4B — January 19, 2016
SportsTuesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘M’ falls at Iowa

By LEV FACHER

Daily Sports Writer

IOWA CITY — The Michigan

men’s basketball team provided
further nightmare fodder Sunday
for
one

former
secretary
of
state,

proving repeatedly that leads in
Iowa are never secure, even for
hometown favorites.

Twice,
the
Wolverines

allowed themselves to fall behind
substantially
and
seemingly

for good in front of 15,400 at
Carver-Hawkeye
Arena.
But

twice, Michigan brushed its past
Hawkeye State woes aside and
refused to let the game slip out of
reach until the final minutes of its
82-71 loss at No. 16 Iowa.

The Wolverines (3-2 Big Ten,

13-5
overall)
weathered
the

Hawkeyes’ 9-0 run to open the
game and again recovered from
a deficit that ballooned to 12
midway through the first half,
even taking a two-point lead with
15:24 remaining in the game.

“We
were
really
happy

with
this
(performance),”

said
Michigan
coach
John

Beilein,
citing
the
daunting

road environment, which was
impressive especially given the
sub-zero temperatures outside.
“They did show a lot more than
they did in a couple other games.”

The
third
blow,
however,

proved too hard to recover from,
as a 3-pointer from Peter Jok with
8:55 remaining put the Hawkeyes
(5-0, 14-3) up by 11. The Wolverines
threatened once again, trimming
Iowa’s lead to as little as five, but
ultimately left their comeback
trifecta incomplete.

Michigan
struggled
to

contain Jok and Jarrod Uthoff
throughout, in no small part due
to its shooting ability and knack
for
consistently
finishing
in

transition. Uthoff finished with
23 points, and Jok added 16.

“Transition defense is really

hard when you have five shooters
(on offense),” Beilein said. “There
were a couple of times there when
we had bad matchups. (Junior
forward) Mark Donnal all of a
sudden is over on Jok. That’s
bad anyway, let alone if you’re
running down the court trying to
identify him.”

The Wolverines’ transitional

woes proved a consistent thorn
in their side, but the root of the
problem — their inability to
handle Iowa’s defensive pressure
— seemed to bother Beilein more.
Michigan turned the ball over 13
times, including three consecutive
possessions once Iowa began
applying a 2-3 zone press.

The
Hawkeyes’
pressure

was hardly a surprise, and the
Wolverines
even
used
their

press break to their advantage
in Tuesday’s win over No. 3
Maryland, taking the opportunity
to
find
redshirt
sophomore

guard Duncan Robinson alone
on the perimeter. Robinson even

expressed excitement prior to
the Iowa game that Michigan
could replicate the performance
—
provided,
of
course,
the

Wolverines could get the ball up
the court.

All in all, the Wolverines did

well to pick off one game in their
10-day devil’s row — a visit to
then-No. 20 Purdue, a matchup
with No. 3 Maryland and, finally,
the visit to No. 16 Iowa. Playing
without senior guard Caris LeVert,
the centerpiece of their offense,
the Wolverines nonetheless kept
things close in both of the losses
and manufactured more than
enough offense to finish the upset
over the Terrapins.

But in January, when it came

to Big Ten standings and NCAA
Tournament resumes and the
harsh reality of back-to-back road
losses setting in, Walton provided
no excuse.

“We didn’t really want to do

moral victories,” Walton said. “It’s
not what we do.”

Lineup changes not
enough for Michigan

By KELLY HALL

Daily Sports Editor

IOWA CITY — With Caris

LeVert still sidelined with a lower
left leg injury, the Michigan
men’s basketball team searched
hard for a winning combination
against No. 16 Iowa on Sunday. At
times, the Wolverines even used
redshirt freshman forward D.J.
Wilson and true freshman Moritz
Wagner — two big men who don’t
often see the court, let alone see
it at the same time — to get some
momentum going after falling
into an early 11-0 hole.

Michigan coach John Beilein’s

meddling was to no avail, though,
and the Hawkeyes (5-0 Big Ten,
14-3 overall) handily beat the
Wolverines, 82-71.

“They
were
the
better

team than us tonight, without
question,”
Beilein
said.
“We

fought hard; we had three really
bad spurts during the game. At
the beginning of the first, three
quarters of the way through the
first half and three quarters of the
way through the second.”

Beilein orchestrated multiple

comebacks from Iowa’s spurts,
including a 13-0 run in the first half
that was a result of lineup changes.

Redshirt sophomore guard

Duncan
Robinson
started

Michigan’s (3-2, 13-5) run by
driving to the basket rather than
hitting his signature 3-pointer.
After Robinson led the way,
Wagner and sophomore forward
Aubrey Dawkins followed up with
inside layups of their own.

The
run
was
accentuated

further by back-to-back dunks
from Wagner and Wilson.

