6 - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, March 21, 1994 4Crowds ignite swimmers Stanford, Texas fans create spark for their teams Py MARC DILLER Stanford cheerleader-as his t-shirt so aptly advertises- DAILY SPORTS WRITER and he and his wife help coordinate all the Cardinal cheers INDIANAPOLIS -To be fanatical is to be unreason- for the other 50-plus Stanford fans in attendance. ably enthusiastic and overly zealous. Such fans around the "I was appointed team cheerleader because I was the NCAA have been known to intimidate opposing teams with loudest," Edwards said. "It just seemed natural because the alenigratingcheers and malicious signs. team needed someone to coordinate the yells, and the first As if this wasn't enough to destroy the opposing team's year I was at NCAAs, I was seated in the front row." morale, the home team gets an extra boost by the crowd's In a call-and-response type cheer, Edwards elicited the applause. crowd's rally cries. The front row stood to spell out, "GO Many would be surprised to realize that this scenario STANFORD,"with each parentholdingup aseparateletter. extends outside the realm of the high profile sports and into "If we can encourage them with the audience, it gets their the realm of less prolific, but equally intimidating sports, adrenaline pumping and it can mean the differencein three- like swimming. fourths of a second," Edwards said. The rowdy crowds were on hand this weekend at the And the swimmers on both teams did surge each time NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at that their fans urged them on. In the most exciting race of the the Indianapolis University-Purdue University at India- meet, Stanford's two-time Olympic gold medalist, Jenny napolis (IUPUI) Natatorium. Thompson, won the 100-yard freestyle by .45 seconds over After flying in from all around the country, fans from second-place finishers, 1994NCAA Swimmerof the Year Stanford and Texas were almost as competitive in the stands Amy Van Dyken of Colorado State and the all-time leader astheirrespective teams were in the pool. Stanford, with 512 in All-America honors from Florida, Nicole Haislett. points, ended the meet on top of Texas' 421, but you would "I know my brother, my mother and the entire Stanford 'iever have known it from the crowds' reactions. contingency were up there cheering for me," Thompson The Longhorns' cavalry call was led by senior cheer- said."That means a lot tome, and it means a lot to the team Ieaderandteamparent, Terry Fisher. The New Jersey native to have its parents here and have all that support." passed out a sheet of Texas team cheers to the rest of the The Longhorn's support group was conveniently seated faithful, leading his section in one tumultuous rendition of next to the Cardinal fans, thus allowing the competition to the Texas fight song after another. To the 50 Longhorn really materialize. The two competed to have their cheers supporters in attendance (despite only 15 Texas swimmers heard over the other. Texas waved its orange towels as rally competing), cheering on the team is not just a pastime, but flags, and Stanford countered with its red and white pom- a livelihood. poms. '"We cheer them in and outof the hotel when they go over "We both try to keep our voice," Fisher said. "We get to the pool," Fisher said. hoarse from hooping and hollering so much. It gets the Fi$her's followers were on hand foreach ofthe six racing parents involved and that's the important thing." essionsduring thethree-day meet. Still,no matterhow loud Reaction to the crowd is not exclusive to just the swim- the Longhorn contingent cheered, they still couldn't fight mers. The coaches recognize the effects of the cheers as well. efftheir pesky counterparts from Stanford. "There is no doubt that (the crowd) has an impact," The Cardinal had its own rally leader, Tom Edwards. A Stanford's national championship coach Richard Quick native ofPortola Valley, Calif., Edwards habitually attends said. "For the athletes that have their parents there, it makes at least one-third of the meets each year. He is the official a tremendous difference." CHRIS WOLF/Daily The Michigan women's swimming and diving team finished eighth in the 43- team field at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis. SWIMMING NOTEBOOK: Wolverines end season on By MARC DILLER DAILY SPORTS WRITER Afteran impressive regular season, the Michigan women's swimming and diving team (8-0 overall record) dropped its No. 4 national ranking at this past weekend's national champi- onships held