The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports February 20, 2017 — 3B Wolverines repeat as Big Ten champions As soon as it became official, 28 members of the Michigan women’s swimming and diving team — donning Big Ten Champion baseball caps and T-shirts — hurled themselves into the diving well at Boilermaker Aquatic Center on Saturday night. Coach Mike Bottom followed suit, entering the water emphatically with a victorious front-flip. When the Wolverines began to sing a splash-filled version of “The Victors,” reality set in — Michigan had just won back-to-back Big Ten Championships. “I don’t swim like I used to swim,” Bottom laughed. “But I float a lot better than I used to float.” After sophomore Siobhan Haughey was disqualified in the 200-yard IM final on Thursday night after touching first, Michigan’s chances at repeating looked bleak. The Wolverines, who would have been in first place if Haughey had won, sat in third going into the final two days of the meet — trailing Indiana by 30. But No. 6 Michigan was up for the challenge. “I looked at the team and basically said, ‘Hey, what are we gonna do about this?’” Bottom said. “They responded very well the next day. We had incredible swims — we had one of the best mornings I think this Michigan program has ever seen.” The Wolverines recorded 47 career bests and 10 new school records en route to winning their 16th Big Ten title. It marked the first time the team took home consecutive conference championships since the 1997-98 seasons. Michigan finished the meet with 1,287 points, while Indiana placed second with 1,125 points and Wisconsin rounded out the top three with 1,101.5 points. Michigan was aided by top- notch performances when it needed them most. Junior G Ryan had a dominant showing, tasting victory in the 500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle relay. “I was really just determined to score as many points as I could for Michigan, that was what I came here to do,” Ryan said. “The 500 and the mile were great because I could see my team on the side of the pool, so every time I breathed that way I knew that I had the team behind me.” In the 200-yard freestyle, Haughey defended her Big Ten title, posting school, Big Ten and Big Ten Championship records with a time of 1:42.49. The sophomore picked up second place in the 100-yard freestyle as well. Junior Clara Smiddy — the defending Big Ten champion in the 100-yard backstroke — placed second in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events, while freshman Vanessa Krause touched second and third in the 200-yard and 100-yard butterfly events, respectively. Junior Emily Kopas set a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke (59.54), finishing fifth in the event. From start to finish, relays played an integral role in the Wolverines’ scoring. Michigan kicked off competition with a win in the 800-yard freestyle relay (sophomore Yirong Bi, Haughey, junior Gabby DeLoof, Ryan), breaking school, Big Ten and Big Ten Championship records. In the 400-yard medley relay (Smiddy, Kopas, Krause, Haughey), the Wolverines set yet another school record and claimed third. To close out the meet, Michigan placed second in the 400-yard freestyle relay (sophomore Catie DeLoof, Haughey, sophomore Becca Postoll, Gabby DeLoof). On the boards, senior Keegan McCaffrey took home 13th in the one-meter diving event, while freshman Kristen Hayden and senior Allie Murphy placed 16th and 21st, respectively. Hayden finished 11th and McCaffrey finished 19th in the three-meter event. In the platform diving finals, junior Dani VanderZwaag, Murphy and McCaffrey placed 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively. “Our divers scored a lot of points,” Bottom said. “On this last night when we knew we had to beat Indiana, all five of our divers scored. That was huge.” For Michigan’s seniors, it was certainly an exciting way to finish their Big Ten careers. Seniors Maddy Frost, Madison Horton, Celia Keany and Julia Fiks Salem all made finals in at least one of their events. “It was fun to see our senior leadership — who have not always been the leaders in the water because they weren’t the best of swimmers — all score today,” Bottom said. But the Wolverines’ success did not come easy. When Michigan was just about counted out with two days remaining, coach Bottom delivered one simple message to the team. “We talked about understanding who we are — using the emotions, whatever the emotions are … to move us forward as champions,” Bottom said. Added Ryan: “He talked to us about belief — belief in each other and what we’re capable of — and we never let go of that and that’s why we ended up champions tonight.” But for Ryan and many others, the magnitude of a conference championship still has not set in. “It hasn’t processed at all yet,” Ryan said. “It’s amazing — that much I know right now. It’s incredible to watch this team grow even more year after year. “It’s an honor to be able to say that we’re the best in the Big Ten this year.” HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily The Michigan women’s swimming and diving team repeated as conference champions for the first time since 1997-98. ZACH GAN For the Daily ‘M’ falls in Madison MADISON — With just under nine minutes left, it looked as though the Michigan hockey team might be gaining some momentum against No. 20 Wisconsin (10-4 Big Ten, 17-10- 1 overall) — the Wolverines had gained a lead in shots while the score sat tied at four. But any semblance of momentum was halted when Wisconsin forward Will Johnson fired a shot toward the net that Badger defenseman Peter Tischke tipped into the net for the game-winning goal en route to a 6-4 victory. It was a high-scoring game, and the goal-scoring started almost immediately. Wisconsin forward Luke Kunin controlled the opening faceoff and shot it into the Michigan zone. Fellow Badger forward Matt Ustaski reached the puck first and passed it up to forward Trent