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.