8 — Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan falters in final round, finishes ninth
The
Michigan
men’s
golf
team placed ninth at the Aggie
Invitational, in part due to an
uncharacteristic
weekend
of
Texas weather.
“The weather, really all day
(Saturday), it was up there for
one of the two or three worst
weather days I’ve ever had in
fourteen years of coaching,”
said Michigan head coach Chris
Whitten. “It was so cold and
rainy and windy.”
Up against seven top-10 teams
in a field of 14, the Wolverines
shot 36-over (900), 31 shots
behind the champion, No. 1
Oklahoma State.
Leading the way for Michigan
was senior Kyle Mueller, who
placed
fifth
individually
at
3-under par for the weekend.
However, he and his team
had an off round to begin the
tournament.
“It’s a hard golf course to begin
with, and we brought all the layers
that we could,” Whitten said. The
guys were absolutely prepared,
but they were still absolutely
freezing. And when you can’t feel
your hands in golf,
it gets tough.”
Despite
the
unfavorable
conditions
and
suspended
play
due to darkness,
the
Wolverines
rebounded,
posting
the
second-highest
team score in the
second
round
early Sunday morning. The effort
was led by Mueller as well as
senior Ian Kim, who shot 1-under
and even-par, respectively.
“That was just the guys’
complete, sheer determination,”
Whitten said. “(The course) was
still playing almost as tough in
the afternoon as it was in the
morning, and they just got in a
groove and went to work.
“Kyle (Mueller) is just like
a rock every single week. He’s
always going to be in contention,
which is fantastic for our team.
And Ian (Kim)
gave us a really
good
second
round. And the
guys felt good.”
Through the
front
nine
of
the final round,
Michigan
remained
in
contention,
ahead of three
top-25
teams.
The wheels came off on the back
nine, though, which caused the
Wolverines to settle for ninth in
the tournament.
“I think we made a couple too
many mistakes on the final nine
holes of the final round, and I
wish we would have finished a
little bit higher,” Whitten said.
“But the guys fought pretty hard
the whole time.
“We just couldn’t hit enough
good shots, and a couple guys
missed some shorts putts, too.
We had done well. It’s just that
good play needs to continue all
54 holes and until the very end
of the tournament. You can’t just
play two good rounds or two-
and-a-half good rounds.”
One underlying story that
affected Michigan’s lineup this
past weekend was that junior
starter Nick Carlson missed the
first tournament in his career due
to a shoulder injury. Recognizing
that it will take time for the
injury to heal, Whitten continues
to look forward with the players
he currently has.
“The second round of the
tournament was very good, and
I think we can look at what we
did there from top to bottom,”
Whitten said. “And that’s what we
need every round, every week.”
Kim leads Wolverines
at Greensboro tourney
Spurred by freshman Ashley
Kim, the Michigan women’s
golf team came out strong at
the Bryan National Collegiate
in Greensboro, N.C. At the end
of Friday’s opening round, the
Wolverines sat in first with a
team total of 291 — their best
of the spring season.
But the team wasn’t aware
that it led the field. The
tournament had a shotgun
start with 36 continuous holes
on Friday. There was never a
moment to cherish the lead.
Michigan couldn’t keep up
the record pace. The team
carded a 309 later on Friday to
move into 10th. And Saturday,
the Wolverines
battled
harsh
weather
and
shot
a
310
to
finish
in
eighth.
Wake
Forest topped
the
17-team
field with an
888
three-
day
total
—
22
strokes
better
than
Michigan.
Due to her solid play early
on Friday, Kim sat tied for
fourth with an even-par 72
heading into the afternoon.
There, she carded a 74 to drop
into a tie for ninth. Senior
Emily White also excelled
for the Wolverines during the
first two rounds, reaching
24th place with a two-day
total of 149.
Michigan
coach
Jan
Dowling was pleased with
her team’s stellar play —
especially
putting
—
that
helped it lead early on.
