The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
January 23, 2017 — 3B

Michigan dominated at Illinois

After 
forfeiting 
the 
125-

pound matchup for the third 
meet in a row, the Michigan 
wrestling team began its dual 
meet against Illinois in a hole 
before it even had a wrestler on 
the mat.

And 
the 
night 
hardly 
 

improved from there for the 
Wolverines, whose 34-6 defeat 
at the hands of the 12th-ranked 
Fighting Illini (2-2 Big Ten, 4-2 
overall) 
matched 
Michigan’s 

worst dual meet loss since 
the 
2009-2010 
season. 
The 

loss dropped the 15th-ranked 
Wolverines to 1-4 in the highly 
competitive Big Ten — each 
loss coming against a team 
ranked 18th or better. Its stretch 
of 
conference 
play 
doesn’t 

bode well for Michigan, with 
matchups against No. 11 Rutgers 
and No. 17 Wisconsin still to 
come.

“I feel we could have wrestled 

better,” said Michigan coach Joe 
McFarland. “I think we need to 
be a little more consistent. We 
never got any momentum on our 
side, and it snowballed against 
us.”

The freshman trio of Logan 

Massa, Stevan Micic and Myles 
Amine — who have been so 
integral 
to 
the 
Wolverines’ 

success thus far this season — 
all lost their matchups by three 
points or fewer. Before Friday’s 
meet, the three athletes held a 
combined record of 48-5.

McFarland 
acknowledged 

the challenge of going on the 
road against a quality Big Ten 
opponent with a team so reliant 
on young talent.

But Sal Profaci, a redshirt 

freshman in his own right, 
doesn’t buy that excuse. Profaci 
— who competes in the 141-
pound class — was one of just 
two Wolverines to win his 
individual matchup. 

“We’re not waiting until next 

year to let us decide we’re going 
to be a top-tier team,” Profaci 

said. “We want to do that this 
year.”

Coming into the meet, No. 

2 Massa’s matchup with No. 1 
Isaiah Martinez figured to be the 
marquee event, and potentially 
the key to a Michigan victory. 
Instead, it was just another 
Wolverine loss to pile on to the 
cakewalk Illinois had previously 
established.

Massa fell behind after a 

high-crotch takedown at the 
end of the first period, and 
despite 
aggressive 
attempts, 

failed to make up the difference 
in the third period.

But McFarland believes it 

could be a learning experience 
that could prepare Massa for a 
potential rematch between the 
two.

“It was good for (Massa) to 

see him, because he’s going 
to continue to see him down 
the road — whether it’s at the 
(Big Ten Championships) or at 
(the NCAA Championships),” 
 

McFarland 
said 
“… 
A 
guy 

like (Martinez) is a quality 
opponent, and it came down to 

one takedown at the end of the 
first period and that was the 
difference in the match.”

Fortunately 
for 
the 

Wolverines, they may not be 
forced to overcome an early 
deficit due to forfeit much 
longer. They have dealt with 
multiple ACL injuries at the 
weight class, but McFarland 
says reinforcement is on the way. 
Senior Conor Youtsey, a two-
time All-American, weighed in 
for the match and is expected to 
return to competition shortly. 

While 
McFarland 
was 

hesitant to provide an exact 
timetable for Youtsey’s return, 
he said the Wolverines have to 
take a cautious approach.

“We’re 
excited 
to 
have 

(Youtsey) back in our lineup, and 
I think he can help us a lot, but 
at the same time we have to be 
smart about how we’re doing it.”

Whenever he is able to return, 

Youtsey will not only provide a 
capable body in the 125-pound 
class but also some much-
needed veteran experience for 
the rest of the season.

Wolverines roll Northwestern

Redshirt sophomore Malik 

Amine stepped onto the mat for 
his dual meet debut on Sunday, 
looking to set the tone for the 
day. His was the first match of 
the meet, and it took all of 48 
seconds to accomplish his goal.

