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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By Timothy Schenck
©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