atthe Indiana University- Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) Natatorium. The Wolverines plummeted to a disappointing eighth-place overall fin- ish. "There is a lot more balance in the meet this year thenthere was last year," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "We knew we were in agroup of teams that on a given day, anything could happen." In a year highlighted by adversity, Michigan battled the disappointment, pf health woes and the unfamiliarity of anew team marked by its 12 freshman. Withstanding these problems, the Wolverines were still able to garner some individual accolades. The Wolverines amassed six All- American awards - Rachel Gustin 3), Alecia Humphrey, Jody Navta end Anne Kampfe - and 30 honor- able-mention All-America honors. HOOIvELD SURPASSED: In another tecord-setting time, Poland's Beata Kaszuba from Arizona State displaced vichigan's Lara Hooiveld's 200 breast stroke NCAA record, set last year, by the narrowest of margins, .01 seconds. "No, I'm not really disappointed," liooiveld said. "Records are made to be broken." Hooiveld, who has been plagued by the flu all season long, was unable to compete in the event. "I'll be staying in Michigan over the summer to train," Hooiveld said. "I'll be going to summer nationals here end I should be in pretty good shape for next year." HISTORY INTHE MAKING: This meet marked the first time that any team other than the Big Three (Stanford, Texas and Florida) has ever won a women's relay title. Not only did it happen once, but in two separate relays, new teams were victorious. Auburn's 1:40. 12 second 200-yard medley relay time just nipped Stanford's 1:40.20finish in amomen- tous .08 second victory. The Lady Tigers halted the Big Three's relay streak at 62. Inspired by the Tiger's upset, Southern California's 800-yard down swing freestyle relay team handily displaced the big three from their thrones with a time of 7:11.89. Florida's relay team finished second in the event with a time of 7:12.33. MICHIGAN FAN CLUB: CBS sports reporter Andrea Joyce broadcasted the championships this weekend. Joyce, a graduate of Michigan, still feels her school spirit. Before the meet, Joyce went to the Michigan lockerroom togave the team some words of encouragement. "Before the meet starts, I try to talk to the team and show them my "GOt BLUE" key chain," Joyce said. SWIMMING Continued from page1 who set an NCAA record in the 50- yard freestyle, captured Swimmer-of- the-Year honors, and her coach John Mattos was recognized as NCAA Coach of the Year forguiding the Rams to a surprising 12th-place finish. Backstroker Alecia Humphrey earned the Wolverines' highest indi- vidual finish, duplicating her perfor- manceofayearagoby finishing fourth in the 200-yard back. Humphrey also finished ninth in the 100 back. She was also a memberof the Wol- verine quartet that gained ninth in the 200-yard medley relay and 12th in the 400 medley relay. "I'm a little disappointed," Humphrey said Friday after the 100 back. "I don't really feel fast this meet in the water. But the 100 was a really fast event, and even if I swam my best time, I would've finished eighth." As has happened in many meets this season, Michigan's freshmen stepped up. Rachel Gustin had a spectacular showing, setting a new mark for Wol- verine swimmers by scoring (placing in the top 16) in every event she was entered. Gustin's top finishes were in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke, in which she placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Richardson had nothing but praise for his rookie swimmer. "I can't say enough about Rachel Gustin," Richardson said. "I really think she gave her individual performances for the sake of the team with her relay swims, because you shouldn't have a breaststroker swimming a freestyle re- lays." Anne Kampfe also did well, with her best showing in the 400 IM, where she finished second to USC's Kristine Quance. Kampfe expected a tough battle with Quance, since their rivalry dates back a long way. "Kristine and I have swum to- gether for the past four or five years," Kampfe said. "Usually she and I are almost always one and two. It's pretty much the way I expected it to happen." Jodi Navta turned in a strong per- formance, with a fifth-place finish in the 200 breast. Navta said that she was elated with her swim in that event, but wished she had done better in the med- leys, where she finished 19th in the 200, and 20th in the 400. However, the Wolverines could not compete with the Cardinal. Thompson led Stanford with four