The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 9A Redshirt freshman settles into role By Sara Livingston Daily Sports Writer Beth Riley recorded six saves in Michigan's 2-0 win over Central Michigan on Tuesday. *Riley, defense lead stick ers tc By Daniel Levy Daily Sports Writer Ten minutes into Tuesday's match at Central Michigan, Michigan found itself with a penalty corner oppor- tunity. Defender Kara Lentz fired a low shot on net and forward Jill Civic redirected the shot past Chippewa goalie Danielle Frank to give Michi- gan a 1-0 lead. The goal was all the Wolverines (4-3) needed. A swarm- ing Michigan defense limited Central Michigan's opportunities, and the Wolverines' goalie Beth Riley did the rest, making six saves to record her first shutout of the season in No. 8 Michigan's 2-0 win. "It's always nice to have a shutout," Riley said. "I think it's really good for the team. It's a confidence builder to know that we can do it, and we've done it before." Riley and the Michigan defense did a great job of playing together to keep the Chippewas scoreless. Working with the defense and keeping a men- tal edge are the two things Riley has been emphasizing this season. "I always want to focus on commu- nicating with my team and directing the defense to keep myself mentally in the game, even when I am not fac- ing a lot of shots," Riley said. "When I am facing a lot of shots, and if I give up a goal, I work on resetting my mental attitude and just take every shot as it is, put those goals in the past and refocus." Riley showed what the right men- tality can do in Tuesday's match. She and the Michigan defense played their toughest when Central Michigan (2- victory 3) had chances to get on the board. The Chippewas had 1I penalty corner opportunities in the match, but failed to convert on any of them. In con- trast to Central Michigan's struggles, Michigan was able to capitalize on two of its I1 penalty corner chances, which proved to be the difference in the Wolverines' victory. Another credit to Michigan's stel- lar defense is that, in shutting out Central Michigan, the Wolverines held Chippewas' star forward, Alicia Balanesi, scoreless for the first time all year. Michigan forward Katie Morris continued her assault on opposing defenses. After notching game-win- ning goals in both of the Wolverines' matches last weekend - includ- ing tallying a hat trick on Saturday - Morris found the net once again Tuesday, extending Michigan's lead to two just before halftime. Morris has six of the Wolverines' 12 total goals this season. "I'm getting a lot of chances and making the most of them," Morris said. "Scoring goals is my job as a for- ward, so I'm just playing my role." Even though the win was Michigan's fourth straight, the Wolverines aren't allowing themselves to get overconfident. "We're always happy to get the wins, but, at the same time, we know we still have a lot to work on," Morris said. "We're not where we want to be yet, but we'll keep taking the wins as they come." The Wolverines will look to extend their winning streak to five in a row when they host Vermont on Sunday at Phyllis Ocker field. In one moment, everything can come together. For redshirt freshman Mara Martin, that moment came when she was walking off the court dur- ing the Michigan volleyball team's loss to No. I Nebraska last week. Coach Mark Rosen looked over at Martin, who was sitting at the far end of the bench and asked if she was having fun. Martin, the team's start- ing setter, looked back over and gave her coach a smile from ear-to-ear. From that point on, every- thing has been going better than planned for Mar- tin and the Wolverines. "She was sweating like crazy, and you could tell she was exhausted," Rosen said. "And she just looked back at me and gave me this great smile, and it wasn't BS, and it wasn't fake. I knew at that time that she had adjusted to the speed, and she was comfortable and (could) just compete and play." Ever since the game against Nebraska, Mar- tin has been improving with every practice and game. Her positive attitude has allowed her to take what Rosen teaches her and help her game. "When (Rosen) asked me if I was having fun it just made me feel good to know that he noticed it, too," Martin said. "I know he probably had some doubts in me as well starting off, but he knew that I could get it done. And that made me feel really good." Rosen isn't the only one that has noticed Mar- tin's daily improvement and confidence boost. Her teammates are constantly in awe of how quickly she is catching on to the speed of the college game and how far she has come since the start of her redshirt season. "Mara has taken some huge strides, and she has really come into her own," junior captain Erin Cobler said. "She has been playing with her own personality and with a lot of confidence, and it's working because she has become a very, very solid setter for us. I have a lot of confidence in her. "That confidence comes from seeing how hard she works both in practice and after practice. She really earned my respect, and I don't have any hesitation about her being in that spot at all." Martin came into Michigan as a very raw play- er who had potential but simply lacked the expe- rience to immediately contribute to the team. After spending all of last year and this past sum- mer in the gym, Martin won the role of starting setter for the Wolverines. At the team's annual summer camp, Rosen was worried about Mar- tin's progression and feared she might be beat out by another teammate for the starting slot. But when the team ~resumed a regular practice schedule, Martin shocked her coach and team- mates, coming into the gym strong and blowing away the competition. "I spent every single day over the summer train- TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily Redshirt freshman Mara Martin's offseason training allowed her to grab the starting setter spot for Michigan. ing and running and working hard so that when we came back, I would be ready," Martin said. "I really wanted to get the starting job and I knew that was my only chance to get it. I didn't want to miss out." Despite having some trouble getting into the swing of things on the court, it couldn't have been easier for Martin to become friends with her teammates. She is particularly close to sophomore captains Lyndsay Miller and Katie Bruzdzinski, and the three of them have been nicknamed the "coneheads." Martin's teammates came up with the name after watching the movie Miracle, since that was the nickname given to three players on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team who were always by each other's side. "We just realized that we are the coneheads because everything we do is together no matter what," Martin said. "Katie is pass because she passes me the ball, I'm shoot because I shoot the ball and Lyndsay is score because she scores." The chemistry between Martin and her team- mates greatly eased Martin's transition into the starting spot. After helping the Wolverines win their last four games, it's clear that Martin is comfortable in her new role as the team's "quarterback." "She's not afraid to compete at this level any- more, and she's not overburdened by it," Rosen said. "In fact, she is loving it. "She has that men- tality to work hard, and I think she is just going to continue improving and learning. She is going to be great." IS THE SIX-PAGE SPORTS SECTION NOT ENOUGH FOR YOUR DAILY FIX? WE NOW HAVE A SPORTS BLOG. CHECK IT OUT: WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM - - Life of an Investment Banking Analyst Please come meet investment Banking Analysts at our interactive discussion panel for undergraduates at the University of Michigan. " Learn about the Investment Banking industry and the daily responsibilities of an Analyst " Gain insight into the role of an Analyst working on a UBS transaction " Find out how a deal team operates " Open forum - ask any and all questions Date: September 15, 2005 Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Venue: Campus Inn, Regency Ballroom Students from all majors and years are welcome - casual attire! I