8/7/2019 A2SportsFront 3-24-11

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Chin up,

UM fans,it onlygetsbetter

Listen.

I know youre upsetand I know a lot of youare probably inconsolableright now.

I know it hurts.I saw it too.I watched Saturday as the

University Michigan basketball

team lost a painfully close gameto Duke.

I watched the Wolverinessnarl, snap and claw their wayback into a game that Dukehad pretty much closed out inthe first several minutes of thesecond half.

Michigan was down 15 pointswith about 10 minutes left in thegame, but the team refused toroll over.

Instead, I watched theWolverines come alive, closethe gap and cut the lead to just afield goal.

Down two points with justseconds left in the game, theWolverines put the ball intothe hands of Darius Morris,who drove the lane and put up

a floater.The ball went up, and thenclanged unceremoniously offthe heel of the rim.

Michigan lost and was denieda spot in the Sweet 16.

But you already knew all that.Michigans loss on Saturday

was the latest kick in the stom-ach for UM basketball fans.

It was the kind of close-but-no-cigar moment that has theWolverine faithful starting tofeel like fans of the ChicagoCubs.

But at least the Cubs fanshave Old Style and Wrigleyville.

Michigan basketball fansseem to have nothing but disap-pointment these days.

But Im here to let you all inon a little secret. You shouldnt

be upset.Think about it.

PLEASE SEE GOALS/3-D

Gabriel Richard hosts all Ann Arborlacrosse teams for first time

PLEASE SEE LARSON/3-D

March 24, 2011Heritage Media

OURSPORTSDSECTION

Log onto our Web sitefor additional stories, local

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Going for goals in A2

Photos by Mike Larson/A2 JOURNAL

Gabriel Richard lacrosse coach Jim Carl discusses strategy with his team on Saturday. The coach organized a round-robin scrimmage that included all thelacrosse teams from Ann Arbor. Pioneer, Huron, Greenhills, Gabriel Richard and Skyline all participated.

By Mike LarsonA2 Journal

The season hasnt even start-ed yet, but the lacrosse teamsin Ann Arbor have alreadyaccomplished something theyhave never done before.

On Saturday, Father Gabriel

Richard High School hostedthe citys four other lacrosseteams for a spring scrimmage.

Teams from Huron,Greenhills, Pioneer andSkyline joined the FightingIrish on the turf field atGabriel Richard to shake offthe winter rust and take thefirst shots of the lacrosseseason.

Despite the fact that lacrossehas had a significant presencein Ann Arbor for several years,this is the first time ever that

all five of the citys high schoolteams have been able to playtogether on the same field.

Although most of theareas coaches said the eventhad been discussed before, itwasnt until Richard coachJim Carl got involved that itbecame a reality.

It just seemed like a lot offun, Carl said. As a Catholicschool, a lot of these kids havegrown up together. Theyvecompeted in other sports,whether its hockey or soc-cer, everybody wants to playagainst some of their friends.There are friendships thatexist and I just think its greatfor the whole Ann Arbor com-munity.

In addition to players get-

Hardwood heavenAnn Arbor is becoming a bastionof high school basketball successBy Mike LarsonA2 Journal

While there isnt a singleAnn Arbor high school bas-ketball team left alive in theMHSAA postseason tourna-ments, its hard to argue theimpact that prep basketball has

had on the city.A quick look back over thelast few weeks gives a prettyclear picture of where AnnArbor stands in the landscapeof high school basketball, andits a very pretty picture.

In boys basketball, theschools of Ann Arbor tookBrighton by storm, dominatingthe district tournament in thecity of the Bulldogs.

Huron, Pioneer and Skylinetook part in the district tourna-ment and were the last threeteams standing.

Skyline ousted Pinckneyand Dexter while Pioneer tookdown Brighton.After a first round bye, Huronthen beat Pioneer in the semi-finals and then Skyline in thefinals.

Basketball in Ann Arboris as strong as its ever been,Huron coach Waleed Samahasaid. That Pioneer team is agood team. Skyline is a goodteam. Weve got a good team.

In addition to the Class Aboys teams, the city has apowerful presence in Class Bfrom the Catholic High SchoolLeagues Ann Arbor GabrielRichard.

After having a rough stretchin which the team played a host

of larger schools, Richard wonjust five games during the regu-lar season in 2010-11.

However the Fighting Irishproved that they are still a force

File Photo

Huron senior A.J. Mathew drives during a game against Dayton Dunbar earlier this season. AnnArbor is quickly becoming one of the most successful basketball cities in the state.

PLEASE SEE HARDWOOD/3-D

File Photo

Pioneer senior Kamilah Carter goes up for a layup. Carter wasrecently named to the APs Class A All-State First Team.

Carter named toAll-State listBy Mike LarsonA2 Journal

Kamilah Carter spent herentire high school career wow-ing fans of the Pioneer girlsbasketball team.

This year, she celebrated hersenior season by helping thePioneers win their first districtchampionship in 10 years.

Now, she can celebrate again.Recently, Carter was named

to the Associated Press GirlsBasketball Class A All-StateFirst Team.

She was the areas only pick.Huron players Kelcy Barott

and Devin Talley of Ann ArborHuron were tapped as Class Ahonorable mentions.

Carter was a force all seasonfor the Pioneers, averaging 19.1points per game.

PLEASE SEE CARTER/3-D

GENERAL

ADMISSION

MIKE LARSON

In addition to all of the sportsstories and information found inthese pages, the A2 Journalsports section offers even moremedia online.Check us out on Facebook(www.facebook.com/A2JournalSports) for stories,

photo albums video and more.Follow us out on Twitter to getup to the minute scores fromyour favorite high school teamsand get updates gamecancelations or time changes.

