4B - Monday, February 10, 2014

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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

4B -MonayFebuary10,201 Th Miciga Daly micigadaiyco

Wrestling splits weekend
tests against Huskers, Iowa

By NATE CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
It was another grueling
weekend for the. Michigan
wrestling team.
Friday, No. 11 Michigan
edged No. 7 Nebraska, 17-16, but
on Sunday, the Wolverines (6-2
Big Ten, 10-4 overall) fell to No.
3 Iowa, 26-6.
"(Sunday) was a tough
loss," said Michigan coach Joe
McFarland. "We allowed them to
gain too much momentum on the
outside and you can't wrestle like
that. We have to work on setting
the pace more."
Despite the
team's loss
on Sunday, "W e're
freshman
Adam Coon, forwa
who is ranked
second in rem c
the nation,
continued his
dominance.
He defeated Iowa's No. 3 Bobby
Telford in the second tiebreaker
by riding time in the heavyweight
class. The win improved Coon's
record to 27-1 this season.
Redshirt junior Steve Dutton
had the Wolverines' only other
win on Sunday, defeating No. 9
Josh Dziewa (3-2) by decision in
the 141-pound class. The result
moved Dutton's record to 5-2 on
the year.
"Steve is just finding out how
good of a wrestler he can really

be," McFarland said. "At a good
time, too, with what's comingup."
Fifth-year senior Eric Grajales
lost in the first tiebreaker to
Iowa's Brody Grothus in the 149-
pound class, 17-14.
"It was a crazy, high-scoring
match," McFarland said. "But I'm
confident Eric will bounce back."
Freshman Brian Murphy also
had a close match, ultimately
losingtoNo.2 DerekSt.John(3-1)
on a takedown in the 157-pound
class. St. John is the defending
157-pound NCAA champion.
In Friday's win over the

Junior pitcher Sara Driesenga struggled in Michigan's regular-season opener but rebounded well Sunday morning.
'M' goes 3-1in opening weekend

By JUSTIN MEYER
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan softball coach Carol
Hutchins's mantra is that her
team plays "one-pitch softball."
It was fitting, then, that in
the final inning of the fifth-
ranked Wolverines' first
contest of the season, junior
pitcher Sara Driesenga stared
down a batter with an 0-2
count, the bases loaded, two
outs and Michigan up 4-0.
The next pitch was sent
soaring into right field. Just like
that, it was 4-3.
But No. 4 Florida (6-0) didn't
stop there, mounting a furious
comeback to force extra innings
and eventually win the game in
the eighth, 9-4.
"We're not where we need to
be at this point," Hutchins said,
"but it's good to get out on the
dirt and see what we've got and
see where we have to go."
Michigan (3-1) looked strong
early in the game, registering
eight hits and taking the 4-0 lead
after a grand slam by sophomore
shortstop Sierra Romero.
Driesenga, who pitched
six scoreless innings against
Florida before falling apart in
the seventh, was the Wolverines'
top pitcher last year, but figures
to share that role more this
year with a deep pitching staff.
Driesenga, freshman Megan
Betsa and junior Haylie Wagner
all saw significant time in
the circle this weekend, with
varying results.
Hutchinsshowed she wouldn't
hesitate to use that rotation when
she wasted no time in pulling
Driesenga after she gave up the
three-run shot to the Gators.
"Against Florida, we played
six great innings," Hutchins said.
"But the game is seven innings
long. You have to play all of them
with the same confidence, the
same intensity, and I think we
failed in that category."
Betsa made her collegiate
debut in the seventh with the
Gators' winning run on base. The
freshman struggled to find the
strike zone, hittingthefirstbatter

