The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, March 28, 2019 — 5A
Olivia Karas is having fun again
In
observance
of
Women’s
History Month, The Daily’s sports
section is launching its second
annual series aimed at telling the
stories of female athletes, coaches
and teams at the University from
the perspective of the female sports
writers on staff. Daily Sports Editor
Anna Marcus continues the series
with this story.
With a hand on her hip and the
other pointed towards the sky,
Olivia Karas beamed.
It was the last routine of the
annual Flip for Chip meet on Feb.
3, and the senior gymnast had just
nailed a double pike in her floor
performance to give Michigan an
edge over Nebraska.
She struck that final pose, a
staple of her floor routine, as the
music shut off. The sounds of
Madonna, Frank Sinatra and a
touch of “High School Musical”
were
replaced
by
standing
ovations in Crisler Center and a
screaming women’s gymnastics
team.
While Karas was consumed
by the embrace of her teammates
at mat’s center, the board flashed
9.950 for her outing. One judge
awarded her a perfect 10.
Karas
had
performed
numerous
variations
of
the
routine in practices and meets
before and has executed many
updated versions of it since that
day.
But that meet in early February
sticks out to Michigan coach Bev
Plocki. Olivia Karas was back, and
she was having a ball.
***
Putting on a show when
competing is a talent that comes
naturally to Karas, one that she
already had a knack for when she
began her Michigan gymnastics
career four years ago.
The
outgoing
and
bubbly
gymnast did not shy away from
the spotlight her freshman season,
and quickly became defined by
her dramatic performances that
captivated crowds.
“She tells us all the time, ‘I
come from a family of actors.’ ”
Plocki said. “So her parents both
did some acting, I think her mom
even more so than her dad.”
Along
with
theatricality
running in the family, Karas’ club
coach emphasized the importance
of choreography before she came
to Michigan. At her club gym,
the Chicago native spent time
focusing on presentation along
with technicality, learning early
on to keep her eyes up off of the
floor and the beam.
Equipped with these skills,
Karas not only dazzled audiences
in her debut season, but judges
were paying attention, too.
As Plocki recalls:
“She was kind of an instant
sensation.”
Karas took the Big Ten by
storm in that first year, bringing
in recognition after recognition.
She shocked the conference as a
nine-time Big Ten Freshman of
the Week and a three-time Big
Ten Gymnast of the Week. She
was named to the All-Big Ten
first team and claimed Big Ten
Freshman of the Year honors. She
finished the season ranked as the
No. 2 vaulter in the nation and No.
7 on the floor exercise. The list
could go on.
In addition to all of Karas’
individual accomplishments, the
women’s gymnastics team was,
as usual, having a banner year.
Michigan won the 2016 Big Ten
Championship in Lincoln, Neb.,
and sent three gymnasts to the
NCAA Championships.
For
wide-eyed
Karas
and
her classmate Emma McLean,
competing in their first Big Ten
Championship
proved
to
be
an experience that exceeded
expectations.
“My freshman year, everyone
always told Emma and I that
winning Big Tens was the best
feeling ever,” Karas recalled. “And
you watch it and you’re like ‘Yeah
it looks pretty cool’ — obviously
you’re winning your conference —
but you don’t really get it until you
experience it.
“It was just one of those
moments that I’ll never forget.”
The 2017 season brought more
success for Karas, who performed
her way to a career-high vault
score of 9.975 and once again
earned herself a spot on the All-
Big Ten first team list. Michigan
collected
another
Big
Ten
Championship and was crowned
the winner of its NCAA Regional.
Beginning
conference
competition in 2018 with an
electric floor performance against
Ohio State, earning a top-scoring
9.950, Karas’ junior season was on
track to follow a similar trajectory
to her first two.
But then it didn’t. During the
fifth meet of the year against
Maryland, in the middle of her
floor routine, Karas tore her
Achilles tendon. Karas’ junior
season abruptly ended while
performing in one of her favorite
rotations.
***
If it weren’t for the wheelchair
and boot, it would have been hard
to tell that Karas was injured at all.
Though sidelined, she maintained
a larger than life presence at
meets, cheering and screaming
louder than any other gymnast
and radiating positivity as her
teammates competed.
Plocki remembers having to
“calm down” Karas, who was
sometimes jumping and cheering
while wearing her boot.
“(Karas) didn’t reserve any of
that energy for herself,” Plocki
said. “She gave every single bit of
what she had to the team.”
Despite the constant smile
present on Karas’ face, coming to
terms with her injury did not come
as easily as it may have appeared.
“I definitely had moments
where I think I tried so hard to be
a positive force for my teammates
and sometimes didn’t let myself
feel pain and sadness,” Karas
said. “But there were some days
where Emma — she knows me
so well — she would be like, ‘You
need to let yourself feel’ because
I would try to mask the fact that I
had torn my Achilles with this like
‘Everything’s fine, don’t dwell on
it’ attitude, but everything wasn’t
fine.
