The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 
Sports
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 — 11 

Hughes’s speed 

devastates 
Penn State

Michigan blows past Ohio State, 29-8, in first Big Ten dual of the season

With nine seconds left in the 

second quarter, a fast break for 
Maryland had begun to form. 
Terrapins forward Angel Reese 
looked to get a last second layup 
before the end of the half to trim 
the deficit. But Michigan senior 
forward Naz Hillmon was back 
defensively and made an emphat-
ic left-handed block inside the 
paint to deny Reese’s shot and 
keep Maryland from scoring.

The 
Wolverines’ 
defense 

found a rhythm early in its vic-
tory against the Terrapins, spur-
ring a 69-49 victory. As such, 
they forced Maryland into tak-
ing difficult shots and were able 
to force turnovers.

“I thought our lock in and 

focus on the defensive end was 
absolutely incredible,” Michi-
gan coach Kim Barnes Arico 
said. 

The Terrapins started the 

game scoring 11 points, shooting 
5-of-7 in the first four minutes of 
the game. It certainly wasn’t the 
defensive start that Michigan 
was looking for. 

The Wolverines made adjust-

ments early in the game, as they 
put more of a focus towards 
defending the paint. This proved 
successful as after starting 5-of-
7 from the field, Maryland fin-
ished the remainder of the game 
shooting just 11-of-44. 

Michigan put an emphasis on 

defending the paint, making the 
Terrapins take a number of out-
side shots. Maryland was also 
silenced on the offensive glass, 
held to zero offensive rebounds 
in the first quarter and unable 
to muster second chance points. 

The Terrapins offense is predicated around 

getting rebounds off the glass, as they lead the 
Big Ten with 15.8 offensive boards per game. 
Reese leads the nation in offensive rebounds 
with 5.4 boards per game, so stopping her was 
critical to the Wolverines success. 

Michigan was able to achieve this as 

they held her to one offensive rebound 
in the first half, which came in the final 
seconds of the second quarter. That was 
a concerted effort.

“Are we going to be able to rebound 

the basketball with them because they’ll 
miss shots, but sometimes they’ll just go 
get their offensive rebound and be able 
to put it back in there,” Barnes Arico said. 
“Obviously (Maryland’s) one of the best 
offensive rebounding teams in the coun-
try as well. So I thought we really did an 
amazing job on defense and then finish-
ing the play by rebounding.”

The Wolverines made a statement on 

defense in the second quarter, too, hold-
ing the Terrapins to one field goal in the 
entire quarter on 1-of-9 shooting. 

“I just thought we were unbelievable,” 

Barnes Arico said. “I thought we set the 
tone. I thought we scrambled for each 
other. I thought we rebounded. I think 
our experience and lock in was just tre-
mendous.” 

Their strong defense was a result of 

the ability to force turnovers and put 
pressure on Maryland’s best offensive 
player. Reese, coming into the game 
averaged 18.2 points per game, had zero 
points in the first half. She shot 0-of-5 
and had three turnovers in the first, and 
ended the game with nine. 

Michigan was also able to stop Ter-

rapins guard Ashley Owusu. 
Owusu came into this game 
averaging 16.4 points per game, 
but was held to four points on 
40% 
shooting. 
Wolverines’ 

senior guard Maddie Nolan was 
the primary defender against 
Owusu.

“I think Maddie did a great job 

setting the tone on Ashlee early 

on,” Barnes Arico said. “I think 
our kids really bought into under-
standing the personnel, under-
standing their tendencies, and 
then scrambling for each other, 
something that we’ve worked on 
a lot.” 

Nolan’s strong defensive per-

formance forced three turnovers 
on Owusu. Coming into this game, 
the Terrapins averaged 11.4 turn-
overs per game, the fourth fewest 
in Division 1 women’s basketball. 
They had thirteen turnovers in the 
first half alone. 

The turnovers and strong first 

half defense allowed Michigan to 
go up 34-19.

In the second half, Maryland 

continued to struggle shooting 
the ball, as they shot 2-of-16 in the 
third. The Wolverines nullified 
the Terrapins offensive rebound-
ing as they defended the inside 
of the paint, forcing them to take 
outside shots. As a result of the 
outside shots, they were held 
scoreless for periods of 3:38 and 
2:43 in the third quarter. 

The most memorable moment 

in the third quarter came when 
the Wolverines had four players 
defending slightly outside the 
paint to stop a turnaround layup.

