The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, February 21, 2014 - 7

E-mail announces international
club teams to play iAnn Arbor

Baseball aiming
to stay consistent

By A LEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Editor
The beautiful game is finally
coming to Ann Arbor.
Thursday afternoon, the
International Champions Cup
sent an e-mail promoting "The
Gods of Soccer" visiting Ann
Arbor, among 11 other North
American cities.
The International Champions
Cup pits some of the world's elite
clubs in an elimination tourna-
ment. This year, the competition
features Real Madrid, Manches-
ter United, Inter Milan, A.C.
Milan, Olympiacos, Manchester
City, AS Roma and Liverpool FC.
Though the e-mail did not
confirm the clubs or venue in
Ann Arbor, it coincides with a
Jan 31 report that Manchester
United and Real Madrid will
meet Aug. 2 at Michigan Stadi-
um. Currently, the international
Champions Cup website lists a
game between them at a venue
and time "to be determined."
MLive reported Jan. 31 that
the Athletic Department "has
engaged in discussions about
future events" at the Big House.
Real Madrid, which won the
inaugural tournament last year,
boasts 32 La Liga titles. Man-
chester United has finished atop
the English Premier League 13
times since its foundation in 1992.
The two clubs feature some of
soccer's elite players, including
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth
Bale of Los Blancos, the Spanish
team's nickname, and Robin van
Persie and Wayne Rooney of The
Red Devils.
Readying the Big House
for soccer - if that is where
the match is held - won't
come without its share of
complications. Per FIFA,

By BRAD WHIPPLE
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball pro-
gram is built on consistency, and
according to coach Erik Bakich,
"consistency leads to success."
It's why even though Bakich
knows his squad needs some
adjustments, he isn't going out
of his way to make them. Rather,
his team needs to continue doing
what it's doing.
This Friday, Michigan (1-2-1)
returns to the Lone Star State,
after playing in the Texas State
Invitational last weekend, to
compete against Houston (4-0) in
a three-game series.
Bakich acknowledges the
Cougars' pitching this weekend
will be far above what they saw
with their last three opponents,
and he says his team is motivated
and ready to face the challenge.
He called Houston a "postseason
team," a title that might not be
too far-fetched. The Cougars are
coming off their first 30-plus-
win season since 2008, and last
weekend they recorded three
shutouts against Nicholls State.
Left-handed pitcher Jared West
allowed only one hit through
seven innings Sunday, and earned
ACC Pitcher of the Week.
To prepare, the Wolverines
have continued playing indoor
scrimmages and Bakich saw
high energy, confidence and
motivation in the three-inning
games played Tuesday and
Wednesday. The dynamics of
the team's scrimmages haven't
changed, and that lends itself to
Bakich's emphasis on routine.
Part of Michigan's routine is
the team's debriefing, when after
each game the coaching staff
compares notes and discusses

what areas need to be tweaked.
One thought that stuck with
Bakich was his bullpen. He
doesn't think the pitchers' youth
cost the team its early leads this
weekend, but rather attributes it
to overextension of the pitchers
in general. Bakich wanted to
use senior left-handed pitcher
Logan McAnallen throughout the
weekend, but had to use him for
relief over four-innings Friday,
his only time on the mound.
For the Wolverines to sit
comfortably on a lead, they will
need a pitcher who can go deep
in the game and minimize the
pitch count. The answer for
Michigan is right-handed pitcher
Ben Ballantine. the senior pitched
seven innings and allowed zero
runs in the Wolverines' 8-2 win
over Air Force Saturday. One
inning, he needed just three
pitches for three outs. With
such efficiency, it wouldn't be
surprising to see Ballantine go
deep in his Sunday start.
Aside from getting starters
to make an impact deeper in the
game, Bakich wants to see quality
pitchingthat forces contact.
Bakich knows the jitters that
come with opening weekend can
lead to sloppy play, and that is
why he preaches consistency as
the key to success - he doesn't
want to jump to conclusions. And
now in week two, with more to
be thrown Michigan's way, he
expects the team's nerves to cool.
If the Wolverines hope to drive
in runs and be able to sit on a lead,
it is a matter of keepingtheir pace
consistent throughout the entire
game and drive away thoughts of
the end result.
"You can't look ahead," Bakich
said. "We're talking about playing
pitch-to-pitch."

