For the Mattins, Michigan’s 

family atmosphere is only fitting

In sports, your team is a family. 
Developing a relationship keeps 

the team together, and the closer 
it is to a family, the better. But the 
Michigan wrestling team is a step 
above the others, featuring three 
pairs of family members — the 
Amines, Corrells and Mattins. 

What has the program done to 

attract so many siblings? For the 
Mattin brothers, it’s the family 
connection. Their commitment to 
wrestling together started a long 
time ago.

“Over time, our relationship 

has definitely changed because 
we used to fist-fight all the time 
when we were training,” redshirt 
junior Drew Mattin said. “Now, 
(Cole) is one of the best partners 
to train with, so it’s come full 
circle.” 

“I 
would 
say 
when 
we 

started off probably up until my 
sophomore year of high school, 
we used to fight about every single 
time 
we 
practiced 
together,” 

sophomore Cole Mattin said. “ … 
Definitely now, we can actually 
learn from each other instead of 
getting into fights every single 
time.”

Drew was already in the 

program for two years, and when 
it was time for Cole’s commitment, 
he knew his brother was going to 

have an influence.

“He really did not have much 

word on my commitment because 
he wanted me to do what I wanted 
to do, not what he wanted me 
to do,” Cole said. “Obviously he 
wanted me there and thought it 
would be great to wrestle with 
him, which is a lot of why I came 
to Michigan, but in the end he did 
tell me he wanted me to come to 
Michigan, but he did not influence 
it much. But I definitely made the 
correct decision.” 

Last season was Cole’s first in 

the program and Drew’s third. 
When Drew decided to redshirt, 
Cole slid into the lineup, and Drew 
gave him pointers throughout 
the season. Cole won 16 of his 29 
matches last year.

“Drew and I are brothers by 

blood, and my teammates are 
basically my brothers, just not 
by blood,” Cole said. “Family is 
a very big influence on our team 
because we have a ton of brothers. 
Actually my brother Zack is a 
(high school) senior coming up 
to the program next year. There’s 
just a lot of things that draw you 
closer to Michigan and seeing like 
the family bond and how everyone 
is super close is just another thing 
that makes you want to go there.”

All teams have a special bond, 

but according to the Mattins, 
there is something about a family 
relationship that just means more 
in their eyes.

JAKE MOZARSKY

For The Daily

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

The Mattin brothers both chose Michigan because of its familial culture.

Can there be a college hockey season?

More than anything, I want 

college hockey to start. But I’m not 
sure it should. 

On The Daily’s hockey beat, 

we cover hockey because we love 
hockey and we want to write 
about hockey. For the last month, 
we’ve covered a team we’ve never 
seen play in person. Nothing 
would make me happier than to 
spend hours at Yost scrambling 
to finish a flash gamer on time, 
transcribing interviews for way 
too long and staying awake until 
ungodly hours of the night putting 
the finishing touches on a story. 

Of course, the fact that I want 

the season to start is justifiably 
irrelevant. If for some reason I 
didn’t want to watch live hockey — 
and would instead prefer to spend 
the rest of the year searching for 
player highlights on YouTube to 
break down — nobody would care. 
They shouldn’t care. I’m not the 
one taking the ice. 

The only opinion that should 

matter is that of the players, 
and they’ve made it clear that 
they 
want 
to 
play. 
They’ve 

demonstrated it by following 
the rules and holding each other 
accountable, 
and 
the 
results 

show they’ve stayed responsible. 

Beyond one positive test from 
when the team initially arrived 
back on campus in July, every 
COVID test — of both players and 
coaches — has come up negative. 

“Our players have done a great 

job taking care of themselves as 
far as that,” assistant coach Bill 
Muckalt said. “I know everybody’s 
negative right now.”

The key to keeping the players 

safe is continuing and expanding 
that testing and contact-tracing. 
For the last few months, players 
have been tested three times a 
week. In accordance with the Big 
Ten’s fall sports reopening plans, 
that will be ramped up to daily 
testing in the coming weeks. 

So, to recap, people want to see 

hockey games, and players want 
to play hockey games. To achieve 
this, the players, coaches and even 
the Big Ten have come up with 
and followed responsible plans of 
action. 

Unfortunately, the rest of us 

have not.

In Ann Arbor, we have failed 

to confront COVID-19 at every 
level. Individual students making 
poor decisions is one thing — 
it’s certainly bad, and students 
choosing to violate public health 
guidelines are selfish and entitled 
— but at least these individual 
failures can, to an extent, be 
contained. The unavoidable issue 

is that we’re nearly seven months 
into the pandemic, and testing 
scarcity is still making getting 
tested difficult for students. Every 
test we give to athletics is one that 
another vulnerable population 
isn’t getting.

It’s especially problematic in 

the context of the University’s 
abysmal 
pandemic 
response. 

Right now, a student can’t get a 
COVID test from the University 
unless they are symptomatic 
or have had direct contact with 
someone diagnosed with COVID. 
According to the University’s 
own COVID-19 dashboard, more 
than half of student positive tests 
in September came from outside 
testing 
sources. 
That 
means 

we’re likely missing a huge chunk 
of positive tests from students 
without access to a car. 

