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