Amine made a quick reversal 

and 
pinned 
Northwestern’s 

Shayne Oster, giving his team an 
early 6-0 lead.

“I don’t like sitting around,” 

Amine said. “I like being warmed 
up and just getting out there at 
the beginning.”

The Michigan wrestling team 

prevailed over Northwestern, 
38-10, as the Wolverines racked 
up two pins by Amine and 
redshirt senior Conor Youtsey, 
and four technical falls.

Michigan was coming off 

a 
two-game 
losing 
streak 

against No. 6 Nebraska and 
No. 12 Illinois, and though 
Northwestern is not currently 
ranked in the top 25 (NCAA), 
the Wolverines clearly flipped a 

switch on Sunday.

“The coaches sat us down 

after the dual on Friday and 
told us we need to go out there 
and attack 100 percent of the 
time,” said redshirt freshman 
Jackson Striggow. “We had a 
great turnaround in a span of 
two days.”

Following Amine’s dominant 

start to the dual, senior Brian 
Murphy followed suit, sitting in 
the driver’s seat for the whole 
match in his 21-4 technical fall 
victory 
over 
Northwestern’s 

Ben Sullivan in the 157-pound 
weight class. With a single-leg 
takedown around 50 seconds 
into 
the 
match, 
Murphy 

controlled the pace throughout, 
amassing 
riding 
time 
and 

curtailing most of Sullivan’s 
opportunities.

No. 
2 
redshirt 
freshman 

Logan 
Massa 
continued 
his 

impactful season with a 26-10 
technical fall win. His opponent, 
Johnny Sebastian, gained most 
of his points with escapes, as 
Massa’s overwhelming offense 
was simply too much.

Michigan’s advantage Sunday 

was its immense share of the 
riding time. Already ahead 
by a sizable margin, redshirt 
freshman Myles Amine utilized 
the momentum of the rest of his 
team as well as riding time to 
grab a 21-6 win.

Redshirt 
junior 
Aaron 

Calderon fell to Northwestern’s 
Mitch Sliga by a 13-2 major 
decision in the 165-pound match, 
joining heavyweight freshman 
Dan Perry, who was pinned 
around the six-minute mark in 
his contest, as the two losses for 
the Wolverines on the day.

In 
the 
197-pound 
match, 

Striggow prevailed, 6-3, in a highly 
contested match that was back-
and-forth for much of its duration. 
Striggow snagged two early points 
for escapes and was able to stave 
off the Wildcats’ rebuttal.

“(You) just have to have faith 

in what you do, and know that 
when you keep grinding on him, 
he will break down eventually,” 
Striggow said.

With a solid lead, Michigan 

delivered a dagger with three 
wins from Youtsey and redshirt 
freshmen Stevan Micic and Sal 
Profaci. Micic prevailed via 
technical fall, 17-2, and Profaci 
again utilized riding time to 
come out with a hard-fought 7-3 
decision.

Michigan’s 
hardened 

ideology was evident in the 
closer matches, where certain 
techniques were not yielding 
positive results. Both Striggow 
and Profaci won by less than 
five points, but with riding time 
and aggressiveness, the matches 
ended in the Wolverines’ favor.

Michigan will look to bring 

the early aggressiveness back 
home to finish a long stretch 
of Big Ten matchups against 
Rutgers on Friday.

“We have to continue to 

talk about it and work on 
it,” said Michigan coach Joe 
McFarland. “Young teams can 
be inconsistent and we saw that 
on Friday. We bounced back well 
today, though.”

KEVIN ZHENG/Daily

Redshirt freshman Sal Profaci managed to win his individual matchupy needed 

KEVIN ZHENG/Daily

Redshirt freshman Jackson Striggow prevailed in his highly-contested match.

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Writer

ROBERT HEFTER

Daily Sports Writer

Wolverines stomp Cornhuskers on the road

After dropping the first game of 

its road trip to No. 3 Maryland on 
Thursday, 
the 
Michigan 
women’s 
basketball team was determined 
to return home from Nebraska 
with a win Sunday.

