The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 5A
TWELVE BOLD PREDICTIONS
THE DAILY HOCKEY WRITERS WEIGH IN ON HOW
MICHIGAN WILL FARE DOWN THE STRETCH
MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Sophomore forward Matt Rust and senior forward Travis Turnbull
will both score at least 10 goals in the regular season. They have seven
and eight right now, respectively.
Michigan will not let up another power-play goal the rest of the
regular season. Recently, the Wolverines' penalty-kill unit has been
overwhelmingly dominant, and is currently second-best in the CCHA
with a 90.5 kill percentage.
Miller will score a pair of goals against Notre Dame in the CCHA
Championship game and be named CCHA Tournament MVP. Miller
scored all four of his goals last season at Joe Louis Arena, where the
CCHA playoff semifinals and finals are played. Playing on the top line,
Miller is playing sone of his best hockey right now.
NICOLE AUERBACH
Sophomore forward Louie Caporusso (22 goals) will leapfrog Air
Force's Jacques Lamoureux (25) to finish the season as the nation's
top goal scorer. The Wolverines' Hobey Baker Award hopeful is due for
a hot streak - just in time for the end of the regular season.
Sophomore third-string goaltender Shawn Hunwick will play in net
in the Feb. 28 regular season finale against Ferris State at Yost Ice
Arena. The Wolverines will likely have their CCHA Tournament seed-
ing determined before the game. Expect an easy victory over the Bull-
dogs, and look for Hunwick to make his second career appearance.
Michigan will win the national championship. The Wolverines are on
a tear, winning 14 of their last 16 games, including a sweep of No. 5
Miami (Ohio) and a victory at No. 2 Notre Dame. Their slew of qual-
ity wins solidifies one of the most impressive resumes in the country,
which puts them in prime position for a title run.
Matt Rust will have a hat trick sometime during the last four regu-
lar-season games. He's been on fire since returning from the World
Junior Championships, and is currently tied with sophomore forward
Carl Hagelin and freshman forward Luke Glendening for the most
lamp-lighters since the start of January (five goals apiece).
Louie Caporusso will score at least 30 goals by the end of the post-
season. He's got 22 now , and when he scores, they usually come in
pairs (or bunches). A couple more multi-goal games will do the trick.
Michigan's fourth line will score the game-winning goal in the CCHA
Championship game to defeat Notre Dame. The third and fourth lines
have tallied crucial goals in recent weeks, and both lines have great
chemistry.
Senior goaltender Billy Sauer will see significant playing time before
the season ends. Michigan coach Red Berenson has said that he plans
on having both Sauer and sophomore goaltender Bryan Hogan ready
for the playoffs, and Hogan has very limited playoff experience.
Freshman Brandon Burlon will end the season by leading Wolverine
defensemen in points. Burlon has 13, trailing both junior Chris Sum-
mers and sophomore Chad Langlais, who each have 16. Burlon has
been hot lately and has four of his five goals in the second half of the
season.
Michigan won't play in the Grand Rapids bracket, since it will lose to
Notre Dame in the CCH A finals. The Fighting Irish are just too good for
the Wolverines to beat come tournament time. Instead, the Wolverines
will chase their NCAA dreams in Minneapolis.
Sophomore Carl Hagelin is tied for the teamlead in goals since the start of January.
'M' opens Big Ten season
Benson and Reynolds must lead
way for Blue offense against MSU
Dominating victory
is eighth straight
over rival Spartans
By GILAD BERKOWITZ
Daily Sports Writer
When the competitive Big Ten
schedule officially opened for the
No. 18 Michigan women's tennis
team yesterday, sophomore Rika
Tatsuno and the team were pre-
pared for battle.
A week removed from receiv-
ing Big Ten Athlete of the Week,
Tatsuno was in the win column
again yesterday. This time, she
helped propel the Wolverines to
their second straight 7-0 victory
i and eighth straight victory over
in-state rival Michigan State.
"People are going to start to
notice her," Michigan coach Ron-
nie Bernstein said. "I would not
be surprised if she popped into
the national rankings when they
come out tomorrow."
Tatsuno improved her singles
record to 4-2 by beating Spartan
sophomore Manon Noe 6-3, 6-2.
Last Tuesday, the Big Ten office
announced Tatsuno as the Athlete
of the Week after she recorded a
combined 4-0 record in singles
and doubles against both Yale and
No. 14 Notre Dame.
Tatsuno's wins included an
impressive straight-set victory
Sophomore Rika Tatsuno's singles win helped Michigan win its Big Ten opener.
over Notre Dame's 39th-ranked
Kristy Frilling.
"If she keeps playing the way
she is, she is going to win more
(awards)," Bernstein said. "It's
great because right now, she is
just gaining more and more con-
fidence."
The Wolverines secured the all-
important doubles point behind
the duo of freshman Michelle
Sulahian and sophomore Whit-
ney Taney. Taney, who has proven
to be a major asset in doubles play
this year, has posted a 4-1 record
at the No. 2 position. She is also
1-0 at No. 1.
