8A — Wednesday, January 24,2018 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Best moments are still ahead for new lacrosse coach, Hannah Nielsen It started with tennis and a t-shirt. Hannah Nielsen grew up playing all sorts of sports in Adelaide, Australia. It wasn’t until she was 11 years old, though, that she even heard of lacrosse. “I actually played tennis with a girl who had a lacrosse t-shirt on, and I had no idea what the sport was,” Nielsen said. “She said I should come out and try it. I picked up a stick and never looked back.” Nielsen quickly grew to love the toughness of the game. She loved playing in the heat of summer and in the dead of winter. She loved the running and the physicality. She loved playing in the mud. By seventh grade, Nielsen was sold. Lacrosse would be her sport. Today, Nielsen finds herself weeks way from her first game as the second-ever Michigan women’s lacrosse coach. Joining the Brighton Lacrosse Club, Nielsen started her journey where other lacrosse greats began, including Loyola University Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Jen Adams. Adams won the first ever Tewaaraton Award — the Heisman of collegiate lacrosse — in 2001 after her senior season at Maryland. There, Adams won four national championships and finished off her collegiate career with a perfect 23-0 season. Nielsen wanted to follow suit. “I remember at the time watching a highlight video of an Australian girl playing at Maryland and just thought, ‘That’s what I want to do,’ ” Nielsen said. “Pretty much from there through high school, I set my sights on getting to college.” Five years later, Nielsen found herself at Northwestern. Though she always dreamed of becoming a Terrapin like Adams, Nielsen believed the Wildcats would be the team to beat. Not only did Nielsen want to be a champion, but she wanted to be a champion in her own right. At Northwestern, she could pave her own path. “Northwestern had just won its first national championship,” Nielsen said. “I could tell that the program was destined for great things, and had success in their future. It’s something that I felt I should be a part of, and at the end of the day I wanted to do something new. To do something that no other Australian had done.” And that she did. Nielsen graduated Northwestern with a perfect senior season like Adams. She bested Adams with not one, but two Tewaaraton Awards in both her junior and senior years. She is the Wildcats’ all-time leader in points (398) and assists (224), and finished off her collegiate career with a 21-7 triumph over North Carolina for a fourth and final national championship. Nielsen remembers the win as her favorite on-field moment at Northwestern. “It was icing on top of an incredible season,” she said. Nielsen’s dominance on the lacrosse field didn’t stop there, though. In fact, it didn’t even begin there. Before landing in Chicago, and before playing a single collegiate match, Nielsen was already a world champion. Out of the 10 Women’s Lacrosse World Cups held since its inaugural year in 1982, the United States has won eight. In 2005, Nielsen and the rest of the Australian National Team beat out the Americans on their home turf in the gold-medal match, 14-7. She was just 17 years old. This past summer, at 29, Nielsen competed in her fourth World Cup in England, and was selected to the 12 player All-World Team alongside four of her teammates, one being Adams. “For me, there’s nothing better than playing for my country,” Nielsen said. “Getting to represent Australia — for anyone, representing your own country — I don’t think there’s anything better.” Nielsen’s stellar career as a player has translated well into her quickly progressing coaching career. Before earning her first position as a head coach at Michigan this past summer, Nielsen was an assistant coach at her alma mater. Previously, she was on the coaching staff at Penn State and Towson, and helped start the women’s lacrosse program at Colorado in 2014 — the same year Michigan’s program began. Ironically enough, the Wolverines open up their 2018 season against the Buffaloes in Jacksonville, Fla. on February 9th. “It’s going to be kind of a crazy experience,” Nielsen said. “I’ve fortunately coached against them before, so it won’t be my first time. They still hold a very special place in my heart.” This meeting will be Michigan’s third encounter with the Buffalos. The Wolverines dropped their first battle in a 14-13 double overtime thriller back in 2015. Colorado widened the gap the following year, dominating in an 11-4 showing. Four seasons in, the Buffalos boast a .640 win percentage while Michigan sits at .290. Perhaps it was Nielsen that influenced Colorado’s quick progression. Either way, the matchup is shaping up to be a good one. “The head coach is a very good friend of mine,” Nielsen said. “Both