Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 — 7A

DAVID SONG/Daily

Junior heavyweight Adam Coon (right) anchors a trio of wrestlers that have become known as “Murderer’s Row” for their dominance at the back end of meets.
“Murderer’s Row” leads Wolverines

By ORION SANG

Daily Sports Writer

It’s not often that one can find 

three wrestlers who perform 
well 
enough 
to 
deserve 
a 

nickname like the “murderer’s 
row,” but Michigan’s trio of 
junior 
Domenic 
Abounader, 

sixth-year senior Max Huntley 
and junior Adam Coon seem to 
fit the bill.

The 10th-ranked Wolverines 

have received great performances 
from their captains all season, and 
Friday’s dual meet against Illinois 
was no exception.

Heading into the final three 

matches of the meet, Michigan 
(3-0 Big Ten, 7-1 overall) found 
itself down, 12-14, against the 
13th-ranked Fighting Illini (0-3, 
9-3). But because Abounader, 
Huntley and Coon had yet to 

wrestle, the Wolverines weren’t 
worrying.

“If the dual’s tied or close at 

184 pounds, we’re going to win,” 
Huntley said. “It’s kind of like 
a murderer’s row. We all work 
very hard, we’re all top-10 guys, 
and I don’t see any team that 
could win two of the last three 
matches.”

Coon agreed with Huntley’s 

naming and assessment of the 
trio.

“It’s great having those two,” 

Coon said. “Those guys are just 
dominant on the mat. In the 
practice room, how hard they 
work, it shows on the mat. It’s 
death row when they meet those 
two, and I just try to follow 
along.”

With its victories over the 

Fighting 
Illini, 
Michigan’s 

so-called 
“murderer’s 
row” 

remained 
unbeaten 
in 
dual-

meet play. Their consistency has 
led them into the top 10 of the 
InterMat rankings for each of 
their respective weight classes, 
with Abounader ranked No. 10, 
Huntley ranked No. 6 and Coon, 
No. 4.

The Wolverines’ captains are 

not only proficient wrestlers, but 
are also good leaders, according to 
coach Joe McFarland.

“Those guys are just great 

role models,” McFarland said. 
“They’ve got a great work ethic 
and really focus on all the right 
things, on and off the mat. Put 
all three of those guys together 
and there’s really good leadership 
right there.”

Added Huntley: “Everything 

we do, we try to beat each other. 
We do the conditioning together 
in the morning, and we always 

wrestle.”

Besides leading through hard 

work, though, the three captains 
also exhibit a unique blend of 
different leadership styles. The 
approach for Huntley, the first 
three-time captain in Michigan 
wrestling history, has especially 
changed from previous years.

“I’m 
in 
more 
of 
an 

advisory role,” Huntley said. 
“(Abounader’s) taken over the 
vocal part. I’m more of the older, 
wiser captain. A lot of guys come 
to me for advice for cutting 
weight and things like that, and 
I try to lead by example now and 
leave the vocal stuff to the other 
captains.”

If 
the 
trio’s 
leadership 

mentality comes to fruition, 
opponents 
may 
be 
calling 

Michigan’s 
entire 
lineup 

“murderer’s row.”

Wolverines, Fisch 
extend agreement

Passing game 
coordinator 

reportedly re-ups 

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

Michigan football coach Jim 

Harbaugh said in December he 
was looking to lock up passing 
game coordinator Jedd Fisch 
to a contract extension. That 
deal is done, according to Sports 
Illustrated’s Thayer Evans, who 
reported Tuesday that Fisch 
signed a two-year extension 
worth between $650,000 and 
$750,000 per year, plus incentives.

Fisch, also the Wolverines’ 

quarterbacks and wide receivers 
coach, just wrapped up his first 
season under Harbaugh in Ann 
Arbor. He has been an assistant 
for nine different teams in 16 
years of coaching, never spending 
more than four years in one spot. 

The new extension secures Fisch, 
who has coached eight of his 16 
years in the NFL, before he gets 
snatched away by a professional 
team following the season.

