The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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and we just have this whole different vibe from then on." Two nights later, Michigan blitzed No. 14 Ohio State 3-1 and entered the tournament extremely confident in its ability to win any match. "After you play in the Big Ten, which is pretty much considered the Women's Teams That Shined In 2012-13 Softball: Went 51-13, winning the Big Ten regular-season title, and NCAA regional and super regional tournaments to advance to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2009. Tennis: Posted a record of 23-6, including 10-1 in league play to win a conference title. Recorded a mark of 9-5 against ranked competition, hosted and won an NCAA regional, and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season. Soccer: Won 16 games (16-5-3) for only the third time in school history, in recording its best Big Ten finish (third) since 2004. Won a pair of NCAA Tournament contests before falling in penalty kicks (following a 1-1 tie) to No. 5 Penn State in a Sweet 16 matchup. Basketball: Matched a school record (set in 2000) with 22 wins, posting a .667 winning percentage, while going 9-7 in league play to place fifth in the Big Ten. Qualified for its second straight NCAA Tournament and won a first-round game for the first time since 2001. best conference in the country, you just have this confidence that you've already beaten the best, and there is no obstacle that will stand in your way if we played as a team," Erwin said. "Every night in the tournament someone else was the star, and sometimes we'd start with one person, then go to another, and then to another. You couldn't stop us because you couldn't just take away one person or two; we were all capable of scoring for our team. "We played great offense and great defense, and we never let anything rattle us, even when we were losing." Semifinal Showdown Both Texas and Penn State were veterans of the Final Four, but Michigan arrived a newbie, overwhelmed with the bright lights, packed 15,000seat arena, and the attention that came from a nationally televised event on ESPN. They played shellshocked in the first game, losing 2511 to the physically dominant Longhorns. That could have been the end for this Cinderella story. U-M could have bowed out in two more games and returned to Ann Arbor disappointed. Instead, feeding off the whispers they had heard all week that they didn't belong, the Maize and Blue dug in and went on the attack, earning 25-21 and 25-23 victories in games two and three to take a 2-1 lead over Texas. "After the first set, I looked at Erwin and said, 'What just happened?'" Cross relayed. "They were