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