I 10 Thursday, July 24, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Kopmeyer, Ezurike shine in NWSL Thursday, July 24, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com '3 55th Ann Arbor Art Fair thrives with new vendors, larger crowds Dennison Building to be renovated, become hub for international programs By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor Haley Kopmeyer is Michigan's all-time leader in saves, goals- against average and minutes played, but in the National Women's Soccer League, there are lots of Haley Kopmeyers. Kopmeyer, a four-year starter for the Wolverines, now backs up U.S. Women's National Team starter Hope Solo - by many accounts the best goalie in the world - for the Seattle Reign. So when she made her first start June 19 for the undefeated Reign, she knew she couldn't give up a goal. But there was one player in particular that she couldn't give up a goal to - and one player in particular who wanted to score on her. That player was Nkem Ezurike, who played with Kopmeyer at Michigan from 2010-12 and then became the Wolverines' all-time leading scorer last season. "Obviously I don't want anybody to score on me, but there's a little bit of a rivalry there and I was like, yeah, I definitely can't get scored on," Kopmeyer said. "Getting scored on by friends is just the worst." Kopmeyer went back to her Michigan days to try to gain an edge by remembering Ezurike's strengths and weaknesses. Ezurike had a shot at her former teammate just before halftime, but her header was deflected away. "It was in the back of my mind," Ezurike said. "It's always funny when you're playing against - someone you know, you kind of want to beat them more often than someone you may not know. I was hoping to get a goal against her, but she came up bigthat game." The two Michigan alumni speak highly of each other off the field, but the competitive side of each of them came out when they put on opposite jerseys. Kopmeyer and Ezurike, products of the rebuilt Michigan women's soccer program under coach Greg Ryan, are the Wolverines' only two players in the NWSL, which started last spring. But even two of the program's best ever say the pro league was a major adjustment. "I was a little shell shocked at first - the speed of the play, how hard the girls shot the ball, so many parts that you can think about, and then you actually see it and you're like, 'OK, wow,' " Kopmeyer said earlier this month. "That was an adjustment and it showed me how I needed to train, how I needed to alter my training, how I needed to get the game to slow down mentally for me." One other adjustment: This league was a business now. Kopmeyer wasn't easily the best goalkeeper on the team like she was at Michigan. Her team didn't have to keep her around - and at one point, they didn't, releasing her after last season. Kopmeyer took her lumps last year, playing only one game in goal, but she re-signed with the team for this season and has a solid footing on the league's best team. The same goes for Ezurike in Boston. She also got off to a slow start this spring in her rookie season but has now appeared in 11 of the Breakers' 18 games, starting six and scoringtwo goals. Like Kopmeyer, she also found the transition to the professional league to be difficult. "Starting off, I didn't get much playing time, so practices really helped with getting to that intensity required for the program," Ezurike said. "It's just something to work at. It's a different mindset that you've got to step it up from what you did in college." For two players who were stars in college and started for most of their four-year careers, that wasn't easy to do. Kopmeyer was a mainstay in the net, and Ezurike was the lone forward at the top of coach Greg Ryan's 4-1-4-1 scheme. As Kopmeyer put it, they went from being the best players on their team in college to a league where every player was the best player on her team in college. "I have no problem admitting that going from the college game to the professional game was a very massive step," she said. "I definitely think Michigan did well to prepare me in terms of what the rigors of training would be like, but it's just that talent level that skyrockets."- Added Ezurike: "That's part of the game and it's kind of what you sign up for, but it's definitely in the back of your mind that it can change pretty quickly." Not too long ago, Michigan wasn't the kind of program that sent players to professional leagues. The Wolverines have had four straight winning seasons under Ryan, but before Ryan arrived they hadn't had back-to- back winning seasons since 2003- 04. Ryan's hiring brought major changes to the program, but they proved to be worthy in the end. Judging by his recent recruiting classes - the latest of which includes 11 newcomers - Kopmeyer and Ezurike won't be the only pros he churns out of his nrnoram Ezurike said Ryan's experience beyond the college game, including a stint with the U.S. Women's National Team before he came to Ann Arbor, is a good reference for players hoping for professional careers. And if Michigan continues its trend, Kopmeyer and Ezurike will have a few more players around +helale to knheir eves on ALLISON rARAND/Daiy Ann Arbor residents Dana Wilson and Connor Otto entertain a crowd of Art Fair attendees at the corner ofState Street and North University Ave Saturday. $1 Off Any Smoothie Lirnit One offer per customer with coupon. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Valid at Barry Bagels Ann Arbor location ONLY. BAGELSI Barry Bagels I ~Westgate Shopping CenterI 25t5 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor, MIr48t03 (734) 662-2435 www.barrybagels.com Expires: July 31, 2014 L---.... -...-.---....---.-- ..-.-.-.-_- __-_--- ...------ Businesses and local nonprofits find benefit in influx of tourists By HILLARY CRAWFORD Daily StaffReporter Nearly 1,000 artists flocked to the streets of downtown Ann Arbor Wednesday through Sat- urday to display their work at the 55th annual Ann Arbor Art Fair. Though the fair is comprised of four separate art shows, because each fair is connected to the oth- ers, attendees feel as though the event is singular in nature. Debra Clayton, Executive Director of the Guild of Artists and Artisans, said the guild has a tagline they use - four fairs, one event. The Ann Arbor Art Street Fair was first to emerge in 1960 as an "Experiment in Arts and Crafts." Shortly after in 1967, the State Street Area Associa- tion established its own fair in its commercial district, and the fair continued to grow when the Free Arts Festival found local artists to participate in 1970. This fair is now known as the Summer Art Fair, sponsored by the Guild of Artists and Artisans, and is located on Main Street and the portion of State Street which runs along the