The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 — 7A

“Game, set, match Lommer,” 

the 
loudspeaker 
rang 
over 

a brisk Sunday afternoon in 
Evanston.

In the Blue Flight of the 

Wildcat Invitational, Michigan 
sophomore 
Chiara 
Lommer 

took home her first individual 
collegiate 
championship. 

Lommer, 
ranked 
115th 
in 

the nation coming into the 
competition, 
dominated 
all 

weekend behind her improved 
offense 
and 
aggressive 

approach, and as a result never 
dropped more than four games 
in a set.

“This weekend was a pretty 

good weekend competitively 
because I was really going out 
there every match and staying 
in the points and not giving 
away free errors, which are 
common at the beginning of the 
fall,” Lommer said. “Just trying 
to be competitive all weekend 
was my biggest goal.”

And with her stellar play, 

Lommer aced her goal. On 

Friday, Lommer cruised to a 
straight set victory against 
Utah’s Margo Pletcher. She 
followed 
up 
her 
opening 

round 
win 
with 
another 

dominant performance against 
Kentucky’s Sedi Jacobs and 
advanced into the championship 
round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. 
In the championship match, 
Lommer 
decisively 
defeated 

Notre Dame’s Allie Miller, 6-3, 
6-4, to close out a spectacular 
weekend of play.

“(This 
summer), 
I 
really 

worked on my return and 
trying to get a lot of depth on 
it,” Lommer said. “I also really 
worked on my forehand and 
approaching the net, so just a 
lot more offense.”

Lommer’s 
improvements 

were apparent en route to her 
finals win, and they will surely 
serve her well in future contests. 

Also participating in the 

tournament for the Wolverines 
were sophomore Lera Patiuk 
and freshman Bella Lorenzini. 
To 
begin 
tournament 
play, 

Patiuk 
overwhelmed 
Notre 

Dame’s Caroline Dunleavy in 
straight sets. Unlike Lommer, 
however, Patiuk was unable to 
advance to the championship 
round in her division. She 
fell Saturday at the hands of 
Michigan State’s Aslina Chua. 
In her last match, Patiuk edged 
out a victory in the Red Flight 
third place contest over Utah’s 

Victoria Robinson, 6-1, 2-6 and 
6-3.

Lorenzini, on the other hand, 

struggled to get off on the right 
foot. In her opening match, she 
lost to Notre Dame’s Cameron 
Corse, and on Saturday, she fell 
to Michigan State’s Samantha 
Memije. Unfazed by the results 
from her first two matches, 
Lorenzini rebounded Sunday to 
defeat DePaul’s Marija Jovicic 
in three sets, 3-6, 7-6 and 7-5.

In addition to playing in 

the singles draw, Lommer and 
Lorenzini played together in 
the doubles draw.

“Doubles helps me be more 

aggressive in singles,” Lommer 
said. “It helps me stay in the 
mindset where I’m trying to 
come to the net and finish the 
point rather than staying back 
and just rallying.”

In their preliminary match, 

the duo topped Florida State’s 
Nandini 
Das 
and 
Ariana 

Rahmanparast, 6-4. Saturday, 
they dropped their match to 
host 
school 
Northwestern’s 

Inci Ogut and Julie Byrne, 6-1. 
Later in the afternoon, the 
Wolverine duo rallied to defeat 
Chicago State’s Maria Kostyuk 
and Iesha Shepherd, 6-4.

For the final doubles match 

of the weekend, Patiuk played 
in place of Lorenzini in the 
consolation 
second 
round, 

where 
she 
and 
Lommer 

overcame Utah’s Leah Heimuli 

and Briana Turley, 6-4.

“I think the individual play in 

the fall allows us to go out there 
and have less of an expectation 

to win for a team,” Lommer 
said. “We’re also able to keep 
working on stuff that we did in 
the summer without as much 

pressure as in a dual match. It 
allows us to keep getting better 
and developing our game so it is 
100% for January.”

FLORIDA

W, 33-17 (1-0)

CINCINNATI
AIR FORCE
PURDUE
MICHIGAN STATE

7:30p.m. Michigan Stadium

at INDIANA

12 p.m. EST, Bloomington IN.

at PENN STATE

TBD Penn State

RUTGERS

12 p.m. Michigan Stadium

MINNESOTA (2-0)

TBD Michigan Stadium

at MARYLAND

TBD @ College Park MD

at WISCONSIN

TBD @ Madison WI

OHIO ST. 

12 p.m. EST Michigan Stadium

9/2
9/9
9/17
9/23
10/7
10/14
10/22
10/29
11/4
11/11
11/18
11/25

W, 36-14 (2-0) W, 29-13 (3-0) W, 28-10 (4-0)

Notebook: Wolverines talk O’Korn, Michigan State

In the final days leading up to 

Michigan State’s first appearance 
in Ann Arbor since the infamous 
botched punt, the No. 7 Michigan 
football team (1-0 Big Ten, 4-0 
overall) spoke to the media and 
discussed the rivalry, the offense 
and how fifth-year senior John 
O’Korn has adjusted as the new 
starting quarterback. 

