The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 — 7

Michigan’s Pro Day exemplifies main
commitment to grooming NFL talent

Two and a half years ago, Taco

Charlton and Chris Wormley
were just rotation players on
the Michigan football team’s
defensive line, with only a
handful of starts between them.

The
only
NFL
Draft

speculation surrounding either
of them came from an Instagram
post from Charlton in November
2012, a few months before he
enrolled at the University. The
photo depicted an empty Draft
stage and bore the caption, “One
day in a couple years I’m going to
walk across this stage and be able
to tell my momma (I) made it!!”

Now, after two more full

seasons of football and a coaching
staff overhaul, both Charlton and
Wormley — along with as many as
a dozen of their teammates — are
poised to hear their names called
on a similar stage in Philadelphia
at the end of April, making their
dream a reality.

Friday afternoon, Charlton,

Wormley and the rest of the
draft-eligible Wolverines spoke
to the media following the team’s
annual Pro Day at Oosterbaan
Field House — where they had
just worked out in front of a large
contingency of NFL personnel,
including at least eight head
coaches — and couldn’t help but
reflect on how they made it to this
moment.

Many of them were highly-

touted recruits brought to Ann
Arbor by former coach Brady
Hoke, but either played below
their potential in their early years
or had a hard time getting on the
field whatsoever. But thanks
to more years of seasoning and
the arrival of new coach Jim
Harbaugh — and his experienced,
NFL-savvy coaching staff —
many of those same recruits now
find themselves on the cusp of
playing at the next level.

“I
think
maybe
we
did

something right,” Wormley said.
“We all could have went our
separate ways when Coach Hoke
left, but we all stuck together,
we all pushed through it and
made the best of it with Coach
Harbaugh. And obviously, he’s
done a lot of great things for us.
I think it’s a combination of us
putting in the work and sticking
through it, and having Coach
Harbaugh on our side as well.”

Harbaugh’s
focus
on

developing players for the next
level hasn’t been just limited to
the highest-caliber high school
talents, either. Defensive tackle
Ryan Glasgow was a walk-on who
worked his way into the starting
lineup and is now a potential
mid-round
draft
pick.
And

defensive tackle Matt Godin was
a three-star recruit who didn’t
become a permanent fixture on
the starting line until this season,
but he had a positive experience

at the Pro Day and is pursuing an
NFL career as well.

The sheer depth and quantity

of talent earning NFL looks
Friday — especially given the
state of the program two seasons
ago — certainly wasn’t lost on
Glasgow.

“I think it says we’re taking

a step in the right direction,
especially with developing guys
to the pros,” Glasgow said. “We
were an eight-, nine-, seven- win
team but only having two, three
guys at the Pro Day who were
getting serious looks for a few
years there. I think it means
we’re taking a step in the right
direction
in
developing
pro

players and not just working out
college players.”

And Charlton, one of the

leaders of the defensive line who
came on late under Harbaugh
and figures to be one of the
Wolverines’ highest draft picks,

thinks that trend will become
the new norm. With a number
of assistant coaches with NFL
backgrounds — including passing
game coordinator Pep Hamilton,
offensive
coordinator
Tim

Drevno and defensive line coach
Greg Mattison — the groundwork
for a pipeline from Ann Arbor to
the NFL is clearly visible.

“What
Coach
Harbaugh’s

been able to do and what all the
coaching staff has been able to
do is only gonna continue in the
future,” Charlton said. “We’ve
got a lot of young guys that are
gonna be very successful; they’re
very talented, they’re just very
young.

“This is the right coaching

staff to elevate their game and
basically teach them the right
way, so I definitely have faith in
what Michigan has in the future
going forward. They’re in good
hands.”

‘M’ eager to advance

The
Michigan
women’s

basketball team has smashed
its single-season win record.
Formerly
stuck
at
22,
the

Wolverines have won 26 games
already, and their season is not
over. Yet after racking up four
wins in the Women’s National
Invitation
Tournament,

Michigan is in the same place it
has ended its last two seasons.





















In 2015, the Wolverines faced

UCLA in the semifinal round of
the WNIT, and lost by just four
points to the eventual champions.
The Wolverines were the only Big
Ten team invited to the WNIT,
as Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota,
Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio
State and Rutgers all earned bids
to the NCAA Tournament.

