6A — Thursday, April 5, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Martin sisters enjoy success on the field but strive for a better game

In observance of March’s 

Women’s History Month, The 
Daily launched a series aimed 
at telling the stories of female 
athletes, coaches and teams 
at the University from the 
perspective of the female sports 
writers on staff. Daily sports 
writer Jodi Yip continued the 
series with this story.

Competing 
on 
the 
same 

collegiate soccer team has been 
an amazing journey for siblings 
Alia and Reilly Martin.

The Martin sisters’ story 

began when Reilly was five 
years old and Alia was three. 
Their mother had just signed 
Reilly up for a league called 
Little Kicker and asked the 
coach 
whether 
her 
other 

daughter 
— 
who 
was 
two 

years younger — could also 
participate. The coach gave a 
response that ultimately lead 
the Martins to where they are 
today.

“If she can stand in line and 

not throw a tantrum, then 
(Alia) is welcome to join.”

Fast forward 16 years. The 

Martin sisters are back at it 
again and competing on the 
same team. This time, however, 
is different. Instead of lining 
up without crying as their sole 
responsibility, they are now 
competing for championships 
and public recognition.

This year, Michigan was 

formally introduced to Alia 
and Reilly Martin — the blood-
related superstars hailing from 
Carmel, Indiana, the sisters 
who bleed maize and blue.

Reilly is currently a junior 

enrolled 
in 
the 
School 
of 

Kinesiology 
majoring 
in 

psychology. 
The 
list 
of 

accolades is extensive. She’s 
been awarded Big Ten All-
Freshman Team (2015), All-Big 
Ten second team (2016), All-Big 
Ten third team (2017) honors.

Reilly’s counterpart, Alia, is 

a freshman in LSA. When Alia 

was in high school, she was 
ranked No. 36 overall and the 
No. 14 midfielder in the Class 
of 2017 by Top Drawer Soccer. 
She was also named Gatorade 
Indiana Girls Soccer Player of 
the Year in 2015.

In high school, the Martins 

did not give much thought 
about playing on the same 
collegiate team. When Alia 
was being scouted by colleges, 
Reilly was already committed 
to Michigan. Though family 
was a big factor in her decision, 
Alia did not allow her sister’s 
soccer career to determine 
where she would play for the 
next four years.

“You don’t only look at what 

other people are influencing 
you to do,” said Alia. “You look 
at what you want to do as well. 
This school, in general, is a great 
school. Nobody wants to think 
this way but if you were to get 

injured, where would you still 
want to be if you couldn’t play?”

It is not a shocker that both 

sisters chose the Wolverines. 
Michigan’s academic reputation 
coupled with the competitive 
atmosphere and the overall 
feel of the women’s soccer 
team convinced both Reilly and 
Alia that Wolverines were the 
perfect match.

When 
asked 
about 
their 

experience of going to the same 
school, Alia laughed about their 
lack of contact during a regular 
school day.

“We have this joke that we 

don’t see each other so much,” 
Alia said. “We train at different 
places. (Reilly) would train as a 
forward and I would train as a 
defender. We would be split up 
with two different coaches. We 
really would not see each other 
too frequently in the day.”

But when it comes to playing 

together on the same field, their 
chemistry is unmatchable.

“We have this connection on 

the field,” Alia said. “I would 
always look for her as she would 
with me. I am very familiar 
with her style, and we play to 
those strengths because we are 
familiar with each other.”

Occasionally, there are times 

of 
miscommunication 
and 

frustration on the field, but 
there is no “bad blood” mixed in 
the Martin family line. Instead 
of 
competing 
against 
each 

other, the sisters are constantly 
pushing each other to improve 
together.

“It’s always the next thing, 

what can we do from here,” 
Reilly 
said. 
“We’ve 
really 

grown to be the best we can be.”

***
While the Martin sisters 

have grown as individuals and 
improved 
athletically, 
they 

believe the women’s soccer 
team still has a long way to go.