Michigan’s physicality on 

the play did not allow Mary-
land to drive inside the paint 
forcing them to take outside 
shots. When the Terrapins 
grabbed an offensive rebound, 
they shot a driving layup inside 
the paint. But the shot wasn’t 
close, and Kiser snatched the 
rebound. 

That sequence summed up 

Michigan’s dominating defen-
sive performance.

CHARLIE PAPPALARDO

Daily Sports Writer

Bill Muckalt has a saying 

when Luke Hughes blows by 
his man:

“Bye bye.”
And on Saturday against 

Penn State, Michigan’s asso-
ciate head coach probably 
sounded like a broken record. 
Hughes used his speed to skate 
all over the Nittany Lions on 
both ends of the ice. In a game 
that saw No. 4 Michigan rally 
from a two-goal deficit, in 
many cases, Hughes’s speed 
led the Wolverines toward 
victory.

“It’s great to see him tak-

ing steps every day,” sopho-
more goaltender Erik Portillo 
said. “The last two games here 
(Hughes is) really taking a 
step and helping the team 
win.”

Fast skating isn’t unusual 

for Hughes’s game, but he 
combined it with the rest 
of his game to devastating 
effect against Penn State. His 
positioning never let the Nit-
tany Lions set up on his inside 
shoulder, blocking their path 
toward center ice and creating 
races for the puck — races that 
favor Hughes.

And that same speed played 

a crucial role in the Wolver-
ines’ breakouts, combining 
his stick skills and elusiveness 
to dodge forecheckers. His 
skates never stopped moving, 
making micro adjustments to 
mirror the direction of the 
puck. Then when Penn State 
made a mistake, those same 
skates took off in an instant.

With that success exiting 

the zone, Michigan relied 
on Hughes to command its 
transition 
game. 
Handling 

the puck with his top hand, 
Hughes spun around fore-
checkers with ease as they 
tried to pry the puck off his 
stick. Like a miniature game 

of keep away, Hughes spun left 
and right as they scrambled for 
the puck — always a step ahead.

“You can rely on him to get 

pucks out and make a skilled 
play,” senior forward Nolan 
Moyle said. “It’s really nice 
having him back there.”

But Hughes had to get the 

puck on his stick to make 
those plays, and the Nittany 
Lions’ physical forecheck made 
that an uphill battle. Hughes 
embraced the contact, using 
his speed to build momentum 
before unleashing it along the 
boards. 

That willingness to grind 

along the boards proved vital to 
Michigan’s success, especially 
as it found itself killing penal-
ties often. Normally a defense-
man can get trapped in those 
battles, leading to dangerous 
chances for the other team. 
Hughes’s speed made certain 
they would be few and far 
between.

But for all his defensive suc-

cess, Hughes made that speed 
matter on offense, relying on 
his quickness to dodge around 
backcheckers. And paired once 
again with sophomore defen-
seman Jacob Truscott, Hughes 
saw ample opportunities to 
lean on it.

With Michigan within a 

goal, Hughes found his chance 
to capitalize. Coming off the 
rush, Hughes wiggled behind 
Penn State’s defense and scored 
before the Nittany Lions could 
react. Hughes skated so hard he 
didn’t have time to stop before 
crashing into the boards.

“It’s almost like having anoth-

er forward on the ice back there,” 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson 
said, “He really uses his skating 
to his advantage, to create scor-
ing opportunities not only for 
himself but his teammates.”

And those scoring oppor-

tunities have come all season. 
Hughes’s 22 points are the most 
of all freshmen defensemen, 
and they’re not just coming off 

secondary 
assists 

and goals through 
traffic. His elusive 
speed has created 

some of the Wol-

verines’ 
best 

goals.

Having 

quick 
feet 

gives Hughes a 
weapon 
against 

physical 
teams, 

but it doesn’t matter 
if he can’t combine 
it with the rest of 
his game. Hughes 
proved he’s got the 
second step figured 

out.

CONNOR EAREGOOD

Daily Sports Writer

Strong defense leads the way in victory 

against Maryland

Men’s Tennis dominates singles matches to 

win home opener 5-2

MARK PATRICK

Daily Sports Writer

COLUMBUS —When Michigan 

and Ohio State wrestle, it’s almost 
always a tight affair. 

