2B - December 13, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.co J
2B - December13, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michieaedailn.com
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The Daily's First Annual Schefter Awards
honoring Michigans fnest athletes
To say it's been a wild year in
Michigan sports would be
an understatement.
For every Cinderella story or
success, there seemed to be equal
heartbreak or disappointment. We
looked on as the
football team's
first-ever major
NCAA infrac-
tions unfolded '
before our eyes.
We watched the
men's gymnas-
tics team win-
the University's RYAN
first team NCAA KARTJE
championship
since 2005. And
we saw an old athletic director step
down and a new one rise up, promis-
ing results in Ann Arbor.
In honor of such a momentous
year of sports and an incred-
ible group of student athletes, I'm
delighted to introduce Daily Sports'
first annual awards - The Schefters.
The awards are named after one
of the Daily's most distinguished
alumni, Adam Schefter, who was an
editor in the Daily sports section in
the 1980s. Now with ESPN, Schefter
has taken the sports reporting world
by storm.
So without further ado, here are
the 2010 Schefters:
Best Cinderella Story: Shawn
Hunwick, ice hockey
No one - not even Michigan
coach Red Berenson - thought the
5-foot-7 walk-on goaltender could
do it.
I remember Hunwick's first press
conference after his first start in
place of Bryan Hogan, as he almost
glided into the press room after a
win. He had no clue how to talk to
the media; he accidentally cursed
halfway into the interview. But there
was just something about this kid
that made you want to root for him.
And with the Michigan hockey
team absolutely reeling, Hunwick
put an entire program on his nar-
row shoulders and turned the team
around.
Hunwick stood on his head for
the rest of the season, taking the
Wolverines on a run that should
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have seen them head to Detroit
for the Frozen Four. And though it
wasn't meant to be, Hunwick's story
will go down in Michigan hockey
lore as one of the most incredible we
have ever seen.
Breakout Athlete of the Year:
Denard Robinson, football
Freshman striker Soony Saad is a
close second on this one, but no one
could have expected the contribu-
tion that Robinson would give to the
Michigan football team.
He invigorated the entire country
for a few weeks, showing a brand
new breed of quarterback that no
one in Ann Arbor had ever seen
before. Just last year, Robinson
seemed destined for the slot receiver
position as fellow quarterback Tate
Forcier looked to havea strangle-
hold on the job. But Robinson lit up
the University with his hard work
and his million-dollar smile, almost
singlehandedly getting the Wolver-
ines back to a bowl game.
Michigan owes an awful lot to its
smiley, speedy signal caller.
Most impressive individual
achievement: Robinson's 502
yards against Notre Dame
With the Wolverines ina hostile
environment, Robinson made his
name known to the world with one
of the single greatest performances
in the history of Michigan sports.
Not only did he eclipse the 500-
yard mark, but he did so on the final
drive in the game's waning minutes
against one of Michigan's greatest
rivals. He showed the world how
lucky the Wolverines were to have
him and catapulted to the top of
every Heisman Trophy list in the
land.
And although he didn't win the
award, when all was said and done,
no one will ever forget his absolute
destruction of the Fighting Irish in
South Bend.
Game of the Year: The Big Chill
at the Big House, Michigan ice
hockey wins 5-0 over Michigan
State
This category should probably be
called event of the year, considering
how little the game had to do with
how awesome it actually was.
With 113,411 people in atten-
dance, the athletic department abso-
lutely shattered the record for most
fans to ever witness a hockey game
(or an NCAA sporting event) - and
put on ahell of a show in the process.
There were fireworks after each of
Michigan's five scores. There was
great music. And there were still the
great hockey chants that make the
program one-of-a-kind (although it
was tough to synchronize them at
times).
Dave Brandon earns a round of
applause for this one, asa whole lot
of the sporting world was focused
on Ann Arbor for The Big Chill. And
I have to say, to see that many people
dancing and enjoying Michigan
hockey, it might be one of the best
sporting events Ihave ever been a
part of
Coach of the Year: Steve Burns,
men's soccer
This one is a no-brainer. After
playing for the Wolverines' club
team when he went to the Uni-
versity, Burns turned around and
coached Michigan's club squad until
it became a varsity team 11 years ago.
Burns watched as the program he
built from the ground up shattered
all odds and made it all the way to
the College Cup, a final four that no
one expected the team to reach.
He uncovered an amazing trio of
players in Soony and Hamoody Saad
and Justin Meram. And he coached
with incredible class, proving that
of anyone at the University, he may
be one of the best Michigan Men
around.
Team of the Year: Men's soccer
Obviously, the men's gymnastics
team deserves a whole lot of pub for
winning the University's only team
national championship in the past
five years.
But the men's soccer team defied
the odds to make it to the College
Cup and crash the party for NCAA
men's soccer. Ranked as the No. 10
seed, most thought the Wolverines
had no business being there. But
they put upa hell ofa fight with
Akron, ateam that was ranked No.1
for most of the season and beat them
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MARK T ERR IL L/A P
Freshman forward Soony Saad led the Michigan men's soccer team in goals scored this season with 19 tallies.
7-1 in their first meeting.
The Saad brothers and Justin
Meram made up a memorable trio
with "The Three Amigos" and goal-
keeper Chris Blais was the team's
unsung hero, holding down Michi-
gan's net for one of the best stretches
by a goalkeeper I have ever seen in
the second half of the season.
Female Athlete of the Year:
Rachael Mack, field hockey
As a freshman, Mack almost
singlehandedly put the field hockey
program back on the map.
