8 - Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com

8 - Tuesday, March 18, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

Guptill pleads guilty to assault

Reason revealed
for forward's prior
suspension
By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA
and GREG GARNO
Daily News Editor and
Daily SportsEditor
Michigan hockey forward
Alex Guptill, an LSA junior,
attended a hearing at the 15th
District Court on Monday
afternoon in response to an
incident he was involved in on
Sept. 16, 2013.
Guptillwas originallycharged
with two counts of assault and
battery after an undisclosed
incident on the University's
campus, but his terms were
reduced to one assault charge -
a misdemeanor - contingent on
complete compliance with the
terms of his probation.
Guptill's legal counsel
requested consideration for a
program that would allow the
charge to eventually be removed
from his record if he is able
to successfully complete his
probation. The Wayne County
Prosecutor will determine his
eligibility for the program, but
there's no word yet on if it will
be granted.
Guptill's
attorney, "W e
Douglas Lewis,
director of the - t
University's r
Student Legal 1
Services W e re i
Team, told
the judge he pl
was "an ideal
candidate."
The judge determined that
Guptill "put (the victim) in fear
of being pushed or shoved," and
he "didn't have permission to do
so," which constitutes the charge.
After pleading guilty, Guptill was
instructed not to contact the
victim, though it seemed likely he

Compher named
BIG frosh of year

PAULJtHARMA/aily
Junlor forward Alex Guptill attended a hearine Monday afternoon reeardine an incident that occarred last September,

did not know him.
This is Guptill's second
appearance in the district court
after he was charged with public
urination in August of 2011.
Guptill was suspended for
the Wolverines' first exhibition
game against Waterloo and the
season opener against then-
No. 4 Boston
College.
did the In
September,
"' Michigan
- --- coach Red
g od Berenson
.n a good noted that
'f Guptill would
Le. be suspended
for an "off-
ice issue,"
because of "something that
happened in the fall." Monday,
Berenson affirmed that Guptill's
suspension was a result of the
assault and battery charges
brought forth after his incident
in September.
"We did the right thing, and

Alex has done everything he's
supposed to do," Berenson said.
"It's too bad the system has
taken this long to get it dealt
with, but we're in a good place."
Since then, the junior has
competed in all but three of
the Wolverines' contests. He
didn't make the team's trip to
Minnesota due to an upper-body
injury and was a healthy scratch
Feb. 22 against Penn State.
In 30 games this season,
Guptill has scored 12 goals and
added 13 assists for a plus-6
rating. Monday, he was named an
All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Michigan visits Saint Paul,
Minn. this weekend for the Big
Ten Tournament, where it will
meet Penn State in the opening
round. Guptill is expected to
travel with the Wolverines,
which are fighting for an NCAA
Tournament at-large bid.

BY THE NUMBERS
Alex Guptill
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playedfonMichigan. Hetmade his
debut with the Wolverines Oct. 4, 2011.
recording an assist against Niagara.
44
Goalsscored for Michigan,including
seven gameslIn which he talled two,
77
Pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft used by
the Dallas Stars to select him.

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ins iviac DCLe f Lt goaltender Adam Wilcox was
in second team named the Big Ten Player of
the Year after he led the Golden
Gophers to a Big Ten regular-
By GREG GARNO season championship and No. 1
Daily Sports Editor ranking in the nation. They will
likely also earn the top overall
ichigan hockey coach Red seed in the NCAA Tournament.
nson knew from the very Compher finished the regular
ining that JT Compher season with ateam-high 31 points
d make an impact. Before -11goalsand20 assists-leading
rst game of the season had all freshmen in the conference
played or Berenson had despite not scoring his first goal
ded every practice, he knew until a month into the season
'eshman forward would be a against Nebraska-Omaha. He
ence maker. averaged a point a game in
d at the Michigan's
f the Big 20 conference
regular matchups.
n, "I didn't really "I think his
nson passion (is his
proved come here for strongest asaet),"#
Berenson said.
onday, individual honors." -His passion and
pher his work ethic
named are second to
ig Ten's none. He shows
gural up every day and
sman of the Year as well as works in hard in practice.
mber of the All-Freshman "You take that skill level and
and the All-Big Ten put it with his work ethic."
ad team. Compher was a captain of the
's nice to be honored, but U.S. Under-18 National Team
n't really come here for Development Program, finishing
idual honors," Compher with 50 points - 18 goals and 32
"I think that it's helped assists.
ng with some good "I just thought the momentum
rs, and coach has given coming off the year he had last
good opportunity to step yearto be an impact player at this
id play some big minutes. level," Berenson said,
my teammates helped me In 30 games this season,
hat award." Bennett totaled 14 points -
nior defenseman Mac two goals and 12 assists - as
ett also earned second-team the Wolverines' best offensive
rs, while forwards Andrew defenseman. The captain
and Alex Guptill received finished with a plus-12 rating -
rable mentions. good for fifth in the conference
nior forward Luke Moffatt among defensemen.
selected as Michigan's Copp finished with a team-
dent of the Big Ten high 15 goals and tallied 14
smanshipAward. assists, while Guptill finished
nnesota's sophomore with 12 goals and 13 assists.