Last year’s dual between the two 

teams was decided by a dramatic 
overtime takedown that gave the 
Wolverines a narrow one-point vic-
tory. Three years ago it was then-
freshman 
heavyweight 
Mason 

Parris whose high-stakes decision 
victory propelled his team’s come-
from-behind two-point win. Friday 
night’s dual was different. 

It also ended with fireworks 

from Parris in the form of a first 
period pin. But this time, less than 
half of the once raucous Buckeyes’ 
crowd had stuck around to watch it, 
and the final score was 29-8. 

No. 3 Michigan (5-0 overall, 1-0 

Big Ten) didn’t just beat No. 7 Ohio 
State (5-1, 1-1), it dominated them 
to the tune of a 21 point difference, 
winning eight of ten bouts with 
three victories earning the team 
bonus points. 

Ohio State was billed as the Wol-

verines’ first real test of the season, 
and it’s one they passed with flying 
colors. There was never a moment 

in the night where the Buckeyes 
looked as if they were even threat-
ening to hand Michigan its first loss. 

The night’s action started at 125 

lbs., where No. 1 ranked former 
NCAA champion Nick Suriano 
earned an 11-3 major-decision vic-
tory over No. 18 Malik Heinselman 
that put the Wolverines up 4-0. 
The graduate student wrestled at a 
furious pace the entire bout, and it 
paid off. He scored takedown after 
takedown on his opponent. And as 
Heinselman tired late in the bout, 
he surrendered a stalling point that 
put Suriano up by eight, and secured 
bonus points.

“We started off with a lot of 

momentum coming off at 125 with 
Nick Suriano,” graduate student 
Myles Amine said. “His energy, his 
intensity, was inspiring and set the 
tone for the rest of the match.”

At 133 lbs., redshirt freshman 

Dylan Ragusin bounced back from 
his loss at Arizona State with a 
strong showing in his match with 
Ohio 
State’s 
Will 
Betancourt. 

Ragusin sacrificed the usual low-
erweight agility antics to wrestle 
a controlled, pensive style. This 
worked for Ragusin as he won 14-5, 
earning a major-decision victory 
and putting Michigan up 8-0.

Graduate student Stevan Micic 

also bounced back from a loss, 
this time able to finish his leg 
attacks to earn a 11-7 victory over 
No. 21 Dylan D’Emilio at 141 lbs., 
making the score 11-0 Wolver-
ines. 

But two Michigan losses sand-

wiching a Will Lewan victory left 
the score 14-8, putting Ohio State a 
pin away from tying the dual when 
174 lb. graduate student Logan 
Massa took the mat.

In his second dual match of the 

season, No. 6 Massa faced No. 7 
Ethan Smith in what was expect-
ed to be the biggest tossup of the 
night. Two periods in, Massa was 
down 4-2, but a dominant third 
period in which Massa tripped, 
took down and tilted Smith led 
him to a 10-4 decision victory. As 
Massa’s hand was raised, boos 
rained down from the Buckeyes’ 
crowd, which Massa clearly rev-
eled in, skipping around the mat 

with his arms raised before run-
ning to the locker room. 

Any energy Ohio State had built 

evaporated and the score was 17-8.

“He overwhelmed the guy in 

the third period,” Michigan coach 
Sean Bormet said. “…You could see 
it in his eyes he was determined, he 
stayed consistent and was persistent 
about getting to the leg attacks. Psy-
chologically it was very demoraliz-
ing for the opponent and the rest of 
that lineup. They felt like they were 
getting a little momentum after 
165.”

If Massa’s victory demoralized 

the Buckeyes, 184 lb. Amine’s over-
time win crushed them. 

The 
second-ranked 
Amine 

wrestled an incredibly tight, low 
scoring match against No. 7 ranked 
Kaleb Romero. Amine and Romero 
found themselves in scramble after 
scramble in which each fended off 
numerous takedowns. In overtime, 
the intensity was turned to a new 
level, as each wrestler rolled or spun 
through what looked to be certain 
takedowns to keep the match alive. 
A minute and a half into the sud-
den victory period, Amine initiated 
a third scramble, narrowly avoided 
Romero’s counter, and slipped 
through his legs to earn the win-

ning takedown. Romero pounded 
the mat in frustration and fans 
streamed to exits, at 20-8, the result 
was decided. 

