The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, September 10, 2009 - 5A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September 10, 2009 - 5A

Jendrusch shines as captain

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ormer walk-on team-elected captain for the Wol-
verines.
res first career The midfielder made her first
.l e career start Aug. 30 at Marquette,
oal, steps into and she has played in all six of
eadership role Michigan's games so far this sea-
son. Her presence is important on
a very young team - the Wolver-
By TIM ROHAN ines have 15 underclassmen on
Daily Sports Writer their roster.
Senior defender Kylie Neschke,
shirt junior Alex Jen- a fellow quad-captain, praised her
heard the announcer teammate for her work ethic and
ng down the last seconds of the example she is setting for the
me. younger players on the team.
ht, seven, six ..." she "She just worked her butt off
d, describing the moment like every day at everything she
ored her first career goal did," Neschke said. "I think it's
Wolverines' 4-1 win over a real good example for the team
n Michigan Sunday. to see that it doesn't matter if you
drusch said she just let the come in on scholarship or if you're
off her left foot and it land- just a walk-on. If you work hard
he back of the net with two enough, you're going to get the
is left on the clock. It was respect that you deserve. She's an
insurance goal, but it has awesome example for people to
e a source os inspiration for keep working."
slverines. Kristin Thomas, current direc-
alk-on when she first came tor of operations for Michigan
chigan three years ago, women's soccer, also had to work
asch received playing time her way up in the hierarchy of col-
10 games during the last lege athletics.
asons. This year, she has Thomas, a teammate of Jen-
ed as a veteran leader and drusch's for three seasons, was

also a walk-on for the Wolverines
and graduated in 2009.
Thomas appreciates what the
Troy, Mich. native brings to the
team.
"She has always worked so
hard," Thomas said. "She's one of
the fittest girls on the team every
single year. Her touch has gotten
extremely good. Her vision on
the field is great. But she's also
has just brought that intangible
aspect to the team, too. She's
always encouraging people. She's
just amazing, a great teammate
and player."
Michigan coach Greg Ryan said
that Jendrusch is good at main-
taining ball control and at mov-
ing after passing the ball, among
other strengths.
"Alex has been one of the best
human beings we've ever had on
this team," Ryan said. "She sup-
ports her teammates whether
she plays or she doesn't play. I
think she's been steadily improv-
ing as we've been working with
her, and from the first spring to
now, she has made tremendous
progress. And I think it culmi-
nated in a real nice goal for her on
the weekend."

Senior Carlos Brown was the Wolverines' primary running back in their 31-7 victory oer Western Michigan last Saturday.
Brown looks to finally step
" "u whi~le Minor is limnited

'M' clips Eagles i three sets

By MARK BURNS
Daily Sports Writer
YPSILANTI - Not even a lit-
tle blood could keep the Eastern
Michigan volleyball student sec-
tion from sticking around until the
end of last night's match against
No. 7 Michigan.
Down 4-1 in the second set, Eagle
sophomore Cassie Sowers dove for
a Michigan kill, but instead of com-
ing up with a dig, she left the hard-
wood with a bloody cut above her
left eye.
Sowers' gutsy effort proved
futile as the Wolverines (6-0) even-
tually went on an 8-1 run, winning
the set 25-11.
"One of our goals tonight was
to really develop some depth in
our team," Michigan coach Mark
Rosen said. "Tonight, in games
one and two we were really able
to do that. We didn't experience
any drop-offs in our team's per-
formance.
"Our experienced players did
a really good job playing at a high
level to help those less-experienced
players. Those less-experienced
players then did a nice job of play-
ing their role on the court."
At the end of the second set,
most of the Eastern Michigan
cheering section scattered from
the Convocation Center to grab
free Eastern Michigan football
tickets, leaving only a handful of
students for most of the third set.
With the Eagles (0-8) up 24-22 in
the frame and a potential fourth
set looming, Rosen finally called
his team over to the sideline.

