2B — March 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
The things you don’t hear in
Michigan athletics
N
ever before has there
been a year as unpre-
dictable and unflatter-
ing in Michigan athletics.
The
football,
men’s
basketball
and hockey
teams all
failed to
make the
postseason.
Now, one
of the few
bright spots
at a time
when even Congress possibly
had a better year is the men’s
swimming and diving team,
which finished third at the
NCAA Championships this
weekend.
It’s a crazy time to be a
fan in Ann Arbor. So much is
changing and happening, so
many feats have been reached
that even the most seasoned
fans aren’t quite sure what to
expect. The one constant, when
the athletic director, football
coach and even PR staffs have
been replaced in the same
offseason, are the statements
everybody hears time after
time.
The “We just didn’t execute”
and “I have to do a better job
coaching” after losses. Or even
after wins: “We played great
one-pitch softball.” Even,
“We’re not looking ahead to
Ohio State.”
But some sentences have
never been uttered in the
history of Michigan athletics.
Some of them are just as
strange — perhaps worthy of
Rick Reilly’s ideas in the back
page of Sports Illustrated — as
the year going on right now:
“I’m not sure Jim Harbaugh
is the right guy for the football
program.”
“Guys, finish your drinks,
we’ve gotta get to the field
hockey game.”
“I’ll say it again, Red
Berenson is ready to rock the
cover of GQ.”
“Gee, I’ll tell ya, I don’t know
how they’re going to fit all
the students into the student
section at the Big House this
year.”
“I’ve never been intimidated
by Hutch. I mean, I just don’t
understand how she’s supposed
to inspire her team. Maybe
she’s past her prime?”
“I don’t know what makes
these gymnasts so special.
Anybody could stick a
Yurchenko one-and-a-half,
right?”
“There
goes John
Beilein on
another one
of his loud,
uneducated
tirades again.
Guy can’t
control his
temper.”
“Are you
going to head to the men’s golf
invite right after class, or are
you going home first?”
“Nah, the hockey team said
they were tired of Rick’s. Think
they said they would rather stay
in, maybe watch a movie.”
“Yeah, Adam Coon, I’m
talking to you, all 6-foot-5, 285
pounds of you. ‘You’re soft.’ ”
“Crap, there aren’t any
tickets left for Saturday’s
women’s rowing regatta.”
“I’m serious, we’ve gotta
hurry if we’re going to make
it to the field hockey game on
time.”
“Don’t worry, I should
definitely be back in time
tonight after the baseball
team’s doubleheader. They
don’t run very long.”
“Sometimes, I think there
are too many people covering
women’s water polo. I can’t
even be on Twitter for 10
minutes without someone
talking about it.”
“No, Mr. five-star recruit, the
weather doesn’t get that cold up
here. You really won’t notice.”
“Time Magazine’s 10 most
secure jobs today: Michigan
Athletic Director.”
“What do you mean you
didn’t go to the soccer game?
It’s so close to everything on
campus.”
“Do you ever think that
sometimes the Michigan
communications staff gives
the media too
much access?”
“How are
the men’s
and women’s
track and field
teams always
shattering
attendance
records?”
“No mom,
I was just sleeping in before
the football game. It started at
noon, after all.”
“Yeah Alejandro, I’m telling
you, the Michigan volleyball
team was absolutely checking
you out.”
“I get all my gear from the
M-Den, since everything is so
appropriately priced.”
“Has anyone heard anything
good about this guy Jabrill
Peppers?”
“Yeah, I think Spike Albrecht
definitely has a chance to go out
with Kate Upton.”
“I don’t know about you, but
the Maize Rage would probably
be better if it wasn’t in the
lower bowl.”
“And for the sixth
consecutive time, the State
News has defeated The
Michigan Daily at football. The
better journalists win again.”
“I’m not sure Michigan has
enough depth at quarterback
this year. It should probably get
another one before the season
starts.”
“The basketball team can’t
win unless it recruits like Duke
or Kentucky. Beilein can never
make it work.”
“I’m tired of the women’s
basketball team always being
talked about. Why do they get
all the credit?”
“Alright, last chance. We
either get to field hockey before
the gates open or we don’t get
in at all.”
“One of these days, the
men’s swimming team is
bound to win a conference
championship.”
“God, where can a man find
some khakis in Ann Arbor
these days?”
“They upgraded the lacrosse
facilities again? Geeze, they get
all the nice stuff.”
“Do you think there will be
enough time to drink before
this year’s night game?”
“Don’t forget, today’s guest
lecturer on e-mail etiquette,
Dave Brandon, is speaking at
12:52. Don’t be late.”
“That Garno kid sure seems
like a well reasoned, thoughtful
young man. I don’t know if I’ve
ever read something of his I
didn’t like.”
Has something in here actually
been said? You can tell Garno
at ggarno@umich.edu or on
Twitter: @G_Garno. Complaints
can be sent to @jakelourim.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
GREG
GARNO
It’s a crazy time
to be a fan in
Ann Arbor.
‘M’ places third at NCAAs
By RAJAT KHARE
Daily Sports Editor
Senior Bruno Ortiz strode
somberly behind fellow seniors
Richard
Funk
and
Justin
Glanda. Before reaching the
podium, he looked up, took in
the moment and wiped away at
his left eye. He realized then,
perhaps, that this moment would
be the last time the lights would
ever shine as bright as they had
throughout his illustrious career
at Michigan.
At the end of the three days
at the Campus Wellness and
Recreation
Center
in
Iowa
City, the fifth-ranked Michigan
men’s swimming team finished
in third-place at the NCAA
Championships.
After a dominant regular
season,
one
in
which
the
Wolverines
were
undefeated
in the Big Ten, followed up
with a fifth straight Big Ten
Championship, it was the final
accolade earned by the seniors
under the block ‘M’ banner.
First place at NCAAs wasn’t
expected of this team, but it
would have been the perfect way
to end the script.
“Richard Funk gave a speech
to the team at the end of the
meet of how proud he was of the
team because we don’t have the
talent of teams that we competed
against,” said Michigan coach
Mike Bottom. “But we have the
work ethic, and we have the
ability to be creative and make
changes and stand up to some
of these teams that have a little
more talent, actually a lot more
talent than we do.”
Qualifying
five
freshmen
out of a group of 12 swimmers,
Michigan
always
knew
it
would be a tall order to send
off its seniors with their second
national championship in four
years. To accomplish the feat,
it would have to defeat the
toughest competition it faced
all season, going up against
perennial powerhouses Texas,
Florida and California.
At the conclusion of day one,
Michigan sat in fourth place, just
14 and three points out of second
and third place, respectively.
And it was the upperclassmen,
Ortiz and junior Anders Nielsen,
leading
the
way,
helping
Michigan finish with 105 points.
“My goal for the team was
a top-five finish,” Bottom said.
“We lost such a great class
last year with Connor Jaeger
and Mike Wynalda, and the
list goes on and on and on. No
one expected that class to be
replaced, but this team actually
had a better finish than that
class. It just shows the character
of this senior class that led this
team: Justin Glanda, Bruno
Ortiz and Richard Funk.”
Ortiz
helped
Michigan
score its first points of the
Championships,
anchoring
the 200-yard freestyle relay
team of freshman Paul Powers,
sophomore Vincent Tafuto and
Glanda to a seventh-place finish.
He followed up the effort with a
fourth-place finish in the 400-
yard medley relay alongside
freshman Aaron Whitaker, Funk
and junior Dylan Bosch with
a seventh-place finish in the
50-yard freestyle in between.
“When I was a freshman,
sophomore and junior, I wanted
to score points for the team,
just simply, just that,” Ortiz
said. “Right now (as a senior),
I just want to inspire the team
and thinking that this is my last
chance to represent Michigan,
I want to give the freshmen a
message of how to represent
Michigan.”
Though Ortiz swam in six
races on the day, it was Nielsen
who had the highest individual
finish for the Wolverines on the
night, placing fourth in the 500-
yard freestyle. Clocking in at
4:12.16, Nielsen set a career best
for himself and etched his name
in Michigan’s record books as
the fourth-fastest time ever in
the event.
Day
two
saw
veteran
members of the squad step up,
as it was Nielsen who again
had the highest finish for the
Wolverines. A runner up in the
200-yard freestyle team with a
time of 1:32.72, Nielsen posted
the second-fastest time in school
history in the event.
In
the
relays,
though,
Michigan faltered, missing out
on the finals in the 200-yard
medley. A strength of the team
all year, the relay team instead
had to settle for a first-place
finish in the consolation final.
Despite the medley result, the
Wolverines were able to add to
their point total by way of fifth-
and seventh-place finishes in
the 100-yard breaststroke from
Funk and Ortiz, respectively.
Clocking in at 51.65 and 51.68, the
pair became the first swimmers
to break the 52-second mark for
Michigan.
Clinging onto a slim overall
lead on day three, Michigan
was uplifted by an unexpected
performance
from
freshman
PJ Ransford. Competing in the
1,650-yard freestyle, Ransford
nearly pulled off a stunning
finish. He led for most of the
event but was unable to hold
off a push from Matias Koski of
Georgia, placing him second in
the event with a 14:34.36.
“(Coach Bottom) just said to
stay focused, swim for the team,
swim for Michigan and you’ll be
fine,” Ransford said. “They just
kept saying that over and over,
and it all worked out well for all
of us.”
Still without an outright win,
relay or otherwise, Michigan was
hopeful it would come in the 200-
yard butterfly by way of another
upperclassman in Bosch. He won
the event in 2014, setting the
NCAA record with a 1:39.33.
Bosch seemed to go stroke for
stroke with Jack Conger from
Texas out of the blocks. Down
the stretch, though, Conger’s
teammate
Joseph
Schooling
came from behind, out-touching
both Conger and Bosch, sending
the latter to a third-place finish.
By the time the final event
of the 400-yard freestyle relay
rolled around, Texas, California
and
Michigan
had
already
secured their first-, second- and
third-place finishes, respectively.
The quartet of Powers, Nielsen,
Glanda and Ortiz placed sixth
in the event, but, at that point,
it was all about enjoying the last
swim for Michigan for the two
seniors.
“This pool, this Iowa pool,
it was my first championship
meet here my freshman year and
even Big Ten’s, the first year it
was here,” Ortiz said. “And even
ending my career here, I don’t
know, it’ s just so many memories
as a whole, and, each race, those
memories came back to me.”
When the Wolverines walk
back into Canham Natatorium
next year, there won’t be an
NCAA Championship banner
hanging from the 2014-2015
season to greet them. And there
won’t be an NCAA event title
to defend. Instead, there will
be hardware in the trophy case
anointing
them
third-place
finishers at the Championships.
But for a team with little
business being in third place, for
Ortiz, Funk and Glanda, perhaps
the ending was fitting of the
memories they had created at
Michigan.
ZACH MOORE/Daily
Bruno Ortiz swam six races on the first day, helping Michigan to 105 points.
Michigan can’t
solve Maryland
By BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men’s lacrosse
team didn’t bring the right
demolition crew to College Park
on Sunday when it tried to smash
through the nation’s No. 1 defense.
It took the Wolverines nearly
the entire first half to find their
opening goal, as the Maryland
defense kept them in check on
the way to a 13-4 victory.
In addition to facing the nation’s
top defense, junior specialist Brad
Lott had his hands full taking
faceoffs against the Terrapins’
senior midfielder Charlie Raffa,
who ranks in the top 10 nationally
in faceoff win percentage. Raffa
dominated all Michigan faceoff
men he faced, winning 11 of his 14
draws on the day.
“There’s not really a lot you
can do when the other team
is dominating faceoffs,” said
Michigan coach John Paul. “It’s
such a tough matchup. (Raffa is)
one of the top faceoff men in the
country, and there’s not a magic
pill you take and suddenly start
winning faceoffs against top
guys.”
Heading into the half, it
appeared the Wolverines (0-1
Big Ten, 4-5 overall) were still
within arm’s reach of catching
up to No. 3 Maryland (9-1, 1-0).
Junior midfielder Kyle Jackson
netted Michigan’s opening goal
with 67 seconds left in the half,
bringing the Wolverines within
three goals of the Terrapins.
Before Jackson’s goal, the
Michigan
offense
looked
completely incapable of breaking
down Maryland’s solid defense,
struggling to maintain possession
and find a finishing touch on
shooting. The Wolverines were
especially vulnerable due to
weak stick work, giving up a total
of 11 turnovers Sunday.
Michigan
was
without
sophomore attacker Ian King,
who, despite being out the last
four games, still leads the team
in scoring. While replacing an
attacker as talented as King has
been nearly impossible, Paul still
needs the Wolverines’ starting
attackers to pick up some of the
slack, something they failed to do
so against Maryland.
“Our attackmen need to be
more explosive,” Paul said. “They
need to be challenging their
defensemen a little more. Maybe
that’s where (King) can help us
in the coming weeks, but we still
need some of these guys to step
up consistently and win games
and own that.”
On the other side of the field,
Michigan’s
defense
absorbed
attack after attack from a slow
and methodical Terrapin offense.
After conceding three goals in
the first quarter, Michigan held
Maryland to only one goal in the
next period despite the Terrapins’
advantage in possession.
Six minutes into the second
half, though, the Wolverines’
defense
couldn’t
hold
the
Terrapins’
attack
back
any
longer. Maryland went on a
5-0 run over the course of five
minutes, putting itself up eight
and crushing any hopes of a
Michigan comeback.
The Wolverines were able to
score three goals after halftime,
including freshman midfielder
Patrick Tracy’s first career goal.
Tracy received extended minutes
and also earned his first assist off
of Jackson’s first goal.
“It felt nice to finally contribute
to the team,” Tracy said. “(It)
feels good to finally get over the
hump and be able to help the
team anyway I can. Personally,
sticking to my strengths worked,
especially with the assist.”
There was very little that
went right for Michigan on
Sunday, but Tracy and Jackson’s
performances highlighted the
Wolverines’ depth in midfield,
which will be crucial in upcoming
games.
With the matchup against the
Big Ten favorite in Maryland out
of the way, Michigan will focus
this week on a crucial game
against Rutgers. With a fourth-
place or better finish still a strong
possibility for the Wolverines,
they will surely refocus and carry
forward some positives from
Sunday.
“We talked about in the locker
room afterward how our goals
are still there and we still have
incredible opportunities in front
of us,” Paul said. “The guys
were talking about that right
after the game, and I think they
understand how good Maryland
is, but a lot of things have to go
right to beat those guys, and
we’re not the only ones who have
figured that out.”
MEN’S LACROSSE