Wagner grabbed a defensive

rebound after the Wolverines’
nine-point spurt, gave it to junior
guard Derrick Walton and ran
to the other side of the court.

Meanwhile, Walton dribbled it all
the way around the perimeter and
passed to Dawkins, who dished it
back to Wagner in the paint for a
two-handed slam.

Dawkins did such a good

job with his assist that he was
beckoned over to the sideline with
the clock still running to give
Beilein a hug.

The play was part of a vital 13-0

run that gave Michigan a one-point
lead, 21-20, with 8:11 left in the first
half. The lineup for a majority
of the run included Walton,
sophomore guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Dawkins,
Wilson and Wagner.

“The length that we tried to get

to get a bigger hand up on a few
of their guys, but they ended up
going with four or five shooters
out there,” Beilein said. “We’re
just trying to find ways to get D.J.
on the floor.”

Added junior forward Mark

Donnal: “Overall, I think they did
a good job of playing their role,”
Donnal said. “We run (Wilson
and Wagner) at that position
during practice all the time. It’s
not something that we’re not used
to seeing, but I guess in games you
don’t necessarily see it (often).”

Michigan started off the second

half with a Robinson 3-pointer
less than a minute in. Robinson
jumpstarted a 13-6 run at the start
of the second that led Michigan
to regain a lead after heading into
halftime down 38-33.

Abdur-Rahkman proved he

could work the inside against
the Hawkeyes in the second
frame,
consistently
breaking

through the zone and laying the
ball in while still under the net
— sometimes while in reverse
and without looking — but also
proved himself as a perimeter
threat. A little less than four
minutes into the second half, he

stepped back and hit a three to
put Michigan within one point of
the Hawkeyes, 47-46.

“We
saw
how
deflated

(previous opponents’ runs) looked
or felt,” Walton said. “We really
wanted to make that adjustment
that even though teams are gonna
make runs, don’t hang your head,
the game is full of runs. Today,
Iowa made their run and nobody
on this team watched. We were
just really eager to make the next
play for our teammates.”

But after the spurt at the start of

the second half, it was hard to keep
up with the Hawkeyes. Beilein
tried the combo of Wagner and
Wilson again, along with Walton,
Dawkins and junior forward Zak
Irvin, but fault lines were more
noticeable this time around.

Ten minutes into the second

half, a ball hovered around the
rim, and after Wilson grabbed the
offensive rebound, he should have
tipped it in but couldn’t. Thirteen
seconds
later,
Beilein
pulled

Wilson and Wagner. Beilein’s
experimenting was over.

The missed tip-in was part of a

12-0 Hawkeye run that stretched
over four minutes. It ended when
Donnal made a layup, but the
game was too far gone.

Though the contest in Iowa

City was full of small Michigan
achievements,
moral
victories

aren’t enough anymore for the
Wolverines.

“Of course, we don’t really

want to do moral victories, that’s
not what we do,” Walton said.
“But as a good basketball team
in this conference, we gotta pay
homage to this team, it’s really
good. This three-game stretch
to play some of the top teams in
this conference, we stood toe-to-
toe some stretches, we never let
down, but I think we can only get
better from this point.”

GRANT HARDY/Daily

John Beilein, pictured Tuesday vs. Maryland, saw his team lose to Iowa on Sunday.

MICHIGAN
IOWA

71
82

SWIMMING AND DIVING
Wolverines show
depth in the pool

By ANNA HARITOS

Daily Sports Writer

The
Michigan
men’s
and

women’s swimming and diving
teams
opened
the
semester

Saturday with a sweep of the
competition at a quad meet against
Indiana, Duke and Georgia Tech,
held at Georgia Tech.

The
meet
offered
the

Wolverines
a
particular

advantage for later in the season.
The Yellow Jackets will host the
NCAA Championships this year,
so Michigan will be familiar with
the site when the event comes
around.

“Coach (Mike) Bottom went

out of his way to set up a meet at
Georgia Tech so we could get a
feel for the pool before we went
to nationals,” senior Ali DeLoof
said. “It’s really great he did that
because we can work on turns,
starts and really get a feel for the
pool before we get to nationals.”

The victory was well earned by

both teams, as they each kicked
off the meet by dominating the
200-yard medley relay. Indiana
proved to hold some of the
toughest competition, but the
Wolverines were better.

“Indiana won their share of

events, but the events that they
won, we were able to take second,
third, fourth and add up points
that would take away some of
their advantage for the overall
win,” Bottom said. “It was a great
team win on both sides.”

On the women’s side, DeLoof

and sophomores Clara Smiddy
and Gillian Ryan as well as
freshman
Siobhan
Haughey

each claimed wins in two events.
Smiddy finished with two ‘B’ cut
times in the 100-yard backstroke
and the 200-yard backstroke.
Meanwhile, Ryan dominated the
field in the 1,000-yard freestyle,
winning by more than 10 seconds.