The 
program 
has 
been 

running since 1994, but the 
average attendance of a home 
game plateaus at around 860. 
On the other hand, the men’s 
soccer team regularly welcomes 
large crowds including a sellout 
crowd of 2,637 at its matchup 
with Michigan State.

It is a common subconscious 

decision for people to root for 
men’s 
sports 
over 
women’s 

sports. 
Though 
Michigan 

provides 
student 
athletes 

with the same opportunities 
— 
including 
weight 
rooms, 

training rooms and athletic 
staff members — the women’s 
teams are underrepresented in 
media and public support.

“It gets frustrating,” Reilly 

said. “You do what you can on 
the field, you put in the work 
and you hope to get recognized 

for whatever you are doing.

“You put in as much time 

as the men’s team, you train 
as hard and you focus just as 
much.”

The 
Martin 
sisters 
have 

seen first-hand the lack of 
recognition 
female 
athletes 

receive. But Reilly is passionate 
about change through self-
improvement.

“One of my big things is 

that you don’t settle to be 
disrespected if someone treats 
you differently because you 
are a woman athlete,” Reilly 
said. “As a team, we do a good 
job to push ourselves to expect 
the same standards as a male 
player. You need to focus on 
what is in your control.”

Both the Martins were highly 

recruited in high school to play 
at prestigious colleges, but 
the sisters are still relatively 
unknown, proving that the 
perception of women’s sports 
as equal to men’s is a work in 
progress.

But there seems to be a 

glimmer of hope for Wolverine 
sports. 
Earlier 
this 
month, 

Jennifer Klein was named the 
new head coach of the women’s 
soccer program replacing Greg 
Ryan. A new female voice 
can bring about the change 
in leadership that Michigan 
soccer has so greatly sought 
after.

“The new transition has to 

do with taking what people 
say into consideration and not 
blowing it off,” Reilly said. 
“What Michigan stands for is 
respecting women’s athletes 
and voices.”

It 
will 
be 
a 
slow 
and 

gradual process to change the 
perception of women in sports 
and recognize they possess the 
same competition and athletic 
capabilities as men in sports.

But recognized or not, the 

Martins’ list of accomplishments 
keeps growing. Gender equality 
in sports has yet to come, but 
hopefully the Martin sisters will 
be around the experience it.

ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily

Junior forward Reilly Martin and her sister, Alia, have enjoyed success on the field in their time at Michigan, but they hope for a better future in women’s sports.

JODI YIP

Daily Sports Writer

Set for Frozen Four, Wolverines look back at January turning point

It all started with Notre 

Dame.

According to Mel Pearson, 

the first time the the Michigan 
hockey 
team’s 
spark 
really 

ignited was the first weekend 
in January — the weekend of 
its first series against the then 
top-ranked Fighting Irish.

On 
paper, 
it 
may 
not 

have looked like much. The 
Wolverines lost both of those 
games, 2-1. But the headlines 
that read a Fighting Irish 
“sweep” didn’t necessarily tell 
the full story of the weekend. 
Michigan knew it had still done 
something big.

“You 
know, 
Notre 
Dame 

had been one or two all year,” 
Pearson said Wednesday at a 
press conference in St. Paul, 
Minn. “And I think that series, 
you saw some things that our 
coaches, okay, maybe we have 
a chance. If we play like we did 
this weekend, we got a chance 
to win every game we play.”

That message clearly seemed 

to 
stick. 
The 
Wolverines 

went on to win 10 of their 
remaining 14 regular season 
games throughout January and 
February. That included sweeps 
of then-No. 9 Minnesota, then-
No. 12 Penn State, and the 
largest of them all — a 4-2, 1-0 
sweep of the still-No.1 Fighting 
Irish.

