The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, March 22, 2013 - 9
Villanova will test
Michigan from deep
Michigan coach Red Berenson has reached the NCAA Tournament for 22 straight years, but needs two more wins for 23.
Season streak on
the line at the Joe
Wolverines look to
stay unbeaten in
CCHA Tournament
against Miami
By MATT SLOVIN
ManagingEditor
It took the Michigan hockey
team nearly the entire season to
come up with its slogan.
Last year, it was "burn the
boats."
The new motto is equally sim-
ple, and now
it's written
on the white- Michigan vs.
board in the Miami (OH)
locker room.
"Go blue or Matchup:
go home." Michigas t7-18-
go e 3; Miami 24-10-5
When
seventh-seed- When: Satur-
ed Michi- day 4:35 p.m.
gan (9-15-3 Where: Joe
CCHA, 17-18- Louis Arena
3 overall) and TV:
No. 1 seed Fox Sports
Miami (Ohio) Detroit Plus
square off
in Saturday's CCHA semifinal
at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit,
148 days will have passed since
the teams last met. And if the
Wolverines fail to extend their
unbeaten streak to nine games,
they will be going home - with-
out a spot in the CCHA title
game.
Freshman goaltender Steve
Racine was between the pipes
for Michigan's 4-2 win over the
RedHawks on Oct. 26 at Yost Ice
Arena. The next night, Miami
salvaged the split, and the teams'
years went in opposite directions
the rest of the way.
"That was a long time ago,"
Racine said. "Obviously, they've
gotten a lot better since then.
They've had a great year, so I'm
not really thinking much about
that (series)."
Michigan's recent resurgence
elicited RedHawks coach Enrico
Blasi to refer to the Wolverines as
the hottest team in the CCHA on
Tuesday's league conference call.
"Over the years, it's become a
pretty good rivalry between us
and Michigan," Blasi said on the
conference call. "We feel that
Saturday will be no different."
Miami (17-7-4, 24-10-5) has
already wrapped up an at-large
bid to the NCAA Tournament
that begins next weekend, but
the RedHawks would like noth-
ing more than to erase Michi-
gan's tournament hopes.
The Wolverines, who have.
reached Joe Louis Arena and the
CCHA Championships for the
24th straight season, must win
Saturday and Sunday to extend
their record NCAA Tourna-
ment appearance streak to 23
years. The winner of Michigan
and Miami will meet the winner
of Saturday's contest between
second-seeded Notre Dame and
fourth-seeded Ohio State on
Sunday.
Since Racine regained the
starting job in net, he's gone 7-0-1
with a 1.98 goals-against average
and a .922 save percentage.
But the goaltending edge like-
ly belongs to the RedHawks as
their two freshmen netminders,
Ryan McKay and Jay Williams,
have been key to Miami's suc-
cessful season.
Though Blasi played his cards
close to the vest when asked
which goalie would get the nod
Saturday, it would seem that
Ryan McKay, who has played
five straight games, is the favor-
ite. McKay is 12-5-2 this season
with an unbelievable 1.20 goals-
against average and a save per-
centage of .954.
Michigan coach Red Berenson
sees several similarities between
the RedHawks and Western
Michigan, the latest victim of
the Wolverines' hot streak. Both
teams typically limit the number
of scoring chances given up. And
though both have high-end scor-
ing talent, Berenson said players
like CCHA Rookie of the Year
favorite Riley Barber and Hobey
Baker Award finalist Austin
Czarnik make the RedHawks a
bigger threat offensively.
"Miami prides themselves
on being a blue-collar team, and
they work hard every night,"
Berenson said. "There's a lot of
similarities (to the Broncos)."
The Wolverines haven't ever
lost to Miami in the CCHA Tour-
nament, but the single-elimina-
tion format of the semifinals and
finals lends Michigan little room
for error.
"It's playoffs, so every game
counts," said junior defenseman
Mac Bennett. "You can't afford
to take a game off. Whether
we're playing a three-game
series or doing one game, we've
got to come to play."
First-round foe is
a familiar one for
Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico
By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
When the eighth-seeded Mich-
igan women's basketball team
plays ninth-seeded Villanova
Sunday in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament, it will face
a team that has suffered similar
consequences and results this
Both teams finished with the
same overall and conference
record this season - Michigan
(9-7 Big Ten, 21-10 overall) and
Villanova (9-7
Big East, 21-10).
In addition, Villafl V S.
both teams Michigan
started 4-0 in
conference play Matchup:
and suffered Villanova 21-10;
losses in the Michigan 21-10
quarterfinals When: Sunday
of their respec- 4:30 p.m.
tive conference Where:
tournaments. Maples
Coming Pavilion
from the Big TV:
East, Michi- ESPN2
gan coach Kim
Barnes Arico has experience
coaching against the Wildcats. At
St. John's, she won three straight
games against Villanova, includ-
ing a 69-49 victory in her last con-
test.