The 
Wolverines 
(5-2 
Big 

Ten, 16-5 overall) thoroughly 
outplayed 
the 
struggling 

Cornhuskers (1-7, 5-16), executing 
on all facets of the game to earn 
an 84-51 victory. For the third 
time in four games, four Michigan 
players contributed double-digit 
points: freshman guard Kysre 
Gondrezick, sophomore guard 
Nicole Munger, sophomore center 
Hallie Thome, and junior guard 
Katelynn Flaherty.

Gondrezick set the tempo 

early in the first period, assisting 
Thome for a layup at the 8:57 mark, 

then stealing the ball and taking it 
for a layup of her own less than 
thirty seconds later. By the end of 
the first quarter, Gondrezick had 
seven points — including another 
fast-break layup — and went on to 
record 13 points, four assists and 
two boards.

Flaherty once again led the 

team in scoring, finishing the 
game with 27 points on 11-for-16 
shooting, and Munger came off 
the bench to go 4-for-6 from the 
3-point line. Meanwhile, Thome 
notched 15 points, working hard 
down low to make it to the free-
throw line, where she went 7-for-9.

The collective scoring efforts 

from the quartet helped Michigan 
end the game with a noteworthy 
57.4 shooting percentage from 
the floor. Flaherty, Thome and 
Gondrezick are Michigan’s top 
three scorers this season, but 
Munger’s 18-point performance 
was a season-high — and only one 
point shy of a career-high.

“(Munger) was outstanding,” 

Barnes Arico said. “She just gave 
us a different look from the floor 
spot. She’s a guard for us, but 
when Hallie went and got in foul 
trouble and they stayed in that 
zone, we needed another scoring 
threat on the inside. Nicole 
provided that.”

Despite 

the 
33-point 

win, 
Nebraska 

appeared 
dangerous 
in 

the first quarter, 
shooting 
70 

percent 
from 

the floor. But 
Michigan’s 
defense 
stood 

tall to weather 
the storm, and 
the Cornhuskers’ shooting fell to 
just 40.8 percent by the game’s 
end. 
Nebraska 
has 
typically 

relied on sophomore forward 
Jessica Shepard — the 2016 Big 
Ten Freshman of the Year — but 
the Wolverines shut her down, 

limiting her to just four points.

Michigan’s primary defensive 

standouts were Thome and junior 
forward Jillian Dunston. Dunston 
had six rebounds and three 
assists against the Cornhuskers, 
outrebounded only by Thome, 
who had a team-high of eight 

defensive boards. 
But Dunston was 
the 
Wolverine 

who 
clearly 

overwhelmed the 
6-foot-4 Shepard. 

“(Shepard) 

was obviously a 
major 
concern 

for us after the 
performance she 
had 
last 
year,” 

Barnes Arico said. 

“I think (Dunston) has a year 
more experience underneath her 
belt, and I think our team does. 
We have a lot of pieces returning 
so we’re more of an experienced 
squad. We spent a lot of time 
talking about what we needed to 
do against her, and I thought we 
executed the game plan.”

Noticeably missing from the 

pack of double-digit scorers was 
senior guard and captain Siera 
Thompson, 
who 
scored 
just 

three points, but still contributed 
offensively with seven assists.

“I just think that (scoring) is 

probably number five on her list 
of things to do,” Barnes Arico 
said. “Her leadership has been 
incredible. ... She just does so 
much for us.”

While the Wolverines were 

expected to beat the basement-
dwelling Nebraska, it was still a 
confidence-building victory for 
Michigan.

“I think it was a test of our 

team’s focus (to lock in) on 
this game,” Barnes Arico said. 
“Especially 
after 
playing 
at 

Maryland, it’s easy to get up to 
play the number three team in 
the country. But to play them 
down to the wire, and then have 
to get ready for a team that’s at the 
bottom of the league right now, 
and at their place — teams can 
slip up on games like that. And I 
think tonight really showed our 
maturity.”

