Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 — 7

Playoff mindset drives 
Harbaugh, Wolverines

By MAX COHEN

Managing Sports Editor

The Michigan football team has 

taken its share of lumps in recent 
weeks. The Wolverines have won 
three games in a row against lesser 
opponents, but two of the victories 
have come because of last-second 
stands by the defense.

Making matters worse, injuries 

have taken their toll. Redshirt 
junior defensive tackle Ryan 
Glasgow is likely out for the season 
with a pectoral injury, adding 
to the decimation of a defensive 
front that was already playing 
without 
sophomore 
defensive 

tackle Bryan Mone and senior 
defensive end Mario Ojemudia.

It’s 
plausible 
that 
those 

absences 
led 
to 
Saturday’s 

struggles against the run, in 
which Michigan’s defense, once 
the best in the nation, surrendered 
307 yards on the ground.

Still, 
Michigan 
coach 
Jim 

Harbaugh insisted Monday that 
his players are not downtrodden 
in the least heading into the final 
two games of the regular season.

“No one’s acting beat up that I 

know of,” Harbaugh said.

“We’ve got a bounce in our step. 

We’re ready to go.”

Harbaugh likened the final 

stretch of the season to when 
he was a kid playing pickup 
basketball during the summer at 
Pattengill Elementary School in 
Ann Arbor. The kids who won the 
game stayed on, and Harbaugh’s 
goal was always to play until it 
was time for lunch.

The college football equivalent 

to lunch, Harbaugh said, would be 
playing in the championship game 
of the College Football Playoff. He 
has stressed the playoff mentality 

to his players. If they lose to Penn 
State or Ohio State, their season 
will culminate in a bowl game 
without the opportunity to play 
for the Big Ten championship 
in Indianapolis or even a less 
probable national title.

“I personally love the playoff 

type of situation and atmosphere,” 
Harbaugh said. “You win, you get 
to keep playing.”

Senior 
linebacker 
Royce 

Jenkins-Stone said the possibility 
of 
winning 
the 
Big 
Ten 

championship has motivated the 
players throughout the season. It 
has been the clear end goal for the 
team all season long.

For most of the season, though, 

the 
players 
have 
preferred 

to discuss the game in front 
of them rather than the big 
picture. However, the thought of 

advancing past the game against 
the Buckeyes has crossed their 
minds on many occasions.

“If you haven’t thought about 

playing in Indianapolis (for the 
Big Ten Championship Game) or 
playing in the top four, you’re in 
the wrong place,” said senior tight 
end A.J. Williams. “Especially 
with the position we’re in, we’ve 
just got to handle our business, 
and if it’s meant for us to be there, 
then we have to be.”

Williams said the Wolverines 

don’t need vocal reminders about 
the importance of the final two 
games of the regular season. 
They know the stakes and are 
not avoiding them. They see 
the scenarios when they peruse 
Twitter, and they know exactly 
what needs to happen.

“If things go a certain way, 

Indianapolis, here we come,” 
Williams said.

The 
most 
likely 
scenario 

for the division to play out in 
Michigan’s favor involves some 
help from Ohio State. Before his 
press conference ended Monday, 
Harbaugh was asked if he will be 
rooting for the Buckeyes to beat 
Michigan State on Saturday. If 
that occurs, and the Wolverines 
beat Penn State, then Michigan 
will play Ohio State for the Big 
Ten East title on Nov. 28. The 
winner would advance to the Big 
Ten Championship Game.

Harbaugh 
deflected 
the 

question, referring to his earlier 
pickup basketball analogy in 
explaining that he cares only 
about his team’s performance.

“There was only one court at 

Pattengill,” Harbaugh said.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has his team within two wins of the Big Ten Championship if the Wolverines get some help.

MEN’S TENNIS
Lin upsets No. 1 
seed in tourney

Michigan wraps 
up fall season with 
Florida tournament

By KATIE CONKLIN

Daily Sports Writer

Entering 
the 
quarterfinal 

round at the Lakewood Ranch 
Intercollegiate 
Clay 
Classic 

this past weekend, Michigan 
men’s tennis sophomore Carter 
Lin was the underdog. Though 
matched up with the No. 1 seed 
in the tournament, Princeton’s 
Tom Colautti, Lin did have an 
advantage: he was playing in his 
hometown of Lakewood Ranch, 
Fla.

Lin went into the match 

not intent on winning, but on 
improving specific components 
of his play. The alternative 
approach was successful, with 
Lin coming out on top after 
splitting the first two sets.

“Each of (the players) had 

something 
specific 
they 

were working 
on,” 
said 

Michigan 
associate head 
coach 
Sean 

Maymi. “(We 
don’t) 
stress 

so much about 
how we we’re 
going to win this match, but 
more of how we’re going to go 
about it and the process.”

