8 — Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines carry momentum 
into Notre Dame Invitational

Coming off a second-place finish 

at the NCAA Championships for 
cross country last November, Erin 
Finn hasn’t lost her step.

The senior ran away from the 

rest of the field in the 3,000-meter 
race at Saturday’s Notre Dame 
Invitational in South Bend, Ind., 
winning with a time of 9:07.24 – 
the fastest time in the nation so far 
this season.

Finn’s victory helped lead the 

No. 12 Michigan women’s track 
and field team to a first-place 
finish in its first scored meet of 
the regular season. With a score 
of 113 points, the Wolverines 
bested a field consisting of 
DePaul, 
Louisville, 
Michigan 

State, North Carolina, Notre 
Dame and Virginia, finishing 24 
points clear of the second-place 
Cardinals.

Finn was not alone in her 

efforts as Michigan asserted its 
dominance in the distance events. 
Five of the next six finishers in 
her race were also Wolverines, 
including redshirt junior Gina 
Sereno, fifth-year senior Kira 
Garry and redshirt junior Avery 
Evenson, who finished second, 
fourth and fifth respectively. 
Along with Finn, Sereno and 
Evenson comprised the top three 
runners for a Michigan cross 
country team that finished second 
at the NCAA Championships last 
fall.

Senior 
Jamie 
Morrissey, 

another returner from the cross 
country team, added to the 
Wolverines’ point total with a win 
in the 800-meter race, setting a 
personal record of 2:06.44 — a 
top-10 time in the nation — while 
junior Claire Borchers took third 
in that race.

“We’re kind of riding that wave 

of determination and effort that 
we were during cross country,” 
Finn said. “We’ve got work to do 
and we’re doing it, and we’re going 

out and earning it every time we’re 
out there.” 

Michigan also had success 

in 
shorter-distance 
races, 
as 

freshman Jade Harrison won 
the 400-meter race with a time 
of 55.46. Harrison improved on 
her time from last week by nearly 
half a second while remaining 
unbeaten so far in her short 
collegiate career. And in the final 
event of the day — the 4x400-
meter relay — the Wolverines’ 
team 
of 
Morrissey, 
Borchers 

and juniors Sydney Badger and 
Meghan Marias recorded a time 
of 3:44.39.

Other key performances for the 

Wolverines included freshman 
Torisa 
Johnson, 
who 
placed 

third in the 60-meter dash in 
7.59, and freshman Julia Hall, 
who improved upon her college 
debut by two seconds, finishing in 
1:33.23 to finish second in the 600-
meter race. Junior Jaimie Phelan 
took second in the mile race with 
a time of 4:48.17, with sophomore 
Holly Petrusson close behind her 
in third.

Sophomore 
Emma 
Bauer 

cleared a career-high height of 
3.85 meters to place second in 

the pole vault, while sophomore 
Jeryne Fish and junior Aaron 
Howell were third and fourth, 
respectively, in the long jump. 
In the weight throw, freshman 
Courtney Jacobsen and junior 
Bailey Baker placed fifth and 
sixth, both recording personal 
bests in the process. 

With only two meets under the 

Wolverines’ belt, Michigan coach 
James Henry recognizes the need 
to continue gaining experience, 
though the positive atmosphere 
surrounding his team is a good 
sign for their development.

“We’ve got good chemistry 

going on,” Henry said. “We’ve 
got a mixture of veterans and 
young kids, and (the veterans) are 
working very hard to keep the 
young kids relaxed.”

Finn iterated a similar tone as 

her coach. She believes that the 
early results have been promising, 
but the Wolverines’ best is yet to 
come.

“The (main objective) of today 

for me and all my teammates was 
to go out and get a good effort in,” 
Finn said. “We ended up running a 
little bit slower than we wanted to, 
but the effort was there.”

Michigan rolls Crimson Tide

In the Michigan men’s tennis 

team’s first dual match last 
year, the Wolverines suffered 
a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to 
Kentucky, leaving the team in a 
rut at the onset of its season.

“After we lost that first match 

last year, it took us a while to 
get the confidence going,” said 
Michigan coach Adam Steinberg. 
“When you get the first one under 
your belt, the guys feel good.”

This year, the Wolverines had 

different plans. No. 21 Michigan 
(1-0) shutout Alabama, 4-0, in its 
regular season opener Saturday 
evening. The match gave the 

Wolverines a change of scenery, 
as their showdown with the 
Crimson Tide (2-1) took place 
outdoors at the United States 
Tennis 
Association 
National 

Campus in Orlando, Fla.

The victory puts Michigan 

one step closer to eligibility 
in the Intercollegiate Tennis 
Association 
National 
Team 

Indoor Championships. With one 
win to their name, the Wolverines 
need just two more match wins 
next weekend at the ITA kickoff 
against Oklahoma to earn a spot 
in the championships.

On Saturday, junior Davis 

Crocker secured the win for 
Michigan at the No. 6 singles 
position, defeating his Alabama 

opponent in dominant fashion, 
6-2, 6-4. Crocker finalized the 
win in style, slamming a series 
of 
crosscourt 
forehands 
and 

backhands, and sealed the deal 
with a deep backhand volley past 
his opponent.

