The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, February 7, 1994 - 7 *Volleyball just misses against Spartans By MELINDA ROCO and LAUREN ROSENFIELD DAILY SPORTS WRITERS What began as a day of confi- dence and control turned into a men- tal nightmare for the Michigan men's volleyball team at the Collegiate Clas- Vic Tournament Saturday at the fCRB. The Wolverines finished 5-3 in pool play, making quick work of Morehead College and Calvin Col- lege, splitting a pair with Wisconsin, and dropping two games to Graceland lJowa), the eventual tournament run- ner-ups. Coach Pam Griffin said she was initially pleased with her team's level play. he way the tournament was structured, we were able to play the easier teams first," Griffin said. "I was a little disappointed in the second game against Graceland. We could 4ave played stronger, but overall we played consistently." However, after earning a spot in Lthe playoffs, Michigan unexpectedly bit a mental and emotional brick wall. Michganwas matched against Big en nemesis Michigan State in the first round of the playoffs. The Spar- tans took a quick 9-5 lead in the first game, but the Wolverines quickly grased the deficit. Led by outside hit- ter Chad Engel, Michigan came back with a rally of kills and defensive digs to win the game 15-11. The intensity of the first game arried over into the second game. etter Stan Lee and defensive spe- cialist Sammy Lopez led the Wolver- pies to an 11-5 lead. Then Spartan coach Sante Perelli called a timeout. Outside hitter Bill Seeley said that was the turning point of the match. "We always hit this mental block when it comes to MSU," Seeley said. "We've been waiting so long to beat Ohem, and once we have a win in our grasp, we start to play conservatively which translates into poor passing and lack of aggressiveness. "After that timeout, we broke down." A slew of poor passes and hitting 4rrors by Michigan allowed Michi- gan State to tie the game 14-14. An illegal service called on the Wolver- jnes gave the Spartans the sideout and game point. This error proved to be fatal, as the Wolverines dropped the game 17-15 and went on to lose the third game 15-7. Griffin said consistency was lack- ing in the playoff match. "Against Michigan State, momen- tum switches were a problem," she said. "We need to work on being more consistent through the peaks and val- *eys of the game." However, Griffin felt that the team put in a gritty effort, especially Lee and Seeley. "We played strong all the way through," she said. "Stan was able to mhaintain control of the offense. Bill also played consistently well." Graceland, the tournament's four- time champion, defeated Michigan *tate in the quarterfinals and Illinois in the semifinals. Graceland was de- feated by number-one ranked Park College in the finals. Swimming wraps up duals After perfect campaign, 'M' ready for Big Tens The men's swimming and diving team won twice to finish undefeated in the nference. Brakus forced to pull out of Rolex National Indoors By BRETT JOHNSON DAILY SPORTS WRITER The dual meet season came to a close for the Michigan men's swim- ming and diving team this weekend. As expected, the Wolverines swept Michigan State and Ohio State to go undefeated during the conference sea- son for the third year in a row. Friday, Michigan (5-0 Big Ten, 9- 3 overall) was victorious in all but two events en route to a 149-91 vic- tory over the Spartans. The Wolver- ines used a solid performance by the 200-yard medley relay team (Royce Sharp, Marcel Wouda, Tom Hay and Gustavo Borges) in the opening event to gain the lead, one which they never lost. "It was a good way to wind down the home season," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said."It was an easy meet, but we didn't want to run up the score. We have a lot of respect for Michigan State, and we wanted to make it a fui meet." The meet marked the final home competition for five seniors - Hay, Brice Kopas, Eric Lesser, Kent Tschannen and Rodney VanTassell. Hay finished his home career with a win in the 100-yard butterfly. "Tom Hay stood out tonight," Urbanchek said. "(The 100 butterfly) was his season's best." Both VanTassell and Lesser won individual events as well. VanTassell won the 100-yard freestyle and Lesser topped his com- petition in three-meter diving. Kopas and Tschannen took third places in the 500 freestyle and 200-yard indi- vidual medley (IM), respectively. "I felt real good today," Lesser said. "It was my best dual meet per- formance on both boards, in one day, this season. Afterbthis meet, I defi- nitely feel ready for the Big Ten (Championships)." John Piersma was the Wolverines only double-winner of the night. He touched the wall first in both the 200 and 500 freestyles. Other Michigan winners included Borges in the 50 freestyle, Sharp in the 200-yard backstroke, Steve West in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200 freestlye relay team of VanTassell, Dan Abruzzi, Courtney Faller and Borges. "It was a pretty good night," West said. "We bounced back from our slump last week at Indiana, and to- night, I was pleased with my perfor- mance. My 200 breast was my second best unshaved (time) all-time." Michigan State recorded two firsts. John Maxson and Uwe Volk were victorious in the one-meter diving and 200 IM, respectively. Saturday, the Wolverines closed out the dual meet season with a 132- 111 victory over the Buckeyes. Ohio State provided a tougher challenge for Michigan. In fact, the Buckeyes held a 86-84 edge after the 100 freestyle. However, the Wolverines pulled away as they took first in the final four events. The Michigan victory showed the team's superior depth with six differ- ent swimmers winning six individual events. Highlighting these six wins were two Peppe Aquatic Center records. Sharp's time of 1:47.08 in the 200 backstroke and Tom Dolan's 3:52.54 in the 400 IM were good enough to IF YOU WANT TO GET FROM STUDENT PARKING I break pool marks. Other Wolverine victories in- cluded VanTassell in the 200 freestyle, Borges in the 50 freestyle, Wouda in the 500 freestyle and West in the 200 breaststroke. Michigan also won both relays - the 400 medley and the 400 freestyle. For Ohio State, Yoshi Sakata led the way by winning both the one- and three-meter diving competitions. Andy Gerken, Jason Cottrell and Jay Hladish were the other Buckeye win- ners. With the dual meet season now over, Michigan is preparing for the Big Ten Championships the last weekend of February. "We're right on target for the Big Tens," Urbanchek said. "Right now; we have one illness (freshman Chris Rumley has the flu), but if we stay healthy, we are ready for the Big Tens and NCAAs." TO FACULTY PARKING I By JOSH KAPLAN FOR THE DAILY Dan Brakus's dreams of glory at the Rolex National Indoors Intercol- legiate Tennis Championships were abruptly cut short in his second-round loss to Mississippi State's Laurent Orsini. After nearly winning the first set, the Wolverine star aggravated a groin pull suffered in his first round vic- tory. He retired during the second set, behind 6-7 (7-3), 0-4. "I didn't think it would be that bad," said Brakus ofhis injury, "(But) it was just too painful. It got worse and worse." Brakus sustained the injury dur- ing the third set of his victory over Ian Williams of Texas. While serving out the match, Brakus reached too far to return a shot. "I just felt it rip," the Ontario na- tive said. While the injury is not thought to be extremely serious, the extent of it will not beknown until later this week when Brakus meets with team train- ers. The Michigan senior was very dis- appointed with the timing of his injury. "I really couldn't play my game," Brakus said. "I couldn't serve and volley at all, I couldn't move at all. I still almost won the first set." The Wolverines' No. 1 player hopes to be ready for Michigan's next match, February 20 at Texas, where he will battle one of the nation's best players, sophomore Chad Clark. Clark may be the top-ranked player in the country when the new rankings are settled. Currently ranked second, Clark should slide past Orsini, the current number one, who lost his quarterfinal match to Brandon Coupe of San Jose State, 4-6, 3-6. The men's singles title was claimed by Arizona State's Sargis Sargisan. The fourth seeded Sargisan, a native of Yerevan, Armenia, de- feated unseeded Paul Robinson of Texas Christian, 6-3, 6-3. On the women's side, top seed Lucie Ludvigova of Texas grabbed the singles title, defeating second seed Angela Lettiere from the University of Georgia. 0 START HERE We will be visiting the University of Michgan March 10 & 11, 1994 Want to teach? 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