Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, February 26, 2016 — 7

Bench gives ‘M’ a boost

By SIMON KAUFMAN 

Daily Sports Editor

When 
sophomore 
forward 

Kameron Chatman jumped up 
for an offensive rebound midway 
through the second half in the 
Michigan men’s basketball team’s 
game against Northwestern on 
Wednesday, Caris LeVert and Zak 
Irvin rose, too, from their spots on 
the bench.

The junior and senior guards 

popped 
out 
of 
their 
seats, 

fired up and animated, yelling 
encouragement at their younger 
teammate as he grabbed the 
offensive board and then drew a 
foul in the paint. Chatman sank 
both of his free throws to give 
the Wolverines (10-6 Big Ten, 
20-9 overall) their first lead of the 
game en route to a comeback win 
over the Wildcats.

With Irvin having an off night 

shooting and LeVert missing his 
14th game of the season due to a 
lower-left-leg injury, Chatman 
bodying in for a rebound and 
coming through from the charity 
stripe was a welcome sight for the 
elder players.

Chatman’s two free throws 

were part of a 19-point effort from 
Michigan’s bench Wednesday, 
taking some of the pressure off 
of Irvin and junior guard Derrick 
Walton Jr., who have sometimes 
been the Wolverines’ only reliable 
options with LeVert out.

“We 
play 
team 
basketball 

regardless of what’s going on,” 
Walton said. “I don’t think it’s 
really reliant on me or Zak, 
it just so happens that we’ve 
been playing well. Guys like 
(sophomore 
guards 
Aubrey 

Dawkins 
and 
Muhammad-Ali 

Abdur-Rahkman), they’re doing 
smaller things that are really 
starting to help.”

Dawkins tallied 11 points after 

coming off the bench for Irvin. 
He sank four field goals and was a 
perfect 3-for-3 from deep. He also 

did work on the boards, grabbing a 
game-high seven rebounds.

Sophomore 
forward 
Ricky 

Doyle also added to the bench’s 
production. Doyle came in for 
junior forward Mark Donnal late 
in the second half after Donnal 
picked up his fourth foul, and he 
sank two late free throws down 
the stretch to help Michigan ice 
the game. Doyle finished with six 
points and two boards.

“The bench was huge today,” 

Beilein 
said 
after 
the 
win. 

“Everything 
from 
Kam 
just 

getting in there and getting the 
rebound and making the foul 
shots, Ricky making those foul 
shots at the end, obviously Aubrey 
was a catalyst again for us.”

On defense, Michigan held 

Northwestern’s bench to just 12 
points, marking the first time 
since the Wolverines’ loss to 
Michigan State three weeks ago 
that they’ve had better bench 

production against an opponent. 
Coming into Wednesday’s game, 
Michigan’s 
bench 
had 
been 

outscored, 80-41, in its previous 
four games.

Unheralded starters such as 

Abdur-Rahkman 
and 
Donnal 

have had major contributions, too. 
Abdur-Rahkman led Michigan 
with 19 points Wednesday, and 
Donnal had 17 and 25 points 
against Ohio State and Maryland, 
respectively. 
But 
with 
the 

Wolverines’ lack of depth due to 
injuries, it’s more important now 
that they get production outside of 
their starting five.

Last season, when Michigan was 

plagued by injuries, the bench was 
also a huge factor. The Wolverines’ 
non-starters played 38 percent of 
the team’s minutes last year and 
have played 33 percent of their 
minutes this year. In comparison, 
during Michigan’s Final Four run 
in the 2012-13 season, it was more 

reliant on its starting five, with 
the bench accounting for just 20 
percent of its minutes.

“You see all of our good teams 

over the years, we had a bench 
that could come off and just get 
us some baskets,” Beilein said. 
“(Senior guard Spike Albrecht) 
would find somebody open, he 
would do something. (Former 
Michigan players) Jordan Morgan 
or Jon Horford would come off 
the bench and get something 
done, so that’s key for us. They’re 
earning the trust every day. We 
continue to work with them, and 
they’re doing it.”

