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March 21, 2016 - Image 9

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
March 21, 2016 — 3B

Wolverines advance in WNIT

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

It is generally safe to assume

Katelynn Flaherty will be the
leading scorer for the Michigan
women’s
basketball
team in any
given game.
When the ball releases from her
right hand, most of the crowd
and everyone on the floor believes
it’s going in. But in the second
round of the Women’s National
Invitational
Tournament,

Flaherty struggled to find the
bottom of the net.

On
Saturday,
though,

Michigan didn’t need her to. The
rest of the Wolverines picked up
the load en route to a 95-72 win
over Bucknell to advance further
in the WNIT.

“I’m just trying to keep this

season going as long as I can,” said
senior guard Madison Ristovski.

Freshman center Hallie Thome

was the focus of Michigan’s
offense early on. Thome scored
seven points within the first
five minutes of the game as the
two Bucknell players who were
defending
her
combined
to

earn three fouls. Junior guard
Danielle
Williams
drew
two

and-1s on circus-shot baskets
during Thome’s run, helping the
Wolverines maintain their early
lead. Along with two 3-pointers
by junior guard Siera Thompson,
Michigan led at the end of the first
quarter, 29-24.

The second quarter continued

as a back and forth affair, as the
Wolverines were unable to build
upon their lead. Both teams were
shooting 57 percent from the
floor with four minutes left in the
quarter. With Michigan (19-13)
leading by only one, coach Kim
Barnes Arico called a timeout, and
the Wolverines came out firing
as Thompson drilled another
attempt from behind the arc. The
Bison (25-8) went on a run to earn
a lead, but it lasted for less than
one minute, as the Wolverines

took charge again, taking a 44-42
lead into halftime.

“I thought that eventually,

with our depth, we could wear
them down and really try to push
in transition and try to score,”
Barnes Arico said. “They did a
really great job scoring with us
early on, and I think as the game
continued, we were able to wear
them down.”

Sophomore guard Katelynn

Flaherty became the first player
in program history to score more
than 700 points in a season with
her first basket of the game, but
her first basket was her only made
attempt of the half. Flaherty shot
1-for-5 in the first 20 minutes, well
off pace of her 22.5 point per game
average.

Flaherty’s first shot attempt

in the third quarter rimmed out
as well, but her next attempt
went through the nylon, giving
Michigan an eight point lead.

Shortly after, Thome went on
another
hot
streak,
tallying

six straight points to put the
Wolverines ahead by nine.

“When (Thome) got back in

and we made our run in the fourth
quarter, we were able to get her
touches on the ball,” Barnes Arico
said. “When she was able to get
touches, things started to open
up for everyone else. When she
wasn’t in the game, people could
really key on Katelynn.”

At one point in the game,

Flaherty missed four straight
shots,
including
an
airballed

three, but she finally scored on
her fifth attempt to bring her to
3-of-12 shooting. Ristovski picked
up the load in the third quarter,
and her six points came at crucial
times with the shot clock winding
down. With Ristovski’s help,
Michigan was up, 62-58, going
into the fourth quarter.

Flaherty started the fourth

quarter off with a 3-pointer,
possibly lifting her and the rest of
her team’s confidence to increase
its slim lead. Flaherty’s next
behind-the-arc dagger pushed the
Wolverine lead to double digits
with just over six minutes left in
regulation.

Michigan didn’t let up from

there, not allowing the Bison to
come back in the game any closer.
The Wolverines left the floor with
the crowd on its feet, riding high
on confidence to advance to the
next round knowing that if even
Flaherty has an off day, the rest of
the team is more than capable of
scoring in her absence.

“Today, we really executed

down the stretch, we got the ball
in the right people’s hands to take
the right shots down the stretch,”
Barnes Arico said. “Then we got
key stops when we needed to get
stops. We took steps in the right
direction today.”

DELANEY RYAN/Daily

Freshman forward Hallie Thome opened up the floor for the Wolverines, as they knocked off Bucknell, 95-72, Saturday.

BUCKNELL
MICHIGAN

72
95

Michigan 10th
at NCAA meet

By MATTHEW KENNEDY

Daily Sports Writer

Since Michigan men’s and

women’s swimming and diving
coach Mike Bottom took over
the women’s coaching duties
in 2013, the team has been
progressing — slowly but surely.

This year, the team made its

biggest jump yet.

Competing at the NCAA

Championships in Atlanta this
past weekend, the Wolverines
finished 10th overall — their
best finish since 2008. Last
season, the team finished 22nd
in the nation.

“I am very pleased,” Bottom

said. “Moving up 12 places is
pretty impressive. I don’t think
there is any other school that
moved up as much as we did.
Twelve places was quite a jump
for a young team.”

The 12-spot jump follows

a
trend
under
Bottom
of

steady improvement. In 2014,
Michigan finished 30th in the
nation, and in 2013 — when
the men’s team won a national
championship with Bottom at
the helm — the women’s team
finished 36th.

