Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 — 7
Wolverines cruise to
another 3-1 weekend
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
The Michigan water polo
team again played a four-game
tournament after rising in the
national poll and again proved
to coach Marcelo Leonardi that
his vision for the program is
paying off in his second season.
“Honestly,
I
think
we’re
overachieving,”
Leonardi
said. “Going from year one
to year two, we’ve definitely
overachieved. There were some
games that I thought we would
be close to winning, but in order
to say that we would be this
good right now, it’s definitely
humbling.”
This weekend, the Wolverines
hosted four games at Canham
Natatorium, knocking off No. 21
Long Beach State, 15-8, and No.
15 Loyola Marymount, 12-11, on
Saturday. That set up a Sunday
rematch with No. 2 UCLA,
which defeated Michigan for
the third time this season, 9-5.
But
the
Wolverines
recovered and trounced George
Washington, 19-2, continuing
their roll and securing a third
straight 3-1 weekend. After
ranking No. 12 in the preseason
poll — tied with conference foe
Indiana — Michigan (16-5) came
in at No. 5 last week and should
remain there this week.
Leonardi arrived last season
and led his team to a 19-13
finish,
but
the
Wolverines
couldn’t manage to earn their
first NCAA Tournament bid
since 2010. This year, that goal
is more within reach. Leonardi
fashioned a difficult schedule
for Michigan, with the first 20
games coming against ranked
teams.
That competition has put the
Wolverines in a position for an
at-large bid — that is, if they don’t
win the California Water Polo
Association championship and
snag the automatic bid. Leonardi
believes that at this point, his
team is in good position for one
or the other, provided it takes
care of business in conference
play starting April 2.
After
two
important
weekends
on
the
road
in
California, Michigan returned
home, where it is now 7-1 this
season. Leonardi credited the
typical aspects of home — such
as players sleeping in their
own beds, seeing their family
and having friends come to the
games — for the success.
Against Long Beach State,
the Wolverines pulled away
with seven straight goals in
the first half that provided the
final margin of victory. Loyola
Marymount
proved
tougher
in a game that featured seven
ties and five lead changes, but
Michigan
prevailed
despite
giving up a goal with five
seconds left that trimmed the
deficit back to one.
“The
word
‘resiliency’
definitely comes up, but I also
gotta say composure,” Leonardi
said. “In the most critical times,
we have great leadership in the
water, and I feel like the game
slows down for them.”
Even with two wins under
their
belts,
though,
the
Wolverines couldn’t upset the
high-powered
Bruins.
While
Michigan has made progress
over the past year, Leonardi
thinks his team is just short in
terms of personnel — UCLA
goes 12 players deep, while the
Wolverines only have nine or 10
at that level.
“I feel we’re one piece away,”
Leonardi
said.
“Talent-wise,
they’re just a little bit further
ahead, and that has a lot to do
with the fact that they’ve been
a juggernaut for so many years.”
Michigan is off for two
of the next three weekends,
with a four-game tournament
at Arizona State in between.
Three of those games will be
against ranked teams, but the
Wolverines are currently the
highest-rated of all of them.
Their standing is a reward for
the success, and with each
weekend, it keeps building.
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Marcelo Leonardi has Michigan ranked No. 5 nationally in his second season.
Michigan splits in Texas
By LELAND MITCHINSON
Daily Sports Writer
The
Michigan
women’s
tennis team wasn’t firing on all
cylinders over Spring Break as
it split its series in Texas last
week. Despite the less than ideal
performance, the Wolverines
are happy with where they are
as the beginning of Big Ten play
draws nearer.
“I think we are in good
shape,” said Michigan coach
Ronni Bernstein after Saturday’s
match. “You know this one
today, even Baylor, I don’t know
that we played our best, (we
were) a little passive at times at
some spots. As a whole, I don’t
know if we’ve had all six kids
playing their best at the same
time, and that’s what it’s going
to take every time we go out on
the court.”
Michigan
defeated
Baylor
on Thursday in a close match,
4-2, but the team was unable to
complete a comeback against
Texas on Saturday, ultimately
falling 4-3.
Against the Longhorns, the
Wolverines found themselves
behind the eight ball early after
losing the doubles point. The No.
1 pairing of freshman Kate Fahey
and senior Ronit Yurovsky and
a the No. 3 team of freshman
Teona Velehorschi and junior
Sara Remynse lost to Texas, 6-3
and 7-6, respectively.
In singles play, the Wolverines
made a push to turn the match
around with wins from Fahey,
Velehorschi and sophomore Alex
Najarian. However, the marquee
match of the day came at the No.
1 position, where Michigan’s
top player — No. 17 Yurovsky —
fell to No. 9 Breaunna Addison
in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Texas
finally clinched the match at the
No. 3 slot, where Dani Wagland
defeated
sophomore
Mira
Ruder-Hook in three sets.
Thursday at Baylor, Michigan
started the match off strong,
taking the doubles point behind
wins by the pairings of Najarian
and Ruder-Hook, and Remynse
and Velehorschi, 7-5 and 6-3,
respectively.
The No. 2 through No. 4
singles positions produced wins
for the Wolverines en route to
an overall victory, and Najarian
clinched the match for Michigan
with a three-set victory over
Kiah Generette.
After starting the season cold,
Najarian has turned up her play
for the Wolverines lately. Her
two singles wins over Spring
Break give her three straight
victories, and Michigan will
be looking for her good form to
continue.
“I think it’s just she’s getting
more matches under her belt,”
Bernstein said. “She didn’t play
in the fall, (she’s) just getting
her confidence back. The thing
about (Najarian) is she’s going
to compete really hard. It’s what
she does. She cares about our
team. She won both matches
today and was upset after the
match. You can tell that she
really cared.”
Freshman
Brienne
Minor,
who has totaled 21 wins this
season, missed both matches
for the Wolverines with a minor
injury. According to Bernstein,
there was a possibility for Minor
to take part in the match against
the Longhorns, but they decided
to err on the side of caution,
though she will be ready for
Michigan’s next match against
Virginia on Saturday.
“We’ll be fine,” Bernstein
said. “It’s disappointing, and
sometimes these losses you learn
from and I hope they do. (These
losses) should hurt. Virginia is
not going to get any easier, that’s
for sure.”
SAMII STOLOFF/Daily
Sophomore Alex Najarian has now won three straight matches, including two against Texas and Baylor.
The clock is ticking for Michigan hockey
T
he floodlight shone
down from the rafters
onto Nick Schilkey,
christening
the Buckeyes’
overtime hero
who had just
handed the
Michigan
hockey team
its second
loss of the
weekend
against Ohio
State.
Schilkey’s
goal came on a broken play, after
Michigan senior goaltender
Steve Racine made two saves that
seemingly kept the Wolverines’
hope of a victory alive. But after
the second rebound, Racine
left the net in a footrace with
Schilkey to clear the puck.
The Ohio State junior beat
Racine to the spot and buried the
puck into the net past a pair of
sprawling Michigan players.
As the Buckeyes celebrated on
the ice, the Wolverines laid in the
same spot Schilkey had left them
— hanging their heads, collapsed
on their knees, helplessly watching
Ohio State celebrate a weekend it
had no business winning.
The fact is, this wasn’t a fluke.
Ohio State outplayed Michigan
this weekend — not in every facet
of the game, but the sixth-ranked
Wolverines were outplayed
nonetheless.
But losing isn’t the real issue.
You can’t expect a team to be
perfect. After all, every team that
sits above Michigan (10-5-3-2
Big Ten, 20-7-5 overall) in the
PairWise Rankings — with the
exception of Quinnipiac — has
five or more losses.
And losing to opponents you
should beat on paper isn’t the
real issue either.
No. 5 Boston College lost
to both New Brunswick (in
an exhibition) and Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute early
in the season. No. 1 North
Dakota dropped a game against
Wisconsin in November and No.
3 St. Cloud State lost to Colorado
College in January.
I can’t curse here, so let me
put it this way: In college hockey,
fecal matter happens.
The real issue is that the
Wolverines have yet to establish
an identity.
The sweep at the hands of the
Buckeyes has made that issue
even more pressing. Michigan is
now tasked with getting up off its
knees and finding its identity. But
there isn’t much time, with only
one series against Penn State
separating the team from the Big
Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
The most concerning part of
this predicament is that there
have been stretches when the
Wolverines seemed to establish
their calling card, when the
pieces come within centimeters
of completing the puzzle.
But at those junctures, when
fans yearn for a “ta-da!” moment,
there always seems to be a
weekend that pulls those pieces
farther apart.
Just look at the winning
stretch Michigan put together in
February, when the Wolverines
seemed to put any concerns
about an identity crisis out of
question. They barreled through
their opponents and went on a
five-game undefeated tear from
Feb. 6 through Feb. 25.
Racine was playing the best
hockey of his life, and the defense
was finally up to speed with an
offense that has been producing
historic numbers.
The Wolverines capped off
the run with a commanding win
against Minnesota that put them
in the driver’s seat for the Big
Ten regular season title.
But only a day after taking
the wheel, Michigan let it go,
swallowing a 3-2 overtime loss
against the Golden Gophers.
That’s when you started to
wonder if the Wolverines’ identity
was being turned on its head.
Then the two recent defeats
against the Buckeyes provided a
stronger case that it had.
Those losses were ugly. Friday,
Michigan squandered an early
two-goal lead at home and
allowed Ohio State to score six
unanswered goals.
Sunday didn’t get much better,
as the Buckeyes scored three
consecutive goals in the first and
led 5-1 for most of the second
period.
And in both games, there were
stretches when the Wolverines
looked lost, searching for
something to grasp onto that
could pull them back into
contention.
That’s the most troubling part.
Yes, the teams above Michigan
in the PairWise Rankings have
losses, and bad ones at that,
but they also have a blueprint
to follow when the cards seem
stacked against them.
When the Wolverines get to
the NCAA Tournament, they will
see that first hand.
Boston College’s defense is
fourth in the nation. St. Cloud
State has the second-best power
play in college hockey. No.
2 Quinnipiac and No. 7 Yale
both sit atop the country in the
penalty kill, and North Dakota
does it all, ranking in the top 10
in both team defense and team
offense.
And if Michigan doesn’t have
it all figured out when those
matchups come its way in March,
it could quickly get bullied out of
contention.
The Wolverines’ search for
an identity like those of its
powerhouse counterparts has
been an inconsistent process. As
Michigan coach Red Berenson
put it after Sunday’s loss, “We’re
saying one thing and doing
another on the ice.”
The Wolverines can say they
need to improve the defense,
which they do, but the stark
reality is that given the season’s
sample size, they simply won’t
shut out opponents. Their
defense isn’t at that level, and
they don’t have the time to get
there either.
Finding what they have been
looking for all season may be
as simple as not ignoring the
obvious. Michigan leads the
nation with 4.72 goals per game.
No team has scored at that rate
since the 1999-2000 season.
What’s so wrong with
embracing that? When Michigan
tries to “play better defense,” it
adopts a conservative approach
in the defensive zone that looks
like the Wolverines are trying to
fit a square peg in a round hole.
That’s not who they are, and they
shouldn’t pretend it is.
But when they embrace this
historic offense and use their
defensemen to compliment it by
keeping them tight at the blue
line and involved in the offensive
play, it’s a sight to behold.
The players aren’t in denial.
They know this team doesn’t
have an identity yet. Sophomore
defenseman Zach Werenski
acknowledged that Sunday.
“An identity is built over a full
year,” he said. “When we get to
playoffs, I think we’re going to
find it. I’m not too worried about
it. It wasn’t a great weekend for
us, but when it comes time for
playoffs, I think we’ll be dialed in
and ready to go.”
The concerning questions,
though, are this: What happens
if Michigan needs something
to lean on in a tight game early
in the postseason? What if
the Wolverines can’t replicate
the performances from their
winning stretches, but instead
have one of their off games in a
win-or-go-home situation?
The weekend against Ohio
State brought a serious concern
to the forefront. The Wolverines
don’t have a reliable identity yet,
and finding it in the middle of
a postseason run might not be
good enough.
There are 17 days until the
NCAA Tournament. The clock is
ticking.
Santo can be reached at
kmsanto@umich.edu and on
Twitter @Kevin_Santo_8.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
The Michigan hockey team was upset twice by Ohio State over the weekend, including a 6-5 loss in overtime on Sunday.
KEVIN
SANTO