The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 — 7

‘M’ looks to create energy

By ZACH SHAW 

Daily Sports Writer

COLUMBUS — When senior 

forward Zach Hyman scored 
his second goal of the game 5:36 
into the first period to give the 
Michigan hockey team a 2-0 
lead, the celebratory banging 
of gloves and sticks was heard 
loud and clear even from the 
highest parts of the building. 
The rest of Value City Arena 
was shockingly quiet.

The 
fans 
in 
Columbus— 

all 
8,156 
of 
them 
— 
had 

been silenced early. For the 
Wolverines, that meant mission 
accomplished.

“I think it was huge,” said 

sophomore 
forward 
Tyler 

Motte. “We’re just trying to 
focus on our system and play 
our game every night, no matter 
what building we’re in and no 
matter what energy there is.

“We’re trying to create our 

own energy.”

The 10-6 win at Ohio State 

marked the start of an eight-
game road trip for No. 16 
Michigan. The stretch away 
from home comes after playing 
11 of 12 games in Southeast 
Michigan — two in Detroit for 

the Great Lakes Invitational 
and nine at the friendly confines 
of Yost Ice Arena.

The lone trip outside of the 

state was to Boston, where the 
Wolverines fell to then-No. 16 
Boston College, 5-1 — the team’s 
only loss since Nov. 21.

After starting the season 1-5 

on the road, the Wolverines 
needed to start fast in the 
unfamiliar environment Friday. 
Thanks to the early offensive 
execution, the 10-6 win showed 
that the Wolverines are capable 
of doing just that.

“Zach got us out to a good 

start,” said Michigan coach 
Red Berenson. “With (Friday)’s 
game, you could say we won 
the game and we scored a lot of 
goals, but we gave up six goals.

“Had they scored the first 

two or three goals and we had 
to play catch-up in this building, 
it could’ve been a different 
outcome.”

Behind 
Hyman’s 
goals, 

Michigan hushed the crowd. 
With 
two 
more 
goals 
in 

the 
period, 
the 
Wolverines 

successfully sucked the life 
from the stands, leaving only 
their own energy to control the 
game.

But in the third period, three 

consecutive 
Buckeye 
scores 

evaporated Michigan’s five-goal 
lead and brought the remaining 
fans to their feet. It was a 
crude glimpse for Michigan of 
what can happen when it plays 
passively on the road.

“It’s a game of momentum 

too,” 
Berenson 
said. 
“We 

had momentum for parts of 
the game, but when they had 
momentum, 
it 
was 
really 

obvious.

“We 
didn’t 
like 
the 

momentum and the way things 
were going — the puck was 
going in too easy.”

Friday, the Wolverines travel 

to Madison, where they haven’t 
won since 2006. Though the 
Badgers are just 2-13-3 on the 
season, Michigan players know 
that 
come 
conference 
play, 

there simply are no breaks on 
the road.

“We 
got 
the 
bounces 

(Friday),” Motte said. “But it’s 
easy to see that game going the 
other way if we didn’t get that 
extra bounce or two.

“Obviously, we’ve got to find 

a way to win on the road if we’re 
going to compete in the Big 
Ten.”

Wolverines claw back to 
top Wildcats on road

Michigan’s strong 
second half erases 

early deficit for 
first road win

By MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Writer

After just three minutes, the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team was down 9-0, and it 
seemed like the Wolverines’ 
road woes traveled with them to 
Evanston.

But tonight was different.
This time, the home team’s 

lead 
evaporated 
before 

the 
Wolverines 
took 
an 

insurmountable lead en route to 
a 73-66 win over Northwestern 
on Saturday night.

Unlike at Rutgers, where the 

Wolverines closed a 19-point 
deficit to zero before going 
behind again, Michigan took 
the lead in the second half and 
never looked back.

But it was the defense that 

Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico attributed most to the 
comeback.

“It 
really 

started 
with 

our defense,” 
Barnes Arico 
said. “In the 
first 
half, 

they went up 
early and we 
switched our 
defense 
and 

kind of slowed 
them down a 
little bit.”

The 
Wolverines 
started 

out the game playing a full-
court 
press, 
which 
worked 

successfully against opponents 
such as Michigan State and, at 
times, Ohio State.

But the Wildcats were ready 

for the defense and broke the 
press early and often with top 
scorers Maggie Lyon and Nia 
Coffey getting easy buckets in 
transition.

So Barnes Arico changed up 

her defense to the only thing 
that would keep the top scorers 
in check: half-court man-to-
man defense.

And it worked like a charm, 

with Coffey finishing with just 
six points.

“Early, we tried to press them 

and they broke that and got a 
bunch of baskets in transition,” 
Barnes Arico said. “Then we 
tried to go 2-3 on misses, and 
we really weren’t able to locate 
the scorers in transition. So we 
just played half-court man, and 
it was effective for us.”

On the other end of the court, 

senior guard Shannon Smith 
and sophomore guard Siera 
Thompson led the way with 
20 points apiece. But the way 
each obtained their points was 
different.

