The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 — 7

W

ith less than two 
minutes left in 
the game, fresh-
man forward 
Naz Hillmon 
notched a 
crucial layup 
to give the 
Michigan 
women’s bas-
ketball team 
hope.
The 
bucket cut 
the Wolver-
ines’ deficit 
against No. 23 Michigan State 
to just four points. That defi-
cit had reached as high as 15 
in the third quarter, and thus 
Michigan’s comeback seemed 
destined for 
completion.
The Wolver-
ines, though, 
couldn’t fin-
ish the job and 
missed out on 
what would 
have been a 
huge win — for 
a variety of rea-
sons.
For starters, 
it was a rivalry game — and 
that rivalry has been lopsided. 
Entering Sunday’s contest, the 
Spartans led the all-time battle 
68-19 and were 9-4 since Mich-
igan hired coach Kim Barnes 
Arico. Thus, winning the close 
game would have given the 
Wolverines some much-needed 
momentum for the rivalry.
Instead, Barnes Arico and 
Michigan have now lost five of 
the last six meetings.
Additionally, Big Ten play 
has troubled the Wolverines so 
far, so a win on Sunday would 
have been helpful. But now, 
Michigan stands 10th in the 
conference with a 3-6 record 
and is no longer undefeated at 
home. The team has yet to pick 
up a conference victory on the 
road and has now lost four out 
of its last five games.
Midway through the open-

ing quarter, senior guard 
Nicole Munger collided with 
defenders while driving 
hard to the basket. She went 
down immediately, had to be 
helped off the court and never 
returned.
“I mean, right when it hap-
pened we knew it was gonna be 
something that would take her 
out of the game completely,” 
said sophomore forward Hai-
ley Brown. “Munger is a very 
tough player, so when she goes 
down she’s not gonna come 
back in the game. But, when we 
were huddling we were saying, 
you know, ‘We gotta bounce 
back from this, like regroup 
and do this for Munger.’ She’s 
one of our hustlers.”
Munger’s 
departure shook 
the Wolver-
ines, as they 
soon gave up a 
13-2 run. They 
did regroup 
and fight back 
with sparks of 
promising play, 
but ultimately 
missed out on 
what would 
have been a momentous victory 

and a huge statement on behalf 
of their fallen teammate.
A win would have been huge 
for Brown, too. In the last 
rivalry meeting, in East Lan-
sing, she experienced a season-
ending lower left leg injury and 
her team lost the game.
This time around, she got 
off to a hot start by grabbing 
multiple rebounds and sink-
ing shots early on. She looked 
set to make an extra impact to 
compensate for what happened 
last season. But with the loss, 
she too missed out.
“It’s a rivalry game and we 
had them at home, so it’s a lit-
tle bit different, but of course 
I was fired up to play,” Brown 
said. “I feel like I missed out 
a little bit last 
season with 
that. But it was 
a great atmo-
sphere to play, 
it’s just we fell 
short on the out-
come.”
When asked 
about positive 
takeaways, 
Brown was for-
ward-looking.
“We play them again,” 

Brown said. “So, I mean, that’s 
the only positive we have. 
We’ll go back and regroup as 
a team, get some couple wins 
on our belt and then we’ll play 
them again on their home 
court.”
Prior to the game, ESPN’s 
Charlie Creme projected 
Michigan as a bubble team for 
the NCAA Tournament. A win 
against a ranked Michigan 
State team would have sharp-
ened the Wolverines’ resume 
— giving them a quality victory 
in a season that’s more than 
halfway through.
Now, Michigan’s tourna-
ment hopes have suffered yet 
another deafening blow. Now, 
the Wolverines must think 
about adjust-
ing if Munger’s 
injury is seri-
ous.
And now, 
they’ll think 
about what 
could have been 
if they’d won 
this game.

Kumar can 

be reached 

at kumarrp@umich.edu.

