Michigan defeats 

Wisconsin, claims Big Ten 
Tournament championship

By BRENDAN CARNEY

Daily Sports Writer 2017

A little over a month ago, 

Michigan hit rock bottom.

The Wolverines had just lost to 

Big Ten bottom-dweller Ohio State, 
and looked completely shook while 
doing so.

But following the game, senior 

guard Derrick Walton Jr. stood 
in the corner of the Crisler Center 
pressroom looking as poised as ever.

He knew his team had just hit 

its lowest point, but realized things 
could only get better.

“If what we’re going through at 

this point spearheads a run and us 
taking the next step in some places 
we lagged in, then I’m all for it,” 
Walton said following the Ohio State 
loss. “I’m more so excited. I think it’ll 
make it a better story.”

And what a story it has become, 

as the Wolverines have done what 
looked impossible over a month ago 
and improbable just four days ago.

They’ve won a Big Ten 

championship.

There were a lot of questions 

asked of Michigan following that 
Ohio State loss. Could Walton and 
senior wing Zak Irvin put together 
complete performances in the same 
game? Could the Wolverines’ defense 
get out of the basement of almost 
every statistical category of the Big 
Ten? Did Michigan players overall 
have a winning mentality?

“The loss at home to Ohio State 

really opened our eyes,” Walton said 
on Sunday. “I think we played well 
but we just layed down and that was 
the biggest moment for us as a team. 
I knew after that very moment guys 
took it to heart, and really wanted 
to make the key adjustments to be 
successful for the rest of the season. 
We did that, and that’s why I was so 
confident going into the rest of the 
season.”

Over the past four days, the 

Wolverines have turned the 
weaknesses present against the 
Buckeyes into strengths. And 
that all culminated in Michigan’s 
title-winning 71-56 victory over 
Wisconsin.

The most suspect of all those 

questions was Michigan’s defense, 
but after watching today, one 
would never know the struggles 
the Wolverines once faced while 
defending.

Michigan opened the second 

half on an 11-2 run to get out to a 
10-point lead. That stretch included 
a 5:19 Wisconsin scoring drought 
and denying the Badgers from 
getting points from the field for over 
eight minutes. The Wolverines also 
were struggling to find points as 
the second half wore on, but their 
defense helped Michigan maintain a 
comfortable lead over that period.

“Especially in the second half, we 

all came together and connected well 
on all cylinders on the defensive end,” 
said redshirt sophomore forward DJ 
Wilson. “Even when they brought in 
within six, we were able to get crucial 
stops and crucial rebounds. I think 
that’s really what sealed the deal.”

But if there was ever a team built 

to respond to those types of runs, 
it’s the Badgers. Guard Bronson 
Koenig and forward Ethan Happ 
combined to score Wisconsin’s last 

12 points of the half, reducing the 
Wolverines’ lead to only one heading 
into intermission.

Again in the second half, the 

Badgers began chipping away at 
an 11-point Michigan lead slowly 
but with the sort of poise their core 
group of seniors have become known 
for over the past few seasons. The 
Badgers would get within six of 
the Wolverines, but Michigan had 
a response every time they were 
closing in.

Irvin and redshirt junior wing 

Duncan Robinson each hit massive 
three-pointers when Wisconsin 
looked like it had found the slightest 
bit of momentum to get on a run.

“I just feel lucky my teammates 

had that sort of confidence in me,” 
Robinson said. “I hadn’t really gotten 
any clean looks in the game. But to 
get that shot and knock it in was a 
special moment.”

When the Badgers put on a 

full-court press for the final three 
minutes of the game, Wilson found 
junior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman for a slam that brought 
the fans at the Verizon Center to 
their feet and all but shut the door 
on Wisconsin. Wilson was essential 
in the Wolverines maintaining their 
lead down the stretch, scoring 12 of 
his 17 points in the second half, while 
shutting down a first team all-Big 
Ten player in Happ defensively too.

Walton and Irvin were Michigan’s 

primary drivers on both ends all 
game long. Irvin was efficient scoring 
points early on, mixing up cuts to the 
hoop through the Wisconsin defense 
and his signature mid-range jumper. 
He’s put together one of the most 
consistent runs of his career through 
the conference tournament, and 
finished Sunday with 15 points, seven 
rebounds and five assists.

But no performance could 

compare to what Walton was doing 
single-handedly. The senior earned 
assists on the Wolverines’ first 
two scores of the half, and midway 
through the first, went on a personal 
9-0 run, hitting three shots from 
beyond the arc on three consecutive 
possessions to give Michigan its 
initial 10-point lead.

Most importantly, Walton 

quarterbacked his offense through 
a tough stretch in the second half, 
and put the ball in his teammates’ 
hands. His 22 point, six rebound, 
seven assist outing will go down as 
the final jewel that helped him earn 
the crown of the tournament’s most 
outstanding player.

The Wolverines leave 

Washington as the Big Ten’s highest 
seeded team to win the conference 
tournament, and, most importantly 
to them, will be raising a banner at 
Crisler Center next fall. More than 
anything, they have a trophy with 
their names engraved in Michigan 
basketball lore for what they proved 
over the past five days.

