4B - February 7, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD Michigan holds own w against top teams JAKE FROMM/Daily Junior guard Stu Douglass scored 14 points off the bench for the Wolverines, including 4-5 from beyond the 3-point arc against Penn State. Shooters cthfire a S By CHANTEL JENNINGS Daily Sports Editor STATE COLLEGE - Junior guard Zack Novak stood in the locker room following the Michi- gan men's basketball team's 65-62 win over Penn State on Sunday and said the team's 3-point shoot- ing was pretty good. He paused and thought over the numbers - 48 percent for the game, 56 percent in the second half. "I guess that's probably really good," he said with a laugh. The Wolverines (4-7 Big Ten, 14-10 overall) bested the Nittany Lions from long range by 11 per- cent, which, for this team, almost always guarantees a win. On the season, Michigan is 12-0 when leading in 3-point shooting per- centage. Through the first tep minutes of the game, the Wolverines only attempted two long-range shots - uncharacteristic forateam that averages 24 shots per game from beyond the arc. At that rate, the Wolverines would have taken just eight 3-pointers the whole game. The Nittany Lions (5-6, 12-10) had prepared all week for a John Beilein-coached team - a squad trigger-happy from deep - by focusing on getting hands in the faces of shooters.. Penn State did a good job of weathering the Wolverines' offensive pressure for most of the first half, establishing an 11-point lead after senior David Jackson nailed a 3-pointer. But the Michigan attack, fueled by junior Stu Douglass and sophomore Matt Vogrich, hit three-consecutive 3-pointers to pull within two points of the Nit- tany Lions. It was the spark that allowed the Wolverines to go into halftime with a 27-24 lead. According to senior guard Talor Battle, Penn State shot itself in the leg when its defense allowed the Wolverines' perim- eter players to catch fire at that point in the game. "With a team like Michi- gan, they're never out of a game because they shoot the ball so well from (long range)," Battle said after the game. "We just stand there with our hands down and they knock it in our faces. It's just so disappointing. Every time it goes up, we just see the ball going through the hoop." While Penn State did a good job of guarding the shooters in set plays during the first half, Michi- gan displayed its ability to score in transition - Douglass and Vogrich's 3-pointers came off the fast break. "(Michigan) coach (John Beilein) always says, 'If you're coming in transition and you've got a wide-open shot on the wing - and it's a shooter and you're, feeling good - shoot,' " Douglass said on Sunday. "You might not get a better shot the next thirty seconds if you run (the) offense. No matter how well you run it, you might not find a better shot than that." In the second half, the Wolver- ines settled into their offense and scored off set plays. And when Penn State moved into a 1-3-1 zone to switch things up defen- sively, Michigan was able to take advantage of the holes on the wings. With sophomore point guard Darius Morris penetrating the zone and kicking out to open shooters, the Wolverines were able to put up 19 3-point shots. Throughout the season, the young team has been learning the difference between a good shot and a better shot. On a few occasions, Douglass passed up what looked like open shots, only to find someone who was more open. It's something Dou- glass believes the team has been getting better at during the last three to five games. Four different players con- tributed from deep for the Wol- verines. That's vital - other teams can't key in on just one deep-shooting threat. "Coaches are nervous when they're up 15, because you hit three (3-pointers) and it's a six- point game - you can get back in a game very quickly," Beilein said. "So (the 3-point shot) is very good offensively, (but also) very bad defensively for teams when they're leading." Penn State is the newest team to learn that lesson from the Wolverines. But if Vogrich is right in describing the Wolver- ines' hot hands as "contagious," there's a good chance the Nit- tany Lions won't be the last. By NEAL ROTHSCHILD Daily Sports Writer Competing in a meet that included SEC powers like Ala- bama and Mississippi, the Michigan men's track and field team knew it was going to be hard to win events. But even with the inflated competition, the Wolverines put themselves toward the top of the scoreboards at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend this weekend. The two-day, unscored meet included schools ranging from North Dakota, to Illinois and into the southeast. "It was the biggest quantity of quality competition we've had this year," Michigan coach Fred LaPlante said on Saturday. "In track, you're going to have pockets where some teams are stronger in some events than others. When you have a lot of teams that compete, then every event is strong. "One school might have a good jumper, but not a good sprinter, and