This one could have been huge

ROHAN
KUMAR

Michigan starts year 
by beating Minnesota

Cameron Bock took a deep 
breath as he dangled from the 
parallel bars.
The sophomore rolled his 
feet forward and remained 
calm as he swung his body 
above 
the 
wooden 
beams. 
His teammates on the No. 3 
Michigan men’s gymnastics 
team 
went 
wild 
as 
he 
dismounted, flipping through 
the air with his legs held at a 
seamless 90-degree angle in 
front of his body. The board 
flashed 14.700, earning Bock 
the 
second-highest 
parallel 
bar score in the country this 
season.
Bock’s performance aided 
the Wolverines Saturday in 
their 413.150-408.300 defeat of 
powerhouse No. 7 Minnesota.
When asked if the unfamiliar 
matchup — Michigan’s first 
competition 
against 
the 
Golden 
Gophers in 12 
years — added 
any 
stress, 
Michigan coach 
Kurt 
Golder 
said 
that 
he 
thought 
it 
was 
more 
so 
an 
exciting 
experience for 
the athletes.
“None of the guys have 
ever been there,” Golder said. 
“They are used to Ohio State 
and Illinois. I think it was 
something they were looking 
forward to.”
The Wolverines’ triumph 
landed them the title of being 
the 
second 
highest-scoring 
team in the Big Ten.
Michigan 
was 
especially 
forceful on the vault in the final 
rotation of the afternoon, with 
sophomore Emyre Cole rating 
14.850 alongside sophomore 

Anthony McCallum’s 14.750.
“It was great sticking my 
floor dismount,” Cole said. 
“I didn’t have a lot of events 
today, so I could really focus 
on the three (events), which 
helped my mental state.”
Cole shined all afternoon, 
scoring 13.250 on the pommel 
horse and 14.300 on the floor. 
After gliding into a mid-air 
body rotation, his body went to 
the floor. Cole’s handstand fell 
forward as he rolled upwards 
to finish the floor routine with 
an elegant flip. He left the mat 
and was greeted by excited 
teammates 
that 
cheered 
throughout his routine.
“It feels like the team is your 
anchor in that moment,” Cole 
said. “Them being that anchor 
is really amazing because you 
just want to run back there and 
get all that validation.”
Despite ripping his grip 
before his routine on the 
still rings, sophomore Matt 
Whitaker 
defied 
gravity 
with an in-air 
middle 
split 
that progressed 
into a balanced 
handstand. He 
dismounted 
with a flip and a 
perfect landing.
“I had to go 
behind the last 
guy and redo 
my set because of the grip 
problem,” Whittaker said. “To 
handle the adversity and come 
out strong was great.”
This is the first year where 
performance in dual meets 
determines who competes in 
the championship. The meet 
against Minnesota was one 
with enormous implications, 
as the Wolverines opened up 
with a big win.
“The next meet should be 
easy compared to this,” Golder 
said. “Because it is at home 
against Ohio State.”

LILY ALEXANDER
For the Daily

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico’s team squandered a key opportunity to bolster its resume against Michigan State.

We play them 
again. That’s the 
only positive we 
have.

When (Munger) 
goes down, she’s 
not gonna come 
back.

It feels like the 
team is your 
anchor in that 
moment.

