The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, February 6, 2020 — 7
With healthy legs and new faces, Michigan looks to build on success in 2020
After a season riddled with
injuries, faceoff struggles and
deflating,
tightly-contested
losses,
many
teams
would
simply throw in the towel
toward the end of the season,
deeming
their
final
games
meaningless.
The
Michigan
men’s lacrosse team could’ve
been one of those teams.
But
the
Wolverines
still
needed to play Ohio State to end
their 2019 campaign. Despite
its 3-9 record at the time,
Michigan wasn’t going to hand
the Buckeyes a win.
Eager
to
send
departing
seniors like Brent Noseworthy,
Decker
Curran
and
Nick
DeCaprio out on a high note,
Michigan came out hot. At
halftime, the Wolverines found
themselves up 8-4 against Ohio
State, 30 minutes away from
knocking
the
Buckeyes
out
of contention for the Big Ten
Tournament and ruining their
postseason hopes.
Thirty minutes away from
the program’s first win over
their rival in history.
“We knew we were close to
turning the corner,” Michigan
coach Kevin Conry said. “The
season as a whole was a season
of reinventing ourselves based
on our situation ... We had to
consistently change who we
needed to be. And by the end of
the year, we had finally found
that identity.”
So Michigan kept its foot on
the gas pedal. For his final time,
Noseworthy led the Wolverines
on an offensive charge, notching
three
goals
throughout
the
second half to keep the lead out
of Ohio State’s reach.
As the final seconds ticked
down on the clock, Michigan
stood tall to defeat the Buckeyes,
13-10.
The locker room celebration
ensued.
Director of Operations Joe
Hennessey made his way down
to Conry and congratulated him.
The pair shared a sigh of relief
and embraced what was a hard-
fought, deserved win to end a
season that tested the bounds
of the program’s resilience and
patience.
Beyond the satisfaction of
playing spoiler to the Buckeyes,
Michigan’s victory over Ohio
State was monumental for the
program. While the Wolverines’
eighth season as a Division I
lacrosse program was not all
they hoped it would be, their
finale demonstrated the team’s
true potential and gave the
program a wave of confidence
going into the upcoming season.
“It really sprung us forward,”
Conry said. “That was a great
taste of what we could be, but
(now) we know how to get
there to be what we should
be. … It starts to develop your
championship mentality.”
It is undeniable that the
departure of key players like
Noseworthy — a team captain
and
USILA
Academic
All-
American
who
holds
the
program’s all-time goal-scoring
record with 102 — leaves a void
both on and off the field for
Michigan.
But Conry expects a new
class of leaders — including
captains
senior
midfielder
Avery Myers, graduate student
midfielder
Peter
Hollen
and senior goalkeeper Matt
Trowbridge — to step up, build
off the momentum of their
predecessors and guide a roster
featuring 16 freshmen and 10
sophomores.
“Although we changed our
roster over significantly, the
mindset is still the same from
our leadership,” Conry said.
“Our guys came away with (the
Ohio State) game saying ‘Okay,
I know what I need to do now
to get ugly and dirty and do it
when no one else is watching, so
that we can be great later on in
the year. But I’m going to focus
on right now.’ ”
Despite
the
losses
of
Noseworthy and Curran, who
rank second and fourth for
total points in program history,
Michigan’s offense retains a
firm majority of last year’s
productivity.
“We don’t replace guys like
Noseworthy
and
Curran,”
Conry said. “We look for a lot
of guys to go ahead and pick up
the slack … We still have a lot of
goals and a lot of playing time
back on the field.”
Most
importantly,
the
Wolverines
return
their
entire attack line: sophomore
Bryce Clay and juniors Alex
Buckanavage and Kevin Mack.
Clay, who burst onto the scene
as a freshman last year with
22 goals, was named a Big Ten
Player
to
Watch
alongside
Buckanavage and sophomore
defenseman
Andrew
Darby.
After finishing first and second
on the team in total points last
season, Buckanavage and Mack
are expected to continue their
offensive dominance in their
third year as starters.
At midfield, the Wolverines
look to Myers, who finished
second on the team in goals
with 24 last season, and Hollen,
a
solid,
tenured
defensive
midfielder, for leadership and
experience. After missing all
of 2019 due to injury, fifth-
year senior midfielder Rocco
Sutherland hopes to return
to the level of productivity
he showed as a junior when
he notched nine goals and 13
assists. Under the guidance of a
veteran midfield core, freshmen
like
Jake
Bonomi,
Jacob
Jackson and Josh Zawada will
be integrated into the mix and
are expected to see significant
playing time early on in their
careers.
On the defensive side of the
field, Michigan must move on
from its former swiss-army
knife,
Nick
DeCaprio,
who
anchored
down
its
defense
last season and led the team
in
ground
balls
(34)
and
caused turnovers (27). After
an impressive freshman year
alongside DeCaprio and senior
Michael Borda at close defense,
Darby is expected to lead a
young Michigan defense that
will feature freshmen like Dylan
Gardner and Ryan Schriber.