Given her win streak and
familiarity with longtime Vil-
lanova coach Harry Perretta,
Barnes Arico feels confident she
will be able to prepare her team
adequately before Sunday's game.
"I was in (that) league for 10
years, and he was always some-
one that was a tremendous coach,
but an even better person and
someone you could always turn to
in our league," Barnes Arico said.
"I've gone and sat down with him
to talk basketball. I've gone and
talked to him about his offense.
So yeah, I know Villanova really
well, coach Perretta really well. It
should be interesting."
Michigan will have to get used
to contesting the 3-point shot
more than it has all year. Villano-
va ranks seventh in the country in
3-pointers made per game, aver-
aging 8.3. The Wildcats attempt-
ed 256 shots in the season - also
enough for seventh in the country.
"They play a unique style, kind
of like Princeton men of old, they
play five out," Barnes Arico said.
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Senior guard Jenny Ryan called Michigan "OK at defending the three," and said
the Wolverines would devote practice time to improving before meeting Villanova.
"They play five out, they shoot
threes like crazy, they probably
take 20 to 30 more threes than
anybody else per game," Barnes
Arico said.
It's no surprise, then, as to
what Michigan has devoted its
time practicing this week in prep-
aration.
"We're OK at defending the
three, and we'll work on it this
week and be ready," senior guard
Jenny Ryan said.
Added senior forward Rachel
Sheffer: "I feel like we've faced
Maggie Lucas, one of the best
3-point shooters in the game
right now. We defend (senior for-
ward Kate Thompson) in practice
every day, and I'm sure she'll be
shooting up a storm in the next
couple days. Knowing that they
are a 3-point shootingteam, that's
going to beone of our main focus-
es in the next few days in prac-
tice."
Though they're making their
second consecutive NCAA Tour-
nament appearance, the Wolver-
ines haven't advanced beyond the
first round since 2001 - their last
NCAA berth before 2012.
After falling to Oklahoma
in the first round last season,
Michigan returned five seniors
who have carried the team with
their experience and scoring. The
seniors led the team to its second
straight 20-plus win campaign.
With such experience in hand,
it's no surprise that Barnes Arico
and company envision bigger
things this post season compared
to last.
"You're not just happy to be
,there anymore, you want to be
successful once you get there,"
Barnes Arico said. "The senior
class really wanted to create
something special, and they've
been able to do that. We don't
want to end here, we want to keep
going forward."
To move beyond the first
round, though, the Wolverines
will have to deal with the senior
duo of Laura Sweeney and Rachel
Roberts, who are the only two
double-digit scorers for the
Wildcats, averaging 13.9 and 1L0
points, respectively. Sweeney also
leads the team in rebounding,
averaging 6.9 per game. No other
player averages more than 3.8 per
game.
Meanwhile, Michigan boasts
three double-digit scorers in
Ryan, Sheffer and Thompson. The
latter leads the Wolverines with
14.5 points per game and is sec-
ond in the country with 107 made
3-pointers.
On the defensive side of things,
Villanova ranks 18th in the nation
in points allowed per game, at
52.3. Michigan stands at 42nd,
allowing55 points per game.
While a date with top-seeded
Stanford more than likely looms
for the winner, the Wolverines
are still just focused on the game
at hand and not looking ahead.
SOFTBALL PREVIEW 013
Again, Michigan is early favorite in Big Ten
By ALEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Writer
As the only ranked team in
the Big Ten, the No. 14 Michigan
softball team is a favorite to win
its sixth consecutive champion-
ship. The Wolverines (21-7) look
in form as the conference slate
begins, having won eight of 10
games, including an upset of No.
2 Arizona State. But coach Carol
Hutchins' teamwill face stiff com-
petition this spring.
Wisconsin (22-3)
With only three losses
through their first 25
games of the season,
the Badgers could be Michigan's
biggest obstacle in its quest for
the conference title. Pitcher Cas-
sandra Darrah has shut down
opponents all season with a 1.65
earned-run average and has com-
pleted 11 of 14 games she started.
At the plate, outfielder Mary Mas-
sei has averaged an RBI a game,
as she streaked through the non-
conference schedule with a .451
batting average.
Nebraska (20-6)
The Big Ten's new-
comers didn't treat its
-new conference too kind-
ly in 2012, winning 14 games and
finishing third. The Cornhuskers
have historically been an elite pro-
gram, winning18 conference titles
in the 35 years they've been affili-
ated with a conference. The Husk-
ers will meet Michigan for the first
time as Big Ten foes on April 26 in
Lincoln. A two-time Pitcher of the
Week last year, Tatum Edwards
has continued her dominance this
season, winning 12 games with a
L76 earned-run average. Nebras-
ka has an experienced leader in
Rhonda Revelle, the only coach
besides Hutchins inducted into
the NFCA Hall of Fame.
Iowa (19-8)
The Hawkeyes barely
cracked .500 last sea-
son but finished as the
runner-up and just two games
behind Michigan in the Big Ten.
Thanks to Kayla Massey, Iowa
hasn't suffered from another slow
startthis year. The junior platoons
with Chelsea Lyon in the circle
and also terrorizes opposing hurl-
ers with the second-highest bat-
ting average and most home runs
on the team. The Hawkeyes have
toppled four ranked teams this
season, including a 6-2 win over
then-No. 11 Louisville that ended
a 37-game Cardinal home winning
streak that stretched back to April
13, 2011. Seeking its first regular-
season title since 2003, Iowa could
play more than just a spoiler this
year.
Ohio State (18-8)
The last team besides
Michigan to win an out-
right Big Ten title, the
Buckeyes returned five pitchers
from a squad that won 31 games
in 2012. But Melanie Nichols, one
of the top performers last year,
struggled in non-conference play
and has seen less time in the circle
as a result. A high-octane offense
doesn't hit for power, but it fea-
tures five players batting above
.300. Of them, Cammi Prantl has
perhaps impressed the most. The
freshman utility player boasts a
.400 clip and started all 26 non-
conference games.
Minnesota (17-10)
Even the Big Ten's
best sluggers might find
themselves swinging
at thin air against the Gophers'
pitching, which has already no-
hit three teams this season. With
a 1.18 earned-run average and 161
strikeouts through 22 appearanc-
es, Sara Moulton has flummoxed
opponents all year. Utility player
Kaitlyn Richardson has been on
fire in 2013 and leads the team
with an astounding .474 batting
average, but she's a bit of a double-
edged sword as she's committed
more errors (nine) than any other
Gopher. And besides Richardson
and shortstop Tyler Walker, no
Minnesota batter hits above .250.
Northwestern (14-10)
A perennial contender
for the Big Ten crown,
the Wildcats opened
the season with five consecu-
tive losses, but a win over then-
No. 4 Tennessee highlights their
improvement since then. Having
led Northwestern for 12 years
alongside her twin sister, coach
Kate Drohan recently earned her
400th victory with the program.
Drohan guided her team to back-
to-back Women's College World
Series semifinal appearances in
2006-07 and might have the talent
to do it again. The Wildcats are the
only team in the Big Ten with two
players on the Player of the Year
Watch List in shortstop Emily
Allard and third baseman Marisa
Bast, and Northwestern will keep
piling on wins if the sluggers heat
up at the plate.
Michigan State (14-13)
After struggling
through their non-con-
ference slate in 2012, the
Spartans didn't find themselves
on the positive end of the score-
board for the rest of the season
and went winless in the Big Ten.
But the Spartans should steal at
least a couple of games this year.
Michigan will recognize most of
its rivals' key players - outfielder
Kylene Hopkins and pitcher Kelly
Smith are both upperclassmen -
but Michigan State has added few
new faces. One of just three fresh-
man, Dani Goranson is the Spar-
tans' go-to reliever and gives them
a little extra depth on the circle.
IIJ Indiana (15-14)
The Hoosiers return
most of the key pieces
of a team that finished
fourth in the conference last year,
including infielders Amanda Wag-
ner and Shannon Cawley. But the
veteran experience hasn't trans-
lated into big non-conference
wins, as Indiana has struggled
against ranked competition. In
one five-game road trip to Cali-
fornia, the Hoosiers went winless
and were outscored, 36-7. Indiana
might have found a third weapon
in infielder Breanna Saucedo, who
has fully recovered from a foot
injury in 2012 and batted over .500
in her first six games this season.
a result, Shelese Arnold has seen
more time in the circle. Illinois is
solid defensively - nine players
boast a perfect fielding percent-
age - but has been uncompeti-
tive against Top-25 opponents
this year and will likely find itself
near the bottom of the conference
standings come May.
Purdue (11-15)
Pitching is key to a
team's success, and it
might be instrumental to
the Boilermakers' downfall. While
their lineup includes seven people
batting over .300, none of Pur-
due's pitchers have an earned-run
average below 3.40. Still, the Boil-
ermakers have quick-strike abil-
ity, having blasted 30 home runs
so far this year. Catcher Danielle
Fletcher's patience at the plate has
helped her knock eighthome runs,
and she also hits for average (302).
F Illinois (10-12) Penn State (7-16)
MIL S Despite a disappoint- Purdue should be glad
ing 2012 campaign, the (0 its pitching isn't as bad as
Fighting Illini made Penn State's. No hurler
history by becoming the first has an earned-run average below
conference team in 11 years to four, theunit as awhole allows 7.12
defeat Michigan twice in a sea- runs per seven innings and the
son in Ann Arbor. Pitcher Pepper Nittany Lions have surrendered
Gay shut down the Wolverines 10 or more runs seven times this
en route to earning All-Big Ten season. Don't expect Penn State
honors, but she hasn't repeated to finish in the top half of a tough
that success so far this season. As Big Ten.