Those who can get tested 

on 
campus 
— 
say, 
through 

the COVID-19 Sampling and 
Tracking 
Program, 
where 
a 

random sample of asymptomatic 
student volunteers are tested each 
week — will still have to wait two 
days for results to process. Fall 
athletes, meanwhile, will receive 
rapid antigen tests every day. 
This isn’t a guarantee that players 
won’t get the virus, it just means 
that when someone does, it’ll be 
easier to keep it from becoming an 
outbreak. 

It’s not a problem that athletes 

are getting these tests; it’s a 
problem that everyone else is not. 

In fairness, the Big Ten, not the 

University, is shouldering the cost 
of these tests for athletes. But does 
that make it any more justifiable 
that tens of thousands of rapid 
tests will be conducted on athletes, 
while local communities may 
not have access to asymptomatic 
testing at all? Even if they’re not 
taking the opportunity for testing 
from the University specifically, 
the 
tests 
are 
coming 
from 

somewhere. 

Let me be clear on this: The 

Michigan hockey team deserves 
to have a season. The players have 
done everything right, and in a just 
situation, they would have a time 
and place already set for their first 
game. 

But nothing about this situation 

is just — for anyone. We have to 
play with the cards we’re dealt, and 
because of our failed pandemic 
response, we’re stuck with off-suit 
nines and tens. We shouldn’t have 
to ration tests seven months into 
the pandemic, but we do. 

And frankly, I’m not sure 

hockey’s worth it.

Roose can be reached at 
rooseb@umich.edu or on 
Twitter @BrendanRoose.

COURTESY OF TIEN LE

On the Big Ten’s dime, Michigan hockey players will be tested for COVID-19 more frequently in hopes of playing a season in the winter.

BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Editor

18 — Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Blake using national team 

experience to bolster Michigan

At 
18, 
most 
students 
are 

just getting things figured out: 
graduating high school, pondering 
future 
career 
trajectories 
and 

wasting a little too much time on 
social media.

But Hannah Blake isn’t most 

students. At 18, the Michigan 
women’s soccer team forward was 
representing her home nation, New 
Zealand, in the U20 World Cup — for 
the second time in her career.

In 2016, Blake played for New 

Zealand in the Papua New Guinea 
U20 World Cup at just 16. In 2018, 
she again lined up for New Zealand 
in the U20 World Cup in France, 
where her highlight reel included 
an impressive goal from the far 
left corner of the box against the 
Netherlands

“It’s a surreal experience you 

can’t really describe,” Blake said. 
“It’s completely awesome being able 
to represent all the hard work you’ve 
put in.”

Blake is reaping the benefits of 

this hard work in more ways than 
one. Her stellar performances in 
tournaments like these were a 
significant factor in her being offered 
a significant role for Michigan last 
year. As a freshman, Blake started 19 
of the team’s 24 games, scoring two 
goals and assisting three more.

Despite 
these 
impressive 

achievements, 
Blake 
remains 

humble. While she acknowledges 

that scoring in the World Cup was a 
personal achievement of significant 
magnitude, Blake was adamant 
that the disappointment of falling 
to the Netherlands 2-1 in that game 
outweighed the jubilation of scoring 
the goal, as the loss meant that the 
team was set up poorly for the rest of 
the tournament.

For Blake, the feeling of suiting 

up for New Zealand is unparalleled. 
But in her first year at Michigan, she 
experienced something entirely new.

“The amount of passion that 

people in the U.S. have for soccer is 
something that differs a lot,” Blake 
said. “The amount of energy that 
people bring makes it super exciting 
to play at Michigan.”

The more physical style of play in 

the American college game has also 
pushed her boundaries as a player.

“In the U.S., there’s a bigger 

emphasis 
on 
strength 
and 

other athletic attributes,” Blake 
said. “You’re in a high intensity 
environment all the time, which 
was something I had to get used to 
during my freshman year, but that’s 
definitely been a positive for me.”

Blake hopes to use her time at 

Michigan as a scaffold to push on to 
bigger career goals.

“The Women’s World Cup is 

in Australia and New Zealand in 
2023, so I think that’s definitely the 
direction I’d like to work toward. 
Being able to represent your country 
in front of home fans would be 
amazing, and I think my time here at 
Michigan is going to be able to help 
me work toward those goals.”

GRAYSON BUNNING

For The Daily

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Hannah Blake played for New Zealand, her home country, in the U20 World Cup.

Club lacrosse rises through pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic 

raged through the summer, 
its presence loomed over the 
men’s club lacrosse team’s 
season. 
Members 
worried 

about whether they would 
even be able to practice as 
fall crept ever closer. The 
elimination of intercollegiate 
play 
proved 
a 
foregone 

conclusion.

Then in late August, the 

University allowed the team 
to begin a public health-
informed practice schedule 
at Mitchell Field, a major 
stepping stone in the road 
back to competition.

Like 
many 
Michigan 

club sports, the student-led 
lacrosse team faced a litany 
of uncertainties coming into 
the new year. With safety 
precautions 
impacting 

everything from practices to 
scheduling and recruiting to 
team bonding, the lacrosse 
team was forced to adapt in 
order to enter its ninth season 
in the National Collegiate 
Lacrosse League.