With just two regular-season 

games left and then the potential 
of playing multiple games on 
consecutive days in the Big Ten 
Tournament, Michigan’s bench 
could be the difference between 
staying on the bubble for the 
NCAA Tournament and locking 
in a spot on Selection Sunday.

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Sophomore forward Kameron Chatman has played sparingly this season but grabbed a crucial rebound Wednesday.

SOFTBALL
Michigan heads 
out to California

By AVI SHOLKOFF

Daily Sports Writer

In 
its 
opening 
weekend 

of play, the No. 2 Michigan 
softball team lost, 8-0, to No. 1 
Florida, the first ranked team 
on its schedule.

Last weekend, the Wolverines 

played No. 13 Florida State 
twice, defeating the Seminoles, 
6-2 and 10-3, respectively.

Friday, Michigan (8-1) heads 

to Palm Springs, Calif., where 
it will face two more ranked 
teams — No. 9 Washington and 
No. 12 Oklahoma — in addition 
to North Carolina State, a team 
that was ranked No. 23 just last 
week. The Wolverines will also 
face Oklahoma State and Long 
Beach State in the Mary Nutter 
Collegiate Classic.

Michigan has shown it can 

compete with some of the top 
teams in the nation, and the 
upcoming tournament provides 
another opportunity for the 
Wolverines to match up against 
more high-quality competition.

“We played some good teams 

this past weekend, and we had 
some close games,” said junior 
right-handed 
pitcher 
Megan 

Betsa on Wednesday. “That was 
good for us. Tight games are good. 
(They) help us learn, help us know 
what we need to work on.”

Michigan will first compete 

against the Sooners, who have 
won seven straight games after 
losing their first two. Oklahoma 
is 19th in the NCAA in batting 
average and 18th in runs per game.

The Sooners will trot out left-

handed pitcher Paige Parker 
— the ace of their staff — who 
is averaging 8.8 strikeouts per 
seven innings.

For Michigan senior second 

baseman Sierra Romero, the 

game has some special meaning, 
as her younger sister, Sydney, 
starts at third base for Oklahoma.

“I’ve never really gotten to 

play against my sister,” Romero 
said. “I think it’s going to be 
a lot of fun, to see how she’s 
grown since she’s been training 
at (Oklahoma). I’m excited to 
play against her and have a little 
sibling rivalry going on.”

In its third game, Michigan 

will take on North Carolina State, 
which is led by right-handed 
pitcher Courtney Mirabella.

In the fourth game, the 

Wolverines will try to contain 
Washington’s bats. The Huskies 
rank No. 9 in the country in 
batting average and No. 4 in 
scoring per game with a solid 
nine runs.

Yet Michigan coach Carol 

Hutchins remains undeterred.

“I 
don’t 
care 
about 
the 

opponents,” Hutchins said. “We 
just need to play good softball, 
catch and throw. We’re trying to 
work on staying in our process, 
in our moment, one pitch at a 
time, and I think we can get 
better at that.”

Romero continues to anchor 

the 
Wolverines 
offensively, 

with a team-leading five home 
runs, 13 RBI and a whopping 
27 
total 
bases. 
Meanwhile, 

Betsa has maintained her solid 
performance from last year, 
averaging a nation-leading 12.9 
strikeouts per seven innings.

For Betsa, however, despite 

her success in the strikeout 
column, the numbers do not 
come easy.

“I’ve been struggling getting 

behind in the count,” Betsa said. 
“That’s what I’m definitely going 
to work on this weekend, spinning 
the ball through the zone and 
getting ahead in the count.”

Abounader keeps tradition 
alive as St. Edward product

By MIKE PERSAK 

Daily Sports Writer

Junior 184-pounder Domenic 

Abounader has been one of 
the leaders for the Michigan 
wrestling team this season. The 
first-year captain is 20-1 on the 
season, climbing all the way to 
the No. 2 national ranking for his 
weight class. But for those who 
knew him in high school — when 
he won three state championships 
with St. Edward High School 
outside Cleveland — Abounader’s 
success comes as no surprise.

“The number one thing about 

Dom (is that) he’s about the most 
competitive kid I’ve ever been 
around,” said Abounader’s high 
school 
assistant 
coach, 
John 

Heffernan. “He wants to try to win 
everything. That kind of set him 
apart more than anything else.”

There was a time in the early 

2000s when you would look at 
the Wolverines’ roster and see 
St. Edward High School well-
represented. The private school 
in Lakewood, Ohio, produced 
some impressive wrestlers for 
Michigan, including two-time 
national champion Ryan Bertin 
and All-Americans Andy Hrovat 
and Mike Kulczycki.

Though that recruiting pipeline 

has started to die down recently, 
the Wolverines’ ears perked up 
when they heard Abounader’s 
name thrown around.

“Over the years, we’ve had 

a nice relationship with the St. 
Edward High School program,” 
said Michigan head coach Joe 
McFarland. “When Dom was 
in his early high school years, 
people were telling me to keep 
an eye on him. So we just started 
following him, and it worked out 
really well for us.”

Of course, a wrestler like 

Abounader wasn’t easy to catch. 
He had multiple offers from 
Division I schools, so the “nice 
relationship” the Wolverines have 
with St. Edward gave them a hand 
with Abounader’s recruitment.

“Mike Kulczycky actually … 

came back and started helping 
St. Edward’s,” Abounader said. 
“He knew that Michigan was on 
my radar, and if I had questions, 
he would answer my questions. 
But he ultimately let me make my 
decision for me.

Since the commitment, there 

have been a series of close calls 
for Abounader that have kept 
him from making it all the way 
to the top of his division. In his 
freshman year, he finished with a 
16-11 record overall, losing a close 

match in the first round of the 
NCAA Championships.

In 
his 
sophomore 
year, 

Abounader finished 22-8 but was 
eliminated in the second round of 
the NCAA Championships after 
another close match.

Even though his one loss this 

year came to the only wrestler 
ranked ahead of him in his 
weight class — Cornell’s Gabe 
Dean — the big junior believes he 
has found himself since that loss, 
and now has what it takes to win 
the close matches that have felled 
him in the past.

It was this hard work that 

Abounader has been putting in 
that earned him the distinction of 
being named captain of the team.

“We like the way he approaches 

everything,” McFarland said. “He 
has a lot of grit and toughness to 
him, and we like that.”

With 
the 
Big 
Ten 

Championships starting March 
5 and the NCAA Championships 
on March 17, Abounader looks to 
put all of his hard work to good 
use in his attempt to defend his 
Big Ten title and add an national 
championship to his resume. If he 
does, just like all of his successes 
up to this point, it will come as 
no surprise to those who have 
followed him.

Michigan riding late 
wave of momentum 

Wolverines have 
won five of six 

entering regular-

season finale

By BRAD WHIPPLE

Daily Sports Editor

When the Michigan women’s 

basketball team lost to then-No. 
17 Michigan State on Feb. 3, the 
Wolverines’ 
postseason 
path 
became 

fuzzier. Sitting 
below .500 in 
conference 
play, 
it 
was 

possible 
Michigan could 
finish as one 
of the bottom 
four teams in 
the Big Ten and 
would 
need 

compete in a 
play-in 
game 

to qualify for the conference 
tournament.

The Wolverines needed a 

bounceback, and luckily for 
them, they got it four days later 
with a victory against Illinois at 
Crisler Center.

It was the beginning of a 

seven-game stretch to close 
out Michigan’s regular season, 
one that would give a glimpse 
into what sort of damage the 
Wolverines could deal in the 
postseason. Every game in that 
schedule was a must-win.

