4C — January 7, 2015
SportsWednesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
GLI, World Juniors highlight
successful break for Wolverines
‘M’ wins GLI
down four players
competing with
Team USA
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Writer
No starts, no problem for Steve
Racine.
Though it had been nearly two
months since his last start, the
junior goaltender looked right
at home between the pipes at
the Great Lakes Invitational in
Detroit. Racine stopped 71 of 73
shots and led the Michigan hockey
team to consecutive 2-1 victories
en route to the Wolverines’ 16th
GLI title on Dec. 29.
“I had my fingers crossed,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson
about the decision to start Racine.
“When you’re coaching a team
and you get players on the team
that aren’t playing well, they’re on
the team for a reason. You know
you’ve seen them play well. That’s
why you recruited them. It’s just a
matter of, ‘Can you do it now?’
“I
thought
Steve
Racine
stepped up and did it now.”
In addition to Racine, Michigan
(2-1
Big
Ten,
10-7
overall)
exceeded expectations at the GLI.
Despite losing four key players to
a brief stint with the United States
World
Junior
Championship
team, the Wolverines were able to
avenge previous losses to then-No.
5 Michigan Tech before beating
Michigan State the following
night.
Senior forward Zach Hyman
led the way with two game-
winning goals, but Berenson was
pleased with the entire team’s
effort.
“If you were to ask me a couple
weeks ago about our chances in
the GLI, I would have said that
our team is really going to have to
overachieve,” Berenson said. “We
had players that hadn’t played
that well. Our team hasn’t played
that well. Our goals-against has
not been what it should be. Now
we’ve got some players missing,
so we really had to step up.
“Players that hadn’t been in
the lineup on a regular basis were
going to have to step in and do a
job, and they
did that.”
The
tournament
win
was
the
first of any kind
for
Michigan
since 2011, and
it comes at a
crucial
time.
Stumbling
to
a 2-5 start to
the season —
the team’s worst since 1986 —
the Wolverines have won eight
of their last 10 games to put
themselves back into the mix for
the NCAA Tournament.
“This is exactly what we
needed coming into the second
half of the year,” Racine said. “We
know it’s only two games, but it’s
something to build off of, and
we’re excited for what the rest of
the year has to hold.”
The
wins
seem
more
impressive when factoring in the
Wolverines that didn’t contribute
to the tournament title. Four
of Michigan’s top eight scorers
participated in the WJC, where
the Americans
went
3-2
before falling
to Russia in the
quarterfinals.
Freshman
forward Dylan
Larkin led the
U.S. team with
five goals and
two
assists,
and
was
named one of
the team’s top three players by
his coaches. Sophomore forwards
Tyler Motte and JT Compher
and freshman defenseman Zach
Werenski also contributed to the
team’s tournament run.
Though they weren’t able to
aid Michigan over the break, the
four look to utilize the added
game experience in the second
half of the season.
“It’s
really
nice
because
we just played in a bunch of
pressure-packed
games,
very
high intensity,” Compher told
MGoBlue.com. “To come back
and know that there’s something
to look forward to right away
with a really big series helps get
my mind off of what wasn’t a
great tournament really.”
While Compher and company
competed at an international
level, the Wolverines still in Ann
Arbor were able to rest for the
first time since the season began.
Based on the results in Detroit, it
was much-needed.
“The break was a good chance
for us to regroup,” Racine said.
“The first half of the season didn’t
go exactly how we wanted it to
go. So we went home, had some
nice time with our families. We
knew coming back that we had
to step it up, and that guys that
hadn’t had opportunities before
would be called on and had to
make the most of it.”
‘M’ wins 3rd straight
Orange Bowl Classic
By SYLVANNA GROSS
For the Daily
When it comes time for the
Michigan women’s swimming
and diving team to compete,
coach Mike Bottom leaves his
athletes with one expression to
draw inspiration from.
“Why not me?”
This past weekend in Key
Largo, Florida, the Wolverines
responded with a first-place
finish in the Orange Bowl Swim
Classic,
marking
the
third
straight victory at this short-
course meter event.
The team placed either first
or second in eight of the 10
individual events. In three of
those events — the 100-meter
free,
100-meter
backstroke
and 50-meter backstroke —
the Wolverines placed in the
top three spots. Michigan’s
swimmers set four Orange Bowl
Swim Classic records.
One of Michigan’s record-
setters
included
junior
Ali
DeLoof, who, despite primarily
swimming
backstroke
and
freestyle, placed first in the
50-meter
butterfly
(28.02).
Three of her teammates also
earned first with record times:
freshman Gillian Ryan in the
400-meter freestyle (4:16.17),
freshman Clara Smiddy in the
100-meter backstroke (1:01.44)
and
sophomore
Madeline
Frost in the 50-meter freestyle
(26.36).
Along with the four record-
setting times, DeLoof also took
first in the 50-meter backstroke
(28.90) and Kopas won the
50-meter breaststroke (32.91)
and the 100-meter breaststroke
(1:11.15).