After a few tough seasons, coach
Marcia Pankratz returned to Ann
Arbor to coach and, soon after,
found Mack, a Brit whose skills on
the field hockey pitch may be the
best the University has ever seen.
She earned All-American honors
this season as a freshman, only the
second to ever do that in Michigan's
history.
And if it weren't for a few minor
scoringslumps duringthe year, she
may been toward the top in scor-
ing in the entire NCAA. Mack's
tenacity gave the Wolverines one of
their first good shots at the NCAA
Tournament in a while. And for the
next three years, Michigan will have
someone truly special to rebuild the
program around.
Male Athlete of the Year (not
named Denard Robinson): Soony
Saad, soccer and Chris Cameron,
gymnastics
It was too close to call in this
category, as both Cameron and Saad
had record-setting seasons that will
never be forgotten as far as Michi-
gan athletics go.
Saad was named to the All-Big
Ten first team and was given the
conference's Freshman of the Year
honors. He came up with crucial
goals in huge games, including the
Wolverines' most amazing win, an
NCAA Tournament quarterfinal
upset of No. 3 Maryland.
He could be off to professional'
soccer next year, considering how
sought-after his skills are, but while
he was here, Saad was one of Michi-
gan's most electrifying athletes.
Cameron, on the other hand, was
the catalystcin the Michigan men's
gymnastics team's NCAA champi-
onship run, winning the NCAA's
individual title as well.
He quietly became the country's
best gymnast, helping to make the
Wolverines a perennial power for
years to come.
Career Achievement Award:
Lexi Zimmerman, volleyball
There is no doubtin mymind
that Zimmerman will go down as
one of the greatest female athletes
in the history of the University of
Michigan.
Michigan coach Mark Rosen said
that Zimmerman was the best ath-
lete he had ever coached, and there's
no doubt as to why: She owns nearly
every record she could possibly own
in the Michigan record books, and
she put an entire team on her back,
leading them as far as the Elite Eight
in her junior season.
She has four All-American hon-
ors, one of the only female Wolver-
ines to do that outside of swimming
and gymnastics in the University's
athletic history. She tallied a triple-
double in back-to-back games this
season - a feat almost unheard of in
volleyball.
And she did so with a level of
class that made her one of the best
all-around team captains in recent
Michigan sports history.
There is no doubt anywhere in
Ann Arbor that Lexi Zimmerman
will be missed.
- Kartje will miss being the Daily's
managing sports editor next semester
but wants to thank all the great
athletes who made it worth it. He can
be reached at rkartje@umich.edu.
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Blue hopes to dominate in
the paint against Aggies
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'M' hopes to carry
momentum from
second-half surge
against Kansas
By KEVIN RAFTERY
Daily Sports Writer
On Thursday, the Michigan
women's basketball team out-
scored unbeaten Kansas by 21
points in the
second half en NewMexico
route to a 75-67
come-from- State at
behind victory Michigan
in Crisler Arena.
"We played Matchup:
a great game," NM State 6-3;
Michigan coach Michigan 5-4
Kevin Borseth When: Tonight
said after the at 7 p.m.
game. "Kansas Where:
is very good, and Crisler Arena
we had to play
hard and play
well to beat them, and I thought
we did. That's a big win for us."
Tonight against New Mexico
State, the Wolverines (5-4) will
look to play a full 40 minutes at
the same level that they played
the final 20 minutes against the
Jayhawks (8-1).
The unranked Aggies (6-3) of
the Western Athletic Conference
are coming off a 66-59 win over
Cal State Northridge on Dec. 5.
New Mexico State is led by
6-foot-1 junior forward Tabytha
Wampler, who averages 14 points
and 10.4 rebounds per game.
Wampler scored a career-high 26
points and grabbed 14 rebounds
in the win against Northridge.
Senior guards Jasmine Lowe
and Madison Spence lead the
Aggies in the backcourt, both
averaging just over 13 points per
game.
Spence has been out of the line-
up since she suffered a concussion
on Nov. 22, but she is expected to
come back tonight.
Wampler is the Aggies' only
true post player, as New Mexico
State starts four guards and one
forward - a rarity in the basket-
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Sophomore forward Sam Arnold was key in Michigan's comeback agair
ball world. The Aggies often have
trouble controlling the boards,
averaging four rebounds fewer
than their opponent per game.
This bodes well for the Wol-
verines, who normally have their
own trouble controlling the glass.
With 6-foot-1 sophomore
Rachel Sheffer starting at for-
ward and 6-foot-4 sophomores
Sam Arnold and Kate Thompson
coming off the bench, Michigan
will no doubt have the height
advantage.
The Wolverines will aim to get
the ball into the post early, and.
if they can do that against the
Aggies, they should have an edge
in the paint.
Just like Michigan, Arnold is
riding a wave of momentum. She
played a big role in Thursday's
comeback win over Kansas, scor-
ing 12 points in the second half.
"I thought Arnold did a really
good job when she came in," Bors-
eth said. "She played a great game
down in the block."
Senior guard Veronica Hicks,
who led the Wolverines with 14
points on Thursday, will look to
power Michigan to another non-
conference win as its brutal non-
conference schedule begins to
wind down.
The Wolverines have already
played three ranked teams this
season.
"I love our schedule," Hicks
said. "It puts us in every situation
so when we get into conference
play, there is absolutely nothing
in any game that we haven't seen
in some way. It really preps us."
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