The Wolverines claimed the 

doubles point with the wins 
of their No. 2 and 3 doubles 
duos. 
At 
the 
second 
spot, 

juniors Runhao Hua and Alex 
Knight won quickly, 6-1, while 
at the third spot, sophomore 
Myles Schalet and senior Tyler 
Gardiner eked out a 6-4 victory. 
Schalet and Gardiner were neck 
and neck with their opponents, 
but broke serve to take a 5-4 lead 
before holding Schalet’s serve to 
win.

Michigan then steamrolled the 

Crimson Tide in singles, acquiring 
all three of its singles wins in 
straight sets. Schalet, Knight 
and Crocker outperformed their 
opponents at the No. 3, 5 and 6 
singles slots, respectively.

While Crocker’s win sealed 

his team’s victory, there was 
still room for improvement to 
be found across three other 
matches. The No. 1 doubles team 
of seniors Jathan Malik and 
Kevin Wong were tied at 5-5 
with their Alabama opponents 
when their Michigan teammates 
clinched 
the 
doubles 
point, 

ending the doubles portion of 
the match. 

Malik and Wong would face 

the same fate in their singles 
competition. Malik was down, 
3-6, 5-5, at the No. 1 slot, and 
Wong held a slight advantage of 
7-6, 1-1 over his opponent at the 
No. 2 position when both matches 
were called off.

Steinberg 
viewed 
these 

matches as too close, and sought 
more endurance on the courts 
throughout the competition. 

“I would like us to be a little 

more aggressive and better as a 
team,” Steinberg said. “I feel like 
our energy dipped a bit [in the 
match].”

Though Steinberg hopes to 

see more from his team, the 
Wolverines’ Saturday sweep is 
a promising sign for what is to 
come in their upcoming season. 

MEN’S TENNIS

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer

Ellis leads ‘M’ to dominant win

Joe Ellis had already broken 

his own program record in the 
weight throw on his second 
attempt at the Notre Dame 
Invitational. For good measure, 
on his sixth and final attempt, 
he surpassed it again.

The 
sophomore’s 
winning 

throw of 22.02 meters helped lead 
the Michigan men’s track and 
field team to a dominating victory 
at the same competition where 
the Wolverines claimed their first 
victory in a scored meet under 
coach Jerry Clayton last season.

The 
Wolverines 
finished 

well ahead of the seven-team 
field 
consisting 
of 
DePaul, 

Louisville, 
Michigan 
State, 

North Carolina, Notre Dame 
and Virginia, racking up 133 
points and finishing 47 points 
ahead 
of 
the 
second-place 

Cardinals.

Six Michigan athletes took 

home individual victories in 
their events, but Ellis’ record-
setting performance — the 
second-best mark in the nation 
— was the highlight of the day.

“(The record is) a validation 

of the hard work that me, coach 
Clayton and the rest of the guys 
have put in,” Ellis said.

Junior 
Drake 
Johnson 

has established himself as a 
consistent force in the 60-meter 
hurdles. Johnson, who doubles 
as a running back, finished in 
7.95 seconds to win the race, 
and has now set career-bests in 
both of his meets this season.

Also in the sprint category, 

junior 
Khoury 
Crenshaw 

claimed victory in the 60-meter 
dash with a time of 6.75, tying 
his personal best. Participating 
in his first 400-meter race of 
the season, sophomore Taylor 
McLaughlin won with a time 
of 47.02, while freshman Alex 
Schwedt finished close behind 
him in third place.

The 800-meter race yielded 

more positive results for the 
Wolverines. Junior Brennan 
Munley 
entered 
the 
race 

holding the third-fastest time 
in the nation at that distance, 
but was overcome at the finish 
by senior Ned Willig. Willig 
finished with a time of 1:50.13, 
just 0.24 seconds ahead of 
Munley.

“The times were good, but 

the way (Willig and Munley) 
competed to place and score for 
the team was outstanding as 
well,” Clayton said.

Michigan runners made up 

five of the top eight finishers in 
the mile race, with sophomore 
Chase Barnett leading the pack 
by running a time of 4:07.33 to 
finish in second place. Junior 
Austin 
Benoit 
and 
senior 

Ben Flanagan were the other 
Wolverine scorers, crossing the 
finish line within a second of 
Barnett. Junior Micah Beller 
bolstered 
the 
Wolverines’ 

distance corps with a time of 
8:17.98, good for second place in 
the 3000-meter race.

The Wolverines also saw a 

standout 
performance 
from 

senior Steven Bastien to win 
the long jump. Bastien, who 
also competes in the heptathlon 
and 60-meter hurdles, leapt 
7.57 meters, a personal record 
for him. Junior Kevin Stephens 
Jr.’s triple jump of 14.93 meters 
placed him second in that event.

But above all the individual 

triumphs, 
the 
first 
scored 

meet of the season provided 
Michigan an opportunity to 
show the progress it has made 
in uniting as a team throughout 
Clayton’s tenure. While the 
Wolverines featured winners 
in a wide array of events, the 
newfound team chemistry has 
been equally as important to 
Clayton as the improvement on 
the track.

“This team is starting to 

really jell and this has been 
occurring for about a year and 
a half now,” Clayton said. “(The 
athletes) really make an effort 
to learn the other events so they 
know and are really starting to 
cheer and support each other.

“When I came here that 

wasn’t always the case, but now 
distance runners and sprinters 
and field events, they’re all one 
team instead of segments, and 
are really supportive of each 
other.”

JAKE SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

KEVIN ZHENG/Daily

Senior Erin Finn claimed a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter race Saturday.

This team is 
starting to 
really jell

JAKE SHAMES 
Daily Sports Writer

