2B — February 15, 2016
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A land without (much) Harbaugh talk
N
ORTH CAMPUS — Man,
it seems like everyone
is talking about Jim
Harbaugh
these days.
He was
in the news
Tuesday
because the
Southeastern
Conference
was upset
with him,
then again on
Wednesday
because he
struck back and subtweeted — yes,
subtweeted — the SEC. He made
some more headlines later when
ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum
compared him to Donald Trump,
and Harbaugh garnered even more
face time by playing in a pro-am
golf tournament this weekend in
California.
But up until this point, the oft-
repeated refrain that everyone
is always talking about Jim
Harbaugh has gone largely
untested. Sure, his sideline tirades
dominated Facebook and Twitter
news feeds during the season, and
drunk kids at Michigan have a
tendency to yell his catchphrase,
“Who’s got it better than us?” But
nobody has ever really figured
out if the world actually revolves
around Jim Harbaugh.
Friday, I decided to take
matters into my own hands.
Since the Daily — no matter
how often I asked — refused to
send me to Mt. Everest to see if
they were talking about Harbaugh
there, I went to the second-
most isolated place on Earth:
Michigan’s North Campus.
North Campus, for those of you
unfamiliar with the area, is a full
10-minute bus ride from Central
Campus. For freshmen, living all
the way up there is a social death
sentence. They are forced to spend
weekends upon weekends sleeping
on dorm-room futons on Central
Campus so they can go out with
their friends at night without
having to worry about making the
last bus back to their dorms. I made
a friend during the first week of
freshman year who lived on North
Campus ... I haven’t seen him since.
For older students, going up
to North Campus is often an
exercise in frustration. They must
endure long waits in freezing
temperatures for Michigan’s
buses, which run on time about as
often as a football team botches a
punt to lose to its in-state rival.
A bunch of smart kids
supposedly hang out on North
Campus (trust me, I wouldn’t
know), and a ton of engineering
and computer science courses meet
up there. Most of us Average Joes,
however, never venture up to North
Campus. Before Friday, I hadn’t
stepped foot on North Campus soil
since my freshman orientation in
June 2012. But since it’s my last
semester in Ann Arbor, I decided it
was time to venture into unknown
territory with enthusiasm very
known to mankind.
I didn’t realize how big of
a risk I was taking by going to
North Campus until I had been
on the bus for a few minutes
and took a good look around. It
was nearly full, and not a single
person was wearing one of those
Carhartt Players’ Tribune hats
from Harbaugh’s Signing with
the Stars event. I know, it seems
preposterous, but apparently not
a single one of the kids on the bus
skipped class on a Wednesday
morning to celebrate 17-year-olds
making their college choices. That
was a real wake-up call. You can’t
even go 10 minutes without seeing
one of those hats on Central
Campus these days.
Even more alarming, I didn’t
hear the word “Harbaugh”
uttered once the entire bus
ride. From what I could gather,
it seemed like these kids were
more concerned with things like
“homework” and “midterms”
than Jim Harbaugh. Weirdos.
My first stop on my North
Campus journey was at the
Bob and Betty Beyster Building
(they really like alliteration up
there). It’s apparently where all
of the computer programmers
study, and it’s probably the nicest
building I’ve seen in Ann Arbor
(apologies to the Stephen M. Ross
School of Business).
I saw a couple of friends and
sat for 20 minutes in a room full
of kids doing coding homework.
I honestly didn’t understand a
single thing anyone said in that
time period, but it sounded like
they were all getting a C++ in
their class. I was pretty surprised:
In most of my classes, you can
only get one plus.
I didn’t hear any of the students
in the room mention Harbaugh
once. But if he ever needs a
website designed, I’m sure they
could help him out.
One of my friends told me
my next stop should be at the
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud
Building because it has an
airplane inside. I went to look at
the airplane, and figured people
would be talking about Harbaugh
there, because he apparently uses
his private jet a bunch.
But somehow, nobody was
talking about Harbaugh there,
either. A few kids were selling
pizza for a club and others were
hustling to class, but nobody
appeared to be riled up about
Harbaugh’s plan to take the
football team to Florida during
Spring Break. Even worse, I
still haven’t figured out how
to pronounce Francois-Xavier
Bagnoud (if you have any idea, hit
me up on LinkedIn).
After staring at the plane for a
few minutes, I went to Pierpont
Commons, which is apparently
the Michigan Union of North
Campus. The only downside is that
it doesn’t have historic statues, a
monumental JFK speech that took
place on its steps or really much
of anything worth noting. It does,
however, have Panda Express.
When I arrived, most students
were sitting around doing
homework or socializing with
their friends. I didn’t overhear
any intense debates about
Michigan football, so I wandered
into the North Campus bookstore.
Inside, I found 20 racks and
shelves devoted solely to Michigan
engineering T-shirts. There
was not a single rack or shelf for
Michigan football apparel.
I did find, on a rack of
miscellaneous shirts resembling
a clearance rack, three “Welcome
Home Coach” T-shirts. It
appeared as though somebody,
ever so slightly, was aware of
Harbaugh’s existence on North
Campus. NASA must’ve felt
similarly when it discovered
evidence of liquid water on Mars.
