The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEW STUDENT EDITION Tuesday, September 6, 2011- 5E Shocked Wolverines drop 2-1 thriller to Kentucky in NCAARegional finale By EMILY BONCHI Daily Sports Writer May 23, 2011 - It was the end- ing that no one saw coming for the No. 2 Michigan softball team. With the bases loaded and only one out in the bottom of the seventh inning for Kentucky, it seemed simultane- ously inevitable and impossible. As soon as the Wildcats' Annie Rowland's soft blooper started its arc downward, everyone knew the game was over. Kentucky won 2-1, upsetting the Wolverines on their home field for the second day in a row to knock them out of the NCAA postseason. Entering the seventh inning, Michigan held a l-Olead, but by the time Kentucky put its bats away, the damage was done. Michigan (18-2 Big Ten, 53-6 overall) grabbed the early lead after freshman catcher Caitlin Blanchard scored sophomore Jac- lyn Crummey on a two-out error in the fourth. Kentucky pitcher Rachel Riley tossed a one-hitter, closing out the top of the seventh by putting away three straight Michigan batters. But it never seemed like enough, even with senior pitcher Jordan Taylor on the mound for the Wol- verines. Despite playing the NCAA Regional finale at home in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines were the away team Sunday afternoon, giv- ing the Wildcats (14-9 SEC, 39-14) one last chance to score. And they took it. Taylor struck out 10 heading into the final inning. She needed three outs in order for Michigan to force a tiebreaker game for the NCAA Super Regionals bid. "I was preparing my mid-game speech," Kentucky coach Rachel Lawson said about heading into the bottom half of the seventh inning. But Wildcat Megan Aull, the first batter to face Taylor, sparked something for Kentucky. She hit a home run over the right-field wall, squeezing it just inside the foul pole to tie the score, 1-1. Taylor tried to pitch low against her next few batters to prevent another long ball, but she missed the strike zone eight pitches in a row to put two runners on. A hit-by-pitch followed, loading the bases for Kentucky with no outs on the board. "I'm very impressed with Ken- tucky," Hutchins said. "We were going to make them swing if they were goingto beat us." Rowland must have received that message. Taylor rallied back with a strike- out against pinch hitter Lauren Cumbess, putting new life back into Alumni Field. But Rowland - who was 0-2 on the day - con- nected for a blooper over senior first baseman Dorian Shaw's head to bring the game-winning run - and NCAA Super Regional bid - in for Kentucky. This will be the Wildcats' first NCAA Super Regional bid in pro- gram history. The game began as a pitcher's duel, with Riley and Taylor each not allowing much movement around the bases. The Wildcats were able to put two runners on to threaten the Wolverines, but Blanchard came up big for Michi- gan to throw out runners in both the first and fifth innings. After the Wolverines' unearned run put them up 1-0 in the top of the fourth, sophomore second baseman Ashley Lane was the only batter to earn a hit, breaking Riley's no-hitter inthe sixth. "What we've been working on this entire game ... is just putting the ball in play, putting it on the ground," Lane said. "Atthat specif- ic at bat, I knewI had been popping up a lot so I just thought to myself to put it on the ground. Getting base runners, as Hutch has said, was the most important thing we could have done in thatgame." But a lack of base runners, fol- lowed by a seventh-inning threat by Kentucky caused the Wolver- ines' season to come to an unex- pected halt. The Wolverines will now say goodbye to six seniors, including Shaw and Taylor, whose careers have made history in the Michigan softball program. "We just have to fight every day," Chidester said afterthe game. "You can't take anything for granted - just got to keep going." Hockey The No. 2-seeded Michigan men's hockey team began the 2011 NCAA tournament by beating Nebraska-Omaha in dramatic fashion, after sophomore forward Kevin Lynch's overtime shot found its way across the goal-line. In the Regional final against Colorado College, senior forward Scooter Vaughan and sophomore Lee Moffie each scored to send the Wolverines to their 24th Frozen Four. 