first-place finishes, two seconds and a third. She established pool records in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 free, and was the second-highest individual point scorer of the meet. After a second-place finish Thurs- day in the 50 free to Van Dyken, Th- ompson came out motivated the next two days of the meet, finishing first in three of her final four events. "After last night, I was glad for her, but I was sad it wasn't me (that won), and I wanted a personal win for my- self," Thompson said Friday. "After tonight, itwas a sense of relief (forme), and I think it gave momentum to our team." Trio of swimmers stands tall above rest By RAVI COPAL DAILY SPORTS WRITER INDIANAPOLIS -Although the women's NCAA swim meet this past weekend showcased the elite of colle- giate women's swimming, three swim mers stood above the rest. USC's KristineQuance, Stanford's Jenny Thompson andFlorida's Nicole Haislettdemonstrated to thecrowd that they were simply the best. 0 Quance, a freshman, captured four overall first-place finishes, and scored in all seven events in which she com- peted. Her200-yard breaststroke time of 2:10.69 established a new NCAA record, breaking the oldtime of2: 11.54. She had a hand in 168 of USC's 240 points. She was the reason that her team leapt from a 14th-place finish last year. to a sixth-place finish this time around. All this is incredible for anyone to accomplish, much less a freshman. Quance, however, downplays her lack of collegiate experience. "I'm a freshman, but that doesn't matter," she said. The top high school swimmer in the nation last year, Quance registered 1993's best time in the world in the 400 IM. USC coach Mark Schubert real-01 izes the special talent he is coaching., "Kristine can do it all," Schubert said. "She is one of the world's top talents and she will makeeveryone else on ourteam perform atahigher level." Thompson, ajunior, was atthefore- front of the Cardinal attack. One of the top sprint freestylists in the nation, she also captured four overall first-place finishes, and was in the top three in alo seven of her events. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona she won two gold medals in the 400- meter free relay and the 400 medley relay, and won a silver in the 100 free. She has been instrumental in the last three NCAA championships for Stanford. The fact that she is entered in an event strikes fearinto anopponent.Just ask Colorado State's Amy Van Dyken Although Van Dyken won the 50 free and set an NCAA record in the process, her mind was on the girl wearing the Stanford cap in lane 5. "I was really concerned about her," Van Dyken said. "She's such a tough competitor. She can come out of any- where and do anything." Stanfordcoach RichardQuick real-., izes what Thompson brings to his team,9 in terms of sheer talent. "Jenny is an extremely valuable athlete who is among the best in the world," Quick said. Haislett, a senior, turned in a phe- nomenal performance. She captured three overall first-place finishes, and like Thompson, was in the top three in all of her events. She became only the first woman in. NCAA history to earn All-American honors 28 times, the maximum total possible for acollegiate swimmer who competes all four years of her career, and who makes the finals of every event she competes in. Her victory in the 200 free made her only the third swimmerto win the same event four times. Florida coach Chris Martin real; ized the magnitude of this feat. "It's a rare accomplishment for her to win an event all four years," Martin said. "Not many people have done that, and that's why it's such a big thing." Haislett also won the most gold medals of any U.S. Olympian at the 1992 Games, winning the 200 free, and swimming legs on the winning 400 free relay and 400 medley relay teams Her three golds equaled the numbeg won by any female at the 1992 Games. Haislett and Thompson are fdrmer Olympians, and both hope to go the AtlantaGames in 1996. Quance looks to be a solid contender for a spot on that team as well. As Olympians, they will have a chance to prove to the world that they are simply the best. CHRIS WOLF/Daily Michigan freshman swimmer Rachel Gustin scored in every event she participated in at the NCAA Championships. r m " - m - m - """m m"mmm m m in m mm m m mm- Best o Ann Arbor Ballot '94 1Please return by April Ito the Daily at 420 Maynard, 48109. Results will be printed in the April 14 Best of Ann Arbor issue of Weekend. Thanks for your time. Best Restaurants/Bars for... 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