Smith scored most of her 

points in transition, including 
an acrobatic layup late in the 

first half that 
awed even the 
Northwestern 
bench.

“(Smith 

has) 
been 

incredible,” 
Barnes Arico 
said. 
“She’s 

been 
playing 

at 
another 

level. We want 
the ball in her 

hands when the shot clock is 
running down because she’s 
able to make some big plays for 
us.”

For Thompson, she stuck 

with her bread and butter: the 
3-point shot.

On a night where freshman 

guard Katelynn Flaherty — 
Michigan’s 
leading 
scorer 

— went 0-for-5 from behind 
the arc, Thompson excelled, 
hitting five of nine 3-point shots 
including key shots at the ends 
of both halves.

Down low, senior forward 

Cyesha Goree was her usual self 
and led the way for the bigs with 
16 points. But senior forward 
Nicole Elmblad led the team in 
rebounds with nine.

While Michigan still has a 

tough schedule ahead with the 
bulk of the Big Ten schedule 
still remaining, a win over a 
team undefeated at home will 
do wonders for a team that has 
struggled on the road.

“Anytime you have a win 

against a really good opponent, 
it gives you confidence,” Barnes 
Arico said. “If you can do it on 
the road, even better, and if you 
can do it and play well like we 
did in the second half tonight, I 
think it’s definitely going to help 
us moving forward.”

Najarian closes 
out home victory

Freshman not 
fazed by late 

tension

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

Alex Najarian’s serve was on 

fire.

After a barrage of aces, her 

opponent from South Florida, 
Olga Martinez, tried to use a 
common stall tactic: icing the 
server.

Fans at the Varsity Tennis 

Center 
groaned 
after 
her 

opponent 
took 
what 
they 

thought was too long to search 
for a rogue ball. Fresh off a 
couple 
of 
aces, 
Michigan’s 

freshman standout was unfazed 
by the wait.

Najarian had to fight through 

her emotional opponent. After 
winning the first set handily, 
6-1, Najarian battled to win the 
second set of her last match of 
the tournament, 7-5.

Martinez yelled either with 

jubilation or disappointment 
after 
every 
point. 
Najarian 

simply smiled to the crowd as 
it whispered about Martinez’s 
antics. Najarian later jokingly 
called her opponent’s tactics 
annoying, but said she respected 
her play.

“She started playing better by 

picking up her game a little bit, 
and I backed off when she was 
doing so,” Najarian said. “I just 
needed to step it up a little more 
and take control of the points. 
I did that in the end, which 
helped me.”

Najarian has been working on 

being more aggressive since the 
fall, and it showed on Monday. 
Her overheads and serves were 
noticeably powerful, keeping 
her opponents off balance. She 
picked up aces at crucial times, 
especially in her last match.

“She’s kind of changed the 

way she’s played from the (ITA) 
Juniors,” said Michigan coach 

Ronni Bernstein. “She was a 
little more defensive and (now) 
she’s coming forward more.”

Najarian, 
a 
three-time 

state 
champion, 
three-time 

All-American and last year’s 
Michigan High School Athlete 
of the Year, has already made an 
impact on the team. She went 
undefeated over the weekend 
in both singles (playing at the 
No. 3, 4 and 5 positions) and 
doubles, where she is in the No. 
1 position and ranked No. 10 in 
the nation.

Her success in both makes it 

tough for even Najarian herself 
to decide where she excels more. 
But she does have a preference.

“I 
like 
doubles 
better,” 

Najarian said. “I like having 
another person out there.”

Although 
team 
points 

weren’t scored in the Michigan 
Invitational, 
Najarian 
will 

certainly 
contribute 
to 
the 

Wolverines’ 
success 
as 
the 

season progresses.

“She’s come a long way in 

four months. She’s been doing 
a great job and has been a great 
addition,” Bernstein said. “She’s 
going to compete day in and day 
out, and that’s all I can ask for.”

Najarian lost only one singles 

match in her entire high school 
career. The college game isn’t 
much different, but it comes 
with heightened competition 
and pressure. Though Najarian 
has 
tweaked 
her 
playing 

technique and strategy to be 
more successful at the college 
level, Bernstein has the utmost 
confidence in her to achieve.

“She’s hopefully going to get 

more confidence in what she’s 
doing,” Bernstein said. “She’s 
playing more different and 
offensive, and hopefully the 
results will come.”

As 
Najarian’s 
confidence 

grows, she and the team will 
improve and learn, for this year 
and the years to come. At the 
same time, her opponents will 
learn something as well: You 
can’t ice Alex Najarian.

Coon, Murphy strong in defeat

Michigan can’t 
overcome early 
deficit in loss to 

Ohio State

By OLIVER HENRY

For the Daily

Brian Murphy raised his 

arms in triumph. He overcame 
the odds and beat his nationally 
ranked competitor as the sold-
out crowd in Cliff Keen Arena 
erupted in cheers.

In spite of Murphy’s efforts, 

though, the Michigan wrestling 
team dropped its home opener to 
No. 4 Ohio State by a total score 
of 25-15. Despite surging after 
intermission, the Wolverines 
were unable to climb back into 
the match and earn the victory.

Ohio State (2-1 Big Ten, 7-3 

overall) boasts a catalog of 
highly ranked wrestlers who 
dominated Michigan early in 
the bout. In three successive 
fights, the Buckeyes posted two 
majority decisions and a pin to 
jump out to an early 15-0 lead.

From 
there, 
Ohio 
State 

cruised to a victory, as the 
Wolverines 
were 
visibly 

demoralized.

But all was not lost for 

Michigan, as it salvaged a few 
prized victories.

Sophomore Brian Murphy 

was one of the Wolverines’ 
bright spots, improving his 
personal record to 14-6 and 
taking down the No. 5 wrestler 
in the country in the 157-pound 
weight class. During the match, 
Murphy and his opponent, Josh 
Demas, remained even through 
the first period.

But at the beginning of the 

second period, Murphy chose to 
begin in the down position and 
escaped Demas’ hold to earn 
himself a point and the lead. 
Murphy surged to a 3-1 lead 
with a takedown entering the 
third period before he decisively 
earned his team three points 
with a powerful takedown.

“Before the match I try to tell 

myself if I get a lead, I gotta score 
again,” Murphy said. “So I put 

the match away, and it felt really 
good to get that last takedown.”

Murphy’s 
victory 
is 
an 

example of the kind of grit and 
determination that Michigan 
coach Joe McFarland has tried 
to instill in all his wrestlers. He 
firmly believes that toughness 
and 
determination 
are 
the 

key contributors to success in 
wrestling matches.

“We’ve got 

to have that 
toughness 
in 
those 

moments,” 
McFarland 
said. “We have 
got to be the 
ones firing off 
those shots.”

Other 

shining 
moments 
in 

the defeat for Michigan (1-2, 
3-3) 
were 
majority-decision 

victories by freshman Alec 
Pantaleo 
and 
sophomore 

Domenic 
Abounader. 
Both 

wrestlers fought for six tireless 
minutes to earn victories and 
a combined six points for the 
Wolverines.

But 
the 
most 
impressive 

performance of the night for 

Michigan came from sophomore 
captain Adam Coon.

After a disappointing outing 

for the Wolverines throughout 
the day, the heavyweight was 
the last to step on the mat. And 
he did not disappoint, putting 
on a clinic instead.

Coon quickly earned two 

points by taking down his 
opponent, and with still 1:22 

left in just the 
first 
period, 

he 
secured 

a pin to give 
Michigan 
15 

total 
points 

for the match. 
Coon, ranked 
No. 8 in his 
weight 
class, 

improved 
to 

19-2 
in 
his 

career 
after 

the victory.

“Coon’s 
approach 
is 

everything, 
bottom 
line 
— 

just the way he approaches 
his academics, the way he 
approaches our workouts, our 
training and his competitions,” 
McFarland said. “He’s great in 
all those areas, and he’s really 
focused and he’s got a lot of 
character, too.”

Despite 
a 
few 
hard-

fought 
victories, 
the 
team 

was 
underwhelmed 
by 
its 

performance.

“I feel like we didn’t get the 

job done today, but I feel like 
our team is capable of beating 
these 
guys,” 
said 
Murphy. 

“But we have some even better 
opponents coming up, so we just 
gotta prepare like we always 
have.”

McFarland, 
in 
particular, 

was unhappy with the effort 
and toughness his wrestlers put 
forth on the mat.

“If you want to beat a team 

like Ohio State in Cliff Keen 
Arena, you better be able to lay 
it on the line, and you better 
be able to really gut out an 
incredible 
performance 
to 

win 
those 
tough 
matches,” 

McFarland said. “That’s what 
it takes to win a national 
championship, that’s what it 
takes to be an All-American, 
and that’s what it takes to win a 
Big Ten title.”

While Michigan’s loss to Ohio 

State sets it back on its quest for 
a conference championship, the 
Wolverines will get a chance to 
right the ship on Friday when 
Wisconsin comes to town.

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

Sophomore forward Tyler Motte scored two goals and added an assist in Michigan’s 10-goal outburst at Ohio State.

“We switched our 
defense and kind 
of slowed them 
down a little bit.”

BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan Women’s Basketball

20

Point totals for guards Siera Thompson 

and Shannon Smith

13

Largest deficit overcome by Michigan 

at Northwestern
55.6

3-point shooting percentage by 

Thompson (5-for-9)
10

Northwestern blocked shots against 

Michigan

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ANDREW COHEN/Daily

Sophomore Brian Murphy improved to 14-6 after a victory over No. 5 Josh Demas at the 157-pound class.

“Coon’s 

approach is 
everything, 
bottom line.”

WOMEN’S TENNIS