and walking the bases loaded
before getting pulled herself.
Driesenga re-entered the
game in the seventh and escaped
the jam after allowing one more
run, but Florida's bats came alive
again in the eighth. The Gators'
Taylor Schwartz sent a ball over
the fence on a pitch Driesenga
left hanging on the inside corner
of the plate, forcing Hutchins to
put Wagner in to finish the game.
"We took Sara out because
she wasn't executing," Hutchins
said. "She wasn't throwing with
confidence. We wanted to win
the game."
It was a tough loss to
swallow for Driesenga and
the Wolverines, but the team
responded in impressive fashion.
Just half an hour later, the team
took on No. 25 South Florida
and U.S. National Team pitcher
Sarah Nevins.
In that contest, the Wolverines
played through another tight
game, but this time limited their
mistakes and took advantage of
opportunities on offense.
Betsa immediately got a chance
toredeemherearlierperformance
against the Bulls (1-2). She pitched
a complete game, registered six
strikeouts and allowed just two
earned runs.
After South Florida
intentionally walked Romero in
the sixth, senior first baseman
Caitlin Blanchard stepped up to
send the tying and winning runs
home. Betsa then finished off the
Bulls with six straight outs.
The 3-2 win propelled
Michigan into Sunday's games,
in which the Wolverines heated
up at the plate with 30 hits and 19
runs inwins agast Illinois State
and Bethune-Cookman.
Against the lesser competition
Sunday, the defense was sound.
Wagner recorded 10 strikeouts
and pitched Michigan's second
completegame ofthe tournament
against Illinois State (1-3).
Freshman infielder Abby
Ramirez also continued her
strong opening weekend into
the morning game against the
Redbirds. She went 3-for-4 in
the contest and 7-for-12 on the


weekend. Hutchins said Ramirez
was a spark plug across the board
and probably the top performer
of the weekend.
Sunday's contest against
an overmatched Bethune-
Cookman team was cut short
by the mercy rule in the fifth
inning, as Michigan rolled, 12-1.
Driesenga and Betsa split the
game, and Hutchins said she
still needed to see Betsa give up
fewer free bases. The freshman
walked five batters while
fanning seven.
"That's not the kind of pitching
that we're going to need from
her," Hutchins said. "I think she's
capable of better."
Pitching wasn't the only
position that Hutchins toyed
with over the weekend. The
Wolverines tried to find the
right fit at third base, starting
sophomore Kelsey Susalla
against the Gators but going with
freshman Lindsay Montemarano
after Susalla committed an error
to help fuelFlorida's compeback.
Susalla did start at designated
player against Illinois State
on Sunday and replaced
Montemarano at third against
Bethune-Cookman.
Also of note was sophomore
Sierra Lawrence's absence in
Saturday's games. Lawrence,
who had a productive season at
the plate last year, was expected
to start in left field. Instead she
was a healthy scratch for the first
two games, though she did start
and play well against Bethune-
Cookman. Hutchins didn't
elaborate on why Lawrence didn't
make an appearance Saturday.
The sting of the Florida game
had worn off somewhat by the
end of the tournament, but for the
Wolverines, which will spend the
next five weekends on the road,
the loss was only one game in a
long and harrowing schedule.
"That's the beauty of softball,"
Hutchins said. "The next game
was 30 minutes away, and we get
a minute to basically take it and
put it where it belongs, which is
in the trash. Whether you win
that game or lose that game, that
game's over."

Cornhuskers, Coon was
instrumental.
He defeated
Nebraska's
looking Collink
Jensen (12-
rd to a 3) by major
decision.
atch. , Since
Michigan
held the
tiebreaker for
technical points, Coon's.victory
secured the win.
Redshirt freshman Conor
Youtsey got things going for the
Wolverines on Friday with a
win over Tim Lamber (2-0) by
decision. Michigan followed up
Youtsey's triumph with two more
victories, redshirt freshman
Rossi Bruno over Shawn Nagel
(7-6) and Dutton over Colton
McCrystal (10-3). Both wins were
bymajor decision.
Two consecutive losses


