P O L I C Y T A L K S @ T H E F O R D S C H O O L
SAMANTHA POWER
Former U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations
Author of The Education of
an Idealist: A Memoir
September 2019
Free and open to the public.
Reception to follow.
Info: fspp-events@umich.edu
fordschool.umich.edu
@fordschool #policytalks
T H I R D A N N U A L VA N D E N B E R G L E CT U R E
W E I S E R D I P LO M ACY C E N T E R L A U N C H S E R I E S
The Education of an Idealist
A conversation with Professor John Ciorciari
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
4:00 - 5:20 pm
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Annenberg Auditorium, 1120 Weill Hall
735 S. State Street
Hosted as part of the Ford School's Conversations Across Difference Initiative.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, September 20, 2019 — 7
In loss to Notre Dame, Michigan
shows signs of improvement
Trailing by one point in the
fifth and final set, the Michigan
volleyball team watched as a
Notre Dame serve sailed into the
corner, seemingly headed out of
bounds — giving the Wolverines
a chance to extend the set at
least two more serves.
That hope quickly faded as
the shot barely landed inbounds,
earning the Fighting Irish (7-2)
a 15-13 win in the set and a 3-2
win in the match — sending
Michigan (6-3) home empty-
handed despite holding a 2-1 set
lead early on.
In the deciding set, the
Wolverines battled back from
an 11-8 deficit to tie the score at
13 apiece. Ultimately, however,
Notre Dame toughed out a kill
and then the aforementioned
service ace to seal Michigan’s
fate.
“To me, I don’t look at it like
the final plays are any more
important than the first ones,”
Michigan coach Mark Rosen
said. “The first plays are just
as important as the last ones. I
don’t think it’s any different than
what happened in the middle of
the set or what happened in any
set.”
Before falling in the final
set, Michigan appeared to have
the momentum after taking
two straight set wins. After
dropping the first set, 25-23, the
Wolverines saw senior outside
hitter Sydney Wetterstrom net
four consecutive kills in the
second frame to outlast the
Fighting Irish and secure a 29-27
win to deadlock the match at one
game apiece.
In
the
following
set,
Wetterstrom scored an ace to
put Michigan up 6-1 early, and
the Wolverines capitalized on
two Notre Dame errors to go up
one game.
“(Wetterstrom)
was
great
today,”
Rosen
said.
“She’s someone who’s really
experienced and brings a lot of
personality and fire to the team.”
In the fourth set, Michigan
found itself ahead 22-20, but lost
the set after the Fighting Irish
scored five of the set’s final six
points. Even though his team
wasn’t able to pull out a win late,
Rosen saw improvement from
his squad.
“We worked really hard the
last ten days to get better at (some
of our weaker areas),” he said.
“Tonight we were significantly
better. Unfortunately, it wasn’t
quite enough, but at the same
time that’s part of the growing
process.”
The Wolverines won’t have
to wait long to see the Fighting
Irish again, as the two teams will
meet at Crisler Center on Sunday
afternoon for the second game of
a home-and-home series. Rather
than focusing on the task at
hand, though, Rosen is instead
looking for his players to focus
more on their own growth over
the past ten days.
“Our growth in the last 10
days has been really significant,”
Rosen said. “And that’s what
we focused on: are we getting
better, are we improving, are
there areas we can improve on?”
TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer
Sitting
there
Wednesday,
watching practice, you couldn’t
tell anything had changed.
The motions were the same.
The drills. The pace. The
intensity.
But something was different.
There was no Mel Pearson in
skates with a stick watching
over
practice.
No
assistant
coaches. Just the players led by
their captains.
During the preseason, the
NCAA mandates teams have
two days off from practicing.
On one of the days, optional
practice can be held, but no
coaches are allowed time on
the ice. During these practices,
responsibility
for
keeping
the intensity falls upon the
shoulders of the four letter
wearers — the captain, senior
forward Will Lockwood, and
his three classmates, alternate
captains
defenseman
Luke
Martin,
defenseman
Griffin
Luce and forward Jake Slaker.
“Really (the) goal is if you
guys are just watching practice,
we don’t want anyone to be able
to tell that there are coaches,
that there aren’t coaches,” said
Martin.
The
occasional
preseason
captains’
practice
isn’t
the
only
time
these four have
the opportunity
to lead practice.
From
May
to
August, captains
lead on and off-
ice
workouts,
too.
However,
they
aren’t
completely left in the dark. The
coaching staff, though aren’t
able to get directly involved,
provide the players with all the
things they need to successfully
imitate
the
day-to-day
conditions
the
coaches
foster.
Scribbling
instructions on
a sheet of paper
and
passing
them
to
the
captains,
the
coaches
leave
the rest in the
players’ hands.
It’s ultimately up to the
captains to make sure the
drills are being done right. Not
running too short, not running
too long. And most importantly,
making sure the intensity is
there.
“There’s a lot of us just
pushing ourselves and pushing
each other,” said Slaker. “We’re
twenty, twenty-four, twenty-
three years old, so we gotta
push each other. We’re adults
now, we don’t have to have a
coach on the ice every time we
get better.”
The hyperfocus on intensity
levels stems from the hope to
mirror game conditions. In
a game, the physical play is
upped. The speed. The stakes.
