The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
January 25, 2016 — 3B
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
‘M’ earns first Big
Ten road triumph
By MATTHEW KENNEDY
Daily Sports Writer
After
easily
defeating
No.
25 Ohio State a week ago, the
Michigan women’s gymnastics
team repeated its dominating
performance Saturday against No.
17 Illinois in Champaign.
The third-ranked Wolverines
(2-0 Big Ten, 5-0 overall), who fell
from their No. 1 national ranking
last week, led from the get-go
and
never
relinquished
their
lead to defeat the Fighting Illini,
196.900-195.150. The victory gave
Michigan its first Big Ten road win
of the year.
Regardless of whatever event
was going on, though, one thing
was always notable: The team
seemed to be having fun. The
gymnasts were cheering each
other on, smiling and doing
the routines with each other.
During the floor routine, even the
normally stern judges cracked
smiles
while
watching
the
Michigan gymnasts.
“This is a fun team, this is a
fun group of girls,” Plocki said.
“We focus a lot on, the more fun
we’re having, the more successful
we’re going to be because having
fun means you’re relaxed. And
if you’re relaxed, you’re going to
go out there and do what you’re
capable of doing. Typically, if
you’re nervous and stressed out,
that’s really not a performance-
enhancing kind of thing.”
The battle for the all-around title
was significantly closer than the
meet itself, though with one caveat:
It was between two Michigan
gymnasts. Freshman Olivia Karas,
competing in her home state of
Illinois, narrowly edged out junior
All-American Nicole Artz, 39.550-
39.425, to take home the all-around
crown. Sophomore All-American
Brianna Brown finished fifth in the
all-around standings with a score
of 38.975.
Brown, who was Big Ten
Co-Freshman of the Year last
season, had to fill in for senior
Briley Casanova, who had a minor
injury, on the vault. Artz also had
her shin wrapped due to soreness,
though Plocki said the wrapping
was there to prevent the soreness
from turning into an injury.
Michigan started off the night
extremely strong, with sophomore
Nichelle Christopherson and senior
Lindsay Williams both sticking
their landings on the uneven
bars. Artz had great extension
throughout her routine to tie for
first in the event with a 9.900.
The
Wolverines
continued
to set the night’s dominating
mood on the vault, where Karas
propelled herself to a career-
high 9.950. As the Wolverines
were competing on the vault, two
different Illinois gymnasts fell off
the uneven bars, all but spelling
doom for the Fighting Illini.
Surprisingly, Michigan’s worst
event of the night was on the floor,
where it is ranked second in the
nation. A strong performance on
the beam, though, guaranteed the
Wolverines a 47th consecutive
win against the Illini.
With Illinois, the next-highest
ranked team in the Big Ten after
the Wolverines, out of the way, it
appears that Michigan is in the
driver’s seat to repeat as Big Ten
champions. To Michigan coach
Bev Plocki, though, the victory
doesn’t change the team’s mindset.
“Our
goal
from
the
very
beginning of the year — and for
several years — has been not only
to win the Big Ten, but to win a
national championship,” Plocki
said. “I really like where we are,
and we have made improvements
in all four events. It’s just a matter
of putting that all together and
having all of that show up in the
same competition. That’s when
we feel like we’ll be really hitting
our stride.”
Michigan wins twice
at home tournament
Wolverines rout San
Francisco, slip past
No. 23 Kentucky in
ITA Kick-Off
By TOR THORNE
For the Daily
The No. 14 Michigan women’s
tennis team clinched its seventh
consecutive trip to the ITA National
Team
Indoor
Championships
this weekend, as the Wolverines
defeated San Francisco and No. 23
Kentucky en route to winning the
ITA Kick-Off.
In Michigan’s sixth consecutive
year hosting the event, home-
field advantage at a particularly
noisy
Varsity
Tennis
Center
helped the Wolverines breeze
through San Francisco by a score
of 4-0 on Saturday. In prior weeks,
Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein
pressured
the
Wolverines
to cheer each
other
on
to
create
a
louder, livelier
atmosphere.
Sunday, key
victories
by
freshman Kate
Fahey at No.
3 singles and
senior
Ronit
Yurovsky at No. 1 singles gave
Michigan a 4-3 match victory over
the Wildcats.
In doubles, aggressiveness at
the net propelled No. 1 doubles
pair freshman Brienne Minor and
sophomore Mira Ruder-Hook and
No. 2 doubles pair Yurovsky and
sophomore Alex Najarian to easy
6-2 victories to earn the doubles
point for the Wolverines.
In singles, Kentucky grabbed
the first two points, taking a 2-1
match lead as Michigan’s No. 4
and No. 5 singles each fell in two
sets, 6-1, 6-1, and 6-1, 6-4.
The Wolverines tied the score
at 2-2 as freshman Brienne
Minor won the No. 2 singles
match, 6-2, 6-3.
