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No Comparison
May 26, 2009
By Larry Watts Stepping out of her big sister's shadow is nothing new to Angela Findlay. The Lockport, Ill. native had to do it before with her Stone City club teams as well as at Lockport High School, which won the 2004 state softball title with a formidable lineup featuring not only the Findlay sisters, but also included the Dyer sisters (Erin and Kelly) of Northwestern as well. So when Samantha Findlay left the University of Michigan in 2008 as the career home run and runs batted-in leader, Angela was ready. "I've been living with these comparisons for a long time," says the Wolverines' junior right fielder. "We have both done very well in softball, but my dad always reminded everyone that we were two different types of players. Sam is a power hitter and I'm more of a contact hitter. "When I signed with Michigan, I think a lot of people remembered Sam's game-winning home run against UCLA in the (2005) College World Series and they were expecting more of the same thing. But you just have to play your game and not worry about what other people are saying and who they are comparing you to." Just because Samantha would be locked in at first base for two more years, it wasn't written in stone that Angela would follow her path to Ann Arbor. She took unofficial visits to Northwestern, Purdue and Illinois during the summer after her junior year of high school before finally committing to the Wolverines. "I know a lot of people thought wherever my sister went, I was going to go, but there were a lot of factors in my decision," she says. "College is a huge decision in your life and I couldn't just say I was going to go where my sister went. It had to be somewhere where I wanted to go and be a good fit because I was going to be here two years without her. "When I was being recruited, my parents never said they wanted me to come here. I was going to stay in the Midwest because we are a very close family and they were willing to come to my games as well. It just so happened my decision was the same one my sister made and I made it because I just had the right feeling about the coaches and players when I visited. And on top of it, I was going to get that education from the University of Michigan."
Academics are something this psychology major does not take lightly. For the past two years, she has maintained the highest grade point average (now at 3.84) on her team and has twice earned the Drewett Academic Award. "It's hard sometimes to keep that balance between academics and softball during the season," she says. "We have study tables on the bus, but I'm not usually doing one of them because I get dizzy. I just have to find the time in the hotel before and after the game. There might be time when you want to walk around town with your teammates, but I also realize there's a lot of work to be done and if I don't do it then I'll have a lot to do when I get home." Fortunately, Findlay completed her studies for her junior year at the end of April, so her entire focus these days has been keeping the Wolverines' postseason hopes alive. "Not having to worry about classes takes a lot of stress out of your life," she says. "Now I'm able to get to practice early and get a little extra work done." After a slow start, the three-time first team All-Big Ten selection is now second on her team with a .347 batting average and carries a slugging percentage of .493. A career .350 hitter, she batted .367 in her rookie campaign and .337 as sophomore. "It was a little strange at first not having my sister out there," she says about Samantha, who is heading into her second season of professional ball with the Chicago Bandits and is a volunteer coach with DePaul. "She would always turn around and smile at me when we were on the field and she would always be the one to give me a few extra words of encouragement. She's made it up to a few of our games and to see her in the stands and smiling definitely helps." But there is also a positive to not having her sister around. "I get to show people I can be a leader, too," Amanda says. "Even without her here, Michigan is proving it still is a great softball team. We still have several players who have played a lot since their freshman years and learned a lot from Sam and the other older players. They taught us how to go out there and play hard every day no matter what. Now that I am by myself, I can take what I learned and pass it on to the younger players." According to the younger Findlay, the biggest test for the Wolverines came when they opened the Big Ten season with a pair of losses to Northwestern. They proceeded to string together 17 victories before losing the finale to Michigan State but still claimed the conference crown by one game over Ohio State. "We came back to Ann Arbor after that Northwestern sweep and coach Hutch (Carol Hutchins) told us from here on out we had to focus on playing one-pitch softball," she says. "What that meant was we had to focus one pitch ahead of you. Once that pitch is over, you can't worry about it and just focus on the next one. And we can't worry about how the other team got their runs." Findlay admits playing right field can be a real challenge in concentration, especially with Michigan's talented pitching duo of Nikki Nemitz and Jordan Taylor. During the Wolverines' recent three-game sweep of the NCAA Regional title, she only fielded two fly balls. "You don't get a lot of action in the outfield with those two, but you never know when the next ball might be coming your way," she says with a laugh. "At the end of the game, the outfielders like to joke around about fielding zero balls. "I had always been an infielder before I got here, so playing outfield was something new. It was a big adjustment, but I was willing to do whatever it took in order to play and I feel like I have gotten better at it. I miss all the talking on the infield. I still talk, but I don't know if the pitchers hear me." While she would like to eventually go on to grad school and get into coaching, Findlay doesn't see her playing days coming to an end soon. She is also hoping to get a crack at the professional ranks and would be thrilled to join her sister on the Chicago Bandits roster. "The most important thing I learned from my sister is to go out, do what you do and have fun," she says. "When my sister has a smile on her face, you know she is having fun. When she was smiling, you knew her team was ready to play and she played a whole lot better. "When we are together, we always tell each other, 'Play like there is no tomorrow.' Play with all your heart and leave it all on the field. Play like you'll never play again." |
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