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.”