The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Friday, January 20, 2017 — 7 Wolverines drop first dual meet since 2010 The last time the Michigan men’s swimming and diving team lost a dual meet, Rich Rodriguez was still the coach of the Michigan football team, Tik Tok by Ke$ha was the No. 1 song in America, Snapchat had not been created yet and the unemployment rate was at 9.8 percent. But with their 167-133 loss at No. 4 Indiana on Friday, so too vanished the Wolverines’ streak of 55 straight dual meet victories, dating back to November of 2010. “Obviously it’s very disappointing to lose a meet,” said junior PJ Ransford. “We’ve had a streak of wins going back to before I got to Michigan, and it’s disappointing to be the team that lets that streak end.” No. 13 Michigan — now 80-5-1 in dual meets since 2007 — was nearly able to squeak out the victory on the road in Bloomington, with narrow margins at the top of the scoreboard determining many of the races. Ransford even called the meet the Wolverines’ “best performance of the year.” Eight of the 16 races were decided by less than half a second, three of which were determined by less than a tenth of a second. The Wolverines also placed 2-3-4 in three events and 2-3- 4-5 in two events. It was that first-place finish, though, that proved elusive in too many races to overcome. Despite victories from Ransford in the 1,000-yard freestyle, junior Tristan Sanders in the 200-yard backstroke and freshman Felix Auböck in the 500-yard freestyle, the Hoosiers won 13 of the 16 races, enough to hold off the Wolverines’ depth. But with the Big Ten Tournament looming, the team thinks this loss could be a blessing in disguise. For the first time in years, Michigan will not head into the conference tournament as the prohibitive favorite, and Ransford does not seem to mind. “While we always go into (the Big Ten Championship) wanting to win, I think losing to these guys once this year just adds a little bit more motivation,” he said. “We have never really been in an underdog role in recent years, and I think we have to embrace that as a team over the next two months. Big Tens is going to be a battle, and every extra bit of motivation we can get will help” Added Bottom: “I think (motivation) depends on how much pain they feel and how much they don’t want to feel that pain again. They know what it’s like now to have a streak as glorious as the one we had broken. They feel the pain, and I hope they feel the loss. The word is ‘Hey, if you don’t want to have this happen again then we need to get better.’ ” The Big Ten Tournament starts in just over a month, with dual meets against Ohio State and Michigan State in between. And if the Wolverines are able to take down Indiana — along with plenty of other formidable Big Ten opposition — to win the title, they might just look back on this meet as the wake-up call they needed. MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Writer We have never really been in an underdog role WOMEN’S TENNIS Wolverines open with Michigan Invitational As junior Mira Ruder-Hook watched her opponent’s ball land out, it was almost anticlimactic. She had battled through the match composed of highs and lows, which forced her to continuously make comebacks, and the final point seemed too easy. As the ball landed out, Ruder- Hook’s teammates cheered not only for her, but also in celebration of their successful weekend. The Michigan women’s tennis team competed in the Michigan Invitational against Arizona State, DePaul and Tennessee, and though there was no team scoring, it was a perfect warm-up for the impending spring season. Ruder-Hook got off to a rough start, falling into a 0-4 hole. But once she switched to more offensive play, she won five straight games to gain the lead. Tennessee’s Gabby Schuck made her fight for it, though, and tied it at five games apiece. But it was Ruder- Hook who took the first set after she drove a forehand deep into the corner of the court. Schuck’s aggressive style of play appeared to be too much for Ruder-Hook, who was down 4-1 in the second set. But after the line judge overturned one of Schuck’s calls, Ruder-Hook argued that it was Schuck’s third time being overturned. If it had been, Ruder- Hook would be awarded a game. But after a dispute between Ruder-Hook, the umpire and the Volunteers’ coach, Ruder-Hook wasn’t awarded the game. That game might have made a big difference in the match’s outcome, because while Ruder- Hook battled back to tie the game at five, Schuck ended up taking the set, 7-5. Both players were evenly matched in the third set, but it was Ruder-Hook’s mental toughness that secured her the match, a point of emphasis for the junior. “I think mental toughness is something you always have to work on,” Ruder-Hook said. “For me, I just try to present myself like I’m really confident and so in the moment at least it looks that way. And then it transitions to me and I start to feel more confident. I just told myself, ‘One point at a time.’ ” Sophomore Kate Fahey and junior Alex Najarian continued their momentum from the fall season. The pair won the doubles title, winning every match of the weekend. The fourth-ranked duo’s most notable win came on Monday against the team of Savannah Slaysman and Kelley Anderson – the top pair for the Sun Devils. Fahey closed out the match, 6-3, with an ace up the middle. Former partners, sophomore Brienne Minor and Ruder-Hook both played with a freshman this weekend, and though there are signs of a bright future ahead, there is surely room for improvement. “I think there are a lot of things we need to work on, especially the doubles,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein. “The goal is to go match by match and peak in May.” While this invitational was a good opportunity to get the team together again and to play real matches, it only makes the women even more excited for their real season to start. “What’s so unique about college tennis and what makes it so much more fun is that you get to play with your team, so when the season starts we’re all so eager,” Ruder-Hook said. “I definitely prefer the (spring) season.” PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Writer ‘M’ to face Spartans in home-and-home series It’s his final year on the Michigan hockey team, and senior forward Evan Allen relishes his few remaining opportunities to play against rival Michigan State — with good reason. Throughout Allen’s first three years, the Michigan hockey team has earned 10 wins in 15 games and notched another late victory last month. “It’s the biggest weekend of the year for Michigan hockey,” Allen said on Wednesday. “We just gotta come together and take pride in our defense, because goals are precious. We just gotta bear down and get going against Michigan State.” Defense will be crucial to the Wolverines’ success against the Spartans this weekend because goals are a luxury for them this season — Michigan averages just 2.6 per game. The Wolverines also struggle to find shots, which Michigan coach Red Berenson attributes to a lack of opportunities with the puck in the opposition’s zone. Last weekend in Minneapolis, the Wolverines showed some signs of offensive potential. They jumped out to an early lead Friday night and scored two late goals in the third period Saturday. In practice this week, while showing his team game film from the weekend, Berenson pointed out certain defensive mistakes to his players. “Our defense wasn’t gapping up on their forwards,” Berenson said. “They were giving their forwards too much room. We showed them a couple of clips where we did gap up on Saturday and then we had a good shift, we took over the play in their zone. When we didn’t gap up, we gave them our zone, and then we’re chasing them in our zone.” It wasn’t solely defensive mistakes, however. Berenson explained that the Wolverines must improve their performance on special teams, an aspect of their game notably absent against No. 5 Minnesota. During that weekend’s series, Michigan earned just six power play chances — two on Friday and four on Saturday — and failed to score once. Defensively, the Wolverines’ penalty kill allowed two goals on 11 attempts, including a penalty shot. Michigan State, though, contains significantly less star talent on its roster than the Gophers do. The Spartans sit last in the Big Ten standings, the only team behind Michigan. Michigan State nearly beat the Wolverines in the Great Lakes Invitational, overcoming a 4-1 third-period deficit, before ultimately losing 5-4 in overtime. The Spartans have some impressive victories on their resume, defeating then-No. 5 North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena on November 25th. That series alone gives Berenson cause for concern, even if Michigan State has yet to defeat a conference opponent. “(Michigan State) is capable of beating anyone on a given night,” Berenson said. “They get it going, and we saw it against us. We had them down and they came back in the third period, and they easily could’ve won the game. “It’s not about Michigan State. I know it’s a rivalry and both teams are going to play hard, but records don’t mean anything. I think their team’s better than their record and I think our team can be better than our record, but we gotta prove it.” Sophomore forward Mason Appleton leads the Spartans offensively with nine goals and 19 points. His seven power play goals rank sixth nationally and second in the Big Ten. Appleton’s linemate, forward Joe Cox, will face off against the Wolverines for the fourth straight year. He is one of five players Allen has grown accustomed to seeing each time the two sides play. “It’s our fourth year playing against them,” Allen said. “Right now, I’m on a line with (senior forward Alex) Kile and (senior forward Max) Shuart. Hopefully, we can take that into consideration against their young team. We can use us veterans, take it to them, because we know how Michigan State plays. We don’t like Michigan State and obviously, they don’t like us.” Michigan has yet to win a conference game on the road this season, losing to then-No. 6 Penn State and Minnesota twice. Saturday night provides another road test for the Wolverines as they will travel to Munn Arena for the series finale. For now, though, Berenson is focused on the first game Friday night because those nights have proven to be a challenge for Michigan this season. The Wolverines’ last series-opening victory occurred back in November when the Wolverines shut out then-No. 4 Boston University. “Let’s worry about Friday’s