6A — Thursday, January 19, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines open indoor season
in Simmons-Harvey Invitiational
While the Simmons-Harvey
Invitational
signaled
the
beginning of the 2017 indoor
season for the Michigan men’s
and women’s track and field
teams, it also marked the final
collegiate competition in the U-M
Indoor Track Building after 43
years in use. Going forward, the
Wolverines will compete in the
Stephen Ross Athletic Complex
when it is completed in fall 2017.
“I’ve been here since 1976,”
said women’s coach James Henry.
“There are a lot of things that I’ve
seen here, and there are a lot of
great, great memories.”
The women’s team came out
strong, notching four event titles
and 15 personal records on the
day. The Wolverines dominated in
the first event of the competition,
taking the top four spots in the
high jump, with junior Claire
Kieffer-Wright taking the victory
after clearing a height of 1.7
meters.
“It’s a good place to start for
me, to shake off the rust,” Kieffer-
Wright said. “There’s more to
come, but I think tomorrow
waking up I’ll feel good about
what I did today.”
Other impressive performances
in the field events came from
Michigan’s
throwers.
In
the
weight throw, freshman Courtney
Jacobsen tied for first place with
a throw of 17.94 meters. She
eventually lost the tiebreaker,
though resulting in a second place
finish.
In the shot put, the Wolverines
claimed three of the top seven
spots, with junior Kayla Deering
setting a personal record with a
throw of 13.46 meters, good for
second place.
Michigan excelled in the track
events as well. Six Wolverines set
personal bests in the one-mile
contest, including junior Erin
Finn, whose time of 4:39.76 placed
her in third.
The Wolverines also came away
with victories in the 60-meter,
400-meter, and 600-meter events.
In the 60-meter race, freshman
Torisa Johnson won with a time of
7.54 seconds. Racing 400 meters,
freshman Jade Harrison led the
entire way, finishing in a time of
55.88 seconds. In the 600-meter
contest, freshman Julia Hall won
in 1:35.65, an impressive 6.46
seconds ahead of the second-place
competitor.
“I’m happy because it was my
first college race ever,” Hall said.
“It’s back to training, because
I want to do better, but overall
I’m excited about the start of the
season and happy about where it
started.”
While
recognizing
that
improvements still need to be
made, Henry was impressed with
the unity and hard work his team
displayed.
“Across the board, in every
single event, we had kids have
personal bests,” Henry said. “If
this is any indication of how we’re
going to do, I’m excited for the
next meet and beyond.”
Not to be outshone by their
female counterparts, the men’s
team claimed victory in five
events, and set seven personal
records on the day.
“After you get through the first
meet, there’s going to be a lot of
adjustments,” said men’s coach
Jerry Clayton. “But overall it was
a solid first day.”
The Wolverines’ first victory
came in the shot put, where junior
Grant Cartwright’s best throw
traveled 18.32 meters, a full 1.53
meters ahead of the second place
finisher.
“You kind of look at each meet
as a building block,” Cartwright
said. “I felt like, as a team, we did
a pretty good job of putting down
a good foundation for our season
today.”
Also
in
the
field
events,
sophomore Joe Ellis finished
first in the weight throw with a
distance of 21.05 meters, while
Cartwright set a personal best
with a toss of 20.09 meters, good
for second place. In the pole vault,
Michigan’s competitors finished
fourth through sixth, with junior
Kevin Haughn, senior Steven
Bastien, and sophomore Nicholas
Burkhalter each setting personal
records in the event.
The Wolverines had a strong
showing in the track events as
well, where senior Drake Johnson
won the 60-meter hurdles with a
time of 7.97 seconds.
“For him (Johnson) to break
eight seconds the first time out,”
Clayton said. “On the track,
that was probably our most
outstanding performance there.”
In
the
800-meter
race,
sophomore
Matt
Plowman
finished in first with a time
of 1:56.06. In the mile run,
sophomore Kevin Hall came in
first, clocking in at 4:15.39.
“Although I’m happy that I
won, and it’s a good start, there’s
definitely a lot more to do,” Hall
said. “More than anything, it’s
just a motivator for the rest of the
season.”
