8 - Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
il'embraces 'nobod role Past perfection
A fter yesterday's 64-49 win every minute."e-
M over Iowa, redshirt fresh One of thosse unheralded n e
.
Perry called Michigan a "nobody."
Heading into the season, the
Wolverines were pegged to finish
in the bottom half of the Big Ten.
After all, they had set a program
record with 22 losses the season
before.
How much could they have
changed in one offseason? They
were nobodies.
But with wins against then-No.
4 UCLA and
then-No. 4 Duke JASON
on its resume, KOHLER
there are no
longer many On Men's
people writing Basketball
off Michigan as
a nobody.
That is, except for the Wolver-
ines themselves.
"You got to keep the underdog
mentality," sophomore forward
Manny Harris said, backing up
Lucas-Perry's statement. "We're
nobody right now. That's how we
like it, and that's what we want
people to think."
Everyone except the freshmen
remember what it feels like to be
pushed around night after night,
and to be the team that is expected
to lose.
Even though Michigan isn't a
consistent underdog anymore, you
wouldn't know the difference by
talking with the team. The Wol-
verines still feel like they have
everything to prove.
"Whenever any of our teams
had any success, that was my big-
gest worry - that that chip would
disappear from our shoulder,"
Michigan coach John Beilein said.
"We have a lot of high-profile play-
ers out there, but we have some
guys the Big Ten didn't recruit,
and they should be playing out
there with a chip on their shoulder
Lee, exemplifies the tenacity Bei-
lein wants from his players. In
the second half against Iowa, Lee
sailed out of bounds to save the
ball and keep a Michigan posses-
sion alive.
"We got to have a sense of
urgency and plays like that let
you know that we're trying to win
games," Lee said. "We don't have
any time to waste at this time
point in our season."
Though the Wolverines are 3-1
in conference play, none of those
wins are against ranked oppo-
nents.
Michigan faced a big chal-
lenge last Wednesday when the
Wolverines fell behind 20 points
to Indiana, this year's Big Ten
bottom-dwellers. But Michigan
showed it's not the same team
from last year and overcame the
deficit in front of a hostile crowd
at Assembly Hall.
Few teams would have had the
poise to mount that kind of come-
back, but the Wolverines are using
the lows from last season to push
themselves through this year's
struggles.
"It gave us a bigger head on our
shoulders, knowing that the ball
could've went any way," Harris
said. "We could've been sitting
here with a 2-2 record if we lose to
Indiana. We got off the hook that
game, and we didn't want to be in
that position again."
Although Michigan might not
be a "nobody" anymore, it certain-
ly has a lot to prove before it's con-
sidered a major player nationally.
And it won't be easy - four of
the next six games are on the road.
Even Beilein will acknowledge
how it's nearly impossible to pick
up wins on the road in the Big Ten.
Those next few games will be
High school standout
finds success against
Big Ten competition
By GILAD BERKOWITZ
Daily Sports Writer
Two years ago, Whitney Taney
came to college with the ulti-
mate resum6: A 166-0 high school
record and a consistent presence
in the national spotlight, being
featured in magazines like Ten-
nis, Smash and Sports Illustrated.
Her only blemish? Dropping
two sets in four years.
As a freshman on the Michi-
gan women's tennis team last
season, Taney was thrown into
Big Ten competition, where a
grueling schedule and tough road
trips made perfection practically
impossible. Entering play, the
possibility of piling up losses had
to have crossed her mind.
But for Taney, tennis had never
been about the results - so the
possibility of coming off slow
wasn't even on her radar. The
Minnesota native spent the sea-
son focusing on playing hard and
remaining consistent.
By the end of last April, she had
recorded a 21-7 record, including
an 8-2 singles record in confer-
ence play. Michigan coach Ron-
nie Bernstein believes Taney's
perfect winning percentage from
high school was vital in her tran-
sition to college.
"She knew college was going
to be different," Bernstein said,
"Being so used to winning is obvi-
ously a good thing."
Despite early success in both
singles and doubles as a fresh-
man, it took a while for Taney's
nerves to evaporate. Last year's
roster was loaded with inexperi-
enced freshmen, and while out-
siders expected the Wolverines
to start slow, Taney had to step up
immediately.
Thanks to strong leadership
from lone senior and captain Allie
Shafner, Taney and the younger
teammates relaxed and adjusted
to collegiate competition.
"Walkingonthe court with four
freshmen, there were certainly
nerves, and veterans showed
(Taney) how to work hard on and
off the court," Bernstein said.
Halfway through last season,
Bernstein moved Taney up to No.
2 singles.
Although Taney mentioned she
felt honored by the vote of confi-
dence, knew it could have been
just a temporary position.
"The lineup is exactly what it
says, just a lineup," Taney said.
A year later, she remains one of
the team's most successful play-
ers.
