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

Breaking down Michigan’s key players from the 2018-19 campaign

Two-thirds of the ways through 
the season, the Michigan women’s 
basketball team looked doomed 
for mediocrity. But the Wolverines 
completely turned things around, 
winning nine of their final 11 
games. 
Starting with a Feb. 1 victory 
over 
No. 
10 
Iowa, 
Michigan 
powered its way 
through the Big 
Ten 
to 
secure 
fourth place in 
the 
conference 
standings — its 
second-best finish 
in 
Kim 
Barnes 
Arico’s seven-year 
tenure as coach. 
Guided by their 
star co-captain seniors, guard 
Nicole Munger and center Hallie 
Thome, and a pair of standout 
freshmen in guard Amy Dilk 
and forward Naz Hillmon, the 
Wolverines are now on the cusp 
of their second-straight NCAA 

Tournament berth. 
The Daily breaks down the 
seasons these four players put 
together. 
Amy Dilk
Possibly no freshman in the 
country came into the season 
with larger shoes to fill than 
Dilk. Slotted into the point guard 
position from day one, Dilk had 
to replace Michigan’s all-time 
leading 
scorer, 
Katelynn 
Flaherty.
While Dilk may 
not have been the 
Wolverines’ most 
consistent player, 
no game proved 
her worth more 
than 
Michigan’s 
Nov. 
25 
affair 
with Washington. 
In just her sixth 
collegiate game, Dilk registered 
a stat line of 19 points, nine 
rebounds and seven assists in an 
80-73 victory. 
Oftentimes 
throughout 
the season, Dilk struggled to 
consistently score. But Barnes 

Arico overlooked her struggles 
and realized the importance of 
having Dilk on the court. When 
Dilk was out with a knee injury for 
three games, Barnes Arico noticed 
a difference in her team and a 
slight increase in sloppy play. 
“Amy was probably averaging 
about 35 minutes a game and 
she had the ball in her hands, 
especially 
under 
pressure,” 
Barnes Arico said 
after a Feb. 14 
win over Indiana 
in 
which 
her 
team committed 
20 turnovers. “A 
lot 
of 
decision 
making 
came 
through her.”
Barnes 
Arico 
has 
consistently 
praised 
Dilk’s 
high 
basketball 
IQ and said she would not have 
preferred anyone else run the 
point position this season. 
Naz Hillmon
Big Ten Sixth Player of the 
Year, Big Ten media selection for 
Freshman of the Year, Big Ten 

All-Freshman Team and First 
Team All-Big Ten. These are the 
accolades that Hillmon can claim 
with the regular season now in the 
books. 
Despite not starting a game, 
Hillmon led the Wolverines in 
field goal percentage (.626), points 
per game (13.2), rebounds per 
game (6.9) and tied for second on 
the team in steals (31). 
She has dazzled 
in 
competition 
all season. In her 
first four games, 
the 
freshman 
forward shot an 
absurd 
26-for-
31 while scoring 
more 
than 
20 
points 
in 
two 
of those games. 
Since 
then, 
it 
has been much 
of the same for Hillmon, whose 
motor leads the Wolverines’ press 
defense. 
“(Hillmon’s) 
energy 
is 
contagious,” Barnes Arico said 
after Hillmon’s 22 points and 
eight rebounds against Detroit-

Mercy. “I think she just does a 
tremendous job of bringing it each 
and every single day. I think it’s 
definitely a difference-maker in 
our program’s success, so it’s great 
to have her.”
Hallie Thome
Coming into the season, Thome 
was expected to 
be the offensive 
leader 
of 
the 
team. And while 
a nagging back 
injury 
may 
have caused the 
senior center to 
have 
lackluster 
performances at 
Penn State and 
Michigan State, 
she put together 
a 
season 
to 
remember.
Averaging 
12.5 
points, 
6.1 
rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, 
Thome earned First Team All-
Big Ten honors — selected by the 
Big Ten coaches — for the third 
consecutive season. Along the 
way, Thome recorded her 2,000th 
career point and positioned herself 
in second place on the Michigan 
all-time leading scorers list. 
“2,000 points is a lot of points,” 
Barnes Arico said on WTKA on 
Feb. 19. “It means from the minute 
she stepped on campus, she has 
made an immediate impact on our 
program. She’s been such a special 
player for us. A 6-foot-5 kid that 
can really do anything. 
“I mean she has such great soft 
hands, able to catch any pass you 
throw up, finishes 
well 
around 
the rim, ability 
to 
offensively 
rebound the ball 
and just has a 
great touch and a 
great feel for the 
game.”
Nicole Munger
Seen 
as 
the 
leader 
of 
the 
Wolverines, 
Munger saved her best for her 
final season at Michigan. Earning 
Third Team All-Big Ten honors 
for the first time in her career, 
the senior averaged 9.9 points 
per game, good for third on the 
team, and shot the second-highest 