While both teams recognized
that this meet served more as
a stepping stone for the rest of
the season, the competitors and
coaches alike were happy to
perform well as a final farewell
to their longtime their longtime
facility.
“Can we rest on today? No,”
Clayton said. “We’ve got a lot
of work to do if we’re going to
accomplish what we need to by
(Big Ten Indoor Championships).
But is it possible? No question.”
EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Michigan women’s track and field coach James Henry is enthusiastic about his team’s season after its first invitational.
You kind of look
at each meet as a
building block
TOR THORNE
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan to face Terrapins
with chance at marquee win
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team has hit its stride
in Big Ten play,
but a daunting
obstacle stands
in the way as it
looks to upset
No. 3 Maryland
on Thursday.
The
third-
ranked
Terrapins’ (5-0
Big Ten, 17-1
overall)
only
loss this season
came
at
the
hand of No. 1
Connecticut
on
Dec.
29,
narrowly falling, 87-81.
The last time the Wolverines
(4-1, 15-4) met Maryland was
last season, when the sixth-
ranked Terrapins ran away with
a 20-point win in College Park.
But with new offensive weapons
along with momentum, Michigan
knows it just has to stick to its
gameplan.
“We’re very excited to play a
great team like Maryland,” said
senior guard Siera Thompson.
“We come in that game like we
come into every game: Preparing,
scouting, learning their tendencies
and just trying to stop their great
players.”
For
Michigan
to
remain
competitive
against
such
an
elite team, it will have to match
the success of its two previous
matchups against Indiana and
Minnesota, with four players
scoring into the double-digits. The
Wolverines are thriving with their
current offensive balance, as they
came in ranked 29th in this week’s
AP poll.
In other words, Michigan needs
its stars to play to their potential
— especially Hallie Thome, who
is coming off a commanding
20-point, 17-rebound game against
the Golden Gophers.
The sophomore center will have
the toughest matchup of the game,
battling against Maryland center
Brionna Jones. While Thome has
a height advantage, Jones has been
dominant in the post, averaging
19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds.
Jones’ performance has earned
her three Big Ten Player of the
Week honors this year and most
recently, the ESPNW National
Player of the Week.
“They rebound the ball well,”
said Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. “… I think it’s going to be key
for us to hold them to one shot, to
be able to defend (Brionna Jones),
and rebound with them.”
The Wolverines will have their
hands full if Jones controls the
paint or if Thome gets into early
foul trouble, and will have to rely
more heavily on outside shooting.
Michigan, though, has no shortage
of prolific shooters. Junior guard
Katelynn Flaherty and freshman
guard Kysre Gondrezick have
spearheaded a productive offense
that owns the second-best 3-point
field goal percentage in the
country.
“As long as we scout them and
know their tendencies I think
we’ve got a good shot at them,”
Flaherty said after Sunday’s game
against Minnesota. “If we played
like we did in the first half (against
Minnesota), then we a have shot to
play with anyone in the country.”
Unfortunately
for
the
Wolverines, the Terrapins also
have a slew of effective scorers that
have wreaked havoc on opposing
defenses this season. Guards
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and
Destiny Slocum have been a
dynamic one-two punch from the
perimeter, collectively knocking
down over 40 percent of their
3-pointers. As a do-it-all 5-foot-11
guard, Walker-Kimbrough will
also pose a matchup problem for
junior forward Jillian Dunston if
she can’t stay out of foul trouble.
An upset over Maryland would
surely be one of Michigan’s
biggest wins in program history,
especially for a team that has
done everything right thus far in
hopes of snapping its three-year
NCAA
Tournament
drought.
But few teams have been able to
muster any success against the
Terrapins, and a loss would barely
be a setback on the Wolverines’
tournament resume.
The same can’t be said about
Michigan’s
contest
Sunday
against
Nebraska
(1-5,
5-13).
Barring extreme circumstances,
the Wolverines should be able to
top the Cornhuskers with ease.
Nebraska is tied with Wisconsin
for the worst Big Ten record
overall and has lost its conference
matchups by an average of 14.5
points.
The lone bright spot for the
Cornhuskers
has
been
their
low-post presence, led by 6-foot-
4
forward
Jessica
Shepherd.