Fisch, 
39, 
led 
a 
steady 

improvement 
in 
Michigan’s 

offense in 2015. Fifth-year senior 
Jake Rudock, a graduate transfer 
from Iowa, emerged to complete 
one of the best statistical seasons 
for a quarterback in Michigan 
history. He threw for 3,017 yards 
and 20 touchdowns against just 
nine interceptions.

Redshirt junior wide receivers 

Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh 
and junior tight end Jake Butt 
totaled 2,145 of those yards on 
159 catches, and all three have 
decided to hold off on the NFL 
Draft and return for their final 
seasons in 2016. Fisch will have 
another stable of quarterbacks 
to grow. The leader could be 
Houston transfer John O’Korn, 
who has two years of eligibility 
remaining after he sat out in 2015.

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Jedd Fisch led Michigan to an offensive resurgence in 2015.

Trio sparks Michigan win

By TYLER COADY 

Daily Sports Writer

While this weekend’s Michigan 

Invitational 
was 
technically 

just a tuneup for next weekend’s 
regular-season 
opener, 
the 

Michigan women’s tennis team’s 
trio of junior Ronit Yurovsky, 
sophomore Alex Najarian and 
freshman Brienne Minor played 
like it was anything but against 
Tennessee.

In all of the singles matchups 

between 
the 
14th-ranked 

Wolverines and the Volunteers, 
leads evaporated and deuce points 
went either way. As the madness 
ebbed and flowed, these three 
Michigan standouts found ways 
to get wins.

Yurovsky, who was named All-

Big Ten last season, fell into an 
early hole in her singles match 
against Tennessee’s Eve Repic. 
Facing a deficit and having made 
numerous 
unforced 
errors, 

Yurovsky looked out of sorts and 
out of sync.

Then, Yurovsky surfaced as she 

served her way to a 6-0 second-set 
win before pulling out a 6-3 third-
set win to clinch the match and 
seal an overall singles victory for 
Michigan.

“We all had slow starts,” 

Yurovsky said. “We all had that 
fight to get back into the match. 
It is nice to have all those girls 

playing by your side … and to get 
points for the team.”

With a seasoned veteran like 

Yurovsky setting the tone for 
a comeback, that spirit clearly 
rubbed off on Minor.

Minor, a newcomer to the 

team, played with a sense of 
composure and confidence in 
her first set, come-from-behind 
victory. Minor, down 5-4 with the 
game score tied at 30-30, laced a 
backhand shot down the line that 
nestled itself within the white 
chalk. That shot — a graceful but 
powerful backhander — proved to 
be the much-needed momentum 
boost that Minor needed.

While she went down again, 

this time 6-5, Minor quickly rallied 
to send the set to a tiebreaker. In 
the tiebreaker, it was a painless 
win for the true freshman as she 
won, 7-2. With a set victory in 
hand, Minor never looked back, 
dictating the play with her serve 
and groundstrokes, and winning 
the clinching set, 6-3.

“Usually when I am down, I 

just think about the team and that 
I need to pull this win out for the 
team,” Minor said. “I needed to 
make (the team) my number-one 
priority.”

As Yurovsky and Minor labored 

for wins, more drama unfolded on 
Najarian’s court. The sophomore, 
an All-Big Ten selection last year, 
had to channel all she had in order 

to fend off a valiant Volunteer 
challenge.

Najarian, after a 7-6 first-set 

victory, ran into a bit of trouble 
in the second set. After a string 
of unforced errors and trouble 
dealing with her opponent’s left-
handed serve, she found herself 
on the brink of having to play a 
third set.

“I knew I had to keep my 

energy up and not let her dictate 
the points as much, which led to 
me being down,” Najarian said. 
“She was hoping I was going 
to miss, and I just tried to take 
control.”

And take control she did. 

Najarian 
reasserted 
her 

service game, becoming more 
comfortable with her opponent’s 
serving and notching a string 
of winners to secure a 7-5 set 
victory.

Michigan 
coach 
Ronni 

Bernstein, who traversed much 
of the tennis facility throughout 
the day as she sought to keep 
an eye on all of her players, was 
happy with what she saw in the 
comeback victories.

“The matches are long, and you 

have to be able to keep your foot 
on the pedal,” Bernstein said.

While Yurovsky, Minor and 

Najarian didn’t cruise past their 
opponents, they were able to find 
the right gear at just the right 
time.

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Ronit Yurovsky clinched a Michigan win over Tennessee by winning her final sets, 6-0, 6-3, over Eve Repic.

Wolverines shine in front 
of Leone, Hahn, Connors

By AVI SHOLKOFF 

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan women’s gymnastics 

coach Bev Plocki believes there 
are two core aspects central to the 
collegiate athletic experience: 

“One part of it is winning 

championships, being on a team 
and learning about teamwork,” 
Plocki said. “The other part of it 
is learning to be humble, learning 
that it isn’t always all about us.”

While 
the 
top-ranked 

Wolverines are well on their 
way to fulfilling Plocki’s first 
core aspect, Plocki’s second core 
aspect made itself apparent this 
weekend in Michigan’s meet 
against Ohio State (1-0-1 Big Ten, 
1-0-1 overall). Michigan learned 
firsthand about appreciation and 
gained insight into the experience 
of living with autism.

Saturday, the Wolverines (1-0-

0, 3-0-0), defeated the Buckeyes, 
196.950-195.275, 
in 
front 
of 

Abby Hahn and John Leone, 
two individuals on the autism 
spectrum who have both spent 
significant time with members of 
the gymnastics team.

Hahn performed a magnificent 

floor routine before the meet 
began, and the crowd graciously 
applauded. After Hahn’s routine, 
Brian Connors, another individual 
with autism, sang a roaring 
national anthem, which was also 

met with cheers of approval.

The meet offered freshman 

Olivia Karas, as well as her 
teammates, a unique opportunity 
to bring familiarity to the public 
about the disorder.

“It was awesome to compete 

for something bigger than just 
Michigan, for a greater cause,” 
Karas said. “(It was) a great honor 
having the (autism) symbol on our 
cheeks.”

Karas 
lived 
up 
to 
her 

expectations. She finished with 
the highest all-around score in the 
meet and also set a career high in 
the uneven bars, achieving a score 
of 9.850.

John Leone, a college student 

at 
University 
of 
Michigan-

Dearborn, has spent many hours 
in the gym with the Michigan 
team over the years, growing in 
comfort after each visit. Because 
of the amount of time he has 
spent with the Wolverines in the 
gym, the older members of the 
team have established an ongoing 
relationship with him. 

Junior Nicole Artz, in her third 

year of taking part in Autism 
Awareness Meet, praised Leone 
and his influence on the team.

“(Leone’s) 
been 
a 
true 

inspiration and a really good 
friend to us,” Artz said. “(He is) a 
number-one Michigan supporter, 
(he) cares so much about us, and 
we love him as well.”

Artz also thrived in the meet, 

garnering the second best all-
around score and earning the 
top score in the floor event with 
a 9.900. She also tied her season 
bests in both the vault and the 
balance beam.

Many 
individuals 
on 
the 

autism spectrum had prominent 
roles in Saturday’s meet, perhaps 
highlighting 
Plocki’s 
message 

that individuals with the disorder 
enjoy participating in the same 
activities as those without it.

“We want people to learn from 

what we’ve learned and from our 
experiences,” Plocki said. “When 
we can have Abby come out and 
demonstrate her ability or Brian 
come out and sing like he sang, 
(it is) hopefully changing ideas 
or perceptions of the people who 
were here at this meet.”

Plocki shared one final story 

about Leone and his experiences 
in Michigan’s team huddle after 
each practice.

“We put him with (the) girls 

around him, close to him and 
touching him to do a ‘Let’s Go 
Blue,’ ” Plocki said. “After that, he 
immediately ran back over to his 
mother, and he was like, ‘I did it! 
I did it!’ ”

On a day when the Wolverines 

showed why they are the No.1 
team in the nation, it was 
ultimately their humility and 
appreciation that stood out. 

EMILIE FARRUGIA/Daily

The Michigan women’s gymnastics team participated in the Autism Awareness Meet over the weekend.

