The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, October 24, 2017 — 7
Hua bests teammate Knight to capture
singles title at ITA Midwest Regionals
This weekend, the Michigan
men’s tennis team hosted this
year’s edition of the ITA Midwest
Regionals with a bid to the 2017
ITA Fall Championships at stake.
In the quarterfinals, Michigan
senior Alex Knight, ranked 51st
nationally, faced off against Ohio
State freshman John McNally
with a chance at a spot in the
semifinals. McNally was the No.
1 recruit in the nation coming
out of high school and played in
three of four junior Grand Slams
before entering the Buckeyes’
freshman class, making it as far
as the Round of 16 at Wimbledon
and the doubles quarterfinals at
the French Open.
Knight, a former blue-chip
recruit ranked as high as No.
5 nationally, fought well in the
most high-profile match in the
tournament.
With the majority of the men’s
team out in early rounds, Knight
struggled at first against the
talented Ohio State freshman,
with all attempts to break serve
thwarted. He faced a break of
his serve in the first set’s game
four but managed to stave off
McNally.
Knight
regained
momentum and broke McNally
in the eighth game, eventually
taking the set, 6-4. Knight’s
second set was remarkably easy,
as he stomped to a 6-1 set victory
to take the match.
Knight’s teammates, senior
Runhao
Hua
and
freshman
Mattias Siimar, also faced tough
competition in the quarterfinals.
Hua was pitted against No.
104 Alex Lebedev, who had
previously made the doubles
semifinals in the tournament.
Hua jumped out to a first set
lead, winning 6-4, but struggled
early in the second set against
Lebedev. He fell behind 1-3,
before ultimately dropping the
set 3-6. But in the third set,
Hua broke his opponent early
and took a commanding 3-0
lead, ultimately resulting in a
dominant set and match, which
ended 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Siimar
came
up
against
an
eventual
semifinalist
in
Ohio State’s Martin Joyce. He
took the first set 7-6, despite
some controversy with calls
overturned by the court umpire.
Siimar had a chance to break
and take the second set at 6-5,
but he was unable to muster
the points. The second set went
to a relatively uncompetitive
tiebreaker,
with
Joyce
dominating 6-7 (3) and taking
the set.
After two grueling sets, Siimar
managed to get an early break on
Joyce, but nothing materialized
out of the positive momentum,
and the third set ultimately
resulted in a 2-6 thrashing with
the match point sealed on an
unfortunate net foul.
“I’m thrilled, but we obviously
wanted three (in the semifinals),”
said
Michigan
coach
Adam
Steinberg. “Alex had a great win
against (McNally), one of the best
of his career.”
Both
Alex
Knight
and
teammate
Runhao
Hua
progressed to the semifinals, and
ultimately faced each other in the
singles final. Hua took the final
and the title, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Both Knight and Hua also
competed together in doubles
and managed to progress to the
final against Wisconsin’s duo
of Chema Carranza and Josef
Dodridge. Together, Hua and
Knight had played in about a
dozen matches previously, and
the physical toll showed on
the court against the Badgers.
The Wolverines jumped out
to a strong 7-5 first set victory,
but they could not put away
their challengers. They were
broken early in the second set
and the Badgers duo served
out the second set comfortably,
winning 3-6. In the final frame
of the doubles final, the tension
increased and each duo broke
serve points and dropped served
points, but the Badgers managed
to pull out a 10-12 victory and the
doubles title for Wisconsin.
Steinberg said Monday that it
was a great performance for the
team and that it was especially
good to gain experience against
both national and international
players who compete in major
tournaments on a global stage.
“Our guys need to experience
that as much as possible,” he said.
The
Wolverines
managed
to secure one title, and they
will take away a wealth of
experience against conference
rivals
and
other
nationally-
ranked competitors that will
only further prepare them for
conference play in January.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
‘M’ keeps season alive
Just after they were honored for
Senior Night on Saturday, seven
Wolverine seniors took the field
knowing it could be the last home
game of their collegiate careers.
Coming off a three-game losing
streak, the Michigan women’s
soccer team knew one loss would
eliminate it from a Big Ten
Tournament spot.
The game got off to an
inconspicuous start for both teams.
Both teams had scoring chances,
but neither managed to find the
back of the net.
And with eight minutes to go in
the first half, frustrations boiled
over, as fifth-year senior midfielder
Ani Sarkisian got into a fight with
an Illinois player.
The incident didn’t seem to
have a tangible effect at first. Both
players were issued yellow cards
and play resumed. But it seemed
to give Michigan a spark, as soon
afterward, it caught fire. While the
two teams were tied at halftime in
shots and fouls, in the second half,
the Wolverines (2-4-3 Big Ten,
5-5-6 overall) looked dominant,
holding Illinois (2-7-0, 5-12-0)
to just three shots the rest of the
game en route to a 3-0 victory.