three-point percentage on the 
team (.345) despite taking nearly 
40 percent of the team’s three-
point attempts (168). 
But what Munger brought to 
the table this season went well 
beyond the stat sheet. Take the 
Wolverines’ Feb. 14 matchup with 
Indiana. With 30 
seconds 
on 
the 
clock and a five-
point lead, Munger 
took a charge — 
despite 
having 
four fouls — to give 
the ball back to 
Michigan and seal 
the game. 
Or how about 
on Jan. 24, also 
against 
the 
Hoosiers? Munger 
went flying into the band trying 
to save a loose ball, walking away 
with a giant bruise on her leg from 
diving into a tuba.
Munger provided an endless 
supply of these high-intensity 
moments throughout the season, 
and that’s what Barnes Arico 
loves the most about her senior 
co-captain. 
“(Munger’s) just a special kid,” 
Barnes Arico said. “I think she’s 
been the heart and soul of our 
team since the minute she walked 
on campus. … She’s a tremendous 
basketball player but she’s even a 
better person.” 
With 
only 
the 
NCAA 
Tournament 
remaining, 
Dilk, 
Hillmon, Thome and Munger 
hope to lead Michigan past the 
first 
weekend 
for 
the 
first 
time in program 
history. 
Luckily 
for them, they’ll 
have help from 
sophomore guard 
Deja 
Church, 
sophomore 
forward 
Hailey 
Brown, 
junior 
guard 
Akienreh 
Johnson 
and 
junior forward Kayla Robbins who 
have all had clutch performances 
throughout the season.
But now the burden is on 
Michigan’s four stars to continue 
their strong regular seasons into 
March and deliver. 

BENNETT BRAMSON
Daily Sports Writer

Wolverines knock off No. 2 UCLA 
but go 1-2 at Dodgertown Classic

After four hours of action, the 
No. 16 Michigan baseball team 
(9-4) was looking to stay alive in 
the bottom of the tenth inning 
on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. 
Freshman right-hander Willie 
Weiss had given up a bases-
loaded walk to put Oklahoma 
State up, 3-2, in the top of the 
inning, and it was now up to the 
bottom of the Wolverines’ order 
to keep the game alive.
All three batters struck out 
swinging.
“(Weiss) had the one tough 
inning, a couple of hits fall, 
you don’t get a couple of calls 
and end up with some walks, 
that happens,” said Michigan 
coach Erik Bakich. “It was just 
magnified because it was the 
tenth inning, but I thought the 
numbers didn’t tell the whole 
story because he made some 
gutsy pitches in some huge 
spots.”
The extra-inning loss proved 
to 
exemplify 
Michigan’s 
performance over the weekend. 
An impressive outing by the 
starting pitchers — all three 
gave up just two earned runs — 
and error-free defense kept the 
Wolverines in the games despite 
a struggling offense scoring two 
runs on Saturday and one run on 
Sunday, dropping two of three 
games to USC and Oklahoma 
State while beating No. 2 UCLA.
“We 
certainly 
had 
opportunities to execute on this 
trip that we didn’t get done,” 
Bakich said. “Whether it was 
getting bunts down or moving 
runners over, and those are the 
things that need repetition. Those 
are the things that we haven’t 
been able to do in training. We 
need to work on those areas, we 
had a lot of outs on the bases from 
this trip, whether it be caught 
stealing or pick-offs. Those are 
very costly mistakes against 

really good teams.”
This 
past 
weekend’s 
competition was against some of 
their toughest competition this 
year and proved to be a big test 
for Michigan early in the season. 
With four runs in the first inning, 
the Wolverines got off to a quick 
start on Friday against the Bruins 
and never looked back on their 
way to a 7-5 upset victory.
Saturday, 
though, 
Michigan’s 
offense 
stagnated. 
Scoring 
one 
unearned run in 
the sixth inning, 
the 
Wolverines 
fell to USC, 4-1. 
Sunday, 
the 
offense 
scored 
just 
two 
runs 
against the Cowboys, both batted 
in 
by 
sophomore 
outfielder 
Jordan Nwogu, who had a great 
individual performance with an 
RBI single and a solo home run in 
the 10-inning loss.
“Players are just out of their 
routine,” Bakich said. “They just 
aren’t getting the drill work in 
they normally get. The hitters 
aren’t hitting off the tee and 
getting their cage routine in. It’s 
just you show up to the games, 
you do batting practice and you 
get as much as you can in those 
opportunities.”
After the weekend series, 
just two players have a batting 
average over .300, and the team 
went 2-for-10 with runners in 
scoring position in the two losses 
this weekend.
Junior 
left-hander 
Tommy 
Henry gained his fourth win of 
the season against the Bruins, 
even though he gave up his 
first runs of the year. The other 
weekend starters had similar 
performances, 
keeping 
the 
Wolverines in the game. Junior 
right-hander Karl Kauffmann 
allowed just two runs against 

USC on Saturday and sophomore 
right-hander Jeff Criswell also 
gave up two runs to the Cowboys, 
striking out 12.
“We’ve been very fortunate to 
get the starting pitching we’ve 
gotten from Tommy Henry, Karl 
Kauffmann and Jeff Criswell,” 
Bakich 
said. 
“They’ve 
been 
workhorses thus far, especially 
Tommy and Karl.”
Having 
won 
one of their last 
five, 
Michigan 
has work to do.
“It was a let 
down 
against 
USC 
and 
it 
was a let down 
(Sunday),” 
Bakich 
said. 
“The only thing 
you 
can 
do 
when it feels like 
there’s a let down is learn from 
it, grow from it, get better from 
it. So that’s what we want to do. 
We want to find ways to keep 
improving as the season keeps 
going.”