Despite
its
eighth
place

finish in the Big Ten, Michigan
redeemed its 2014-15 season
in the WNIT. The Wolverines
outlasted all of their fellow
conference teams in postseason
play except for the Terrapins,
who made it to the Final Four of
the NCAA Tournament. After
a mediocre season, Michigan’s
third place WNIT finish was an
impressive accomplishment.

In 2016, the Wolverines’ season

came to an end after losing 71-62
in the WNIT semifinal to Florida
Gulf Coast. Leading up to the
matchup, Michigan faced tough
non-conference teams in Wright
State, Bucknell, San Diego and
Temple. The Wolverines scored
over 75 points in each game
to move on to the penultimate
round.

Out of seven Big Ten teams

competing in 2016, Michigan
made it the furthest of in the
WNIT, despite finishing seventh
in the conference.

This
season
is
different,

though. Michigan fully expected
to be selected to the NCAA
Tournament
after
its
third

place finish in the Big Ten. The
Wolverines spent three weeks

ranked in the top-25 in the nation
— the first time they earned a
spot in the coveted rankings
since 2013 (coincidentally the
last time they made the NCAA
Tournament). While winning the
NCAA Tournament would still
have been a long shot, it was a
shock for them not to be chosen
to compete, especially since two
teams behind the Wolverines in
the Big Ten standings made the
Big Dance.

That’s
why,
if
Michigan

finishes its season by losing
to Villanova in the semifinal
round of the WNIT, it will be a
disappointment. Led by senior
guard Siera Thompson, junior
guard Katelynn Flaherty and
sophomore center Hallie Thome,
Michigan is better than it was in
those seasons.

Thompson now holds the

all-time assists record, Thome
has the record for best field goal
percentage in program history
and Flaherty occupies the top
spot for points in a single season,
points per game and field goals
made. Even without their third-
best scorer, freshman guard
Kysre Gondrezick — who began
an “indefinite leave of absence”
on Mar. 23 — the Wolverines have
plenty of prolific players.

Winning the WNIT should not

be out of reach. Yet Michigan has
been unpredictable this season.

Though the Wolverines have

momentum after beating four
consecutive WNIT opponents,
they
also
seemed
to
have

confidence going into the last
four games of the regular
season. Michigan lost three of
those four games, and the losing
streak carried over into the Big
Ten Tournament, where it fell
to Michigan State in the first
round.

This season is still supposed

to be different, but only if the
Wolverines win the WNIT and
hang a championship banner
in
Crisler
Center.
Anything

less would be considered a
disappointment.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

‘M’ loses its 21-game home win
streak against No. 3 Ohio State

During the doubles matchup

between the No. 16 Michigan
men’s tennis team and No. 3 Ohio
State, the Varsity Tennis Center
was anything but quiet.

The rows on the north side of

the building were packed as the
two rival teams battled it out
for the doubles point. But the
Wolverines would lose at both
the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, and
the Buckeyes (4-0 Big Ten, 19-3
overall) would gain the initial
advantage.

The point was one of four Ohio

State would record en route to
winning the matchup, 4-1. The
loss snapped Michigan’s 21-game
win streak at home, which dates
back to the 2014-15 season. It
also snapped the Wolverines’
five-game win streak overall.

The No. 1 doubles pair for

Michigan (1-1, 11-4) consisted
of senior Jathan Malik and
freshman
Connor
Johnston,

which rank 30th nationally. This
was a shift from the norm, as
Malik usually pairs with senior
Kevin Wong, and the duo sits at
No. 5 in the ITA.

“We’ve played

that lineup a few
times
already

but
we
went

back to it,” said
Michigan coach
Adam Steinberg.
“I thought it was
a good change,
we
needed
it,

we’ve
been

struggling on the
doubles court and we just needed
something, a spark, anything, so
that’s why we made the change.”

Malik and Johnston jumped

out to an early 3-0 lead, while the
No. 2 pair of juniors Runhao Hua

and Alex Knight fell behind their
Buckeye counterparts. The No.
3 duo, consisting of Wong and
sophomore Myles Schalet, also
advanced to a lead.

But while the No. 3 pair was

able to secure a 6-4 win, Knight

and Hua dropped
their match, 4-6.
The winner of
the doubles point
boiled down to
the No. 1 spot.

