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December 04, 2017 - Image 8

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily

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LAURA KASISCHKE

ALLAN SEAGER COLLEGIATE PROFESSOR
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

a poetry reading from

new
and
selected
poems

December 5, 4:10 p.m.
Rackham Amphitheatre

A public lecture and reception

For more information call 734.615.6667

2B — December 4, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

A monumental leap forward

L

ast Saturday morning,
the ribbons were finally
cut.

After

three years
riddled with
anticipation,
the Athletics
South
Competition
and
Performance
Project
is finally
complete.
The
280,000-square-foot facility
— with an estimated cost of
$168 million funded by outside
donors — will accommodate the
track, cross country, lacrosse,
soccer and rowing teams and
provide training spaces for
the gymnastics, tennis and
wrestling teams.

Surrounded by the athletes

and coaches of those teams,
athletic director Warde Manuel
stood in front of the facility and
welcomed them into their new
home.

“Today is a great day for

me,” Manuel said, “but more
importantly, for you and your
coaches to open this building,
to get a chance to see this
facility, to walk around (and)
touch what you’re going to be
connecting to for many decades
beyond you.

“Much work was put into

this, many donors to thank over
time that you’ll see throughout
this building. Many of our staff
worked hard to raise the money
to build this facility for you. So
I am excited to open this up for
you.”

It has been a long time

coming. The project was first
announced in September 2014,
at which time Manuel was in
Storrs, Conn., as the athletic
director at the University of
Connecticut.

Former athletic director

Dave Brandon initiated the

process less than two months
before he ultimately resigned
in the middle of a 5-7 football
season, and the Board of
Regents signed off on the deal.

“We are grateful for the

support that our Regents and
University leadership have
continued to provide as we
execute our transformational
facilities plan for Michigan
Athletics,” Brandon said at the
time. “This phase of the plan
will complete several of our
largest projects that will have
a major impact on the future of
Michigan Athletics.”

Suffice to say, much has

changed for the athletic
program in the time since.

I was a freshman at the

University during that
tumultuous fall, when the

Michigan community — the
student body, in particular —
stated its case for Brandon’s
resignation with a critical
petition around
campus and a
disapproving
rally in the
Diag.

His job

performance
had already
been
questioned
by students
frustrated
about
expensive football season ticket
packages, which were $280
during that year, compared to
$150 this season. The uproar
took on new life after the
concussion sustained by former

quarterback Shane Morris and
aftermath of the injury.

Morris, fairly or not,

became the symbol of protests

focused on the
department’s
mistreatment of
student-athletes.

Looking back

on that time three
years later, the
Athletics South
Competition and
Performance
Project seems to
be a monumental
leap forward,

especially for these teams that
have been prioritized less than
Michigan’s big three revenue-
generating sports: football,
hockey and basketball. Through
writing for the Daily, that

disparity became distinctly
apparent.

When I covered the soccer

teams at the start of my career,
I sometimes interviewed the
coaches in their offices on
non-game days. That may seem
normal. The abnormal part
is that we were sitting in a
makeshift trailer on the side of
the parking lot at U-M Soccer
Stadium.

When I sat in weekly story

meetings waiting to decide
which events to cover, I noticed
that the Wolverines didn’t
host the track and field events.
That’s because the old facilities
didn’t have the space, for the
media or a crowd. The new
indoor and outdoor facilities
will have permanent seating
for 2,000 and 1,000 spectators,

respectively.

When I heard my fellow

colleagues talk about covering
lacrosse, I found out that the
team played inside a nearly-
empty Michigan Stadium.
That’s because the lacrosse
teams — which didn’t become
varsity sports until 2011 —
didn’t have a stadium of their
own. The new facilities include
a stadium with a capacity of
3,000 people.

And during my freshman

year, when my roommate was a
member of the rowing team, I
learned that the Wolverines had
outdated training equipment
and raced at Belleville Lake,
a 25-minute drive from Ann
Arbor. The athletic department
obviously couldn’t build an
entire body of water, but in the
new facilities, they did build
the first indoor rowing tank in
Michigan history.

With the completion of the

Athletics South Competition
and Performance Project, these
often-overlooked teams now
have a place they can call their
own.

In addition to their

competition venues, they have
brand-new practice spaces
and locker rooms, along
with a 20,000-square-foot
strength and conditioning
center and specialized areas
for performance nutrition and
athletic medicine.

The facilities will see their

first game action in January, as
the track and field team begins
its season with the Wolverine
Invitational on Jan. 13. The
lacrosse teams will follow suit
in February.

Last Saturday, these student-

athletes received the first
glimpse into their future at
Michigan. Simply put, the
future looks bright.

Ashame can be reached at

ashabete@umich.edu or on

Twitter @betelhem_ashame.

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Athletic director Warde Manuel opened the Athletics South Competition and Performance Project, a large facility complex for often-overlooked teams, on Saturday.

BETELHEM
ASHAME

Colorado State ends Michigan’s postseason

With
their
backs
against

a wall and its season on the
line, the Michigan volleyball
team came out of the huddle to
respond to a late run by Colorado
State.

Trying to force a decisive

fifth set to extend their NCAA
Tournament run, senior outside
hitter Katherine Mahlke failed
to answer on the Rams’ match
point, mishandling the point
to end her career with the
Wolverines — as well as those

of Adeja Lambert and Claire
Kieffer-Wright.

In a tightly contested match,

Michigan (11-9 Big Ten, 21-12
overall) saw its season come to
an end against No. 23 Colorado
State in four sets. Contrary to
their scoring struggle late, the
Wolverines had an offensively
efficient game. The Rams were
just better.

“I
thought
offensively

we were pretty good,” said
Michigan coach Mark Rosen.
“I thought we sided out — one
of the indicators we look at
is sideout percentage — like

what percentage we sideout in
serve, receive. Usually if we’re
above 60, we feel pretty good
about it. We were 65 tonight, so
offensively, we did a really good
job. But you know, you can’t let
the other team do even better
offensively, and it got us in
trouble.”

Colorado State got out to a fast

start. Scoring three unanswered
points, the Rams built an early
lead that they didn’t relinquish
until Michigan went on a 7-4
run to tie the first set at 23.
Despite the comeback effort,
the Wolverines failed to find an
answer to the balanced offense
of Colorado State, allowing the
Rams to score two consecutive
points to clinch the set, 25-23.

“They got two really good

outside hitters. They got two
middles. They
got an opposite,
so
they’re

very
balanced

with their five
attackers,”
Rosen said. “So
it gets hard to
get a read on
them. It’s hard
to
say,
‘Hey,

we’re going to
stop this play.’
If you just stop one of them, it’s
not enough.

“So I think their balance was

really good, and I think that
created problems for us. I think
their setter does a really good
job of running that offense so I
think that was what was most
troubling or hard for us.”

That
offense
didn’t
slow

down at the start of the second.
Coming out in a similar fashion
as the first set, Colorado State
built an early lead.

However, it saw its 5-0 lead

quickly diminish as Michigan
rallied
behind
sophomore

outside
hitter
Sydney

Wetterstrom
and
redshirt

sophomore middle blocker Cori
Crocker to tie the game at seven
apiece. Wetterstrom finished
the game with nine kills, while

Crocker finished with 12 kills on
a team-high attack percentage of
.500.

The
back-and-forth
frame

continued
until
both
teams

found themselves in the same
situation as the first, tied late in
the set at 22. Refusing to drop
another close set, Crocker and
Mahlke
scored
back-to-back

points before closing the set on a
service error by the Rams.

The third set continued where

the second set left off, with the
lead switching between the
teams. Colorado State broke off
into a 3-0 run and maintained
the lead to win the set, 25-22.

The Wolverines had their

transition game exposed during
the exchange. With their first-
ball kill strategy not working
against
the
Rams’
defense,

Michigan
failed

to adjust during
transition,
allowing
the

balanced offense
of Colorado State
to score on the
unset defense.

