The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 — 7

Bench sparks Michigan

There are few things that 
can be the difference between 
winning or losing a basketball 
game. The Michigan women’s 
basketball team has one of 
them down: bench play.
“The 
way 
that 
they’ve 
been able to play has been 
the difference between us 
being successful, and early on 
in league play, us not being 
successful,” 
said 
Michigan 
head coach Kim Barnes Arico 
after the team’s 67-61 win over 
Nebraska on Thursday.
The Wolverines’ second unit 
has come through time and 
time again to help them win 
games late. Freshman forward 
Naz Hillmon, who is the 
team’s leading 
scorer 
with 
13.2 
points 
per game, has 
routinely been 
Michigan’s 
go-to 
scoring 
option late in 
contests, 
and 
junior forward 
Kayla Robbins 
continues to be 
a 
rebounding 
and defensive force. Junior 
guard 
Akienreh 
Johnson 
has also begun to emerge, 
highlighted by her standout 
performance against Nebraska 
in which she tallied 14 points 
and six steals.
 In Sunday’s win against 
Penn 
State, 
Barnes 
Arico 
turned to her bench once 
again. The team’s second unit 
would need to produce in 
the absence freshman point 
guard Amy Dilk and with 
senior forwards Hallie Thome 
and Nicole Munger already 
limited with injuries of their 
own. Freshman forward Emily 
Kiser, as well as freshman 
guards Danielle Rauch and 
Ariel 
Young, 
played 
solid 
defense during a late stretch 
at the end of the first half to 
help Michigan hold onto a 
slim one-point lead. Hillmon 
was her usual dominant self 

with a 19-point performance 
off the pine and Robbins 
dominated the glass with eight 
rebounds, including three on 
the offensive end.
On a night where just two 
Wolverines scored in double 
figures and senior forward 
Hallie Thome failed to register 
a field goal, the Wolverine 
bench was able to hold the 
Lady Lions in check and make 
enough plays to help keep its 
winning streak intact.
With Thome suffering from 
a lingering back injury and 
Dilk’s status uncertain after 
sustaining an injury against 
Nebraska, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
bench production has been 
more important than ever 
during its recent four-game 
surge. That’s especially so 
considering 
that the team 
is 
currently 
fighting 
for 
its 
NCAA 
Tournament 
life, 
currently 
projected as one 
of the first four 
teams to be left 
out, 
according 
to 
ESPN’s 
Charlie Creme. 
With little margin for error, 
the bench hasn’t always been 
perfect, but they’ve made the 
plays Michigan has needed to 
pull out four consecutive close 
wins. 
“Thank god for the depth,” 
Barnes Arico said. “Because if 
we didn’t have the depth that 
we did coming into the year 
we’d be in a predicament right 
now.”
While Michigan’s ultimate 
goal lies in March, it is 
currently focused on what it 
can accomplish in the month 
of February. Despite a slew 
of injuries, the team has 
continued to fight and take the 
season one game at a time, in a 
large part because its reserves 
have stepped up. The result? 
The Wolverines’ best stretch 
of the season thus far.
“February’s 
our 
month,” 
Akienreh Johnson said.

Wolverines perform well over weekend meets

Two weeks ago at Boston 
University, 
Chase 
Barnett 
and Ben Hill nearly broke 
four minutes in the mile. 
This weekend, they fell short 
again — only this time, the 
experienced distance runners 
didn’t come quite as close, 
with Barnett falling behind 
late to finish 4:05.14 and Hill 
at 4:08.26.
Barnett 
and 
Hill 
were 
among 
the 
distance 
runners 
of 
the 
Michigan 
men’s 
track 
and field team 
who 
traveled 
to Ames, Iowa 
for 
the 
Iowa 
State 
Classic, 
while 
the 
throwers, 
jumpers 
and 
sprinters went to Nashville, 
Tenn. for Vanderbilt’s Music 
City Challenge. While the 
Wolverines 
failed 
to 
meet 
their full potential in the mile, 
there were a host of strong 
performances and personal-
best records in both of the 
non-scoring meets to build 

off of as the team prepares for 
the upcoming Big Ten Indoor 
Championships, which will be 
hosted in Ann Arbor.
“We got done what we 
wanted to get done there in 
Nashville,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach Jerry Clayton. “And 
coach 
(Kevin) 
Sullivan’s 
group had some really good 
races there at Iowa State, so I 
thought that we’re where we 
need to be right now. But we 
still got to step it up at the Big 
Ten.”
Sophomore 
Jack 
Aho 
impressed 
on 
Friday at Iowa 
State 
as 
he 
competed 
in 
the 5000-meter 
race 
for 
the 
first time this 
season, coming 
in just short of 
the 
14-minute 
threshold at 14:02.28. Aho 
got off to a blazing start, but 
failed to keep pace with the 
leading pack the rest of the 
way. Finishing in 12th place, 
his performance earned him 
the 11th-best time in Michigan 
history in the event.
Freshman Will Landowne 
hung around in the middle of 

his heat in the 3000-meter 
race, catching up to finish 
in third place and earning a 
personal-best time of 8:17.14.
Two 
other 
Wolverines 
gained 
new 
personal-best 
times as well in the same 
event. 
Sophomores 
Lewis 
Tate and Christian Hubaker 
finished at 8:21.92 and 8:21.00, 
respectively.
While 
both 
meets 
were 
non-scoring, several Michigan 
athletes placed well in their 
events 
at 
the 
Music 
City 
Challenge. 
The 
throwers 
in 
particular 
left their mark 
on 
the 
final 
scoresheet, and 
very nearly in 
their 
school’s 
record 
books, 
against 
strong 
competition. 
Fifth-year senior Josh Ellis 
had the best performance of 
his season in the weight throw, 
launching the 35-pound ball 
23.56 meters, a throw that 
pushed him to second in the 
country in the weight throw. 
He finished second behind 
former Wolverine teammate 
Grant 
Cartwright. 
Senior 

Andrew 
Liskowitz 
finished 
third in shot put with a 19.62 
meter throw that was just two 
centimeters short of breaking 
his own indoor school record 
that he set in January.
“Of course Joe and Andrew 
have been pretty consistent 
all year,” Clayton said. “But 
for them to improve on their 
performances and then to do 
it under very good competition 
— that probably was the best 
weight competition of the 
weekend 
of 
anywhere 
in 
the nation, and 
the shot wasn’t 
far behind. And 
that’s why we 
wanted to get 
them there to 
get them that 
opportunity 
to go against 
those type of 
people.”
Hurdlers Roland Amarteifio 
and Sierra Hendrix-Williams 
were a potent duo in the 
60-meter hurdles. Both beat 
their own personal records 
in the finals, with respective 
times 
of 
7.91 
and 
7.97. 
Amarteifio finished in second 
— .18 seconds short of first 
place — and Hendrix-Williams 
came in fourth.
“I thought the hurdler races 
went really well,” Clayton said. 
“Those guys really dropped 
their 
(personal 
record) 
… 
really a lot of positive things 
there.”
The two weekend meets 
were the last major ones of 
the regular season, before 
Michigan 
brings 
a 
small 
squad to Notre Dame next 
week before the Big Ten 
Championships on Feb. 22-23. 
Most of the team will have 
a 
chance 
to 
recover, 
and 
the coaches will focus on 
finalizing their strategy for 
the conference championship 
and making sure their athletes 
are ready.
“It’s basically going back, 
tweaking things a little bit this 
week,” Clayton said. “And then 
next week it’s time to come out 
and showtime after that.”

Sophomores ready to lead in 2019

Last season was baptism by fire 
for the freshmen of the Michigan 
baseball team.
After the 2017 season concluded, 
seven of the Wolverines signed 
MLB contracts, a figure that led the 
nation, and thus created a void in 
the lineup. This year’s sophomore 
class was forced into action last 
season and is looking to build on 
that experience.
“The storyline of this team, 
I think, is guys who have been 
patient in our program that have 
waited their turn, so to speak,” 
said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. 
“I don’t envision a whole lot of 
newcomers emerging on the scene 
like we had last year. Last year the 
situation presented itself. We led 
the nation in draft picks the year 
before, after the 2017 season. We 
had 11 guys drafted, seven of them 
were juniors, all seven juniors 
signed. So the opportunity was 
there for freshmen to earn starting 
jobs.”
Last 
season, 
sophomore 
outfielders Jesse Franklin and 
Jordan Nwogu were two of the 
top batters in the lineup. Franklin 
batted .327 with a team-leading 47 
RBIs, while Nwogu was third in 
batting average at .349. Franklin 
had the best fielding percentage 
on the team at .991 (minimum 
50 attempts) last season. The 
Wolverines 
will 
need 
that 

production to return along with 
their stellar defense in order to win 
the Big Ten for the first time since 
2008.
“I see just a little bit of an older 
team, so I see a group of kids who’ve 
had another birthday, who’ve 
gotten stronger, who’ve become 
more physical,” Bakich said. “So I 
would like to think we’re capable 
of hitting for more power this year.”
Bakich clearly expects more 
from all of his returning players. 
The amount of playing time for last 
season’s freshman was unusual, 
not only for the program, but 
nationally.
“Looking around the field, those 
spots just aren’t quite as available 
because we do have some returning 
starters back. But every position is 
rented in our program,” Bakich 
said. “Just because they started 
there last year doesn’t mean they’re 
entitled to the position this year. 
They have to go out there and earn 
it again, and a lot of them have.”
The pair of outfielders may have 
been solid, but Michigan struggled 
with consistency all season. They 
started out 2-10 before rattling 
off 20 consecutive wins. The 
Wolverines then dropped five of 
their last six regular-season games 
before bowing out in the second 
round of the Big Ten Tournament.
On paper, the expectations are 
high because of the invaluable 
experience gained in the prior 
season. But, a lot can go wrong 
in a season, and the pillars of 

