8A — Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Sophomore running back Chris Evans has taken advantage of the offseason to gain more strength and knowledge.

Evans builds stronger physique

Chris
Evans
strolled
into

the lobby of Towsley Family
Museum, clad in a grey cut-off
t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops.
The customary flattop hairstyle
— a trait which he became known
for last year — was still there.

What
was
different
was

Evans’ physique. The sophomore
running back has made upper-
body gains — significant enough
that it was hard to believe that
the
difference
between
his

weight Tuesday and last season
was just seven pounds, up from
205 to 212.

However striking his physical

difference may have been, it
probably should not have been
a surprise. After all, Evans
simply followed through with a
plan that he told to many near
the end of a breakout freshman
campaign, one that saw him
average seven yards per carry
en route to 614 total rushing
yards.

As the season wound down,

Evans had said he wanted to
put on more weight so he could
run with a more bruising style
similar to last year’s starter,
De’Veon
Smith,
while
also

improving
his
pass-blocking

ability and knowledge of the
offense’s concepts.

“Basically last year, I was

just going out there and I had
one job,” Evans said Tuesday.
“(Former running backs coach
Tyrone) Wheatley just made
sure I had one job, because once
you get two jobs and you’ve got
to check this and check that, it
gets crazy.

“Most of the plays that I ran

(last year) were like, ‘Okay, run
to this gap,’ and that’s it. During
(pass) protection, you have to
look coast to coast and all that,
so it’s really hard.”

In short, he wanted to develop

the traits of a complete back
— the type of back who would
earn more than the 10 combined
carries Evans received against
Michigan State and Ohio State.

While the jury is still out on

whether Evans will be able to
dole out more punishment to

opposing defenses and whether
he has a better grasp of the
offensive scheme, he claims he
has already seen improvement in
his pass blocking.

It was also evident in the

results from Michigan’s Spring
Combine that he has retained
the speed, agility and overall
athleticism
that
made
him

a home run threat last year,
earning recognition as the top
offensive
performer
for
his

standing within his position
group.

Evans finished first amongst

running backs in seven out of
eight tests, each designed to
measure athleticism. He had the
highest vertical, the best shuttle
times, the farthest broad jump,
and the fastest 40-yard dash
time at 4.64 seconds.

While 4.64 is still plenty fast,

the time may have seemed slow
to many, especially given Evans’
pedigree as a high school track
star. Plus, he had flashed what
certainly looked like 4.4 or 4.5
speed plenty of times last year.

Evans was adamant that —

even with the weight gain —
he has maintained his speed,
mentioning with a slight chuckle
just when exactly the 4.64 time
had been recorded — “It was
6:00 in the morning.”

His physical change has come

during what could have been
a tumultuous offseason, given
that his former position coach
Wheatley left Michigan for the
same position with the NFL’s
Jacksonville Jaguars. Evans and
Wheatley were close, and still
are, with the former saying he
still calls his old mentor nearly
every other day.

“I talk to him a lot and he just

tells me his side,” Evans said.

“We just have long talks and
stuff. ... I’ll send him clips of
stuff I couldn’t do last year just
to be like, ‘Hey coach, I’m getting
better.’ ”

The Wolverines ended up

finding an in-house solution for
Wheatley’s vacancy, moving Jay
Harbaugh from the tight ends
to running backs, which eased
the transition. Evans said the
younger Harbaugh’s preparation,
from
having
meetings
and

slideshows on the first day back,
“really blew him away”.

And Evans, a speed and

“finesse”
back,
as
fifth-year

senior center Patrick Kugler
described,
has
enjoyed
the

change
in
philosophy
that

Harbaugh has brought to the
position group as well.

“It’s a different perspective

because Coach Wheatley, he had
the perspective of a big back and
I’m not a big back,” Evans said.
“So the technique and things
he was teaching me, I really
couldn’t get all the way because
I couldn’t relate to them. Coach
Jay, he didn’t play running back,
but he’s looking outside in, so he
gives a different perspective of
the game.”

It has been quite the eventful

offseason for Evans, from the
weight gain to the coaching
change to the terminology that
new assistant head coach and
passing game coordinator Pep
Hamilton has installed into the
offense.

