The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 18, 1993- Page 9
Skiers finish 13th at nationals
Unfamiliar conditions, injuries cause trouble for 'M' women
by Brent Mcintosh
"Hurry up and wait."
The unofficial slogan of the
United States government has ap-
plied to Michigan's women's ski
team for the last week: Hurry up and
wait for the plane. Hurry up and wait
to ski. Hurry up. and wait for the re-
sults.
That's right - wait for the re-
sults. Though the event ended last
Friday, the Wolverines left the na-
tional ski finals at Squaw Valley,
Calif., with no clue where they
placed among the 19 competing
teams.
It was late Tuesday, four days af-
ter the end of Michigan's season,
when the team finally received word
that they had placed 13th in the na-
tion. Nevada-Reno was crowned na-
tional champion, with St. Olaf, a
team from the Wolverines' region,
taking home second-place honors.
Michigan placed 11th in the slalom
and 16th in the giant slalom. No in-
dividual results were available.
"It was kind of disappointing,"
sophomore Amy Portenga said.
"Each of us seemed to have our own
individual problems."
Portenga's problem was that she
tore ligaments in her knee in a prac-
tice run. While she did try to ski the
slalom in the competition, her at-
tempt was unsuccessful.
"I tried to ski the first race of the
slalom, but I just couldn't finish,"
said Portenga, who had several indi-
vidual victories this season.
Other Wolverines expressed the
sentiment that the loss of their top
skier affected more than just their
scoring.
"Amy had kind of led us this
season, and when she hurt her knee,
and then (Wolverine skier) Sunny
Holmes hurt hers also, that put a
damper on the whole meet," sopho-
more Kelly Copeland said. "We def-
initely didn't ski our best."
Holmes' sore knee was not in-
jured severely enough to keep her
out of competition.
The waiting also came into play
with regard to the course conditions,
which the Wolverines said were new
to them after skiing on short, cold-
'The course was reall y
different from what
we were used to.'
- Jennifer Shorter
Michigan skier
weather courses during the regular
season.
"The course was really different
from what we were used to," said
freshman Jennifer Shorter, the only
Michigan skier not to fall during the
giant slalom. "The (giant slalom)
was really long, and the weather af-
,fected us. Being in California, it was
really hot. It was tough to hold the
hill in the morning because the run
was cold and icy, then as the sun
heated it, it would become slushy."
With each skier taking two shots
at the slalom Wednesday and two
more at the giant slalom Friday, the
wait between runs forced the
Wolverines to change their skiing
style.
"We had to ski completely differ-
ently on each run," Shorter said,
"and that was tough to get used to.
"It was disappointing, but things
like this happen. Bad days come
along, and unfortunately we had two
in a row at the national champi-
onships. All we can do is be excited
for next year."
So after the waiting is finally
over and the Wolverines have their
13th-place finish secure in hand,
there is only one thing left to do.
Wait for next year.
Weather main hazard
fnr men gnlfers in S.C
S U *U F
EVAN PETRlE/Daity
Even Jalen Rose is in shock atthe unanimity of the people's poll.
Everybody, including Jalen, believes that the Wolverines have a date on
Bourbon Street in early April.
by Elisa Sneed7
Early Tuesday morning, the
Michigan men's golf team finally re-
turned from its weekend tournament
in South Carolina. What was to have
been a two-day, 54-hole event was
cut short by adverse weather condi-
tions.
"It was hell, it was horrible," se-
nior co-captain James Carson said.
"It was a test of survival, not of how
good you are."
Of the 27 holes played last
Friday, only the first 18 were
counted. Because half of the field
played the front nine and half the
back nine on the additional holes,
the scores from those holes were
thrown out.
After the first day of play
Michigan's Blue squad - the top
Wolverine team - was in sixth
place with an 18-hole team total of
328, just 18 shots behind the leader,
Ball State (310). Four of the five
Wolverines from the Blue team had
tallied scores in the 80's - Carson
(82), sophomore Bill Lyle (83) and
seniors Anthony Dietz (84) and Bob
Henighan (85), but Michigan coach
Jim Carras did not express disap-
pointment.
"All things considered, I can't
say I'm unhappy," Carras said.
"Conditions were not normal, we
probably shouldn't have played at
all."
.i 'fm P-U iii m .m ! .!
With the conditions as poor as
they were on Friday - 30 mph
winds with gusts of up to 50 mph -
only 15 of the 128 competitors broke
80 strokes for 18 holes, two of them
Wolverines. Senior David Hall, of
the Michigan Blue team, and soph-
omore Chris Brockway, playing on
the Michigan Maize (the second
Michigan team) both chalked up
79's for the Wolverines. Although
he did play a competitive round,
Brockway indicated that he wasn't
completely happy with it.
"I was doing really well until the
second-to-last hole," he said. "With
the weather, it was inevitable that I'd
have a high hole, it was just sort of
disappointing that it happened so
late."
On Saturday, the island was
evacuated and due to the persistent
weather, the tournament was called
off after only one day. Due to the
fact that the tournament was not
completed and the weather didn't al-
low the Wolverines to get any extra
practice in, Carras still doesn't have
a definite first team.
"I haven't learned anything from
this tournament," he said. "It's a real
'non-counter.' We can't really eval-
uate things."
The Wolverines will be off until
the Kentucky Invitational later this
month.
0 PICKS
Continued from page 8
workers in supporting the Wol-
verines. Moreover, Michigan Gov.
John Engler's spokesman John
Truscott stated that the Governor
would indeed go with the
Wolverines, although Engler, a
Michigan State alumnus, wished
his Spartans could be in the big
dance, as well.
Even other athletes tended to
think the Wolverines could go all
the way to New Orleans and take
the prize they fell one game short
of last season. The four top seeds
seem destined for the Final Four
according to Michigan hockey
player David Harlock and profes-
sional tennis player Aaron
'* Krickstein, a native of Grosse
Pointe, Mich.
"I think that U of M has so
much depth," Harlock said. "The
guys that don't start - (James)
Voskuil and (Rob) Pelinka - will
make the difference."
Only when the survey veered
away from those committed to ei-
ther the university or the state did
respondents dare to go against the
Wolverines. Eleanor Clift,
Newsweek correspondent and pan-
S &Eu~rdJaiy
elist on "The McLaughlin Group,"
figured on a North Carolina-
Michigan championship game,
with the Tar Heels prevailing.
"In fairness, on questions like
this, I do consult with the highest
authority," Clift said. "And when
John McLaughlin isn't available, I
go to my husband ... The coach
(Dean Smith of North Carolina),
he's just too smart a coach for the
rest of the coaching league. And
Michigan, while you guys are re-
ally talented, you have a tendency
to kind of blow the big lead and
not be disciplined enough."
Perhaps the most interesting
surveyee was Christine Montross,
an LSA Sophomore. Montross'
brother Eric starts at center for
North Carolina. Montross ex-
pressed her love for both the
Wolverines and Tar Heels, but
when push came to shove, she
decided that blood was thicker
than tuition.
"I will sincerely cheer for U of
M in every one of their games un-
less they meet Carolina in the fi-
nals," she wrote, "and if the Tar
Heels lose, there's no team I
would rather see win than
Michigan ... So my prediction?
I'll go with my heart and say
Carolina."
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