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I The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 24, 2011- 7A
* The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 7A
Michigan to honor lone senior
Hicks against Golden Gophers
Sophomore winger Chris Brown has improved his level of play since he joined
seniors Louie Caporusso and Carl Hagelin on a line.
Sophomore Brown
hitting stride on
new-look top line
By CAITLIN SMITH
Daily Sports Writer
For the Michigan women's
basketball team, game days at
Crisler Arena average just 2,500
fans - and those who have actu-
ally attended
a game know
that number is MinneSOta
a stretch. at Michigan
But on Matchup:
Thursday, the Minnesota
attention of all 3-11; Michi-
the dedicated gan 16-10
maize and blue When: Thurs-
fans - includ- day 7 P.M.
ing the fan who
dons a pair of Criser Arena
Adidas basket-
ball shorts and
a spirit towel during every home
contest - will be on just one
individual: senior guard Veroni-
ca Hicks.
As the Wolverines' lone senior,
Hicks will be honored during
Michigan's last home game of
the season against Minnesota
(3-11 Big Ten, 11-16 overall).
Hicks has made a name for
herself this season, leading the
Wolverines in scoring - with
just under 12 points per game -
and rebounds, with 5.5.
"It goes without saying that
when you're around for a period
of time, you know all the short-
cuts," Michigan coach Kevin
Borseth said after practice on
Tuesday. "You know all the loop-
holes, you know what's expected
of you and you understand the
competition level and intensity.
(Hicks) has been through all that
and she understands."
But what Hicks also under-
stands is that Thursday's game is
about more than herself.
"The win is really just impor-
tant even beyond being my last
game at Crisler," Hicks said
Senior guard Veronica Hicks is averaging 11.6 points per game this season for the Wolverines.
By CASANDRA PAGNI
Daily Sports Writer
After missing about three
weeks to represent the US
National Junior team in the
World Junior Championships
this winter,
sophomore NOTEBOOK
forward Chris
Brown has finally gotten back
into a rhythm as a Wolverine.
Brown netted two goals and
an assist during his stint with
the junior team, and even though
he has been back with Michigan
since early January, he is just
now hitting his stride.
"I think he's on the verge of
(playing his best hockey)," Mich-
igan coach Red Berenson said.
"I'm seeing glimpses of it. He's
getting some confidence, and
not just the scoring part. But the
puck touches, playing with his
linemates, getting the puck out
of our zone; that defensive zone
awareness - all these are part of
your confidence in a player."
And the Texan's confidence is
high. Brown scored back-to-back
game-winning goals against
Ohio State and Western Michi-
gan and is currently on a four-
game point streak - a career
best - and has three goals and
an assist during that time.
Brown was moved to a line
with senior forwards Louie
Caporusso and Carl Hagelin
four games ago, and the line has
exploded offensively since that
change. The trio has scored six
goals and tallied seven assists
during its four games together,
with Hagelin also boasting a
four-game point streak since the
move.
"I had a good World Juniors
points-wise, but playing with
Louie and Carl, it's a lot easier
to get points," Brown said. "You
just get the puck to those two,
you try to get open."
Added Berenson: "When you
play with (Louie and Carl), you
better play well. You better lis-
ten, you better pay attention and
you better do the right thing.
V That's part of the leadership fac-
tor."
WOHLBERG WANTS MORE
For junior forward David Wohl-
berg, scoring goals is all about
going back in time.
"I think it's mindset,"Wohl-
* berg said. "I (am) trying to get
back to where I was freshman
year. Last year, mindset-wise,
I thought Ihad to get more and
more points, but this year it's
more of a team thing. There's
not a lot of guys besides Carl
with a ton of points, so it's not
like you're playing for that. You
want the team to win. If you get
points, you get points."
After jumping out to a hot
start this season - he scored six
goals in the first seven games -
Wohlberg has kept his head on
straight during this campaign
and continues to find success
with his team-first focus.
With 12 goals this season,
Wohlberg is second on the team
in lamplighters - just three
goals behind the team-leading
Hagelin.
"It is (encouraging) for alot of
reasons," Berenson said. "Look-
ing at Wally, coming off of last
year where he struggled off and
on, he still picked up some goals
but he wasn't playing the hockey
that he's playing now. Going into
his senior year, you want him to
be a dominant player next year.
I think he's going in the right
direction.".
The junior was the one to step
up and help get the Michigan
power play on track on Satur-
day, as his goal halfway through
the second period in the series
finale against Western Michi-
gan ended an 0-for-22 scoreless
streak on the man-advantage for
the Wolverines (18-7-1-0 CCHA,
21-9-4 overall).
WINNING EXPECTATIONS:
The Wolverines' two wins
against Western Michigan this
past weekend were their 20th
and 21st victories of the season,
making this campaign the 24th
consecutive season Michigan
has notched 20 or more wins.
"I think we're expected to
do that when we come into
each season," Brown said. "It's
an expectation of our own. We
know that we need to get those
wins, we need to get as many
wins as we can because we know
that this league comes down to
the last few games.
"It's a grind every night."
The next-best active streak
in Division I is held by Denver,
which has reached the 20-plus
win mark in nine consecutive
seasons.
Check out Quick Hits with Kevin
Lynch on MichiganDaily.com
Tuesday. "It would put us in a
great position for the season."
The Wolverines (9-5, 16-10)
are at a pivotal moment in their
season with just two games
remaining in regular conference
play. Michigan's 16-10 record
has the Wolverines on the cusp
of a potential at-large bid for the
NCAA Tournament. And Michi-
gan could use some extra cush-
ion in the win column.
"We need to get into the big
tournament," Borseth said. "This
whole thing is about getting into
the NCAA Tournament at this
point right now, and in order to
do that, the tournament commit-
tee wants to see wins. With that
being said, one at a time, every
game right now is extremely
important."
But the Golden Gophers
proved early on this season -
with a 60-50 home-court win
over Michigan - that they are
not a team to underestimate.
Though Minnesota has only
three conference wins on record,
the Golden Gophers have lost six
of their Big Ten games by two
possessions or less, including a
two-point loss to Iowa on a con-
tested layup at the buzzer and a
one-point overtime loss to Indi-
ana.
"Minnesota is tough. They're
physical and they play aggres-
sive," Borseth said. "They're
kind of in your face - they get
into your space, they really press
the envelope with everything
that you do. Last time we played
against them, I don't know if we
were ready for that, or if they
were that much better than we
were.
"I don't know that answer, but
I guess we will find that out on
Thursday."
And come Thursday, the Wol-
verines are emphasizing tough-
ness on the interior and making
shots down the stretch.Over the
past few games, Michigan has
shown an improvement in post
play, specifically by sophomore
forward Rachel Sheffer - she
has averaged 18.5 points and 5.5
rebounds in the last two games,
both wins.
"When you get the ball down
(into the post), you've got to be
able to do something," Borseth
said. "But Minnesota's pretty
tough; they don't give up a lot
inside that lane. They rally really
well when the ball gets around
that basket. It's going to be a
challenge for us."
The Wolverines have several
areas of focus for Thursday's
game, but in the end it all comes
down to securing the last home-
court win of the season. And
though Hicks understands that
this Senior Night won't just be
about her, she wouldn't mind if
the ball bounced her way.
"You want to go out that way,"
Hicks said. "I would like every
shot to go in on that day too,
because it's like, 'This is the last
shot at Crisler, make itgo in."'
S F T BA L L
Shaw closes in on program home run record
Senior first baseman
10 home runs away
from reaching all-
time mark
By MATT RUDNITSKY
Daily Sports Writer
The throne is in Dorian
Shaw's sight.
After smackingsix home runs
in the No. 11 Michigan softball
team's first 10 games, the senior
first baseman is closing in on
the Wolverines' all-time record.
If she keeps pace, Michigan may
have a new home-run queen
soon.
The record is currently held
by former All-American first
baseman Samantha Findlay,
who has 62 to her name. But
Shaw's outburst lifted her total
to 52, meaning she needs just
10 dingers in the Wolverines'
45 remaining regular season
games to seize the crown.
"It would mean a lot to me,"
Shaw said of breaking the
record. "Playing for a program
that has the history and great
players that Michigan has had,
to be able to leave my mark in
the record books would be a
tremendous accomplishment.
Knowing that I led a category
that Samantha Findlay leads,
and all of the other great hitters
who came before, would be a
great honor."
For a slugger who knocked 21
balls out of the park last year -
tying the team's single-season
record - hitting 10 more home
runs this year seems likely.
Not to mention she is 46
walks and .26 slugging percent-
age points away from Michigan
records - both held by Findlay.
She's also up for the 2011 Lowe's
Senior CLASS award, given to
the most outstanding senior
in Division I softball for excel-
lence in four areas: classroom,
character, community and com-
petition.
But Shaw knows she can't do
any of it without the help of her
teammates, who have played
incredibly well to lead the Wol-
verines to a 10-0 record - one of
the team's best starts ever.
"I haven't been getting
walked often," Shaw said. "I
think it really helps to have
(junior Amanda Chidester)
and (sophomore) Ashley Lane
behind me in the lineup because
pitchers have to make that dif-
ficult decision as to whether
they're going to let me hit or let
them hit, because they're play-
ing so well.
"It's more likely they're going
to pitch to me because I have
that protection behind me. If
they can keep this up, I won't
have to worry about people try-
ing to pitch around me and I'll
just be able to focus on hitting."
If she does indeed reach the
oh-so-magical number of 62
(Mark McGwire, anyone?), it
will put her in 17th-place in
the NCAA record books, with a
chance to rise even higher. The
all-time NCAA record is 90.
Shaw was also named to the
ESPN.com Preseason All-Amer-
ica first-team - along with
senior hurler Jordan Taylor
- and stands a good chance of
becoming just the 12th Wolver-
ine to earn first-team All-Amer-
ica honors.
Still, she isn't letting the
attention mess with her head.
"Honestly, (being named a
preseason All-American) really
doesn't mean anything," Shaw
said. "It doesn't mean that I'm
going to play well or that I'm
better than anyone else. If I play
well, the accolades are going to
come. So I try not to focus on
things like that.
"I mean, it's nice to be rec-
ognized, but at the same time, I
don't want to get wrapped up in
what other people expect me to
do versus what I feel I'm capa-
ble of doing."
And as much as Shaw may
accomplish individually this
year, she says it would just be
the "cherry on top" of the team
playing to its full potential.
"Our expectations don't
change based on what year it
is," Shaw said. We always want
to win the Big Ten Champion-
ship and go to the World Series
and this year is no different.
We want to play in the National
Championship game.
"And while it will obviously
take a little bit of luck here and
there, we have the talent to get
there."
.... ...
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