Junior outside

hitter
Carly

Skjodt looked to
fix the problem.
She
kept
the

Wolverines in the fourth frame
early, scoring seven kills in the
set. She finished the match with
a game-high 17 kills and added
15 digs for her eighth double-
double of the season.

Sophomore setter Mackenzie

Welsh
recorded
her
third

double-double of the season
with 56 assists and 10 digs,
helping the Wolverines build
a 24-21 lead late in the fourth
set. Despite the lead, the Rams’
offense once again proved too
much for Michigan, as they
closed the match on a 5-0 run.

“I thought we had a chance to

put the fourth set away and all of
a sudden we’d be in a fifth set,”
Rosen said. “We just couldn’t
put it away in that last rotation.
Disappointing, but I’m proud of
how our team fought this year.”

Buckeyes present first
B1G road test for ‘M’

Last season, the Michigan

men’s basketball team won its
second conference game on
Jan. 14.

Monday,
the
Wolverines

(1-0 Big Ten, 7-2 overall) seek
to accomplish that same feat
nearly a month and a half ahead
of that, when they take on Ohio
State (1-0, 6-3) in their second
early-season conference game.

With the expansion to 20

conference games from the
previous
18
taking
effect

this year, the beginning of
the
conference
schedule

was pushed up. As a result,
Michigan
has
an
enticing

opportunity to give itself a head
start in the Big Ten standings.

“We’ve had like one day of

practice that didn’t concern
‘Get ready for the next game,’
” Beilein said. “It’s gonna
be December 4th, and we’re
gonna have 10 games in. So we
haven’t had time to get better
yet, I look forward to that, but
games make you better than
practices.”

Before it can rest, though, a

road test looms.

Saturday,
the
Wolverines

dispatched Indiana, grabbing
a comfortable 14-point win
to open Big Ten play. The
Buckeyes,
much
like
the

Hoosiers, are in a rebuilding
phase. Chris Holtmann, taking
over after the program fired
long-time coach Thad Matta,
has his work cut out for him
ahead of this season.

A year ago, Michigan won

just three of its 11 road games
and lost to Ohio State at home,
70-66, in perhaps the low point
of its season. A road game
of any kind this time of year
respresents a major challenge
for the Wolverines; a win over
the Buckeyes would represent
a major step, regardless of their
fluctuation as a program.

Because of that, Beilein is

uncertain about what to expect

from the Buckeyes.

“I have no idea what Ohio

State’s doing. I have no idea,”
Beilein said. “I know that
it is (assistant coach) Saddi
Washington’s scout, but I have
no idea who they’re playing
and what they’re doing (with) a
new coach.”

Under
Holtmann,
the

Buckeyes have started the year
with an uneven 6-3 record,
with losses to Butler, Clemson
and Gonzaga. But they kicked
off their conference season
with a convincing win of
their own, topping Wisconsin,
83-58.

On the opposing side will

be a guard Beilein is quite
familar with, though. Guard
Andrew Dakich, who played
at Michigan for the past four
years, will suit up for the
Buckeyes this time around. In
nine games so far, Dakich is
averaging over 14 minutes per
game, 10 more than he had a
season ago with Michigan.

Two wings — senior Jae’Sean

Tate and junior Bates Diop —
account for over 30 points per
game and will be the Buckeyes’
primary scorers. How redshirt
sophomore forward Charles
Matthews and fifth-year senior
forward
Duncan
Robinson

matchup with Tate and Diop
could ultimately tell the tale of
the game.

And if the Wolverines can

come out with a win, they
will grab a major advantage
ahead of a couple major non-
conference challenges.

“It’s
pretty
cool,
it’s

December 2nd and we have a
first Big Ten game — win,” said
junior forward Moritz Wagner.
“So that’s pretty sick going into
January having that win and
going to Ohio State obviously
trying to get that second win.
That’s a big challenge, but
that’s definitely something to
have in the back of your mind
to keep going into UCLA, Texas
and then Detroit. It’s definitely
really helpful.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

VOLLEYBALL

The Wolverines saw their season end with a crucial fourth-set mistake

I thought we

had a chance to
put the fourth

set away

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Editor

Today is a great

day for me ...
you and your

coaches

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