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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