Mixed bag for ‘M’ relief pitching

On Saturday, the No. 16 
Michigan baseball team was 
locked into a defensive battle 
with 
Southern 
California. 
Through seven innings, junior 
right-hander 
Karl 
Kauffman 
allowed two runs while the 
Wolverines faced a one-run 
deficit. But in the next inning, 
relief pitchers sophomore left-
hander Angelo Smith and junior 
right-hander Jack Weisenburger 
allowed two runs adding to the 
deficit.
In 
the 
bottom 
of 
the 
eighth, Smith walked the first 
batter, Chase Bushor, on four 
consecutive 
pitches. 
Bushor 
then advanced to second base 
after a wild pitch. Four pitches 
later, Matthew Acosta singled 
up the middle, sending Bushor to 
third. At this moment, Michigan 
coach Erik Bakich saw fit to 
make another change, and Smith 
was replaced by Weisenburger.
Weisenberger was unable to 
stop the bleeding as the Trojans 
would score two additional runs 
off a sacrifice fly and another 

single to put the game to bed, 4-1.
“The relievers, it’s just who we 
feel good about in that situation 
against the opposing hitters 
that are coming up that have 
the best chance to put a zero up 
and get quick outs for us,” said 
Michigan coach Erik Bakich. 
“And most of the time, it’s like 
any baseball game. You feel good 
about it going in, but sometimes, 
you don’t always get the call, or a 
guy bloops one in or a pitch isn’t 
executed or whatever happens 
happens.”
In a 3-2 loss to Oklahoma 
State on Sunday, Bakich got the 
call right as the relievers gave up 
just a single run.
Michigan’s traditional pillars 
of the program have been their 
defense and their pitching. Thus 
far this season, their hitting has 
been a pleasant surprise.
But, 
at 
the 
Dodgertown 
Classic, the relief pitching was 
a mixed bag and the bats fell 
flat. The Wolverines have lost 
four out of their last five on the 
West Coast, and the increased 
competition is a good measuring 
stick 
for 
Michigan 
against 
warmer-climate 
teams 
with 

more repetitions under their 
belt.
The relief pitching was solid 
Friday against UCLA with the 
exception of an outfield mistake 
that led to runs. Freshman right-
hander Willie Weiss came in 
for junior left-hander Tommy 
Henry in the bottom of the 
seventh and was looking to close 
out the game up 6-2. Weiss got 
two outs, but had the bases were 
loaded before a misplayed ball 
in the outfield led to a bases-
clearing triple for the Bruins. 
But this didn’t faze Weiss as he 
bounced back with consecutive 
1-2-3 innings to close out the 
win.
“The relief pitching we got on 
Friday from Willie Weiss was 
really good,” Bakich said. “He 
got three outs and we dropped 
a pop-up in foul territory and as 
kinda what happens when you 
give good teams extra chances, 
they make you pay for it. Then 
the guy hit the bases-clearing 
triple but he actually (went 
through) that particular inning 
unscathed.
“I thought a huge moment in 
that game was where he showed 
some pretty good poise for a 
freshman after giving up three 
runs and having a really tough 
inning to come back pitch the 
eighth and the ninth scoreless. 
Put up zeros against an excellent 
UCLA team, maybe the best 
team in the country, so the relief 
pitching was good there.”
Relief pitching is a delicate 
mechanism, and the season 
is still in its infancy. But this 
facet of baseball can make or 
break teams, and a questionable 
bullpen is not an issue a team 
wants to have when competing 
for championships.
“We have some guys that need 
to mechanically iron out a few 
things,” Bakich said, “Haven’t 
gotten off to a great start but, 
you know, it’s early and there is 
plenty of season left and plenty 
of growth opportunities left for 
everyone, position players and 
pitchers alike.”

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior shooting guard Nicole Munger has been a leader for the Wolverines this season, along with averaging 9.9 points per game shooting 34.5 percent from three.

KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer

AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI
Daily Sports Writer

CARTER FOX/Daily
Junior right-hander Jack Weisenburger and Michigan’s other relievers had an up and down weekend in California.

She had the ball 
in her hands, 
especially 
under pressure.

(Freshman 
Naz Hillmon’s) 
energy is 
contagious.

(Munger’s) just 
a special kid. ... 
She’s been the 
heart and soul.

She has made 
an immediate 
impact on our 
program.

You do batting 
practice and 
you get as much 
as you can.