It all started with Notre 

Dame, and for Michigan, the 
final destination it dreamed of 
— the Frozen Four — will see 
its growth come full circle. For 
the fifth time this season, the 
Wolverines (22-14-3) will face 
off against the Fighting Irish 
(27-9-2), this time at the Xcel 
Energy Center in St. Paul on the 
biggest stage of the season.

Given the teams’ familiarity, 

they know the most threatening 
aspects of their opponents’ 
game.

For Notre Dame, look no 

further 
than 
the 
blueline. 

The Fighting Irish give up 
a miniscule 2.19 goals per 

game, which can be credited 
to the combination of a high-
functioning defensive zone and 
absurd goaltending.

“I 
think 
their 
defensive 

zone is incredible,” said senior 
forward Tony Calderone. “They 
make it really hard for us to get 
to the middle of the ice. And 
as long as we can get there, 
sacrifice and get some shots on 
net, get some rebounds, I think 
we’ll be okay.”

Notre 
Dame’s 
goaltender 

— Cale Morris — is one of 
the 
most 
highly-acclaimed 

players in collegiate hockey. 
This season, the sophomore 
was recognized as Big Ten 
Player and Goaltender of the 
Year, a Hobey Baker Finalist 
and was named to the All-Big 
Ten First Team. Morris’ .945 
save percentage has greatly 

helped the Fighting Irish, who 
don’t run a particularly flashy 
offense. 

Almost 
in 
polarity, 
one 

of the Wolverines’ greatest 
strengths lies in 
the offense. Led 
by 
Calderone 

and his junior 
linemate Cooper 
Marody, 
the 

offensive 
unit 

averages 
3.41 

goals per game. 
When 
just 

looking at the 
postseason, 
this 
number 

spikes, as three out of four 
of Michigan’s wins after the 
regular season have seen six or 
more pucks in the net.

But 
again, 
these 
things 

should not come as a surprise 

to either team. And with 
the record split at 2-2, the 
outcome will likely come down 
to whether the Wolverines 
can successfully crack Notre 

Dame’s defense 
like 
they 

did 
during 

February’s 
series.

This 

familiarity 
is 

not 
generally 

a 
common 

sentiment 
this 

late 
in 
the 

season. 
Last 

year, 
not 
a 

single Big Ten team was in the 
Frozen Four. Now, three of the 
four teams left standing are 
members of the conference.

And Michigan was quick 

to acknowledge not only how 

big of a feat it is for the Big 
Ten to claim these spots, but 
how beneficial it has been to 
compete all season in a strong 
conference.

“I think it’s huge for the 

league,” Calderone said. “I have 
been here for four years. The Big 
Ten wasn’t nearly as good my 
first three. It’s been incredible 
seeing the improvement over 
the years.

“And I think it’s great for 

us, too, playing in the Big Ten 
because it’s prepared us. We’ve 
played these teams so many 
times and I think it’s great. It’s 
really exciting to see it move 
forward.”

Leaving the January series 

against 
Notre 
Dame, 
the 

Wolverines were under .500. 
It’s safe to say at that point, 
the Frozen Four, let alone 

the NCAA Tournament was 
nowhere in sight. But that 
weekend, Michigan was able 
to play up to the caliber of the 
Fighting Irish, which catalyzed 
a transition for the Wolverines. 
As the season moved forward, 
Michigan became a team that 
could hang with the best. Now, 
the Wolverines are one of the 
best. 

“That weekend really showed 

us something,” Pearson said. 
“And we went into Minnesota 
and had a good weekend. Penn 
State came to Yost. We swept 
them. At that point, things 
started to come together.”

And 
Michigan 
will 
see 

Thursday if all the tweaks it 
has made over the past three 
months are enough to get past 
Notre Dame — just one more 
time.

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer

First series against Notre Dame showed the potential of what Michigan was capable of accomplishing in the future

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Senior forward Tony Calderone says he believes the Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan hockey teams’ participation in the Frozen Four is “huge” for the Big Ten and an incredible improvement. 

“You know, 
Notre Dame 

had been one or 

two all year.”

