Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, December 8, 2015 — 7
A look back at Michigan’s
milestone win in 2001
By BOB HUNT
Daily Sports Alumnus
Editor’s Note: In honor of the
150th year of Michigan athletics,
the Daily looks back at what it
was like to cover the first women’s
team national championship in
Michigan history. Bob Hunt, a
Daily sports writer from 2001
to 2005, recalls his experience
documenting a major milestone in
Michigan sports.
When I was just a freshman
living in Alice Lloyd Hall in the
fall of 2001, one of the things
that amazed me the most about
the University of Michigan was
the passion for success its people
have in literally everything it
does. Things that I didn’t know
existed before I got there — such
as solar car racing or Indian
dance festivals — have entire
communities of people within
the University working to be
the best at an incredibly diverse
set of pursuits. While it may
sound hokey at best or arrogant
at worst to outsiders, students
and faculty at Michigan really
believe they are working to be
“Leaders and Best.”
So
when
Michigan
won
the 2001 NCAA Field Hockey
Championship,
giving
the
University its first national title
in a women’s sport, the feeling
on campus was more of surprise
than anything else. There was
surprise that, given all of the
University’s athletic success, this
was something that had never
happened before.
Having written a little in high
school and looking for ways to get
involved on campus, I went into
the Student Publications Building
on Maynard Street and joined the
Daily’s sports staff during my first
week in Ann Arbor. I had written
a few cross country articles when
the editors said they needed
someone to help with field hockey.
However, other than seeing the
goofy-looking sticks around high
school, I knew close to nothing
about the sport. Little did I know
I would witness history in my first
semester on campus.
At the time, a title run would
have also been a surprise to
anyone outside the program.
Despite
the
fact
that
the
Wolverines
had
made
the
national championship game two
years prior, they had lost three of
their last seven games going into
the NCAA Tournament. When
Michigan lost 3-0 to Ohio State
in the Big Ten
Tournament,
things
were
looking bleak.
However,
even from the
limited time I
had spent with
the
team,
I
could tell that
the Wolverines
still
had
confidence
in
themselves and liked playing with
each other. Also, due to various
NCAA rules, Michigan got to host
an NCAA regional despite not
being a top seed. The Wolverines
began the tournament in Ann
Arbor, facing North Carolina,
which had made the Final Four
in 12 of the previous 15 years.
Michigan upset North Carolina
and then beat Michigan State in
overtime (a game in which the
Spartans appeared to take the lead
but had a goal overturned). All of
a sudden, the team was headed to
Kent, Ohio for the NCAA Final
Four.
The Wolverines continued
that
momentum
into
a
championship game against top-
ranked Maryland. Despite not
having the run of play for most
of the game, Michigan stunned
the crowd by taking a 2-0 lead
early in the second half and
never looked back. What seemed
unlikely just a couple weeks
earlier was now reality.
While everyone around the
team and at the Daily at the time
knew history had just been made,
as much emphasis as possible was
put forth by the department on
declaring it a great achievement
for the University, women or
men. Michigan had already seen
a great deal of recent success in
softball and women’s gymnastics,
which is why
it
was
such
a
surprise
around
campus
that
this was the
first
women’s
title.
From
the
team’s
perspective,
however, they
were excited to
represent
the
school, sports or otherwise.
For me, it started a four-year
journey working at the Daily,
which ended up being one of
the best jobs I’ll ever have. I
later went on to cover a hockey
Frozen Four, a men’s basketball
NIT
Championship
and
the
Rose Bowl. Even though I left
writing after school, I made many
friendships I still maintain today.
For that, I guess I have to thank,
in part, field hockey coach Marcia
Pankratz and her team for that
sunny Sunday afternoon in Ohio
back in 2001. However, I like to
look back on it as just another
great event to happen to a pretty
great University.
‘M’ faces test at SMU
By LEV FACHER
Managing Editor
After Tuesday, the Michigan
men’s basketball team will have
played seven games in 19 days:
Two
in
Ann
Arbor, one in
North Carolina,
one in Texas
and three in the
Bahamas.
The
Wolverines
(6-2)
are
suffering
from
a
pair
of
backcourt
health
issues
already,
but
they’ll soon get
the chance for
some rest and recuperation with
a four-game home stand against
so-called “guarantee” opponents
like Delaware State and Bryant.
One non-conference obstacle
remains, however, before that
stretch: Tuesday’s trip to No. 19
Southern Methodist.
The Mustangs have charged out
to a 6-0 start despite the NCAA’s
September announcement that
head coach Larry Brown was
suspended nine games for a
lack of program control, among
other reasons. The sanctions
stem from violations related to
academic fraud and “unethical
conduct” and also preclude SMU
from participation in the 2016
postseason.
Nonetheless, five Mustangs are
averaging double-figure scoring
totals, and as has been the case
in each of Michigan’s losses this
year, they pose a major threat
size-wise on the glass.