Shepherd is the only double-digit
scorer on the team, averaging a
double-double with 18.6 points
and 10.3 boards.
Similar to the matchup with
Maryland, Thome will be the
busiest Wolverine on the court,
as it will be her responsibility to
keep Shepherd in check. But given
Thome’s current dominance in
Big Ten play, the matchup will
definitely be one to keep an eye on.
“As long as (Thome) is in the
game, she’ll do great things for
us,” Flaherty said. “She opens up
the court for our guards (and)
she’s very much improved on her
rebounding game.”
Regardless of what happens
in the paint, the Wolverines are
simply more talented on both sides
of the basketball and should leave
Lincoln with one more tally in the
win column.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Simpson seeing new opportunities
as freshman campaign continues
Michigan men’s basketball
coach John Beilein says you’d
laugh at how many times his
freshman point guard Xavier
Simpson begs to play.
The Lima, Ohio native came
to Ann Arbor as the No. 48
recruit in the country, but has
struggled to adapt to the pace
of play in the NCAA.
Still,
these
transitional
difficulties
haven’t
stopped
him from wanting to play in big
moments.
“He has the attitude of a
winner,”
Beilein
said.
“He
wants to be good, he wants his
team to be good. He has a lot
of energy on the bench. He’s
trying to get ready and little by
little, that’s our hope.”
And as the Big Ten season
progressed, Simpson has gotten
his chance.
In two of Michigan’s five
conference games, Walton has
picked up two fouls in the first
half, forcing Beilein to give
extended minutes to his first-
year point guard.
While the newfound playing
time may not have paid off
as much as Beilein hoped, he
has noticed the progression
of Simpson’s play and most
importantly,
his
confidence.
That much was evident in the
players-only meeting that was
called by senior guard Derrick
Walton Jr. the night before
the Wolverines’ game against
Nebraska last Saturday.
“Actually,
shockingly,
we
had our freshman, Xavier, step
up and speak,” Walton said. “I
think that’s great.”
Realistically, situations like
Saturday night’s are expected.
Coming out of high school as a
pass-first point guard and Ohio
Mr. Basketball, one of Simpson’s
best traits on his scouting report
was his leadership ability. The
same scouting report, though,
described Simpson as just a
“good” shooter.
“Most point guards are going
to be pass-first guys,” Beilein
said. “They can shoot and they
can score, but they’re looking
to set up others. So that’s his
mindset right now — ‘How can
I make others better around
me,’ and ‘How can I go down
and give Derrick a rest and play
great defense while I’m at it?’
But Beilein wants Simpson
to bring more to the table than
just passing.
While Simpson may not be
ready to play 30 to 40 minutes
a night, Beilein understands his
role on the team.
“It’s hard to ever expect
anything from a freshman,”
Beilein said. “I never really
expect it, being a freshman and
come in and (play) like a Trey
Burke. That’s so rare that they
just come in, and they’re game
ready at this level.”
As
Beilein
stated,
Burke
was an outlier. He came to
Michigan with a level of talent
and “swagger” that allowed
him to claim the 2011-12 Big
Ten Freshman Player of the
Year award, which hadn’t been
won by a Michigan player in
nine years.
For most, though, the path
to conference awards is an
arduous one, and Beilein also
understands that developing a
point guard like Walton over a
four-year period takes time.
“We’re trying to develop
him as quickly as we can,”
Beilein said. “But it’s not easy
for a freshman. He’s making
developments everyday, and he
knows and I know that he has
a long way to go. He works his
tail off, and that’s all we can ask
for.”
While Simpson may not be
a point guard of Trey Burke’s
caliber just yet, Beilein put it
best when he said Simpson’s job
at the moment is to fill in for
Walton while also playing good
defense.
And so far, he’s doing a good
job of it.
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer
Maryland at
Michigan
Matchup:
Maryland 17-1;
Michigan 15-4
When:
Thursday
6 P.M.
Where:
XFinity Center
TV/Radio:
BTN
EVAN AARON/Daily
Freshman guard Xavier Simpson is finding his place in Michigan’s lineup after
struggling to acclimate to the college game.
MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor