Michigan
Jacksonville
Michigan to Kick Off 2020 Season at Jacksonville
2/6/2020 4:45:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» Michigan is coming off the best season in program history as head coach Hannah Nielsen enters her third year at the helm.
» Michigan comes into the season ranked eighth by Nike/USL and was picked at No. 9 in the Preseason IWLCA Coaches Poll.
» The Wolverines also were picked to finish third in the Big Ten Conference.
» U-M returns 77 percent of its points from the 2019 season, including five of six players who notched 30 points or more points a season ago.
THIS WEEK
Sunday, Feb. 9 -- at Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.), Noon
Live Stats
• Complete Notes (PDF)
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The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team will begin the 2020 season when it heads to Florida to take on Jacksonville on Sunday (Feb. 9) at noon inside D.E. Martin Stadium.
All Eyes on 2020
• Michigan returns 27 letterwinners, including eight starters, from the 2019 season.
• The U-M roster is comprised of 12 seniors, seven juniors, 10 sophomores and nine freshmen.
• Head coach Hannah Nielsen enters her third season at the helm of the Michigan program.
• Michigan comes into the season ranked No. 9 in the IWLCA Preseason Coaches Poll and is ranked No. 8 by Nike/USL.
• The Wolverines were picked to finish third in the Big Ten behind Maryland and Northwestern.
• U-M returns 77 percent of its points from last season, including five of six players that notched 30 points or more a year ago.
Who Returns for the Offense?
• Juniors Caitlin Muir and Maggie Kane return after they burst onto the scene in their sophomore campaigns.
• Muir set the Michigan single-season points (59) and assists (21) records and became the first U-M player to surpass 50 points in a single season.
• Kane holds the Michigan record of 22 consecutive games with a goal, 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 last season in which she did not score.
• Molly Garrett also returns for her senior season coming off a junior season during which she led U-M with 65 draw control victories -- the second most in a single season in program history -- and scored three game-winners.
• Garrett was named to the Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America third team prior to the 2020 campaign and was one of just five collegiate student-athletes to play with Team USA this past fall.
• Lilly Grass will return for a final season after she tied for second on the team with 48 points (29 goals, 19 assists).
• Also returning to the lineup for a final season is Nadine Stewart, who ranked fifth with 35 points (27 goals, eight assists).
• Michigan also will look for more production from sophomores Kaitlyn Mead and Erin Garvey, who both played in all 20 games a season ago. Mead and Garvey each scored six goals, while Mead added one assist.
• Transfer Kaley Thompson is expected to make an impact after she was named CAA Rookie of the Year in 2019 at Elon. Thompson notched 40 points (33 goals, seven assists) and started 16 of the 17 matches she played. She also matched a program-best eight points against Winthrop with four goals and four assists. On the season, she added a team-best 61 draw control wins.
A Look at the Defense
• Defensively, Maggie Handlan will make her return to the backline after suffering a season-ending injury in 2019. Handlan started 16 games in the 2018 season and had a team-best 30 ground balls while ranking second with 20 caused turnovers.
• Also returning is Quinn Melidona, who had 26 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers in 20 starts in 2019.
• In goal, Alli Kothari will look to earn the starting role in her final season. Kothari appeared in seven games with one start and made 23 saves. In the 2018 season, Kothari split starts in net with Mira Shane and made a team-best 80 saves for a .494 save percentage.
2020 Captains
• The Wolverines chose seniors Molly Garrett, Maggie Handlan, Chandler Kirby, Alli Kothari and Quinn Melidona as their captains for the 2020 campaign.
• Captains were voted on by the team prior to the 2020 season.
• Garrett, Handlan and Kothari are two-time captains as the trio represented the team in their junior seasons.
Garrett Makes Appearance on National Team Roster
• Senior Molly Garrett was one of 27 players who represented the United States national team in the 2019 Fall Classic.
• Garrett was one of five collegiate players named to the training roster for the event.
• The senior was one of four Wolverines who started all 20 games in 2019, and she posted 29 goals, including a career-best six against Northwestern (May 3) in the Big Ten Tournament. She also was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List and the Big Ten All-Tournament team.
Up Next
Saturday, Feb. 15 -- at USC (Los Angeles, Calif.), noon PST