Junior
Marni
Oldershaw also added a pair of
first-place finishes in the 100-
meter butterfly (1:04.11) and the
200-meter individual medley
(2:19.14).
“Realizing that I can swim
the 50-fly event made me more
comfortable training,” DeLoof
said. “It was nice to swim
something different.”
Michigan’s
dominance
extended to the relay races,
where the Wolverines finished
in first place. The 200-meter
medley relay was raced by
DeLoof, Kopas, Smiddy and
junior Zoe Mattingly. Frost later
replaced Kopas in Michigan’s
winning 200-meter freestyle
relay.
The success caps off the
team’s winter training sessions,
which culminated in a dominant
showing at the Orange Bowl
Swim Classic, as was expected.
“This was not a big meet,”
Bottom said, “so those people
who
have
not
scored
for
Michigan can see that scoring is
a possibility.”
More importantly, this meet
inspired the athletes to push
themselves harder with the
‘Why not me?’ campaign at the
forefront.
Added
Oldershaw:
“My
parents have always said ‘Why
not me?’ to me, so it was touching
to hear my coach say it too.”
Michigan is showing that
success and progress comes
from a positive mindset, and
Bottom has made it increasingly
important
that
any
athlete
can envision herself atop the
podium.
With attention turning to the
upcoming dual meet against
Notre Dame and Northwestern,
the battle between the schools
will come down to total team
points rather than single events.
The Orange Bowl Classic was
more of an individual swimmer’s
race
rather
than
a
team
mentality, and that mindset
will shift to the opposite this
weekend.
“We’ve been underdogs, we’re
rising and it’s becoming ‘Why
not us?’ ” Oldershaw said.
‘M’ takes 5th in Tennessee
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
In
early
January,
in
Chattanooga,
Tennessee,
the
Michigan wrestling team had
a championship atmosphere to
compete in.
That
served
as
good
preparation,
because
the
15th-ranked
Wolverines
will
have plenty more in the coming
months during Big Ten season.
Five was the magic number
for Michigan, as it finished fifth,
with
five
wrestlers
earning
points, at the Southern Scuffle on
Thursday and Friday.
“This tournament was a really
positive experience for us,” said
Michigan coach Joe McFarland.
“It had an NCAA championship-
caliber feel to it.”
The tournament got off to a
fast start for the Wolverines,
as they went 5-0 in the first
round on Thursday. Redshirt
sophomore
Conor
Youtsey,
redshirt freshman George Fisher,
sophomores Brian Murphy and
Domenic Abounader and fifth-
year senior Max Huntley each
posted victories.
Fisher
rode
the
early
momentum
with
a
strong
showing
in
the
141-pound
class.
He
defeated
Drexel’s
Franco Ferraina, 19-4, with six
takedowns and five back points.
Despite falling to Oklahoma
State’s Dean Heil, 7-2, he later
rebounded to top Heil in a 9-3
decision to place seventh.
Not to be outdone, sophomore
heavyweight Adam Coon fought
his way to a runner-up finish.
His signature win came when
he pinned Kent State’s Samuel
Breese 4:27 into the match, while
his only blemish was a loss to No.
4 Austin Marsden of Oklahoma
State in the finals, 7-3.
“(Coon)
was
disappointed
with his last match,” McFarland
said. “He couldn’t score when he
needed to.”
Junior
Rossi
Bruno
also
placed second for Michigan at
133 pounds. He topped North
Carolina’s Troy Heilmann in
an 11-1 major decision and No. 6
Mason Beckman of Lehigh in a
7-5 tiebreaker. But Iowa State’s
No. 13 Earl Hall kept Bruno from
the top spot, 5-2.
Abounader built off his first-
round success to leave the
tournament with a 6-2 record
and a fifth-place finish in the
184-pound class, topping No. 9
Willie Miklus of Missouri, 4-3,
Nebraska’s T.J. Dudley, 4-3, and
Oklahoma State’s Nolan Boyd,
5-3, in the process.
Huntley followed his first
triumph at 197 pounds with two
more victories, including one over
the Golden Flashes’ Cole Baxter,
13-2. He lost to Penn State’s
Morgan McIntosh, 7-4, in the
quarterfinals before rebounding
for two wins and then defaulting
out due to injury and ending the
tournament in sixth. McFarland
said he didn’t expect the injury to
be a long-term problem.
Although they both missed
placing by a single match, Youtsey
and Murphy left Chattanooga
with 4-2 records in the 125-
pound and 157-pound classes,
respectively.
“There
were
some
tough
losses late in the tournament,”
McFarland said. “But we had a lot
of great individual performances,
and that’s something we can
build off of.”
The Southern Scuffle was
the
Wolverines’
last
contest
before conference play begins.
Including Michigan, 10 Big Ten
teams are currently ranked in
the top 25 nationally, with Iowa
and Minnesota at No. 1 and No. 2,
respectively. Michigan will have
to wrestle against seven of those
teams, but McFarland believes
his team will be healthy and
ready for the daunting task ahead
of them.