“I wanted them to imagine 

what it would be like for them to 
walk into that beautiful William 
Davidson Player Development 
Center and see that trophy and tell 
people about not the four games, 
the five days, and be able to tell 
them that story,” said Michigan 
coach John Beilein. “Because that’s 
part of their legacy together, all 16 
of those guys.”

After 33 years at the helm, Red 
Berenson announces retirement

By ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor 2017

On April 10, nearly one 

month after finishing his 33rd 
season as head coach of the 
Michigan hockey team, Red 
Berenson announced he would 
be retiring.

“I’ve thought about this for 

a long time and I think this is 
the right time and it’s the right 
thing to do for the Michigan 
hockey program,” Berenson 
said in a press release Monday. 
“My heart will always be at 
Michigan and I look forward 
to the team taking the next 
step and making me proud as a 
former coach.” 

Added athletic director 

Warde Manuel: “Red Berenson 
is a legendary figure at the 
University of Michigan as well 
as in our ice hockey history. 
Throughout his career, Red 
has focused on the academic 
and athletic success of the 
young men who have come 
through our program while 
shaping the sport as we know 
it today. He has developed an 
astounding 73 NHL players 
but, more importantly, he has 
positively impacted hundreds 
of young men. We are forever 
grateful for his contributions 
to the University of Michigan 
and I look forward to 
continuing working with Red 
for years to come.”

Berenson has pondered 

retirement in recent years. 
He said Monday that he 
had received questions on 
the recruiting trail about 
his future and how long 
he planned on coaching. It 
bothered him, he admitted, 
that it was an issue, and 
it played a part in his 

conversation about retirement 
with Warde Manuel last year.

The original plan was 

for Berenson to step down 
following last season. But 
Manuel was still settling down 
into his new job — according 
to Berenson, he hadn’t even 
moved to Ann Arbor yet. The 
new athletic director coaxed 
Berenson into staying, and 
so began the last year of his 
career in Ann Arbor.

And what a career it was: 

to trace its outline with each 
of its stops is to follow the 
history of the sport — and 
even history itself. To put the 
longevity of Berenson’s term 
at Michigan into context, the 
last time the Wolverines took 
the ice without him behind 
the bench was during the Cold 
War, with Ronald Reagan 
serving as president of the 
United States.

Many fine players have filed 

in and out of Ann Arbor over 
the years, doing their part to 
fill the trophy cases and bring 
glory to the program. Yet it 
is Berenson’s name that has 
become synonymous with 
‘Michigan hockey’ — and 
rightfully so.

Berenson himself was once 

the star on ice, playing for the 
Wolverines for three seasons 
between 1959 and 1962. He 
enjoyed an illustrious career in 
the NHL, becoming one of the 
league’s first expansion stars 
as it doubled in size during the 
late 1960s. Once his playing 
career ended, he became a 
coach for the St. Louis Blues 
— the team he had become 
famous playing for — and won 
coach of the year in just his 
second season. In 1984, he 
returned to his alma mater, 

where he would remain for the 
duration of his career.

It took longer for Berenson 

to achieve success in the 
collegiate ranks. Michigan, 
once mighty but since 
humbled, was in dire straits. 
It had been nearly a decade 
since the team experienced its 
last postseason success, and 
the onus was on Berenson to 
rebuild the program. It was no 
easy task. To begin his tenure, 
he endured three consecutive 
losing seasons. He took 
another step forward once 
the team was full of players 
he had recruited, leading the 
team to three straight winning 
seasons — but with zero NCAA 
Tournament appearances.

The final breakthrough 

occurred in Berenson’s seventh 
year. The Wolverines recorded 
over 30 wins for the first time 
in school history and finished 
as an NCAA quarterfinalist, 
marking the beginning of a 
22-year NCAA Tournament 
streak that remains the longest 
streak any team has ever put 
together in college hockey.

During that streak, 

Michigan made the Frozen 
Four 11 times, finishing as 
the runner-up once while 
collecting two national 
championships.

Berenson has left an 

enduring legacy not only with 
his achievements on the ice but 
off of it, as well. A graduate of 
the university’s Ross School 
of Business, Berenson has 
stressed the importance of 
education to all of his teams, 
priding himself on molding 
boys into men. Some of his 
players have even returned to 
the University after the end 
of their playing careers to 

take graduate classes — like 
Berenson once did. In recent 
years, he has sought to raise 
money and awareness for 
the cause of Scott Matzka, 
a former Wolverine who is 
currently fighting ALS.

Michigan will be in 

uncharted territory next 
year. This past year, the 
Wolverines struggled through 
their worst season in three 
decades, missing the NCAA 
Tournament for the third time 
in four years.