“Just phenomenal golf for
our program and a much-
needed confidence booster for
our team as well,” Dowling
said about the opening round.
“To be totally honest, we
haven’t played our best golf in
a couple tournaments. It was
nice for the team to see what
we are capable of.
“The team started to see
some putts fall, which was a
really nice thing.”
Rough playing conditions
made Saturday difficult. The
fairways were drenched from
pouring rain, and heavy winds
worsened the situation.
With the tough conditions,
Kim and White slipped up.
They both tallied scores of 78
on Saturday and finished the
tournament in 12th and 29th,
respectively. The team as a
whole, though, did damage
control and gave up only one
double bogey on the day.
The
tournament
marked
Kim’s
third
consecutive
time
leading
the
team.
The
southern
California
native is used
to
playing
in
pleasant
conditions.
Since the start
of her freshman
year,
she’s
worked
with
the
coaching
staff
on
controlling
her
trajectory, and this helped her
score well over the weekend.
Dowling closely followed her
performance.
“What was really fun for
us to see was her play so well
in difficult conditions. It was
kind of a new experience for
her,” Dowling said. “A top-
12 finish in that field, as a
freshman on that golf course,
is really impressive.”
Sophomore Alisa Snyder,
junior Elodie Van Dievoet
and
sophomore
Hannah
Ghelfi also competed for the
Wolverines and finished 40th,
47th and 63rd, respectively.
“There are certainly a lot
of positives to take away,”
Dowling said. “It was a great
field and a hard golf course.”
WOMEN’S GOLF
Pitching has become backbone
M
uch like the team as a
whole, the Michigan
baseball pitch-
ing staff strug-
gled through
the first 15
games of the
season, post-
ing an earned-
run average of
4.66.
Since then,
the Wolverines
have recovered
in dramatic fashion, both from a
team and pitching perspective. That
ERA has decreased to 2.20 — the
byproduct of younger pitchers
stepping up and bettering the
performances of returning starters
from last year.
Coming into the season, senior
right-handers Alec Rennard and
Jayce Vancena were expected to
anchor the rotation. Alongside
veteran outfielder Myles Lewis and
shortstop Ako Thomas, Rennard
and Vancena were the only players
seated for preseason Media Day.
Following three outings earlier
in the season, over which he had
posted a 3.38 ERA, Rennard was
shut down while recovering from
a prior injury. For a struggling
pitching staff, the loss of their
supposed ace was an unwelcome
blow.
Vancena, on the other hand, has
struggled mightily thus far and has
been demoted from a starting role
to being used intermittently as a
reliever.
The unexpected turn of events
provided the perfect opportunity
for the young guys to step up. And
they have certainly done so.
If you need an example, look no
further than the staff’s weekend
performance against Big Ten foe,
Northwestern.
In game one of Saturday’s
doubleheader, sophomore left-
hander Tommy Henry posted
a career-high nine strikeouts in
six shutout innings of work. His
dominant performance paved the
way for junior reliever Troy Miller
to finish the shutout with four
strikeouts of his own.
The second game saw freshman
Ben Dragani claim his third win of
the season in similar fashion. The
understated left-hander, who has
posted a stellar 1.13 ERA thus far
this season, allowing only one hit
in seven innings. Fellow freshman
Jeff Criswell kept the Wildcats off
the scoreboard, too before junior
left-hander Will Tribucher struck
out two of the final three batters to
close it out.
“Ben’s very talented,” said
Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “He
was the Gatorade Pitcher of the
Year in Wisconsin as a high school
senior. So he came in very skilled
to begin with. It’s one thing to have
multiple pitches that you can throw
for strikes, but what makes him
very good is the competitiveness
with which he pitches and the poise
he has on the mound as well.”
Thanks to the Wolverines’
pitching staff, Northwestern
suffered two shutouts in one
afternoon.
The youthful contingent
of Henry, Dragani, Criswell,
Tribucher and sophomore right-
hander Karl Kauffman have
become the backbone of the team.
