The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/740130
NOVEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS The first time Sina Lampe ever came to the United States, it was to visit the University of Michigan, who was looking to add the Ber- gisch Gladbach, Germany, native to its field hockey team. "The first impression was I just felt really comfortable being here," the senior said. " Talking to the coaches, looking at the academic side of the school, because that was another big point." Despite feeling comfort- able in Ann Arbor, it took Lampe some time to adjust to life in the U.S. Initially, she translated the English she heard back into Ger- man and then reversed that process before responding, but that is not the case any- more. Although it took some time, Lampe has certainly found her stride. Through 15 games this season, she played in 14 and ranks sixth on the team with eight points. The German has contributed a team- best six assists and one goal playing both midfield and forward this year. For her career, Lampe has eight goals and seven assists for a total of 23 points. Lampe noted that on the field the most important thing is for her to bring positive energy to the team. Ac- cording to her, the team has a ten- dency to internalize the things that go wrong on the field, and in this later portion of the season, tough losses to highly ranked teams are taking a toll on the Wolverines. On the academic side of things, Lampe is studying psychology, a de- gree that was more accessible to her at Michigan than back home in Ger- many. Though she is still a semester and a half from graduating, Lampe has completed her program and is taking extra psychology classes to further her education before heading to a job back in her na- tive land. " When I came here, I tried communications first, which I didn't like that much," Lampe explained. "Then I got into psy- chology and really enjoyed that, working with people. "I'm going to go back to Ger- many, and I already have an in- ternship with a company back there. Then I'm going to try to get into criminal psychology for a master's program. They have a really good one near where I live." Lampe has played club field hockey for RHTC Bayer Leverku- sen for 11 years and intends to continue playing club field hockey once she returns follow- ing her graduation. After getting a taste of the NCAA Tournament last year, Lampe and the rest of her team have high expectations for the remainder of this year. She hopes to finish off her career with a Big Ten championship and to challenge for the national title. U-M was listed 12th nationally in the Oct. 11 coaches' poll. "Being a senior, the past few years we didn't win a ring," Lampe said. "So that's the biggest goal for us seniors — a championship." — Leland Mitchinson Student Athlete Of The Month Field Hockey Senior Sina Lampe Lampe leads the Wolverines with six assists through 15 games and has also notched one goal. PHOTO BY SAM JANICKI Michigan football's 6-0 record and No. 3 Associated Press ranking caused plenty of buzz about Jim Harbaugh's Wol- verines heading into the second half of the football season. One beat writer insisted U-M could be headed for the College Football Playoff, depending on one particular factor. According to M-Live's Nick Baumgardner, the Wolverines can arrive at college football's version of the Final Four if redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight takes a strong step forward over the second half of the regular season. "The first half of Michigan's season was perfect," Baumgard- ner wrote, days before the Wolverines' homecoming contest against Illinois. "The Wolverines are 6-0, ranked No. 3 in the country. They have a defense capable of making small chil- dren cry, a head coach who beats a team 78-0 and apologizes for nothing, a possible Heisman Trophy candidate and an improving rushing attack that features four capable backs. "And then there's Speight. "Through six games, this much is clear: the defense is good enough to win a title, Jabrill Peppers is good enough to win a major award, the running game is probably good enough to hold the water and if — IF — Speight can take off Michigan is good enough to beat anyone standing in between itself and the College Football Playoff. "And, yeah, that includes Ohio State." Baumgardner indicated he expects Michigan opponents to load up against the run the rest of the way, forcing Speight to beat them with throws, much like he had to do against a run- obsessed Central Florida squad. He noted Speight has been very good in many ways while completing 61.6 percent of his throws, with a 145.03 quarterback rating. "But is he good enough to win you a big game — on the road — against an elite team?" Baumgardner asked. "I don't think we've found that out yet. And that's the ultimate question standing between Michigan and Indianapolis at the moment." Baumgardner: Michigan Is A Playoff Team, If …