The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
Monday, March 5, 2018 — 3B

Abdur-Rahkman gets much-deserved recognition

NEW 
YORK 
CITY, 
NY. 

— 
Muhammad-Ali 
Abdur-

Rahkman wasn’t sweating his 
team’s upcoming matchups with 
powerhouses No. 2 Michigan 
State and No. 8 Purdue.

He was playing Xbox — 

Fortnite, specifically. He had time 
to learn the challenging game and 
win while he was in New York.

You can’t fault the laid-back 

attitude. 
Michigan, 
perhaps 

the hottest team in the country, 
proceeded to pummel both teams 
with relative ease to win back-
to-back Big Ten Tournament 
Championships. The senior — as 
he has always done — was just 
trying to lay low each night.

But with constant buzzing 

in Madison Square Garden and 
rainbow 
confetti 
veiling 
the 

top of their Champion hats two 
days later, the captain could no 
longer fly under the radar — he 
was literally center stage on 
the championship platform at 
midcourt.

Throughout 
four 
Big 
Ten 

Tournament 
games, 
Abdur-

Rahkman led the Wolverines 
with 15 points per game on 
54-percent 
shooting 
and 

averaged 3.5 boards, 2.8 assists 
and a steal each contest. Despite 
winning the championship last 
year, the glitz and glam victory 
felt even sweeter now.

“It’s a little more exciting this 

year because I am the captain so 
I have a bigger hand in it than 
last year,” he said. “You always 
envision (being a leader) until 
you step on campus and actually 
see what’s going on and what you 
have to do to get to this point.”

Abdur-Rahkman’s 
sound 

statline warranted a place on 
the 
All-Tournament 
Team, 

a designation that came as a 
pleasant surprise to him. When he 
heard his name called, he didn’t 
realize what it was for. When he 
did, he smiled and posed for the 
cameras. The 6-foot-4 guard was 
finally noticed.

“I just had that chip on my 

shoulder all season and ever 
since I got on campus,” Abdur-
Rahkman said. “I’m glad to see 
that the hard work is paying 
off. I’m kind of a guy that goes 
unnoticed a lot so when you get 
that recognition it feels good.”

Beyond just his nickname on 

the team — “Rahk” — Abdur-
Rahkman 
was 
Michigan’s 

figurative rock all season.

Whether it was his game-

winning free throws to top 
Maryland, his double-double and 
late triple to conquer Texas or his 
unconscious shooting displays 
at Maryland and Purdue, the 
Wolverines needed him to win.

The 
tournament 
was 
no 

exception.

Abdur-Rahkman squashed the 

Spartans’ comeback attempt with 
a late three that swirled around 
the rim before sinking through. 
When Purdue gave its last-ditch 
effort in the finals, his mid-range 
jumper hit the iron, climbed over 
and in to halt the Boilermakers’ 
momentum. And each game, he 
shut down his opponent on the 
defensive end.

Abdur-Rahkman’s 
confusion 

of being on the All-Tournament 

team really shouldn’t have been 
confusion at all. It was proof of 
how a quiet captain gripped the 
reins of his team and flourished. 
He knows he’s not a vocal 
provocateur like fellow captain 
Moritz Wagner or a rambunctious 
personality like freshman Jordan 
Poole, but his presence is still 
palpable and loud in its own right.

“Man, he’s been the most 

consistent player we’ve had all 
year,” said assistant coach Saddi 
Washington. “But 
it’s not surprising 
because 
if 
you 

look at his career, 
he’s just grown 
a little bit every 
year, every game. 
And this year, he 
had to take the 
responsibility 
of 
turning 
into 

Batman and stop 
being Robin.”

But even Batman would try to 

conceal his true identity. While 
his natural ability was no secret 
to his teammates, his consistent 
play 
perplexed 
defenses 
all 

season. He was, as Washington 
calls him, the “silent assassin.”

“You see how throughout this 

entire year he’s been stepping and 
being big for us, making big time 
shots,” Poole said. “And it hasn’t 
been a fluke, he’s been super 
duper consistent.”

Abdur-Rahkman 
and 

consistency pair together like 
peanut butter and jelly. They have 
essentially acted as synonyms, 
a benchmark for the rest of the 
team to work for.

With 
an 
unusually 
long 

break between the Big Ten 

Tournament 
and the NCAA 
Tournament, 
the Wolverines 
will 
have 
to 

strategize how 
to 
continue 

their hot streak 
into 
March 

Madness 
— 
staying 

consistent, 
if 
you 
will. 

