6B - November 10, 2008
6B- Nom r02The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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SAIUALASALAH/aily
Senior Nader Jarun picked up a yellow card in Michigan's physical 2-0 win over Penn State on Saturday.
NITTANY LIONS
From Page 1B
gan senior Nader Jarun drew a yel-
low card.
The second half looked much
like the first. Penn State had its best
chance to score with two minutes
remaininginthegame,whenaPenn
State player took a hard shot from
10 yards out. A Wolverine defender
blocked the shot, which was redi-
rected at the goal once again, forc-
ing redshirt junior goalie Patrick
Sperry to make a diving save.
With less than a minute left in
the game, senior captain Alex Mor-
isset found himself at midfield with
the ball.
Marosevic raced down the field
with the ball as the announcer
counted down the last 10 seconds.
Penn State goalie Warren Gross,
Marosevic's former teammate on
the Under-20 U.S. National team,
came out of the net. Marosevic
made a quick move to the rightand
tapped the ball into the goal.
Penn State had many opportuni-
ties to score, with both teams put-
ting six shots on goal, but Sperry's
superb play blanked the Nittany
Lion offense, giving him his sixth
conference shutout of the season
and his 18th career shutout, one shy
of the school record.
With the completion of the regu-
lar season, Michigan found itself
leading the conference in fewest
goals allowed (.5 goals per game).
Michigan coach Steve Burns attri-
butes this success not only to Sper-
ry, but also to the team's defense,
led by junior Julian Robles and
senior captain Mike Holody.
The Wolverines extended their
winning streak to three games as
they head into the Big Ten Tour-
nament, starting this Thursday in
Madison, againsthost Wisconsin.
"We're going to the conference
tournament with the intent of win-
ning our first championship," Burns
said.
And with the mentality the Wol-
verines have, they know they can
play with anyone as long as they
bringtheir best.
"Certainly we knew we had the
potential to do it," Burns said. "It
was a matter of whether the play-
ers could really pull together and
unlock that potential. I think that
the best is still yet to come for this
team."
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Michigan coach Joe McFarland led a contingent of Wolverines to the Michigan State Open yesterday.
Young'M'heavyweights shine
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - The Michi-
gan wrestling team sent just a few
wrestlers to the Michigan State
Open, but it was the young Wol-
verine heavyweights who experi-
enced all the success.
"None of our guys that are
our returning starters compet-
ed today," Michigan coach Joe
McFarland said. "It was a day to
try to get our young guys some
matches and some experience."
Freshman Ben Apland, who
went 0-2 at the Eastern Michigan
Open last Saturday, moved down
to the freshman and sophomore
division this weekend. He domi-
nated his opponents, earning a
trip to the finals without a match
closer than seven points and with
a pin of Manchester College's Ben
Long in the second round.
"I can see him doingsome great
things in the future," McFarland
said.
Apland took second and his fel-
low heavyweight, redshirt sopho-
more Chad Bleske, placed third in
the open heavyweight division.
After losing in the in the second
round, Bleske scored a late rever-
sal in his first match of the con-
solation round alive to keep his
hopes of a high finish in the tour-
nament alive. Bleske squeaked out
a 3-2 victory in the third-place
match with a nifty escape.
However, after Michigan had
seven wrestlers place in the East-
ern Michigan Open, the Michigan
State Open was a disappointment
for the freshmen, who came to
Michigan as part of the No. 7
ranked recruiting class in the
nation.
Freshman Bret Marsh (125
pounds) finished 3-2 in the fresh-
man/sophomore division, while
his classmate Hunter Collins (184
pounds) finished 2-2 in the open
division after placing fourth last
week in Ypsilanti.
"There are some things we
have been working on that the
guys have not been applying to
their matches," McFarland said.
"One of the things is scoring that
first takedown and putting your-
self in position where you have
the momentum and you're win-
ning the game. You get that first
takedown it just puts everything
on your side."
The freshmen have a chance to
redeem themselves at the Maize
& Blue Intrasquad Sunday, where
starting spots for the regular sea-
son will be determined. A number
of underclassmen have a chance
to earn the starting spot in the
heavyweight division, including
Apland and Bleske.
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