of us are very, very competitive, so we’re both going to want to win.” And despite losing 14 seniors to graduation last season — most of whom were four-year starters — Nielsen thinks her team can win. She believe the Wolverines have athleticism on their side. Michigan’s current coaching staff prides itself on being able to teach the game. If the players are athletic and have the will to win, Nielsen believes they will do just that. “If I were to pick someone who’s got that killer instinct and athleticism over someone who’s got finesse and skill, I’m definitely going for that athleticism,” Nielsen said. “We like toughness. We like gritty players who aren’t afraid to do the dirty work that goes unnoticed.” Luckily for Nielsen, the previous women’s lacrosse coach, Jennifer Ulehla, felt similarly. She recruited athletes and believed specific skills and lacrosse IQ could be taught. So far, Nielsen says it s all coming together. From day one back in September through the end of fall ball, Nielsen has seen improvements all over the field. The Wolverines are beginning to click. “The best moment so far was our last practice of the fall,“ Nielsen said. “To sit back as a coaching staff and see where we’ve come from and where we were at that point was really satisfying.” And where will Michigan be in May when the season wraps up?” “Hopefully in a better place than where we started,“ Nielsen said. “I hope that we’ve progressed as a team and that we’ve got a strong belief in all of our values and our culture. Hopefully we’ve got some wins on the board, as well.” Nielsen has had what one would call a storied career in the lacrosse world. Coming to Michigan, however, is not the end of the story. Coaching is simply her latest chapter. “Honestly,” Nielsen said, “the best moments are still to come.” MAX KUANG/Daily The Michigan women’s lacrosse team will have a new coach this year in Hannah Nielsen, perhaps the best collegiate player of all time. KATIE CONKLIN Daily Sports Writer “It was icing on top of an incredible season.” “For me, there’s nothing better than playing for my country.” CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty was on fire in the first half and finished with 26 points in Michigan’s 26-point win. ‘M’ dominates in 74-48 win over MSU The game tipped off at 7:00. It was over by 7:10. It took just over five minutes of game time for the No. 16 Michigan women’s basketball team (7-2 Big Ten, 18-4 overall) to build up an 18-4 first quarter lead over Michigan State (4-4, 14-7). The Spartans never came back, or came close to doing so, as the Wolverines cruised to a 74-48 win. Ironically, things started tenuously, as junior guard Nicole Munger turned the ball over after Michigan State trapped a pick-and- roll on the game’s first possession, leading to a transition layup. The next time down, when the Spartans pulled the same trick against senior guard Katelynn Flaherty, she nearly lost her dribble as well. But she found it, along with junior center Hallie Thome for a layup. By the time the Spartans scored again, Flaherty had scored six points and notched a second assist. She rained fire early on, hitting two 3-pointers off screens, then finding freshman forward Hailey Brown under the basket when the entire Michigan State defense gravitated to Flaherty in transition. In the first half alone, Flaherty created 22 points — 12 of her own doing and 10 off assists. By the end of the game, that number was up to 41, through 26 points and 10 assists, over half of the Wolverines’ 74 points. “She got away from us a couple times, but, I mean, she gets an open look, it’s down,” said Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant. “I don’t care if she’s playing Michigan State, Ohio State — it doesn’t matter. That kid is a great, great shooter.” No matter the question, Flaherty was the answer. When the Spartans drew within 10 at the start of the second half — the only time all game in which a comeback seemed within reach — she hit a 3-pointer, drew a foul in transition (hitting both free throws), assisted a Munger triple, then drained a running transition hook shot along with the ensuing free throw. A 36-26 lead ballooned to 47-31. Whatever hope Michigan State had died. The rest of the contest was a mere formality. “Going into this game, we knew that they send all of their players to the offensive glass,” Flaherty said. “So we knew we could run in transition. They’re a bigger team, a slower team compared to us, so I think we really took advantage of that.” The win marked Michigan’s fifth in a row, a streak that now includes wins over both the Wolverines’ rivals. In a year that will be defined by whether or not Michigan continues on its current path to make the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines are galvanized by the scars of being left out last season. “We got robbed last year, not getting to the NCAA Tournament,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “And they have been on a mission since that announcement at March Madness. And we went on to win the WNIT Championship, but they didn’t even stop working after that win. They came back this year hungrier than ever...all of our returners have something to prove. They have a chip on their shoulder. “...It doesn’t ever end. I think it’s a constant reminder, because the people that came before them never got to experience it. So (graduate assistant) Danielle Williams and Siera Thompson, who were seniors for us last year, they’ll never get that back. So it is a pain, like it’s a gut-wrenching pain that will never go away. And I think this year’s team is on a mission for all Michigan players, that this is for you.” Tuesday was a rivalry victory, yes, and one against a program Michigan had gone 3-8 against during Barnes Arico’s tenure coming into tonight. But it was also one step closer to avenge last season’s “robbing,” and that’s how the Wolverines will remember it. ETHAN SEARS Daily Sports Writer Achilles heel no longer? F ebruary 5, 2015. That was the last time the Michigan women’s basketball team defeated Michigan State. In four straight matchups, Kim Barnes Arico came up empty-handed against the Spartans. That was the case until Tuesday, when the Wolverines routed Michigan State, 74 to 48. “This win is important to our university,” Barnes Arico said. “It’s important to our players in our program. It’s important to our state. I mean, it’s just important.” Part of the job description when coaching at Michigan is how you fair against Michigan State and Ohio State. Up until this season, those matchups were an Achilles heel for Barnes Arico. And for the first time in her career, these rivalry matchups are going the right way for Barnes Arico. At least they appear to be, as the Wolverines have now won their last two matchups against the two schools. Prior to Tuesday, the sixth year coach posted a 3-8 record against her rivals from East Lansing. And her record against the Buckeyes is only slightly better at 3-6, boasting a combined .300 winning percentage. Despite being the program’s all- time winningest coach, rivalry matchups are a glaring weakness for Barnes Arico, as 21 percent of her total career losses have come at the hands of the Spartans and Ohio State. Given the magnitude of these matchups, these loses must sting particularly bad. “This is a game that is circled on the schedule. Every year,” Barnes Arico said. “My first year here, we had five seniors on that team. They taught me what it meant, what this rivalry truly meant. And how important it was to beat State. (The seniors) have been incredible continuing to teach our program what that really means.” But when considering all factors, Barnes Arico’s previous lack of success against rival schools should only be taken into consideration in part. Unfortunately for her, Michigan’s two biggest rivals have consistently been among the best teams in the country, notching seven combined NCAA Tournament appearances in the five seasons of Barnes Arico tenure. The two teams have also each been Big Ten champions in that timespan. And while Barnes Arico’s numbers aren’t by any means good, compared to her predecessors, they aren’t bad. She has three of the Wolverines 12 all-time wins against the Buckeyes. She also now possesses four of Michigan’s five wins over the Spartans since the 2003-04 season. While the past six seasons shouldn’t be forgotten, this is the year to start judging Barnes Arico against her rivals. Her team is currently ranked 16th in the country and has appeared in the rankings every week this season. This is the year Barnes Arico should challenge her rivals. And she has. This year, the Wolverines are 2-1 against the two schools, with their lone loss coming in overtime to then-No. 8 Ohio State on January 7th. Some may say it’s a fluke and point to the 2014-15 season, where Michigan went 2-0 against the Spartans and 1-1 against the Buckeyes. They may then note that the Wolverines proceeded to go 1-4 against Michigan State in the following years. And they might also say that this is the worst Spartan team in years and had multiple injured players on Tuesday. And they’re right – somewhat. Yes, for Michigan to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and become a staple in the national rankings, it has to continue to beat quality teams like Michigan State and Ohio State. They can’t be satisfied with these victories. It has to perform well at the Big Ten Tournament and make its first NCAA tournament in five years. But Thursday showed Barnes Arico and the Wolverines are on the trajectory of figuring out their Achilles heel. CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico has beaten both rivals this year. HUNTER SHARF