The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wenesday, March 26, 2014 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wenenday, March 26, 2014 - 7A
Grogan makes an impact
on and off the course
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assign
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Grace
Choi1
her t
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unior mentors team captain her last three years,
all while being in the National
ounger golfers, Honor Society.
She also had dreams of being
new coach a basketball player. She grew up
idolizing LeBron James, played
By NATE CLARK on her high school team and
Daily Sports Writer attended camps all four years of
high school. But junior year, she
aior Lauren Grogan could left the team to focus on golf, a
struggled at any point this tough decision for her.
and no one would have That same year, Grogan
d her. attended golf combines in Las
is year featured the arrival Vegas. There, she was noticed by
urrent Michigan coach colleges, kicking offthe recruiting
Dowling and the ensuing process. While her process
tion. While a new coaching started later than most eventual
rings with it many changes, collegiate golfers, many schools
n took it all in stride. As wanted her and her golf prospects
upperclassman, she was appeared golden.
mental in helping her coach Yet she still had dreams of
tion into the program. playing basketball. She attended
gan then demonstrated her summer basketball camp,
ship skills when Dowling thinking about rejoining her high
ed her to be the "big sister," school team. But one of Grogan's
romising freshman named teammates blew out her knee
Choi. Grogan showed while running down the court,
the ropes and has helped and that got Grogan thinking
hrough the struggles of about her future.
man year at Michigan. Much "I didn't want that to happen to
career-best total score of 221,
which included a career-low 71 in
the second round. In the spring,
she finished 14th out of 72 at the
Big Ten Championships, which
helped lead the Wolverines to a
fourth-place finish and earned
her the program's Women's Golf
Progress Award.
"The Onion Creek tournament
really gave me the confidence to
say, 'Hey, I can do this!' " Grogan
said. "It taught me that sometimes
you just have to be an athlete and
not get too technical."
Grogan's sophomore year
yielded even better results.
Her academic success earned
her Academic-All Big Ten
and U-M Athletic Academic
Achievement honors. On the golf
course, she was one of just two
Michigan golfers to start in all
10 tournaments during the fall
and spring seasons. Despite her
youth, she was the Wolverines'
lowest scorer four times,
which included a fifth-place
overall finish at the Wolverine
Invitational. She dropped her
TRACY tO/Daily
Sophomore Kyle Bosch and the rest of the offensive line have found spring practice both easier and more intense.
Simpi city fosters success
like Grogan, Choi has appeared
near the top of the leaderboard
multiple times in her first season.
"The first semester really
teaches you the need to be
organized and manage your time
effectively," Grogan said. "I'm
reallygrateful that myteammates
helped me get on the right path
and that now I've been able to
help Grace do the same."
But her path to get here didn't
suggest so.
Grogan was born and raised in
Columbus, where she graduated
from Bishop Watterson High
School in 2011. Many of her
golf tournaments and camps
growing up took place on the
Ohio State campus.
Her golfing career also
began later than most. Grogan
has been playing golf since
she was young, but said she
didn't start competitive golf
until her freshman year of high
school. However, she made an
impact right away. Grogan won
numerous awards, including
All-State honors in Ohio, led her
school to top-10 finishes in state
tournaments every year, and was
me and waste
my promising
golf potential
because of an
injury."
So Grogan
chose golf
and it came
time to pick a
school. Despite
her roots in
Columbus,
she was never
going to be a
Buckeye.
"It was too c
Grogan said. "M
both agreed that
far enough away
learn some respo
The choices
Penn State and N
a former high sc
of hers played
Grogan wantedt
close to home.
Choosing Mi
proved to be
her third-ever
tournament, the
Onion Creek,I
10th out of 75 g
single-round
average to
76.87 strokes
" 2real perround from
78.73 strokes
grateful that a year earlier,
which included
my teammates a score of 71
at the Edwin
helped me get on Watts Palmetto
the right path." Intercollegiate.
But unlike
many collegiate
athletes,
Lauren is not
lose to home," all business. She and her father,
y parents and I whom she describes as her
I needed to go best friend, developed a secret
where I could handshake ritualthattheyusedto
nsibility." perform before each tournament.
came down to They can be serious when they
Michigan. While need to be, but they know how to
hool teammate have fun and make jokes.
at Penn State, Grogan even likes to turn
to be somewhat the jokes on herself sometimes.
She will often play on the fact
chigan quickly that many in Columbus see her
right. In just as a traitor for attending "That
collegiate golf School Up North."
Challenge at But just like with the coaching
Grogan placed changes this year, Grogan takes it
olfers with her all in stride.
Offensive line
adjusts to new
offense, increased
competition
By ALEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Editor
Minus-48.
Kyle Bosch's first career start
at Michigan is one he's not likely
to forget. On Nov. 2, 2013, the
guard was part of an offensive
line that was systematically
embarrassed by Michigan State
to the tune of seven sacks and
nearly half a football field of
negative yardage.
Months later, the sophomore
still hasn't forgotten the
surprise of being at the top of
the depth chart for that game,
or the speed with which the
Spartans played. But some of
the Wolverines' shortcomings
weren't just physical, and they
should be fixed this fall, he said.
According to Bosch, one
of the offensive line's biggest
issues last year was schematic.
