The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsWednesday
January 6, 2016 — 3B

By TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

One key stat line differentiated 

the 
Indiana 
and 
Michigan 

women’s basketball teams in the 
Hoosiers’ 77-69 overtime win on 
Sunday.

The 

Hoosiers 
(1-1 Big Ten, 
9-5 overall) 
went 32-for-42 from the free throw 
line, and the Wolverines (0-2 
Big Ten, 8-5 overall) went 8-for-
18. After four quarters of back-
and-forth basketball, there was 
overtime in Bloomington, and 12 of 
Indiana’s 16 overtime points came 
from the line.

Led by a near double-double 

from forward Amanda Cahill (19 
points, nine rebounds, four blocks, 
two assists), the Hoosiers rallied 
back from what was a nine-point 
deficit in the fourth quarter.

“We were up six or eight, and 

then we were not able to score 

again for a long period of time,” said 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico 
on the team radio broadcast. “They 
scored, we gave up some and-1s, we 
gave up some offensive rebounds 
and they got the momentum.”

Three of Cahill’s blocks came in 

overtime. She 
dominated 
in the paint 
against 
Michigan’s 
star freshman 
center Hallie 
Thome.

Indiana 

guard 
Tyra 

Buss 
scored 

the Hoosiers’ final four points in 
regulation with two free throws 
and a layup. Buss pushed Indiana 
ahead for three-point lead, but 
with 28 seconds to go, Michigan 
sophomore 
guard 
Katelynn 

Flaherty drilled an off-balance 
3-pointer that tied the game.

Flaherty — Michigan’s leading 

scorer — and Buss were both quiet 

in the first half, combining for 
fewer than 10 points, but the two 
guards ended the game with 20 
and 18 points, respectively.

Shooting 76.3 percent from 

the line was Indiana’s best 
weapon, and the team took 

advantage of the 
bonus late in the 
game. Indiana’s 
win marks its 
first 
against 

Michigan since 
2010, a stretch 
that has seen 
the 
Hoosiers 

lose 10 games.

The 

Wolverines’ loss is the third of a 
three-game losing streak, and they 
are still looking for their first win in 
the Big Ten after falling to Purdue 
on Thursday, continuing what has 
been a rough holiday season.

For one quarter, Michigan 

played like the group that lost to 
Purdue. For the other three, it 
played like the team that began 

the 2015-16 season with seven 
straight wins.

But the entire time, it stayed 

close with Indiana. Though, if the 
Hoosiers watched Michigan lose 
its Big Ten opener to Purdue, they 
knew exactly how to slow down 
the Wolverines.

They didn’t let Michigan — one 

of the highest scoring offenses in 
the nation — get ahead early. They 
forced Thome to foul and made 
the Wolverines’ outside shooters 
to find other ways to score.

Michigan had just 12 points in 

the first quarter, and Thome had 
two fouls within a minute of play. 
The Wolverines shot below 50 
percent from beyond the arc but 
still hit seven 3-pointers, which 
kept them in the game.

“(Thome) sure didn’t recover 

too much (from the early fouls),” 
Barnes Arico said.

Indiana’s game plan worked, 

and the Hoosiers consistent free 
throw efforts proved them the 
better team Sunday.

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty’s 20 points weren’t enough in Michigan’s overtime loss to Indiana on Sunday.

“(Thome) sure 
didn’t recover 

too much.”

Wolverines drop third straight in OT

‘M’ opens season 
with two victories

Wolverines top No. 
13 Arkansas, Iowa 

in Cancun over 
Winter Break

By MATTHEW KENNEDY 

For the Daily

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

gymnastics team went into its 
first meet of the year hoping 
to find out what it was capable 
of. And as the seventh-ranked 
Wolverines found out, they are 
capable of achieving big things.

Led by junior Nicole Artz 

and freshman Olivia Karas, 
Michigan (2-0) defeated No. 
13 Arkansas, 196.975-195.150, 
and 
Iowa, 

196.975-
192.475.

Artz, 
a 

five-time All-
American, 
took 
first 

place in the 
floor exercise 
and 
uneven 

parallel 
bars, 
which 

propelled 
her to an all-around first-
place finish with 39.525 points. 
Following behind her in second 
place in the all-around was 
Karas, who stole the balance 
beam and vault events.

Together, the duo split the 

four events to help Michigan 
earn its victory.