What has sustained Evans

through all of the work and the
grueling
four-hour
practices

is the knowledge that slowing
down could result in getting
passed by any of the other backs
on the roster.

“All the competition in the

room just makes you compete
at a higher level,” Evans said.
“You have to come to practice
knowing your stuff, or somebody
will know more and he’ll expose
you.

“You’re not gonna be like, ‘Oh,

I’ve got to make sure I do better
than him.’ No one’s saying that,
that’s just in everyone’s head. …
Having that competition in the
room is just going to make you go
that much harder.”

WOMEN’S LACROSSE
With full team effort,
Michigan tops Niagara

The
Michigan
women’s

lacrosse team (4-9) had no
shortage of firepower on their
way to a 20-10 victory over
Niagara University (4-7) on
Tuesday.
In a well-
rounded
team
effort,
the
Purple
Eagles

just couldn’t seem to find
the answers to anyone in the
Wolverines’ lineup.

The first half began with

four unanswered goals for
Michigan. Senior midfielder
Ann Schueler had a standout
performance as she scored
two unassisted goals to start
the game. Ten minutes later,
senior Natalie Carti ended
the scoreless drought off an
assist from senior attacker
Tess Korten. Korten went on
to pick up a goal herself just 30
seconds later. There were still
about 15 minutes left to play in
the first half.

Niagara
began
to
build

momentum
three
minutes

later,
scoring
three

unanswered points, but the
Purple Eagles faltered shortly
afterward, and failed to come
any closer.

Schueler
responded

immediately, picking up a goal
just 15 seconds after Niagara
had scored.

“They made a push,” said

Michigan
coach
Jennifer

Ulehla.
“We
pushed
back.

We pushed back before the
first half. And that makes a
difference.”

With 41 seconds remaining

in the first half, Korten scored
her second goal. And with just
two seconds left on the clock,
freshman Sydney Whitaker
broke through off an assist
from Shueler. This put the

Wolverines up, 7-3, at halftime.

Michigan blew open its lead

halfway through the second
half.
Senior
attacker
Jess

Angerman tallied three of
her own, and goals also came
from redshirt junior attacker
Bianca
Brueckner,
junior

attacker Mae Tarr and senior
midfielder/attacker
Lauren

Olbermann.

Up
until
that
point,

upperclassmen had dominated
the play for the Wolverines, but
with a comfortable lead, Ulehla
decided to give her younger
players a chance to compete.

“It was great to be able to

put in a lot of younger ones,
freshmen and sophomores,”
Ulehla said. “It was great to
showcase our depth. So it was a
great day for the youth and the
future of Michigan lacrosse.”

Redshirt freshman attacker

Adriana Pendino notched a hat
trick, and freshmen midfielder
Chandler Kirby and attacker
Lilly Grass would pick up
a
goal
apiece.
Sophomore

Grace Hemmer would also
contribute a goal to wrap up
the 20-10 win.

As the team gets ready to

head into the last three games
of their tough season, Ulehla
explained the importance of
Tuesday’s win.

“It’s good for us from a

momentum
standpoint,”

Ulehla said. “We really did
really well on the draw. We had
nine
draw-controls
against

Niagara, which just shows
consistency. We’re going to
carry that on into our game
against (Johns) Hopkins.”

Michigan has just three

games left to capitalize on
its momentum, but if they
continue to succeed as they did
against the Purple Eagles, they
might be able to pull together
a great finish to a difficult
season.

2016-17 Season in Review: Women’s Basketball

The
Michigan
women’s

basketball team overcame many
hardships this season, despite
having
the
most
successful

year in the program’s history.
The
Wolverines
totaled
28

wins, smashing their record for
victories in a season by six. They
also finished in third place in the
Big Ten — their best finish since
the 2010-11 season.

Regardless
of
Michigan’s

success, the selection committee
opted to leave the Wolverines
out of the NCAA Tournament,
much to the team’s surprise.
Michigan (11-5 Big Ten, 28-9
overall), however, responded in
the best way possible by finishing
its season with six straight wins
to claim its first-ever tournament
championship.

The
Daily
recaps
the

highlights and lowlights of the
2016-17 season.

