THE GOOD NEWS: This morning’s Strib reports that Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair will remain a Gopher. She apparently announced this on Instagram. Though she will have been enrolled at the U of M for 3 years as of next month, Landfair has 3 more years of eligibility! When I first saw her in the spring of ’21 (which didn’t count, eligibility-wise), I predicted she could become the G.O.A.T. of Gopher V-ball. And she has 3 more years to prove me right.
THE BAD NEWS: The underappreciated Jenna Wenaas announced that she has entered the transfer portal. (I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up in Texas.) Wenaas’s natural position is Left-side hitter, where she was good enough to make First Team All Big Ten in 2021. And was pre-season First Team All Big Ten headed into this recent season.
But when it developed that Wooker was more effective as the Gophers “other” (besides Landfair) Left-side hitter compared to Crowl or Hanson as a Right-side hitters, Wenaas moved to Right-side hitter – where she struggled initially. She improved as a Right-side hitter as the season went on, but her hitting numbers were not good enough to earn her any post-season recognition. I am not privy to the inside story (anyone?) of how the decision was made. It might have been a coaching staff decision, a Wenaas decision (the logic was obvious enough), or perhaps mutual. It was probably in the team’s best interest; but not necessarily in Wenaas’s.
If the Gophers manage to retain Wooker, Crowl and Hanson, we might not miss Wenaas’s hitting all that much. BUT, a 6-rotation player, Wenaas was our best serve receiver – better numbers than the now-out-of-eligibility McGraw, and way better than Kilkelly or Landfair. The Gophs are really going to miss Wenaas in serve-receive.
It was also announced that assistant coaches Matt & Jen Houk are leaving. This is no surprise; it is natural for a new Head Coach to pick his own assistants.
THE UNKNOWN NEWS: And the rest? Including Shaffmaster, Wooker, Booth? We don’t know yet. I would think that Landfair and Wenaas announcing their intentions might trigger others – but they don’t need to unless they choose. We also don’t know who Coach Cook might acquire through the Portal. But I’d rather keep those 3; unlikely their replacements would be as good.