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8 - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

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Hemingway gains
trust, perfects
jump-ball catch

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to
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Fifth-year senior wide receiver Junior Hemingway caught three passes for 165 yards against Notre Dame in the Under the Lights classic on Saturday.
Hemingway surprised erse
swap before Howard ceremony

By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily SpbrtsEditor '
Junior Hemingway didn't
understand.
Just before the Michigan
football team took the field for
warmups prior to the Under
the Lights game on Saturday,
equipment manager Jon Falk
approached the fifth-year senior
wide receiver.
"When you N
come back up NOTEBOOK
from warmups,
make sure you come in so I can
change your jersey," Falk told
Hemingway.
He didn't explain any further.
So when Hemingway
returned to the locker room a
half hour later, he headed to
Falk's office. The new edition of
Hemingway's No. 21 jersey had
a patch on the upper right chest
reading, "Desmond Howard:
Michigan Legend."
Moments later, former Michi-
gan wide receiver Desmond
Howard, who starred in the No.
21 jersey from 1988-91, walked
beneath the banner at midfield
to be recognized as the inaugu-
ral Michigan Football Legend.
From that point on, Heming-
way and his new-look jersey
didn't disappoint.
"It's a great honor to wear
the number, but I've got to go
out there and play my game,"
Hemingway said during a press
conference Monday. "I can't
think about having to live up to
what Desmond did."
Hemingway caught three
passes for 165 yards and scored
the Wolverines' first touch-
down.
But No. 21 was never Heming-
way's first choice. During his
high school career in Conway,
S.C., he wore No. 5.
No. 5 wasn't available when

he arrived on campus as a fresh- "I was going for it and I don't
man. Then-Michigan wide think he knew," Van Bergen
receivers coach Eric "Soup" said. "When you ... make eye-
Campbell listed the numbers to-eye contact, you start gath-
Hemingway could choose from. ering for the jump. You've got it
When he stopped, Heming- timed out. You practice this kind
way asked, "That's it?" of thing and we didn't rehearse
"Oh, well we've got 21," this.
Campbell said. "You could tell that he's kind
He took it. And now he's of rusty. But I think he'll come
become part of a legacy. around."
Michigan coach Brady Hoke But knocking the wind out
said there will be a "thought of Brandon - the brainchild
process" regarding who wears of Michigan's first-ever home
Howard's number from now on, night game - wasn't the only
and he noted there's a good like- time Van Bergen got physical on
lihood it will only be handed to the sideline.
wide receivers. After falling on a loose ball
What about freshman corner- early in the fourth quarter to
stifle a Notre Dame drive into
the red zone, former Michigan
"I can't think center and NFL journeyman
Steve Everitt left his mark with
about having to Van Bergen.
"When I got that fumble,
live up to what I'm trying to celebrate with my
guys and this blonde guy with a
Desmond did." yellow shirt comes up and just
smacks me," Van Bergen said.
"It was probably one of the
harder hits I had of the game."
back Raymon Taylor, who also Maybe it was that, maybe just
wears No. 21? Does he have the of the excitement of the game,
patch? but Van Bergen had ahard time
"No, I don't think he does," settling down after it finished.
Hoke said. "That's a good ques- The defensive tackle said he
tion. That's one I'll ask." got three or four hours of sleep.
A FAMILY AFFAIR: Michigan But across town, 35 or 40
Athletic Director Dave Brandon members of the extended Hoke
will probably admit he got a lit- family had descended on the
tle too involved in the Under the head coach's home for the night.
Lights game. But he paid for it. "Everybody found a place on
When junior wide receiv- the floor and went to bed," Hoke
er Roy Roundtree caught the said. "It was late, 3:30 maybe, by
game-winning touchdown in the time you say hello, talk to
the south endzone, Michigan's everybody and be as gracious as
sideline went berserk. And fifth- I can be."
year senior Ryan Van Bergen ROBINSON, MICHIGAN WIN
seized an opportunity. B1G: Two days after tossing a
"I think I chest-bumped Dave career-high four touchdowns
Brandon," Van Bergen said and collecting another on the
Monday. ground against the Fighting
A synopsis was in order. Irish, Robinson collected three

awards.
His 446-yard evening earned
him Big Ten Offensive Player
of the Week honors, the Davey
O'Brien Quarterback of the
Week award and Rivals.com's
National and Big Ten Player of
the Week awards.
But the performance was
far from perfect, especially his
three interceptions.
Hoke straddled the line when
asked whether Robinson had a
rough game or great game Sat-
urday.
"A little of both," he said. "He
made some plays when we need-
ed to have some plays made,
which a guy of his capability
and caliber can do."
But Van Bergen had a bright-
er review of Robinson's day.
He said there was no cause for
concern when Robinson led
the offense onto the field down
three points with 30 seconds
left on the clock.
"When you have Denard
Robinson on your team, 30 sec-
onds is plenty of time to score a
touchdown," Van Bergen said.
"He can run 100 yards in under
10 seconds, so you don't need to
worry about 30 seconds being
on the clock."
The Michigan team was
named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
National Team of the Week.
INJURIES: After leading the
Wolverines in carries during the
season opener against Western
Michigan, sophomore running
back Fitzgerald Toussaint was
held out against Notre Dame.
"I think he'll be okay," Hoke
said. "He just bumped up his
shoulder against Western."
Fifth-year senior linebacker
Brandon Herron (leg) and red-
shirt sophomore linebacker
Cam Gordon (back) also missed
the game and remain day-to-
day.

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leceiver scores about all our receivers - they
know how to go and get the ball
uchdown,gains and attack the ball," Robinson
said after the game. "I knew
5 yards on just Junior could get the ball. Once
I threw it up, I knew he was
going to come down with it."
There's no doubt memories
By TIM ROHAN of last season's game-winning
Daily SportsEditor drive against Indiana played
in Robinson's head - when he
chigan wide receivers hit Hemingway on a 42-yard
Jeff Hecklinski told underthrown jump ball with 21
the receivers the same seconds left in a tied game.
before Saturday's game: The next play, Robinson
ve got to win all of the scored the game-winning
balls." touchdown.
nior Hemingway was lis- So down 24-21 against Notre
gintently. Dame, having, just forced
that moment, when the another turnover, Robinson
s hanging, Hemingway is took another shot deep, look-
back to his high school ing for Hemingway. But he was
tball roots in South Caro- covered like a pair of gloves
Back to when he played by two Notre Dame defensive
epost, boxing out bigger backs. Robinson threw it any-
rs for rebounds. Back to way.
he played everywhere on Instead of leading Heming-
oor, just because he could way into trouble where the two
so high. defenders were farther up field,
e 6-foot-2, 235-pound Robinson underthrew him and
ver - who has become the Hemingway leaped to make
icial resident jump-ball the same jump-ball catch once
t for the Wolverines for again.
ast two seasons - has a By then, it was old hat. But
e for how best to execute. that trust had to be a two-way
ou have to beat the (defen- street.
rack) to the highest point "I feel real comfortable
' Hemingway said Mon- (with) Denard," Hemingway
Because ifyouwait until it said. "The rest of the receivers
s down too low, he'll have feel the same way. The whole
nce to high-point it before offense does. A lot of people said
o. Denard, about the whole spread
's just basically trying to thing, about him being under
ur body in front of him, or center and stuff - and Denard
ss, well - I'm kind of big. has adjusted real good. We have
can put a little more body a lot of faith in Denard."
em. But it's just like get- Robinson was takingbig bites
a rebound in basketball. out of the Notre Dame defense,
have to position yourself in large part due to plays his
rn un and vet it_,

dugu Up uge I.
Not once, but twice, did
Hemingway see a ball under-
thrown descending towards
him from the heavens against
Notre Dame. Both times the
game was also in the balance.
Down 14-0, after Michi-
gan had just picked off Notre
Dame quarterback Tommy
Rees, and with junior quar-
terback Denard Robinson
struggling mightily to start
the game, Hemingway found
himself in single coverage.
Robinson had a neat pocket to
work with after the play action,
but still couldn't find an open
receiver he liked until he found
Hemingway 40 yards down
field, with just Fighting Irish
cornerback Gary Gray in cover-
age.
The pass was high and away,
where only a rebounder like
Hemingway could jump and
get it. Gray didn't even make a
play on the ball and didn't even
stop Hemingway from diving
the final five yards for a touch-
down.
"All summer we've been
doing workouts and every-
thing, (and) one thing I noticed

"We've got
to make sure
we catch 4
everything."
wide receivers were making
on less-than-perfect passes.
Hemingway added another
77-yard catch-and-run, to finish
the day with three catches for
165 yards and that lone touch-
down.
On the night Desmond How-
ard's No. 21 was honored, it was
fitting the current No. 21 caught
almost everything that came his
way.
"We know we've got to make
sure we catch everything,"
Hemingway said, referring to a
few dropped passes the receiv-
ers had in the first half. "That's
one thing coach harped on in
practice. ... 'Make every catch
regardless of where it is.'
"If it's in our vicinity, we've
got to catch it."

