The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
February 9, 2009- 3B
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom February 9, 2009- 38
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Nemitz earns
MVP honors
in tournament
By IAN KAY would eventually add three more
Daily Sports Writer runs, though Taylor's pitching
performance - no baserunners
If this weekend was any indi- in the game's final four innings
cation, junior pitcher Nikki - rendered the insurance scores
Nemitz has put last postseason's unnecessary.
struggles firmly in the rearview Sunday, the script was flipped.
mirror. Taylor started the game against
Nemitz allowed just three runs Massachusetts but lasted just 1.1
in 16.2 innings of work, propel- innings before Michigan coach
ling Michigan to a 4-1 record and Carol Hutchins called on Nemitz.
the Florida Atlantic University The junior's stat line (5.2 innings,
Kick-Off Classic title. She was one baserunner, seven strikeouts)
named tournament MVP for her was reminiscent of Taylor's the
efforts. day before, but Michigan's offen-
After splitting innings in the sive production was not. The
pitching circle with sophomore Wolverines stranded eight run-
Jordan Taylor throughout the ners en route to a 1-0 loss.
2008 regular season, Nemitz gave "Everyone needs to improve
up eight runs in 11 playoff innings somewhere in their game,"\Nem-
for the Wolverines. itz said. "No one is perfect yet.
But Nemitz (2-0) didn't waste We just all need to find that little
any time making her case as the weakness in our game and work
Wolverines' ace this season. on gettingbetter at that, whether
In Michigan's first game Fri- it's hitting or fielding or maybe
day, a 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh, some energy."
she tossed eight innings of three- In terms of hitting - and ener-
hit ball and racked up 18 strike- gy - Chidester already appears
outs - a career high and just one to be in midseason form. The
short of the Michigan single- freshman second baseman/desig-
game record. nated player collected nine hits,
"We figured out a weakness on five runs and six RBI in her first
the other team and we just kept weekend of collegiate action.
attacking it," Nemitz said. "Once "I was nervous, but the team
they caught on, we started chang- is so supportive," Chidester said.
ing it up a little bit." "Everyone was just like 'Chid-
Saturday, after Taylor (2-1) dy, relax, you're fine, just have
dominated in a 4-0 win over fun out there.' The support we
Maryland, Nemitz started all have for each other, it's just
against Long Island but with less great."
favorable results. She yielded six Hitting in the cleanup spot
hits and two runs (one earned) in vacated by last year's captain
just three innings of work before Samantha Findlay, Chidester
ceding the ball to Taylor. scored the eventual winning runs
But Nemitz's work wasn't done against Pittsburgh and Florida
just because she was finished in Atlantic.
.the pitching circle. Her fourth- She also knocked in the go-
inning double scored freshman ahead scores with a double
Amanda Chidester and gave against Long Island and a triple
the Wolverines a 3-2 lead. They against Maryland.
WILL MOELLER/Dail
Sophomore Aaron Palushaj gets past a Lake Superior State defenseman in Michigan's 6-2 win on Friday night.
Wolve rines tird in CCHIA
after sweep of ake State
By CHRIS MESZAROS
DailySports Writer
Apparently, the Michigan hockey
fans have good foresight - because
they sure didn't miss much Satur-
day night.
In one LAKE SUPERIOR ST. 2
of the rare MICHIGAN 6
games
when the LAKE SUPERIOR ST. 1
student MICHIGAN 2
section
wasn't full, the Michigan hockey
team played one of its most boring
games of the season but still beat
Lake Superior State 2-1.
"It was an ugly win, but we got
through it," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said.
No. 4 Michigan (15-7-0-0 CCHA,
21-9-0 overall) started its sweep of
the Lakers by winning 6-2 Friday.
The Wolverines came into the game
needing a sweep to stay among the
top four teams in the CCHA, all of
whom receive a first-round. bye in
the opening round of the confer-
ence playoffs. Currently, the Wol-
verines sit alone in third place with
30 points, just two behind Miami
(Ohio) and six behind Notre Dame.
The Wolverines have six remain-
ingregular-seasongames before the
CCHA playoffs, against Nebraska-
Omaha, Ohio State and Ferris State.
