2B - April 9, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
The 2012 Schefters: Chronicling Michigan's resurrection
7u've probably heard
plenty about resurrection
lately.
As Easter Sunday passes
and thoughts turn back to the
semester's
final week of
classes, take
a moment to
reminisce and
dream along
as we delve
back into the
year that was -
through the STEPHEN J.
lens of Michi- NESBITT
gan athletics.
It was cer-
tainly a year of resurrection - of
Michigan football, of Michigan
basketball and of the Michigan
brand. With that in mind, we
offer you Daily Sports' second-
annual awards - The Schefters.
Named after ESPN personal-
ity Adam Schefter, one of the
Daily's most esteemed alumni,
the awards honor the best of
Michigan athletics in the last
year. Schefter worked as a Daily
Sports Editor in the late 1980s
and currently serves as ESPN's
NFL insider.
The single rule is simple: An
athlete can win only one cat-
egory. Beyond that, it's no holds
barred.
Without further fanfare, here
are the 2012 Schefters:
Best Cinderella Story: Shawn
Hunwick, ice hockey
Michigan's fifth-year senior
goaltender never really lost the
title, even after winning it in last
year's edition of the Schefters.
Exactly a year ago - April
9,2011 - the 5-foot-7 Hunwick
took the Wolverines into over-
time of the NCAA Championship
Game before surrendering the
game-winner to Minnesota-
Duluth's Kyle Schmidt. It was his
24th birthday.
Then, in his fifth-year senior-
season, Hunwick carried a young
Michigan team to a No. 2-over-
all seed and into the program's
22nd-consecutive NCAA Tour-
nament, where they lost in the
first round.
Instead of his unlikely career
ending there, Hunwick received
a surprise call from the Colum-
bus Blue Jackets on the morning
of March 28. Hunwick was going
to the NHL. Wearing a No. 31
Blue Jackets sweater over his
Michigan equipment, Hunwick
sat on the end of the bench in
Columbus' 4-2 victory over the
Detroit Red Wings - the team
he idolized growing up.
On Friday, Hunwick played
the final 153 seconds of the Blue
Jackets' last game of the season.
The shrimp who came to Michi-
gan asa third-string practice
goaltender had made the NHL.
Today is his 25th birthday.
And his Cinderella story lives on.
Breakout Athlete of the Year:
Fitzgerald Toussaint, football
Entering fall camp, the Michi-
gan football team was looking at
a handful of candidates for the
starting tailback spot. The argu-
ment seemed a moot point - the
Michigan running game would
undeniably be run through
junior quarterback Denard Rob-
inson.
So we thought.
Toussaint took the starting
role early in the season and bolt-
ed for 1,041 yards last season as a
redshirt sophomore. His average
yards per rush (5.57) was better
than Robinson's (5.32), and the
pair became the first Michigan
tandem to break the 1,000-yard
plateau since Rob Lytle and Gor-
don Bell in 1975.
Best single-game perfor-
mance: Junior Hemingway, foot-
ball, in the AllState Sugar Bowl
Rarely will two receptions
for 63 yards earn you a place in
Michigan lore. For Hemingway,
a fifth-year senior wide receiver,
those two receptions couldn't
have come at a more opportune
time.
They came at the Mercedes-
Benz Superdome in New
Orleans. Hemingway scored
both of Michigan's touchdowns
in a 23-20 victory over Virginia
Tech.
And if his miraculous play on
the field didn't seal the deal, his
postgame speech atop the win-
ner's podium did.
"It shows our heart. It shows
our determination. It shows
everything we've been through,
because we've been through a
lot," Hemingway said through a
stream of tears, cheers and con-
fetti. "People don't understand
that, but to come out here and
win this bowl game with the
people I've worked so hard with
from day one feels so good. Ain't
nothing like it."
Game of the Year: Under the
Lights: Michigan vs. Notre Dame
This category can't be argued.
What better to signal the res-
urrection of Michigan football
than the program's first night
game at Michigan Stadium? And
it was a classic.
Yellow pom-poms flashed
through the record crowd of
114,804 in the Big House.
Just a few ticks before mid-
night, Robinson completed
Michigan's furious comeback
by floating a pass against the
night sky to wide receiver Roy
Roundtree in the corner of the
endzone.
The end result was a 35-31
Michigan victory. The end result
was the unquestioned Game of
the Year.
Team of the Year: Michigan
men's basketball
With the sting of a first-round
loss to Ohio in the NCAA Tour-
nament still present, this might
seem like a foolish pick. Trust
me, it's not.
Under Michigan coach John
Beilein, the team that lost star
point guard Darius Morris to the
NBA a year ago bounced back
to win a share of the Big Ten
regular-season title.