"Whitney has really bought
into the Michigan program,"
Bernstein said. "She is just such
a great listener and competitor in
both singles and doubles."
Senior Chisako Sugiyama also
improved her singles record,
earning a close win against
Michigan State senior Stephanie
Kehler, 7-5, 3-6, 10-4. Kehler, who
Bernstein said was an "aggressive
baseliner," was the only Michigan
State player to beat a Wolverine
last season in East Lansing.
For the young Wolverines,
the win to open the Big Ten sea-
son will serve as a confidence
booster heading into the heart of
the spring season. The Wolver-
ines will take a brief break from
Big Ten play and head to Coral
Gables, Fla. to face off against the
No. 15 Miami Hurricanes next
Thursday.
By JOE STAPLETON
Daily Sports Writer
During the Michigan women's
basketball team's game against in-
state rival Michigan State on Jan.
15, a small contingent of the Maize
Rage pointed at
Michigan State Mcg
coach Suzy Mer- MiChigan
chant and chant- at MiChigan
ed, "Coach is hot!$tate
Coach is hot!"
Unfortunately Matchup:
for the Wolver- Michigan
ines, their shoot- 10-15; Michi-
ing during the gan State 18-7
game was decid- When:
edly not. Michi- Tonight, 7 P.M.
gan made just Where: Jack
22 percent of its Breslin Center
shots and 6-of- TV: BTN
35 attempted
3-pointers in the Live Blog:
41-37 loss. http://the-
But senior game.blogs.
forward Carly michigandaily.
Benson said the cow
Wolverines are
changing their game plan tonight
in East Lansing.
"We're gonna make some of our
shots," she said.
Benson meant it as a joke, but it's
a pretty solid prediction. Since the
Michigan State game, Michigan's
shooting has drastically improved
The team's field-goal percentage
has increased 6.7 percent and its
3-point shooting has increased 6.1
percent.
Part of the reason for improve-
ment in shooting percentage has
been the emergence of freshman
forward Carmen Reynolds. Reyn-
olds has established herself as a
versatile offensive threat both in
the paint and behind the arc. She
has the team's best 3-point per-
centage.
"Carmen's been playing great,"
sophomore guard Veronica Hicks
said. "We're looking forward to
her stepping it up."
Reynolds' presence inside has
taken some of the scoring burden
off Benson, who is shooting 45
percent from beyond the arc since
the last Michigan State game.
Michigan will look to Reynolds to
establish herself in the post once
again.
This doesn't mean Michigan
coach Kevin Borseth doesn't
want his players to shoot. He has
stressed all year that he has no
problem with his players shooting
"rhythm shots."
"He definitely wants us to shoot
if we're open," Reynolds said. "But
when you pound it inside, it opens
up passes to the wings and things
happen."
Against the Spartans (11-3 Big
Ten, 18-7 overall), that's easier
said than done. Boastingone of the
biggest frontcourts in the Big Ten,
Michigan State leads the confer-
ence in rebounding and blocked
shots.
A big reason for that is 6-foot-9
center Allyssa DeHaan, who is the
second-leading shot-blocker in the
Big Ten.
DeHaan scored 12 points against
Michigan last month, six of which
came on free throws.
After their last run-in with the
Spartans, the emotions of the rival-
ry spilled over and a few Michigan
players had tears in their eyes.
"We definitely look forward to
this game," Hicks said. "This year,
we've made it known that we come
to play."
But Borseth, in his second year
in Ann Arbor, said he person-
ally doesn't put it above any other
game.
"I think if you're not aware that
Michigan and Michigan State has
a tradition, you need to get out
from underneath that rock,"' he
said. "We're not trying to do any-
thing more than win a basketball
game."
Are You Feeling Sad or Blue
and Without Energy?
Have you lost interest in people?
Do you have problems with sleep?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, you are a woman or
man over the age of 18, and NOT taking medications, you may be
eligible to participate in studies looking at stress hormones.
Both studies involve multiple blood draws and between 2 and 5
study visits of varying length.
Compensation provided for study participation.
For further information, please contact
depressionstudies@umich.edu or 734-232-0382 1
Congrats!
January 18th-March 28th
U-M placed 1st in the TIPaInstead of using a
paper cup for coffee,
Big Ten! use amug!
But 72nd overall for the recycling percentage!
$0 COME ON, MICHIGAN!
INCREASE YOUR RECYCLING!
University of Michigan Waste Management Services
www.recycle.umich.edu
THE FR GABRIEL RICHARD LECTURES
Calling ts to examine current issues in light of ourfaith
IS BIOETHICS STUPID?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Myles Sheehan, S.J., M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Loyola University Health System
4:00 p.m., Auditorium
Biomedical Science Research Bldg. 109
Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor
(on the curve where Washtenaw becomes Huron)
Co-Sponsored by:
St. Mary Student Parish
Centerfor Ethics in Public Lfe
Eu. .U, U