The 
Wolverines 
started 

similarly strong last season, 
when they knocked off then-
No. 7 Georgia in a dual meet, 
196.600-195.600. 
And 
after 

seeing her team down a top-15 
opponent to open the season 
for a second straight year on 
Saturday, Michigan coach Bev 
Plocki came away impressed, 

even if the team wasn’t flawless 
in its regular-season debut.

“I don’t know that I would say 

we have a very big weakness,” 
Plocki said. “I think that in this 
particular meet, we could have 
performed a little bit better or 
didn’t perform quite as much up 
to our expectations on uneven 
bars, but it wasn’t bad by any 
stretch. 

“I think this is a pretty good 

team in all four events.”

The meet, which was held 

in a hotel ballroom in Cancun, 
wasn’t the only part of the 
team’s trip to Mexico. The trip 
also served as a team bonding 
event, as the Wolverines had a 
chance to enjoy some time away 
from the mat.

While away, Michigan went 

parasailing 
over 
the 

Caribbean 
Sea, sailed on 
a catamaran 
and even had 
the chance to 
pet a shark.

“We 
got 

to do some 
really 
fun 

and different 
things 
and 

just see people in their most 
relaxed, easygoing state outside 
of the gym, outside of practice 
and outside of competition,” 
Plocki said. “It was absolutely 
a great bonding trip. I think 
this team has gelled, and we 
got a great chemistry going 
forward.”

The Wolverines hope the 

victory and chemistry the 
trip provided will bring them 
confidence and momentum as 
they go into their next match 
against Georgia. They host the 
Bulldogs on Saturday, their last 
chance to compete before the 
start of conference play Jan. 16 
against Ohio State.

Redshirts earn 
opportunity with 
usual starters out

By MIKE PERSAK

For the Daily

It wasn’t the most important 

tournament of the year for the 
Michigan wrestling team — the 
Wolverines didn’t even send their 
starters to compete. But after the 
annual Southern Scuffle, they 
and their coaches grew excited 
about their future thanks to some 
of the young wrestlers who made 
the trip to Chattanooga, Tenn.

Two freshmen in particular 

stood out. Logan Massa, wrestling 
in the 165-pound division, and 
Austin Assad, wrestling in the 
125-pound 
division, 
medaled 

against perhaps their toughest 
competition of the year. Assad 
finished sixth in his division, 
while Massa came in second.

Though both Massa and Assad 

are 
redshirting 
this 
season, 

this 
particular 
tournament 

allowed redshirts to compete as 
unattached wrestlers, meaning 
they could identify with their 
school 
but 
could 
not 
earn 

points for their team’s standing. 
In 
addition, 
the 
unattached 

wrestlers had to pay for their 
own 
travels 
and 
could 
not 

be coached by their college’s 
coaches while at the tournament. 
This format allows wrestlers to 
keep their redshirt and maintain 
full eligibility, while still gaining 
valuable, in-match experience.

“This is really a development 

year 
for 
these 
guys,” 
said 

Michigan 
assistant 
coach 
Josh 

Churella. 
“A 

lot of times, 
they don’t get 
to 
wrestle 

this kind of 
competition 
throughout 
the year. So 
they decided to pay for it and 
come down on their own and 

compete. They took advantage 
of this opportunity, which was a 
really good one for them.”

The 
only 
thing 
standing 

between 
Massa 
and 
a 

championship 
was 
two-time 

defending 
national 
champion 

Alex Dieringer from Oklahoma 
State. Massa put up a good fight in 
a match that was closer than the 
final count appeared, as Dieringer 
scored late points in the third 
period to extend his victory to 8-2.

Massa’s 
loss 
to 
Dieringer 

marked the 10th-seeded 165 
pounder’s first loss of the season, 
and the freshman was not content 

with coming in 
second.

“There’s 
a 

lot of room for 
improvement,” 
Massa 
said. 

“(Dieringer) 
found 
where 

I have some 
weaknesses, 
and they got 

exposed. There’s positions that I 
need to work on.”

In the 125-pound bracket, 

Assad came in sixth place with a 
4-3 record on the weekend. His 
only losses were to the third seed 
(twice) and fourth seed and were 
his first of the season. His record 
is now 14-3.

An elbow injury from the 

summer kept Hall out of action 
during the fall semester.

Hall’s weekend was a roller 

coaster, as he started with a 
loss but recovered in a big way 
in his next match by defeating 
the second-seeded 141-pounder, 
Jimmy Gulibon from Penn State.