“And once I came to terms with
the fact that I did get hurt and
I’m allowed to be upset, I think I
became more authentic in how I
cheered for my teammates.”
For Karas, it took a little over a
month to deal mentally with the
pain in a productive way and to
let herself lean on others for help.
She found that this better attitude
came along once she had increased
physical mobility. Throughout the
entire healing process, though, her
team provided her with consistent
love and support.
Sometimes, small acts and a
little extra effort meant the most.
Be it from cooking dinners, to
giving her pep talks, to carrying
her from the car, the entire team
chipped in to function as a support
system for Karas during the injury.
“It’s impossible to not lean on
them as family members,” Karas
said. “I don’t think they know how
much they helped me. There were
days that I really did not want to
be here at all, because I was like,
‘If I can’t do a floor routine, if I
can’t compete, like what am I even
doing,’ and they reminded me that
there are so many more things
than gymnastics in life.”
McLean, as a roommate and
best friend, particularly took
on these duties, providing care
for Karas. And it wasn’t always
glamorous.
Karas
explained
that McLean helped her with
showering and carried her places
regularly, all while McLean was
still practicing and competing.
For McLean, though, being
there to help was second nature.
The two have had a strong bond
since freshman year, and when
McLean had a neck injury during
her first season, Karas was always
there to lend a hand.
“We do talk about how we’ve
helped each other through our
hard times,” McLean said. “I think
just being there for each other at
the end of each day, and helping
each other smile no matter what.
“And the injury, it’s how you
respond to it, not necessarily the
injury itself.”
***
It’s safe to say Karas got her
comeback campaign.
She recently received two
regular
season
All-American
honors for her senior year and she
tied with freshman Natalie Wojcik
for the top all-around score at
the Big Ten Championship last
weekend. Karas has been named
one of six finalists for the AAI
Award — an award given to the
nation’s top senior gymnast.
At first, it wasn’t easy to picture
herself in the place she is now.
“I definitely got to the point
where I would try to do something
and get so mad that I couldn’t do
it, but I had to remind myself that
I hadn’t done it for seven months,
so obviously it’s going to be hard,”
Karas said.
Slowly, Karas was able to
build herself back up to the role
of an elite competitor on the
floor exercise. She had to teach
herself how to enjoy the floor
again, overcoming the serious
mental barrier that came while
performing the event that had led
to her injury.
She, too, will never forget how
she felt after her clean double
pike at the end of February’s meet
against Nebraska, viewing it as a
highlight of her career. And Karas
takes pride in how far she has
come.
“Getting hurt my junior year
and getting kind of a victory lap
(this season) is more than I could
ask for,” Karas said.
In
Karas’
opinion,
her
comeback isn’t fully complete
yet. Michigan awaits its NCAA
Regional, and Karas has more
routines left to ace as a Wolverine.
“I like to say that I’m 98 percent
back,” she said, “and that the 100
will get there when it needs to.”
One thing Karas will admit,
though, is that in her senior
season, she feels the most herself.
She has found music combinations
that are authentic and the most
“her” and has a stronger mentality,
allowing her true self to shine in
competition more than it ever has
before.
“I came in here really wanting
to be perfect in everything, and
in these four years, both in life
and gymnastics, I’ve realized that
mistakes are part of the process,
and the only way to get through it
is to laugh it off and to just get over
it,” Karas said.
Finally allowing herself to
embrace those mistakes, Karas is
having the most fun.
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Editor
After collapse at end of season,
Brown ready to retool defense
Don Brown is passionate, of
course, but he isn’t known to
mince
words.
The
defensive
coordinator’s feelings on how
last season ended for Michigan
football — 103 points allowed
in the final two games — are an
obvious example.
“The
most
disappointing
experience I’ve ever been through
in my entire life,” the 63-year-old
said Wednesday evening. “The
whole thing.”
Hyperbole or not, the epic
defensive breakdown marred an
otherwise remarkable year for the
Wolverines’ defense, which still
finished second in the country in
total defense.
But when faced with dealing
with
an
inscrutable,
season-
ending collapse, Brown said he
made “a tremendous mistake.”
He hopped on a plane for the
recruiting trail the day after the
Peach Bowl loss before circling
back with his current unit, leaving
almost three weeks to let his
defense’s shortcomings marinate.
“I come back and I’m like
‘Holy shit! We’ve still got a little
hangover.’ ” Brown said. “... It just
leaves doubt in your mind as a
coach — ’Did I do everything that
I could to prepare my guys?’ That’s
all. I take that stuff personally.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta do
a bit of a better job. Trust me, it’s
being addressed. Our guys are
totally into it. I’m just excited for
the chance to redeem myself.”
Getting that redemption is
undoubtedly an uphill battle.
That climb is exacerbated with
the departures of soon-to-be
NFL Draft picks Rashan Gary,
Devin Bush, David Long and
Chase Winovich, as well as the
lost veteran presences of Tyree
Kinnel, Bryan Mone and Brandon
Watson.
