The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
April 10, 2017 — 3B
Hudson leads the way in VIPER competition
Entering the 2017-18 season,
replacing Jabrill Peppers is the
undisputed top priority for the
Michigan football team.
The
redshirt
sophomore
took ‘making an impact all
over the field’ to a whole new
level last year, spending time at
linebacker, safety, nickelback,
running back, slot receiver and
wildcat quarterback. Peppers
more than lived up to the hype
he brought with him to Ann
Arbor as the No. 2 player in the
2014 recruiting class, and the
accolades poured in.
He earned Big Ten Defensive
Player of the Year, Linebacker of
the Year and Return Specialist
of the Year honors — and
that’s just on the conference
level. Peppers, a Unanimous
First Team All-American, also
received
the
Paul
Hornung
Award for his trademark quality
of versatility in his final season
as a Wolverine.
But
Peppers’
main
role
was the VIPER — a hybrid
linebacker/safety in Michigan
defensive
coordinator
Don
Brown’s system.
The Wolverines caught a
glimpse of life without Peppers
in their 33-32 Orange Bowl loss
to Florida State. That game
pushed the question of who
would replace him at the VIPER
next season to the forefront.
Halfway through spring ball,
the spot is still up for grabs,
but sophomore defensive back
Khaleke Hudson looks likely to
be Michigan’s answer.
“It means a lot that Coach
Brown trusts me enough to be
the VIPER,” Hudson said. “...
Everyone’s been working hard,
but it just means a lot to be there.
I feel that it’s a good fit for me, to
be able to play in the box (and)
play outside.
“It’s a position where you
could be all over the field, you
could be at safety, you could
be at linebacker, you could be
in the slot, so you have a lot of
responsibilities.”
Hudson
and
fellow
sophomore defensive back Josh
Metellus have been taking reps
at both VIPER and safety so far
this spring, but Hudson seems
to have the upper hand over
his classmate. Despite minimal
playing time on defense last
year, Hudson did see action
at
safety
in
two
games,
contributing eight tackles and
one pass breakup.
While
splitting
time
at
multiple positions could serve as
a distraction for some, Hudson
sees the experience as beneficial
to his growth. As the VIPER,
Hudson would have to balance
pass defense and run stoppage,
both of which require a different
mindset and skillset.
“You see everything from a
different perspective,” Hudson
said. “You might see everything
farther back (and) then you
see it up close in the box. Just
knowing what everyone else
does makes your job even easier.
“One play, you could tackle
someone who’s fast, the next
you could tackle someone big
and strong. You just have to be
prepared for who your opponent
is.”
Hudson made a name for
himself on the special teams
unit last season for his ability to
see a play develop ahead of time.
Blocking a punt against both
Illinois and Indiana — putting
him in a tie for the team lead —
Hudson was named the special
teams player of the game twice.
Guided by Michigan special
teams coach Chris Partridge,
who also heads the linebacker
unit, Hudson carved out a
role for himself on kickoffs,
punt
returns
and
returns.
Interestingly,
Partridge
was
the head coach at Paramus
Catholic High School in New
Jersey where he helped develop
Peppers into the special teams
threat that he is.
“He coaches it well. He gets
us prepared for each team,”
Hudson said. “… I just worked
hard, and good things happen
when you work hard.”
With that strong work ethic
on display in spring ball as
well, Hudson has distinguished
himself from the competition
at VIPER. While the question
of replacing Peppers will likely
persist well into the fall, Hudson
has begun to give the Wolverines
an answer.
And with his new role starting
to take shape, Hudson has begun
to hear a different question.
“Everyone’s asking me about,
‘How does it feel replacing
Jabrill?’ ” Hudson said. “But I
just take it as, ‘I’m gonna play
the best I play and be the best
Khaleke,’ and just work hard
and do everything top notch and
work 100 percent every day.”
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sophomore defensive back Khaleke Hudson has been tapped to be the successor for former Wolverine Jabrill Peppers.
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
‘M’ struggles at Big
Ten championships
At
the
Big
Ten
championships in Champaign
this
weekend,
the
No.
9
Michigan men’s gymnastics
team competed with hopes
of staying competitive in the
stacked conference.
