Pioneer's Emy Guttman hopes to complete trifecta and lose in lacrosse state final
Pioneer's Emy Guttman (with ball) is hoping to lose in the state finals to complete her championship loss trifecta.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
For all but a fortunate few, having a prep season end with a loss is a painful inevitability.
Pioneer senior Emy Guttman wants her final season with the Pioneers girls lacrosse team to end in a loss. But not just any loss.
Guttman -- who will play field hockey this fall for the University of Michigan -- has had each of her two seasons (field hockey and ice hockey) end in state championship losses. She hope to get the three-peat in lacrosse.
Pioneer lost to cross-town rival Huron in overtime in field hockey and in ice hockey to Grosse Pointe North.
This spring? She wants more, “I want to be runner-ups in the state so I can be 0-3 for my senior year.”
She's joking, of course. But she has a good sense of humor about the topic.
In playing lacrosse, Guttman remains the only Pioneer athlete with the opportunity to hit the trifecta of championship losses. However, her desire to lose in a state final this season actually speaks to her desire to compete -- and to win. Reaching the state finals for Pioneer (11-3) would be a great achievement for a team that has recently experienced little postseason success.
Playing attack, Guttman is second on the team with 32 goals and third with 14 assists,
“Emy has been a great asset to the program this year. I have so much respect for Emy and her commitment and dedication to our program this spring. Despite her success in field hockey and ice hockey, which I believe to be her first loves, she has been able to stay focused and take on a leadership role with this team," said Pioneer head coach Zach Maghes.
Field and ice hockey are in Guttman's blood, her father, Steve, had Olympic aspirations as a field hockey goalie and Emy only started to play lacrosse in high school.
It would be easy for Guttman to use her spring to focus on field hockey, a sport that still takes up most of her weekends, but instead she is committed to lacrosse,
“I did think about not playing, but truthfully I’m not sure what I would do every day after school if I didn’t,” Guttman said.
This summer Guttman’s focus will shift back to her college bound sport.
“I’ll be playing a lot of field hockey and helping my parents out at Top of the Park,” Guttman said.
But in the meantime, the rest of Guttman’s high school career is focused is on working hard to get to another state final...and lose.
Bob Gross covers sports at AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at bobmgross@gmail.com.
Comments
happy
Tue, May 17, 2011 : 2:52 a.m.
Congrats on all your athletic accomplishments Emy!!! Two state championship titles in field hockey!!!! I hope you make it to your 7th state final game in your high school career. Wow, most kids can only dream of making it to one! It is too bad how this story has come across to some by the way it was written. Anyone who knows you knows what a competitor you are and your desire to win. U of M is lucky to get you!
joeing
Mon, May 16, 2011 : 2:35 p.m.
Yes, the article mentions she was joking, but still, the author of this piece didn't pull "the joke" off very well. You read the headline and the first five sentences and you're just confused, then you read the "she's joking of course" part, then the rest of the article, and you're still left going WHAAAAT? Not a well thought out story.
skigrl50
Mon, May 16, 2011 : 10:53 a.m.
Wow, I really hope this article is a joke. I never heard of a division 1 quality athlete that would want to be a 3 time loser in anything! Especially to put a feather in her cap... Why would she at least not want to win the state championship for her team if not for herself?
MjC
Mon, May 16, 2011 : 11:59 a.m.
"She's joking, of course. But she has a good sense of humor about the topic." Try reading the entire article, word-for-word... In reality she'd likely want nothing more than to win the State Championship. Duh.