vice versa." The Wolverines held their own, taking home six third- . place finishes and two runners- up. Perhaps the most impres- sive performance of the week- end came from junior Robert Peddlar in the long jump. The Jamaica native finished second, jumping 24 feet and 10.5 inches - a personal record. "This past week, we've real- ly been working on our tech- niques, and I just came into the meet focused on that, and I believe that's what allowed me to jump as well as I did," Ped- dlar said. The former indoor Big Ten champion believes his marks are still improving, and that he will be able to record his best jumps in the Big Ten Champion- ships on Feb. 26. Freshman Ali Arastu also put together his best performance of the year, placing second in the 500 meters with a time of 1:03.81. Though the 500 meters isn't an official indoor event, LaPlante believes that Arastu's performance will translate well to the outdoor season, when he will run the 400-meter hurdles. While most indoor tracks are a 200-meter oval, Notre Dame's facilities include a 300-meter track, which allowed for faster times in all races longer than 60 meters. A 300-meter track has longer straightaways where runners can hit top speed for longer periods of time. "I didn't worry about the competition," redshirt sopho- more Matt Campbell said after winning the unseeded section of the 400 meters. "I just took the opportunity to get a better time and run on a better track. I looked at it as a new opportu- nity rather than an obstacle." Among other top performers was redshirt freshman Bradley James, who cleared seven feet in the high jump for the fourth straight meet (jumping off of four different surfaces). James, along with freshman shot put- ter Cody Riffle, redshirt fresh- man 35-pound weight thrower Ethan Dennis, sophomore 200- meter runner Aaron Taylor, freshman 60-meter hurdler Erick Gavin and the 4x400 meter relay team all took third place in their events. Michigan will have an eye on the Big Ten Championships as it competes in the next two meets leading up to Feb. 26. The Wolverines will rest ath- letes when they feel necessary, as they did with the distance runners in this weekend's com- petition. "When you get to a certain point in the year, it takes a toll on your body," LaPlante said. "Mentally it's good, but physi- cally, you need to get recovered for the next competition." This weekend's meet also gave Michigan a sneak peak at what it will be going up against in the Big Ten Championships - Purdue, Indiana and Illinois were part of the Meyo Invita- tional field. Michigan knows what it has to do to top these teams ina few weeks. "We need to improve on being more consistent," Camp- bell said. "We can't let little things get us down. We need to learn from our mistakes and get better. That's the only way we'll do well at the Big Ten meet." MEN'S TENNIS Blue sweeps singles matches, dismantles Demon Deacons Wolverines blank Kentucky Michigan coach Berque one win away from No. 100 for career By MATT RUDNITSKY Daily Sports Writer Trailing No. 21 Wake Forest 1-0 on Saturday night at the Var- sity Tennis Center, the No. 23 Michigan men's tennis team had reason to worry. The Wolverines had lost the doubles point in three straight matches, which eventually cost them the dual match twice. Last year, Michigan was 12-4 when it won the point and 2-7 when it didn't. But the Wolverines (3-2) dug themselves out of the early hole, taking all six singles matches to recorda lopsided 6-1 victory. "You always want to win the doubles point," Michigan coach Bruce Berque said. "But we know it's just one point out of seven. So, yeah, I was con- cerned, but I was comfortable, looking at the matchups, that we could win four out of six sin- gles (matches). Against a top-25 team, to be down 1-0, that's a lot of pressure, but our guys han- dled it well." In doubles play, Wake For- est (1-2) won two of the three matches to take the point. The lone Wolverine win went to the top tandem of senior cap- tain Jason Jung and sophomore Evan King - the No. 28 pair in the nation. "I thought (the team) played better (in doubles), but we've definit where said." battle that p "I t is par not be right work t But results waste score. No. at No. one ga Fre: lowed No. 5, Justin to win Michij "1 Wir nf P At r gled e Jonath sive pa rhythn early looked But early next 1 The clinch verine tely still got some spots With the outcome already we can improve," Jung decided, sophomore Chris Cha We don't want to have to won a tough three-setter at No. back in every match for 6 and freshman Shaun Bernstein oint. did the same - in a tiebreaker - hink lack of experience in his first career match at No. 3. t of it, and maybe skills Berque shifted the lineup ing where they should be against the Demon Deacons, now, but we're going to putting the 18-year old Bern- o improve that." stein at No. 2 againstthe No. 100 after the disappointing player in the country in just his s in doubles, Michigan fifth career dual match. d no time