The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday. March 11. 2008 -- 9 Knee surgery may not keep Merritt sidelined Senior expected to miss rest of season could return for Big Ten tournament By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Editor Making senior David Mer- ritt one of the Wolverines avail- able to the media before Friday's practice seemed like a curious choice. Just two days after senior David Merritt hurt his knee against Ohio State about a month ago, Michigan coach John Beilein said in an athletic department release that the guard's season was over. Merritt tried to get under a screen against the Buckeyes when his knee locked. His menis- cus tore, flipped over and got stuck between bones. "I still contested the shot after it had locked out, but then I couldn't extend my knee all the way," Merritt said. Merritt thought he wouldn't play anymore, but instead of repairing the meniscus and wait- ing for it to heal, which takes four to six months, it was removed in Feb. 20, which shortened his recovery time. Merritt wore a practice jersey Friday but said he was just rehab- bing. When asked if he might play again this year, he said, "We'll see" with a grin. The West Bloomfield native was on the court for about 30 minutes before Sunday's game against Purdue, running sprints and making cuts before his team- mates took the floor for warm- ups. He high-fived and chatted with them and also participated in some of the group warm-up. He seemed to move with ease, saying he felt "pretty good" and didn't feel the knee too much. Although Merritt is worried about his conditioning, Beilein said it would be great if Merritt were cleared to play even spot minutes in the Big Ten Tourna- ment. The Wolverines, who tipoff the tournament against Iowa Thursday, need help in the back- court. Michigan's guards (fresh- men Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady and redshirt junior C.J. Lee) combined for 13 points, four rebounds, seven assists and 16 turnovers against Purdue. Beilein said earlier in the sea- son that he wishes he had more time to work with Merritt. But because Merritt walked on to the team last year, he has another season of eligibility remaining. Although Merritt said there's a 50-50 chance he'll be on the team next year, he participated in Senior Day activities Sunday. He said it felt a bit strange know- ing it might not be his last game at Crisler Arena. Merritt said he and Beilein haven't had any long conversa- tions abouthis return,butthey've had some short talks. For Merritt, the decision par- tially depends on whether he can find a good job. He plans to graduate in May and is pursuing a career in advertising or market- ing. Beilein said he'll have to assess the team's scholarship situation and what type of players he'll bring in for next year to see how Merritt would fit. Two fresh- men guards will join the Wolver- ines, and Arizona-transfer Laval Lucas-Perry will be eligible to play by midseason. Indiana native Zack Novak committed to Michigan Friday, according to nwi.com. The 6- foot-4 swingman averages 26.9 points per game. He also had offers from Valparaiso, Colorado State, Oakland and Indiana-Pur- due Fort Wayne, according to the website. Another Indianan, guard Stu Douglass, has already signed a letter of intent to play for the Wolverines next year. ALL-BIG TEN HONORS: Har- ris made the All-Big Ten second team and All-Freshman team. Sophomore center Ekpe Udob earned All-Defensive team recognition. The coaches gave sophomore forward DeShawn Sims an honorable mention. Senior Ron Coleman won the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Michigan. RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Freshman Scooter Vaughan is unlikely to play this weekend after breaking his jaw in an of f-ice incident. Defense adjusts to Vaughan's injury In words and actions, Kelly emerges as quiet leader Teammates look to sophomore for emotional support By RUTH LINCOLN Daily Sports Writer When senior Justine Mueller nears the end of her grueling 32 50-meter repeats at practice, she has to push to finish. Then she hears sopho- more Mar- KELLY garet Kelly's encourage- ment from the pool deck. That voice makes all the difference. YEAR: Soph. "It can be HOMETOWN: the light at Ann Arbor the end of the tunnel EVENTS: some days," 2001M Mueller 100 Fly said. After claiming conference titles and breaking records, Kelly has a lot left over - for her teammates. A quiet leader, the Ann Arbor native can almost always been seen with a smile, ready to provide positive motivation. "Definitely a silent leader," Mueller said. "(She) just really can bring light to anyone's day." Kelly brings her upbeat atti- tude to the pool day every day. Even through tough workouts, she consistently finds a way to make sure her fellow swimmers are excited about swimming. Kelly's kind words and posi- tive attitude radiate with her teammates. In and out of the pool, Kelly makes it a priority to support her teammates and takes concern for their well-being. "Whenever I'm having a bad day, I'm just like, 'Margaret, I need a hug,' and so she'll give you, one of those 'mom hugs,' " junior Emily Brunemann said. "She's very good with those, and those really brighten up your day." Kelly said she gives out hugs to teammates that may benefit from one, but really just "anything to help them out." The athletic training major says she tries to take the team's philosophy of turning negative energy or experiences into posi- tive ones. "She's got wonderful balance in her life," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "But I think to Margaret, people are more important than things or swim- ming." But Kelly's teammates and coaches are not the only people to take notice of her optimistic spirit. Kelly has amassed a slew of honors this season, including beingnamedtheBigTen Champi- onship meet's highest scorer. She also received the Big Ten Sports- manship award last month. "It's just an honor to get that award, to know that people notice maybe when you're nicer to other teammates or just congratulate everyone," Kelly said. Kelly's modesty and posi- tive demeanor don't sway with a tough meet or practice. She makes the best of the situation, and finds a way to use it to her advantage. "On days when she's fatigued, she's just more determined," Richardson said. Kelly's quiet leadership may not make a lot of noise, but her swimming definitely screams. She won three Big Ten titles at last month's conference cham- pionships and has recorded the eighth fastest time in the nation in 200-yard individual and sixth in the 100-yard butterfly. At the NCAA Championships March 20-22 at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, the crowd will be one of the loudest of the season. But the Wolver- ines won't need to look far to find their biggest cheerleader. She's been there all along. Senior forward Kolarik's return looks more likely By NATE SANDALS Daily Sports Editor Michigan's worst-case defensive scenario is quickly becoming a real- ity. After Kevin NOTEBOOK Quick was dis- missed from the team Feb. 1, the Wolverines' roster went down to six game-tested defensemen. Now, that number stands at five. Freshman defenseman Scooter Vaughan broke his jaw in an off ice incident, wrestling with a team- mate late last week. He underwent surgery yesterday afternoon, but is unlikely to return for this week- end's CCHA quarterfinal series against Nebraska-Omaha. "Just the pain factor from the surgery today, he won't be skating (today) or Wednesday," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Maybe he will skate Thursday, but it will be a huge question mark this week- end." Berenson said Vaughan could be back this season because he had screws and plates inserted in the jaw, rather than having it wired shut. Without Vaughan, the coach- ing staff is quickly moving to its backup plans and beyond. The defensive pairings were adjusted for yesterday's practice with junior Mark Mitera, Vaughan's pair mate, skating alongside freshman Chad Langlais. Sophomore Steve Kamp- fer and freshman Tristin Llewellyn were paired. The final duo featured sophomores Chris Summers ,and Eric Elmblad. Elmblad, a walk-on from St. Ignace, appears to be the leading candidate to fill Vaughan's spot, except for his inexperience. Elm- blad has never played in a college game. "I feel like I'm ready," Elmblad said. "I'm practicing with the best team in the country every day." But the coaches aren't guaran- teeing the spot to Elmblad. Junior forward Danny Fardig skated as a defenseman yesterday and could be on the blueline if the coaches don't feel Elmblad is ready to jump in to the fray for a playoff series. Fardig last played defense dur- ing the Great Lakes Invitational his freshman year. He called those two games an "eye-opening experi-. ence." "Eric's the defenseman, and he'll have a leg up as far as play- ing," assistant coach Billy Powers said. "But Danny has played some defense in the past, and he actually looked pretty good (yesterday)." Fardig has always been a defen- sive-minded forward, and spent much of yesterday's practice next to Mitera, looking for tips and asking questions. But he'll have to learn as much as he can quickly. Vaughan's injury came at the worst possible time for Michigan. Nebraska-Omaha has the nation's 12th-best offense, so an inexperi- enced defenseman will be in a par- ticularlydifficultspotthisweekend. Additionally, the Mavericks' lead- ing scorer, Bryan Marshall, is likely to be back for the series after suf- feringa knee injury Feb. 15. KOLARIK BACK ON TOP LINE: Senior alternate captain Chad Kolarik is closing in on a return for this weekend's series. Kolarik, who went down with a serious ham- string injury while stretching for a puck Feb. 15, skated with the top line in yesterday's practice. "I like the direction he's gone," Berenson said. "He's made sig- nificant strides to get where he is now." Kolarik has been undergoing treatment twice a day since he suf- fered the injury. For the past week, he has con- centrated on regaining his endur- ance, after spending more than two weeks off the ice. Kolarik will also work on getting back into contact drills during practice this week. Ultimately, the decision of whether to put Kolarik back in the lineup will be made by Kolarik, Berenson and trainer Rick Ban- croft. But Kolarik is feeling better every day. "It's not 100 percent, but it's get- ting there," Kolarik said. PACIORETTY NAMED TO ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: Freshman Max Pacioretty was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team yesterday. Pacioretty was the only Wolverine named to the team and was one of two unanimous selections. With a talented 12-member freshman class, Michigan had the numbers to fill much more of the rookie squad. After thriving in one-arm routine, Baldus-Strauss joins regular event lineup By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer For most athletes, getting hurt means sitting out. But for freshman Ben Baldus- Strauss, it meant learning to do floor exercise on just one good arm. After sustaining a mysterious injury on the pommel horse in November, Baldus-Strauss's right wrist was useless for more than a month. Even with multiple X-rays and an MRI, doctors weren't sure what was wrong and eventually just immobilized the wrist. Baldus- Strauss, normally an all-arounder, couldn't practice pommel horse, rings, parallel bars or high bar, all of which require both arms for sup- port. one-handed floor routines were his only option, and he poured all his energy and focus into the event - with the occasional one-handed vault thrown in for good measure. "He was doing things he had never done on two hands, on one hand," sophomore Evan Heiter said. Baldus-Strauss performed one- handed in the floor exercise in the Maize and Blue intrasquad, but never in the regular season. Once he could use both arms again, Baldus-Strauss made his season debut at Oklahoma and then made major contributions in the team's win at Iowa, Feb. 2. After a somewhat shaky first meet, he provided counting scores on pom- mel horse and high bar against the Hawkeyes. The pressure was on in Iowa City - Baldus-Strauss performed later in event lineups, often after mul- tiple teammates had missed their sets. And many family members, including his parents, were there to watch. "It's a lot different when you're later on and you know you have to hit," Baldus-Strauss said. "I felt really good on the bar, just because I knew I had to hit." His high bar routine, one of the few clean ones in the meet, was one of the keys to Michigan's win. Since then, Baldus-Strauss has become a regular contributor in the floor, pommel horse and high bar line- ups. While many in the gymnastics community may have overlooked Baldus-Strauss, instead focus- ing on his prominent classmates, Thomas Kelley and Chris Camer- on, his teammates noticed the quiet freshman's talent from day one. "He's probably one of the most talented people we have in here," junior Joe Catrambone said. "If you tell him to try a new skill, he'll master it on the first try." Baldus-Strauss's impressive drive for perfection extends to his schoolwork. If you can't find him on weekends, junior Scott Breg- man advised, just look for him in the Law Quad. His diligence has paid off - in his first semester at Michigan, he earned a perfect 4.0 GPA. Growing up in Wheaton, Ill., Baldus-Strauss tried "every sport under the sun," including tennis, tee-ball, football and ice hockey. But something finally clicked for the seven-year-old as he watched men's gymnastics during the 1996 Olympics. He signed up for gymnastics classes that day and never looked back. "We just happened to have a gym five minutes from our house," Baldus-Strauss said. "It's probably the best decision I ever made." His teammates would second that. "I think he really stayed under the radar in terms of being one of those big-name, bells-and-whistles recruits," Heiter said. "But in the end, he's one of our most talented guys and he could easily be an All- American many times by the time his career is over." RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Freshman Ben Baldus-Strauss suffered an injury on the pommel horse in Novem- ber, but he's bounced back for Michigan, even on the pommel horse.