The 
team, 
described 
by 

Maymi as well balanced, is 
looking forward to its spring 
season, which starts Jan. 23. 
Until then, the Wolverines’ 
main 
focus 
is 
day-by-day 

development.

Such development is what 

has earned Lin positive results 
during 
recent 
match 
play. 

Though Lin was not able to 
pull out a win in the semifinal 
against 
Minnesota’s 
Ruben 

Weber, his coaches have noticed 
progress since his arrival in Ann 
Arbor last January.

“He’s put forth good effort 

to make sure he’s a staple in 
our lineup,” Maymi said. “He’s 
consistently one of the hardest-
working guys.”

Leaving Florida on Sunday 

evening, 
the 
Wolverines 

wrapped up their fall season 
and are looking forward to play 
in 2016. Between now and then, 
individual effort is crucial.

“You 
find 
out 
whether 

(individual 
players) 
are 

going to be successful when 
they’re doing it themselves 
and practicing on their own,” 
Maymi said.

Maymi, along with the rest of 

Michigan’s coaching staff, will 
have keen eyes when analyzing 
the players on their return for 

spring season. 
They will be 
looking 
for 

improvement, 
whether 
it 

be 
advances 

in 
skill 
or 

physicality, or 
both.

Finishing 

off 
the 

fall season on a high note is 
a positive, according to the 
coaching staff, but singular 
success is neither the program’s 
intention nor its destination.

“Doing 
well 
in 
one 

tournament doesn’t do much 
for us unless the whole group 
continues to get better,” Maymi 
said. “There’s still a lot of work 
to go.”

“He’s consistently 
one of the hardest-

working guys.”

Rudock, Chesson finally click, 
combine for four touchdowns

Passing game 

combo finds long-
awaited connection 

against Indiana

By ZACH SHAW

Daily Sports Editor

Jehu 
Chesson 
remembers 

when he first met Jake Rudock.

Rudock hadn’t even finished 

unpacking after his move from 
Iowa City, let alone gotten to 
know his new teammates, but the 
fifth-year senior quarterback had 
secured a summer job in his new 
city Ann Arbor.

For Chesson — a redshirt 

junior wide receiver who had 
spent much of the past decade 
working side jobs to make ends 
meet — that was the best first 
impression he could have hoped 
for.

“It says something about his 

character and his willingness to 
serve others,” Chesson said over 
the summer. “You want that kind 
of guy at quarterback.”

Living across the street, the 

two quickly connected. Chesson 
invited Rudock to join a number 
of teammates at regular games 
of Monopoly to get to know the 
team, and it took Rudock less 
than a week to ask Chesson to 
run routes.

Given Rudock’s status as the 

newest Wolverine, many would 
see the advances as forward. 
But Chesson is the fastest player 
on the team — he didn’t mind 
moving quickly.

“He was just always there, 

always ready to work,” Chesson 
said. “Other people might see that 
as weird, but that’s something 
I noticed and respected right 
away.”

Though 
the 
quarterback-

receiver relationship didn’t take 
long to begin, it took months for 
it to blossom on the field.

Through 
seven 
games, 

Chesson had just 190 yards 
receiving and no touchdowns 

in the air. Rudock was mulling 
through below-average numbers 
in the Big Ten — primarily relying 
on short passes to tight ends and 
running backs. The pair had all 
the skills and connections to 
make big plays, but in the game, 
the ball would fall a foot short, or 
Chesson would miss by a couple 
steps.

After mustering just 23 points 

as an offense and narrowly 
missing several big plays in a 
loss to Michigan State, the pair 
entered the bye week with a 
mission.

“The coaches don’t sugarcoat 

anything,” Chesson said. “They 
told us we needed to track the 
deep ball better.”

So the two reignited their 

summer pastime of route running 
after practice.

Others joined, of course, but it 

was clear that the speedy Chesson 
and Rudock, whom Chesson said 
makes “full-speed decisions,” had 
a special connection.

The connection heated up 

against Minnesota and Rutgers, 
as 
Rudock 
showed 
marked 

improvement 
and 
Chesson 

secured 
three 
receiving 

touchdowns.

Then, in a shootout against 

Indiana, five months’ worth of 
work reached a boiling point.

In the 48-41 win, Rudock 

set a school record with six 
touchdowns and 440 passing 
yards. 
Chesson 
was 
at 
the 

receiving end of 207 of those 
yards 
and 

four of those 
touchdowns, 
tying a school 
record 
set 

by 
Derrick 

Alexander 
in 

1992.

Both efforts 

were historic, 
and it was only 
fitting that the 
two shared Big Ten Offensive 
Player of the Week honors.

“Sometimes it could just be 

a matter or inches or feet,” said 
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. 

“What does water boil at? 212 
(degrees)? 212 it boils, 211 it 
doesn’t. 213 is the magic number. 
… I would agree it’s been close, 
and now it’s boiling. It’s good. 
Bodes well for us.”