But out of the seven schools
competing,
the
Wolverines
finished in dead last, with No.
3 Ohio State taking home the
win followed closely by No. 4
Illinois.
Michigan
(3-5
Big
Ten,
7-13 overall) was led in the
all around competition by its
top
gymnast,
sophomore
Emyre
Cole,
who
finished
in sixth place
with a score of
80.650.
Cole
also
offered
an
impressive
performance in
the floor event,
taking
third
place
with
a
score of 14.700.
The
Wolverines
had
previously
been in good form, winning
two
of
their
last
three
individual meets — a 409.200-
405.300
loss
against
No.
7
Penn
State
sandwiched
between a 402.10-386.80 win
over No. 8 California and a
414.950-368.600 victory over
No. 17 UIC — coming into this
weekend’s championships.
Michigan
also
received
impressive performances on
the vault, courtesy of Cole as
well as sophomore Anthony
McCallum.
McCallum
placed
second
overall
for
the
second
straight
year
with a score of 14.800, just
behind Minnesota’s Yaroslav
Pochinka,
who
scored
a
14.900. Cole tied for third
with Minnesota’s Zach Liebler
and Vitali Kan with a score of
14.700.
The Wolverines didn’t score
as well in the pommel horse
as their top scorer, freshman
Mack Lasker, finished in ninth
place with a score of 14.000 — a
far cry from the winner of the
event, Illinois’s Brandon Ngai,
who paced the competition
with his score of 14.550.
Despite the tough finish in
the pommel horse, Michigan
bounced back in the high
bar. Sophomore Adam Dean
finished tied for second with
Minnesota’s Jalon Stephens
with a score of
14.500.
Dean
tied, and was
close
behind
Illinois’s Tyson
Bull, who won
the event with a
score of 14.550.
The
Wolverines
also failed to
impress on the
rings.
Their
best finisher in
the event was
sophomore
Ryan
Dunning,
who was 13th with a score of
13.700.
The
final
event
of
the
weekend was the parallel bar,
where the Wolverines were
once again carried by Cole.
Cole finished tied for seventh
with
Nebraska’s
Anton
Stephenson and Ohio State’s
Jake Dastrup with a score of
14.200.
Michigan has to bounce
back
quickly
after
its
disappointing
last-place
finish, as the Wolverines will
compete next weekend at the
NCAA Championships next
weekend, hoping to improve
upon their ninth-place finish
from last year.
Michigan claims weekend sweep
Confidence
seemed
to
be
radiating from the Michigan
men’s tennis team on Sunday
as it defended its home court to
continue climbing up the Big Ten
leaderboard.
The energetic Wolverines (6-1
Big Ten, 16-4 overall) surged into
sole possession of second place in
conference standings after two
home wins against Minnesota
(4-3, 15-6) on Friday, 5-2, and
Wisconsin (4-2, 14-4) on Sunday,
4-0.
Strong doubles play was crucial
for the Wolverines to find success
against the Badgers. On the No. 1
doubles line, senior Jathan Malik
was paired with freshman Connor
Johnston — a potentially daunting
place for such a young player.
But not for Johnston.
After being up 5-2 and having
the opportunity to seize the
match,
Johnston
and
Malik
squandered the game, giving
Wisconsin hope. But that didn’t
faze Johnston, as he and Malik
took the next game and the
match, 6-3, to secure the doubles
point for Michigan.
“I definitely use energy to my
advantage,” Johnston said. “I try
to win points and just go as crazy
as I can and I feed off of that. The
crazier I go, the better I play.”
Johnston’s role is strictly in
doubles play for now, but the
energy he creates clearly benefits
his team.
The Wolverines are 15-0 on the
season when securing the doubles
point, and senior Kevin Wong
stepped up to make sure they
wouldn’t suffer their first blemish
Sunday.
Capitalizing
on
an
early
opportunity,
Wong
found
his
groove to break his opponent
and take a 4-1 lead in the first
set. Although things seemed to
be smooth for Wong, Wisconsin
freshman Chase Colton fought
back to win three straight games
and lock up the first set at four
all. However, Wong’s experience
proved to be too much for Colton,
as he surged to a 6-4, 6-4 win to
give the Wolverines one of three
singles wins to take the match, 4-0.