Abdur-Rahkman, 
despite 

garnering 
attention 
and 

accolades, will fill the time 
between now and then the best 
way he knows how — laying low.

“I think I’ll just stick to 

playing Xbox. A little Fortnite 
and Call of Duty.”

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was named to the All-Big Ten Tournament Team.

“It hasn’t been a 
fluke, he’s been 

super duper 
consistent.”

Blanco feels right at home

There’s no place like home.
Tapping her heels together, 

those magical words enabled 
Dorothy to go full circle in her 
journey — from Kansas to Oz, and 
then back to Kansas.

For Michigan utility player 

Tera Blanco, no words could have 
described the situation better as 
she recorded her second home 
run of the season against No. 
8 Baylor at the Judi Garman 
Classic held Friday in Fullerton, 
Calif — a meeting ending with a 
6-3 Wolverine victory.

Watching the ball sail past the 

fence, she made her way across 
the bases towards a familiar 
place.

First base. Second base. Third 

base. Home.

Blanco — a California native 

from Huntington Beach — is no 
stranger to hitting home runs. A 
former All-American, the senior 
had a career total of 26 home 
runs coming into the season. She 
produced a .404 batting season 
her sophomore year.

Despite 
her 
production 

dropping last year, Blanco proved 
against the Bears that she still 
has it with her first at bat of the 
game. Coming up to bat, she 
walked to the home plate she had 
been accustomed to for years.

Growing up less than 30 miles 

from Fullerton, Blanco attended 
the very event 
that she would 
take part in years 
later, 
playing 

for the team she 
found 
herself 

watching 
time 

and time again.

Now she had 

the 
chance 
to 

do what she had 
always dreamed 
of as a child.

Standing at the plate, Blanco 

readied herself to face a Baylor 
pitcher and staff that had only 
allowed more than two runs in a 

game once all season.

An early run was essential for 

instilling confidence in offense 
that 
had 
been 
inconsistent 

throughout the season.

“We give our kids certain, 

‘front-line focus,’ we call it,” said 
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. 
“Front-line focus is a military 
term and to focus on, you know, 
the message, which is to simplify 
the game for them. Most games 
we have a plan where there’s a 
certain pitch to hit, where there’s 
a certain way to stand in the box 
and that’ll change from game to 
game, and really from pitcher to 
pitcher, but they embraced and 
they believed in it and so they 
executed it well.”

Front-line focus was what 

the Wolverines needed to build 
consistency.

Just before Blanco came up 

to bat, junior second baseman 
Faith Canfield led off the game 
by hitting a single. With a runner 
at first, junior outfielder Natalie 
Peters hit a ball toward third base 
that was mishandled by the Bears 
third baseman, allowing the two 
to advance a base.

Standing at home plate with 

her family in the crowd, Blanco 
watched as two pitches flew by 
in front of her. Both were called 
balls. Cocking back her bat for the 
third pitch, she could tell right 
away it wasn’t going to be the 
same as the last two.

And the home run proved it.

Her 
eyes 

trailed the ball 
as it flew past 
left field, and she 
grinned 
while 

making 
her 

way around the 
diamond. 
With 

an 
entourage 

waiting to meet 
her 
at 
home 

plate, and her 
hometown 
and 

family close by, she tapped her 
heels not against each other, but 
against the plate — feeling right 
at home.

SOFTBALL

TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

Front-line focus 

was what the 
Wolverines 

needed.

‘M’ sweeps Judi Garman Invitational

Music blared out of a portable 

speaker in the dugout. The 
Michigan softball team began to 
dance.

With their game against No. 

8 Baylor in a rain delay, the 
25th-ranked Wolverines used 
the break to stay loose and 
have a little fun. That attitude 
paid off as Michigan went 5-0 
in the Judi Garman Classic in 
Fullerton, Calif., this weekend 
to raise its overall record to 13-6.

At 
first, 
the 
Wolverines’ 

offense seemed rife with the 
same inconsistencies that had 
plagued them all season as they 
struggled to climb out of an 
early 2-0 hole against Loyola 
Marymount.

Luckily, Michigan had Tera 

Blanco.

With a runner on third base 

and the Wolverines trailing, 2-1, 
the senior utility player smacked 
a single down the left field line 
to tie the game. Two innings 
later, with runners on first and 
second, she hit a walk-off single 
that gave Michigan the win, 3-2.

