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