The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com . Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 7A WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Handler, Pogue named captains PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Redshirt sophomore cornerback Blake Countess was injured in the first game of the season in 2012. He used the time off to text in-game help and learn the nickel. Countess used injury to study Juniors will lead team with 11 newcomers and a lot of potential By REBECCA DZOMBAK For TheDaily Juniors Brook Handler and Taylor Pogue, the new captains of the No. 17 Michigan women's cross country team, thought they'd take the first mile easy and let Purdue set the pace at the Michigan Open on Aug. 30. But when Purdue hung back, Michigan sprang at the opportunity. Handler, Pogue and sophomore Shannon Osika formed a tight pack and didn't look back, dominating with a strong one-two-three finish within a. 40-second window. Both Handler and Pogue said that the Michigan Open served as a great kickoff for the sea- son. The girls were strong, hun- gry and ready to go after their preseason camp at the end of August. "It was a good race," Pogue said. "We were feeling really good after camp, and we fin- ished really strong - stron- ger than we started, which is always good." Two weeks later, at the Pur- due Invitational, Pogue took her first collegiate win. So what got Handler and Pogue to the rank of captain? For Handler, it was adhering closely to what Michigan coach Mike McGuire had to say. "All the little things add up eventually," she said. "It's just a matter of adopting that set of values as your own." Handler feels she's done this well. Pogue believes tha hter leadership skills came from having strong captains her, freshman and sophomore years. "I think they did a really good job of leading the team and giving us advice," Pogue said. "They served as really great examples of how to bal- ance academics with our ath- letics." As for leadership styles, the women agree that they will complement each other well. The performance of the team as a whole is their first priority, although individual performance is important as well. Handler said that Pogue is more "motherly and affec- tionate," whereas she tends to take a slightly more aggressive approach. But there is little doubt that they will work well together and be strong leaders for the season. Both captains have been hon- ored multiple times by the Big Ten for their academic achieve- ments. Pogue is studying soci- ology, while Handler studies chemical engineering. "It's a definitely difficult pro- gram, but I see myself as hav- ing an advantage being on the team," Handler said. "We work together, we study on the bus.... If I'm not feeling motivated and I look over and see someone plugging away on their calcu- lus, that helps me get motivat- ed." Motivation shouldn't be an issue for anyone this year. Pre- season camp was a huge confi- dence and energy booster; the captains said, and gave them a good preview of what the season may look like. With 11 freshmen, there's a lot of new blood - and potential - on the team. Pogue and Handler agreed that the freshmen are a well-rounded and extremely talented group and are excited to see them compete. One in particular, Erin Finn, stood out to both at the Michi- gan Open when she took a risk and started out really strong at her first collegiate race. Han- dler described her as "a great recruit." "She's had great high-school success, and we're really excit- ed to have her," Handler said. The women's cross country team next races Oct. 5 at the Rim Rock Farm Classic in Law- rence, Kan. By LIZ VUKELICH DailySportsEditor Three interceptions in two games is an impressive feat for anyone. You could call it being a smart player or you could call it beinglucky. Or, in the case of the Michigan football team, you could call it the return of Blake Countess. After sustaining a season-end- ing knee injury in the opening game of the Michigan football team's 2012 campaign, the red- shirt sophomore cornerback is back in full form for the Wolver- ines' secondary. "There's some times where you see (Countess) just a lot tighter on a guy," said defen- sive coordinator Greg Mattison. "That comes from having confi- dence. I mean, for Blake to come back from a whole year off and to do what he's doing, I'm pleased with that." It's agood thing Mattison feels that way considering Countess still doesn't have his position solidified. He's currently rotat- ing between cornerback and nickel. It sounds more complicat- ed than it is - Countess has no difficulty remembering to switch mindsets at a moment's notice. "I asked if I could learn the nickel position in the spring," Countess said. "I always see the nickel as always around the ball because they have that freedom. That was one thing that I liked, and I pursued it and it just so happened that I fell into the starting role." If Countess' injury gave him anything, it was time to decide that nickel was a position he wanted to try. In between his sometimes twice-weekly rehab sessions last year, Countess spent the remainder of his time study- ing film. He took notice of the aggression associated with the nickel position and decided that was a place he could see himself fitting in. In between rehab and decid- ing to take on the nickel posi- tion, Countess found other ways to fill his time during his injury. With a handful of other injured Wolverines, Countess watched Michigan games from the com- fort of his dorm room, where his teammates demanded he act as an extra set of eyes. Former Michigan cornerback J.T. Floyd insisted that Countess text him throughout the course of the game with every little thing that he noticed. "J.T. told me, 'If you don't text me at halftime, you're going to hear from me and you're not going to like what you hear,"' Countess said. "(He) took my advice with open arms." As far as the knee, Countess doesn't even notice it anymore. Over the summer, redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner dared Countess to do some back flips, a little homage to Count- ess's past as a gymnast. Countess accepted Gardner's bet, just to prove he could - as he says, he wanted to "push the limits." He successfully performed the back flips. And though Countess is hesitant to say his knee is back to where it was before the sur- gery, he acknowledges that it's different, in a good way. "Once you get out there and really start flying, (the knee is) the last thing I'm think- ing about," he said. "I haven't thought about it in forever. Every so often I'll go in and do some tune-up rehab but that's just to stay on top of things." 'M' parasails and dribbles through Europe WE KINDA LIKE YOU. i v y I By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Writer Michigan women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico loves Ann Arbor. Among other things, she loves the weather, the school spirit and, of course, her team. But after spending 10 days in Europe, Ann Arbor seems bleak by comparison. "I now call Ann Arbor home," Barnes Arico said. "But boy was that trip incredible." Thanks to super fan Nancy Lohr, the Wolverines had the opportunity to travel to France and Italy for the first foreign trip in program history. "I honestly can't say enough about it," Barnes Arico said. "I've been coaching for a long time, and this was the first time that I've done a foreign trip. "I don't really know if I ever want to do (a trip) again because I don't think it could ever top the experience that we had. I just think part of the reason it was so incredible was the people that were there. Our kids were so appreciative and just incredible. They're truly Michigan kids, and they really valued the experience. Plus, our chemistry was terrific." The team left Aug. 19 and started in Paris where Michigan visited the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower while also taking a river cruise down the Seine. On Aug. 22, the team took a train to Nice, France, and made trips to Mona- co and Lake Como the next day. Barnes Arico pointed to Nice as one of the best spots. There, she went parasailing, while the team went on a banana boat, and everyone had the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean Sea. The Wolverines' first stop in Italy was Florence before they headed to Rome. There, the team hit the top tourist spots like the Piazza Novana, Pantheon, Span- ish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. DO YOU LIKE US? LIYES Q NO Q MAYBE Please check one. OR JUST PROVE IT ON FACEBOOK. Facebook.com/michigandaily TODD NEEDLE Coach Kim Barnes Arico and the Michigan women's baskethall team mono sent to turope hy super fan Nancy Lohr. Michigan then visited the Coli- seum and the Roman Forum. The trip concluded with a visit to the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. "Each place was a little bit dif- ferent, and you got to experience something different in each place that we went," Barnes Arico said. "The Coliseum and the Vatican were great," Barnes Arico said. "I mean just such rich history and tradition, architecture, it was just phenomenal. I don't have a favor- ite, the trip was my favorite." It wasn't all sightseeing for the Wolverines, who also played three games while overseas. In its first game, against AMW France, Michigan played two strong halves of basketball to easily defeat its first interna- tional opponent, 102-34. Fresh- i man guard Siera Thompson led the team with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. The Wolverines played their next two games in Italy, first beating the Italian All-Stars, 112- 37, before trouncing StellaAzzur- ra, 117-15, three days later. "I thought it really helped our program especially being so young and inexperienced like we will be next year," Barnes Arico said. "It gave us an opportunity to get some people on the court, give them a little bit of confidence, and really give an opportunity for everyone, myself included, to get to know each other off the court." Despite coming off one of its best seasons in program his- tory, when Michigan tied a pro- gram record with 22 wins and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Barnes Arico has a young team to work with. The Wolverines are an unknown coming into the season - they welcome four newcomers as well as four players returning from anterior cruciate ligament injuries who didn't see the court last season. The foreign trip also allowed the Wolverines to have 10 extra practice days prior to departure. "We have one player on our roster that's returning that played over 10 minutes a game, possibly two, (sophomore guard) Madison (Ristovski) and (senior T" forward) Nicole (Elmblad)," Learn your potential Barnes Arico said. "We have a lot of inexperience, we have a lot of p: 1.800.266.4441 : www.ceaStudyAbroad.com youth, but those are sometimes *Please mention this ad when you speak with your CEA rep. the most exciting." A A 4