Best
game:
WNIT

Championship — Michigan 89,
Georgia Tech 79

The most important game also

happened to be the best game of
the year. Down six points in the
final 1:23 of regulation of the
WNIT championship against the
Yellow Jackets, the Wolverines
clawed their way back to an
improbable victory. Michigan
can thank junior guard Katelynn
Flaherty for that, as she hit two
triples in those final 83 seconds
to tie the game. It can also thank
divine intervention, as Georgia
Tech missed two free throws
with 0.6 seconds left to send the
game to overtime.

The Wolverines and Yellow

Jackets battled back and forth in
the extra periods, until Michigan
finally broke away in the third
overtime to give the Wolverines
their first banner to hang in
Crisler Center.

Worst game: Michigan State

86, Michigan 68

All signs pointed toward a

Wolverine victory headed into
their in-state rivalry game with

the Spartans on Feb. 19. Michigan
was 21-6 entering the contest —
13-0 at home — and prepared for
its biggest home crowd ever for
its “break the attendance record”
game.

The Wolverines accomplished

the feat with an attendance
of 12,707, but suffered their
second-worst
defeat
of
the

season. While Michigan lost
the previous game to Indiana in
Bloomington, its first and only
home loss to Michigan State
exposed a lot of the Wolverines’
flaws and marked their descent
out of the Associated Press top-
25 poll and eventually the NCAA
Tournament.

Best
individual

performance:
Katelynn

Flaherty in the WNIT

The junior guard’s scoring

prowess — Flaherty averaged
20.2 points per game this season
— is a mainstay for Michigan,
making her appearance in this
category unsurprising. Even on
the biggest stage she has ever
played on, Flaherty still managed
to shine on offense with 21.3
points per contest in the six
WNIT games.

Her biggest impact came in the

WNIT championship, though.
Flaherty didn’t make any of her
first-quarter field goal attempts,
but rebounded strongly with
those two game-tying 3-pointers
and 27 total points to re-energize
her team.

Most important game: Penn

State 76, Michigan 75

Even with losses down the

stretch to Indiana and Michigan
State,
the
Wolverines
still

appeared to be a lock for the
Tournament before their regular
season finale against the Nittany
Lions. But tied at 75 with five
seconds remaining, a shooting
foul committed by sophomore
center Hallie Thome put Penn
State on the free throw line.
The Nittany Lions only hit one
of two attempts, but it was all
they needed to top Michigan and
seemingly seal the Wolverines’
fate out of the Big Dance, as they

lost three of their final four Big
Ten contests.

Most
improved
player:

Jillian Dunston

The
junior
forward,
who

started just nine games and
played 19.6 minutes per game in
the 2015-16 season, started all 37
games for Michigan this season
and bumped her playing time up
to 28.9 minutes per game. Her
point total increased marginally
from 4.4 to 5.8 points per game,
but her efforts on the glass —
7.7 rebounds a game — were the
best on the team. Dunston’s most
valuable contribution, though,
has been her newfound role as
the Wolverines’ emotional leader.
She is often the most animated
player on the court, and has
become a vocal representative
for Michigan during games.
According to Flaherty, Dunston
even guaranteed a 10-point win
during a team huddle before
the third overtime of the WNIT

championship.

Most valuable player: Hallie

Thome

It wouldn’t be wrong to put

Katelynn Flaherty here as WNIT
MVP and first team All-Big Ten
honoree, but the Wolverines
relied most heavily on Thome,
their best frontcourt big. The
sophomore center averaged 16.2
points and 7.1 rebounds per game,
and had her second consecutive
season in the nation’s top-10
for field goal percentage at 61.3.
Thome was also a first team All-
Big Ten honoree.

Thome’s
achilles’
heel
—

foul trouble — also makes her
Michigan’s most valuable player.
In seven of the Wolverines’ nine
losses, Thome either had four
fouls or fouled out, and had
three fouls in the other two.
With Thome off the court, it
was exponentially harder for
Michigan to win, a conviction
that came to fruition.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

The Michigan women’s basketball team captured the WNIT Championship.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

“Last year, I
was just going
out there and I
had one job.”

ALEX SAYLOR

For the Daily

NIAGARA
MICHIGAN

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