With the surge in productivity, 

Harbaugh has 
noted that both 
are 
playing 

at a level that 
deserves NFL 
consideration. 
Chesson 
and 

Rudock 
had 

relatively quiet 
careers before 
this 
season, 

but Harbaugh 

feels that with the deep ball 
finally connecting, their games 
are becoming complete.

“It was just the constant 

improvement in all phases of his 

game,” Harbaugh said of Chesson 
on Monday. “I think the one 
thing he is improving at, the final 
piece, is tracking the deep ball. 
You watch him run, you watch 
him catch, you watch him block, 
cover kicks, the way he plays in 
all phases and now the deep ball. 
… You see that improving, and I 
think that’s the final piece that 
he’s acquiring.”

Rudock and Chesson are no 

longer just bonding over summer 
jobs, but over their outputs on 
the field. With arguably the two 
toughest defenses Michigan will 
face this season still remaining 
on the schedule, the deep-ball 
connection that started months 
ago is finally clicking.

And for the quick-running 

Chesson and the quick-thinking 
Rudock, it couldn’t come a 
moment too soon.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Jehu Chesson tied a school record with four touchdown catches Saturday.

“Sometimes it 
could just be a 
matter of inches 

or feet.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Munger quickly 
fitting into role

By BRANDON CARNEY

Daily Sports Writer

Nicole Munger couldn’t have 

asked for a better start to her 
Michigan career.

The freshman guard co-led the 

Wolverines in scoring on Saturday 
against 
Binghamton 
with 
19 

points, while shooting 7-for-11 
from the field. She followed that 
performance with a five-point, 
four-rebound outing at Detroit on 
Sunday.

Now that last year’s go-to 

scoring option off the bench 
— sophomore guard Katelynn 
Flaherty — has become a fixture 
in the starting lineup, Michigan 
coach Kim Barnes Arico has been 
searching for the player who can 
sub in and provide an instant 
spark. Perhaps sooner than she 
might have expected, Barnes Arico 
chose Munger to fill that role.

“I 
think 
she 
is 
definitely 

challenging for a starting spot 
every day,” Barnes Arico said. “But 
I also really like that you have that 
spark coming off the bench right 
now too, which has provided us 
with a tremendous amount of 
energy, instant offense and also 
energy on the defensive end.”

Right from the start of last 

season, Flaherty shot from all over 
the court and put up impressive 
scoring numbers in her first 
appearances as well, scoring 15 
and 14 points in her first two 
college appearances, respectively. 
Munger posted a similar average, 
and has done so playing fewer 
minutes than Flaherty.

Unlike Munger, Flaherty was 

forced prematurely into a starting 
role in her first few games in a 
Michigan uniform, and that’s 
a decision Barnes Arico came 
to regret in the long run. After 
moving her to the bench, Barnes 
Arico noticed Flaherty was more 
comfortable when she got an 
idea of the pace of the game after 
observing from the sideline for a 
few minutes.

The 
change 
benefited 

Flaherty’s 
confidence 
and 

ultimately earned her the Big Ten 
Sixth Player of the Year. Barnes 
Arico is hoping the same for 
Munger.

“With freshmen, sometimes 

it’s kind of a work in progress,” 
Barnes Arico said. “We realized 
that with Flaherty last year 
when she didn’t start, then did 
start, then she didn’t. It was nice 
for (Munger in) the first couple 
minutes to let the game come to 
her and see what was happening 
before she got out there, and we’ll 
see how that goes with Nicole.”

While Munger and Flaherty 

can both shoot the ball lights-
out and serve as the Wolverines’ 
sixth player, their similarities 
end there. Flaherty’s game last 
year was largely based on finesse, 
and she lacked the dominant, 
physical presence that Munger 
has exhibited.

Munger led the Wolverines with 

three steals against the Bobcats, 
and full-out dove for loose balls 
any chance she got this weekend.

Munger’s work ethic is her 

greatest strength at the moment, 
and what Barnes Arico loves 
about her the most. The freshman 
consistently 
comes 
early 
to 

get some shooting in before 
practice, and at one point made 30 
consecutive 3-pointers, according 
to Barnes Arico. The coach has 
had to look outside the team for 
a comparison about Munger’s 
desire to get better.

“I’ve watched the guys for 

three years now come in and how 
(Michigan men’s basketball senior 
guard Caris LeVert) comes into 
the gym at every extra second that 
he’s had since his freshman year,” 
Barnes Arico said. “And now I 
can say that about Nicole. Now, 
we have someone in our program 
that’s a Caris LeVert.”

Despite the pressure of lofty 

comparisons so early in her career, 
Munger has shown no signs of 
slowing down. If the freshman 
can continue to work at the levels 
that have garnered Barnes Arico’s 
praise, Michigan could have a 
special talent on its hands.