The Buckeyes are currently fourth
in the conference with 28 points.
Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris State
have 26 and 23 points, respectively.
In both games this weekend, the
Lakers took a 1-0 lead in the first
period. And in both games, Michi-
gan goals at the end of the frame
swung the momentum, and the
game, to the Wolverines' side.
In Friday's game, sophomore
forward Matt Rust stole the puck in
the neutral zone and skated up the
side boards. Rust then flipped the
puck from backhand to forehand
and beat Lake Superior State goalie
Pat Inglis over his right shoulder.
To make matters worse for the
Lakers (6-10-6-1,9-13-8), Rust's goal
was shorthanded with just four sec-
onds remaining in the period.
"You have to be able to make the
reads here and there," Rust said.
"And I was one step ahead of the
defender and got lucky and was able
to pick up the puck. I have been try-
ing to keep my feet moving."
Though there were 40 minutes
left to play, the late goal sucked the
life out of the Lakers for the second
period.
And Michigan made them pay.
Including Rust's first goal, the
Wolverines scored five unanswered
tallies - before the Lakers lit the
lamp again.
After Lake Superior State
notched the opening goal Saturday,
Michigan answered again. Sopho-
more Carl Hagelin tied the game
with 28 seconds left in the first
frame on a wicked wrist shot from
the slot that beat Inglis on his glove
side.
Hagelin's tally Saturday was per-
haps the most important of the week-
end - not only because Michigan
won by just one goal but also because
the Lakers were prepared to play.
Inthe second period,juniorBrian
Lebler scored the game winner on
a rebound from a shot by sopho-
more Aaron Palushaj. The goal was
enough for Michigan to hold onto
the lead and sweep the series.
"That was a huge goal that
Hagelin got, kind of like Rust's
goal (Friday) night, to get us back
in the game in the first period,"
Berenson said. "And then we
scored on a rebound, and we hung
on for a one-goal game. It's hard
to beat a team twice in this league
back-to-back."
Lake Superior State missed sev-
eral late opportunities, including
a second-period opportunity off a
rebound. Senior Tim Miller was in
position to take the forward down,
and though he took a penalty, Mill-
er kept the Wolverines in the lead.
Hogan kept Michigan on top,
registering 26 saves and 45 on the
weekend.
"It was just one of those games
where we weren't in sync and we
just had to battle the whole way,"
Berenson said. "They were a tough
team, a good team. Bryan Hogan
had to make some big saves."
" 'M' ends regular season on a high note,
wins third straight dual on Senior Day
By FELIX CARREON
Daily Sports Writer
For three straight years, the
Michigan women's swimming and
diving team has ended the regular
season with a three-meet winning
streak.
The last two years, the Wolver-
ines also finished second at the Big
Ten Championships.
And they're well on their way to
doing that again.
The Wolverines won five of the
last six events on Saturday to sink
the Fighting Irish 141-102.
Senior Hannah Smith had a per-
formance to remember in her last
regular-season meet, winning the
200-yard freestyle (1:48.71) and
100-yard freestyle (50.27).
"It was Senior Day, so that was
in the back of my mind a little bit,"
Smith said. "Try to go -out with a
bang. I was pretty happy with how
I swam, especially with Big Tens in
a couple weeks in this building."
Michigan coach Jim Richardson
was very pleased with the strong
performances by the team's four
seniors, especially Smith.
AUERBACH
From page 1B
Michigan came out flat in the
opening frame of each game. The
Lakers dominated the game's pace,
scored first and applied constant
offensive pressure.
In both contests, a Wolverine
goal in the final minute of the first
period completely changed the
momentum.
But Michigan must learn it can't
wait and wait until someone steps
up in a crucial moment. It can't
always rely on a perfect backhand-
ed goal from its penalty-kill unit to
give the team a spark.
"I don't really know what it is,"
sophomore center Louie Capo-
russo said Friday. "(Other teams)
have strategies. We kind of adjust
as we go along. I think by the sec-
ond period, we have a feel for (the
game).... We've got to be ready at
Y,
ARIEL BOND/Daily
Senior Christine Nichols finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke Saturday.