They will bring back the 

bulk of the team barring any 
unexpected early departures 
to the NHL, and may even 
have a new head coach with 
ties to the program — such as 
Michigan Tech’s Mel Pearson, 
a longtime assistant, or 
current assistants Billy Powers 
and Brian Wiseman. Berenson, 
in his new role as a special 
advisor to Manuel, will surely 
have a say in who his successor 
is, as well.

“I hope there’s some 

Michigan awareness or 
Michigan connection for a 
coach that will feel the right 
way about what a Michigan 
man should be like or what 
a Michigan team should be 
like,” Berenson said. “We’ve 
got some of those coaches here 
today, and we’ve got some 
great alumni here today. I’m 
sure Warde will make the right 
decision. It might be an easy 
decision, it might not be. We’re 
going to get a lot of people 
interested.”

But regardless of any ties 

the new coach might have 
to the program, things will 
undoubtedly feel different.

It is the end of an era and 

oh, what an era it was.

Michigan can’t overcome early deficit, loses in 
National Championship

By TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY — After 

falling to No. 1 Florida, 4-1, in 
Game 3 of the Women’s College 
World Series final, the Michigan 
softball team came just shy of a 
national championship.

A 
complete 
performance 

from NFCA Player of the Year 
and 
right-handed 
pitcher 

Lauren 
Haeger 
carried 
the 

Gators to an early lead, and 
they never looked back. Haeger 
dominated on both sides of the 
ball, shutting down the third-
ranked 
Wolverines’ 
offense 

which didn’t register a single 
hit until the fifth inning.

The Gators wasted no time 

on offense. In the bottom of 
the first inning, Haeger flared 
a 1-1 pitch to shallow center 
with runners on first and 

second. One run scored, and 
Florida was off to the races 
with no outs. A pair of batters 
later, Florida’s Taylor Schwarz 
dropped a double into left field, 
making headway for outfielder 
Nicole Dewitt and Haeger, who 
reached home safely, increasing 
their lead to three before the 
first inning came to an end.

“They were the best team 

tonight,” said Michigan coach 
Carol Hutchins. “They’ve been 
No. 1 all through the season. 
They showed up to come after 
us, and that first inning broke our 
back. We gave them a lot of free 
bases, too many, and you can’t do 
that to a team like Florida.”

Florida’s leadoff hitter Kelsey 

Stewart came up to bat for the 
second time in just the second 
inning and blasted a double to 
left that scored outfielder Justine 
McLean from second base. The 

Gators’ fourth run of the day 
prompted Michigan coach Carol 
Hutchins to take senior left-
handed pitcher Haylie Wagner 
out of the circle for sophomore 
right-hander Megan Betsa.

Betsa solved the immediate 

puzzle and struck out two 
straight batters to strand three 
Gators on base.

Freshman first baseman Tera 

Blanco recorded the Wolverines’ 
first hit of the night, ripping a 
full-count pitch to left field in the 
top of the fifth inning. Sophomore 
shot stop Abby Ramirez followed 
up with a single of her own, and 
the top half of the order would 
come up.

With two outs and two on for 

junior second baseman Sierra 
Romero, if there was a time for 
the team’s superstar to step up, 
this was it. Romero sent the first 
pitch to left field and Blanco, 

from second base, was able to 
score. The Gators got out of the 
fifth inning, but Michigan had 
finally gotten on board.

Freshman 
pinch-hitter 

Amanda Vargas stepped to the 
plate in the sixth inning and 
produced, lining to center for a 
base hit. Next, Wagner, now the 
designated player, was hit in the 
shoulder. Another two-on, two-
outs situation for Michigan’s 
offense, and this time it was 
Blanco’s turn.

But yet again, the Gators got 

out alive when Blanco grounded 
out to the short stop. Overall, 
the Wolverines could not handle 
Haeger in the circle Wednesday 
night. 
She 
was 
named 
the 

tournament’s Most Outstanding 
Player.

“(Lauren Haeger) was great 

tonight,” 
Hutchins 
said. 
“A 

very deserving champion. She 
definitely took care of business.”

Against Betsa, the Gators 

couldn’t get a single run, as 
the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year 
handed Florida eight strikeouts. 
However, she hit a multitude of 
batters to load the bags and was 
taken out in the bottom of the 
sixth when Wagner returned to 
the circle.

In the final inning, Ramirez 

got onto first base as Florida’s 
short stop couldn’t handle her 
slapper in time. Michigan’s next 
batter, junior centerfielder Sierra 
Lawrence, struck out looking, 
and Romero returned to the 
plate. Romero grounded to the 
shortstop, who tossed to second 
for the next out, and sophomore 
outfielder 
Kelly 
Christner 

stepped into the box, Michigan’s 
last chance.

But 
after 
three 
pitches, 

Christner grounded out to first, 
and the season was over. The 
Florida Gators were the 2015 
National Champions.

“I told my team today, and 

I told my team (Tuesday), 
‘Tonight doesn’t define our 
season,’ ” Hutchins said. “We 
would’ve liked to walk out of 
here with the other trophy, but 
this has been a great team. I’m 
really proud of them.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S HOCKEY

SOFTBALL

8 — Saturday, April 29, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

