Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Tuesday, February 17, 2015 — 7 Culture keys program By BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men’s lacrosse team isn’t your typical program. In just their fourth year of competition, the Wolverines believe they have an opportunity to shake up not only the traditional mold of successful lacrosse programs, but also the landscape of Michigan athletics as a whole. For Michigan coach John Paul, the identity of the program begins with its youth. Despite only winning five games last season, Paul has managed to bring in a top-10 recruiting class. What’s surprising about the Wolverines’ meteoric rise up the national recruiting boards is how, by the numbers, it looks like Michigan is behind in almost every statistical category on the field. In his first recruiting classes, Paul laid the foundation that made his program unlike any other in the nation in order to attract quality players. Perhaps more than any coach, Paul has relied on marketing the Michigan brand to prospective players more than the sport itself. “Academics and the setting of Michigan has had a big effect on what we do,” Paul said. “The reality with lacrosse is we don’t have leagues you’re going to make millions of dollars playing in.” Paul’s overall vision is to attract and develop players who are well rounded in everything they do. The scoreboard victories, Paul believes, will come as a result of victories around campus and in his players’ overall lives. “You have a group of kids who are committed to overall being good people,” said freshman midfielder Parker McKee. “I think that’s shown through thus far and will continue to show the next four years.” On the field, the Wolverines are still discovering who they are, and the ongoing development of Michigan lacrosse has been a real draw for players. “No matter what sport you’re playing, tradition is important at Michigan,” said freshman midfielder PJ Bogle. “Being able to create the tradition and the culture within the first years of the program is special.” Along with drawing recruits, the Wolverines are creating a program built around their current players. With a new stadium in the works and countless resources off the field, Michigan lacrosse is growing, and that’s something its players are excited about. “Being a new program, everything Michigan did seemed very progressive,” McKee said. “Training, academic programs, facilities, everything’s new for us. We’re not falling into an old system that needs to be revamped. We’re jumping into something reaching for success right away.” Though there are many opportunities available to the Wolverines’ talented freshmen, Paul has made it clear to the first-year class that time on the field is not a given. And despite an accomplished recruiting class, the young program still has many holes to fill. But like he has done thus far, Paul will find a way to make up the deficit. Behind every great team, there has to be a great coach getting all his players to buy in, and Paul does that just as well as anyone in the country. It’s not every day a club team gets picked to become a varsity program, but with Paul leading the way, Michigan and its strong culture is already breaking the tradition of powerhouse programs by creating a tradition of its own. “Coach Paul is definitely a visionary,” Bogle said. “I think this year and beyond, we’re going to turn a lot of heads and surprise a lot of people. We owe a lot of that to (Paul).” SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily John Paul has been a driving force in establishing his program’s culture. Copp sidelined with upper-body injury By JEREMY SUMMITT Daily Sports Editor The injury bug continues to come and go for the Michigan hockey team. Michigan coach Red Berenson announced Monday that junior forward Andrew Copp sustained an upper-body injury in Satur- day’s game at Minnesota and is doubtful to play in the Wolver- ines’ upcoming series against Ohio State. Copp was unavailable for com- ment, but Berenson said Copp would be listed as week-to-week. Though Copp’s injury will leave a massive hole at center on Michigan’s top line, senior for- ward Travis Lynch is expected to return this week from a fractured wrist he suffered Jan. 10. Lynch has been skating in non- contact drills the past week, and Berenson confirmed he should be inserted into the lineup this weekend barring any setback. Lynch is an integral part of the Wolverines’ penalty-killing unit, and he has scored five goals as the team’s fourth-line center. The senior won’t be the player to assume Copp’s role, but his return should certainly help bol- ster what would have been a thin lineup if both players were absent from the line chart. Instead, Berenson said sophomore for- ward JT Compher will return to center, flanked by sophomore forward Tyler Motte and a player to be named later on Michigan’s top line. Copp has scored 13 goals this season to go along with 11 assists, good for 24 points in 25 games. Five of those 13 goals have come on the power play. “The big loss right now is Copp,” Berenson said. “I mean, that’s a huge loss to our team, and we got to pick up the slack from that.” He sustained the upper-body injury with 8:46 remaining in the second period of Saturday’s game. Copp dropped off a pass at the offensive blue line that was intercepted, springing Minneso- ta’s Travis Boyd on a breakaway. Copp bolted back to the Wolverines’ zone to stymie the Gophers’ scoring chance. Instead, he got tangled up with Boyd. Both players crashed into the boards, and it seemed that Copp’s left arm and shoulder had absorbed the impact. After trainers tended to him for several minutes, Copp slowly skated off the ice at Mariucci Arena and headed straight for the locker room, holding his left arm tightly against his waist. After the game, his arm remained in that same position unwrapped and unstabilized. It looked as if it could have been a long-term injury, but Michigan caught a break when it needed it most. “Well, you never know. You never know,” Berenson said. “I’m glad it wasn’t.” Senior forward Andrew Sinelli and senior defenseman Mike Chiasson are also recovering from minor undisclosed injuries. However, Berenson expects them to fully participate in practice this week. PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Andrew Copp is unlikely to play in this weekend’s series against Ohio State. Goree’s foul trouble hurts Michigan By JACOB GASE Daily Sports Writer In a tumultuous season, the Michigan women’s basketball team has shown that it fre- quently lives and dies with its best player: senior forward Cye- sha Goree. The Wolverines’ best stretch of the Big Ten season — a 4-1 January surge including wins over Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State and North- western — was fueled in large part by Goree’s 18.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Over the entire season, Goree’s 14.4 points per game and 55.1 shooting percentage make her both Michigan’s lead- ing scorer and its most efficient. But in the Wolverines’ last three games — all losses, by no coincidence — Goree just wasn’t able to stay on the floor. In the losses to Rutgers, Ohio State and Northwestern, Goree committed 13 total fouls and played just 26 minutes per game. Prior to the losing streak, Goree was averaging 33 min- utes. Without her, Michigan was unable to muster any semblance of offense or defense — in sepa- rate second-half collapses, the Wolverines allowed a 12-0 run to the Buckeyes and suffered a six-minute scoring drought in a last-second loss against the Wildcats. “Cyesha gets in foul trouble, and it just changes the dynam- ics of our team,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “Even if she’s not scoring, she gives an inside presence, and that changes what teams do against us defensively.” Goree’s inside presence is something no one on Michi- gan’s roster can match, espe- cially defensively. Senior forward Nicole Elmblad has stepped up her game as of late to make up for Goree’s extend- ed absences. She has 22 points and 21 rebounds over the last two games, but the 5-foot-11 ex- guard playing power forward can only do so much. Beyond Elmblad, just about all of the Wolverines’ key players are offensive-minded guards, including senior Shan- non Smith, junior Madison Ristovski, sophomore Siera Thomp- son and fresh- man Katelynn Flaherty. And even when given opportuni- ties to come out victori- ous without Goree, those shooters haven’t been able to capitalize without her presence commanding attention in the middle. “I thought we had some good looks, and we got to the line,” Barnes Arico said after the Northwestern loss. “And normally we make those free throws. ... (To avoid scoring droughts), you get people to stay out of foul trouble. You get peo- ple to make shots.” As Michigan’s only true post player, it’s unavoidable for Goree to pick up at least a few fouls per game — she has been whistled two times or fewer in just five games this season. But consid- ering how depleted the Wolverines look without Goree, Barnes Arico wants to see fewer inci- dents like the over-aggressive dive for the ball that brought Goree her second foul in the first half against Northwestern. “It was the third or the fourth foul when she was hold- ing the back of the kid’s shirt — I think that she has got to remain disciplined,” Barnes Arico said. “It’s extremely difficult because people are attacking her all the time, but she’s got to keep her discipline about her and not give up silly ones.” At this crucial stretch of the season, Michigan needs Goree on the floor more than ever. The Wolverines (6-8 Big Ten, 14-11 overall) have just four games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament, and they may need to win all four and pick up multiple wins in the tournament to keep their fad- ing NCAA Tournament chances alive. Michigan currently sits at eighth place in the Big Ten, meaning any conference tour- nament run would likely have to go through No. 5 Maryland, which is undefeated in the con- ference and beat the Wolverines by 26 at Crisler Center on Jan. 29. Unless Michigan proves it can score and defend without Goree in the paint, any more foul trouble down the stretch could spell doom for the Wol- verines’ postseason aspirations. RITA MORRIS/Daily Cyesha Goree has committed 13 total fouls and played just 26 minutes per game in Michigan’s last three losses. “I think that she has got to remain disciplined.” Friends on land, teammates in pool By SYLVANNA GROSS Daily Sports Writer Despite knowing her for a little more than a year, fresh- man Hannah Moore doesn’t have a shortage of good things to say about new best friend and teammate, freshman Clara Smiddy. “We’ve grown so close, we’re practically sisters at this point.” The pair has dominated competition for the Michi- gan women’s swimming team alongside their breakout fresh- man swimming teammates. Smiddy has twice been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, and Moore has consistently out-touched opponents. Most recently, Moore took second in both the 500-yard and 100- yard freestyle in the dual meet against Ohio State on Jan. 24. When Smiddy signed last year, Moore was quick to get in contact with someone she had only vaguely known about through elite youth swimming circles. “I heard of (Smiddy) and knew she was a really talent- ed swimmer, so when I found out we had both committed, I got her number and texted her immediately,” Moore said “But technically, we first met at Winter Junior Nationals last year.” And according to Smiddy, they have been best friends ever since. Over the past year, the power couple has raced not only together in Michigan, but also at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China over the sum- mer. “It’s good to have some- one in college who has been through the same experienc- es,” Smiddy said. Moore says she and Smiddy were practically inseperable when they were abroad. They also bonded with future team- mate, freshman PJ Ransford, in China. Middy and Moore agreed that the atmosphere in Nanjing was subpar compared to the intensity at Canham Natatori- um where there meets are loud and raucous. And both definitely agree that Michigan has comple- mented the bond that they have formed, with the two seamlessly transitioning from teammates in the pool to best friends and roommates on land. “A lot of the times we’ll just sit next to each other and study and just enjoy each other’s company,” Moore said. “So it’s not all swimming talk all the time … but there is plenty of swimming talk. I don’t feel like we even compete against each other, because we’re both so happy if the other one does well.” The obvious camaraderie between the two Wolverines is emphasized by their ability to finish each other’s sentences, their joy at the other doing well in a competition and, weirdly, their sleeping habits. They tend to wake up at the exact same time in the middle of the night, and because of their grueling practice sched- ule, their bodies have become programmed to wake up natu- rally at 5:30 a.m. almost every day. The friends find the early wake-up funny but annoying. They spend almost every second outside of class togeth- er. Moore is pursuing the sci- ences, whereas Smiddy is focusing on social sciences. “Surprisingly, we get along really well,” Smiddy joked. And even though the two won’t be rooming together next year, they still plan on seeing each other every day. “Let’s face it,” Smiddy said. “Nothing will change.” WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING