The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 7A
Freshmen expected to contribute
CROSS COUNTRY
Programs' past,
futures linked
By KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Writer
For both Michigan basketball
teams, success seems to come in
fives.
Though Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico won't be starting
all five freshmen like Steve
Fisher did with his Fab Five in
1991, she's hoping that all five of
her first-year players - coming
from a recruiting class that
was ranked 22nd in the nation
by All Star Girls Report - will
contribute meaningful minutes
this season.
Perhaps the most touted
recruit for the Wolverines is
5-foot-7 point guard Katelynn
Flaherty. The freshman makes
up for her small frame with her
shooting ability and basketball
IQ. She comes from a family of
basketball players - both of her
parents played in college - and
scored more than 2,000 points
in high school before being
sidelined her senior year with an
ankle injury.
"(Flaherty) is a true scorer,"
Barnes Arico said. "I think the
physical part of it ... is going to be
an adjustment for her, because
she's small, and she's thin, and
she's not as strong as she needs
to be yet, but she's very crafty
with the ball in her hands."
Jillian Dunston is also
having an uncommonly smooth
transition to college ball. The
forward was the first member of
the freshman class to commit,
and the early decision has paid
off.
"Jillian Dunston has come
in and done a tremendous job,"
Barnes Arico said. "She's big,
she's strong and she's physical.
The transition for her really
hasn't been that difficult
because she has the size and the
explosiveness as a lot of college
athletes already."
Dunston has been rotating
with senior captain Nicole
FILh PHOTO/Daily
Michigan women's basketball coach Kinm Barnes Arico, will have five talented freshmen at hot disposal this winter.
Elmblad at the '3' and '4' spots
during practice. Dunston, like
Elmblad, is 5-foot-11.
On paper, it appears Michigan
lacks size, but 6-foot-4 freshman
center Terra Stapleton could be
the solution the Wolverines are
looking for.
Coming from a small town in
Ohio, Stapleton had more than
just basketball to acclimate to
this summer. After working
with nutritionists, strength
and conditioning coaches, and
attending summer classes for
all of July and half of August,
Stapleton, along with the other
freshmen, are starting to see the
advances needed to compete at
the collegiate level.
Rounding out the group are
freshmen from opposite sides
of the country: forward Emoni
Jackson from Los Angeles and
guard Maria Backman from
the Bronx. And their talent,
combined with that of the other
three, has the veterans excited.
"In our last couple practices,
they've really started to click
and figure things out," Elmblad
said. "They're a really talented
group and I'm excited to see
what they're going to do for us
on the court this year. They have
a lot of potential to help us out."
SomeoftheadvancesElmblad
mentioned are due to Barnes
Arico's tough conditioning
workouts. The third-year coach
is known for her emphasis on
fitness and endurance. After a
quiet sophomore year, forward
Cyesha Goree lost 20 pounds to
become an essential component
of last season's success. Some
of the freshmen, including
Stapleton, have already seen
similar results.
"We really wantto be in shape
and be able to run up and down
the court," Elmblad said. "It's
cool to see how they went from
our first practices in the summer
that were only an hour to see
where they are now, practicing
for two or three hours. They're
doing a lot better."
The freshmen have come a
long way from their first jittery
practice together. Before the
season has even commenced, the
Wolverines are hoping for a long
tournament run together. The
talented freshman class makes
that more of a possibility.
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
It has been a banner year for
Michigan cross country.
The women's team is ranked
No. 4 in the nation and has two
team titles, one at the Big Ten
Preview on Sept.20 and another
at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in
Beantown on Sept. 26. The men's
squad checks in at No. 14, with
victories at the Big Ten Preview
as well as at the Blue and Gold
Invitational on Oct. 3.
For the women, success
was expected. The Wolverines
entered the season atop the
rankings and most ofthe runners
are returning members of a team
that placed fourth at the NCAA
Championships in 2013.
Sophomore Erin Finn and
senior Brooke Handler have
become familiar names for
Michigan thanks to their
accomplishments this year and
last. But many other athletes
have shown greatimprovements,
making it difficult for Michigan
coach Mike McGuire to name
one "most improved."
"They're all great kids and
work very hard," McGuire
said. "Everyone has had their
moments this year."
But the recent glory is just
one of many accomplishments in
McGuire's 23-year tenure with
the Wolverine women. He boasts
nine Big Ten championships,
most recently in 2012, and nine
more runner-up finishes. The
Michigan women also claimed
nine NCAA regional titles in
that span and has come in 10th
or better 11 times at the NCAA
championships.
Perhaps the most telling sign
of the program's expectations,
though, was its disappointment
with last Friday's third-place
finish at NCAA Pre-Nationals.
"Last week's race wasn't
representative of where we are
assa team," McGuire said.
The men's future was much
less certain entering the 2014
season. This is Michigan coach
Kevin Sullivan's first year in
Ann Arbor and his first head
coaching job. At first, many of
the athletes weren't sure where
the team was headed, and while
the Wolverines haven't won a Big
Ten title since 1993, Sullivan has
won over his team. Michigan's
two first-place finishes have
done wonders for its confidence.
