The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, April 12, 2018 — 7

Wagner, Matthews weigh the NBA

It’s the age-old question The 

Clash famously put to music in 1982. 
Should I stay or should I go?

That’s the predicament in front of 

Moritz Wagner, as he mulls leaving 
Michigan and entering the NBA 
Draft for the second straight season.

As expected, though, the junior 

center was non-committal about his 
plans at the Wolverines’ end-of-year 
banquet on Wednesday.

“It’s definitely a good problem to 

have because I have great options,” 
Wagner said. “This is the second 
year in a row with no major injuries, 
where I can stand here in front of you 
and try to avoid questions about my 
future.”

Wagner tentatively entered the 

Draft a season ago, moving without 
an agent to gain feedback on his 
abilities and stock. He ultimately 
decided against it. Scouts said he 
needed to bolster his defense and 
rebounding. The NBA was simply 
“too risky.”

But the process wasn’t entirely 

futile.

“(I learned) you got to give 

yourself time,” Wagner said. “You 
gotta be selfish, listen to your own 
heart, gut, talk to your people (and) 
take the time you need. Obviously, 

there are deadlines, but at the end of 
the day, listen to yourself.”

Time is even more of the essence 

this time around, however. With a 
late ending to the Wolverines’ season 
following the run to the Final Four, 
Wagner has 10 days to decide and 
meet the league’s April 22 deadline.

“I’m old enough now to measure 

that and be confident in my ability,” 
Wagner said. “It’s more about a 
very, very special place, and that’s 
something that was very important 
to me last year that I wasn’t ready to 
(leave).”

The readiness of Wagner’s game 

is, of course, the other side of the 
equation.

Wagner indeed bettered his 

rebounding, averaging nearly three 
rebounds more than did a season 
ago. He also scored a hair below 15 
points per game and was virtually 
unstoppable down the stretch, 
leading the Wolverines to the 
National Championship Game.

Still, Michigan coach John Beilein 

— although undoubtedly considerate 
of 
his 
players’ 
professional 

aspirations — would rather prospects 
be overcooked than underdone.

“We want you to be over-ready,” 

Beilein said. “…We’re getting the 
final information from the different 
sources. Just make an educated 
decision, and don’t turn back.”

That’s also the approach Beilein 

will take in advising Charles 
Matthews — the redshirt sophomore 
guard 
who’s 
rumored 
to 
be 

pondering the NBA too.

After a sluggish start to the 

Big Ten slate, Matthews excelled 
down the stretch as he continually 
picked his spots more efficiently. 
The turnovers, and more specially 
the walks, dipped. The field-goal 
percentage 
rose. 
That’s 
why, 

suddenly, the Draft is a possibility for 
the Chicago native.

Matthews also has the option of 

simply testing NBA waters. That 
was, of course, the choice of Wagner 
in 2017. Ultimately, it’s a nuisance 
Beilein sees both sides to.

“There’s reasons both ways (to 

enter or not),” Beilein said. “People 
have seen them, people have come to 
our practices. Sometimes, the testing 
could show weaknesses they’re still 
developing on. On the other hand, 
testing could be, ‘Okay, I’m the real 
deal.’ That’s what we’re all trying to 
sort out.”

Will Matthews be one-and-done 

in a Michigan uniform? Will Wagner 
leave for good? One way or another, 
April 22 is decision day for the pair.

“We’ve got a lot of data for 

(them) to look at,” Beilein said. “And 
whatever decision (they) make, it’s 
gonna be a good one.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior forward Moritz Wagner decided to return for his junior season, and now he weighs his future prospects again.

Michigan takes first loss in Big Ten

It’s a match she’ll surely want 

back. 

Yes, many other components 

factored 
into 
the 
Michigan 

women’s tennis team’s loss to 
Northwestern on Sunday, but 
all senior Mira Ruder-Hook will 
remember is the third set she 
couldn’t close out. 

After blanking No. 11 Illinois 

on Saturday, 4-0, the Wolverines 
entered Sunday ready to face No. 
13 Northwestern. The Fighting 
Illini and the Wildcats were the 
only two teams that were likely 
to challenge Michigan for the Big 
Ten Championship, and due to 
Northwestern’s narrow 4-3 victory, 
the title will likely belong to the 
Wildcats.

