8A — Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Choi, Peters help
‘M’ finish fourth
By BILLY STAMPFL
For the Daily
It
was
a
record-setting
performance for the Michigan
women’s
golf
team,
which
finished tied for fourth place
at the Las Vegas Collegiate
Showdown on Tuesday.
The Wolverines shot a school-
record 275 (-13) in the first round,
and junior Grace Choi soared
in the second round — tying
Ashley Bauer’s school-record
mark of 65, set in 2010. Though
significant in retrospect, Choi
was hardly thinking about her
individual
triumphs
during
tournament
play.
“I
wasn’t
thinking
about that at
all,” Choi said.
“I was so in
the
moment,
it was such a high. I wasn’t
worried about breaking school
records. … It was an incredible
experience.”
Michigan
played
with
a
mental edge throughout the
tournament, notching scores
of 275, 279 and 281 in the three
days, ultimately finishing nine
strokes behind the champion,
UNLV.
The
tournament,
the
conclusion to the Wolverines’
successful fall season, followed
a third-place finish at the Yale
Intercollegiate two weeks ago.
“The team’s been gaining
confidence
throughout
the
fall,” said Michigan coach Jan
Dowling.
Some of the improvement
can likely be attributed to Choi
and senior Catherine Peters,
the team’s only upperclassmen.
Peters put up scores of 68, 68 and
69 en route to tying Choi for fifth
in the individual standings this
weekend. Yet beyond their golf
skills, the two lead in ways that
can’t be recorded on a scorecard.
“(Choi and Peters) both lead
by example in so many ways,”
Dowling said. “You couldn’t
ask for better upperclassmen.
They’re
encouraging
and
positive, and really want to leave
their mark on this program.”
In addition to influencing
underclassmen, Choi and Peters
have a great impact on each
other on the golf course. After
spending three years playing
together and two years living
with
each
other, the two
friends
have
built a unique
bond.
“She’s
one
of
the
most
positive people
I
have
ever
met,”
Choi
said of Peters.
“That’s something that I’m not
as good at, so she just radiates all
this really good energy.”
Teamwork and cooperation
have long been building blocks
of Dowling’s model for winning
tournaments and improving as a
unit. After a strong fall season,
Michigan will look to continue
getting better before returning
to tournament play in February.
The Wolverines expect to
work primarily on strength
and conditioning, while also
studying individual tendencies
to
identify
strengths
and
weaknesses.
“We stay pretty busy (during
the winter),” Dowling said. “We
really take advantage of those
months to (review) the season a
little bit better.”
Michigan plans to remember
the record-setting weekend for
the time being, but knows it still
has plenty to prepare for.
WOMEN’S GOLF
“I was so in the
moment, it was
such a high.”
Minor shines at
ITA Regionals
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
The
legendary
Brazilian
soccer player Pelé once said,
“The more difficult the victory,
the greater the happiness in
winning.”
Freshman Brienne Minor of
the Michigan women’s tennis
team discovered that wisdom
firsthand, as she rallied from a
5-1 hole in her final set to win a
singles title over Northwestern’s
Maddie Lipp at the ITA Midwest
Regional Championships. This
was the third consecutive year
— and the fourth time in the last
five years — that a Wolverine
has come away with a singles
victory in the tournament.
After Minor erased her deficit
and took a 6-5 edge, Lipp won
the next game to tie the set at
six, which set up a tiebreaker.
Minor rose to the occasion,
going on a 3-1 run en route to a
7-3 victory to capture the title.
“It
was
amazing
to
see (Minor)
compete like
that,”
said
Michigan
coach
Ronnie
Bernstein.
“I think she
just believes in herself and has
such a big game where she can
win a whole bunch of points in
a row.”
Minor dropped the first game
of the final set to Lipp, 6-3, but
quickly took a 4-0 lead in the
second. Lipp found her groove,
however, and evened the score
at 5-5. The pair split the next
two sets before Minor won the
tiebreaker, 7-5.
“It was really good tennis for
both of them,” Bernstein said.
“Both wanted (the match) a lot.
(Minor) really hung in there and
that was the difference.”
Minor also had a strong
doubles
performance.
She
teamed up with sophomore
Mira Ruder-Hook to top Ani
Gogvadze and Maria Paula
Ribero of Eastern Michigan, 8-2.
They also defeated Michigan
State’s duo of Erin Faulkner and
Lexi Baylis, 8-3, before losing,
8-5, in the quarterfinals to Ohio
State’s pair of Sandy Niehaus
and Ferny Angelez Paz.
“(Minor
and
Ruder-Hook)
complement each other pretty
well,” Bernstein said. “I thought
they communicated well.”
But Minor was not the only
freshman to have an impressive
showing. Kate Fahey defeated
Michigan State’s Lexi Baylis
and
Ohio
State’s
Anna
Sanford in two and three sets,
respectively. Fahey faltered in
the singles play quarterfinals
to Lipp.
Ruder-Hook,
too,
came
up
with
a
solid
singles
performance. She notched wins
over Western Michigan’s Melina
Lyubomirova, 6-4, 7-5, and
Illinois’s Louise Kwong, 6-4,
4-6, 7-6 before
succumbing
to
DePaul’s
Yuliya
Shupenia.
“She’s
starting
to
understand
what
she
needs to do
on the court,” Bernstein said.
“I was really happy with her
performance
and
how
she
competed.”
Building on an impressive
outing, Michigan still has more
tennis to play this fall. The
Wolverines will travel to the
UNC Invitational Nov. 6-8,
before moving onto the ITA
National Indoor Championships
and the ASU Thunderbird Nov.
13-15.
“I just want (the players) to
compete,” Bernstein said. “I feel
like come January, with the kids
we’ve added and our returners,
that we’ll be ready and hopefully
we can have another great
season.”
WOMEN’S TENNIS
“It was amazing
to see (Minor)
compete like that.”
Harbaugh’s manners pay off
By MAX COHEN
Managing Sports Editor
Jim Harbaugh does not always
give the appearance of someone
who asks for things nicely.
During his final year with the
San Francisco 49ers, rumors
circulated that Harbaugh wore
his players down with his high
demands
and
dogged
work
ethic. Even now, on the sidelines
of Michigan Stadium, it is not
an uncommon sight to see
Harbaugh yelling a referee’s ear
into oblivion.
But
sometimes,
when
it
comes to asking things of his
players, Harbaugh minds his
manners. He brought up the
subject during his weekly press
conference Monday, when a
reporter questioned the coach
about the emergence of senior
tight end A.J. Williams.
The natural inclination is that
Williams’ success is the result
of Harbaugh’s tight end-centric
offense and that Williams has
improved in the same manner
many
of
Michigan’s
other
players have.
Monday, Harbaugh said there
was more to it. He realized
Williams needed to run faster, so
Williams did what was natural:
He lost some weight. But that
wasn’t
all
that
has
fueled
Williams’ increased role in the
offense.
It came down to an innocuous
question — a very polite one
at that — that Harbaugh asked
Williams:
“Please, will you run faster,
A.J.?”
And so far, Williams has. He
has had two receptions of more
than 20 yards this season. His
previous career long was 12 yards.
Through seven games this
season,
Williams
has
more
catches (nine) than he did in
his first three years at Michigan
combined (five). He ranks fourth
among Wolverines in receptions
and receiving yards (99).
Harbaugh’s
methodology
of asking politely has paid
dividends so far.
“Sometimes
that
works,”
Harbaugh said. “I’ve seen it
work before. ‘Will you please
run faster?’ And then they do, so
hope (Williams keeps) going in
that direction, because he’s got
it in him.”
Even
the
other
part
of
Williams’ success, the one that
didn’t have to do with Harbaugh
minding his p’s and q’s, was the
result of another soft-spoken
comment from the fiery coach.
It
came
during
spring
practice, one of Harbaugh’s
first, after Williams ran what
he remembers as a stick rout.
Harbaugh
then
commented
on what he thought caused
Williams’ lack of speed.
“He was just like, ‘A.J., I think
you need to lose some weight,’ ”
Williams said.
Williams, even as a senior
who had established himself in
the program, did not question
the rhetoric of his new coach. He
responded immediately.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I probably
do,’ ” Williams replied.
So Williams did. He currently
weighs 10 pounds less than his
listed weight of 285 pounds.
Harbaugh arrived at Michigan
with a great deal of success in
developing tight ends, from
Zach Ertz and Coby Fleener
at Stanford to Vernon Davis in
San Francisco. Well aware of
this, Williams was willing to do
whatever his coach asked.
In the past, Williams had been
almost exclusively a blocking
tight end, even in high school.
He played offensive tackle his
senior year and did not catch a
single pass.
But now, in his senior year of
college, Williams has caught the
ball more than he ever has. Not
just in college or his senior year
of high school, but in his entire
life. Having the ball in his hands
did not feel natural at first,
particularly after his 22-yard
reception in the home opener
against Oregon State.
“I was like, ‘This is weird,’ ”
Williams said. “I was like, ‘Oh
man, I can’t believe I just did
that.’ ”
Four weeks later, when the
Wolverines played Northwestern,
Williams was Michigan’s leading
receiver, with four receptions for
48 yards.
Williams,
because
of
Harbaugh’s requests and the
team’s success, says he is having
more fun playing football than
he has in his entire life.
But while Williams enjoys
increased success, other players
are still working on fulfilling
the things Harbaugh requests of
them.
The coach’s request of redshirt
junior offensive lineman Kyle
Kalis is lofty:
“Get all your blocks, don’t
miss any blocks,” Kalis said
Harbaugh tells him.
With just a slight hint of
sarcasm, Kalis said he believes he
has fulfilled Harbaugh’s wishes.
“Never miss any (blocks),”
Kalis said. “Never. I’m always
perfect.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Senior tight end A.J. Williams has broken out as a receiving threat this season, catching nine passes for 99 yards.
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Senior linebacker Joe Bolden was confined to the locker room after being ejected for targeting in Michigan’s game against Michigan State on Oct. 17.
Joe Bolden’s loneliest view
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Editor
It wasn’t the day’s most jarring
moment, and it didn’t happen
in front of 111,000 people, but
the moment Joe Bolden walked
into the locker room was surreal
nonetheless.
The senior linebacker had just
been ejected for targeting from
the Michigan football team’s
game against Michigan State on
Oct. 17, and after taking a half-
lap around the edge of the field,
slapping hands and trying to get
the crowd fired up, he arrived at
the locker room to find the only
person in the entire stadium
who could relate to him in that
moment.
Senior linebacker James Ross
III was already standing at the
door waiting for him, serving
his punishment for the same
penalty the prior game.
“I told him, ‘Hey, it’s your
turn,’ ” Bolden recalled Tuesday.
“So we kind of (traded) spots.
Not sure that’s the ideal situation
where you want to trade spots,
but we watched the end of the
second (quarter) together, and
you could tell that he was ready
to go, he was ready to come out
and play as well.”
In the second quarter, Bolden
appeared to be pushed into
Spartans’ quarterback Connor
Cook. And while his helmet-to-
helmet contact with Cook looked
unintentional, he was ejected,
and thus relegated to watch
the
second
half from the
locker
room.
In his senior
year, it was his
last shot at the
Spartans.
A year ago,
Bolden
found
himself
at
the
center
of
a
minor
controversy
surrounding the rivalry game
after he planted a stake in the
Spartan Stadium turf. Michigan
State coach Mark Dantonio later
termed the act disrespectful and
cited it as his reason for adding
a late touchdown after the game
was already decided.
But his shot at redemption
this season was cut short by the
ejection. So as he went off the
field, he implored the crowd
to stay invested in the game,
as if they needed any further
incentive to cheer.
“I think it was important (for
the crowd) to know that life goes
on,” Bolden said. “Even though
you’re gonna lose a guy, the No.
1 defense is
still out on the
field, and you
guys need to
stay
behind
them.”
As
Bolden
paraded
the
perimeter
of
the
stadium,
he
jumped
up and down,
waving
his
arms, especially in front of the
student section.
“(Michigan
recruiting
coordinator
Chris
Partridge)
was pulling me off the field,”
Bolden said. “I probably would
have made it a couple of laps if it
wasn’t for him.”
Ross, of course, returned to
the field for the second half,
since his carry-over suspension
only lasted the first.
That left Bolden to either
watch the game in the locker
room, or seek another option.
“I actually went ahead and
got on my phone and read every
rule in the rulebook as soon as
it happened, just to make sure
there wasn’t any loopholes that
could get anywhere else, other
than a 10-by-5-foot room to
watch the game,” he said.
Bolden
was
referring
to
finding another way to watch the
game, preferably on the field. But
he didn’t find one. So when Blake
O’Neill’s fumble landed in the
arms of Jalen Watts-Jackson,
who returned it for a touchdown
in an ending that shocked the
nation, Bolden experienced it
differently from the rest of his
teammates. The TV was on a
delay, and he couldn’t share his
shock with any of them.
“Crickets,” he said. “I couldn’t
hear anything. Just crickets.
And then I walked out of the
room.”
“I think it was
important to
know that life
goes on.”