Treating practice like a game
can help the team prepare for
those tough moments faced in
the season like holding a lead in
a close game or finding the back
of the net to break a tie.
As for how the four captains
go about keeping the intensity,
the
styles
vary.
Lockwood
strives to lead by example and
set the bar high for the younger
players so they know what’s
expected of them. Martin takes
a more vocal approach.
“It’s fun to sort of lead the
pace,” Martin said. “To be the
couple voices that are pushing
guys. Like I said we’re really not
going out there and just going
through the motions. We’re
really getting something out of
it and getting better every day.”
And the progress of the
players in the practices doesn’t
go unmonitored.
Normally
during
a
captains’
practice,
the
coaches
catch
brief
glimpses
from
the
mezzanine level
of Yost.
Though
unable
to
sit
among the other
coaches due to
obligations to attend the Big
Ten coaches meeting, Pearson
made sure to check in. He
called up Lockwood to check
in. Mel asked if he had any
advice, opinions or thoughts
on the drills he’d left for them
to do.
The most notable comment
Lockwood offered up about the
skate? The intensity.
But
even
with
all
the
emphasis placed on intensity
by the captains, Martin admits
there’s still a slight turbulence
transitioning between the
summer sessions and practicing
with the coaches.
“It’s
different,”
Martin said. “It’s
just higher pace.
Everything’s just
quicker … But it’s
really good to be
back. Obviously
these
first
couple
weeks
are
all
about
just
grinding
through, but at the same time
just trying to stay as fresh as
you can. It’s a long season.”
But with just seventeen days
laying between the Wolverines
and their season opener against
Windsor, there’s no time to be
wasted. And they’re full speed
ahead, whether coaches are
allowed to be at practice or not.
“... Because, really, if you
need the coach to push you, this
probably isn’t the right program
for you,” Martin said. “You
should be pushing yourself.”
Leading by example
MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer
Wolverine captains, Will Lockwood, Luke Martin, Griffin Luce and Jake Slaker, hope to set the tone early in the year
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior defenseman Luke Martin serves as one of the alternate captains on this year’s Michigan hockey team.
In victory, all ‘M’ needs is one goal
Some wins only take one goal.
In the first 10 minutes of
the Michigan women’s soccer
team’s game against No. 23 Penn
State (4-4-1 overall, 0-1-0 Big
Ten), junior midfielder Sarah
Stratigakis passed the ball to
sophomore midfielder Meredith
Haakenson.
Haakenson
capitalized on the opportunity
and fired a shot into the upper
right corner of the net — scoring
the only goal of the game as the
Wolverines won, 1-0.
Michigan
(6-2-0,
1-0-0)
started
strong
in
Thursday
night’s match. The Wolverines
took the first shot of the game
in the 5th minute, aiming at the
bottom left corner of the goal, but
the Nittany Lions’ goalkeeper
Amanda Dennis denied it. This
near miss bolstered Michigan’s
determination and ultimately
helped the team score minutes
later.
“They came out with really
good energy at the start of the
game,” said Michigan coach
Jennifer Klein. “That helped
them put the ball in the back of
the net.”
This initial enthusiasm soon
faded. Haakenson’s goal marked
the Wolverines’ last shot for the
first half. After they showed up
on the scoreboard, Penn State
dominated the rest of the half.
The Nittany Lions then made six
attempts on target.
“We’re playing against Penn
State. That’s an incredible team
with a tactical strategy,” Klein
said. “It’s a credit to Penn State
we weren’t able to make any
more shots.”
Junior
goalkeeper
Hillary
Beall led Michigan’s defensive
effort and allowed the team to
hang onto the lead. She made
three saves, including a key save
in the final 10 minutes of the
match to secure the win.
“We continue to improve
defensively,” Klein said. “They
stuck
together
and
blocked
shots.
Hilliary
Beall
made
incredible saves, and she played
fantastically.
She
had
great
footwork and was able to push
the ball out.”
At the start of the second
half, the Wolverines’ offensive
struggles seemed to persist. The
Nittany Lions came out strong
and had a shot within the first
30 seconds. But Michigan soon
found the energy it opened the
game with. Minutes later, the
Wolverines began pressuring
again. They made an impressive
six attempts on goal during the
second half — double the amount
of Penn State. They didn’t
convert any but kept the ball
away from the Nittany Lions and
out of their goal.
“Each half had momentum
that shifted back and forth.
You get that ebb and flow with
two quality teams. That’s what
makes a good soccer game,”
Klein said. “In the second half,
we were able to take more shots
and make them have to deal with
us more.”
Michigan
dominated
the
second half and prevented Penn
State from making it on the
scoreboard.
The
Wolverines
proved that sometimes, it only
takes one goal to be victorious.
“Preparation
and
commitment to the game plan
helps us perform well and
focus,” Klein said. “It’s how we
get results. We will continue to
focus and prepare for each game.
We have hopes of winning the
Big Ten Championships.”
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Senior outside hitter Sydney Wetterstrom netted four consecutive kills in the second set of Wednesday’s match
against Notre Dame.
It’s fun... to
be the couple
voices that are
pushing guys.
These first
couple weeks
are all about
just grinding...
MEGAN CHAPELLE
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior goalkeeper Hillary Beall helped guide the Wolverines to a shutout win over No. 23 Penn State on Thursday.