game,” Berenson said. “It’s on the schedule, and we’re playing it here. Let’s get excited about it. … We’ve gotta be better on Fridays.” If Michigan can keep the puck out of its zone, gap up on defense and take advantage of its shooting chances, it certainly will. SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily Michigan coach Red Berenson will lead his team into a tense rivalry matchup. Michigan falters in fourth quarter, falls on the road to No. 3 Maryland Before Thursday’s contest against No. 3 Maryland, Michigan women’s basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico told her team, “We need to win five minutes at a time.” With 38 seconds left in the third quarter, it appeared that the strategy was paying off, as the Wolverines held a 61-60 advantage. But then junior guard Katelynn Flaherty was called for a foul, sending Terrapins guard Iesha Small to the free-throw line, where she made one of two shots to tie the game. Forward Kiah Gillespie then made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Maryland the lead. The Wolverines unraveled from there, as they were outscored 19-9 in the fourth quarter en route to an 83-70 defeat. The Terrapins dominated on the glass as well as in the paint, winning the second- chance points battle, 23-5, and the points-in-the-paint battle, 54-26. “I thought it was a great basketball game,” Barnes Arico said. “The final score didn’t really indicate how close of a game it was. Maryland is an outstanding team, and we knew that we were going to have a tough contest tonight. I was really proud of how our team responded for three quarters. I think Maryland’s depth and ability to force turnovers really helped them down the stretch.” Michigan (4-2 Big Ten, 15-5 overall) came out hot in the first quarter, racing out to a 17-10 lead with 1:57 left. Flaherty and sophomore center Hallie Thome combined for 12 points and two rebounds in the frame. At the same time, Michigan capitalized on five Maryland turnovers, turning them into six points. But then Thome picked up two fouls in the next three minutes, forcing her to the bench. Her absence was felt, as the Terrapins (6-0, 18-1) were able to string together a 16-2 run into the early minutes of the second quarter. Although Thome still played for just over two minutes in the second frame, her mobility was limited due to her hesitance to pick up a third foul. But her cautious approach didn’t stop her from picking up an offensive foul with 3:08 remaining before halftime, and Maryland took advantage, acquiring a 39-26 edge with 2:08 left in the frame. “I think for big kids, their biggest strength in their development is to figure out the referees,” Barnes Arico said. But then Terrapins center Brionna Jones was called for her second personal foul, sending her to the sideline. Michigan seized the opportunity and went on a 9-0 run to end the half. “She’s tough,” Barnes Arico said about Jones. “She’s tough to double, she finishes, she’s got quick moves. But she’s really, really, really consistent.” The Wolverines’ good fortune was spearheaded by Flaherty, who scored the five final points of the half. Junior guard Maria Backman contributed off the bench during the run with two free throws and six rebounds in the final stretch of the second quarter. Flaherty continued to put her team on her back in the third quarter. She scored ten points and nabbed a steal in the first three minutes of the frame, which allowed Michigan to attain a 47-46 advantage. Flaherty finished Thursday’s contest with 30 points. “My teammates put me in great positions,” Flaherty said. “(Senior guard Siera Thompson) is a great point guard. The rest of the team, they played to our strengths. They kept hitting me, and I think that helps. A lot of my points were in transition, and I like playing open court.” Michigan proceeded to commit three turnovers, setting up four Maryland points. Even though freshman guard Kysre Gondrezick made two 3-pointers and Flaherty sank three free throws, propelling the Wolverines to a 61-60 lead, it would be their last of the game. “We feel like we have great pieces that can score, that can score in transition,” Barnes Arico said. “We just got to be able to go for longer stretches like a team like Maryland does. And hopefully as the season goes on, we will continue to improve on that, and our younger kids will continue to get better and be able to provide some more minutes.” With the loss, Michigan has now lost all four games it has played against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, though none were ranked below 16th. Luckily for the Wolverines, there are no contests against ranked opponents left on their regular-season schedule. Michigan’s toughest remaining adversary on paper is Michigan State, who is currently 47th in the Ratings Percentage Index, fourteen spots below the Wolverines. JEREMY MITNICK/Daily Junior guard Katelynn Flaherty finished Thursday’s contest with 30 points, but it wasn’t enough against the Terrapins. NATHANIEL CLARK Daily Sports Writer MICHIGAN MARYLAND 70 83 AVI SHOLKOFF Daily Sports Writer Michigan State at Michigan Matchup: Michigan State 0-6 Big Ten, 4-15-1 overall; Michigan 1-5, 8-11-1 When: Friday 6:30 P.M. Where: Yost Ice Arena TV/Radio: BTN The goal is to go match by match and peak in May