“Coming into this match tonight 

I knew Myles wasn’t at his best,” 
Bormet said. “But he is just a fear-
less competitor. I know he wanted 
to have a more dominant victory, but 
there’s something to be said about 
being able to win that kind of match 
when you need to in this kind of 
environment, and finding a way 
to get your hand raised. And there 
aren’t many out there that can do it 
better than Myles Amine.”

197 lb. graduate student Pat 

Brucki’s 5-2 win over Gavin Hoff-
man and Mason Parris’s pin added 
an exclamation point to the night 
for the Wolverines. But unlike 
previous years, their heroics were 
unnecessary.

As the Wolverines look forward 

to next Friday’s dual against No. 
1 Penn. State they’ll need another 
dominant performance. Friday’s 
victory is a strong place to build 
from. 

As Parris recognized: 
“We’re hoping to build on this 

win, build on this confidence and 
keep going the rest of the year.”

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily 

 Michigan needs to find offense beyond its top 

line, and for that, it should look to its veterans.

MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily 

Michigan’s stellar defense shut down Maryland’s attack from the first 

quarter, fueling the victory.

Fight hard.
That was the Michigan men’s 

tennis team’s mentality after 
dropping a sloppy doubles per-
formance to open its first match 
of the season Sunday against Vir-
ginia Tech.

And the Wolverines rebounded 

in spectacular fashion.

Michigan (1-0 overall) rallied 

to win five of six singles matches 
against the Hokies (0-2) to notch 
its first win of the season, 5-2.

“They just fought their tails 

off,” Michigan coach Adam Stein-
berg said. “That was the biggest 
thing. … They didn’t want to let 
their teammates down.”

Doubles was unusually tough 

for the Wolverines, who did not 
lose the doubles point in their 
final eight meets last season. The 
No. 1 team struggled and was 
trounced by the Hokies; The No. 

2 team won a competitive match, 
but then the No. 3 team was out-
lasted in a tough fight in which 
neither 
side 
could 
maintain 

momentum between games.

Doubles put Michigan in 

an early hole, but things 
would change in singles. The 
Wolverines 
displayed 
grit 

throughout the rest of the 
day, 
never 
staying 
down, 

never losing focus.

They were motivated.
“I played in doubles, I didn’t 

play particularly great,” sopho-
more Jacob Bickersteth said. “I 
wanted to do better for my team. 
It was my first career doubles 
match.” 

Bickersteth certainly man-

aged to accomplish that by total-
ly dominating his singles outing. 

Bickersteth was the first 

singles winner of the day. 
After taking the first five 
games, he won the No. 3 match 
in two sets and only lost three 
games overall. This fast finish 

gave Michigan a much-needed 
morale boost. 

On the heels of Bickersteth’s 

win, sophomore Nino Ehren-
schneider in the No. 6 match 
and senior Patrick Maloney in 
the No. 4 match put up strong 
performances. As the matches 
progressed 
the 
Wolverines’ 

sideline energy only grew in 
intensity, and this energy would 
fuel a strong comeback from 
sophomore Gavin Young.

“Our energy was obviously way 

better than (Virginia Tech’s),” Bick-
ersteth said. “I feel like that got 
Gavin over the hump.”


Young turned it around. He won the 
second and third sets comfortably 
to earn Michigan its fourth point to 
clinch the win. 

Even after securing the win, 

the Wolverines’ fighting spirit 
continued via junior Ondrej Sty-
ler. 

The final matchup to finish 

was Styler’s battle with Hokie 
Carlo Donato. After winning the 
first set, Styler was unable to hold 
Donato down in the second, lead-
ing to a tie breaker. In the third 
set, Styler seemed to regain the 
upper hand, but then he slipped 
and injured his leg. 

He got back up and contin-

ued playing, but soon after the 
Michigan trainer forced him to 
take an injury timeout. And yet 
he persevered, re-entering and 
playing out the rest of his match, 
winning 6-4.

“It’s always nice to come back 

in singles, it’s a big confidence 
booster,” Steinberg said. “It was 
a really good match, it was tight. 
… It’s hard to win four singles 
against anybody.”

While the Wolverines did 

dominate the scoreboard, Vir-
ginia Tech gave Michigan a 
tough challenge throughout the 
afternoon — a challenge they 
respond to with grit and spirit.

IAN PAYNE

Daily Sports Writer

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily 

Unlike previous matchups, Michigan dominated Ohio State in Columbus.

