6A - Wednesday, January 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 6A - Wednesday, January 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Sampson matures on and off the floor Senior becomes lea to 1 der, learns how ove gymnastics By KELLY HALL Daily Sports Writer Michigan freshman wrestler Angelo Latora, who struggled this year in the 141-pound class, has since been benched in favor of redshirt junior Stephen Dutton. Dutton regains form, starting role By ZACH SHAW was a round-of-12 guy as a true DailySports Writer freshman, right on the cusp of being on the next level. He kept Another loss by Angelo Latora, wrestling well, but his second another cringe-worthy moment year had some injuries and didn't for Stephen Dutton. like the fit at Lehigh. It worked As the Michigan freshman out that he wanted to leave and I wrestler fell, 6-1, to Purdue's had just joined Michigan's staff, Danny Sabatello on Jan. 10 - his so it was a natural fit to get him to sixth loss in a row and ninth in come here." 13 matches - Dutton could only The pairing of Pritzlaff and watch from the sidelines, again. Dutton was years in the making. Yet another injury setback had As an assistant coach at Hofstra forced him to watch Latora start from 2004-06, Pritzlaff met over him in the 141-pound class. Dutton, then a seventh-grade FortunatelyforDutton,Latora's wrestler, at a clinic in New York. loss in the Purdue matchwilllikely As the years went on, Pritzlaff be the last time the junior has became family friends with the to watch from the stands. Since Duttons. then, Dutton has exploded on the Though the bond didn't take scene. After nearly two years off, fruition until after Dutton's a transfer and countless injuries, sophomore year, it paid off Dutton has won his first three Big when he selected Michigan. Ten matches by a combined score The same spring that two-time of 44-5. NCAA champion Kellen Russell Ithadbeenawhile,butit wasn't graduated from the weight class, that long ago that Dutton was the Wolverines appeared to have dominating the national wrestling their next replacement lined up. scene, albeit for a different team. As spring turned to fall, the As a freshman at Lehigh, Dutton anticipation grew. But during went 23-14 and came one win shy a wrestle-off to officially name of being named -All-American,; him the starter, the injury bug a rare feat for some one year bit Dutton again. Deciding to removed fromhigh school. redshirt the season, Dutton was "He wrestled really well at forced to train without tangible Lehigh," said Michigan assistant results. coach Donny Pritzlaff. "He "I came here for one reason, andthat'stowrestle," Dutton said on Monday. "It's been frustrating not being able to compete, I just tried to lead by going out in the room and working hard, competing hard, and that's basically all I can do." After a year away from competing, Dutton was more than eager to return to the lineup. But, yet again, that anticipation was put on hold, as a summer shoulder surgery from another injury took longer to heal than anticipated. "It's been emotionally up and down for him," Pritzlaff said. "He was doing really well in rehab and was as close as he could get to returning. But then he regressed and thought it was re-torn. He thought it might be the end for him." But as the weeks wore on, Dutton kept pushing. After Latora's sixth straight loss, it was now or never forth. seasoned but rusty veteran. "After a while, he realized the pain will always be there," Pritzlaff said. "Now he's fighting through it the best he can. He's in a good spot, he's not 100 percent, but he knows that no one's 100 percent at this level, so he's just got to go." Making his Michigan debut against Illinois, Dutton looked as healthy as ever, cruising to a 14-0 victory. The momentum has only increased as he's taken down opponents from Minnesota and Michigan State by scores of 14-2 and 16-3, respectively. "It's felt good," Dutton said. "It's nice to go out there after a while off and get some points and win some matches. But for the rest of the season, I'm going to have some good competitors, some top-ranked guys, so that should be a good test." The hot start has allowed Dutton to become the No. 9 141- pound wrestler in the country. But the biggest tests will come this weekend, as he takes on Penn State's Zain Retherford and Ohio State's Logan Steiber, ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively. "It just makes me work that much harder," Dutton said. "I have to try and get in better and better shape every day. I was off the mat for so long, and Iknow the guys I'm wrestling have had a lot more time onthe matthisyear" In Big Ten wrestling, Dutton's long-awaited - yet so far successful - return will be put to the test early and often. But in a career full of pain, patience and waiting, few can handle adversity quite like Dutton. Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com ARBOR PROPERTIES Award-Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2014. 734-994-3157. www.arborprops.com *AVAILABLE FALL 2014* Large 3 bdrm. house. On Campus. 945 Woodlawn. Contact Mike at 734-276-3876. EFF. 1 & 2 Bdrm apts. for Fall 2014. $655-$1395, showings avail. M-F 1tOam-3:30pm w/ 24 hr notice. Cappo/Deincocappomanagement.com. Contact 734-996-1991 M-F 9am-4pm 4 BDRM APT, 1015 Packard. 1st floor, wood and carpet. $2640 + gas & electric. Parking avail. for additional charge. Lease term: 8/30/14-8/18/15. Contact 734-996-1991. 4 BDRM HSE South Central Campus 1037 Packard - $2500/m+ utils. 2 bath, 3 parking. Wsher/dryer. Avail. Fall 2014. Contact 734-996-1991. 4 BDRM HSE, Fuller by North Cam- pus, 1010 Cedar Bend Dr. $2400/m + utils. 2 bath, 3 parking. Wsher/dryer. Aun PnI )Idnn a.t7'Id-99AIA1 Joanna Sampson's journey to becoming an NCAA national champion in the floor exercise wasn't always pretty. If you look at her now, you wouldn't expect that the senior co-captain of the Michigan gymnastics team was once a stubborn freshman who wanted everything done her own way. With that adamancy, though, came an unshakeable desire to succeed. "The thing that I've always told Joanna is that, because of her strong personality, she's a natural leader," said Michigan women's gymnastics coach Bev Plocki. "But which direction are you going to lead?" Early in Sampson's career, Plocki knew that Sampson had the potential for greatness. She just needed to find her place. Sampson wasn't enjoying gymnastics much at all right before ,« she came to But Michigan. She directic put too much pressure on going t herself, and her love for the sport lessened. Though her competitive edge has led to many of her successes, learning to love gymnastics again played a significant role in her achievements. "I give her all the credit in the world because she found out what she wanted to be and how she wanted to lead, and she developed herself into that person," Plocki said. And she has. On top of being a captain who her teammates can look up to, Sampson is a 2013 NCAA champion, a three- time NCAA All-American, a Big Ten Women's Gymnast of the Year, and the 2012-2013 University of Michigan Female Athlete of the Year. "One of my biggest personality changes I've had since I've been here is really just being more open to everything and just kind of trying to relax a little bit more," Sampson said. "I try not to take everything so seriously." According to Plocki, even Sampson's parents were shocked by her attitude change since she's been with the Michigan gymnastics team. "Joanna has matured and grown up big time in the years that she's been here at Michigan," Plocki said. Fellow co-captain and housemate Shelby Gies has experienced Sampson's change firsthand. "Sometimes, she thinks that everything has to be perfect," Gies said. "But everything she does is perfect; she just thinks that it has to be even more perfect. She's very hard on herself a lot of the time, but she's learning to not be as much." Sampson treats every practice as if it were an actual competition, something her teammates notice every day. But though Sampson holds herself to a very high standard in and out of practice, her ability to accept her occasional mistakes has helped her become the captain that she is today. "As a freshman,because ofthe way I was, I didn't necessarily expect (to be a captain), but it was always something I had a desire to be," Sampson said. "I just always wanted to be that person that my which teammates could look up ) you to and come n are y to, regardless to lead?" of being a captain or not. As long as I was able to do that for my team, then I would've been happy." And she's happy now. "I don't really have a specific goal for myself other than to just embrace everything while having fun my senior year," Sampson said. "The season's going great. I don't think I could really ask for anything more so far." Sampson's hope is that she can help create the best season possible for her teammates while simply enjoying her final year at Michigan. She feels pressure, but now she's approaching the season with a different mindset. "I think the sky's the limit for her in terms of what her capabilities are," Plocki said. "I just want her to relax and have fun and enjoy her senior year and get the most out of it that she can." Sure, it's not the only balancing act she practices, but Sampson has found the perfect harmony between enjoyment and her will to succeed. 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