By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
He ran for 4,232 yards on 469
carries in high school, averaging
nine yards a touch and a touchdown
every nine chances.
He received a Parade Magazine
All-America selection as a senior
at Heard County High School in
Georgia and then enrolled early at
Michigan, with his speed the talk of
spring practice.
He was considered the fifth-
best running back in the nation by
Rivals.com and Scout.com, a few
spots behind former Ohio State run-
ning back Chris "Beanie" Wells and
a bit ahead of former Georgia Bull-
dog Knowshon Moreno, both first-
round NFL draft picks.
He was supposed to be the next
Michigan star running back.
But after three seasons and one
game, senior Carlos Brown has car-
ried the ball just 130 times for 599
yards and four touchdowns. He
is known for two things: fleeting
moments of brilliance and being
constantly hampered by injuries.
His first season-opening start in
four years was last Saturday against
Western Michigan.
"It felt great," Brown said about
starting the season healthy. "I'm
just hoping that it continues injury-

free all year, hopefully."
That game - where he ran for 54
yardson10-carries -wasagreat dis-
play of what the Wolverine coaching
staff wants out ofBrown this season.
He made second downs manage-
able with his positive-yard gains,
and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez
praised Brown's pass protecting.
Most importantly, he stayed healthy
in the absence of injured senior run-
ning back Brandon Minor.
Though he didn't have the typical
long, breakaway run that's become
his M.O., Brown played much more
consistently when carrying the ball
than in the past.
So far, it seems like the doors are
open for Brown to have the season
he's always been meant to have.
His next big opportunity to shine
is this weekend with Minor's ankle
still not 100 percent and a relatively
weak Notre Dame run defense. Last
week against the Irish, Nevada run-
ning back Vai Taua posted 114 yards
on 18 carries.
Brown will have the chance to
put together solid back-to-back
games for the first time in a couple
years. Last season, a wrist problem
and then an ankle injury limited his
playing time.
He was in the spotlight for just 60
minutes, and that was in the Wolver-
ines' last home game of the season

against Northwestern. He rushed
for 119 yards and earned his only
start of the season the next week
against Ohio State, during which he
proceeded to run for three yards on
three chances.
"It was very frustrating, because
it was something like I don't have
control, you know?" Brown said. "I
came in here everyday, got treat-
ments, justtrying to getback as soon
as possible. But it's a whole lot better
to be out there with the team and be
able to contribute.
"It's not like I just go and trip over
stuff and try to fall, you know?"
For Brown to continue to get
significant playing time even after
Minor returns from injury, he will
have to play like he did in 2007.
That season, with former Wolver-
ine Mike Hart and Minor sidelined,
Brown took over in the second half
of the Purdue game, rushing for 66
yards and two touchdowns.
The next two weeks, he put up
113 yards on a stingy Illinois defense
that hadn't let a running back gain
100 yards in a game all season, and
then 132 yards and two more touch-
downs against Minnesota.
Brown says he's happy as long as
the offense is clicking, but Michigan
fans will only be happy if Brown can
stay healthy and redeem a career
that has seemingly slipped away.

FILE PHOTO
Senior Juliana Paz had 12 kills in Michigan's sweep of Eastern Michigan yesterday.

"Coach said to us, 'Hey, guys, we
put ourselves in this situation, so
now we have to work harder for it,'
"senior outside hitter Juliana Paz
said.
The motivating words seemed to
help as the team pulled it together
in the waning moments to win the
next four points and the match.
Sophomore libero Sloane Donhoff
delivered three timely serves dur-

ing the stretch to catch the Eagles
off guard, rallyingthe Wolverines.
"In set three, we didn't execute
that well," Rosen said. "Our play-
ing style slowed down, defensive-
ly our team didn't have the same
insurgency as the other two sets
and we didn't serve the ball as
tough.... It's nice to see at the end
of the game, we were able to fin-
ish it off."


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