Freshmen provide glimpse of future

When Andrew Fenty and 
Patrick Maloney inked their 
letters of intent to play tennis 
for 
Michigan 
coach 
Adam 
Steinberg, the two freshmen 
had all the boxes checked. That 
is, except for one.
Fenty — who enters the season 
as the No. 4 youth player in the 
nation — has put his skills to the 
test both at home and abroad, 
competing in the U.S. Open, 
Roland Garros, Wimbledon and 
Australian Open junior draws 
last year. Maloney, meanwhile, 
took home last year’s New 
York State singles title, earning 
All-American honors in the 
process. With a combined 19-5 
record against other five-star 
recruits in the 2018 cycle, the 
duo 
headlines 
the 
NCAA’s 
fifth-ranked class. At an initial 
glance, it’s tough to find a flaw 
in the talented tandem’s paths 
to Ann Arbor.
The missing element? Team-
style tennis.
“It’s no longer 
about 
me, 
it’s 
about the team,” 
Fenty 
said. 
“I 
have to push the 
guy next to me. 
And that’s what 
(Maloney and I) 
do — that’s why 
we’re 
different 
than 
other 
(freshmen).”
After a long fall of individual 
competition, the 24th-ranked 
Wolverines entered the team 
season with their sights sets 
on Saturday’s ITA Kick-Off. 
Thanks to last year’s Sweet 
Sixteen 
run 
— 
Michigan’s 
first since 2008 — the team 
earned the right to host the 
tournament for the first time 
in program history, drawing 
national attention to Fenty and 
Maloney’s home debut.
The two new kids on the 
block didn’t disappoint.
Fenty and Maloney showed 
flashes of maturity beyond their 
years Saturday, adding to their 
cumulative 4-1 record in the 
process. Given the program’s 

heavy 
emphasis 
on 
energy 
and 
leadership, 
Fenty 
and 
Maloney’s dominant team start 
is more than just impressive — 
it’s a sign that they can become 
program cornerstones.
After falling short in a pair of 
doubles tiebreakers against No. 
22 Alabama last weekend, Fenty 
and Maloney spearheaded the 
team’s significant improvement 
in its 4-1 win over North 
Carolina 
State. 
Fenty 
and 
sophomore 
Mattias Siimar 
cruised 
to 
a 
6-1 
victory, 
while Maloney 
and 
senior 
Myles 
Schalet 
captured a 6-2 
win to grab the 
morning’s first 
point 
at 
the 
Varsity Tennis 
Center, 
where 
the Wolverines boast a 37-3 
record since 2016.
Fenty and Maloney’s singles 
prowess, coupled with their 
willingness to adapt, have made 
it easy for Steinberg to welcome 
them into the doubles fold 
immediately.
On the singles court, the 
tandem’s debut nearly ignited 
a 
comeback 
in 
Tuscaloosa 
when Fenty shocked Patrick 
Kaukovalta — the country’s 
No. 41 player — 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 
while Maloney held on against 
Alexey Nesterov for a gripping 
7-6, 6-4 win. Despite building 
upon those performances by 
securing their respective first 
sets 
against 
the 
Wolfpack 

on Saturday, neither of their 
would-be 
singles 
victories 
counted once Michigan earned 
the clinching point.
With two strong outings 
now in the books, Steinberg is 
starting to see the resemblance 
between his newcomers and 
last year’s graduating class.
“(Fenty and Maloney) are 
unbelievable,” Steinberg said. 
“They’ve become a lot more 
aggressive at this level. They’re 
such great competitors and 
they’re loving every minute of 
it. Besides being good players, 
they’re experienced and they 
know pressure. The two of them 
have been a spark for our team 
for sure. It’s always tough when 
you lose four seniors and bring 
in new guys hoping they’ll fit in 
well, but they’re doing great.”
From 
the 
rookies’ 
perspective, they’re not here to 
devote their freshmen seasons 
to learning the ropes — rather, 
they’ve put in the work to help 
propel this year’s group to its 
full potential.
“We have to grow up fast,” 
Fenty said. “I don’t think of 
myself as ‘the freshman’ on 
the team, I think of myself as 
a leader, and I know (Maloney) 
does too. We try to push the 
guys and do our job.”
If 
Fenty 
and 
Maloney 
continue to do their jobs at 
this level, last year’s Sweet 
Sixteen appearance won’t be a 
fluke. And, after watching his 
youngsters prosper in their first 
two team matches, it’s safe to 
say Steinberg can check off that 
final box.

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily
Freshman Andrew Fenty helped spearhead improvement for Michigan doubles.

(Andrew 
Fenty and Pat 
Maloney) are 
unbelievable.