I figured I had to be missing
something, though. I mean, the
people of North Campus had to
have some sort of opinion of Jim
Harbaugh, so I began asking
students what they thought about
Michigan’s football coach.
Some of them, indeed, had
heard of the guy.
“Love Jim Harbaugh,” said
Mitch Jacobs, a junior majoring
in nuclear engineering (I don’t
know what nuclear engineering
is, but I think it means he’s
smarter than anyone reading this
column). “Love his intensity. He
might be a little shady in some
recruiting things, but as far as I’m
concerned, as long as winning
happens, that’s what I like.”
Other students saw what I was
seeing, and agreed there was less
hype about Harbaugh on North
Campus than on Central Campus.
A couple of engineering students
told me some of their fellow North
Campus classmates just don’t get
all that excited about Harbaugh
or Michigan football.
One of those students,
Jared Michelson, a sophomore
mechanical engineering major,
proved to be a clear exception.
“Jim Harbaugh is the messiah,”
he said. “He is a gift from God.”
However, many of the other
students I approached said they
didn’t have time to talk about
Harbaugh. Some said they had
too much homework, while others
said they had to rush to a meeting.
A few students even indicated
they had more important things
to do than talk about Harbaugh.
Maybe they could teach the
SEC a lesson or two.
Cohen can be reached at
maxac@umich.edu and on
Twitter @MaxACohen.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARIAH GARDZIOLA
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh may dominate national headlines, but on the University of Michigan’s North Campus, students have bigger things to worry about than a football coach.
‘M’ holds off Purdue
By BRAD WHIPPLE
Daily Sports Editor
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team almost got a nasty
taste of déjà vu Sunday.
On Jan.
3,
the
Wolverines
blew a six-
point lead in the final three
minutes against Purdue to start
their Big Ten schedule with a
loss. One month later, Michigan
almost found itself in the exact
same position.
After the Wolverines’ offense
ran out of steam for nearly the
entire fourth quarter Sunday,
the Boilermakers brought the
game to within four points in the
final three minutes. Luckily for
Michigan, its offense kicked back
into gear to stay ahead down the
stretch for a 68-61 win.
“Really happy for our team
to come out with that win after
the way we lost at our place,”
said Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. “It was two similar-type
games. … I thought they really
made a run there in the fourth
quarter. (Junior guard) Siera
Thompson was able to make
some big plays, and (senior
guard) Madison Ristovski scored
off an inbound, which really
helped us, because we were in a
period there where we couldn’t
really score the basketball.”
With
the
Wolverines’
postseason momentum on the
line game by game, they need
every win they can get in the
final stretch before the Big Ten
Tournament in March. Now on
a three-game winning streak,
Michigan (7-7 Big Ten, 15-10
overall) is starting to see its
season bounce back after a few
heart-wrenching losses early on.
Sunday’s game almost became
another one.
Both
teams
committed
17 turnovers, which led to
inefficient offenses on both ends
and several prolonged scoring
droughts, one of which was
nearly fatal for the Wolverines.
Thirty seconds into the final
quarter,
sophomore
guard
Katelynn Flaherty hit a jumper
to put Michigan up by 13. Then
everything went south, as the
Wolverines didn’t score a field
goal for the following six and a
half minutes.
During that time, freshman
center Hallie Thome — who was
used sparingly throughout the
night due to foul trouble — made a
pair of free throws, but fouled out
at the five-minute mark.
Without Michigan’s big, things
looked dismal. But then the
Wolverines made their next three
shots: a layup by Ristovski and
back-to-back shots by Thompson,
the latter being a 3-pointer.
“For us to come in here and be
able to pull out a victory against
a tough, physical, defensive team
like Purdue when Hallie fouled
out of the game and really wasn’t
able to play a lot of minutes,”
Barnes Arico said, “(it’s) a solid
win for us for sure.”
Michigan’s
balanced
attack
proved to be the difference maker
late in the game, as four players
reached
double-digit
scoring
— Flaherty (17), Thome (14),
Thompson (13) and Ristovski (11).
“We need additional scorers
to Katelynn and Hallie,” Barnes
Arico
said.
“Usually
when
Katelynn has her most high-
scoring nights, we lose the game.
We need a balanced attack.”
While Thompson found success
driving into the paint, sophomore
forward Jillian Dunston and
senior forward Kelsey Mitchell
controlled the glass, even though
Purdue outrebounded Michigan,
38-37. With Thome out of the
picture, the Wolverines fell back
on its next-best duo.
With the much needed win
in West Lafayette, Michigan
moves to .500 in conference
play for the first time since early
January. More importantly, the
Wolverines move farther away
from becoming one of the bottom
four teams in the conference — all
of which will have to win a play-
in game to compete in the Big Ten
Tournament.
But for Michigan to be sure
of missing a play-in game, it will
need to avoid more heart-racing
games like Sunday’s.
MICHIGAN
PURDUE
68
61
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Madison Ristovski snapped a late scoring drought to help secure Michigan’s win.