Frederic, who beat Michigan goaltender Zach Nagelvoort just eight seconds into the game. The Wolverines (2-10-2-2, 9-16-3) didn’t stay down for long, though. Just 35 seconds later, junior forward Tony Calderone corralled the puck behind the net. He then passed it back in front of Wisconsin goaltender Matt Jurusik, where freshman forward James Sanchez was waiting to tie the score at 1-1. “No one wants to see us get scored on so fast, or in general, for that matter,” said junior forward Cutler Martin. “… I think it was the next shift, we bounced back, scored a goal. That got us back up on our feet, back into the game.” The teams would go back and forth to end the first period, with Martin scoring one himself for Michigan and Frederic tallying another one for the Badgers. In the second period, a nice individual effort from Wisconsin forward Aidan Callini put the Badgers back on top. But once again, the Wolverines answered back. This time, it was junior forward Joseph Cecconi, who ripped one from the blue line to beat Jurusik high to his glove side, evening the score at 3-3. It was the first goal of Cecconi’s career, and after a somewhat subdued celebration, the sophomore collected the puck for himself. “I’m not a big goal scorer,” Cecconi said. “If I score, when I do score, I’m not going to go down and do the nice celebration like some of the forwards do. I’ve been there before, like any other hockey player, so I was excited. It was awesome to get the first one. “(The puck) is in my bag right now. I think I’ll probably give it to my dad when I get home, or my grandpa or something like that.” In the third period, there was more back-and-forth action. After Wisconsin defenseman Jake Linhart scored a goal off his leg, freshman defenseman Luke Martin handled the puck at the Wisconsin blue line. He fired a somewhat slow shot toward Jurusik, and freshman forward Adam Winborg deflected it into the net to tie it up at 4-4. “I thought we played a pretty good game,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “I’m tired of saying it with the result that we’re getting. We can’t outscore our mistakes. We’re doing a lot of good things. We missed some chances — even in the last minute, before they got the empty net goal, Sanchez has a rebound chance. If that goes in, the game’s tied up again. “But that’s what we’re doing. We’re chasing our mistakes, and we weren’t good enough.” After a disappointing weekend against the Badgers, Michigan will travel to Columbus to take on No. 14 Ohio State next weekend looking to right the ship once again. ICE HOCKEY ICE HOCKEY MIKE PERSAK Daily Sports Editor MICHIGAN WISCONSIN 4 6 Michigan’s improvements not enough to top Badgers MADISON — Eight seconds into Saturday’s game, Wisconsin forward Trent Frederic scored. After that, it was a game of catch up. Two Michigan forwards — freshman James Sanchez and junior Cutler Martin — each scored a goal afterward to put the Wolverines’ hockey team in the lead. And then the Badgers scored two goals, and Michigan scored one of its own, and on it went until Wisconsin finally claimed the game at the end of the third period, 6-4. It was the Badgers’ second win of the weekend, sweeping the Wolverines (2-10-2-2 Big Ten, 9-16-3 overall) with a similar 5-2 win on Friday. Both losses were tough to absorb. Despite the sweep, though, certain aspects of Michigan’s game appeared better this weekend than it has in the past. “We did some good things and we have to keep building on the good things,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “And we’ve got to eliminate the not-so-good things. … Our mistakes are too costly. I don’t think we’re playing high-risk hockey, I think we’re playing the right way. Right now we’re just not good enough. “We’re not deep enough, we’re not good enough, and defensively it’s showing up. I mean, we scored four goals on the road. Most years that’s going to win you a game, but not this year.” In a season in which the Wolverines had established an unfavorable early trend of being outshot by the majority of their opponents, the past few weeks have shown improvement. On Saturday, Michigan outshot Wisconsin 38-29. Last Friday, it outshot Michigan State, 31-19. And the Friday before, it topped Ohio State with 38 shots compared to the Buckeyes’ 29. It’s not perfect and it isn’t happening every game. But in comparison to earlier in the season, when the Badgers outshot the Wolverines 41-21 and 35-19, or when then-No. 6 Penn State outshot them 58-23 and 48-29, it’s definitely an improvement. The youth of the team has proven to be imperative to the team’s growth, as the freshman forward duo of Jake Slaker and Will Lockwood are No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in points, respectively. Lockwood is also second in goals with seven, while Slaker is in a three-way tie for third with six. Special teams have also improved for Michigan. At the beginning of the year, its penalty kill was ranked, but that ranking has since fallen. The decline came to a low-point two weeks ago when the Wolverines faced No. 11 Ohio State and gave up seven power-play goals over the course of two games. But this weekend, the penalty kill stepped back up, allowing only a single power-play goal. “Special teams, we were good,” Berenson said. “The power play was pretty good. The penalty killing was pretty good. They’ve got a dangerous power play, they ended up scoring, but they’re going to get their chances. I thought it was a step forward for our special teams.” But even with improvements, Michigan still isn’t recording wins. Turnovers and defensive lapses marred the Wolverines’ performances this weekend and left them struggling to catch up with the Badgers in a lopsided back-and-forth series. And consistency hasn’t been friendly to Michigan this year, providing yet another hurdle for the team to overcome before it can tally any additional wins. Overall, the past weekend provided insight into the progress the Wolverines have made this