It sounds impressive. It's more
than that.
Freshman point guard Trey
Burke - an unheralded recruit
- propelled the overachieving
Wolverines to their first confer-
ence championship since 1986.
It ended badly, and Burke may
be headed for the NBA, but what
that program displayed this past
year was something none of us
expected.
Coach of the Year: Brady
Hoke, football
Hoke arrived last Januaryto
replace former Michigan coach
Rich Rodriguez, who went 15-22
in three seasons in Ann Arbor.
Twelve months later, Hoke
had carried a team loaded with
eDA M G'A
Senior wrestler Kellen Russell is a four-time Big Ten champion a nd two-time national champion at 141 pounds.
Rodriguez's players to a victory
in a BCS bowl and an 11-2 season.
Hoke was named the winner of
the first Hayes-Schembechler
Trophy, given to the Big Ten
Coach of the Year.
He brought countless adjust-
ments to the Michigan football
culture, including (1) a rule ban-
ning the color red from Schem-
bechler Hall, (2) referring to
Ohio State as simply "Ohio," (3)
referring to his team, Michigan's
132nd in history, as "Team 132"
and (4) bringing player numbers
back to the winged helmet.
Most of all, he brought win-
ning back to Michigan. Forget
everything else. That's enough.
Female Athlete of the Year:
Emina Bektas
Bektas has taken the women's
tennis scene by storm.
The freshman sensation is
ranked No. 10 and fills Michi-
gan's top singles spot. Boasting
a 25-6 overall record, as well as
a sterling 14-2 doubles record,
Bektas is a four-time Big Ten
Athlete of the Week honoree.
The Indianapolis native will
lead Michigan into the Big Ten
and NCAA Tournaments in the
next month.
Male Athlete of the Year: Trey
Burke, men's basketball
There were several deserving
student-athletes in this category.
It could have been filled by
Hunwick or by wrestler Kellen
Russell, but you'll have to look
elsewhere for their names. It
could have been swimmer Dan
Madwed or football center David
Molk.
But Burke takes the cake.
As a freshman, Burke aver-
aged 14.8 points and 4.6 assists
per game. Considered a step
down from Morris as the season
opened, Burke proved every
doubter wrong. While the host
of starters struggled down the
stretch and into the postsea-
son, Burke was a complete floor
general. He didn't just live up to
Morris's billing, he surpassed it.
In the Big Ten Tournament
opener against Minnesota, he
dropped 30 points to give Michi-
gan the overtime victory.
Whether or not he returns for
a sophomore season, Burke gave
Michigan one heck of a season to
remember.
Career Achievement Award:
Kellen Russell, wrestling
There's not a lot left to say
about Russell, who won consecu-
tive national championships at
the 141-pound level. You could
give him nearly every one of
these awards.
He was Michigan's only
individual national champion
in 2011-12. In a year that was
defined by resurrection, Russell
didn't have to change a thing.
He finished his career at
Michigan with a 134-12 record.
Only one grappler beat him in
his junior and senior seasons.
The three-time All-American
also became the first Wolverine
wrestler to capture four consec-
utive Big Ten championships.
On Saturday, it was
announced that Russell was
given one of the final two free-
style wildcard selections for the
U.S. Olympic Team Trials in
Iowa City at the end of April.
Russell has left his mark on
Michigan, but his legacy will
extend long past the confines
of the Bahna Wrestling Center.
Because he'll leave the only way
he knows how - as a champion.
- Nesbitt can be reached
at stnesbit@umich.edu and on
Twitter: @stephenjnesbitt.
Wolverines' road ends at NCAA Regionals in Auburn
6
By GLENN MILLER JR.
Daily Sports Writer
There will be no Cinderella
story for the Michigan women's
gymnastics team in 2012. The
senior-less team, which has been
riddled by injuries all season, had
an opportunity to prove their
doubters wrong during this week-
end's NCAA Regional Competion,
but the glass slipper just didn't fit
right.
The 21st-ranked Wolverines
promised all season that they
would put together their best per-
formance at the NCAA Tourna-
ment, and they didn't disappoint.
After tallying a season-high
196.325, Michigan (16-10) watched
its season come to an unexpected
end on Saturday at the hands of
Oregon State. The Beavers' Les-
lie Mak, who leads the nation on
beam, hit a 9.925 routine to edge
out the Wolverines by .125 points
in a battle for second place. Geor-
gia, who defeated Michigan on
March 9, finished first in the
Auburn regionals and will join
Oregon State in the NCAA Cham-
pionships.
"I am proud of them for a lot of
reasons,"said Michigan coach Bev
Plocki. "We fought through a very
difficult season. A lot of people
came up to me after the meet and
told me how incredibly impressed
they were with how we performed
and how we finished the season.
Everyone knew what we were
going through. That's nice and
great to hear, but losingby.125 is a
little hard to swallow."
Despite falling short of
their 20th NCAA Champion-
ships berth, the Wolverines will
send junior Katie Zurales and
sophomore Joanna Sampson as
representatives at the NCAA
Individual Event Finals. Zurales'
39.375 as an all-arounder earns
her the top score of the non-qual-
ifying team's, while Sampson tied
for the regional title on vault with
a 9.925.
"I'm not going to lie, I am really
sad that my team isn't going to
be there with me, but I am really
excited that Michigan will be rep-
resented at nationals," Zurales
said. "I can't wait to go out there
and represent them well. I want to
bring home something for Michi-
gan, because we deserve it with
everything we've been through.
I'm going to put it all out there and
do it for the block 'M."'
The night looked promising for
Michigan, as it opened the meet
with a 49.300 on vault.
Zurales and Sampson led the
way competing from the heart of
the lineup with a pair of 9.925s to
tie Zurales' career-high. Sopho-
more Reema Zakharia debuted a
new routine that earned a 9.850,
followed by freshmen Sachi Sugi-
yama's 9.825. The event's first two
competitors, sophomore Stepha-
nie Colbert and freshman Annette
Miele, also contributed with
scores of 9.750 and 9.775, respec-
tively.
The momentum continued on
uneven bars, where the Wolver-
ines totaled a 49.050. An impres-
sive 9.850 from sophomore Shelby
Gies headlined the event for Mich-
igan, along with Zurales' 9.775 to
start the rotation. A disappointing
9.550 from Miele amplified the
pressure for the rest of Michigan's
lineup. After a pair of 9.800s from
Sugiyama and Sampson, the Wol-
verines turned to junior Brittnee
Martinez for support.
Martinez, who returned to
action for the first time since
injuring her ankle on March 2 at
Penn State, delivered a 9.825 and
preserved Michigan's score. The
Wolverines' 98.350 score at the
halfway point of the meet was just
half a point behind Georgia, which
held the lead throughout.
In its third rotation, a few wob-
bles on balance beam resulted in
a 48.750 for Michigan. Zurales'
team-high 9.850 tied for third
place, followed by a leadoff score
of 9.800 from Gies. Contributions
from Sampson's 9.750 and Miele's
9.700 placed the Wolverines in a
good position, but a slipped dis-
mount from Sugiyama earned a
9.650. Colbert rounded out the
lineup with a 9.500, but it was not
counted in Michigan's final score
for the event..
Georgia finished off its evening
during the Wolverines' bye round,
which put the battle for second
between Michigan and Oregon
State. The Beavers' 49.300 on bars
put them ahead of the Wolverines
heading into the final rotation by a
mere four-tenths of a point.
Another late rally seemed to
be in the makings as Michigan
prepared itself for the floor exer-
cise. A career-high 9.875 from
Sugiyama earned fourth place
for the event, while Sampson and
Zakharia added a pair of 9.850s.
Another set of identical scores,
this time from Zurales' and Col-
bert's 9.825, deepened the Wol-
verines' push. Despite a total of
49.225 on the event, Michigan's
score just wasn't enough to top
Oregon State's impressive perfor-
mance on beam.
"I thought we started and fin-
ished the meet like we were the
champs," Plocki said. "On beam,
we made some silly errors, and
we're sitting at home by .125
because of it. It breaks my heart
for this team because I felt that
with the season we had, I was
hoping it would be the Cinderella
story ending."
For only the second time in the
past 21 seasons, the Wolverines'
have missed out on the chance to
qualify for the NCAA Champion-
ships. Additionally, Michigan has
finished below third only one time
in the program's history, when it
placed fourth in 1993. The Wolver-
ines will add to the record books
this season, though, as Sampson
and Zurales' performance gives
Michigan 54 NCAA Regional
event titles in its history.
While they will have to wait
until next year to compete for a
national championship, the Wol-
verines are loaded with potential.
Michigan will return its entire
squad, including junior Natalie
Beilstein, who missed the major-
ity of the season with an injured
Achilles tendon. In addition to a
slate of impressive recruits, Mich-
igan's lineup could be one of the
best in the nation after Miele and
Sugiyama train for an entire off-
season.
U
Campus Mind Works Groups
FREE drop-in education and support groups for any
U-M student with Depression, Bipolar, or Anxiety
Managing Social Anxiety
When: Tuesday, April 10 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Where: Chrysler Center, Room 165, North Campus
Visit www.campusmindworks.org
for more information.
Presented by the U-M Depressionr
Center in collaboration with:
14 the College of Engineering and
Universityof Michigan Psychological Clinic.
Depression Center
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