ADAM GLANZMAN/Daly
The Big House could play host to Real Madrid and Manchester United this summer according to an e-mail on Thursday.

international soccer's governing
body, a regulation pitch must be
between 70 and 80 yards wide
for international matches, but
a college football field is just
53 yards across. Tournament
officials could either erect an
elevated platform to provide the
necessary width or, because the
game is essentially preseason
exhibition for both clubs, accept
playing with non-regulation
dimensions.
Additionally, Michigan Sta-
diun uses an artificial surface,
which has been criticized as
being sub-optimal for soccer.
When the United States Men's
National Team played Panama

at CenturyLink Field in Seattle
last June, the U.S. Soccer Feder-
ation installed a temporary layer
of grass over the artificial turf.
It is unclear whether the Inter-
national Champions Cup will do
the same.
The nation's largest American
football stadium is no stranger
to non-football events. In 2010, it
hosted Michigan and Michigan
State in the Big Chill at the Big
House, setting the record for
attendance at a hockey game.
On New Year's Day this year, the
2014 Winter Classic at Michigan
Stadium drew more than
100,000 fans.
Even if hosted at the Big

House, the Real Madrid-
Manchester United matchup
won't approach the attendance
mark for soccer, which FIFA
recognizes as 173,850 at the
1950 World Cup Final in Rio De
Janeiro. But it could top the list
of attendance at a soccer game in
the United States, which stands
at 101,799 for the final of the
1984 Summer Olympics between
France and Brazil.
Michigan Stadium officially
seats 109,901 for football games.
And after spending the sum-
mer watching the World Cup in
Brazil, fntbol fans can turn their
eyes toward Ann Arbor and two
of the world's most storied clubs.


Bernstein looks to claim
win No. 300 this weekend

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By JOHN KOPKO career at Miami, Bernstein took
Daily Sports Writer her talents to the professional
level. She played two years
chigan women's tennis on the pro tour, peaking at a
Ronni Bernstein is on the doubles rank of 30th in the
of a major career mile- world. But in 1990 Bernstein
but it went back to college tennis to
t until Western become an assistant coach at
tly that Arizona State.
'as aware Michigan at In 1997, Bernstein became
Bernstein Michigan head coach for Florida Interna-
won 299 tional University in Miami for
s match- Matchup: 10 years. In the last three years
a coach, Michigan 8-2; of her time at FIU, she led the
aturday's Michigan 5-2 Panthers to three consecutive
h against When: first-place Sun Belt finishes,
ern Saturday and three NCAA appearances.
igan will 6 P.M. In 2007, Michigan came
e Wolver-Where: calling and Bernstein relocated
first shot Whr: to Ann Arbor to build up a
ving her Tennis Center tennis program that had been
00. struggling to improve.
didn't "The culture that she has
know I was close to that," brought here is incredible," said
tein said. "It means I've junior Emina Betkas. "She has
ed a lot of years, and a turned this team around from
great players. It takes the being sort of
rs more than me." average in the
-nstein's decision to Big Ten, and
me a tennis coach has its has made (us) "The
in Miami. As a college a contender
s player, Bernstein became nationally." that s
terpiece in doubles and In both of
s for the University of Bernstein's brough
ii, where during her four- first two sea-
career she was a four- sons at the incre
ITA All-American in both helm, the
s and doubles. team finished
a sophomore she played second in the
ay to both an ITA Indoor Big Ten and earned a ticket to
es championship and an the NCAA Tournament. Since
Outdoor championship, 2009, the Wolverines have won
g the season, 29-0. In four consecutive Big Ten cham-
she was named NCAA pionships and made four con-
r Player of the year secutive trips to the Sweet 16.
reached the doubles When all is said and done in
pionship match and the Bernstein's career she will have
s semifinals match. amassed an impressive number
oking back, that was of wins, conference champion-
memorable for me, being ships and accolades. However,
lege and playing tennis," the numbers are not the most
tein said. "Just how (my important thing for her.
at Miami) made us better "So many people have sat in
mam, I wanted to be a part my office and I've been on the
at moving forward, and court with (them)," she said.
able to work with kids "Throughout the years it's been
opefully have as great an a lot of wins, but I really credit
ience as I had." the players that have come
er finishingher illustrious through."