“I was proud of him today,” said
Michigan coach Adam Steinberg.
“He’s had an injury and the last
few weeks he hasn’t really played
much singles, and to come out
in these conditions with a win
against a really good player from
Wisconsin, that was a big lift for
us. I thought if we gave out an
MVP for today, it’d be him.”
Michigan has been dominant
in Big Ten play, but it doesn’t want
the train to stop chugging.
“Obviously it’s not our goal,”
Steinberg said. “Our goal is to be
number one, so that’s what we are
trying to do and what we are really
focusing on.”
With just four matches left
before the Big Ten Tournament,
Michigan’s play has been stellar
enough to potentially take the
top spot, but the Wolverines must
continue to bring a high level of
energy if they want their goals to
become results.
‘M’ remains unbeaten in Big Ten
The No. 8 Michigan women’s
tennis team rebounded from
a tough match against North
Carolina on Thursday to notch
two conference road wins this
weekend against Rutgers and
Maryland.
The Wolverines (8-0 Big Ten,
16-4 overall) — who had their
six-match win streak snapped by
the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill —
came away with two convincing
victories this weekend, taking
down the Scarlet Knights (1-8,
6-12) 6-1, and the Terrapins (3-4,
12-5) 4-1.
“Maryland was really tough,”
said
Michigan
coach
Ronni
Bernstein. “We got off to a slow
start in doubles, and we had
to rely on the singles to come
through. I’m proud of our playing.
We had our backs against the wall
today.”
Sophomores Kate Fahey and
Brienne Minor — the No. 1 and
No. 2 singles players — led the
Wolverines. Fahey won her match
handily, emerging with a 6-3,
6-0 victory over the Terrapins’
Alexandra Stanova. Minor had
a much tougher match, battling
back after losing the first set to
win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Ekaterina
Tour.
Fahey and Minor also won
their singles matches Friday
against Rutgers, proving that the
two continue to be the driving
force behind Michigan’s success
this season.
“Those two, being sophomores,
playing up high like that, it gives
everyone else confidence all the
way down the lineup,” Bernstein
said. “We need to put six people
out there that are fighting and
competing for the win.”
The Wolverines also received
support from the other singles
lines
Sunday,
as
freshman
Chiara Lommer brought home
a victory at No. 4 singles against
Kate Yemelyanenko, 6-1, 6-2.
Freshman Valeria Patiuk also
produced a strong effort, winning
her match at No. 6 singles, 6-3,
6-0 over Caroline Williams. The
other two singles matches were
abandoned before they were
completed once Michigan had
clinched the match overall.
Maryland did have success
against Michigan in the doubles,
as they took two out of the three
matches. Fahey and junior Alex
Najarian took the No. 1 doubles
match, 6-2, over Stanova and
Kristina Hovsepyan. However,
the Terrapins captured a victory
in the No. 2 doubles match,
where Tour and Williams took
down Minor and junior Mira
Ruder-Hook, 6-2. Maryland also
took the deciding No. 3 doubles
match, with Cassandre Thebault
and Arnelle Sullivan defeating
Lommer
and
senior
Annie
Wierda, 6-1, to win the doubles
point.
“I think the biggest takeaway
is that we need to figure out our
doubles and get to where we
need to be in May over the next
couple of weeks,” Bernstein said.
“We’re not even giving ourselves
a chance. We need to change it up
a little bit, maybe give people new
looks in partners.”
The Wolverines will return
home this weekend with matches
against conference foes Iowa
and Nebraska after the solid
performances on the road.
“It was good, we had a tough
weekend just being on the road,”
said Bernstein. “I just think these
tough matches are only gonna
make us better moving forward.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman Connor Johnston parterned with senior Jathan Malik to win the doubles point at the No. 1 spot for Michigan.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore Kate Fahey, the No. 1 singles player for the Wolverines, won her singles matches Friday and Sunday.
ALAN SELZER
For the Daily
JAKE KARALEXIS
For the Daily
“I thought if
we gave out an
MVP for today,
it’d be him.”
JAKE KARALEXIS
For the Daily
The Wolverines
had previously
been in good
form.