this program are its defense and 
pitching. Sophomore pitchers Jeff 
Criswell and Angelo Smith are 
expected to contribute more as 
starters this year after pitching in 
relief last year. This is partially due 
to the fact that sophomore pitcher 
Ben Dragani is out for the year 
after having Tommy John surgery. 
Dragani was one of Michigan’s best 
on the mound last season.
“Angelo Smith had a great ERA 
last year and pitched just in some 
relief roles and some matchup 
roles,” Bakich said. “He was a 
matchup left-hander pitching in 
some short relief appearances, but 
he’s a guy that could be pitching at 
the end of games for us because he’s 
a year better.
“A guy like Jeff Criswell, who 
pitched for us in relief last year, he’s 
been working as a starter this fall 
and preseason, he looks very good. 
He’s got one of the best arms on 
the team. He throws in the mid to 
upper 90s, he’s got a lightning bolt 
for an arm and he’s looking very 
good.”
After an up and down 2018 
season, 
the 
Wolverines 
seem 
poised for success in 2019 thanks 
to the return of a strong sophomore 
class.
“Everything feels right, in terms 
of what type of group this could 
be,” Bakich said. “It feels like a 
special group, so we’ll have to make 
sure we stay at the front end of any 
potential threats and keep these 
guys moving in the right direction.”

AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Outfielder Jordan Nwogu was one of the best hitters for the Michigan baseball team last season, batting .349.

For ‘M,’ an enchanted performance

There was magic in the air.
The Crisler Center was full 
of magic Sunday, in part to the 
“enchanted” 
theme 
during 
the No. 10 Michigan women’s 
gymnastics 
team’s 
(4-0 
Big 
Ten, 8-2 overall) meet against 
Iowa (1-3 Big Ten, 2-5 overall), 
but also in part to the dazzling 
performance and heroic efforts of 
the Wolverines.
Along with the Disney sing-a-
longs and dance contests, there 
were plenty of impressive flips 
and feats to entertain the crowd.
Michigan defeated Iowa with 
a season-high score of 197.350 
to 195.350. Michigan was led by 
freshman Natalie Wojcik, who 
earned her fifth all-around with a 
39.550, followed by senior Olivia 
Karas with a score of 39.250.
The meet began with the 
Wolverines at vault and the 
Hawkeyes on bars. Freshman 
Abby Brenner posted the highest 
score of the meet with a 9.850. 
Wojcik and sophomore Anne 
Maxim were right there too with 
a 9.825 and 9.800, respectively. 
Karas and junior Maddy Osman 

rounded out the scoring with a 
9.775 and a 9.750, respectively, 
bringing the Wolverines to a 
49.000 to 48.950 lead.
The second event saw the two 
teams switch events. Michigan 
excelled at the uneven bars, 
posting two scores at 9.950, from 
Karas and Wojcik. There were 
also high scores of 9.875 from 
both freshman Maddie Mariani 
and Brenner in addition to a 9.850 
from sophomore Lauren Farley. 
At the end of the second event, 
the Wolverines had extended 
their lead to make it 98.500 to 
97.775.
Leaving the bars and the 
vault behind, the third event saw 
Michigan on the balance beam 
and Iowa on the floor exercise. 
Junior Lexi Funk shined on the 
beam, posting the meet-high 
score of 9.950. Wojcik and Farley 
weren’t far behind with scores of 
9.925 and 9.900, respectively, and 
Osman and Karas each earned 
a score of 9.825 to round out the 
scoring for the beam. 
Coming into the fourth and 
final event, chants of “Let’s Go 
Blue” could be heard from the 
crowd. Now up 147.975 to 146.875, 
the Wolverines encouraged the 

crowd to cheer more and joined in 
on the chants themselves. Coach 
Bev Plocki noted how important 
crowd energy is to Michigan.
“It’s been great this year, it 
really has been,” Plocki said. “I 
always want more, but I’ve been 
happy with our crowds and the 
event staff has been doing a great 
job of getting them involved in 
what’s going on and the energy 
has been great.”
Not only did the crowd bring 
energy, but the Michigan squad 
brought some energy themselves. 
Before the floor exercise began, 
the Wolverines huddled up to get 
amped and prepared for the final 
event.
“We just kind of remind 
ourselves to have fun and enjoy 
it,” Wojcik said. “Just go out there 
and be confident.”
With Michigan amped up, the 
team began the floor exercise. 
Karas finished for the Wolverines 
and posted the highest score of 
the meet with a 9.925. Senior 
Emma McLean, coming back 
from a shoulder injury, earned 
an impressive 9.900. Brenner, 
Wojcik and Osman had scores 
of 
9.875, 
9.850 
and 
9.825, 
respectively.

JAMES HILL
For the Daily

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman Natalie Wojcik earned her fifth all-around win as Michigan defeated Iowa on Sunday, 197.350-195.350.

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

PHILIP CALDWELL
For the Daily

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Fifth-year senior weight thrower Josh Ellis had the best performance of his career, throwing 23.56 meters.

If we didn’t 
have the depth 
... we’d be in a 
predicament.

That was 
probably the 
best weight 
competition.

Next week, it’s 
time to come 
out and (it’s)
showtime