They were not the only ones

who led the team to victory, as
the Wolverines (4-0 Big Ten, 6-1
overall) showed depth in many
events, especially the 200-yard

freestyle, in which they took first,
third, fourth and fifth.

The men’s team continued

to uphold its undefeated dual-
meet record this past weekend,
as it has not lost a dual since
November 2010.

Much like the women, the men

(4-0, 7-0) showed strong depth
in their events. Sophomore PJ
Ransford won the 1,000-yard
freestyle with junior Cameron
Stitt taking second and sophomore
Ian Rainey placing fourth.

The
500-yard
freestyle

also provided points for the
Wolverines. Senior Anders Lie
Nielsen took first followed by
Ransford in second, while their
teammates, Stitt and Rainey, took
fourth and fifth, respectively.

Among the standouts was

sophomore
Paul
Powers,
a

Georgia native, who won the
50-yard freestyle.

“That was my home pool where

all my state championships were,”
Powers said. “Along with a bunch
of other important meets as well.
The pool itself carries a lot of
really good memories, and I think
just swimming there once before
nationals is going to be such a help
to the entire team.”

Though
the
scores
show

Michigan’s dominance, skill and
focus, the Wolverines fought hard
until the last athlete touched the
wall in the 400-yard freestyle to
end the meet. Both the men and
the women claimed first in the
event and the meet overall — but
for the men, the final race was a
huge determining factor in the
outcome.

“A lot of times in a dual meet,

it comes down to the last race,”
Powers said. “That relay carries
so many points with the win that
it can be a crucial point, especially
if you’re a lot closer than you
think it is. We were really close
with Indiana pretty much the
whole meet. Going into the 400-
yard relay, we knew that we had
to win it in order to win the meet.
We ended up pulling through,
and that was incredible.”

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

Freshman Olivia Karas earned her first all-around title Saturday against Ohio State with a dominant performance and an overall score of 39.425.
Newly crowned No. 1 Michigan wins

Wolverines top
Ohio State in

Autism Awareness

Meet at Crisler

By ETHAN WOLFE

Daily Sports Writer

In its first meet ranked at

the top of women’s college
gymnastics, No. 1 Michigan had
no problem proving it deserved
the ranking.

The
Wolverines
(1-0
Big

Ten, 4-0 overall), who hosted
their second annual Autism
Awareness Meet on Saturday,
beat Ohio State (0-1, 1-1) handily,
196.950-195.275. Michigan has
lost just once to the Buckeyes in
its last 48 meetings.

Freshman
Olivia
Karas

headed
the
Wolverines’

dominant performance with a
score of 39.425 and her first all-

around victory as a collegiate
gymnast. Karas also claimed the
best score on the vault, 9.875,
and scored no lower than 9.825
in any event.

“We put in a lot of hard work

this week, and I think it really
showed,” Karas said. “It’s great
to win all-around, but our team
won and that’s the bottom line.
We put out a great performance.”

Junior captain Nicole Artz

continued
her
fantastic

season,
winning
the

floor
exercise

with a score
of 9.900. That,
alongside
stellar
performances
in
her
other

events,
gave

her a score of 39.375, putting her
right behind Karas for the best
all-around score.

But Karas and Artz weren’t

the only ones who shined for
Michigan.

Senior
captain
Briley

Casanova had a career day,
tying career highs of 9.825 and
9.850 on the bars and vault,
respectively. Freshman Emma
McLean tied her career high for
the vault with a 9.775.

Junior captain Talia Chiarelli

received the honor of Big Ten
Event Specialist of the Week

for the third
week in a row.
She
posted

the
highest

score in any
event for the
meet, earning
a 9.950 on the
beam.

In all four

events,
the

Wolverines

earned more than 49 total points
out of a possible 50.

Michigan coach Bev Plocki

believes the Wolverines’ success

is a result of the team becoming
more comfortable and confident
with each meet.

Artz
agreed,
adding
that

being ranked first in the country
is no surprise to her.

“We know that we are where

we belong, and that we are No.
1,” Artz said. “To finally have
that recognition is awesome.”

Added Karas: “I think this

is
(a
championship
team).

Everyone on this team has what
it takes to contribute, and we’re
definitely going to be contenders
for nationals this year.”

Plocki
also
thinks
that

Wolverines
can
win
a

championship.
When
asked

if
Michigan
is
a
national

contender,
Plocki
answered

without hesitation.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I say that

with absolutely no reservation at
all. This team has shown so much
resiliency and grit. This is going to
be a team that will be able to go all
the way for sure.”

“We know that
we are where we
belong, and that

we are No. 1.”

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