But even if Michigan couldn’t 

entirely sweep the final stretch, 
sophomore 
guard 
Katelynn 

Flaherty knew the implications 
of at least having a strong and 
meaningful finish.

“I think we really could 

win the Big Ten Tournament,” 
Flaherty said after beating the 
Fighting Illini, “and I think it’ll 
come down to if we go in there 
with momentum.”

Almost a month after that 

statement, the Wolverines (9-8 
Big Ten, 17-11 overall) are fifth in 
the conference standings, have 
won five out of their last six games 
and have only one game left 
against Rutgers before heading to 
Indianapolis for the conference 
tournament next week. 

Michigan is certainly riding 

a high wave of momentum with 
its only loss in the last month 
coming at No. 6 Maryland on 
Feb. 17, but even that game was 
a tight contest. The Wolverines’ 
hard-hitting defense put them 
in the lead for most of the game 
against a frantic Terrapin squad, 
and it was just down the stretch 
that the game slipped away.

As for Michigan’s top two 

scorers, Flaherty and freshman 
center 
Hallie 
Thome 
have 

been making huge strides this 
season to get the Wolverines in 
a position to win.

Flaherty has six 30-plus point 

games, and Thome has continued 
to be an effective rebounder 
under the glass — most recently 
helping Michigan to a 70-65 
victory at Northwestern.

But when Flaherty and Thome 

are on top of 
their game, it 
doesn’t always 
guarantee 
a 

win 
for 
the 

Wolverines. 
Instead, 
Michigan’s 
ideal 
output 

is a balanced 
attack. 
The 

other 
big 

impact players 
have been junior guard Siera 
Thompson 
and 
sophomore 

forward Jillian Dunston, who 
lead the team in assists and 
rebounds, respectively. 

For Michigan to continue the 

momentum that could carry it 
far into the Big Ten Tournament, 
that balanced team effort is 
going to need to be on display 
Sunday to pull off a victory at 

Rutgers, which would nicely 
cap off the Wolverines’ regular 
season going 6-for-7.

Though the Scarlet Knights, 

led by C. Vivian Stringer in her 
21st season in Piscataway, gave 
Michigan a headache last season 
by 
sweeping 
the 
two-game 

series, they are unranked this 
time around and sit below the 
Wolverines in the conference.

In 
the 
two 
teams’ 
only 

meeting this season, Rutgers 
(7-10, 16-13) could pack quite 
the punch for Michigan. Guard 
Tyler 
Scaife 
and 
forward 

Kahleah Copper are averaging a 
team-leading 17.2 and 17 points, 
respectively.

Sunday’s game may ultimately 

be decided by which team 
rebounds the ball better. Copper 
and center Rachel Hollivay have 
combined for 14.3 rebounds per 
game this year, compared to 
Thome and Dunston’s 11.2. The 
paint will be a war zone — a 
battle that the Wolverines can’t 
afford to lose.

With a win Sunday, Michigan 

could rest easy knowing it 
finished off the season in a 
respectable 
fashion. 
Next 

Thursday, the 
Wolverines 
will begin play 
at the Big Ten 
Tournament, 
where a deep 
run could put 
Michigan 
on 

the bubble for 
its first NCAA 
Tournament 
appearance in 
three years.

If not the Big Dance, the 

Wolverines would have another 
chance at earning a WNIT title, 
which they almost seized last 
season.

Sunday represents a crossroads 

for Michigan: lose and some of 
the 
Wolverines’ 
hard-earned 

momentum could vanish; win 
and they could see more than 
only one game next weekend. 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Michigan 
at Rutgers

Matchup: 
Michigan 17-11; 
Rutgers 16-13

When: Sunday 
2 P.M.

Where: 
Rutgers 
Athletic Center

TV/Radio: 
BTN

“I think it’ll come 

down to if we 
go in there with 

momentum.”

DAVID SONG/Daily

Junior Domenic Abounader has become the latest great Michigan wrestler to come out of St. Edward High School.