Redshirt junior Mason Ferlic
has emerged as a leader for the
Wolverine men, with individual
titles at the Big Ten Preview and
the Blue and Gold Invitational
in 2014. Ferlic won his first All-
America honors - the first time
a Michigan men's runner has
done so since 2004. Butthe team
is hardly a one-man show.
"(Redshirt freshman) Aaron
Baumgarten has really improved
this year," Sullivan said.
"(Junior) Tony Smoragiewicz
came on strong, too."
Finally, the men are mirroring
the women's success. Though
the men's and women's teams
are separate programs, they
share many common bonds.
McGuire and Sullivan are
both Michigan cross country
and track and field alumni.
They were both mentored by
legendary coach Ron Warhurst,
and both were All-Americans.
More so, McGuire coached the
women at the same time Sullivan
was an athlete at Michigan.
"To a certain extent, Coach
McGuire was a mentor to
me," Sullivan said. "Although
I obviously didn't run on his
teams, I learned more from him
about coaching than he'll likely
ever learn from me."
Yet the bonds extend beyond
the coaches.
The runners often race at the
same meets, always cheering
each other on and lending
support. Many know each other
from high school. Even if the
racers weren't classmates, they
met through racing either at
large invitationals or state meets.
"Michigan is fertile ground
for runners," McGuire said. "I
think, especially today in the
Internet age, the boys and the
girls have a lot of opportunities
to connect with each other."
While both teams are
sharing success, neither one is
overlooking Friday's EMU Fall
Classic.
Both the men and the women
will participate in the race,
which will be held the same
track as the Michigan Open did
on Aug. 29.
Only time will tell if these
heady days for Michigan
cross country will continue.
Regardless of the future - and
past - of both programs are
undeniably linked.
Freshman Dancs learning on top line
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
He was inches away from his
firstgoal.
On Saturday, midway through
the second period, freshman
forward Dexter Danes corralled
a rebound, saw an empty net, but
slid the puck through the crease
and just barely missed.
For Danes, scoring is natural.
Last year, the British Colombia
native tallied 67 points in 56
games with the Vernon Vipers
of the British Columbia Hockey
League. Eleven of those came in
16 playoff games. Danes' knack
for filling the stat sheet enticed
Michigan coach Red Berenson to
offer him a scholarship.
But that scoring prowess
hasn't stood out in Michigan's
first three games. Dancs has
registered only one shot playing
on the Wolverines' top line and
doesn't have a point. Berenson
and his teammates, though,
aren't worried and have said they
think it's just a matter of time
before Dancs fills the stat sheet.
"I've liked the fact that he's
competing hard," Berenson said.
"He's using what got him here
and that's his size, his speed. I
thought he won alot of races this
weekend, he won a lot of puck
battles and then he gives us a
presence alongthe boards."
Dancs admitted the
adjustment to college hockey was
tougher than he expected, saying
his speed and strength weren't
where they needed to be when he
arrived in Ann Arbor. With every
game, though, he feelsi'a tad more
in place.
Sophomore defenseman
Michael Downing can empathize
with Dancs. Downing, who
played alongside then-senior
captain Mac Bennett to form
Michigan's top defensive pairing
last season, said his transition to
college hockey wasn't as easy as
anticipated, either.
"Last year, it took me a
couple of months to get used
to everything and get used
to the speed," Downing said.
"The biggest thing in college is
strength and it's something he's
getting better at, and I think you
guys will see that over the next
couple of weeks."
Luckily for Dancs, ice time
hasn't been a problem. Berenson
has penciled Dancs in as the left
wing on the first line alongside
junior center Andrew Copp
and sophomore right wing JT
Compher - two of Michigan's
best forwards who combined for
60 points last season. More so,
Berenson played Dancs in front
of the net on the power play on
Saturday when sophomore Evan
Allen was a healthy scratch.
Through three games,
however, the first line hasn't
found twine. Still, Berenson
doesn't think Dancs or his
linemates are at fault.
"None of our forwards are
scoring, really," Berenson said.
"We've had four goals by our
forwards in three games. I'm not
worried about Dexter. I think
he'll get his goals when he gets
his chances.
"As long as he's not hurting
us defensively and he's adding
speed, work ethic and defensive
responsibility then he'll be able to
hold his own."
And while Dancs hasn't put
the puck in the net playing next
to two of the Wolverines' greatest
offensive threats, he's learning a
great deal by skatingwith them.
Copp and Compher, Dancs
said, are easing his transition to
college hockey, showing him the
intricacies of moving the puck,
his feet and how to approach each
shift.
The veteran coach hasn't
suggested Dancs will move to a
different line, so Berenson clearly
trusts Dancs.
"I thought I would have to
start at the bottom and work my
way up top," Dancs said. "But
starting at the top really helps my
confidence."
As Dancs gets more
comfortable on the ice, more
quality chances like Saturday's
are inevitable. Next time, he
hopes the puck will find the back
of the net.
I
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JAMESCOLLER/Daily
Dexter Dancs didn't expect to start on Michigan's top line asa freshman, but coaches are trusting him in the key role.
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