SOFTBALL
Michigan wins four of five
By BETELHEM ASHAME
Daily Sports Writer
In its first glimpse of game
action since losing to Florida
in the Women’s College World
Series in June, the No. 2 Michigan
softball team picked up right
where it left off.
Putting together a string of
dominant
performances,
the
Wolverines capitalized on their
prowess at the plate and on
the mound to win four out of
five games at the USF Wilson-
Demarini Tournament over the
weekend in Tampa, Fla. Their lone
loss came against No. 1 Florida.
The opening day was smooth
sailing for Michigan (4-1), as it
downed both South Carolina
and
Illinois
State
in
five
innings each. With scores of
15-3 and 12-0, respectively, the
Wolverines got off to a roaring
start, making a strong statement
with a pair of run-rule victories
to kick off the season.
“We have a really strong lineup,
it’s really deep,” said junior
shortstop Abby Ramirez. “We
have a lot of players who aren’t in
the lineup who can contribute as
well. But if we just stay focused
and keep the one-pitch mentality
and not make the game bigger
than it is, we should be fine. I’m
really excited to see what we do
this year.”
Two
of
Michigan’s
All-
Americans
—
senior
second
baseman
Sierra
Romero
and
junior left fielder Kelly Christner
— started the team off on the right
foot. Romero went 3-for-3 against
the Gamecocks, including a grand
slam to match a career-best six
RBI.
Christner
followed
suit
against the Redbirds, batting 3-for-
4 with three RBI. In both games,
the Wolverines scored in each of
their four innings at the plate and
nine different players contributed
with hits in the twin bill.
In the circle, junior right-
hander Megan Betsa and fifth-
year senior right-hander Sara
Driesenga
shut
down
their
opponents. Betsa allowed only one
run against the Gamecocks while
striking out seven to earn the win.
Meanwhile,
Driesenga
struck
out three and partnered up with
sophomore right hander Tera
Blanco to shut out the Redbirds.
Blanco made some extra noise by
striking out six of seven batters
in her first stint as a full-fledged
member of the pitching staff.
“Strikeouts just come naturally
to me because I have a lot of spin
on my ball and never really rely
on velocity. They’ve always been
part of my game,” Betsa said.
“But we’re all different pitchers.
Sara pitches for contact and
Tera pitches for both velocity
and contact, so it’s just having
different tools in our arsenal.”
Blanco got the start for the
first game of day two, a highly
anticipated
rematch
against
Florida. Despite her strong outing
the day before and her 2-for-2
performance at the plate, Blanco
was roughed up by the Gators, who
scored seven runs — five earned
—
on
seven
hits in under
three
innings
of
work.
At
the same time,
Florida pitcher
Kelly Barnhill
neutralized
Michigan’s
potent offense,
allowing
just
three hits in
a
five-inning
shutout en route to the Gators’ 8-0
run-rule victory.
“We’re not where we need to
be, because we didn’t compete
in that game in any aspect,” said
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins.
“I was disappointed with our
process the entire game because
we made it about Florida. If we
use it for what it needs to be,
which is it’s not acceptable, it can
propel us. We don’t need to beat
ourselves up; if you don’t play
well, anyone can throttle you. Our
pitching didn’t set the tone, our
offense didn’t help us out and our
defense opened up the door a lot,
so none of our game was there.
“The good news is we didn’t
play well. It’d be one thing if they
beat us 8-0 and we had played our
best, then I’d be concerned, but we
just need to show up to play the
game. The game never changes,
and the game never knows who’s
playing. And we can get a lot
better at that and we will.”
Needing
to
bounce
back
against South Florida later that
day, the Wolverines relied on
Betsa to lead the charge. Betsa
stepped up in the circle and
delivered, striking out eight in
a complete-game effort to seal
Michigan’s 11-2 win.
At the plate, the Wolverines’
offense woke up from its slumber
in a hurry, scoring five first-inning
runs to make their play against
Florida look like an anomaly.
Homers flew once again, as senior
right fielder Kelsey Susalla and
freshman catcher Alex Sobczak
joined the party with bombs that
cleared the fence with ease.
The
Wolverines
took
on
Virginia
Tech
early
Sunday
morning in their final game of
the weekend. Driesenga held
down the fort,
allowing
just
three hits and
one earned run
in five innings
in the circle.
And the duo
of
Romero
and Christner
struck
again.
In the third,
Romero
took
matters
into
her own hands with a solo homer
to tie the game at 1-1. Two innings
later, Christner provided the
game-winning
RBI
single
in
Michigan’s 3-1 victory.
Even after an opening weekend
that saw them outscore opponents
41-14, the Wolverines know there
is room to grow. Their strong
wins and their disappointing loss
provided key learning experiences,
and Michigan intends to use both
as the season moves on.
“We have a lot of potential,
but we have a lot of work to do,”
Betsa said. “We need to go into
each game with confidence and
know that we are good enough
to beat anyone.”
The Wolverines may be good
enough to beat any team, but
only one foe matters most. For
Michigan, Florida remains the
one that got away.
“If you don’t
play well,
anyone can
throttle you.”
MAX
COHEN