Were more than justa sports section

You can also become facebookfriends with sports writer MikeLarson (www.facebook.com/A2SportsGuy) and follow him inrealtime as he updates hislocation using Foursquare. Trackhim down in and around AnnArbor to get the scoop on localsports happenings.

8/7/2019 A2SportsFront 3-24-11

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Page 2-D Thursday, March 24, 2011 HERITAGE MEDIA/A2 JOURNAL

Shooting for success

2011 LACROSSE PREVIEW

By Mike LarsonA2 Journal

Team: Father Gabriel RichardCoach: Jim Carl, 2nd yearConference: Catholic High School LeagueRecord last year: 14-6Top returners: Colin McMahon, Adam Kolevar, Michael Ramos, Mark

Tanski, Carl Pressprich, Max YoasTom newcomers: Nick Bierley, Andrew Marino, Steven RamosStrength: Leadership. The Gabriel Richard lacrosse team is packed with

experience this season. The team has a stud senior in Colin McMahon, who isa four-year varsity player for the Fighting Irish. Other strong seniors are CarlPressprich and Max Yoas. The team also has a strong core of juniors who aregoing to get more and more experience as the season wears on.

Drawback: Lost a lot of talent last year. Although the Irish will have plentyof experience back, there is no denying the hole that graduation left in the ros-ter. Gabriel Richard last13 seniors from last year,

and will need players tostep up in order to com-pete in the competitiveCatholic High SchoolLeague.

Outlook: Coach JimCarl said he fully expect-ed his team to competefor a CHSL title, despitea difficult schedule.

This is the toughestschedule weve ever hadhere, he said. Of our18 games, 10 of themare against top 10 oppo-nents.

The Irish will play apair of games againstboth Cranbrook andNotre Dame Prep, aswell as games against

Orchard Lake St. Marysand Okemos.The road is going to

be long and hard forthe Irish, but McMahonand Adam Kolevar canrise to the occasionand if goalie MichaelRamos can continueto improve, there is noreason Gabriel Richardshouldnt be able to havea chance at that covetedCHSL title.

Team: HuronCoach: Joe Koengeter,

3rd yearConference: Southeastern Conference Red DivisionRecord last year: 9-8Top returners: Henry Upton, Chris Welch, Zak Hilfinger, Gabe Ruel, Shaun

GrecoTop newcomers: Nick Sorscher, Kyle AaronsonStrength: Communication. The River Rats have found a knack for talking to

one another while on the field, a skill that coach Joe Koengeter said will servethem well.

Its so important right now, the coach said of his teams communication.Its so hard to be successful if you arent talking.

The coach also said the squads defense will be a strength this season.Weakness: Clearing the ball. Huron has struggled early getting the ball out

of its own zone and limiting opponents scoring chances.Outlook: Koengeter said he hoped his team would be atop the Southeastern

Conference standings at the end of the year.This is the start of my third year, he said. And I think right now we are at

a point to contend for a conference title.

Team: GreenhillsCoach: Mike Costello, 2nd yearConference: IndependentRecord last year: 7-9Top returners: Kyle Wozniak, John Lazaserfeld, Henry Aspergren, Jon

Saltzman, Mike Szocik, Alex WozniakTop newcomers: Greenhills coach Mike Costello said he had a lot of new

players who could make an impact.We have a bunch, he said. There is a buzz about this team around the

school. We have 14 to 15 new guys.Strength: Experience. The Greenhills team has another year under its belt,

and Costello is hoping that translates into success.Weakness: Communication. All good team communicate at a really high

level, Costello said. We arent doing that right now. We really need to bringthat up.

Outlook: The Greenhills team has a goal to win more games that it loses,and Costello thinks thats possible. Improvement is also a big ambition for the

Gryphons.We just want to get

better and better everyday, Costello said.

Team: PioneerCoach: James Corey,

1st yearConference:

Southeastern ConferenceRed Division

Record last year: 12-6Top returners: Nick

Mrjoian, Kevin Groupe,Mike Jones

Top newcomers:Harry Hadden, KyleWaitz, Jesse Fernandez

Strength: Midfield.The Pioneers return 14seniors to its midfieldfrom last season. Theexperience will help the

team as it moves for-ward.Weakness: Defense.

Pioneer lost 2/3 of itsdefensive squad from lastyear and only returnstwo starters. The defensewill need to step up earlyin the season if Pioneerwants to remain competi-tive.Outlook: Pioneercoach James Corey saidhis teams goal was tomake it to the MichiganHigh School AthleticAssociation playoffs, andmake it to the final four.

With a strong group of seniors and plenty of experience, its a very attainablegoal.

Team: SkylineCoach: Nick Zoroya, 3rd yearConference: Southeastern Conference Red DivisionRecord last year: 4-4 (varsity teams), 7-3 (JV teams)Top returners: Don Weidner, Ben Brinkerhoff, Sam Olson, Eric GuldbergTop newcomers: Seth Bear, Aaron DziubinskiStrength:AthleticismWeakness: Experience. The Eagles have no seniors yet and are still working

on mastering their offense.Outlook: This season will be the first in which the Skyline team will play a

full varsity schedule.Despite that, coach Nick Zoroya has high aspirations for his team.Realistically, I think we can win 12 games, Zoroya said. And I think we can

win a playoff game or two.Mike Larson can be reached by email at Mlarson@A2Journal.com. Check out

his page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/A2SportsGuy and follow him onTwitter at www.twitter.com/A2JournalSports.

Photo by Mike Larson/A2 JOURNAL

Pioneer fi rst year head coach James Corey talks with his team Saturday during a scrimmage at GabrielRichard. Pioneer, as well as the other four Ann Arbor lacrosse teams, is hoping for a successful sea-son.