“He 
did 
rebound 
well 

to beat the No. 6 kid in the 
country,” Churella said. “But 
he didn’t have that consistency 
throughout the tournament, and 
that’s what prevented him from 
placing here.”

Michigan finished 28th out 

of 31 teams in the tournament, 
without Massa and Assad, but 
it was a positive experience for 
many individual Wolverines, as 
they look ahead to the rest of the 
season and beyond.

Youngsters impress at Southern Scuffle

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

“I think this is 
a pretty good 

team in all 
four events.”

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Michigan coach Joe McFarland’s team wrestled without its starters in the Southern Scuffle over the weekend, but its younger wrestlers gained valuable experience.

“This is really a 
development year 
for these guys.”

WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Wolverines spend 
new year training

By SYLVANNA GROSS

Daily Sports Writer

The No. 9 Michigan women’s 

swimming 
and 
diving 
team 

started 
out 
the 
new 
year 

swimmingly — with a victory.

For the fourth consecutive 

season, the Wolverines ended 
their weeklong training trip in 
Key Largo, Fla., with a win at 
the Orange Bowl Swim Classic. 
Michigan competed in mostly 
sprint races against four other 
schools and finished the day 
with a final tally of 265 points. In 
total, there were seven new meet 
records. Notably, the Wolverines 
were able to place first, second 
and third in six of the races.

“The focus in this meet was 

to execute the details … just 
like the football team did this 
week in their bowl game. It was 
inspirational,” 
said 
Michigan 

coach Mike Bottom.

The team gathered to watch 

the Citrus Bowl at a swimming 
and diving alumnus’ house near 
Key Largo. Bottom described 
the trip as the quintessential 
“Michigan experience.”

And when the meet itself 

started, 
the 
Wolverines 

dominated. 
Sophomore 
Emily 

Kopas and freshman Siobhán 
Haughey paced Michigan with 
two wins apiece. Kopas dominated 
in the breaststroke, out-touching 
her opponents in the 50-meter 
race (32.04) and the 100-meter 
race (1:10.57), while Haughey 
placed first in the 100-meter 
freestyle (55.86) and the 200-
meter individual medley (2:14.64).

Rounding 
out 
the 
event 

winners were sophomore Gillian 
Ryan in the 400-meter freestyle 
(4:15.21), sophomore Clara Smiddy 
in the 100-meter backstroke 
(1:01.12), junior Maddy Frost in 
the 50-meter freestyle (26.57) and 
senior Ali DeLoof in the 50-meter 
backstroke (28.32). In addition, 
Michigan won both of the relays 
at the meet.

Despite the success, Bottom 

believes the annual trip to Florida 
between Christmas and the New 

Year’s holiday is more about the 
training than the competition.

“This 
training 
trip 
is 
so 

important 
to 
us,” 
Bottom 

said. “This is a team that is so 
academically 
focused. 
We’re 

under a lot of pressure to reach 
their full potential both in 
academics and in athletics. But 
when we’re here, we’re only 
focused on swimming. Part of our 
objective is to help the athletes 
enjoy each other and the team a 
little bit more.

“We make changes in technique 

better here. Things like starts and 
turns. All of the little things that 
make the champion better.”

Despite the rigorous training 

schedule, the women’s team was 
able to bond among themselves 
and with the men’s team during 
downtime. Activities included 
seeing fireworks, a boat trip and 
eating meals.

But within a week of returning 

to Ann Arbor, the team will be 
getting right back into their 
competition 
season. 
Bottom 

relies on one thing to keep his 
swimmers motivated — focus.

“Focus is a great way to keep 

people moving forward,” Bottom 
said. “There is no time to stop. We 
have to keep moving. That’s what 
the schedule calls for.”

When looking for the types of 

recruits he wants on the team, 
Bottom searches for someone 
who maintains a clear focus and 
the ability to adapt to the team 
atmosphere. To Bottom, it takes a 
certain type of person to be able 
to work through a demanding 
athletic and academic schedule.

“We recruit athletes that are 

going to understand what it takes 
to be a Michigan Wolverine,” 
Bottom said. “It doesn’t mean they 
have it when they come in, but they 
have to be determined. They have 
to have a focus and a direction. 
And they have to put in the energy 
to athletics, academics and their 
community. We recruit athletes 
who understand this. Ninety-nine 
percent of the time we don’t get 
the best recruits, but we get people 
who always improve.”

MICHIGAN
INDIANA 

69
77