With
the

game tied at 40
and Ohio State
leading in sets,
5-4,
the
next

point
would

either
keep

Michigan in the running or give
the Buckeyes possession of the
doubles point. Ultimately, the
Wolverine pair sent the ball out
of bounds, giving Ohio State the
advantage headed into singles.

At No. 1 singles, Malik faced

the challenge of playing Buckeye
Mikael Torpegaard, a junior
from Denmark who is the top-
ranked singles player in the
nation.

Malik gained an early edge

with a 6-3 win in the first set of
the match. The second set went
to a tiebreak, which Torpegaard
claimed 7-6 (5). The two went
into a third set, only to abandon
the match after Ohio State
recorded its fourth team point on
another court.

“I thought he did great,”

Steinberg said. “I thought it
was a big lift for our team, a big
confidence boost for him and for
us against the best player in the
country. I thought he played a
really smooth match and I told
him that he should be proud of
that effort for sure.”

The Wolverines’ lone point

came from junior Alex Knight at
the No. 3 spot in straight sets over
JJ Wolf, 6-3, 7-5. But individual
victories from Ohio State’s Hugo
Di Feo, Kyle Seelig and Herkko
Pollanen at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5,
respectively, gave the Buckeyes
to enough points to claim the
win.

Wolverines’ energy not enough
to clinch doubles point Sunday

Just 10 minutes into the No.

16 Michigan men’s tennis team’s
doubles matches, each Wolverine
doubles pair had the upper hand
and it appeared that they were
going to win at least two of the
three matches and clinch the
doubles point easily.

But No. 3 Ohio State would not

go down without a fight.

Michigan made a point to

come out with more intensity
than it had all season, and the
energy from a packed crowd
in the Varsity Tennis Center
seemed to be propelling the
Wolverines to a victory.

“Every second of every day

is about playing for Michigan,
playing for each other, playing
for
something
bigger
than

themselves, with better energy,
better
enthusiasm,”
said

Michigan coach Adam Steinberg.

But that kind of fervor couldn’t

last forever.

The No. 1 doubles pair of senior

Jathan Malik and freshman
Connor Johnston jumped out
to an early 3-0 lead, but the
Buckeyes rallied and after a
double fault from Johnston, they
held a narrow 4-3 lead.

With a strong performance

at No. 3 doubles, senior Kevin
Wong and sophomore Myles
Schalet claimed a 6-4 victory. In
the match point, the duo served
to its opponent’s backhand and
he mishit the ball off the frame,
ending the match.

The No. 2 duo finished almost

simultaneously, though with a
different result. The pair lost
its early lead and fell to the
Buckeyes, 6-4.

With each team having won

one match, Malik and Johnston
were left to give their team
the doubles point – and the
advantage – going into singles
play.

With the score tied at four

games apiece, Ohio State was up

40-0 and only one point away
from breaking the Wolverines’
serve. Malik and Johnston battled
back to deuce but ultimately
fell short after
the
Buckeyes

watched Malik’s
shot
sail
just

long
of
the

baseline.

Ohio
State

was up 5-4 and
serving for the
match.

It
was

a
tightly-

contested game,
reaching deuce once again. The
Buckeyes served to Malik, giving
him the opportunity to redeem
himself. He set his feet in an
attempt to hit a deep shot down
the line, but once again the ball

landed outside of the court.

“We got up on them a little

bit and they really fought hard
and stayed in there,” Steinberg

said. “I thought
we
could
have

put them away,
especially at one
doubles.
It
got

away from us a
little bit, but I
was happy with
the energy and
the
way
they

competed.”

Michigan’s

momentum

from the start of the match had
transferred to Ohio State. The
Buckeyes ran away with the
doubles point, which then set the
tone for the rest of the match,
which Ohio State won, 4-1.

COURTESY OF JACOB GASE

Senior defensive end Taco Charlton figures to be one of the Wolverines’ highest picks in the NFL Draft in April.

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Writer

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

Senior Jathan Malik faced a tough challenge against No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard.

LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor

“I told him that

he should be
proud of that
effort for sure”

PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Writer

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

Freshman Connor Johnston jumped out to an early lead but fell in doubles play.

“We got up on
them a little bit
and they really
fought hard”

Freshman Connor Johnston filled in for senior Kevin
Wong at the No. 1 spot, but Michigan still fell short

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer