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The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com April22, 2013

Men's gymnastics
I takes national title
by widest margin in
29 years
By ALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Writer
Going into the final rotation
of the NCAA national champi-
onship on Saturday night, the
Michigan men's gymnastics team

held a half-point lead over Okla-
homa with only its floor routine
to go. But while the Sooners and
the other four teams were anx-
iously waiting to begin their last
event rotations, the Wolverines
couldn't help but smile.
No. 3 Michigan (7-1 Big Ten,
27-2 overall) was up on the floor,
where it ranks first in the nation,
and knew it was only a rotation
awayfromwinningthe program's
fifth national championship.
But the anticipation of winning
wasn't the only thing bringing

smiles to the Wolverine bench.
Junior Sam Mikulak was up by
2.95 points in the all-around com-
petition over his teammate, soph-
omore Adrian de Los Angeles. So
with first and second place locked
up in the all-around, a huge floor
routine was all that stood in
Michigan's way to a team title.
The Wolverines did more than
rise to the occasion on their floor
exercise, where they scored an
event-high 75.250, which gave
them a 443.200-440.100 blowout
over the second-place Sooners.

It's been 29 years since a team
won the NCAA team titleby more
than three points.
"I knew we could score higher
on floor then Oklahoma could
on high bar, we just had to hit
our sets," said Michigan coach
Kurt Golder. "But it can happen
where one guy misses, then the
next guy, then the next guy, and it
can be really hard to get it turned
around.
"We didn't have it clinched
(and) even though we had the
pressure on us, the guys were

ready for it and handled it really
well."
Michigan's success on floor
also kept Mikulak in the lead for
the all-around championship,
where he ultimately edged out Los
Angeles with a career-best 91.150.
It's Mikulak's second all-around
title in three years, and the pairs'
1-2 finish for the all-around is the
first time teammates have done
that since the 1980s.
"Mikulak is special because of
his unselfishness," Golder said.
"Every interview that he has, he

just talks about how he didn't
have personal goals and (that)
everything was for the team. He
kept saying all he wanted was to
get one or two in the all-around
no matter the order, (just) as long
as it went to Michigan.
"He just wanted the team to
win, and that approach was really
great - just get out there and be
the best."
All in all, it was a storybook
weekend for the Wolverines, who
started out as well as they fin-
See CHAMPIONS, Page 3B

Wolverines extend streak to 21 games

Softball sweeps
Iowa to extend the
nation's longest
winning streak
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Writer
Whether it's winning by 10 in
five innings or with a comeback
rally in the sixth, one thing is cer-
tain: the No. 9 Michigan softball
team has forgotten how to lose.
A three-game sweep of Iowa
tied a program record for con-
secutive
wins in the IOWA 3
Big Ten MICHIGAN 5
(16) and
extended IOWA 6
the Wolver-
ines' win- IOWA 0
ning streak MICHIGAN 8
to 21 - the
longest in the country.
When a 2-1 change-up pitch
from Iowa right-hander Chel-
sea Lyon was called for a strike,
freshman Sierra Romero gri-
maced, knowing she had let her
pitch get by. Romero took a big
swing at the next pitch, but the
result was nothing more than her

first strikeout in conference play
this season.
The first inning was the last
time that Romero and the Wol-
verines (16-0 Big Ten, 39-7 over-
all) would be frustrated in the
doubleheader on Sunday.
With two outs in the bottom
of the second inning, sophomore
catcher Lauren Sweet drove her
fifth home run of the season over
the left-field wall to put the Wol-
verines up 3-0. Hitting from the
nine spot in place of her usual
lead-off position, junior center-
fielder Lindsay Doyle continued
the two-out hitting with a line
drive to center but was caught
stealing to end the inning.
Two walks and a single loaded
the bases for freshman left fielder
Sierra Lawrence in the bottom
of the third inning. Lawrence -
hitting from the cleanup spot in
the lineup for the first time this
season - drove the second pitch
of the at-bat over the wall. Again,
Sweet extended the inning with a
two-out single to right.
The Hawkeyes answered in
the top of the fourth, silenc-
ing the crowd with two straight
home runs to centerfield off of
sophomore left-hander Haylie
Wagner. In the fifth, Iowa short-
stop Megan Blank drilled a three-

run home run into the right-field
bleachers, cutting the Wolverine
lead to just three.
Sophomore pitcher Sara Dri-
esenga entered the circle for the
Wolverines in the sixth in relief of
Wagner. Holding onto a two-run
lead with two outs and the bases
loaded in the top of the seventh,
Driesenga came through with a
strikeout to complete the two-
pitcher effort and the win.
In the second game of the dou-
bleheader, Michigan opted to end
early.
Hutchins was forced to take
an early trip to the mound in the
top of the first inning after Dries-
enga found herself with runners
on first and third with one out.
She was bailed out by junior first
baseman Caitlin Blanchard, who
threw a grounder to Sweet for
the tag out at home. Like she had
in game one, Driesenga recorded
a strikeout to escape the inning
unscathed.
But without further ado,
Romero drove a pitch off the
scoreboard in left field. With her
19th home run, the freshman
became the sole conference lead-
er in totalbases, hits, runs scored,
home runs and RBI.
"She could play for the Tigers,"
Hutchins told Big Ten Network.

"She has some of the quickest
hands in Michigan softball his-
tory."
A .583 hitter in bases-loaded
situations, Blanchard stepped up
to the plate in the bottom of the
third inning with an opportunity
to crack the game open. She did
just that with a single into right
field and two more singles put the
Wolverines up 5-0 with one out.
After a solo shot from senior
second baseman Ashley Lane put
Michigan up 7-0 in the bottom of
the fifth inning, Hutchins sent
freshman utility player Kelsey
Susalla in to pinch hit. Susalla
came just shy of her fifth home
run in two weeks but settled for
her first career triple off of the
right-field wall. The Wolverines
completed their eighth mercy-
rule victory in conference play.
On Saturday, Michigan played
comeback against the.Hawkeyes,
etchingout a 5-3 win.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of
the sixth on Saturday, the Wol-
verines did what they do best: bat
around.
After consecutive walks to
Romero - who had a home run
in the second inning - and senior
second baseman Ashley Lane,
Blanchard extended her hitting
See STREAKING, Page 2B

Freshman shortstop Sierra Romero hit her19th home run oftthe year this weekend.


TITLE TWO
Junior Joanna Sampson took home
more hardware for Michigan by winning
the national championship on floor.
Page 2B

WINI FOR TEAM 2
The Michigan men's lacrosse team
defeated St. Joseph's on Saturday for its
first victory of the season.
Page 4B