2B — January 19, 2016 SportsTuesday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTSTUESDAY COLUMN Fan provides sendoffs to remember T he physical act of going on the road, generally, creates little fanfare for Michigan teams. Sure, the football team’s fans frequently fill opposing stadiums, but the team departs Schembechler Hall the day before games with a police escort devoid of much of the rah-rah “Go Blue” fandom exhibited in Michigan Stadium. The men’s basketball team doesn’t have a fan presence, either, as it departs the William Davidson Player Development Center for road trips. The Michigan women’s basketball team, however, has a very different experience. It has Chuck Raab. To call Raab — a recently retired special needs teacher who lives in Ann Arbor — a Michigan fan would be an understatement. He is the most diehard of the diehards, a guy who bleeds so blue a smurf would be impressed. He grew up watching Red Berenson and Cazzie Russell play for Michigan, and at times over the years, he has been a fixture at different Michigan sporting events, from football to women’s rowing. But now, Raab puts most of his time and energy into supporting the women’s basketball team. For most, supporting any athletic team is a part-time hobby, reserved for watching games and keeping up to date with news involving the team. Raab’s support goes well beyond that. He stood on Stadium Boulevard on Saturday, right by the Player Development Center, Crisler Center and Michigan Stadium as the team began to load its bus to the airport for its game against Penn State. He was armed with a large Michigan flag and a sign that read, “Michigan Wolverines never stop.” When the bus prepared to leave the parking lot, Raab placed the handle of his flag in a cone sitting nearby. He grabbed his sign as the bus passed by, jumping up and down to show the players and coaches. Then, as the bus headed down Stadium toward the Big House, Raab dropped his sign and snatched the flag. He sprinted alongside the bus until it was completely out of sight. He yelled words of encouragement the entire time. He does the same thing every time the Wolverines go on the road. “I want to support the team as it’s leaving for an away game just to show them that we the fans support them wherever they’re playing, wherever they’re going,” Raab said. His support and steadfast encouragement don’t go unacknowledged by the team. The players and coaching staff waved to Raab as he executed his sendoff, and many of the players give him high-fives as he screams and hollers when they run onto the court for home games. At games, Raab is a ball of enthusiasm, using his front- row seat as a way to be close to the action and constantly yell words of support. If Raab’s excitement about Michigan women’s basketball seems unusual, it’s because it is. Historically, the program hasn’t enjoyed a great deal of success. The Wolverines have never reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, and black curtains rope off the upper-level seats for home games. The team has drawn more than 3,000 fans to a home game only once this season, despite an 11-6 record in a year when rebuilding was the sole expectation. Those facts do not dampen Raab’s enthusiasm. He has long been a fan of Michigan women’s basketball, but his current level of devotion began in 2003 with the arrival of former coach Cheryl Burnett. Raab remembers Burnett pleading with the team’s fans to be more passionate about the team. He took it as a call to action. He decided he would support the team in every way he possibly could. He bought a season-ticket courtside seat that he holds to this day, decked himself out in Michigan clothing and started making signs to hold at games. He’d show up when the team went on road trips, too, cheering them on the entire way. He hasn’t looked back, 13 years later. His repertoire of signs is constantly changing and growing. He showed up to Thursday’s home game against Maryland with nine handwritten signs, all giving his favorite team messages of encouragement. He even shows up sometimes when the team gets back to Ann Arbor after road games, like he did Sunday night after the Wolverines downed Penn State in State College. Raab sees a program on the rise, one led by what he believes is the best coaching staff in the country. If the team is working so hard, Raab believes, then the fans should be working hard to support them. “I want to help create this kind of atmosphere around the court to give our women — which they richly deserve — the best home- court advantage in the country,” Raab said. Raab hardly ever misses a game or seeing the team off for a road trip, estimating that he misses seeing the team bus depart once a season, but only if he has a very important conflict. He was slowed down by a battle with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma for a couple of years after 2011, and then again with a more recent melanoma scare. He was disappointed, even in the midst of extremely serious health problems, that he couldn’t support the team the way he wanted to. “It’s my passion,” Raab said. “I just want to do whatever I can to support the team. It’s not about … it’s nothing about me. It’s about the team, the team, the team. I’m just trying to support the team, the team, the team.” For now, Raab may very well be the team’s most passionate fan. But if someone surpasses him one day, it seems like Raab wouldn’t mind. He might even prefer it. “Every year, I just dream about the day when we can fill this whole arena up and everybody (can) be that passionate and give us that home-court advantage,” Raab said before Thursday’s game. “That is my main goal.” Cohen can be reached at maxac@umich.edu and on Twitter @MaxACohen. RITA MORRIS/Daily Chuck Raab has been a Michigan women’s basketball superfan since around 2003, sending the team off from Crisler Center when it leaves for road trips. “We the fans support them wherever they’re playing.” ‘M’ holds on at Penn State Wolverines hit free throws down the stretch, rebound from Thursday loss By LELAND MITCHINSON Daily Sports Writer Though the Michigan women’s basketball team seemed to be in control for most of its game against Penn State (1-5 Big Ten, 6-11 overall) on Sunday, it took everything the Wolverines had to hold on for a 91-87 victory on the