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

Sophomore guard Nicole Munger scored a season-high 18 points and neutralized Nebraska’s Shepard in Michigan’s win.

After falling to No. 3 Maryland on Thursday, ‘M’ defeats Nebraska on Sunday

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

MICHIGAN 
NEBRASKA 

84
51

She just gave us 
a different look 
from the floor 

spot

WATER POLO
Michigan faces early 
tests in first tourney

Sixteen Californians on the 

Michigan women’s water polo 
team traveled home to kick off the 
2017 season at the UCSB Winter 
Invitational in Santa Barbara, 
Calif., where the Wolverines went 
3-2 in the pool after facing five 
consecutive top-25 opponents.

Michigan began the weekend 

facing No. 2 Southern California 
in a top-10 battle. After freshmen 
utility player Maddy Steere scored 
two goals in the first period, the 
Wolverines only managed to find 
the back of the net once more, 
falling to the powerhouse 11-3, 
as the Trojans scored the game’s 
final eight goals.

But Michigan bounced back on 

the second day of the invitational, 
defeating No. 25 CSU Bakersfield 
by nearly the same margin that 
it had lost to USC, 11-2. Four 
Wolverines netted at least two 
goals in the rout, including 
sophomore attacker Julia Sellers 
who 
scored 
a 

hat-trick, helping 
Michigan 
put 

together 
an 

impressive 
second 
half 

in 
which 
it 

outscored 
CSU 

Bakersfield, 9-1.

In its second 

top-10 game of 
the weekend, the 
Wolverines took 
on No. 9 UCSB, the tournament’s 
host. The Gauchos led 3-2 at 
the break, but Michigan once 
again put together a successful 
second half to down UCSB, 7-4. 
Sophomore defensive player Kim 
Johnson scored twice to help 
the Wolverines overcome the 
halftime deficit. Senior center 
Allison Skaggs provided the final 
blow, beating the Gauchos’ goalie 
with a beautiful backhanded goal 
to give Michigan its seventh goal 
of the game.

In addition to some strong 

offensive 
performances, 
the 

Wolverines 
played 
lockdown 

defense, holding CSU Bakersfield, 
UCSB, and Cal State Northridge 
to a combined 11 goals.

“I thought defensively we 

did a really, really good job,” 
said Michigan coach Marcelo 
Leonardi.

Two highly recruited freshmen 

who were making their collegiate 
debuts fueled Michigan’s success 
this past weekend. Offensively, 
Steere totaled nine goals including 
her first career hat trick, while 
goalie Heidi Ritner recorded over 
40 saves.

“I thought they both did a 

fantastic job,” Leonardi said. 
“Heidi was able to keep us in 
games early. … and Maddy gave us 
not only a punch at the two-meter 
defender position, but she was 
also able to score.”

In their third top-10 matchup 

of the tournament, the Wolverines 
battled No. 3 UCLA. Sellers 
recorded her second hat trick of 
the year, but it was not enough to 
fuel Michigan to victory, as it fell 
to the Bruins, 12-5.

To close out 

the 
weekend, 

the 
Wolverines 

faced off against 
No. 23 Cal State 
Northridge. 
The Wolverines 
began 
play 

aggressively and 
took an early 4-0 
lead. From there, 
they never let up, 
finishing off the 

Matadores, 18-5. Michigan was 
dominant, with Sellers, Steere, 
junior Caroline Anderson and 
Johnson all notching at least three 
goals.

After competing against a slew 

of ranked opponents so early 
in the season, it is no question 
that, along with an opportunity 
for some of the players to return 
home, Michigan gained valuable 
experience in Santa Barbara.

“I think that the level of play 

that we faced only makes us 
tougher,” Leonardi said. “If you 
want to be the best, you’ve got to 
play the best.”

ZACH GAN
For the Daily

If you want 
to be the best, 
you’ve got to 
play the best