Senior Ali DeLoof had a

standout meet, setting a new
Big Ten record in the 100-yard
freestyle with a time of 47.54.
She finished fifth in the event
and
received
All-American

honors in both that event and
the 50-yard freestyle.

DeLoof also finished in the

top 10 in the 400-yard freestyle
relay. The relay — consisting of
DeLoof, her sister sophomore
Gabby
DeLoof,
freshman

Siobhán Haughey and freshman
Becca Postoll — placed ninth
with a time of 3:12.98, which
also set a school record.

In order for the team to

finish in the top 10, the relay
had to finish at least fifth in the
second heat. Not only did the
relay finish fifth in the heat, but
it ended up winning it. Though
the relay didn’t qualify for the
finals, its performance was
good enough to cement a top-10
finish for Wolverines.

“It was really an impressive

relay,” Bottom said.

Arguably the best event on

the day for Michigan was the
1,650-yard freestyle. Freshman
Yirong Bi set a school record
with a time of 15:45.26 — a
third-place
finish

while

sophomore Gillian Ryan came
in ninth with a time of 16:01.45.

The meet comes four weeks

after the Wolverines won their
first Big Ten Championship in
12 years — another sign of the
Mike Bottom resurgence.

“That
was
an
emotional

meet,” Bottom said. “Coming
off of that and then coming
here, it was a second boil for us.
I think that the women really
handled it well. In almost every
case, they swam faster than
they did at Big Tens. It was
pretty exciting to watch the
team respond to that.”

Even
more
impressive

is that while preparing the
women’s team for the NCAA
Championships, Bottom was
also coaching the men’s team
to a sixth consecutive Big Ten
Championship.

“I have such a great staff,”

Bottom said. “Rick Bishop is
the associate head coach on
the women’s side and does an
incredible job of planning and
scheduling.
These
coaches

really are an amazing staff, the
best staff in the country. It’s a
team performance all-around,
whether for the coaching staff
or for swimming and diving.”

WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Michigan rallies for top-10 finish

By MIKE PERSAK

Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan wrestling team

was in need of a late-tournament
rally to finish in the top 10 at
the NCAA Championships this
weekend.

The
Wolverines
weren’t

led by the usual workhorses
at the higher weight classes.
Instead,
junior
125-pounder

Conor Youtsey and sophomore
149-pounder
Alec
Pantaleo

fueled the team’s rally along
with junior heavyweight Adam
Coon.

Youtsey, in particular, had

to scramble to earn his fifth-
place finish. He lost in the
quarterfinals early on Friday,
and
was
relegated
to
the

wrestleback
portion
of
the

tournament.
The
unseeded

junior went on to take down
No. 8 Barlow McGhee from
Missouri, 5-3, on a single-leg
takedown
with
one
second

remaining in the match.

The win placed Youtsey in

the “blood round,” a consolation
round where the winner is
named All-American and the
loser is eliminated. The “blood
round” match finished in a
3-3 tie, but Youtsey was given
the victory because of his six-
second advantage in riding
time. For the second year in
a row, Youtsey came into the
tournament unseeded and left
an All-American.

“It was fun to watch (Youtsey)

compete,” said Michigan coach
Joe McFarland. “His intensity,
desire and focus was where
it needed to be. It was very
impressive.”

Coon’s road to his third-

place
finish
was
more

straightforward. The reliable
junior won all of his matches
before losing in the semifinals.
The fifth-ranked Coon then
defeated No. 8 Amarveer Dhesi
from Oregon State in just 47
seconds,
earning
another

victory via pinfall in the third-
place match.

Though
the
NCAA

Championships are the team’s
final event of the season, Coon
still has the Olympic Trials to

look forward to.

“I’ve
got
a
pretty
quick

turnaround,” Coon said. “I’ll take
a couple days off to let my body
recover. Maybe after the trials,
I’ll take a little more time to
review on how the season went,
but I’ve got to put this season
behind me pretty (quickly).”

Pantaleo earned a spot on the

podium for himself by pinning
his opponent in the consolation
round, but fell in the fifth-place
match via pinfall to finish sixth
in the 149-pound division.

Though the season is over for

the team, McFarland and his
staff won’t be taking a break
any time soon. Preparations and
training for next season have
already begun.

“We’re
starting
to
have

some conversations amongst
the coaching staff on things
in
regards
to
next
year,”

McFarland
said.
“But
we’ll

probably get going this weekend
on a number of things, and just
continue to move forward.”

Though
some
of
the

members of the team aren’t
finished wrestling, once again
the Wolverines’ season ends
without them meeting their high
expectations. After spending
much of the year highly ranked
in the polls, Michigan was
unable to overcome some of
the top-tier teams in their
conference and beyond.