"Coming out of the training trip,
we were a little tired, so every week
we have been getting a little bit more
rest, and at the meets, we build upon
that," Johnson said. "Our energy is
higher, our strokes are getting bet-
ter technically as we get stronger,
and our moods are better."
The diving events helped build
an insurmountable lead. Fresh-
man Amanda Lohman registered
career bests, finishing second in
the three-meter (298.35) and third
in the one-meter (291.60). Junior
Stephanie O'Callaghan also had
a strong performance with a sec-
ond-place finish in the one-meter
(293.03) and a third-place finish in
the three-meter (289.50).
Michigan will now welcome a
much needed-rest as they prepare
to host the Big Ten Championships
Feb. 18 - 21, where No. 10 Minne-
sota will be favored.
"Some people I thought would
be a little faster, and when I looked
up and saw Hannah's time in the
100, I thought, 'Where did that
come from?' "Richardson said.
"I'm not concerned. We've done
the work."
Junior Nikki Nemitz recorded two wins in the FAU Kick-Off Classic.
"I think it was important for
them," Richardson said. "I know it
was for Hannah Smith. She swam
lights out today. Anytime you're
here for four years and it's the last
one of something, you're thinking
about it a little bit more. I think all
of our seniors did a real nice job."
With Michigan trailing the Irish
59-53 halfway through the meet,
the Wolverines took over. Fresh-
man Caitlin Dauw won 100-yard
butterfly (55.57) to give Michigan
the lead for good.
Fifth-year senior Caroline Rodri-
guez extended the lead and earned
her first victory of the season in the
100-yard backstroke (56.64).
"Caroline has a lot of ability,"
Richardson said. "If she can ever
learn to harness that energy and
distribute it properly throughout
a race, she is going to be scary. We
are very fortunate to have her with
us now."
The Wolverines are swimming
faster after fully recovering from
a training camp a month ago and
using strong finishes to overpower
the competition.
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the drop of the puck."
The trend of starting slowly
isn't new. The Wolverines have
given up the first goal in 14 of their
30 games thus far. Of those 14,
they've won just six.
To put that into perspective,
Michigan has lost just one game in
which it scored first.
Sure, this is a nitpicky problem.
If the team is winning even with
letdown periods or lapses on the
power play, it's still good, right?
Well, it was fine against a team
like Lake Superior State. But as
Notre Dame showed the Wolver-
ines, both last weekend and in
last April's Frozen Four game, it
doesn't work against good teams
or in the postseason.
I'm not saying that Michigan
has played poorly in recent weeks.
In fact, the third period against
the Fighting Irish two weekends
ago was probably one of the best
I've seen all season.
But through the first two
frames, the Wolverines were on
their heels, playing somewhat
lethargic hockey until their
dynamic comeback attempt.
Against the nation's top compe-
tition, that just won't cut it.
Still, this isn't a terrible problem
to have. For instance, when Miami
(Ohio) swept Michigan in Novem-
ber, the Wolverines found the back
of the net just once in six periods
- that's a serious issue.
This is just about preparing for
the postseason. Michigan wants a
top-four seed in the CCHA Tour-
nament, which would guarantee
a first-round bye and home-ice
advantage in the second round.
To earn that, the Wolverines
need toput together solid, 60-min-
ute efforts to beat middle-of-the-
pack foes like upcoming opponents
Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris State.
That starts with the first drop
of the puck.
"When we start playing the top-
notch teams in the league again,
like in the playoffs, it's going to
be a lot harder to come back in
games," Rust said Friday. "We're
not going to get the bounces I
did, lucky me being able to score
with (six) seconds left. We've got
to make a point-to just come out
stronger and harder and keep the
game simple."
And instead of just saying that,
the Wolverines need to do it.
Early-game offensive explosions
can't show up sporadically, like in
sweeps against rivals Michigan
State and Miami last month.
This team has shown it's more
than capable of competing with
the nation's best. But if it can put
together a complete game, Michi-
gan might just be able to knock
them out.
- Auerbach can be reached
at naauer@umich.edu.
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