The bottom of Michigan’s lineup
continued to struggle, as junior
Sara Remynse fell in the No. 6
singles match, 1-6, 5-7, to relinquish
the team’s lead to the Wildcats.
With the Wolverines down,
2-3, in the meet, Fahey displayed
mastery in painting the line,
taking victories in several long
vollies and finishing off her
opponent in the No. 3 singles
match, 6-3, 6-4.
“It was definitely more pressure
than I’ve ever felt,” Fahey said.
“But I was thinking, ‘It’s either
you or her, and it’s either Michigan
or Kentucky going to indoors,’ so I
had to step up and take it.”
After winning the first set, 6-0,
Yurovsky found herself locked in
a 6-6 tiebreaker in the second.
With all eyes on her, Yurovsky
outlasted
Kentucky’s
Aldila
Sutjiadi to take the set and the
match for Michigan.
Despite the pressure at the
end, Yurovsky emphasized the
importance
of
finding
success
in
those
types
of
situations
going forward.
“I
was
shaking
on
the
court,”
Yurovsky
said
with
a
laugh.
“But
I think what
got me through this match was
how I fought and stayed in it and
competed for every point.”
Despite not getting wins from
every
player,
the
weekend’s
tournament
was
crucial
for
developing a sense of community
among the Wolverines.
For
Bernstein,
finding
accountability in a multitude of
places as they did Sunday will be
key for Michigan’s success going
forward.
“For
Brienne
(Minor)
and
Kate (Fahey) to come through
as freshmen in that situation,
and Ronit (Yurovsky) clinching
it when she knew it was on the
line, that’s what we need to do,”
Bernstein said.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
“It was
definitely more
pressure than
I’ve ever felt.”
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Walton earns double-double in win
By KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
With 2:49 left in the Michigan
men’s basketball team’s game
against Nebraska on Saturday,
junior guard Derrick Walton Jr.
stepped up to the free-throw
line. Michigan fans wouldn’t
have wanted the ball in anyone
else’s hands.
After trailing the Cornhuskers
(4-4 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) for
less than a minute the entire
game, Michigan (5-2, 15-5) was
given a run for its money in the
final minutes. So, when Walton
was fouled late in the game, fans
gave a sigh of relief. He sank
both free throws, giving the
Wolverines a more comfortable
four-point cushion.
Michigan hung on and then
some, hitting its final 10 free
throws in Lincoln to beat the
Cornhuskers, 81-68.
“When (Walton) had the key
turnover and all of a sudden it’s a
two-point game and they fouled
him and now he goes to the line.
… I mean those babies hit nothing
but the bottom of the net,”
Michigan coach John Beilein told
reporters. “That shows another
step in him in just being another
leader of this team and a guy he
can look to.”
Walton scored 19 points on
5-for-8 shooting, grabbed 12
boards and had six assists —
three of them coming in the first
four minutes — to get Michigan
running right out of the gate.
He
first
found
freshman
forward Moritz Wagner, who was
the first big man off the bench
following junior forward Mark
Donnal’s early foul.
He was there again 26 seconds
later, feeding it to redshirt
sophomore
guard
Duncan
Robinson for Robinson’s second
3-pointer of the night. Another
26 seconds later, Walton was at
it again, giving it to sophomore
forward Aubrey Dawkins from
beyond the arc.
All of a sudden, Michigan was
out to a 12-4 lead. The Wolverines
made six of their first eight shots.
“We got off to a really good
start, and I think that helped
us a great deal,” Beilein said. “A
couple of our away games we lost,
we got off to a very bad start. It
just wears on you, fighting back.
I think we had early confidence.”
Though
the
Wolverines’
defense
seemed
impenetrable
in the first five minutes, the
Cornhuskers quickly figured out
how to fight back. They hacked
away at Michigan’s lead all the
way up until halftime, when
they headed into the locker room
trailing by just three, and again
in the middle of the second half,
bringing the game within two
points in the final two minutes.
“We
withstood
a
charge
at the end of the first half, a
charge during the second half
— a couple charges during the
second half,” Beilein said. “I’m
really proud of the way these
kids responded to a great college
atmosphere in Nebraska.”
Walton scored 13 points in the
second half, including a 3-pointer
in the game’s final seconds.
Walton claims he didn’t shoot
the ball to be disrespectful, even
though
the
Nebraska
crowd
booed it, but his teammates and
coaches told him to shoot it to
avoid the shot clock violation.
Walton tends to listen to his
coaches and teammates, and
Saturday, he wanted to give most
of the credit to them.
“Our coaches did a really good
job of preparing us,” Walton said.
“The things that were happening
out there were things we really
emulated in practice the last
couple days. The way we prepared
really helped me see the floor a
little easier today and think my
plays through a little better than
I usually do.”
Though
Walton
earned
a
double-double and started his
team’s rally in the final minutes,
he seems to be happiest about the
Wolverines’ ability to play without
senior captain and guard Caris
LeVert, who is still recovering
from a lower-leg injury.