A lot of different things needed 

to occur for Ruder-Hook to find 
herself in the situation she was in. 
It started with a loss of the doubles 
point.

The Wolverines found a recipe 

for success against Illinois with 
a hot start, clinching the doubles 
point easily with a pair of 6-1 wins 
in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles slots. 
Unfortunately for Michigan, it 
wasn’t able to do the same against 
the Wildcats.

The point came down to the 

No. 2 doubles match. After fending 
off two match points, sophomores 
Chiara Lommer and Lera Patiuk 
couldn’t prolong it any further, as 
Lommer succumbed to an ace up 
the middle, sealing the point for the 
Wildcats.

It wasn’t ideal, but nothing the 

Wolverines couldn’t manage.

Junior 
Brienne 
Minor 
was 

the first off the court in singles 
competition, and she evened the 
score with a 6-3, 7-5 win. 

The score was 1-1. 
As Northwestern’s Inci Oguy 

tried to close out the match, Patiuk 
fended her off for as long as she 
could, but ultimately fell, 6-3, 6-2. 

The score was 2-1. 
An unlikely loss from junior Kate 

Fahey at the No. 1 spot followed 
quickly after. Fahey never seemed 

to settle into the match, and her 
frustration was clear in the 6-4, 6-3 
loss.

The score was 3-1. 
If anyone else lost their match, it 

would all be over. If that added extra 
pressure, it didn’t show. Freshman 
Alyvia Jones captured a two-set 
victory easily, winning, 6-4, 6-3. 

The score was 3-2. 
With the first set under her belt, 

Lommer had a safety net. She was 
down 5-3 in the second set, but 
had no interest in going to a third. 
Winning the next four straight 
games, Lommer took the second set 
— and the match. 

The score was 3-3. 
Ruder-Hook’s teammates had 

done all they could, and then it was 
up to her. 

She fell into an early 5-1 hole, but 

proceeded to win the next six games 
to take the first set. Set point was 
met with dispute — after a long rally, 
Wildcat Alex Chatt hit the ball just 
long. Complaints came from Chatt 
and her coach, but Ruder-Hook 
was already on her way back to the 
bench to prepare for the second set. 

When she returned for the 

second set, Chatt took it easily, 6-3, 
slowing Ruder-Hook’s momentum. 

Instead of a 10-point super 

tiebreaker, Ruder-Hook and Chatt 
had the opportunity to play the 
whole third set out — and it couldn’t 
have been closer. They traded games 
back and forth until it seemed as if a 
tiebreaker was the only option. That 
is until Ruder-Hook was up 5-4 and 

the score was 40-15. 

She hit it just wide, but two 

match points remained. She tried 
to fire a shot down the line and it 
landed in the middle of the net, 
but one match point remained. She 
sailed the ball long, and the score 
was even again. 

“It’s not so much strategy, it’s 

just fighting,” said Michigan coach 
Ronni Bernstein. “Trying to keep 
her calm, because really she knows 
what she has to do there. It’s just 
being there and supporting her.”

By the time the tiebreaker came 

around, it was anyone’s guess who 
would take — or even deserved — 
the match. 

But Chatt took control of the 

situation and maintained a solid 
lead until she closed it out, 7-4. 

The 
score 
was 
4-3, 
and 

Northwestern was on top. 

“You’re not changing anything, 

technique or strategy,” Bernstein 
said. “It’s just being support because 
it’s a very stressful situation for a kid. 
Everything’s on you.

“…We just told her to keep her 

head up and she gave us all she had. 
There’s still a lot to play for.”

The Wolverines are no longer 

perfect in Big Ten play and will 
most likely have to relinquish 
their reign of the Big Ten title. But 
Michigan did prove it could hang 
with the best, and if the Wolverines 
meet the Wildcats in the Big Ten 
Tournament, the team and Ruder-
Hook would want nothing more 
than to change the outcome. 

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Editor

PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Editor

DARBY STIPE/Daily

Senior Mira Ruder-Hook fell just short in her match-deciding matchup.