Throughout the tournament, 

Blanco 
and 
junior 
second 

baseman Faith Canfield served 
as catalysts for the Wolverines. 
In Thursday’s second game, a 
5-0 win over Charlotte, Blanco 
got the win on the mound while 
Canfield had three RBIs.

Blanco continued her hot 

streak the next morning. She 
stepped up to the plate in the 
first inning with two on and 
nobody out against the Bears, 
then smacked a home run to give 
Michigan a 3-0 lead with one 
swing of the bat. That was when 
the offense flipped a switch. The 
Wolverines put up three more 
runs — including one on a home 
run by Canfield — for a 6-3 win.

“We saw (our upperclassmen) 

step up,” said Michigan coach 
Carol Hutchins. “ … And the 
confidence that it gave our team, 
we carried through the whole 
weekend.”

No. 18 Louisiana Lafayette 

couldn’t quiet Canfield, as her 
home run and two-run single 
provided the Wolverines with 

all the runs they needed in a 3-1 
win.

And on Saturday against Cal 

Poly, the offense truly let loose 
and put up 11 runs in a blowout. 
Senior utility player Aidan Falk 
had three RBIs, including a two-
run home run, while Blanco 
added a two-run double.

“We just try to simplify 

things,” Canfield said. “We 
felt like in Texas (last week) 
we were trying to do a little bit 
too much and so (we) just came 
to play it and have some fun. … 
When we have fun (we) just play 
better.”

But 
Michigan’s 
offensive 

outburst 
didn’t 
just 
come 

from the seasoned veterans. 
Freshman utility player Lou 
Allan came up clutch with a 
pinch-hit two-run single to open 
the scoring in the game against 
the 49ers. And on Saturday, 
sophomore 
catcher 
Abby 

Skvarce hit a game-ending two-
run homer against the Mustangs 
— the first of her career.

“Sometimes they’re trying 

too hard,” Hutchins said, “but 
I liked our groove. I liked our 
confidence and it gave us some, 
they were a little more loose in 
the end.”

The 
usually-dominant 

pitching, meanwhile, did just 
enough to secure wins for the 
Wolverines. 
Freshman 
left-

hander Meghan Beaubien gave 
up runs in all three of her starts 

— against the Lions, Baylor and 
Cal Poly. But she also escaped a 
jam against the Mustangs after 
re-entering with runners on 
second and third and one out 
and took over in the seventh 
inning against the Ragin’Cajuns 
to earn the save.

Blanco picked up two wins. 

One came in a start against 
Charlotte 
— 
in 
which 
she 

pitched five scoreless innings 
with five strikeouts — and 
the other against Louisiana 
Lafayette, where she was tasked 
with keeping the Ragin’ Cajuns 
off the board with runners on 
first and second and Michigan 
clinging to a 3-0 lead.

And though Hutchins used a 

quick hook with her, freshman 
right-hander 
Sarah 
Schaefer 

continued getting looks. She 
allowed only one run across 
three appearances, though she 
recorded four walks with no 
strikeouts.

“Our approach is just to get 

outs and focus on one pitch at a 
time,” Blanco said. “Just do our 
part and be effective.”

For a team that has at times 

seemed tight and tentative, 
the Judi Garman Classic was a 
completely new look. And if this 
weekend was any indication, a 
fun-loving approach could be 
what sparks the Wolverines to 
more wins.

And if it does, they’ll have 

plenty more to dance about.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO

Faith Canfield was a catalyst for Michigan’s offense over the weekend.

A spring break tour that was so 

promising two weeks ago finally 
came to an end Sunday as the 
Wolverines (3-8 overall) lost to 
No. 8 Stanford (11-1) by a score of 
7-4.

The trip had not only offered 

Michigan the chance to finally 
play some meaningful baseball 
after 
a 
long 
offseason, 
but 

also to escape from the winter 
weather. After a quick three 
game series in Florida against 
Army, the Wolverines traveled 
west to California, where they 
participated in the Tony Gwynn 
Legacy tournament, played a 
game against San Diego State 
and then wrapped up with a four 
game series against the Cardinal.

The Californian portion of 

the trip was particularly dismal 
for the Wolverines, with the 3-1 
series loss to Stanford capping off 
a tough start to the season.

Michigan only recorded two 

hits in a 7-0 shutout loss Friday. 
Striking out twelve times and 
stranding all three of their 
baserunners, 
the 
Wolverines 

weren’t able to get anything going 
offensively 
against 
Stanford’s 

starter Tristan Beck.