In addition to Darby, the
Wolverines bring back junior
defenseman JD Carroll, who
missed all of last season due
to injury, and senior long-stick
midfielder
Finn
Goonan
to
add some age to Michigan’s
defensive lineup.
“(We had) one Nick DeCaprio.
Now we have four or five really
high
quality
defensemen,”
Conry said. “We have extra
depth at the defensive position
that we don’t need one guy to do
it all … We’re piecing it together.
We got a group of guys who we
are really comfortable with and
can make the transition. And
that’s really positive for us.”
After rotating between now-
graduated goalkeepers Tommy
Heidt and Gunner Garn last
season, a battle for the starting
job persists this year between
Trowbridge
and
sophomore
John Kiracofe. Although neither
has
racked
up
significant
minutes at the college level
thus far, the Wolverines hope
that either player will be able
stabilize their defensive unit
between the pipes.
Last
season,
Michigan’s
biggest team struggles stemmed
from problems at the faceoff X,
where it only won 32 percent of
faceoffs. After losing all three
of his true faceoff-men to a
myriad of injuries, Conry was
forced to insert a mix of players,
including Noseworthy, Goonan
and DeCaprio, to try and tie up
opponents. With senior Matt
Dellacroce
and
sophomore
Nick Rowlett now healthy, the
Wolverines expect to benefit
from greater security at the
position.
“It’ll be really exciting once
we win a couple (faceoffs),”
Conry said. “Adding them really
just gives a spark in the ball. We
have a pretty efficient, high-
powered offense that we feel
comfortable once the ball gets
down there we can create some
quality opportunities.”
Overall, Michigan’s schedule
is fierce, featuring matchups
against six teams currently
ranked in the Inside Lacrosse
Top
25
rankings—including
titans like Penn State and Yale,
who both reached the 2019
Final Four and return the bulk
of their key players from last
season.
While no easy task, Conry,
now in his third season as
the Wolverines’ head coach,
believes that his team can
compete with the best teams
in college lacrosse. And after
beating Ohio State, the players
have begun to believe that they
can too.
Wolverines dominate Gators, 4-0
Guilia Pairone smashed a ball to
the right side and let out a scream.
Her
opponent
never
even
moved.
The senior finished off her
singles match with the confidence
that the entire No. 10 Michigan
women’s
tennis
team
(2-1)
exemplified in a 4-0 win over No.
24 Florida (1-2) on Tuesday.
The Wolverines set the tone
in the doubles. Sophomore Anca
Craciun and junior Alyvia Jones
quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead
and had a bounce in their step as
they dominated the Gators. In the
fifth set, Jones blasted two aces to
put the duo on the brink of victory.
After dropping the next set, it
was Craciun’s turn to serve. She
launched one down the middle that
Florida’s Marlee Zein mishit and
it gave them a 6-1 win in their first
ever match together.
“I think both of us were serving
really well,” Craciun said. “Once
we started getting those easy free
points we just kind of loosened up.”
They then turned their attention
to the next court over, where
Pairone and senior Chiara Lommer
looked to secure the doubles
point for Michigan. Leading 5-3,
Lommer took a deep breath and
served the potential match point.
She laid it down the left side and
the return sailed long, giving the
duo the 6-3 win. Lommer let out an
emphatic scream and confidently
walked forward to shake hands
with her opponents, knowing she
had put her team in prime position
to win.
“I thought we played a really
good match,” Pairone said. “I was
setting (Lommer) up really well
and she was closing off all of the
points.”
After grabbing the doubles
point, the Wolverines moved to the
singles matches and continued to
make short work of the Gators.
Freshman Nicole Hammond
powered her way to a win in straight
sets over Florida’s Ida Jarlskog and
quickly gave Michigan a second
point.
“She strikes the ball so well,
so it’s hard to hang with her,”
Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein
said. “She made very few unforced
errors.”
On the other side of the arena,
Pairone and Craciun carried the
momentum from their doubles
performance.
Pairone
came
out firing against the Gators’
McCartney Kessler and raced out
to a 4-1 lead. After trading games,
Kessler sent a shot long and Pairone
pumped her fist as she took the first
set, 6-2.
“I knew how to play with her,”
Pairone said. “I was very positive
and I knew what to do.”
On the next court over, Craciun
was
performing
with
equal
confidence against Florida’s Tsveta
Dimitrova. She took the first set,
6-1, after Dimotrova sent her
return into the net. Craciun calmy
walked to her bench to prepare for
the next set.
Pairone, though, was anything
but calm.
She let out fiery screams after
every game and was extremely
animated.
“I always have a lot of energy,”
Pairone said. “I’m very loud so
that’s just who I am.”
She took a 5-1 lead before
dropping the next set. It was clear
that would be the last time she
lost. She laid down some sizzling
shots to win the match 6-1, 6-2.