Stay up to date with the 

Wolverines 
in 
this 
week’s 

notebook.

Gentry’s improvement at 

tight end

The tight end group stepped 

up against Purdue, with two 
players 
— 
sophomore 
Sean 

McKeon and redshirt sophomore 
Zach Gentry — combining for 130 
yards on eight total catches.

“We (the tight ends and 

O’Korn) 
have 
a 
strong 

chemistry,” 
Gentry 
said. 

“Everyday after practice we stick 
around with the quarterbacks 
and get some extra balls and run 
some extra routes for them. The 
tight ends, we’re a hardworking 
group and we’ve got a lot of guys 
who can contribute.

“... (O’Korn) was able to find 

us last game, and everything just 
worked out. We just got to hope 
he keeps hitting us a little bit.”

Gentry, a former quarterback 

who converted to tight end, 
caught his first career touchdown 
pass against the Boilermakers.

The conversion to tight end 

wasn’t easy for Gentry. He 
didn’t get much playing time 
at his new position early in his 
career, but now he’s a key player 
for Michigan’s offense and a 

favorable target for Michigan’s 
quarterbacks.

Gentry has improved most in 

pass protection and blocking, 
a part of the game that was 
completely new to him after 
switching from quarterback.

“(Blocking was) something 

that was completely foreign 
to me,” Gentry said. “I mean, 
usually, I was the guy in practice 
that you weren’t allowed to 
touch. Having to block (former 
Michigan 
defensive 
linemen) 

Taco 
Charlton 
and 
Chris 

Wormley was something else. … 
I was pretty bad at just getting 
down at pad level.”

Isaac ready for blitz-heavy 
Michigan State defense

The Spartans will be the 

toughest defensive test Michigan 
has faced yet, and if O’Korn 
struggles during his first start 
this season, then Michigan will 
have to turn to its running back 
rotation for offense.

The Spartans rank 16th in the 

nation and third in the Big Ten 
for rush defense, allowing just 96 
rushing yards per game.

“(Michigan 
State 
has) 
a 

really tough front seven,” said 
fifth-year senior running back 
Ty Isaac. “They do a lot of run 
blitzing, so we’ve definitely been 
watching on film and practicing 
those looks having had an extra 
week of preparation.”

With 
a 
trio 
of 
rushers, 

Michigan’s running backs have 
proven they might have more 
depth than any other position 
group.

Isaac leads Michigan with 89 

rushing yards per game and one 
touchdown. Trailing him are 
sophomore Chris Evans (56 yards 

per game, two touchdowns) and 
junior Karan Higdon (34 yards 
per game, two touchdowns).

Isaac, who suffered a minor 

injury against Air Force, is 
back to full strength after the 
bye week. He started against 
Cincinnati and Air Force, but 
didn’t get the start against 
Purdue.

“Hopefully we can dial some 

stuff and get the run game 
going,” Isaac said.

That may be easier said 

than done. The Spartans shut 
down Iowa’s running game last 
weekend, holding the Hawkeyes 
to just 19 yards on the ground.

Onwenu familiar with 

Spartans’ defensive line

Sophomore 
right 
tackle 

Michael 
Onwenu, 
a 
Detroit 

native, has plenty of connections 
to Michigan State. His sister, 
Stephanie, and one of his cousins 
both attend Michigan State. But 
outside of the family, he knows 
plenty of players on the Spartans’ 
roster.

“That D-line, I probably went 

to camps with the majority of 
them, especially the interior 
guys,” Onwenu said. “So I know 
how they play. It’s gonna be a 
game to watch.”

While he was in high school, 

he didn’t play directly against any 
future Michigan State defensive 
linemen, but he went head to 
head with them in summer 
football camps. They played with 
less contact in camps, but he 
became familiar with how some 
of them like to pass rush.

He also watched Michigan 

State beat Iowa this weekend 
to get a better idea of how the 
Spartans like to line up on 
defense.

Michigan State has tallied just 

nine sacks this season — half the 
amount that Michigan has — but 
Onwenu and the Wolverines’ 
offensive line will be challenged 
nonetheless.

The Spartans will challenge 

the 
young 
right 
side 
of 

Michigan’s offensive line. It 
features Onwenu inside at right 
guard and a mix of redshirt 
sophomores Jon Runyan Jr. and 
Nolan Ulizio at right tackle. 
Those guys will have to step up 
as the Wolverines move into the 
thick of their Big Ten schedule.

Onwenu appears up to the 

task. This week, he’s not been 
in contact with any of his 
counterparts at Michigan State. 
He’s focusing solely on getting 
ready for the rivalry game.

“They might be avoiding me,” 

he said. “They don’t want to get 
hit.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry is entering the rivalry matchup against Michigan State after a breakout performance against the Boilermakers.

TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily

Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein watched as sophomore Chiara Lommer put forth a dominating performance.

Lommer takes 

home title 
at Wildcat 
Invitational

ADAM RICH

For the Daily