road. Composure from the free- throw line and the team’s ability to get the ball into the hands of sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty, who was 9-for-10 from the stripe on the night, kept Michigan (3-3, 11-6) a step ahead in its first win in State College since 2001. Despite allowing Penn State to close the gap, Michigan turned in a strong defensive performance in the first half, limiting the Nittany Lions to just 37-percent shooting from the floor. The Wolverines turned it up a notch to begin the third quarter, stretching their lead to 15 at one point, in large part due to the fact that Penn State had no answer for Thome in the post and in transition. Freshman center Hallie Thome finished the contest with 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks, though she fouled out with 2:03 left in the game. Fouls were a problem for both teams as junior guard Siera Thompson joined Thome in fouling out, committing her fifth in the last minute of the game, and the Nittany Lions also had three players reach the foul limit. Flaherty found her groove in the second half to make up for it, leading the Wolverines in scoring with 23 points for the game, which included 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Penn State made it uncomfortable for Michigan late, going on a 7-0 run with four minutes left in the fourth. The Nittany Lions continued to claw their way back, cutting the Michigan lead all the way down to five with only a minute left. The charge was led by guard Teniya Page, who finished the game with 31 points, though the Wolverines were able to avoid a big collapse on the road, relying on late free throws to shut Penn State’s window of opportunity. “I thought Penn State did a tremendous job of fighting and fighting and battling back,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “Every time we got up 10 or 12 points they would make another run.” “We’ve lost three games that have come down to this and we didn’t make our free throws down the stretch, so tonight it was great to see.” After the game began with a nearly two minute scoreless streak by both teams, the Wolverines found their stride, benefitting from strong first- quarter performances by Thome and Thompson, who combined for 15 points on the way to a 23-14 lead for Michigan. Leading by nine to start the second quarter, the Wolverines turned to their bench as starters Thome, Thompson and Flaherty each picked up two personal fouls. The foul trouble, along with 13 turnovers, allowed the Nittany Lions to cut their deficit to four at the half. “Our turnovers were so unforced at times,” Barnes Arico said. “They were in transition when we had numbers and we had opportunities … so that will be something that we’ll definitely emphasize.” RITA MORRIS/Daily Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico’s team pulled out a close victory over Penn State on Sunday, led by sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty’s 23 points. MICHIGAN PENN STATE 91 87 WOMEN’S TENNIS Michigan rolls in first tournament By ORION SANG Daily Sports Writer The No. 14 Michigan women’s tennis team struggled with injuries during the fall season, with many lineup regulars unable to play. But this weekend, with everyone healthy and back in the mix, the Wolverines showed little sign of rust, competing in their first tournament since the end of the fall season as they hosted No. 23 Georgia Tech, North Florida and Tennessee for the Michigan Invitational at the Varsity Tennis Center. Led by strong performances from sophomore Alex Najarian and freshmen Brienne Minor and Kate Fahey, Michigan was able to win the majority of both its singles and doubles matches over the weekend. Both Najarian and Minor won all three of their singles matches, while Fahey won each of her doubles matches. “We got a lot of quality, tough matches,” Bernstein said. “They were put in a lot of difficult situations — you saw a lot of tiebreakers today and big points. Overall, I think it was the perfect weekend to get us ready for next weekend.” Friday, the Wolverines got off to a sluggish start in doubles play, dropping three out of four matches against the Yellow Jackets, but Bernstein was unconcerned with her team’s slow start. “With the new doubles (rules), everything happens pretty quick, so we just need to be ready,” Bernstein said. “We had new teams — a couple of the kids in doubles hadn’t played in the fall. After that first round, I had a feeling that we would be OK and that we’d settle down. I think as the weekend went on, the doubles definitely picked up.” Michigan proved Bernstein right by improving from their inauspicious start to the tournament. The Wolverines swept Tennessee in three doubles matches before later winning all seven singles matches against North Florida to close out the first day. Michigan continued its success from the previous day on Saturday, winning three of four doubles matches against the Volunteers and all three of its doubles matches against the Ospreys. The Wolverines continued the momentum forward, winning five of their eight singles matches against Georgia Tech. The last day, though, proved to be the toughest competition for the Wolverines in singles play, as they split eight matches with Tennessee. Minor was broken several times in the first set of her match against Sadie Hammond at the third singles position, but came back to win the first-set tiebreaker. She went on to win the second set, 6-3, to finish off her perfect performance over the weekend. “I thought I did well in singles and doubles overall,” Minor said. “I’m feeling pretty good going into season.” Both Fahey and Najarian were in similarly tough matches, as Fahey dropped a highly contested first set en route to a 5-7, 1-6 loss. Najarian, on the other hand, battled her way to a 7-6, 7-5 victory. Bernstein was pleased with the mental toughness her team showed. “You don’t always feel your best or play your best,” Bernstein said. “But you have to figure out a way to compete, and I think we did a good job of that.” The Wolverines will look to continue their hot start next week at the ITA Kick-Off. “I definitely think (this weekend) gave us some momentum,” Minor said. “I thought our whole team has been playing well, even though some of us lost. I think we’re all ready for the season.”