Added Betkas: "Her office is
always going tobe open, and no
matter how your day is going
she will always be there to talk
to you. Just the way she is and
how much she cares about us,
and how much she is willing to
help everyone no matter what is
incredible."
Bernstein and her team have
prepared for the match against
Western Michigan just like any
other match. The number 300
mightnotevencross Bernstein's
mind when the Wolverines
step out on the court Saturday
against the Broncos. She will
be on the bench, urging on her
players, trying to recreate the
experience for them that she
had in Miami.
"We treat every match
like it's a big match, so when
Western comes in we will be
ready to go," Bernstein said.
Michigan enters the match
with a 5-2
record fol-
lowing a
culture win against
Notre Dame
he has last week-
end and the
it here is NCAA tour-
nament still
dible." on its mind.
The Sweet
16 has been
Michigan's
kryptonite four years in a row.
With a sour taste still in her
mouth, it's fitting that Bern-
stein isn't satisfied with sweets.
"I am not a dessert sugar
person," she said. "If you can
give me a salt, a bag of chips or
a box of popcorn, I'm good."
As Bernstein continues
to rack up wins and build
relationships on and off the
court, Michigan tennis is in
good hands.
"I want to keep this thing
rolling," Bernstein said. "I think
there has been a steady, steady
improvement with the program
and that we have brought it to
a pretty good level. I'd like to
take it to the next step."

By MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Writer
With sophomore midfielder
Kyle Jackson's goal in overtime
against Detroit Wednesday night,
confidence levels reached an all-
time high for the Michigan men's
lacrosse team after a 14-13 win.
But just three days later, a huge
challenge looms large in Division
I powerhouse No. 7 Johns
Hopkins as the Wolverines (2-1)
will travel to Baltimore to take on
the Blue Jays at Homewood Field.
"Growing up watching
lacrosse, pretty much all the ones
you saw were on Homewood
Field," said junior attacker David
McCormack on the athletic
department's website. "To be a
part of that and play on that field
and play a storied program like
Hopkins is pretty awesome."
After scoring a program-high
20 goals against Mercer and win-
ning an overtime thriller against
in-state rival Detroit, Michigan
will have to change gears when
it takes on a much tougher oppo-
nent in Johns Hopkins (2-0) Sat-
urday afternoon.
"This is a program that, as our
program grows for us, (Johns
Hopkins) is a benchmark pro-
gram," said Michigan coach John
Paul on WTKA Radio Tuesday
morning. "We'll know where we
are when we're competing with
them year in, year out."
Though in 2013, the nine-time
NCAA champion Blue Jays fell
vastly below expectations as the
team went 9-5 and didn't make
the NCAA Tournament for the
first time in 41 years.
This season, Johns Hopkins
opened up its campaign by
beating both Towson and Ohio
State. The Blue Jays needed three
overtimes to beat the Buckeyes,
while they beat Towson, 15-8, in
regulation.
Michigan will meet Johns
Hopkins for the second time in its
history after the Wolverines lost
17-8 at Homewood Field last year.
Johns Hopkins' offense is led
by the three-headed attack of
Brandon Benn, Wells Stanwick
and Ryan Brown, who have com-
bined for 14 goals and 14 assists in
the Blue Jays' first two games.

Johns Hopkins will also count
on faceoff man Drew Kennedy to
get them possessions. Kennedy
has a faceoff winning percentage
of 74 percent and will provide
tough competition for Michigan
sophomore faceoff man Brad
Lott, who played in just his first
game against Detroit. Lott was 22
of 30 from the X.
For the Wolverines to have a
chance at winning the game, Lott
will have to outduel Kennedy in
the faceoff circle.
"Brad had an amazing game
last night, but Hopkins is a much
different challenge on faceoffs."
Paul said. "I'm looking forward to
see how Brad responds to it."
The Blue Jay defense will be
vastly different than the defense
that was third in the nation in
scoring defense last season. Gone
is William C. Schmeisser Award
winner - given to the nation's
top defensemen - Tucker Durkin
and goaltender Pierce Bassett,
who was third in the country in
save percentage last season.
This season, the Blue Jays will
rely on goaltender Eric Schneider
to defend the cage. He appeared in

a game against Michigan, in
which he had five saves.
Attackman Ian King, who
hopes to capitalize on Schneider's
inexperience, leads the team with
eight goals. Beside the freshman,
the Wolverines have received a
dearthofscoringfrommanyother
players as well. Overall, 12 Michi-
gan players have found the back of
the net in the three games played.
"This offense can score
goals, if we get the ball we will
score goals," Paul said. "I'm not
concerned about scoring goals as
I am getting possessions."
Paul also mentioned that
attackmen Peter Kraus and Will
Meter may see their first action
of the season after being held out
the firstthreegamesofthe season
due to injuries.
One of the most important
goals this season was Jackson's
goal to get the record-breaking
win over Detroit. The goal was a
huge step for the progression of
the lacrosse program at Michigan.
But against NCAA royalty in
Johns Hopkins, it will take not
only goals, but also an all-around
great, if not perfect game, to

PATRIcK BARRON/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Kyle Jackson looks to stay hot after his goal Wednesday.

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