And when the Wolverines

needed some of their most
consistent competitiors to step
up the most, they were unable
to score to help the team. The
lone seniors that competed at
the
NCAA
Championships,

197-pounder Max Huntley and
133-pounder Rossi Bruno, both
earned All-American status last
year, but were unable to repeat
this year.

“I feel bad for those guys,”

McFarland said. “It was tough
for
Max.
Max
has
really

struggled with a bad back. It
was bothering him since the
Big
Ten
Championships.
It

was so bad, that he was really
struggling with it throughout

the tournament. It really locked
up on him. But I was really
proud of the way he went out
there and competed. He’s been
a great leader in our program,
and he’s done a tremendous job
this year as one of our captains.”

Even though the seniors’

careers ended unceremoniously
this weekend, their contributions
over their careers have been felt
by those who will remain in the
program after this year.

“They’re
just
top-notch

guys,” said Coon. “They just
welcomed us in to the team (as
freshmen), and now they’re the
leaders of the team. It just goes
to show how quickly the season
goes, and how quickly your
whole college career goes.”

And now, with a roster that

is returning almost all of its
members and a coaching staff
firmly focused on the future,
Michigan will look to take
advantage of the lessons from
its
seniors
and
ultimately

improve on the results from this
season.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

DAVID SONG/Daily

Junior Conor Youtsey earned All-American honors for the second consecutive season over the weekend.

‘M’ splits weekend

By ROBERT HEFTER

For the Daily

The
Michigan
women’s

lacrosse team faced off against
Duquesne on Sunday in an attempt
to avenge its 15-5 loss to No. 20
Massachusetts on Friday. Due to
the Wolverines’ first-half offensive
drought Friday, the Minutewomen
were able to take a commanding
lead with some first-half heroics.
The loss was in stark contrast
to Sunday’s game, when the
Wolverines sparked their offense
in the second half, resulting in a
9-4 win against the Dukes.

In
their
first
outdoor

home game of the season, the
Wolverines fell victim to sluggish
play, and UMass capitalized.
In the first five minutes of the
match, the Minutewomen scored
two goals to give them an early
2-0 lead. However, Michigan
bounced back with a goal just two
minutes later.

Fierce play and strong defense

led to a 13-minute period without
goals, until UMass buried three
goals to increase its lead to 6-1.
A late score by the Wolverines
would send them to halftime with
a four-goal deficit.

After two early scores by the

Minutewomen in the second half,
Michigan pulled within five with
three straight goals. However, as
the Wolverines began to crack
late in the second half, UMass
scored five more times in a span
of six minutes.

Michigan
coach
Jennifer

Ulehla stressed the need to
respond in its following game
against Duquesne.

“We
seriously
needed
to

regroup,” Ulehla said. “We had a
lot of fundamental issues.”

The Wolverines did just that, as

they came out against Duquesne
firing on all cylinders at the first
whistle. Michigan maintained
most of the possession at the
onset, and two minutes in, junior
attacker Tess Korten drove the
ball toward the crease to put in an
unassisted goal.

Less than 40 seconds later,

junior
attacker
Angerman

delivered a pristine pass to
junior attack/midfielder Lauren

Oberlander, who slipped the ball
past the Dukes’ goalie with ease.
Junior attacker Kelly Schlansker
would put in another goal a mere
minute later.

“I think we were a little

inconsistent,” Angerman said.
“There were definitely some five-
minute spurts when we played
really well, and then some times
when we were a little sloppy.”

Korten credits the offensive

dominance to the defense for
creating crucial turnovers, which
would allow for easier transitions
to goals for the Wolverines.

“In the second half, we really

were communicating, and we
have so many offensive threats
that we don’t have to rely only on
specific people,” said Angerman.

Due to two Michigan penalties

committed
in
the
midfield,

Duquesne was able to find the
net with 25 minutes remaining,
which launched the Dukes on a
4-0 run that gave them a 4-3 lead
going into halftime.

“We came out and played

incredibly well in the beginning
and then there was a plateau,”
Ulehla said. “We wanted a high-
pressure ride, and that was
successful as well as possessing
the ball offensively.”

Michigan
immediately

followed up on that high pressure,
as
Angerman
dangled
the

Duquesne goalie to find the back
of the net 49 seconds into the half.
Goals by Korten, Oberlander,
junior midfielder Anna Schueler
and
junior
attacker
Allie

Breitfeller would follow to give
Michigan an 8-4 lead. A total of
seven attackers scored on the day,
giving new life to the Wolverine
offense days after being shut
down by UMass.

“We went into the locker

room knowing we would have to
come out more competitive and
aggressive,” Korten said. “We
really turned the game around to
our control.”

Michigan looks to bring this

strong defense and high-octane
offense to Colorado in a week.

“It’s nice having a full week

going into our Colorado match,”
Angerman said. “It’s always a
pretty big game for us.”

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