More specifically, a streaking team
which has won its last 15 games and
currently sits atop the Big Ten.
“It’s all contagious,” Bakich
said. “Everybody’s feeding off of
each other. The bullpen guys go
in and see what the previous guy
did before him that had success
and follows that blueprint. The
confidence among the whole
pitching staff is obviously extremely
high right now.”
Allan finds her groove
in sweep of Penn State
Lou Allan was waiting for the
changeup.
It was the same pitch from Penn
State pitcher Madison Shaffer that
had fooled the freshman earlier in
Saturday’s game. In fact, it had
fooled Michigan’s entire lineup.
But in the seventh inning, with
senior right-hander Tera Blanco
on second and the score tied 0-0,
Allan knew she wouldn’t be fooled
again.
When the pitch came, she was
ready.
Joining the Wolverines as the
No. 8 prospect in the country
according to FloSoftball, Allan
was expected to make an impact
right away. But things never turn
out quite as expected, and for
Allan, her fate was particularly
crushing: a knee injury just before
the start of the season.
“I was super down the first
couple — the first week,” Allan
said. “ … I had this stupid injury,
and
(Michigan
coach
Carol
Hutchins) just came in there every
day (while) I was doing rehab
during practice and say, ‘You’ve
gotta come back stronger.’ ”
Hutchins’
words
of
encouragement changed Allan’s
mentality. Instead of viewing her
injury as a crushing blow, she saw it
as something that would make her
stronger. She recovered faster than
the doctors expected and seized
the starting designated player job
shortly before conference play.
Still, recovery from injury is a
process, and it took time for Allan
to hit her stride.
“I was kinda behind on games
compared to the rest of the team,”
Allan said. “So for me, it was just
seeing more pitches and getting
back into the swing of things.”
Against
Penn
State,
her
resilience paid off.
On Friday, Allan hit the ball
over the fence in the top of the
fifth for her first career home run.
It extended the Wolverines’ lead
to 6-0 in an eventual 14-2 win.
“Every week, she gets a little
better,” Hutchins said. “ … She
makes adjustments better than
probably any kid I’ve ever seen.
She can make an adjustment in
one pitch.”
Which brings us back to the
changeup.
Sure, the game was scoreless,
but
the
scoreboard
can
be
deceiving.
Michigan
left
11
runners on base through the first
six innings. The Nittany Lions, on
the other hand, had just five total
baserunners. At the heart of the
Wolverines’ woes was that pitch.
Just when it seemed Michigan
was about to break through,
Shaffer would go to her changeup
again. It would drop off the table
as the batter swung right over.
“We were swinging at decent
pitches,” Allan said. “But then she
would throw her changeup and all
of a sudden, we were swinging out
of our shoes.”
Allan stepped up to the plate
in the seventh knowing that
she couldn’t let that pitch defeat
her again. She would come back
stronger.
She took two balls and waited
for the pitch she knew was
coming. She swung. And, when
the Wolverines needed her most,
she delivered.
“All I needed to do is hit it to the
outfield,” Allan said. “Make it hit
the green.”
It did more than that. The
ball sailed over the fence for a
home run to get Michigan on the
board, 2-0. The Wolverines would
eventually win the game, 3-0,
and took Sunday’s contest, 11-1, to
secure the sweep.
Whether
faced
with
a
significant injury or a baffling
changeup, some players would
have succumbed to frustration.
But for Allan, it was just another
challenge to tackle head-on.
SOFTBALL
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Daily Sports Writer
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Freshman left-hander Ben Dragani and his fellow underclassmen have helped lower Michigan’s team ERA to 2.20, making the pitchers the backbone of the team.
CONNOR
BRENNAN
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Michigan men’s golf team struggled to get anything going in the freezing weather at the Aggie Invitational and eventually finished 31 shots back.
After a strong start to the weekend, the Wolverines couldn’t hang on
“When you
can’t feel your
hands in golf, it
gets tough.”
“Just
phenomenal
golf for our
program.”