“We were a little undermanned
entering the tournament, and
that was frustrating,” McFarland
said. “But right now we’re
focusing on conference play, and
we should be ready to go.”
Barnes Arico rekindles old
rivalry with newcomer Rutgers
By BRAD WHIPPLE
Daily Sports Writer
This weekend, the Michigan
women’s basketball team bathed
in the glory of
defeating
its
in-state
rival,
then-No.
24
Michigan State.
The
Wolverines’
victory
was
hard-earned,
given that they
have
dropped
their last three
meetings with
the
Spartans.
The
win
embodied
the
idea
of
the
“Michigan way” that coach Kim
Barnes Arico has alluded to in the
past — a style defined by physical
and mental grit.
That same toughness must
continue for Michigan (2-1 Big
Ten, 10-4 overall) to defeat No.
24 Rutgers when the Wolverines
travel
to
New
Jersey
on
Wednesday.
“I tried to get away from
(Rutgers) when I left the East
Coast,
and
here
they
are again in
our
league,”
Barnes Arico
told
WTKA
Radio
on
Tuesday.
“Anytime
you
go
to
the
(Rutgers
Athletic
Center),
it’s
going to be incredibly difficult.”
Before
moving
from
the
American Athletic Conference
to the Big Ten, Rutgers ended
last season with a 2014 WNIT
Championship. Luckily for the
Scarlet Knights, they still have
their ace — their coach.
Vivian Stringer — the third-
winningest coach in women’s
basketball history — will return
to the Big Ten for the first time
since 1995, when she coached her
12th and final season with Iowa.
During her time with the
Hawkeyes, Stringer went 269-
84,
including
a
Final
Four
appearance in 1993, the year
she was awarded the Naismith
College Coach of the Year. She
has also led Cheyney State
College (1982) and Rutgers (2000,
2007) to the Final Four, making
her the first coach to guide three
different programs that far in the
postseason.
In her last 17 seasons in
Piscataway, Stringer has led
the Scarlet Knights to 14 NCAA
Tournaments. And now with
the thought of national success
still fresh in Rutgers’ mind,
Stringer is poised to have another
memorable season.
But she knows the Big Ten
won’t be a cakewalk even with
her team returning all of last
season’s starters.
“We know that (joining the
Big Ten is) going to be tough,”
Stringer said at Big Ten Media
Day in October. “I can’t think of
one team that is weak in the Big
Ten. … We do come with a veteran
team and one that is itching and
excited about the possibility of,
one, qualifying
for the NCAAs
and
(two),
going
much
further.”
Stringer
said
that
in
the Big Ten,
the
scouting
focus
would
need to shift
from athletes
to
coaches.
By taking a look at Barnes
Arico — who battled the Scarlet
Knights many times during her
10-year stint at St. Joseph’s —
Stringer will find a fresh coach
still developing a program.
Rutgers (1-2, 10-4) will need
its best players to fight Barnes
Arico’s hard-pressing strategy
to overcome its sluggish start to
the conference schedule.
Despite
returning
from
a
sprained
thumb,
forward
Betnijah Laney has been the
Scarlet Knights’ leading scorer
in their three Big Ten matchups
thus far. With four players taller
than her on the roster, Laney has
managed to become the team’s
leading rebounder with 163 —
18 more than Michigan senior
forward Cyesha Goree, who has
a four-inch advantage over the
6-foot Laney.
Rutgers will also look to
leading
scorer
Tyler
Scaife,
who is shooting a team-high 50
percent from beyond the arc
while averaging 16.6 points per
game — more than any Wolverine.
After being ranked the top point
guard in the country during her
recruitment, she was named the
2014 AAC Freshman of the Year
after a breakout season.
Michigan, meanwhile, is on
a hot streak. Freshman guard
Katelynn Flaherty hit five treys
against the Spartans, Goree has
registered five double-doubles in
her last six games and the team
has been smooth sailing since
its last loss, which came against
Wisconsin on Dec. 28.
But now, Barnes Arico’s team
will have its hands full against an
old Eastern foe.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Sophomore Adam Coon finished second as Michigan took fifth place at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Michigan
at Rutgers
Matchup:
Michigan 10-4;
Rutgers 10-4
When:
Wednesday
7 P.M.
Where: Rut-
gers Athletic
Center
TV/Radio:
BTN Plus
“I can’t think of
one team that is
weak in the Big
Ten.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan vs. Rutgers
3
Programs Vivian Stringer has led to the
Final Four
939
Career wins for Stringer
4
Michigan players averaging double-
digit scoring totals
0-3
Michigan’s road record, with losses to
Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Wisconsin
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Steve Racine led the Michigan hockey team to two wins at the Great Lakes Invitational, stopping 71 of 73 shots.
“This is exactly
what we needed
coming into the
second half of
the year.”
WOMEN’S SWIMMING
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL