8 — Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Brooke Parker finds fit at Michigan

By CINDY YU

Daily Sports Writer

In just her second year on the 

Michigan women’s gymnastics 
team, Brooke Parker was voted 
captain by her teammates.

“That, in and of itself, speaks 

volumes,” said Michigan coach 
Bev Plocki.

Plocki 
emphasized 
the 

significance of the team voting 
for its captains, as they have 
the responsibility of leading the 
team. It is important for them to 
be respected, approachable and 
trustworthy.

Parker epitomizes all of the 

above, and more.

The 
senior 
from 
Lorton, 

Virginia 
transferred 
from 

Alabama after her sophomore 
year. She offers a unique angle 
to the sixth-ranked Wolverines 
(18-0 Big Ten, 21-2 overall), 
given that she started her career 
somewhere else.

“She’s very quick to bring 

another perspective and remind 
people that they have it better 
than 
most,” 
Plocki 
said. 
“I 

think she’s just so grateful for 
everything 
about 
Michigan 

because of where she’s coming 
from.”

At Alabama, Parker helped 

the Crimson Tide win the NCAA 
Championship her freshman year. 
She appeared in the floor lineup 
several times throughout her first 
two years of college gymnastics, 
but was unable to contribute as 
much as she would have liked to.

In comparison to Michigan’s 

squad of 14 this year, six of whom 
are freshman, Alabama boasted 
18 and 17 gymnasts on the team 
during Parker’s freshman and 
sophomore seasons, respectively.

“Alabama has a lot of really 

talented gymnasts,” Parker said, 
“so it’s really competitive to be 
inside the lineup.”

As a result, Parker decided to 

explore other options by visiting 
other universities during the 
summer of 2013.

When she visited Michigan, 

it was love at first sight for the 
4-foot-11 gymnast.

“The first thing that I realized 

was that (Michigan) helps you 
strive to be better inside and 
outside of the gym,” Parker said. 
“They really are the leaders and 
best.”

Parker 
prioritized 
earning 

an education from a prestigious 
university. 
Throughout 
high 

school, she was a successful 
student, but gymnastics took 
precedence. 
To 
accommodate 

for morning practices, Parker 
was home-schooled up until 10th 
grade. She promised herself that 
when she attended college, she 
would invest more time in her 
studies.

A two-time Scholastic All-

American 
according 
to 
the 

National Association of Collegiate 
Gymnastics 
Coaches/Women, 

Parker made the SEC Honor 

Roll and studied business when 
she attended Alabama. Had she 
continued her business education 
at Michigan, she would have had 
to stay an extra two years. Given 
that, she decided to pursue a 
general studies 
education 
with the intent 
of 
attending 

graduate 
school in Sport 
Management.

Her athletic 

scholarship 
inspired 
her 

to seek a job 
in 
athletic 

development.

“I really want to be a part of the 

event side so I can help coordinate 
events that give back to the 
donors for essentially everything 
they gave to Michigan,” Parker 
said.

Parker’s transition from the 

South to Midwest couldn’t have 
gone better. She has fit in better 
than her coaches could have 
hoped for.

The approach her coaches 

have taken resonates with her 

tremendously.

“They really 

do 
look 
at 

their 
athletes 

as people who 
are 
going 
to 

grow up and 
be a part of 
something way 
bigger than just 
a 
gymnastics 

team,” Parker 
said. “I think 

that outlook has really improved 
the way I walk into the gym, the 
atmosphere and everything about 
the program.”

Having been the only elite 

gymnast preparing at Capital 
Gymnastics National Training 

Center from the eighth grade 
until high school graduation, 
Parker has made several leaps.

Her 
co-captain 
this 
year, 

senior Annette Miele, helped 
ease the transition. The two have 
known each other since their club 
gymnastics days. Both competed 
in Region 7 and in 2009, qualified 
for the Visa Championships, the 
highest level of elite gymnastics 
in the nation. Parker earned 
senior international elite status 
and had the opportunity to 
compete alongside Olympians 
Nastia Liukin and Alexandra 
Raisman.

Parker was ecstatic about the 

news that she would be leading 
the team with Miele.

“It’s honestly one of the best 

things I think that could have 
happened,” Parker said. “It’s 
just really great going through it 
with someone that I have known 
forever.”

The two exhibit different 

leadership styles. While Miele is 
more of the mother figure on the 
team, Parker is the energizer.

Parker’s ability to not only 

uplift her teammates, but also 
make people laugh shows how 
comfortable she is at Michigan 
and makes her personality so 
contagious.

One 
of 
Parker’s 
greatest 

improvements 
since 
joining 

the Wolverines has been her 
confidence.

“When she first got here, 

she just really lacked in having 
confidence in herself,” Plocki said. 
“I could see from the beginning 
that the talent was absolutely 
there, but that she just needed to 
believe in herself more in order 
to allow herself to perform at 
the level that she’s capable of 
performing at.”

Indeed, Parker has gained 

consistency and confidence in her 
gymnastics. While she competed 
sparingly on floor and vault her 
junior year, she has competed in 
both events every meet this year. 
She is also the first alternate for 
the balance beam and has been a 
major contributor on the uneven 
bars.

A key factor to her bar routine 

was switching her dismount. 
Having experimented with a full-
in and double layout, Parker was 
able to learn a new double-front 
dismount that she has been able 
to execute consistently.

Parker earned second team All-

Big Ten honors and led Michigan 
to a Big Ten Championships 
win last Saturday. While her 
leadership and performance is 
approaching an exceptional level, 
if Michigan hopes to compete 
for the NCAA title in April, both 
attributes will have to be present 
at an even higher level.

Regardless of her tenure on the 

team, Parker’s ability on and off 
the floor is beyond justified.

“My only regret,” Plocki said, 

“is (that) I wish I had her for 
another year or two.”

LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily

Senior Brooke Parker quickly became a captain for the Michigan women’s gymnastics team after two years and a national championship at Alabama.

“It’s honestly one 
of the best things 
that could have 

happened.”

It’s time for 

another banner

T

wenty-five banners hang 
in Crisler Center.

Three Michigan teams 

compete in 
the 12,707-
seat gym. On 
that stage, 
countless 
hours 
have been 
dedicated 
to winning 
tournaments, 
Big Ten 
titles and 
sometimes, 
on those glorious days that 
fans of the University crave 
to see once again, national 
championships.

Both basketball squads and 

the women’s gymnastics team 
call Crisler home. The athletes of 
the winning teams enter the gym 
on the day of a competition and 
look up at the rafters, comforted 
by their history and compelled to 
keep that success alive.

Out of 25 banners, however, 

not one belongs to the Michigan 
women’s basketball team.

They aren’t comforted by the 

rafters.

To them, it’s an empty space. 

It lacks history, with nothing 
to show for the toil of the past 
41 years. But that doesn’t mean 
darkness isn’t compelling.

Thursday, after the 

Wolverines’ dominant win over 
Missouri pushed Michigan into 
the quarterfinals of the WNIT, it 
appeared that a new era could be 
on the horizon.

Athletic Director Jim Hackett 

stood up from his courtside seat 
and strode over to coach Kim 
Barnes Arico to congratulate her 
on the victory. Together, they 
walked over to men’s basketball 
coach John Beilein and his wife, 
Kathleen.

Beilein couldn’t help but smile, 

realizing that despite his team’s 
struggles this season, a banner 
could still be raised next to his 

program’s collection.

But now it’s time for Barnes 

Arico to earn one of her own.

All three seniors are fighting 

in every game to make sure it’s 
not their last. The most notable 
example is forward Nicole 
Elmblad, who 
is continually 
raising the bar 
when it counts.

After 

averaging 7.4 
points and 6.8 
rebounds in 
the regular 
season, she’s 
now averaging 
9.0 points and 
8.5 rebounds 
in the WNIT. During Sunday’s 
quarterfinal game, she scored 14 
points, just ahead of senior guard 
Shannon Smith, who tallied 11 
points, and just behind senior 
forward Cyesha Goree, who 
scored 15.

“Once we came back (from 

the Big Ten Tournament), we 
knew we had a lot of work to 
do,” Goree said after defeating 
Cleveland State in the WNIT 
opener. “Everybody really 
committed to being checked in, 
focused on being able to still do 
something that hasn’t been done 
yet. A WNIT championship (for 
Michigan) has not been done yet.

“There’s no reason to hang 

your head right now, because you 
still can do something great for 
this program.”

Wednesday, during the 

semifinals of the WNIT, they can 
do just that. They already know 
their names will be in the record 
books. Elmblad has played in 
131 games, the most in program 
history. Goree has eclipsed 300 
rebounds in two seasons, the 
only Michigan player ever to do 
so, and Smith is one of just seven 
Wolverines in school history to 
score at least 36 points in a single 
game.

But it’s safe to assume they 

want something more symbolic 
than a name and a year next to 
statistics. A WNIT title would 
represent what the team has 
done collectively, symbolizing 
something much larger than just 
individual feats.

