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." SCHOL FLANSR 7 R J AIIAd UI~ nrnwv Turm m t r i re 0 0 GOT MICHIGAN FOOTBALL QUESTIONS? WE'LL ANSWER THEM IN MONDAY'S PAPER. TO "ASK THE EXPERTS," EMAIL IROBI@UMICH.EDU.