8 - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 4 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Summers weighs options Fetter lone bright 4 By NICOLE AUERBACH Daily Sports Editor Michigan hockey defenseman Chris Summers has seen both ends of the spectrum. In this year's season opener, the junior saw captain Mark Mitera laying on the ice after a brutal col- lision. Mitera's hopes of a spectacu- lar senior season, were crushed by a torn anterior cruciate ligament. And on the other hand, Sum- mers watched former Wolverines Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik, who both played four years of col- legiate hockey,lead Michigan to the Frozen Four in 2008. So for Summers, the Phoenix Coyotes' first-round draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft (No. 29 overall), the decision to stay for his senior year could be a difficult one. In October, Summers was ada- mant that the decision to stay at Michigan this season was easy. "It's kind of a no-brainer," Sum- mers said. "You come here to be a student-athlete, and the 'student' obviously comes first. It's never been a question whether I would stay or leave. I've always been dead- set on staying." That was before he saw Mitera suffer his serious injury that kept him out of all but eight games this season. It was also before Summers began assuming duties as the Wol- verines' acting captain while Mit- era was out. Now, at the end of an eventful season, Summers comes to decide whether or not to jump to the NHL a year early. Michigan coach Red Berenson seemed very optimistic last week when discussing Summers's deci- sion. He admitted first-round draft picks can be flight risks, but he was confident that Summerswas a Wol- verine for the right reasons, which include getting a Michigan degree. "He's not just a hockey player waiting for a phone call," Berenson said. Berenson reinforced his confi- dence in Summers at the Michigan spot on the mound during Blue's slump Junior Chris Summers, a Phoenix Coyotes first-round pick, will be a captain if he returns to the Michigan hockey team next year. hockey banquet end-of-year Satur- this season. think he handled all that extremely day when he named the defenseman "He's a guy that we envision in a well, and it was a wonderful experi- Michigan's captain for next season. matchup role," Treliving said. "He ence for him to go through." "Since having responsibility as a skates so well. He's mobile. He can Summers will have to make a captain (this year), I think he feels play against good players. He can difficult decision. Berenson doesn't more attached," Berenson said last eliminate time and space. Really, as usually appoint a captain unless week. "The team needs him. He'll he moves forward here profession- he's sure the player is staying. be our captain nextyear." ally, I really do see that as a role he And from what Summers has said But although Berenson is confi- can and he's going to grow into. recently, the decision seems almost dent Summers made up his mind, "In today's game, especially on finalized. Summers doesn't appear Phoenix Assistant General Man- defense, the ability to be proactive in a rush to leave Michigan just yet. ager Brad Treliving isn't so sure. and mobile with your feet and legs "I think (Berenson) says it best: "Well, we've had some discus- allows you to defend more success- you're preparing for a life after sions," Treliving said in a phone fully than the old days, where you hockey," Summers said Sunday. interview with The Michigan Daily thought a shutdown guy had to be "There's more to the world than yesterday. "We've had some dis- 6-foot-5." just skating onthe ice every day. It's cussions with Chris and his rep- As impressed as Treliving was a game. It should be enjoyed. And resentatives at the end of the year with Summers's on-ice performance I think that's what a lot of players since (the Wolverines have) been this season, he seemed more inter- miss out on, that it should be fun. eliminated (from the NCAA Tour- ested in his off-ice accomplishments "It's unfortunate that it turns nament) to see what the plans were as the Wolverines' acting captain. into a business once you get to the going forward. From handling the media, referees professional rankings, but that's "We'll see over the course of the and teammates, Summers gained the way it is." next little bit if, in fact, what his some unexpected experience. desire is - whether it's to stay for a "Really, it's another layer in - Gjon Juncaj fourth year or does he look at now's his development," Treliving said. contributed to this report. the time he makes that step to pro "Being a guy that's looked upon to hockey." set the tone for his group and be a For a full transcript of the Treliving was impressed with part of the leadership group of that Daily's interview with Summers's physical growth and team and pushing himself to be bet- Treliving, see http://thegame. the overall maturity of his game ter and his teammates to be better. I blogs.michigandaily.com Michigan first-place]I by just one By TIM RO Daily Sports In the Michigan b first game against P Saturday, senior pitc ter gave the Wolverin pull out the win. But the Wolverine the offensive playsI and lost 6-4 int10 inn "I felt great," sai gave up two earned r strikeouts in eight innings. "That was probably the best stuff I've had all year. That's why I just want- ed to keep going with it. There was that inning there when I gave up three runs, cou- ple of decent hits in there and just some plays that didn That's baseball." Fetter said it was the starters in the Saturday's doublehe deep into the game, s verines' bullpen has t by injuries. Junior pitcher E went 7.1 