Traditionally, fall means 

weekly practices and some 
intercollegiate play for the 
team to hone its craft for the 
spring season, during which 
the Wolverines compete in 
the NCLL’s midwest division. 
If the team wins its division, 
it finds itself in the national 
Elite 
Eight 
at 
the 
Naval 

Academy in Annapolis, Md. 

However, 
those 
plans 

are up in the air due to the 
ongoing 
pandemic. 
There 

will be no intercollegiate play 
this fall, and the pandemic 
has prevented the planning 
of a schedule for the spring 
season.

In order to stay in game 

shape during the ongoing 

pandemic, the team has been 
practicing once a week to 
work on individual skills and 
team strategy, but the team 
prioritizes 
safety 
during 

practices, especially during 
drills with close contact.

“When 
suiting 
up 
for 

practice on the sidelines, we 
try to be a little more spread 
out than usual,” club lacrosse 
vice 
president 
Harrison 

Gerber 
said. 
“Additionally, 

we highly recommend players 
wear masks whenever we 
huddle up as an entire team 
before and after practice to 
talk. However, during the 
actual drills we do not enforce 
any mask wearing beyond 
personal preference.”

The team also limits the 

number 
of 
athletes 
who 

can attend the practices to 
a maximum of around 30. 
Club lacrosse has historically 
been a student-led endeavor, 
something which its president 
was quick to mention.

“Practices are fully player-

led with members of the 
e-board as well as captains 
usually 
taking 
the 
roles 

of coaches,” club lacrosse 
president 
Andrew 
Poulos 

said. “We pride ourselves 
that 
we 
are 
disciplined 

enough 
to 
run 
practices, 

games and whole seasons 
with oversight over ourselves. 
Everyone collectively knows 
our goals and wants to work 
toward them even without an 
authoritative figure.”

Relationships 
with 

the 
University 
have 
been 

productive, 
according 
to 

Poulos.

“We had to spend most of 

the summer waiting to see 
if we would be allowed to 
use the fields,” Poulos said. 
“But (the University) kept us 
updated on the process when 
we asked and let us know as 
soon as they could.

“We definitely had to be the 

initiator of most conversations 
with the University as they 
did not make formal decisions 
apparent right away, but they 
were good about responding 
and explaining the situation 
when we did ask.”

Club 
sports 
assistant 

director Laurel Hanna and 
program 
manager 
Cybbi 

Barton 
did 
not 
provide 

comment in time for the 
publication of this article.

But while the spring season 

remains 
uncertain, 
Gerber 

hopes some sort of working 
plan can be formulated.

“Longer term, we really 

hope other teams can generate 
some sort of plan to return 
to play so we can have a real 
season this spring,” Gerber 
said. “At this point, it’s pretty 
much out of our hands. We can 
do everything in our power 
to stay game ready, but it’s 
up to the greater NCLL and 
our individual peer schools 
to determine if we can put 
together 
a 
schedule 
this 

spring.”

Poulos believes the spring 

season’s future lies in the 
progress of fighting COVID-
19, especially the development 
of a working vaccine.

“The biggest challenge with 

planning out a spring season 
is the uncertainty of how the 
virus will progress and what 
will be safe in the future 
months,” Poulos said. “We 
hope, along with the rest of the 
country, that COVID won’t be 
an issue by the spring, but we 
know that it is very possible 
that we will still be fighting it.

“It is hard to plan a season 

when we have very little idea 
of what will be safe and what 
will be allowed at that time.”

While many experienced 

players are more than willing 
to adapt to the new landscape 
of sports during the pandemic, 

club lacrosse has found itself 
in a bind when it comes to 
attracting new members this 
fall.

Gerber hopes that the more 

focused recruiting strategy 
during the pandemic will 
mean a higher retention of new 
players into future seasons, 
but Poulos worries about the 
impact of pandemic recruiting 
on the team’s future rosters.

“For the future, the main 

issue is freshman recruiting 
and team cohesion,” Poulos 
said. “With virtual FestiFall 
and 
a 
lack 
of 
in-person 

communication, we have less 
freshmen than usual right 
now. While we still have 
enough players, we always 
like having a good group of 
freshmen that will carry the 
team into future seasons.”

As COVID-19 limits the 

number of safe recreational 
activities, forming a strong 
camaraderie 
among 
team 

members — something usually 
fostered with team hangouts 
and social events — poses a 
difficult challenge for the 
team.

“This season we feel that 

having team hangouts would 
be unsafe and irresponsible. 
However, we still want to 
make sure the community 
aspect is there,” Poulos said. 
“We are trying to figure out 
virtual ways to do this, but 
as most people around the 
country now know, it is much 
harder to make a connection 
with someone virtually.”

Ultimately, 
the 
team’s 

focus lies on preparing for the 
uncertain spring campaign 
through drills and intrasquad 
competition. 

“Overall, we are happy that 

we can still play in a limited 
capacity,” Poulos said, ”and 
we hope we can still establish 
the community that makes me 
love this team.”

CONNOR EAREGOOD

For The Daily