Beilein acknowledged Monday
that his big men will once again
have their hands full in terms
of rebounding. In particular,
he marveled at SMU’s Jordan
Tolbert, who is averaging eight
rebounds despite having started
just two games.
“Four offensive rebounds a
game,” Beilein said. “I’ve never
seen that.”
Beilein has, however, seen the
Mustangs — they beat Michigan
last year at Crisler Center to
cap the Wolverines’ four-game
December losing streak. The
62-51 loss came on the heels of
losses to New Jersey Institute
of
Technology
and
Eastern
Michigan, and a 27-point blowout
at then-No. 3 Arizona.
This time, Michigan enters the
game coming off four consecutive
wins but will have to overcome
the absence of junior guard
Derrick Walton Jr. to keep the
streak alive.
Walton’s
status
remains
questionable with what Beilein
referred to as a lateral ankle
sprain, which he sustained last
week in the first half of Michigan’s
66-59 win at North Carolina State.
“We tried a little bit (Sunday),”
Beilein said. “He wasn’t able to go.
… If he does try and play and he
can’t do it, he’s got to come out.
“Let’s see what it is,” Beilein
said. “It’s a very tender area of
your body, and you also want to
make sure that you don’t hurt him
for down the road. An ankle injury
will plague you all year long if you
don’t allow it to heal.”
On paper, the SMU matchup
looks to be among the Wolverines’
three
most
important
non-
conference games, alongside their
Battle 4 Atlantis matchup against
then-No. 19 Connecticut and their
Nov. 20 loss to Xavier, which now
clocks in at No. 10 in the AP Top 25.
While SMU is undefeated,
some have questioned the quality
of its opposition so far — the
Mustangs’ best win is likely an
85-70 victory at Stanford on Nov.
19. And while Michigan’s Aubrey
Dawkins has yet ask his father,
Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins,
for a scouting report, he knows
there’s still time.
“That’s a good idea,” Aubrey
Dawkins said. “I should.”
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Aubrey Dawkins scored 16 points in 20 minutes against Houston Baptist.
Michigan
at SMU
Matchup:
Michigan 6-2;
SMU 6-0
When:
Tuesday 9 P.M.
Where: Moody
Coliseum
TV/Radio:
ESPN2
FIELD HOCKEY
I would witness
history in my
first semester
on campus.
Five Things We Learned
By TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team lost its first
game of the season Sunday,
failing to achieve what would
have been a historic 8-0 start.
The Wolverines’ record fell to
7-1 after they played outside of
Michigan for the first time this
year. It never really looked like
the Wolverines had a chance
to redeem last year’s loss to
Princeton. Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico said the team was
playing “catch up” from the
opening tip. Despite another
scoring frenzy from sophomore
guard Katelynn Flaherty, the
Wolverines couldn’t come out
with a win.
Here are five things we
learned from Michigan’s first
loss of the season.
1. Turnovers are a problem…
Barnes Arico mentioned how
the team looked “really young”
against Princeton, referencing
the 22 turnovers. Freshman
guard Boogie Brozoski and
Flaherty share the team lead 21
giveaways each. Brozoski had
just three on Sunday, but each of
them seemed unnecessary. She
is known to thread the needle,
making flashy, artful assists
that find teammates all around
the court, but she may have
tried to do that a little too much
this weekend.
Along with Brozoski, junior
guard Siera Thompson had a
team-high five turnovers. Every
Wolverine besides senior forward
Kelsey Mitchell, who played for
just five minutes, registered at
least one turnover. Princeton
scored 19 points off them.
2. … But rebounds have not been.
The rebounding gap left by
three former seniors, Cyesha
Goree,
Shannon
Smith
and
Nicole Elmblad, appeared too
big to make up at the start of
the season. The trio accounted
for nearly 60 percent of the
Wolverines’ total rebounds last
year. But with the addition of
freshman center Hallie Thome,
the entire team is stepping up on
the glass.
Thome, at 6-foot-5, isn’t even
leading the team in rebounds.
Sophomore
forward
Jillian
Dunston has 54, and four other
players average at least four
per game. Unlike last year, the
team hasn’t had to rely on a “Big
Three” to get the majority of the
rebounds. Michigan didn’t beat
Princeton in most categories,
but it did come out on top in the
rebounding department, 35-31.
3. Thome’s height isn’t as
dominant as it looks.
As one of the tallest centers
in women’s basketball, Thome
is going to stand out. Up until
Sunday, nobody could find an
answer for Michigan’s newest
weapon. All Thome had to do
to lead the country in field-goal
percentage through her first six
college games was put her hands
up where no one else could
reach, catch, make a post move
and finish.
Princeton’s
frontcourt,
though, was made up of two
seniors: Annie Tarakchian and
Alex Wheatley. The pair held
Thome to just three points,
her
worst
performance
yet.
Wheatley and Tarakchian were
both stronger than Thome, and
physicality was the difference
maker. There won’t be many
opponents, even in the Big Ten
season, that can match Thome’s
height, but if they can play more
physically, they might be able to
win the post battle.
4. Michigan is better than last
year.
It’s hard to guess how much
better the 2015-16 team is, but
the 17-point loss to the Tigers
was far better than the year
before. In 2014, Princeton and
Pittsburgh beat Michigan by
30 and 19, respectively. The
Wolverines beat Pitt by 37 on
Thursday.
The
aforementioned
graduated seniors left plenty of
gaps, but new faces are making
big improvements. Dunston and
Thompson are both taking on
bigger roles. Three different
freshmen — Thome, Brozoski
and guard Nicole Munger — are
all getting significant minutes,
surprising Barnes Arico with
their contributions.
5. BOLD PREDICTION:
Flaherty will set Michigan’s
single-season scoring record.
The Wolverines’ star player
is averaging 21.3 points per
game through the opening eight
games of the season. Flaherty set
her career high with 34 against
USC Upstate, and she missed
that tally by only one against
Princeton.
The
sophomore
already holds the No. 9 spot on
the list with 499 in her freshman
year, and she’s on pace to beat
that by a landslide.
Odds are Flaherty won’t be
tossing up too many 30-point
outings once the Big Ten season
begins, but she has already
scored 170 points this year.
Jennifer Smith set the record
of 659 points in the 2003-04
season. There are 21 games left
in the regular season, and if
Flaherty keeps it up, she won’t
be too far from it.
ICE HOCKEY
Boo Nieves dishes
on Berenson, more
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
During the 2011-12 hockey
season, the Daily hockey beat ran
a video series called “Quick Hits.”
The videos comprised of one-on-
one interviews with the hockey
players, which included talking
about anything and everything.
At the urging of the old beat
writers, the Daily is bringing back
Quick Hits — this time in written
form.
For the first edition, the Daily
sat down with senior forward Boo
Nieves, who has three goals and
six assists this season, to discuss
his year, Michigan coach Red
Berenson, E. coli and more.
TMD: How would you evaluate
your season thus far?
Nieves: It got off to a good
start and then it got frustrating
with that concussion. I think I’ve
come back a
bit
stronger,
and I’m slowly
getting back to
my game.
TMD:
Do
you think this
is an NCAA
Tournament
team?
Nieves: Absolutely. I think
this past weekend, we showed
resilience. Yeah, we let up a lot of
goals, but I think the fact that we
can comeback both games, both
nights, and have contributions
from all different lines and
players was definitely a sign of an
NCAA team.
TMD: What is your most
memorable
interaction
with
Red Berenson?
Nieves:
Probably
when
we were doing double-downs
(conditioning)
and
(junior
defenseman) Michael Downing
started taking pucks out of the
net so we could do 3-on-1s instead
of doing conditioning skating. I’ve
never seen Red smile so much in
my entire life.
TMD: What was the worst part
of living with (senior forward)
Justin Selman in the dorms?
Nieves:
He
never
does
anything he doesn’t want to do.
Like if he doesn’t want to clean up,
he just doesn’t do it. If he doesn’t
want to go grab the laundry, he
just doesn’t do it. He’s very lazy.
TMD:
Describe
(junior
forward) Max Shuart.
Nieves:
Shuart.
He’s
a
character. He’ll make you laugh
even when you’re in a bad mood.
He can always put a smile on your
face. He’s the jokester on the team
and keeps everyone’s spirits high.
TMD: Who’d win a fight:
Shuart or Downing?
Nieves:
Prison
rules?
Downing. In a civilized fight,
probably Shuart.
TMD: Who has the strangest
pregame routine?
Nieves:
Steve
Racine
or
Nolan De Jong. They are here so
early and just doing a little bit of
everything.
TMD:
You’re a music
major. Who is
the best singer
on the team?
Nieves:
Cooper
Marody.
No
question.
TMD: How annoying is (junior
forward) JT Compher to practice
against?
Nieves: Oh my God (Laughs).
TMD: What’s your go-to meal
in Ann Arbor?
Nieves: Chipotle.
TMD: Even with E. coli?
Nieves:
Yeah,
I
probably
shouldn’t have said that. Probably
Babo then.
TMD: Apparently you used
to eat Zebra cakes, Swiss rolls
and drink Arnold Palmer before
games. What is that about?
Nieves: My old roommate Ryan
Rosenthal is actually buddies with
(Selman) from home, and he and I
had a ritual before games (at Prep
School). We did that one game,
and it took off from there so we
had to keep doing it.
TMD: That can’t be healthy…
Nieves: It was usually the
night before games (laughs).
“I’ve come back
a bit stronger.”
RITA MORRIS/Daily
Freshman guard Boogie Brozoski is playing 17.3 minutes per game, one of three freshmen to earn significant action.