This is a developing story Timeof hisfirstgoal Saturday, propeling
Check Mi idn m the Wolverinestoa 6-2upset ofNo.1
throughout the week forupdates Minneesotaat Yostce Arena,

NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Mayhem in the Midwest

MARLENE LACASSE/D
Sophomore Sierra Lawrence is batting .355 in 22 games started for the Michigan softball team so far this season.
'M' seeks consistency at
renovated Aum- ni Fi'el

By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan men's basketball
coach John Beilein didn't
take a broad look at the
Midwest regional when it was
announced on Sunday during
the Selection Show.
Though Beilein couldn't
ignore the No. 2 seed given to the
seventh-ranked Wolverines and
their second-round opponent,
No. 15-seed Wofford, he, for
the most part, didn't seem
to care or notice the array of
championship-caliber teams in
this year's "region of death."
Though it's too early to start
going through every possible
scenario Michigan (15-3 Big Ten,
25-8 overall) could encounter in
its attempt to make it back to the
Final Four, the Daily looks at the
possible matchups this weekend.
Second Round: No. 15
Wofford (11-5 Southern
Conference, 20-12)
The Terriers earned an
automatic bid to the Big Dance
by defeating Western Carolina
in their conference tournament,
56-53, after finishing third in the
regular season.
Similar to Michigan, Wofford

is led by a pair of sophomore
guards - Karl Cochran (15.7
points and five rebounds per
game) and Spencer Collins (12.8
points per game).
The last time Michigan played
Wofford was Dec. 2, 2006. In
that game, an 83-49 Wolverine
victory, Michigan led by as many
as 37 points in the second half as
the Terriers shot 30 percent from
the field.
Fun Fact: Wofford's third-
leading scorer, Lee Skinner, has
a tattoo sleeve on his left arm
highlighted by an intimidating
Terrier that appears to be
scowling at a moon in the
background. Behind the animal's
ear is a'W,' representing Wofford.
Third Round: No. 7 Texas
(11-7 Big 12, 23-10) or No. 11
Arizona State (10-8 Pac-12,
21-11)
Both schools received at-large
bids after finishing third in the
regular season in their respective
conferences.
Texas is led by forward
Jonathan Holmes (13 points and
7.2 rebounds per game) and guard
Isaiah Taylor (12.5 points and 3.9
assists per game).
The Longhorns had their most
successful stretch of the season

during January and February
when they went on a seven-game
winning streak, beating Iowa
State, Kansas State, Baylor and
Kansas - all NCAA Tournament
teams - consecutively.
Arizona State's two leading
scorers are guard Jahii Carson
(18.6 points per game) and
Jermaine Marshall (15 points per
game), who played his previous
three seasons at Penn State.
While at State College last season,
Marshall was the Nittany Lions'
second-leading scorer and was
instrumentalintheir upsetvictory
over Michigan in February.
Perhaps the most well-
known connection between the
Wolverines and the Sun Devils is
Bill Frieder, the former Michigan
coach who was famously
fired before the 1989 NCAA
Tournament, in which Michigan
won its only national title.
Fun Facts: Despite having
arguably the best player in the
NBA, Kevin Durant, in 2007, the
Longhorns only won one game
in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Former Wolverine walk-on Sai
Tummala, who redshirted at
Michigan in 2011-12, transferred
to Arizona State this year. The
sophomore averages 2.1 points
per game while balancing a pre-
med workload.

Weather threatens
to cancel game
By JUSTIN MEYER
Daily Sports Writer
After months of construction,
the Michigan softball team
began moving its championship
hardware into the main room of
its newly opened headquarters
last week. Big Ten championship
trophies, College World Series
trophies, regional trophies and
even a golden bat highlighted the
treasure trove the Wolverines
have collected in seasons past.
Tuesday, though, this
Michigan team will continue
fighting for its next piece of
memorabilia when it hosts its
first home game of the season.
The eighth-ranked
Wolverines will, pending a
game-time weather decision,
play Bowling Green at Alumni
Field for their home opener at
4 p.m.
"Playing at home is a whole
different animal, and it is
anything but routine," said
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
Sunday. "We've been on the road
and played 25 games, and now
we're going to be at home. We
need to settle in and make sure
home becomes not a distraction,

and we need to protect our
house."
In her 30th season as a coach,
Hutchins has a team loaded
with talent, with plenty of stars
returning from a 2013 College
World Series run and a pitching
staff any program would envy.
It's also a team with remaining
question marks.
Junior right-hander Sara
Driesenga, once considered the
de facto starter, has had a rough
first third of the season and is
still lookingto regain form.
Freshman Megan Betsa, a
righty as well, has thrown a
barrage of strikeouts while also
giving away far too many free
bases.
The offense has shortened
plenty of games behind a strong
sophomore season from star
shortstop Sierra Romero and
senior first baseman Caitlin
Blanchard, but it has also
struggled in close games against
underwhelming competition.
In hindsight, though,
Michigan (19-6) has to be happy
with its 3-4 record against top-
10 competition. Wins over No. 5
Kentucky, No. 4 UCLA and No.
7 Arizona helped vindicate the
work the team has put in during
the offseason and the talent
added this year.
Early losses aren't season-

breaking in college softball,
and the Wolverines have shown
flashes of brilliance in addition
to the ability to fight through
adversity. As the home season
and Big Ten play begin, the
challenge is to find consistency.
Michigan drilled full-
count scenarios in practice
last week and has tried to live
up to Hutchins' "one-pitch
softball" mantra all season, but
sophomore outfielder Sierra
Lawrence said Sunday that what
the team really needs to do is
stay loose and have fun. If it can
do that, Lawrence said, the one-
pitch mentality will follow.
"A Michigan softball team
that has fun is a good Michigan
softball team," Hutchins said.
The matchup against Bowling
Green (6-13-1) is one that the
Wolverines should, on paper,
win. The Falcons are just 5-30
all time against Michigan, but
the pressure of a home opener is
undeniable.
Regardless of previous
records, the game will be a true
test for the Wolverines. There is
no question Michigan has talent,
but the matchup will rather be a
test to see how much the team
has grown during its cross-
country blitz against some of the
competition it will likely meet
again come May.

Michigan men's basketball coach John Beilein led his team to the Midwest's No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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