Political Science
Caroline Witkowski, So., Communication Studies