followed, including Grajales's
defeat to No. 5 Jake Sueflohn
(9-3) in the 149-pound class and
redshirt junior Jake Salazar's
overtime lossto No.1James Green
(7-6) in the 157-pound class.
Michigan then bounced
back with a victory by fifth-
year senior Dan Yates over
Austin Wilson (4-0) in the
165-pound class. Three more
losses followed before Coon's
clinching victory.
The Wolverines split this
weekend placed them fifth in
the Big Ten standings behind
Penn State, Minnesota, Iowa
and Wisconsin, respectively.
Michigan has one more non-
conference dual meet at
Pittsburgh on Feb. 15 before
the Big Ten Championships.
The Wolverines are looking
to improve on their 2012-13
sixth-place finish at the Big Ten
Championships and 33rd out of
72 at the NCAA Championships.
"I think this weekend was
a good learning experience,
especially for our younger guys,"
McFarland said. "Iowa is one
of the toughest places in the
country to wrestle. We're looking
forward to a rematch with them
and with Penn State in the
championships."
The Michigan wrestlers
have certainly had no shortage
of challenges as of late. But
despite losses to Penn State and
Iowa, they have certainly held
their ground.

WNO ME N'S S WIlM M ING A ND D IV IN G
Michigan caps senior night
with rout of Michigan State

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olverines have sophomores Ali DeLoof and
Marie Georger, who each scored
'o 27 straight two individual wins in the meet.
Seven other individuals won
rainst Spartans events, and two relay victories
bookended the affair. After
By ZACH SHAW building early momentum,
Daily Sports Writer Michigan was able to continue
its success, despite altering
was her last home meet, the workload before Big Ten
ngie Chokran had plenty Championships.
e. "A lot of swimmers were
he final length of the 100- swimming different events,"
breaststroke, the senior Bottom said. "But the idea that
everal yards ahead of her everyone is up cheering on their
etition. Fittingly, on a teammates no matter what,
night that was all about that's what it's all about. The
o. 20 Michigan women's celebration today is of course
team, the next two beating Michigan State, but
mers were also wearing also a celebration to what this
and blue winged caps. team is doing and how they're
race was just the third changing."
dual event of the night, Since replacing 30-year coach
he Wolverines notched Jim Richardson in August 2012,
second and third in all Bottom has attempted to bring
events. the women's team up to the same
hot start gave Michigan speedashis2013NCAAChampion
surmountable 63-11 lead men. While the Wolverines aren't
lichigan State. at the championship level quite
lowing the opening yet, after two years of change,
, the Wolverines the future of the program looks
ued their torrid pace, bright.
ng 13 of 15 events en route "This team is making great
lominant 164-107 victory strides," Bottom said, "and you
the Spartans, their 27th have to lay that on the seniors.
cutive win over their They've been the ones leading
te rivals. us the last two years. They had
s a lot of fun," said to buy into a different culture. It
gan coach Mike Bottom. was a work-based culture they
seniors are celebrating weren't used to, but that's what
time here with a win we brought in when we took
t Michigan State, which over the program.
eat way to celebrate." "That's not easy to accept.
Wolverines were led by You've got to face the coaches

every day and say 'I'm ready to
go and committed to what we're
doing here,' and this group has
done that."
The transition wasn't easy,
but Friday night against the
Spartans, it was cfear that
the difficulties were paying
dividends. Yet another
dominant win against their
rivals, a performance worthy
of a top-20 team and a senior
night left a meet the seniors will
remember for a longtime.
"When we went to the team
room for our pep talk, Coach
Bottom was very adamant that
this meet was here for us to
celebrate the team," Chokrani
said. "Those who are leaving
the team are going to become
No. 1 fans next year.
"Me and my class have been
through a lot here at Michigan,
but I wouldn't be alone in
saying we wouldn't trade these
experiences for anything.
These girls are like my family,
and being able to compete with
them here one last time, and
beat Michigan State on top of it,
is a great feeling."
After the meet, Michigan
rushed to its traditipnal post-
meet dinner. It was the lust
one, but before Chokran and
her fellow seniors left Canham,
they took plenty of time to soak
one last victory in.
For more sports coverage
Check MhgaoDaily.con
for a full weekend recap