leveling the "Shaun's match was pretty high-quality," Berque said. "He 35 Jung won a cakewalk lost the decider the last time we 2 singles, dropping just played here against Texas and me in the match. then last week he played well shman Barrett Franks fol- against Duke and extremely with a straight set win at well against Virginia Tech. So, and fellow diaper dandy based on that, we moved him up Rossi fought at No. 4 to No. 3 (singles). a three-setter and give "And as a freshman, to play gan a 3-1 lead. No. 3 against the No. 21 team in the country is not easy. I think he got his first win over a ranked opponent today. [guess (100 His level of play is good and he's really improving in singles is) means I'm and doubles." The win was Berque's 99th of ot quite Joe his career, and he'll go for No. 100 when Michigan takes on aterno yet. No. 25 Washington on Friday. The Wolverines also face No. 43 Vanderbilt on Saturday. "Well, I guess it means I'm No. 2 singles, King strug- not quite Joe Paterno yet," Ber- arly on against No. 45 que said. "But any win we get san Wolff, whose impres- this year, with our schedule, is ace was disrupting King's definitely a good one. The dif- m. Wolff jumped out to an ferences between even 20 spots 5-0 lead, and the match apart in the rankings is really 1 like a rout. small, so Washington is going to King shrugged off the be good, and Vanderbilt is going deficit, winning 14 of the to be good. 5 games to take the match. "Every match we've had with 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory (Vanderbilt) has been an abso- ed the match for the Wol- lute war. We'll be ready for a s. battle." By EMILY BONCHI Daily Sports Writer The last time the Michigan women's tennis team met Ken- tucky, it was 2008 - the first year of Michigan coach Ronni Bern- stein's career inAnn Arbor. Kentucky easily won, blanking Michigan, 7-0. This time around, the seventh- ranked Wolverines came back swinging and won all nine match- es to keep their four-game home series a perfect one. Michigan (4-0 overall) took its match on Saturday against the Wildcats, 7-0, making Kentucky the second visitor in four matches at the Varsity Tennis Center to leave with a 7-0 loss. "Our seniors were freshmen the last time we faced Kentucky, and it was only their second match at Michigan," Bernstein said. "Obvi- ously, a lot has changed. We have great seniors and obviously our freshmen are stepping up. Every- one is steppingup." Michigan kicked off the com- petition in doubles, sweeping all three matches to take the point and the early lead. At one time, all three Wolverine pairs led 4-2, before clinching their matches in various fashions. Senior Rika Tatsuno and junior Michelle Sulahian were the first pair off the court, beating Ken- tucky's Khristina Blajkevitch and CeCe Witten at No. 3,8-2. The tandem at No. 2 doubles - sophomore Mimi Nguyen and freshman Sam Critser - clinched the point for Michigan, taking its match shortly after, 8-3. The Wolverines entered sin- gles play and took a strong stance from the first volley. Four of the six Michigan singles players took their first set by at least three games. Eleventh-ranked senior Denise Muresan led off, taking the match JAMES WEAVER/Daily Freshman Brooke Bolender helped Michigan to a 7-0 victory over the Wildcats. at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-1. This was Muresan's 93rd victory, moving her up to fifth for all-time wins in the Michigan women's tennis pro- gram. "I just had a good week of prac- tice and learned from the loss that I had last week against USC," Muresan said. "I'm so proud of the team. They had a really great win." Nguyen continued the Wolver- ines' point streak, taking charge at the No. 4 slot and winning6-2, 6-3, while Sulahian sealed the match for Michigan at the sixth singles court with a straight-set victory. The next three points all went the Wolverines' way - but not without a fight. Freshman Brooke Bolender, after winning her first set, fought back after a 3-2 deficit in the sec- ond. After Kentucky's Jessica Stiles tied the set at 6-6, sending it to a tiebreaker, Bolender fell behind 5-2. A few solid rallies and help from a third party - the net - allowed her to come back in the tiebreaker set and win the match; 6-4,7-6(6). "She just stepped back a little bit and was waiting for her opponent to maybe make mistakes instead of sticking with her game," Bern- stein said of Bolender's second set. "When we get in those positions, I want them to step up and go for it, instead of letting their opponents to come at them. Brooke did that in the end." Michigan stays perfect on the year as it prepares for its first road match of the season. The Wol- verines will travel to South Bend on Thursday to play the Fighting Irish. "It's nice to get Kentucky back for sure, " Bernstein said. "But it's just one win. It gets tougher next week with Notre Dame."the best conferences in the country - (we) just want to be playing our best basketball come Big Ten Tourna- ment time."