“We regrouped in the locker
room and realized … if we wanted
to win this game we had to give 100
percent,” Sarkisian said. “We went
out there and got the job done.”
Michigan’s
aggressiveness
in the second half paid off. In
the game’s 69th minute, junior
midfielder Abby Kastroll took the
ball downfield into the penalty
area on a breakaway. Junior
forward Reilly Martin did the
rest, knocking one past the Illinois
goalkeeper from 12 yards out.
In
that
moment,
senior
goalkeeper Sarah Jackson put her
hands up in celebration from the
other end of the field as the ball
sailed into the opposing net.
Jackson’s gesture was both a
celebration and a signal to her team
to not let up.
“Next five minutes, don’t let
down. If you let down, you give the
other team a chance to get right
back in,” Jackson said. “We’ve been
waiting for that breakthrough.”
“Our main goal was to try and
attack as much as we could,” said
Michigan coach Greg Ryan. “We
knew a tie wouldn’t do us any good,
so our focus was just to go after
them. As the game went along, we
really caught our stride. Tonight
was the first night where I thought
… there was just a consistent level
of understanding connection and
attacking.”
Not long after, Michigan was
awarded a penalty kick after
an Illinois handball infraction.
Sarkisian took the kick — and
promptly scored to give her team
crucial breathing room with a two-
goal lead.
And with just 30 seconds
remaining in the game, Kastroll
again
snuck
through
on
a
breakaway with no defenders in
sight and scored another goal,
putting the finishing touches on an
incredibly important win for the
Wolverines.
The Fighting Illini countered
with an opportunity of their own,
but Jackson fell on it just as time
expired, securing the shutout for
her team. One would have to go
back to September to find the last
time the Wolverines got a shutout,
in a 0-0 draw with Wake Forest.
“Getting (the shutout),” Jackson
said, “was really special.”
For
Jackson
and
fellow
senior goalkeeper Megan Hinz,
combining for the shutout on
Senior Night made the night feel
even more special.
“Sarah
and
I
have
been
training together for four years
and you couldn’t ask for a better …
teammate,” Hinz said. “To be able
to share this with her is just unreal.”
With a win against Rutgers next
week needed for the chance at a
spot in the Big Ten Tournament,
Hinz feels the team is finally
clicking at the right time.
“We’re meshing really well,”
she said. “We’re having fun but
working so hard, and I think we’re
in a good place to give it our all.”
FIELD HOCKEY
No. 4 Michigan takes
down No. 7 Louisville
After clinching the regular
season Big Ten championship,
the No. 4 Michigan field hockey
team continued its season-long
string of success against elite
competition by beating No. 7
Louisville, 6-2.
The Wolverines, who haven’t
lost since Sept. 8, wasted no
time showing the fans at the
Marshall Center which of the
two postseason-bound squads
was the superior one.
Two minutes into the game,
the
Cardinals’
goalkeeper
Ayeisha
McFerran
deflected
senior
midfielder
Katie
Trombetta’s
corner
shot,
but
freshman
defender
Halle
O’Neill recovered
the rebound and
shot the ball into
the
bottom
of
the goal. Two of
the Wolverines’
three goals in the
first half resulted
from
penalty
corners in which Michigan took
advantage of the chaos in the
Louisville defense to score.
“Both of my assists were off
two corners,” Trombetta said. “I
think that they were both great
corner calls from the coaches,
and on the first one, Halle did
a great job of just staying low
and getting to the ball no matter
what.”
The Wolverines scored three
times on goalkeeper-deflected
balls, including a goal by Emma
Way in the 10th minute. The
junior forward danced her way
through a crowd of Cardinals
defenders
in
the
box
and
waltzed right past Louisville’s
goalkeeper for an easy finish.
Louisville
wasn’t
able
to
find much success against the
Michigan back line. Although
the Wolverines allowed two
goals — above their season
average of 0.81 allowed per
game — one came after three
consecutive penalty corners.
“They just played with a lot
of heart and they defended
really
well,”
said
Michigan
coach Marcia Pankratz. “Their
transition from attack to defense
and vice versa was excellent.
They lead hard, double team
hard for each other and did all
those little things that matter.”
Arguably the best of the six
goals of the game occurred in
the 40th minute. Trombetta
streaked down the field and
fired a pass toward the stick of
fifth-year senior forward Carly
Bennett. But rather than picking
her stick up, the forward laid
her stick down, angled it slightly
upwards
and
didn’t
move.
The
result
—
much like many
of
Michigan’s
shots Sunday —
was a score.
“That’s
actually a play
that the corner
offense
has
been practicing
for
a
while,”
Bennett said. “We kind of
established that that would be
an open play in this game. We’ve
been practicing it a lot, and
Katie’s shooting has been really
on for us lately. She scored the
winning goal at Northwestern,
so all of us as a corner unit were
saying ‘Do this exactly how we
practiced.’ Katie set me up with
the perfect pass, and it worked.”