season. They’re better than they have been — but they’re still not good enough to record their first sweep of the season. “I thought we played a pretty good game, and I’m tired of saying it with the result we’re getting,” Berenson said. “We can’t outscore our mistakes. We did a lot of good things, we missed some chances we needed in the last minute before they got the empty-net goal. Sanchez had a rebound chance. If that goes in, the game is tied up again. But that’s what we’re doing, we’re chasing our mistakes.” Wolverines go 3-1 in Raleigh In its first game on Saturday against Notre Dame, the No. 11 Michigan softball team simply was not playing good softball. As the Fighting Irish set the tone with a three-run homer in the top of the first, the Wolverines played an unfortunate game of catch- up that did not come to fruition, stranding 15 runners on base along the way to a 6-4 loss. But Sunday was a new day for Michigan. The Wolverines settled the score, taking a 9-2 victory over the Fighting Irish with a complete team effort. Michigan notched double the amount of hits as Notre Dame with 12 and six, respectively. It saw home runs from four separate players and a 4-for-4 performance at the plate from senior shortstop Abby Ramirez. But in the circle, the efforts of junior right-hander Tera Blanco proved essential in neutralizing Notre Dame’s offensive command. “In (Sunday’s) game, she pitched with purpose and with confidence,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “I hope that she continues to gain confidence because a confident Tera Blanco, that’s what we’re striving for.” Blanco emerged as a force to be reckoned with, going 2-0 in the circle and allowing just two runs in 12 innings pitched at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this weekend in Raleigh, N.C. Despite their sole loss to Notre Dame, the Wolverines (6-3) found their rhythm at the tournament, routing North Carolina State in 12-0 and 11-0 run-rule shutouts on Friday and Saturday, respectively. And after exacting revenge on the Fighting Irish Sunday morning, Michigan finished the weekend with a winning record, 3-1. The Wolverines covered their bases with both Blanco and senior right-hander Megan Betsa frequently finding the efficiency and consistency they wanted at the mound. The offense also heated up dramatically, launching 10 home runs on the weekend compared to Michigan’s lone homer during its opening weekend. The Wolverines’ burst of offensive production can be attributed to their main focus in practice last week: timing. In the past week, Michigan focused on relaxing and being loose at practice, as the team was a bit bogged down and tight after opening weekend. It all seemed to pay dividends for the Wolverines. “We’re really just taking the game and making it simple,” Blanco said. “We’re playing loose and having fun.” Michigan began its success against the Wolfpack on Friday when senior center fielder Kelly Christner stole the show. Christner blasted a trio of homers — the fourth Wolverine in history to do so in a single game — and set a career-high with seven runs batted in, boosting her batting average to .556 in the process. “(Christner) was on fire that game,” Hutchins said. “She really resonated with some of the timing things we had done in practice throughout the week.” Taking advantage of an early lead, Michigan tallied nine runs in the first two innings, and NC State could never recover. Senior third baseman Lindsay Montemarano and junior designated player Aidan Falk each had a home run apiece, with Montemarano’s notably driving in three runs. Betsa allowed only one hit in the shutout against the Wolfpack, while striking out nine. Sophomore right-hander Leah Crockett made an appearance in the circle for the fifth and final inning, earning two strikeouts of her own. Saturday morning against Notre Dame, Betsa continued with a high strikeout count of 11, but gave up six hits and two walks, including two homers. Michigan’s offensive struggles were highlighted in the bottom of the sixth when the Wolverines had no outs and the bases loaded, yet were unable to capitalize. Michigan returned to its groove after the frustrating morning, delivering the Wolfpack a similar fate as the previous day with a run-rule shutout. The Wolverines completely controlled the game, tallying 13 hits and scoring 11 runs. Saturday afternoon, Blanco, who pitched the full game, didn’t let her appearance in the circle stop her from succeeding at the plate. The hurler went 3-for-3 and earned two RBI on the day. With the bases loaded in the fifth and the score at 7-0 in favor of Michigan, sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield needed only one RBI to secure the run- rule victory. Instead, Canfield crushed a grand slam over the leftfield wall — the first of her career — ending the game, 11-0. Canfield carried her power hitting into Sunday’s game, delivering a two-run homer in her first at-bat in the top of the first. Falk and sophomore catcher Alex Sobczak hit back-to-back home runs in the second, and junior pinch hitter Amanda Vargas hit the Wolverines’ fourth long ball of the day in the seventh inning to close out the tournament in a satisfying fashion. Though largely pleased with Michigan’s performance this weekend, Hutchins views Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame as problematic — the Wolverines left runners stranded on third base in six of seven innings — a consequential concern. As a result, upcoming practices will focus on taking advantage of runners in scoring position before next weekend’s Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. “We need timely hitting when it appears to be a pressure situation,” Hutchins said. “That will be what we work on this week — just being clutch.” LANEY BYLER Daily Sports Editor SOFTBALL ANNA MARCUS Daily Sports Writer “But that’s what we’re doing, we’re chasing our mistakes.” “Most years that’s going to win you a game, but not this year.”