The transition from former
offensive coordinator Al
Borges to Doug Nussmeier has
been welcomed because of an
increase in simplicity, leading
to players actually knowing
where to go.
As a result, Michigan has
managed more long-yardage
running plays than last year so
far in its spring practices.
"Coach Nussmeier's system is
much easier to apprehend than
Coach Borges' because some of
the names of plays - they're
names of animals, it's common
terminology," Bosch said. "It's
not a numbered system, so it's
easier to pick up.
"We've definitely dumbed it
down. One call is one call. In the
last offensive system, one call
could mean you're going right,
or it could mean you're going left
- you had to distinguish that
call with another call. So three
offensive linemen would be
going right, two would be going
left. That's why we would get
negative 15 yards. Now, we're
all on the same page when we're
runningthe play."
The new schemes have
been especially useful for
acclimating
younger_
players,
particularly tow
early enrollee
Mason Cole, d
who has
impressed
many with
his high down.
motor. Bosch
is mentoring is on
the Tarpon i
Springs, Fla.
native, who is -
"learning way
faster" than he did.
The offensive line lost two
NFL-bound tackles in Taylor
Lewan and Michael Schofield
from last year's unit, but that
hasn't all been detrimental.
In 2013, the group didn't bond
very well - both because of
the playbook difficulties and
incompatibilities off the field.
So far this spring, that hasn't
been an issue, and the line
spends much of its free time
together.
"I think the five of us all
being young is really allowing
us to mesh and come together
the way we didn't last year,"
said redshirt sophomore guard
Kyle Kalis. "I think we're going
to be pretty good this year.
"Having (Lewan and
Schofield) was crucial for
helping us grow and stuff,
but it's a totally different
experience now."
The revamped offense will
be scrutinized heavily this
fall, especially during the
Wolverines' Oct. 25 meeting
with what should be another
ferocious
Michigan
State defense.
But no
e ve matter who's
taking snaps,
nitely receiving
bed it handoffs
or catching
One call passes, Bosch
knows he has
call. 11 one primary
responsibility.
"Don't let
anyone touch
your damn
quarterback," he said. "Your
biggest focus when you get in
a three-point stance is that the
guy in front of you can't touch
your quarterback."
M' looks to buck Broncos
By BRAD WHIPPLE
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team
has played its last 24 games on
the road, traveling more than
10,000 miles
to locations Western
such as Texas,M
Florida and MiChigan at
most recently, Michigan
Indiana.
But Matchup:
WMU 10-10;
Wednesday, Michigan
the Wolverines 9-14-1
will finally When:
open the gates Wednesday
of Ray Fisher 4 P.M.
Stadium for
their home Fisher Stadium
opener when
they host TV/Radio:
Western MGoBlue.com
Michigan.
"The fact
that we played 24 straight games
on the road is in itself its own
challenge," said Michigan coach
Erik Bakich. "It's going to be
good to start playing some home
games."
Michigan hasn't won a home
opener since 2010, and 17 of its
24 games this season have ended
in a one- or two-run differential.
If the Wolverines can't produce
at the plate, Wednesday may be
no different than home openers
in years past.
Last weekend, the Broncos
(1-2 Mid-American Conference,
10-10 overall) competed in
their first conference games
against Miami, but Tuesday's
nonconference game against
Northwestern was canceled due
to poor field conditions.
Western Michigan's biggest
offensive weapon is third
baseman Kurt Hoekstra, who is
hitting .480. From the mound,
the Broncos have a 3.93 ERA,
good for third in the MAC, and
will start Derek Schneider.
The left-hander earned a win
against the Wolverines last year,
allowing only one run and two
hits through two innings.
Opposite Schneider is senior
right-hander Alex Lakatos, who
has pitched seven innings with a
1.73 ERA, including the last out
of a fifth-inning jam in Sunday's
4-3 win over Indiana.
The Wolverines (1-2 Big
Ten, 9-14-1) may have a tough
time stacking up against
Western Michigan's pitching.
In two losses to the Hoosiers,
Michigan's offense mustered
just four runs and stranded 11
runners on base.
Just three players are batting
second in the Big Ten in at-bats,
it places loth in batting average,
an indication of the team's
offensive inefficiency.
"Our biggest struggle of the
seasonhascome fromanoffensive
standpoint," Bakich said.
Though the team improved
offensively in Sunday's win,
going a combined 11-for-32
compared to Saturday's 5-for-
29, the spotlight was on defense.
The Wolverines made no errors
and executed multiple clutch
defensive plays late in the game,
most notably freshman right
fielder Jackson Lamb's two-out
diving catch with runners in
scoring position that sealed the
victory.
"(Sunday's win) just kind of
reinforced what we need to do
to win a championship," Bakich
said. "Defensively, we just need
to play clean defense and make
all the routine plays and know
that we've got athletes out
above .300, there that can
with junior make those
second plays when
baseman Eric "That we played necessary."
Jacobson If the
leading the 24 straight Wolverines
lineup at .500. hope to send
Jacobson games on the their fans
picked up . . . home happy,
his first two road is in itself its they will
starts of the i certainly
season against Own challenge. have to keep
Indiana, their defense
starting a error-free and
double play for compensate
the Wolverines that prevented for an inconsistent offense that
a run from scoring and going saw some improvement over the
4-for-6 at the plate with one run. weekend.
While Michigan is ranked
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