During the fall season, she
roamed the doubles courts due to
limited singles action from sched-
uling conflicts. She posted a 7-1
doubles record, finding success
in an area of her game that her
father emphasized when she was
in high school.
Taney hopes to improve her
record as the indoor season kicks
off in this weekend's Michigan
Invitational at the Varsity Ten-
nis Center. Last year, Taney went
undefeated at the invitational at
both singles and doubles.
And for a player who knows
what perfection feels like, you can
expect Taney to seek it again.
SAIDALSALAS/Se
Fifth-year senior CJ. Lee wasn't recruited by a Big Ten team out of hig scho
the true test of where this team team and no longer a nobody. Now
stands. it's time to see if the Wolverines
Michigan has proved it is a good are something special.
4
Blocked shots and 'D' make Hogan's job easy in sweep
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ichigan allowed and blocking his view of the puck.
But the Wolverine defense,
t five power-play which had little trouble bailing
its goaltender out of potential
ts on goal in six jams, blocked 25 shots. Michigan
- S n allowed just five shots on goal
while killing all six of Miami's
power play opportunities Sunday.
By GJON JUNCAJ "I couldn't see anything with
Daily Sports Writer those two (Miami forwards) in
front of the net all the time,"
r the Michigan hockey Hogan said. "The defense blocking
sweep of Miami (Ohio) last shots really helped out."
nd, coach Red Berenson said The RedHawks managed just
sore goalie Bryan Hogan seven combined shots on goal in
he difficult the third period in both games.
oak easy. NOTEBOOK "We were on our heels and in
at's when our zone a lot," Berenson said. "I
playing well as a goalie," think we all understand and agree
on said. "And when you're that we have to be a better shot-
ting a lot of work and to be blocking team. And that helps the
for that next shot, he was goalies, it helps everyone and it
gets you in the game."
n though he didn't have A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE:
o do in Sunday's 4-0 blank- The surprisingly quick return of
Miami, there were times junior defenseman Steve Kamp-
Hogan couldn't see the shots fer to the blue line presented one
9. problem: someone had to become a
Highland native admit- casualty of depth.
e RedHawks had success Sophomore Scooter Vaughan's
ing him in front of the net streak of 25 consecutive games
played ended on Dec. 27. That was
when Kampfer returned from a
fractured skull suffered in an off-
ice assault on Oct. 12.
A healthy scratch for three
straight games, Vaughan was
inserted into the lineup Sunday
against Miami in place of fresh-
man defenseman Greg Pateryn.
Vaughan's performance reflected
a player desperate for a steady
spot in the rotation. The Placen-
tia, Calif., native notched an assist,
blocked three shots and prevented
numerous other scoring chances.
"I thought Scooter held his
own," Berenson said. "He's been
working hard in practice. There's
a fine line between Scooter playing
and not playing, and other defen-
semen as well. ... But there will be
competition on defense, and that's
good for our team."
Berenson stressed last week
that the coaching staff would not
"threaten" blueliners when they
make mistakes. But with seven
capable defensemen and just six
roster spots, the margin for error
is certainly smaller with Kampfer
back in the lineup.
STAYING GROUNDED:
Berenson indicated his play-
ers must maintain perspective
after Sunday's win because
Miami played without forwards
Carter Camper and Justin Mer-
cier. Camper and Mercier were
injured during Michigan's 5-1
victory Saturday. The two have
combined for 43 points this
season.
"Let's face it, Miami lost two
of their top three forwards in
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Sophomore goaltender Bryan Hogan let in just one goal and recorded 43 combined saves against the RedHawks this weekend.
(Saturday's) game, early in the
game," Berenson said. "They didn't
have the firepower that they had
going into this weekend. We didn't
beat a team that was 100 percent.
Added sophomore forward Matt
Rust: "You can't be too high and
you can't be too low. It's the same
type of focus you need to have
after you get swept."
SEE YA: For the last six weeks,
Michigan has forced numer-
ous opponents off the ice, and in
embarrassing fashion.
In four of the last eight games,
the Wolverines have chased the
opponent's starting goaltender to
the bench with strong offensive
firepower. After Michigan's three-
goal explosion in the first five min-
utes of Saturday's game, Miami
goaltender Cody Reichard became
the sixth goalie this season to be
pulled early against Michigan.
4
Ever tell your
friends you're a
better quarterback
than!Steven Threet?
Prove it.
WHAT: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan football team are host-
ing the second annual winter open tryout for potential walk-ons. Any
University student is welcome to participate. All you need is your
high school coach contact information, proof of a physical examina-
tion within the last year, cleats and tennis shoes.
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 16. Registration begins at 3:30 p.m. and the
tryout will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Schembechler Hall on State Street, past Yost Ice Arena
See The Michigan Daily's SportsMc
section on Jan.19 for a recap of the
4
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