While the game did not have
any regular season implications
for the Wolverines, Michigan
faced a Louisville foe akin to
many of the elite teams it may
see in the postseason.
“It’s always great to play a good
team like Louisville,” Pankratz
said. “There are still things we
want to improve on before the
tournament starts next weekend.
They’re also an in-region team,
so beating another team in our
region certainly helps us for the
NCAA Tournament.”
Series takeaways: Underclassmen rise to
occasion, power play struggles continue
Following an opening weekend
split, the Michigan hockey team
(3-1) came back from a short break
with newfound energy, going
on to sweep Vermont (2-3) this
weekend with 4-1 and 3-2 victories
on Friday and Saturday night,
respectively. The Daily highlights
four key takeaways from the series,
including the areas the Wolverines
excelled and the areas the team
needs to improve before Michigan
travels to Penn State for its first Big
Ten series of the season.
Underclassmen
steadily
rising to the occasion
In Friday night’s home opener,
freshman forward Josh Norris
scored two goals to put the game
out of reach. Fewer than 24 hours
later, sophomore forward Jake
Slaker converted two of his own
to complete a comeback victory
over the Catamounts and the
Wolverines’ first weekend sweep
of the season.
Michigan’s average age of 20
years and 324 days is the third
youngest in Division I. But that
doesn’t stop the underclassmen
from stepping up, and it doesn’t
stop coach Mel Pearson from
depending
on
them
in
big
moments.
“We’re relying on sophomores
and freshmen and a few seniors
to lead us,” Pearson said following
Saturday’s matchup.
Through solid and consistent
play from the likes of Slaker,
Norris,
sophomore
forward
Will Lockwood and freshman
defenseman Quinn Hughes, the
youngsters look to be guiding
the team — a silver-lining to
the obvious issue of certain
upperclassmen underperforming
thus far in the season.
Power
play
struggles
continue
Though the Wolverines eked
out two wins this weekend, their
inability to capitalize on the power
play persists. After going 2-for-5
with a man advantage in its first
regular season game against St.
Lawrence, Michigan has gone a
collective 0-for-17 on the power
play in its last three contests.
For a team that finished 17th
nationally on the power play
just last year, the Wolverines
went 0-for-9 this weekend and
surrendered a shorthanded goal to
Vermont in Friday’s slate.
While Pearson has stressed
special teams early in the season,
the coach admitted that continuing
to emphasize power plays in
practice will be crucial to the
team’s success moving forward.
“We need to simplify things,”
Pearson said. “We get a little too
cute and don’t get many shots. …
We need to move the puck quicker
and get in sync a little bit. We were
a little out of sync, but that’s up to
me and that’s my responsibility
and we’ve got enough good players
and skill players, so we should be
converting. But we’ll get there.”
Strong
goaltending
keeps
Wolverines in contests
With three goals allowed this
weekend,
sophomores
Hayden
Lavigne and Jack LaFontaine
proved that Michigan has a sturdy
backbone.
Most notably, Lavigne notched
his first win for the Wolverines in
a 28-save performance Saturday.
The two goaltenders, who are
splitting time for the first eight
games of the season, boasted a
total 43 saves with a .936 average
save percentage over the weekend.
“Two good goalies in both
Hayden and Jack,” said sophomore
forward Adam Winborg. “… As long
as we do our job in front of them,
they’re there, so they’ll always give
us a chance to win the games.”
While the Wolverines’ defense
allowed just 16 and 30 shots Friday
and Saturday, respectively, the
duo still wasn’t fazed, making
both routine and clever saves in
the crease to ensure Michigan
victories.
Early roadblocks appear late
in games
During Friday night’s matchup,
the Wolverines let 16 shots fly
in the first period, none of them
finding the back of the net. They
came back with another 16 in the
second period, this time with two
goals to show for it — albeit late in
the period.
On Saturday, Michigan took
15 shots in the first and second
periods combined, with only one
goal to show for it.
What seemed like such high-
octane starts to both games still
didn’t give the Wolverines a
dominant grip on the match.
However, the four combined
goals in the third periods of both
matchups proved that Michigan
offense’s relentless pursuit of the
net takes time, but is ultimately
lethal.
“I’m happy for them,” Pearson
said. “It’s good they get rewarded
for staying with the game plan and
hanging in there. And our third
periods have been pretty good this
year so far.”
Going
up
against
stronger
opponents, though, the Wolverines
will have to net these shots early if
they want momentum on its side
when it matters most.
JUSTIN FANNON
For the Daily
ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily
Senior Runhao Hua competed against his doubles partner for the singles title and came away with the tournament win.
ARIA GERSON
For the Daily
RIAN RATNAVALE
For the Daily
(It) certainly
helps us for
the NCAA
Tournament
BENJAMIN KATZ
Daily Sports Writer
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson saw both bright spots and clear shortcomings from his team’s home-opening weekend.
ROBERT HEFTER
Daily Sports Writer