Kopmeyer and team effort leading stifling 'M' defense

By STEVEN BRAID
DailySports Writer
What redshirt junior goalie
Haley Kopmeyer showcased this
past weekend against Western
and Central Michigan wasn't
an aberration. After allowing
only one goal against two offen-
sively dynamic squads, she has
cemented herself as one of the
Big Ten's best.
She swallows any shot low
enough to catch, and her athleti-
cism and leaping ability make it
easy for her to punch shots high.
Kopmeyer's ability in net is
good enough in her own right
to make the Michigan women's
soccer team a solid defensive
team. But even the best goalies
need help - enter the rest of the
Wolverines.
On the rare occasions that
Kopmeyer is out of position to
make a save or when she makes
a mistake, her teammates are
there backingher up and helping
her in the net.
"It's awesome that they're

going to be there too, right
behind me, and that no one
wants a goal to go in," Kop-
meyer said. "It's something we
always talk about and work on at
practice. You don't realize how
important the little things are
until it happens in a game."
After suffering a season-
ending injury in her first year
on campus, Kopmeyer has
anchored a stifling defense ever
since her return. In 44 career
games, she has helped the Wol-
verines hold opponents to just
about a goal per game.
She has improved every year
since her arrival, and this year
seems to be her finest so far from
a statistical standpoint. With
46 saves and three shutouts
already, she is on pace to break
her career-high of 95 saves and
six shutouts in one season set
two seasons ago.
She also is on pace to set
career highs in save percentage
(.868) and goals-against average
(0.875).
"(Kopmeyer's) a really good

leader for all of us," sophomore
defender Kayla Mannino said.
"She has a lot of experience and I
know that a lot of younger girls,
myself included, really look up
to her."
But as much as she has proven
to be a steady hand in goal for
her teammates, they have pro-
vided her with just as much sup-
port from the field.
On more than one occa-
sion against the Wolverines,
the Broncos and Chippewas
appeared to have caught Kop-
meyer out of position. Each time,
Michigan position players were
there to back Kopmeyer up and
save a goal.
Late in the game against
Western Michigan, a Bronco
shot slipped through Kopmey-
er's hands in the heavy rain.
Unquestionably heading for the
back of the net, the ball was
corralled and cleared by sopho-
more forward Tori McCombs,
who was backing up Kopmeyer
in case a situation just like that
happened.

Then, midway through the
first half on Sunday, the Chip-
pewas headed a corner kick
at what appeared to be a brief
opening left by Kopmeyer.
This time, sophomore forward
Meghan Toohey. played goalie
as she made a kick save. The play
allowed the Wolverines to main-
tain the lead and proved to be an
incredibly important save as the
two teams played to a draw.
For the Wolverines, it's not
out of the ordinary for forwards
to chip in on defense. Michigan
coach Greg Ryan is a firm believ-
er in bringing extra players back
to help out on defense.
"Any ball that's hit at the goal-
keeper, we're all going back to
help," Ryan said. "It's something
you've got to do and if you don't,
eventually she's going to drop
one. On Friday, you saw (a shot)
went through and Tori cleared
it out from behind her. It's just
part of good defending."
According to Ryan, Michigan
prepares for those types of cir-
cumstances in practice on a daily

0

CHRISDZOMBAK/Daily
Redshirt junior goaltender Haley Kopmeyer has averaged just over a goal per
game allowed in her 44 games in net.

basis. They work on defending
set pieces from long distances
and corner kicks, ensuring their
defenders and forwards are
equally prepared to help out
Kopmeyer when called upon.
Ryan also expressed that the
team's best defense has yet to
come. He understands that the
season is young and that his
roster is still bonding. At the

moment, though, he's satisfied
with how Kopmeyer and the rest
of the defense is playing.
"This a young defense and
this is the first time they've been
back there together," Ryan said.
"The training we've done with
them has just been to help them
understand how to work togeth-
er as a unit. I think that's going
well right now."

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