'wo weeks later, after traveling to St. Paul, Minn., the Wolverines drew first blood earyin the Frozen Four hattle against top-seeded North Dakota when senior Ben Winnett roofed a shot over theFighting Sioux's goalie. Senior goalie Shaun Hunwick shined, stopping all140 shots, before Vaughanscored on an empty net to ice the game. In the NCAA title game, Michigan played No. 3-eeded Minnesota-Duluth to a 2-2 tie afte e periods. But just three minutesinto overtime, Minnesota-Duluth scored the championship- inng goal, ending the Wolverines' title dreams. This upcoming season, Michigan coach Red Berenson rat s for his 28th season at the helm. n's5ccer- ALEX STINHOFF Men~'s Soccer Consideringthe amount of talent the Michigan men's soccer team lost when its magimal run to the NCAA College Cup finally ended just short of the national title match, one might regard the upcom- ing campaign as a rebuilding season. Fortunately for the program, which has garnered considerable national respect since the postseason, Michigan coach Steve Burns doesn't have the word "rebuilding" in his vocabulary But without the Wolverines' two biggest scoring threatsin Justin Meram, now of the Columbus Crew, and Soony Saad, now with Sporting Kansas City, many are left to wonder if Michigan can hold its own in the Big Ten after winningthe 2010 conference tournament. After all, it was the duo's goals late in the season that powered the team's trip to Santa Barbera, Calif., including a potentially program-defining victory over perennial powerhouse Maryland on the Terrapins' home turf. But with Burns at the reins, it would be unwise to count out the 2011 Michigan squad. This team is looking to prove that isn't rebuilding, but rather reloading. - MATT SLOVIN Wrestling Redshirt junior Kellen Russell was supposed to win the 141-pound weight class nationa champion- ship this year. But then again, he was supposed to win in 2009, too, when he was ranked atthe top of his weight class. Instead, two years ago, he was knocked out in the second round,Flash-forward to 2011 - two years after being upset - when Russell stepped onto the mats in Philadelphia to rove himself a champion. Riding a 38-match win streak;Russell capped a perfect season by defeating Cal PolyBois Novach- kov, 3-2, to winhis first national championship and Michigan's first of the year in any spot fter using a combined four overtimes to advance to the finals, Russell's championship match seeingy took a turn for the worst when his ankle popped, stopping play for several miutes. But when a s said and done, the conquering Russell was able to step t the podium and hoist his trophy in theair - DANIEL ASSERMAN Men'sBasketball Heading into the 2010-11 season, things looked bleak for the Michigan men's basketball team. The Wolverines returned little talent and even less experience. The team was pegged to finish near the bot- tom of the BigTen - even Michigan coach John Beilein would be lying if he said he expected to make the postseason. But if last year proved anything, it's that you can't ever count out a Beilein-coached team. Michigan won eight of its last 11 regular-season games - including a sweep of Michigan State for the first time since 1996-97 - and rode this wave of success to the NCAA Tournament. Afte obliter s- see in their first game, the Wolverines were one last-second shot away from taking No. e to overtime in the third round. The teamwill have to deal with the'loss of star point guard Darius Morris, wholeft school for the NBA Draft, but after years of scuffling, it appears that Michigan basketball is finally back. " - BEN ESTES Softball The Michigan softball team made history in 2011, kicking off its season with 24 straight wins. Senior pitcher Jordan Taylor led the Wolverines to their fourth straight Big Ten title, cappingoff her senior season with a conference-best1.51 ERA. At the pinacle of its season, Michigan topped the national polls to become the No. 1 team in the country for the first time since 2006. But despite finishingwith a strong record of 5-6,the Wlveines faltered under pressure in the postseason, and what was anticipated to be a championship run ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Wolverines fell to a young Kentucky squad. Michi- gan still had a notable season, as coach Carol Hutchins took home her 12th-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year title. Look for rising senior and Big Ten Player of the Year Amanda Chidester to lead the team to another successful season in 2012. - EMILY BONCHI UN1VERS ITY OFMICHIGAN SEPTEMBER 11-14, 2011 ATHLETIC BAND AUDITIONS WE ARE LOOKING FOR UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN STUDENTS WHO PLAY THE FOLLOWING INSTRUMENTS: PICCOLO " CLARINET * ALTO SAXOPHONE * TENOR SAXOPHONE * TRUMPET * HORN " TROMBONE " BASS TROMBONE "EUPHONIUM "TUBA *"DRUM SET + SNARE DRUM " BASS DRUM * TENOR DRUMS *"CYMBALS MEN'S BASKETBALL BAND Rehearsals (Fall) Tuesdays, 7:15 - 8:30 PM (Winter) Tuesdays, 6:30 - 7:45 PM Be there as Michigan soars to the next championship WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BAND Rehearsals (Fall) Tuesdays, 7:15 - 8:30 PM (Winter) Tuesdays, 6:30 - 7:45 PM HOCKEY BAND Rehearsals (Fall) Thursdays, 7:30-9:00 PM (Winter) Thursdays, 8:30-10:00 PM Become part of the impact of Yost, play in Hockey Band Join the Women's Basketball Band and we'll support you while you support the team...get paid to play The Victors! 5. ,-. " Call 764-0582 to schedule an audition time e Auditions open to ALL U-M students e Auditions will include scales and sight reading " Sunday, September11 - Wednesday, September 14 " Auditions will be held at Revelli Hall 350 E. Hoover - South/Athletic Campus