If you can’t score you can’t 

win. Michigan’s pitching staff 
faced an uphill battle all night 
long. With that being said, the 
Wolverines’ number one, senior 
Alec Rennard, didn’t pitch his 
best game. In five innings of 
work, he let up six hits and had 
four earned runs. Junior reliever 
Troy Miller also saw time, 
allowing two runs on two hits.

Saturday’s early matchup was 

a much closer affair though. 
In fact, Michigan was up 2-0 
heading into the bottom of the 
ninth, 
when 
freshman 
Jeff 

Criswell gave up a walk-off 
three run homer to Stanford’s 
Tim Tawa. The ending wasn’t 
indicative of the Wolverines’ 
overall performance. Sophomore 
lefty Tommy Henry allowed only 

five hits in seven shutout innings.

Coming off the back of the 

demoralizing loss earlier in the 
day, Michigan bounced back to a 
degree in Saturday’s second game. 
Sophomores Karl Kauffman and 
Jack Weisenburger showed just 
what the Wolverine pitching 
staff is capable of, allowing three 
hits combined as they shutout the 
Cardinal in a 5-0 win.

“Tommy 
Henry 
and 
Karl 

Kaufmann pitched really well 
Saturday,” said Michigan coach 
Erik Bakich. The most important 
thing for them is to throw their 
off-speed pitches for strikes. 
When you get in to an extended 
outing, for Tommy and Karl to 
pitch deep into the game they 
need to throw multiple pitches 
for strikes, and that’s exactly 
what they did. Very encouraging 
signs for sure.”

Offensively, 
shortstop 
Jack 

Blomgren had two RBIs on two 
hits, while senior catcher Brock 
Keener scored twice. Michigan 
also took advantage of four 
errors on the part of the Cardinal 
defense.

If Saturday’s second game 

showcased 
the 
best 
of 
the 

Wolverine’s 
pitching 
staff, 

Sunday’s loss accomplished the 
exact 
opposite. 

Excluding a great 
performance by 
freshman 
Ben 

Dragani, 
who 

didn’t allow a hit 
in four innings, 
Michigan’s 
pitching was at 
times mediocre. 
Senior 
Jayce 

Vancena allowed 
five hits and four 
earned runs in just over an inning 
of work. Junior Will Tribucher 
didn’t fare much better, as he 
walked three people and allowed 
a run in relief of Vancena. On 
the other side of Dragani’s 
performance, 
junior 
Jack 

Bredeson also struggled before 
the team turned to freshman 
Angelo Smith to pitch the eighth 

inning.

“Yeah Jayce didn’t have a 

good day,” Bakich said. “It was 
just as simple as that. He’s one of 
our starting pitchers, he’s one of 
our better guys. In order for our 
team to have a good season, we’re 
going to need him to be good. I 
would say today was just more a 
fluke than anything else.”

The 
Wolverines 
out-hit 

Stanford but were unable to turn 
their baserunners into runs for 
the most part. Redshirt junior 
outfielder Miles Lewis led the 
way going 2-3 with 2 RBIs and 
a run. Ako Thomas, Michigan’s 
most prolific hitter in the series, 
also went 2-4 and scored on 
an RBI groundout by junior 
outfielder Jonathan Engelmann.

A series loss to the eighth-

ranked team in the country 
wasn’t necessarily unexpected 
for the relatively young and 
inexperienced 
Wolverines. 

The 
team 
showed 
obvious 

improvement over the course 
of the series, and played much 
better than they had in their first 
four games in sunny California.

Michigan’s start to the season 

is clearly worrisome, but as they 
return to Ann Arbor, optimism is 
still in the air.

“I 
think 

(the 
team) 
is 

encouraged,” 
Bakich said. “We 
were 
a 
couple 

plays away from 
being 
3-1 
this 

weekend instead 
of 1-3.

“We 

challenged 
ourselves. I just 
looked 
at 
the 

schedule numbers, we have the 
number one strength of schedule 
in the country. For a young team 
with a lot of guys who haven’t 
gotten a lot of repetitions, this 
(trip) has been good. I wouldn’t 
be surprised if we got really hot 
because of getting punched in 
the mouth over the past couple of 
weeks.” 

Michigan’s early season struggles 
continue in series against Stanford

CONNOR BRENNAN

Daily Sports Writer

BASEBALL

“We were a 
couple plays 
away from 
being 3-1 ... ”