University's cam- pus. After the Original Street Fair moved to the streets sur- rounding Burton Tower in 2003, the South University Area Asso- ciation hosted artists in the area formerly occupied by the Origi- nal Street fair. Clayton said overall, though each portion of Art Fair may dif- fer in their specific mission, it's a collaborative event held together by the city's overall atmosphere both for the fairs and for other groups downtown, such as busi- nesses. "People like to come here, experience our stores, our res- taurants, the University campus, the museum," Clayton said. " You find it's a happy marriage and it's a family and you think that part of this family is the artists, the stores, the restaurants, the Uni- versity-everybody kind of ben- efits." AJ Davidson, vice president of the Bivouac store in Ann Arbor, has worked outside of his store during Art Fair for the past 15 years. He said the event allows the store to sell old merchandise and bring in the new, making rotation both easier and more efficient. "Itbrings a lot of people down- town, which is a lot of people into our store and it's great," David- son said. In addition to art, nonprofit organizations are also given space at the fair. Organizations present this year included those representing animal rights, dif- ferent political leanings, news publications, and various reli- gious stances, among others. "I think they're all doing the same thing- mostly to promote awareness," said Dave Arnoldi, a volunteer at the Huron Valley Humane Society. When it comes to the artists themselves, those who exhibit their work at the fair include both longtime returning individ- uals as well as new ones. Maureen Riley, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Street Fair, said the amount of new ven- dors has grown as baby boomers retire, resulting in a shift in the aesthetics. She added that the Art Fair itself continues to grow in the diversity of work it tries to present. "That's the beauty of the Ann Arbor Art Fair," Riley said. "Any- body can find something they like, and at a price point they can afford." One artist, David O'Dell from Lake Orion, Michigan said he was mostly accustomed to par- ticipating in galleries. He creates rock 'n' roll posters as well as prints of cars, taken from pho- tographs his father took decades ago at events such as Beatles con- certs and the Indie 500. "I'm trying to figure out what goes well in a fair," O'Dell said. "But people said you should try the Ann Arbor Fair-it's fabu- lous." Jerry Wygant, an artist from Pentwater, Michigan who works with various types of wood he collects himself, was stationed on State Street in his permanent spot for the 12th year. He began working with wood to make jew- elry and other accessories over 25 years ago. "The reason I love the whole show is that I meet so many educated people here," Wygant said. "They're working on doc- torates and they're from all over the world and they're interesting people." Regents approve $49 million project with aim of increasing collaboration By MICHAEL SPAETH For the Daily The home of physics and astronomy - the David M. Den- nison Building - is set to receive both a physical makeover, as well as a change of tenants. According to a plan approved by the Board of Regents on July 17, the building will be reno- vated to become the new home of centers, institutes and units focusing on international engage- ment. Renovations will focus on the 10-story high-rise section of the building, which will include extending windows outward on the 10th floor as well as a plan to enclose the overhang area on the ground floor for added space. The International Institute and all of its centers will move from the School of Social Work Building to Dennison, and LSA centers focusing on international engagement will also relocate to Dennison. The Department of Astronomy, currently housed in Dennison, will move to West Hall, which is currently undergo- ing a renovation of its own. At the regents meeting on the 17th, Provost Martha E. Pollack praised the renovation plan and noted Dennison's unique history. "I just want to quickly men- tion that virtually every student that has been at the University of Michigan probably in the last fifty years has taken a class in Dennison," Pollack said. "I think it's fair to say that it's one of our most run-down buildings and this renovation is really going to make it quite the opposite, and it's going to take the International Institute, which are increas- ingly important as our students do more global work, give them a nice home, make it actually more efficient on campus." In the proposal approved by the board, Chief Financial Offi- cer Douglas Strong, interim exec- utive vice president, estimated the renovation cost to be $49 mil- lion. "A renovation of approximately 106,000 gross square feet vacated by the relocation of the Depart- ment of Astronomy to West Hall and the repurposing of class- rooms will create spaces that will facilitate faculty collaboration and enhance opportunities for graduate and undergraduate stu- dents," Strong submitted in the proposal. Devon Keen, program manager at the University's African Stud- ies Center, which is a part of the International Institute, one of the building's new proposed tenants, said while their current location at the School of Social Work is great, crowding has occasionally been a problem. "There are many centers here and we could definitely use some expanded common space," she said. "There's not a lot of room for events, so we are often vying for the same space during the busiest times of the year, because we have really one big room that's used for large events, and then smaller rooms." Keen said for the move, one important aspect will be pre- serving each of the International Institute's centers' unique identi- ties in its new Dennison facilities. "It's very important to us that the identity of each individual center is maintained so that if someone walks into this space, they'll be able to clearly see, oh, 'I'm now in the African Studies Center,' or 'I'm now at the Cen- ter for Southeast Asian Studies,' because I think that's part of what draws people to us, is that indi- viduality of each center," Keen said. She added that overall, she would like the African Studies Center to have more space for events, lectures, meetings and other activities in Dennison. "It's always nice to have a new, upgraded surrounding, and I'm very interested to see how it will look in the end," Keen said. A schematic design for the building, which will provide more details about space allocation in the building, has not yet been submitted to or approved by the regents. PATRICK BARRON/Daily Nkem Ezurike (upper) and Haley Kopmeyer have both been contributors in the NWSL this year after illustrious careers at Michigan.