After securing the victory, she ran
to the bench, dropped her racket
and turned to watch her teammate
finish off the Gators.
Craciun won two key deuce
points to go up, 5-1, but then
dropped the next set.
The entire team looked on as
Craciun geared up for the final
serve of the match. Craciun
watched the return sail wide and
the match was over.
“I was just looking around at my
team,” Craciun said. “I knew they
were there for me.”
And after securing the win,
Pairone was the first one there to
leap into Craciun’s arms.
Pitching depth provides opportunity
Over the past two seasons,
the Michigan softball team’s
success in the circle has largely
fallen on the shoulders of one
athlete:
junior
left-hander
Meghan Beaubien.
But this season, as sophomore
right-hander
Alex
Storako
comes into her own and the
Wolverines welcome two more
pitchers
onto
their
roster,
Beaubien may be able to give her
arm a rest from time to time.
For the first time in 20
years,
the
Wolverines’
pitching staff now boasts five
pitchers:
Beaubien,
Storako,
freshman left-hander Lauren
Esman,
freshman
right-
hander Chandler Dennis and
junior
right-hander
Sarah
Schaefer. But with so many of
Michigan’s
options
untested
and unseasoned, it’s too early
to tell what impact the added
depth will have.
Esman was ranked the No. 65
recruit nationally by FloSoftball
in the 2019 class. As a senior
in high school, she posted an
ERA of 0.42 and racked up 341
strikeouts in 148.2 innings.
But collegiate play is a whole
different
ballgame.
Pitchers
face a different caliber of batter
and a new level of pressure. For
Storako, it took a full year until
she felt like she’d found her
personality in the circle. Esman
may be a similar case.
“We haven’t utilized Esman
as much going into this part of
the year,” Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins said. “We’ve been
kind of working her slow. We’re
picking that up a little bit. She’s
not as far along as we might
need her to be, so she might have
to get on the fast-track.”
For
Dennis
—
the
No.
29-ranked recruit by FloSoftball
—
that
transition
may
be
happening a bit faster. She
registered a 1.04 ERA in high
school and was a three-year
All-State honoree in Georgia.
Hutchins has made it clear that
both of the new additions will
get the opportunity to prove
themselves this season.
“(Dennis) is definitely better
this semester than she was last
semester,” Hutchins said. “I
think (Dennis) is really capable
of some great things, and I
think she needs to see herself
as great. She needs to have
some determination everyday
and every pitch — like all of
them. They’re always a work in
progress.”
Schaefer
rounds
out
the
Wolverines’
bullpen
as
the
third returning pitcher, though
she’ll be out with an injury for
at least a month. Even when she
returns, it’s unclear how much
time she’ll spend in the circle.
Her
freshman
season,
Schaefer posted a stellar ERA
of 1.57 — although only pitched
62.1 innings — but she was
largely absent from last season’s
rotation, finishing with only 17.2
innings pitched and an ERA of
3.17.
In practice, the added depth
on
this
year’s
roster
may
not make a huge difference.
Hutchins and the rest of her
assistant coaches may choose to
stick with last season’s rotation
of Beaubien and Storako — the
tried and true pairing that
carried the team to a Big Ten
Tournament win. But their
goal is to use the entire staff. If
even one of the other pitchers
becomes a reliable option, it
would be a game-changer for
the Wolverines.
While Michigan is always
a force in the Big Ten, it has
struggled in recent years to
compete
with
west-coast
powerhouses in the postseason.
The Wolverines haven’t made
it out of Super Regionals since
2016 when they lost in the
second round of the World
Series. But a third pitcher in
the rotation could be what takes
Michigan to the next level.
Most top-ranked programs
— including Florida and Florida
State who the Wolverines will
face at next weekend’s Wilson-
Demarini tournament — have
more
than
two
consistent
pitchers. But the last time
Michigan was able to use three
pitchers
in
relatively
even
amounts was 2014.
Pitching
upwards
of
10
innings a weekend, it’s easy for
a pitcher to get worn out by the
end of the season. But more than
that, it’s about having someone
to pick up the slack.
“The beauty of (having five
pitchers) is if somebody isn’t
on and somebody else isn’t
on, hopefully the next person
will be and we really use the
staff,”
Hutchins
said.
“We
certainly need to have high level
performance from each of them.
That’s going to be the key.”
There’s
no
question
the
Wolverines’ pitching staff has
the talent to make that happen.
The issue will lie in how soon
they find their rhythm.
LANE KIZZIAH
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior right-hander Sarah Schaefer posted a 3.17 ERA in 2019.
JOSH TAUBMAN
For The Daily
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior Guilia Pairone secured Michigan’s victory over Florida with a win in her singles match on Tuesday.
DREW COX
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
The Michigan men’s lacrosse team brings back a majority of its production from 2019, despite losing Brent Noseworthy and Decker Curran, among others.