Walton isn’t a captain, but
with both LeVert and co-captain
Spike Albrecht cheering from
the sidelines, he’s shouldering
most of the responsibility. On
the road against Nebraska, he
looked like one.
“My freshman year at home, we
had a really good stretch against
Nebraska, we shot the ball really
well,” Walton said. “Tonight, it
was a little different. It was a
little more special because we
were down without one of our
brothers; our leader, Caris, and
guys were just making some plays
that he wouldn’t normally make.
“Looking over and seeing him
happy for the guys who were
getting the opportunity with him
being out, I think it made it a lot
more special.”
Wolverines top Nebraska
Even without
LeVert, Michigan
holds on for fifth
Big Ten victory
By LEV FACHER
Daily Sports Writer
It took a shout of desperation
from Derrick Walton Jr. for
Aubrey Dawkins to realize his
predicament. Dribbling in the
wrong
direction,
seemingly
unaware that just three seconds
remained on the shot clock,
Dawkins was forced to rise,
simultaneously fade away and
perform a 180-degree twist, for
an impossible shot.
It was the culmination of yet
another defensive triumph for
Nebraska, which refused to the
bow in the face of Michigan’s
16-3
second-half
run.
The
Cornhuskers put the Wolverines
on lockdown, chipping away at a
lead that had reached 18 points
minutes earlier.
Dawkins’
shot,
however,
found bottom, and the packed
house at Pinnacle Bank Arena
in
Lincoln
fell
silent.
The
backbreaking
jumper
put
a
damper
on
Nebraska’s
run,
which eventually wasn’t enough
to
change
the
outcome
in
Michigan’s 81-68 win Saturday.
The win, which the Wolverines
opened on an 18-6 run, was the
opposite of Michigan’s last road
trip, an 82-71 loss at Iowa last
Saturday. That game saw the
Wolverines
immediately
fall
victim to a 9-0 burst from the
Hawkeyes, but this time, the
Wolverines came prepared.
“We just have the mindset
that when we got off the bus,
we’re down (by) 10,” junior
forward Zak Irvin told reporters
after the game. “Against Iowa,
we had a sluggish start, and that
hurt us as the game went on. So
going into today’s game, we just
wanted to stay together. We had
a great start to both halves.”
The first-half start was keyed
by Michigan’s specialty: 3-point
shooting. The Wolverines stayed
true to their reputation of a team
that lives and dies from beyond
the arc, shooting 52 percent
from long distance.
Nebraska, on the other hand,
found no such success from
the perimeter, especially in the
face of the 2-3 zone defense
Michigan coach John Beilein
employed in the first half. The
Cornhuskers shot just 6-for-22
from 3-point range for the game,
including a 2-for-8 outing from
Andrew White III.
Instead,
the
bulk
of
Nebraska’s scoring came in the
paint, much of it in transition.
The Wolverines’ 12 turnovers
prevented them from putting
the nail in the coffin until the
final minutes.
“We mishandled the ball,
(sophomore forward Kameron
Chatman) had one go through
his hands — you’re gonna have
stuff,” Beilein said. “But you’ve
got to be under 10 (turnovers).
I really think you’ve got to be
under 10, or shoot the way (we)
did tonight.”
As well as it shot, though,
Michigan changed tacks in the
second half to take advantage
of the room it had created in the
interior, as redshirt sophomore
guard Duncan
Robinson
found himself
on
the
receiving end
of
multiple
backdoor
passes.
Robinson,
leading
the
nation
in
3-point
shooting
percentage, finished consistently
at the rim, and finished with
more points scored inside the
arc than outside for the first
time as a Wolverine.
“What he’s realizing now is
that people are going to play him
a certain way, and his movement
without the ball is going to be
really important,” Beilein said.
“He’s learning — all the video,
all the synergy
— that people
are going to
sit
on
him
different
ways, and he’s
got to do more
than
stand
and wait for
people to get
him open.”
Robinson’s
21
points
on 6-for-12 shooting led the
Wolverines, and Walton added
19 points of his own while
cementing his status as the
team’s
leading
rebounder,
pulling down 12 boards on the
afternoon.
As they did in Wednesday’s
74-69 win over Minnesota, the
Wolverines found success from
the free-throw line down the
stretch. Michigan shot 20-for-23
as a team, including an impressive
6-for-8 performance from junior
forward Mark Donnal.
Beilein said in his postgame
press
conference
that
the
Wolverines have been practicing
their
free-throw
shooting
“religiously,”
in
end-of-
practice drills wherein players
have to contend with loud,
piped-in music to simulate an
intimidating road environment.
Redshirt freshman guard D.J.
Wilson did not appear in the
game, as Beilein opted to use
only Donnal, freshman Moritz
Wagner and sophomore Ricky
Doyle at the ‘5’ spot.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Derrick Walton Jr., pictured here on Wednesday, had a double-double Saturday.
“When we got
off the bus,
we’re down
(by) 10.”