Though par for the course for
spring football chatter, Brown
and his players have shown little
concern about replicating last
year’s
accomplishments
and
righting the wrongs. Brown listed
the names of improved players
through five spring practices and
claimed that the defense can go 16
or 17 guys deep right now.
“It’s college football,” said
junior safety Josh Metellus. “It’s
always next man up no matter
what happens. Losing big guys like
Devin Bush, Rashan Gary, Chase
Winovich, David Long, that’s the
game of football. We have Coach
Harbaugh, who does a great job
recruiting, bringing in guys to step
up, getting ready for a role.”
A number of younger players
have generated buzz early on to
fill the void, including sophomore
defensive back Ambry Thomas,
sophomore linebacker Josh Ross,
incoming
freshman
defensive
tackle Mazi Smith and redshirt
freshman Luiji Vilain, who has
missed the past two seasons with
knee injuries.
With Bush and Kinnel gone,
the defense will also need two
new captains — a role that could
be filled by Metellus and junior
defensive back Lavert Hill. But
with fewer household names on
the defense, leadership will come
from more subtle places.
“There’s a lot of young guys
on the team, younger than the
D-line actually,” said sophomore
defensive end Kwity Paye on how
to fill Gary and Winovich’s roles.
“I have to be the guy to pull the
guys aside who’s messing up in
practice and say ‘Let’s work on this
today, let’s work on that today.’ ”
Despite working in Brown’s
system
for
another
year,
the
defense
is
also
making
adjustments in practice against
a new-look offense. With newly-
hired offensive coordinator Josh
Gattis implementing a pro-spread
offense, the defense is now facing
an up-tempo, no-huddle style that
it isn’t accustomed to seeing.
In
practice,
the
Michigan
defense would operate on a 16 to
18-second timer to get into new
formations, but has never faced
the threat head-to-head.
While the schematic alterations
are minor and the team has
displayed confidence in potential
new starters, a change beyond
fundamentals is where focus lies
in hopes to reverse course for the
2019 season. For them, it’s a matter
of confidence.
“Everybody has a part to
play, everybody does their role,”
Metellus said. “… We don’t need a
star, we just need to play how our
defense plays.”
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer
EVAN AARON/Daily
Defensive coordinator Don Brown said the collapse last season was “the most disappointing experience” of his life.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior Olivia Karas tied for the all-around score in last weekend’s Big Ten Championship, with a score of 39.600.
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©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/28/19
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
03/28/19
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Thursday, March 28, 2019
ACROSS
1 Ancient gathering
place
5 Warm place to
chill
11 “Waterfalls” pop
trio
14 Medical
breakthrough
15 Revolt
16 “That looks
good!”
17 Dict. label
18 Not as nice
19 Sine __ non
20 Impressive vocal
quality
22 Spew
24 Have a feeling
25 Reason for
a warm eye
compress
26 Race town near
Windsor Castle
29 Information to
process
32 “Sounds fair”
33 Berth place
36 Greek cross
37 ChapStick
target
38 Partners of
tails ... and
what’s found in
the answers to
starred clues
39 Doctrine suffix
40 The Stratford, in
TV’s “Newhart”
41 Pupil surrounder
42 Frost lines?
43 Flatters
45 Masculine
46 Cheats, with
“off”
47 “__ always
makes it better”:
Anne Burrell
50 Throat dangler
52 Aboveboard
56 Solder
component
57 Caviar source
59 Morsel on a
shellfish platter
60 Anti-apartheid
org.
61 Landfall for Noah
62 Word before and
after sweet
63 Part of a snarky
laugh
64 Approvals
65 Terminal info
DOWN
1 Emotional trauma
consequence
2 Skin cream
holder
3 Poetic spheres
4 Spray starch
dispenser
5 Likely to err,
eventually?
6 Hits theaters
7 Vestige
8 Spork prong
9 Finish, with “up”
10 *Italian pistols
11 *A skeptic’s wont
12 __-garou:
werewolf
13 Facebook option
21 Safety feature at
a trapeze school
23 Scandinavian rug
25 Seasonal visitor
26 Stage surprise
27 River with 37
bridges in Paris
28 *Quaker Oats
cereal with a
naval officer on
the box
29 Retro phone part
30 Conference room
stand
31 Tot’s ache source
33 Social customs
34 Imitates
35 Letter before
sigma
38 *The Sunshine
Skyway Bridge
spans it
42 Grand style
44 Safflower __
45 Cut grass
47 Gets fuzzy
48 Diet for some
aquarium fish
49 Paint layers
50 Arches National
Park state
51 Hollywood
crosser
52 “Oh dear!”
53 Ink smudge
54 Revered
Tibetan
55 Farm females
58 “Blood hath been
shed __ now”:
Macbeth
HAPPY thursday!
enjoy the sudoku
on page 2