This is 

Barnes Arico’s 
third year, but 
she has already 
made an 
instant impact. 
In her first 
year, she led 
the team to the 
second round 
of the NCAA 
Tournament. 
In her second, 

Michigan made it to the third 
round of the WNIT. And now, 
the Wolverines are playing 
in April for the first time in 
program history.

The future is bright for 

Michigan.

Freshman guard Katelynn 

Flaherty leads the team in points, 
averaging 14.3 points per game. 
The younger players are getting a 
great deal of postseason practice, 
so it would come as no surprise 
if they made a run in the NCAA 
Tournament next year. The 
Wolverines have entered a new 
phase of Michigan basketball, 
one that’s past rebuilding.

Before the first game of the 

2015-16 season is even played, 
expect Barnes Arico and the 
Wolverines to watch a banner-
raising ceremony of their own. 
Expect the athletic director to 
be there, and maybe even the 
Beileins.

Most of all, expect the faces of 

Michigan women’s basketball to 
look up at the rafters to see that 
26th banner, and watch them 
be compelled to put another 
alongside it.

Kelly Hall can be reached by 

email at hallkl@umich.edu and 

on Twitter @KellyHall20.

Montemarano, Swearingen 
battle for time at third base

By KEVIN SANTO

Daily Sports Writer

Roughly 20 minutes before 

the start of every Michigan 
softball 
game, 
coach 
Carol 

Hutchins submits her lineup 
card to the home-plate umpire. 
After 36 games, there are some 
positions so well established 
that a fan could bet on the names 
being scribbled on that card.

At this point, it’s clear that 

junior 
Sierra 
Romero 
will 

anchor the infield at second base. 
Sophomore Kelly Christner will 
hold down her territory in left 
field.

But third base isn’t a position 

fans should be putting their 
money on, as sophomore Lindsay 
Montemarano 
and 
freshman 

Taylor Swearingen have been 
vying for the starting position as 
of late.

Montemarano has a .200 

batting average and .360 on-base 
percentage, while Swearingen’s 
numbers are .245 and .457, 
respectively.

This season, Montemarano 

has started twice as many games 
as Swearingen at third, but 
things can change quickly.

In the first 23 games this 

season, Montemarano started 19 
games compared to Swearingen’s 

four. In the previous 13 games, 
the time spent at the hot corner 
has swayed in Swearingen’s 
favor. Swearingen has been 
positioned at third in eight of 
the 13 contests, claiming the 
majority of starts.

But to say that Swearingen 

has officially taken over as 
the 
starting 
third 
baseman 

for Michigan wouldn’t be fair. 
There are more factors that play 
into this position battle than just 
who has inherited the bulk of the 
starts lately.

Montemarano and Swearingen 

have similar skill sets on the 
defensive end, recording just four 
and two errors, respectively.

There is no denying that 

Montemarano 
has 
played 

against stiffer competition than 
Swearingen. She started every 
game against No. 1 Florida, No. 5 
Florida State and No. 6 Alabama. 
She also notched two starts 
against No. 10 Arizona State.

Despite bearing the largest 

burden 
against 
ranked 

teams, Montemarano has not 
consistently produced. She has 
posted a batting average below 
.100 and recorded just two walks 
against ranked opponents.

In contrast to the veteran, 

Swearingen has faced only two 
ranked 
opponents: 
then-No. 

10 Arizona State and then-No. 
9 Baylor. Though it’s a smaller 
sample size, she did not fare 
much better than Montemarano 
against her toughest adversaries, 
going 1-for-6 at the plate.

But in the Big Ten opening 

series 
against 
Ohio 
State, 

Swearingen impressed. She went 
2-for-5 with two home runs and 
three RBI. Her performance 
against the Buckeyes earned her 
significant time at third against 
Iowa.

Both have struggled at the 

plate against elite pitching, but 
Swearingen boasts a higher 
season 
batting 
average 
and 

slugging 
percentage 
than 

Montemarano.

For two defensive equals 

competing for a spot in a 
Wolverines lineup where one can 
often earn a starting spot with 
their bat, Swearingen appears 
to be the strongest candidate 
at the moment. Her frequent 
appearances in Big Ten play as 
of late suggest that Michigan 
may be closer to solidifying the 
freshman as the newest starter 
to the infield lineup.

For now, though, the scales 

are tipping in Swearingen’s 
favor, nothing is certain when it 
comes to Hutchins’ game-time 
decisions at third base.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

KELLY
HALL

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

Sophomore Lindsay Montemarano has competed with freshman Taylor Swearingen for playing time at third base.
“There’s no 

reason to hang 
your head right 

now.”

