8 - Friday, September 19, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Seniors ready for
last shot at title
By MATT JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
Nobody on the Michigan men's
golf team has waited for a shot at
redemption longer than seniors
Nick Pumford and Bill Rankin.
Both have spent three seasons
on campus toiling for a team that
finished near the bottom of the Big
Ten. Michigan hasn't been ranked
higher than fifth in the conference
since they arrived in Ann Arbor.
But the Wolverines are a legiti-
mate contender for the conference
title this season for the first time in
10 years. Last year, Michigan was
close to having a breakthrough
season, missing out on qualify-
ing for the NCAA Championships
by just three strokes. With four
returning starters, expectations
are dramatically higher this sea-
son.
Pumford and Rankin both
made efforts in the offseason to
ensure Michigan will live up to its
potential.
Rankin played in the British
Amateur at Turnberry in Scot-
land, the site of next year's British
Open, after qualifying by winning
the Maxwell in Mayof last season.
He finished 49th in the stroke play
portion of the tournament, quali-
fying for match play and winning
once before bowing out.
"It wasn't something I was
planning on doing," Rankin said.
"I'd never been to Scotland. But I
wanted to go because it's consid-
ered the home of golf. The grass
was hard as a cement walkway
and playing golf there was defi-
nitely different, but it was a fun
experience."
Pumford played in the Michi-
gan Amateur and in a local quali-
fier for the U.S. Open. He stayed
near Ann Arbor and worked indi-
vidually with the Michigan coach-
ing staff instead of traveling to
play in tournaments like most of
his teammates.
"As a senior, I already know
what to expect this fall and hope-
fully, that will carry over," Pum-
ford said.
Pumford and Rankin are best
friends who rely on each other
both on and off the course. They
became close their freshman
year, when they were the only two
young players on a senior-laden
team.
Pumford had some difficul-
ty qualifying for tournaments
his freshman year, and Rankin
became someone he could turn to
for advice on how to improve his
game. The next season, Pumford
improved enough to finish second
at the Wolverine Invitational.
"We were the only ones who
lived in the dorms, and we lived
one floor apart," Rankin said. "We
both had issues being away from
home, so we shared many of the
same problems."
The two have lived together
since their sophomore year and
are competitive on and off the
course.
"I'm sure if they were play-
ing video games, they would be
going hard and trying to beat each
other," Michigan coach Andrew
Sapp said. "They keep working
hard and competing to get better
and better each day."
Pumford and Rankin's main
focus this season is on a Big Ten
title. They helped the Wolverines
take a step toward that goal with
a first-place finish at the Wolf
Run Intercollegiate last weekend.
Rankin finished fourth and Pum-
ford placed seventh.
The duo will look to lead Michi-
gan to another win this weekend
at the Wolverine Invitational in
Ann Arbor.
"We compete to win," Pumford
said. "We want to win a Big Ten
Championship and finish well
in the NCAAs. It's time for us as
a program to step up and make a
name for ourselves."
0
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Redshirt sophomore Matt Schmitt (center) is tackled by a Buffalo defender. Schmitt has greatly improved his play on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Speedy Schmitt a rising star
By NICK MATTAR
For the Daily
It's rare for coaches to turn
down speed.
Rich Rodriguez's team thrives
on it. John Beilein's team uses it
too. And when walk-on tryouts
came around two years ago, Mich-
igan men's soccer coach Steve
Burns took a shot on speed by put-
ting Matt Schmitt on the roster.
Since then, Schmitt, now a
redshirt sophomore, has steadily
evolved from pure athlete to role
player to rising star.
"You can't usually teach a soc-
cer player to be a good athlete,"
Burns said. "But you can teach a
good athlete to be a soccer player,
and that's why we wanted Matt on
our team."
Schmitt saw some action last
year, scoring three goals and add-
ing an assist for a total of seven
points, but he started in just six
games for the Wolverines.
"Last year, he was more of a
two-dimensional player," Burns
said. "Now he has a great back-to-
the-goal game and allows the ball
to do the work for him."
Schmitt's improvement from
last season has been apparent: in
19 games last year he tallied three
goals with one assist. Through six
games this season he has one score
and six helpers.
Schmitt has become a symbol of
perseverance and hard work.
"He's 'Cinderella Man'," Burns
said. "It's a classic underdog story.
We wanted to convert him into an
attacking player, and he's more of a
pure forward now than before."
He may be piling on more
points, but Schmitt still plays with
a whatever-it-takes-to-win atti-
tude in each game. -
"Whether it is setting somebody
up or making a key tackle, I just
try to win games overall," Schmitt
said.
That attitude has already led
to two game-winning assists, the
first coming in the season-opener
against Wisconsin-Green Bay and
the second last Sunday against
Buffalo.
He also scored a goal last week
in a tournament game against San
Diego State on a diving header,
giving the Wolverines their only
goal in a 1-1 tie.
Schmitt was later named to The
Courtyard Marriott San Diego
CentralAll-Tournamentteamafter
racking up a total of five points as
the Wolverines finished 1-0-1 in
the tournament.
Schmitt leads the Big Ten
with six assists this season,
twice the total of the four play-
ers tied for second. He is tied for
fifth in points in the conference
along with senior teammate Jake
Stacy. Schmitt is already in fifth
place on U-M's single-season
assist list, seven behind the cur-
rent single-season school record of
13 set in 2002 by Adam Bruh.
"Obviously,he has worked really
hard," senior captain Danny Gray
said. "But his speed is a huge attri-
bute to his game, and he's using
that better than last year."
Burns sees an even brighter
future for his rising star.
"Each summer he comes back
a different player for the better,"
Burns said. "He's very coachable,
and there's no ceiling to maximize
his potential because he has so
much."
U U
After two disappointing seasons,
team looks to retool with tryouts
By ROGER SAUERHAFT
For the Daily
Instead of studying their notes
at the library or getting some
sleep, members of the Michigan
Club Baseball team spend much
of their nights honing their skills
inside Oosterbaan Field House.
The Wolverine Club squad's 12
returning veterans are shaking
off the rust with tryouts slated
for Sunday, and the senior-laden
team looks to gain some depth
in the middle infield and on the
mound.
After taking home the 2006
Great Lakes North Conference
title and following it up with a
pair of sub par campaigns, the
Wolverines hope to regain their
conference supremacy.
Co-President Alex Gavern
described last year as a rebuild-
ing year. The team lost just two
players to graduation and now has
eight seniors returning for one
last hurrah.
The pitching corps will be
anchored by their ace, Jay Novak.
He will be accompanied by south-
paw Mike Bauman, Justin Stark
and hard throwing-Pat Morrison
in the bullpen. In the field, Gav-
ern led the team in hitting at .500
from behind the dish and sopho-
more Will Ludlow will lead off
and play shortstop.
"We should have some very
strong pitching, and we pretty
much have a solid lineup this
year," Gavern said. "We're looking
to do some big things. This is the
4th year for most seniors with the
team here and we're looking to
go out like we came in (as fresh-
men)."
The club baseball team requires
an extra sacrifice. Players must
provide their own baseball glove
and cletes, while also paying
yearly membership fee of between
$300-350.
After the tryouts complete, the
team will practice once or twice
per week to prepare for its six fall
games prior to the 20-game regu-
lar season in spring. During the
season, the team meets for prac-
tice three times per week, then
a doubleheader Saturday and a
game on Sunday.
Before the start of the spring
season, the team will take a trip
to Florida to hold its own Spring
Training. This will provide a time
to foster team chemistry on and
off the field.
"The guys I've played with all
four years are definitely my best
friends in college," senior third
baseman Kyle Lewis said. "Some
people join fraternities and soror-
ities when they get to college. You
could say this is sort of like that.
I've been with these same guys
for four years since we tried out
together."
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