innings inth to get the 9-5 win for Despite getting s day before, the bullp gled Sunday. Five rel a total of 11 runs in a: Michigan has alto age of 9.6 runs in its 1E ien play, The Wolverines went 2-3 in those trails games, including a 14-13 win over mid-major team Oakland. Illinois But Fetter has a formula to end the pitchingstaff's woes. game "You have to establish that you are going to throw strikes and keep HAN the ball down in the zone," Fetter Writer said. "We have a bunch of guys that have been throwing decently. But if aseball team's they're throwingstrikes, they're up 'enn State on in the zone = or they're not throw- her Chris Fet- ingstrikes." ies a chance to The Wolverines' inability to throw strikes has been a major s didn't make factor in their recent slump. After Fetter needed starting the season 10-2, the Wol- ings. verines are just 8-8 in their last 16 d Fetter, who games. uns and had 11 Although Michigan (3-3 Big Ten, 18-10 overall) usu- ally matches up well against its competi- "That was tion, Sunday'sgame was the fourth time probably the this year the Wol- verines have lost best stuff I've by more than eight had all year. "Considering all the guys we lost, if you really think about it, we've had .'t go our way. to play some pretty decent baseball to get to (18-10)," Michigan coach important for Rich Maloney said. "That's part of second leg of the journey when you have a lot of ader to pitch new faces in the lineup." tince the Wol- Although Michigan lost its series been hindered against Penn State, the Wolverines have a'3-3 Big Ten record and are ric Katzman just one game behind conference e second game leader Illinois. The Wolverines will Michigan. face the Fighting Illini at home this nome rest the weekend. en still strug- "Reality is, as bad as this loss ievers gave up was, and as bad as losing this 16-5 loss. series is, we're 3-3 and the first Big wed an aver- Ten team is 4-2 and we're playing ast five games. them," Maloney said. 4 4 4 4 MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSIP What home-court advantage? Tar Heels trump Spartans for NCAA title DETROIT (AP) - There was a team of destiny out there, all right. It's the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the final chapter of their story was about as heartwarming as a demo- lition MICHIGAN ST. 72 derby. N. CAROLINA 89 Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and North Carolina won a national championship a season or more in the making, stomping out Michi- gan State's isnniratinnal run Mon- day night with an 89-72 blowout because their draft prospects that wasn't even that close. didn't look so good. They also Hansbrough scored 18 points, didn't want their college careers Wayne Ellington had 19 and Law- to end on last year's embarrassing son led all scorers with 21 and also loss to Kansas in the Final Four. had a record eight steals - and That was a dud of a game in which now they and Danny Green can they trailed 40-12 in the first half all head to the NBA feeling good and Billy Packer was telling CBS about their decision to return to viewers it was over. school to bring home Carolina's This time, North Carolina led fifth championship, and the sec- 36-13 around the time "Dancing ond for coach Roy Williams. With The Stars" was starting on All those upperclassmen, save another network. At least nobody Hansbrough, came back in part knew how that one was going to end. "We've been working so hard since last year when we fell short," said Ellington, named most out- standing player. "I wanted to redeem myself. We worked so hard." Michigan State (31-7) simply never got any momentum. From the start, it was clear there was no way Carolina was losing control of this one, no chance for the Spar- tans to serve up that definitive ray of sunshine and warm-and-fuzzy smile for a state that's been bat- tered by the ailing economy. The Tar Heels (34-4) were up 55-34 at halftime, breaking a 42-year-old title-game record for biggest lead at the break and set- ting the mark for most points at the half. "We handled injuries, handled some losses" this season, Williams said. "The youngsters standing behind me are great, great young men. I'm the luckiest coach in America, I can tell you that." This collection of NBA talent was too much from wire to wire, from the start of the tournament, to the very end. Carolina won every game by double digits, something that hasn't happened since Duke did it in 2001. Lots of basketball fans saw this coming, including America's No. 1 Hoopster-in-Chief. Yes, President Barack Obama picked the Tar Heels to take it all in his much-publicized bracket. Magic Johnson, Michigan State's Spartan-in-Chief, joined Larry Bird at center court to pres- ent the game ball, a tribute to the 30-year anniversary of their historic matchup and Michigan State's first title. From there, it was pretty much. all "Showtime," all the time - but not for Michigan State. Heck, Magic didn't even stick around for the end of the game. He was spot- ted walking up the tunnel with 3 minutes left. 4 4 HOLY WEEK AT CANTERBURY HOUSE Thursday, April 9th - e r 5:30 p.m. A simple Mediterranean meal in commemoration of The Last Supper. Thursday, April 9th - r t i T e o 7:30 p.m. Screening of Daniel Karslake's 2007 documentary that explores the intersection between religion and homosexuality in America. Friday, April 10th - ' I' 5:30 p.m. Featuring a reading of the Passion Gospel by the women of Canterbury House. Saturday, April 11th - igii8:00 p.m. A culmination of the Holy Week celebration, with fire-juggling and the re-telling in scripture and music of the whole salvation story. Sylvia Plath: eet the girl behind the poet. 4 4 4 4 f