16 The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 23, 1995
Netters try
against low
By Brett Krasnove
Daily Sports Writer
Goliath took David too lightly. The
Michigan men's tennis team cannot
make the same mistake against Wis-
consin.
"We all know that we could play
our most mediocre tennis and win the
match, but hopefully we learned from
the Northwestern match (in which the
Wildcats defeated the Wolverines,5-2,
Feb. 4 in Ann Arbor) that you really
i.
,'"-'
can't take any
teams easily,".
Michigan junior
John Costanzo
said.
"You can't
take them for
granted, because
on any given day
anyone can beat
anyone. Hope-
fully wewon'tun-
deres tim ate
to stop skid
4y Badgers
li na, UNLV) at the Blue/Gray Cham-
pionships last weekend in Mont-
gomery, Ala. The Badgers (0-1, 2-
9) are in the midst of a seven-match
skid, including every match during
their West Coast spring trip, which
ended March 18.
In that skid, Wisconsin lost to
Texas Tech, UC-Irvine, Princeton,
and San Diego. The only excite-
ment the Badgers brought with them
back to Madison is the development
of John Thomsen, their No. 3 singles
player.
The freshman from Neenah,
Wisc. won three of four singles
matches in California, making him
the only Badger to end the trip with
a winning record. Thomsen, ranked
26th in the Midwest Region by the
ITA, is the only player on Wiscon-
sin to have a winning record in dual
match play (8-3).
In the Rolex ITA Championships
held atMadison in November, Thomsen
defeated Michigan freshman Arvid
Swan, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Costanzo, how-
ever, beatThomsen in the second round
of the Big Ten Singles Championships
in January.
The Wolverines hope that they
can look past their disappointment
at the Blue/Gray Championships
and play like the team which up-
set three-time Big Ten champion
Minnesota and embarrassed the
mediocre Iowa Hawkeyes just two
weekends ago.
The match will be held Sunday
at 9 a.m. at the Liberty Sports Com-
plex.
Williams succeeds
through dedication
By Michael Wichman
The Badger Herald
For athletes with less talent than
others, drive and determination are ev-
erything. Less gifted competitors have
to make up for their lack of top-flight
skills with conditioning and heart.
Wisconsin's Max Williams is one ath-
lete who exemplifies what true work
ethic is all about.
The junior right-winger from
Mahwah, NJ is the Badgers' leading
goal scorer so far this season, and is
doing it with focus and pure enjoyment
of the game.
"I'm not the type of kid who can
take a day off," Williams said. "I don't
have Wayne Gretzky's talent or Mario
Lemieux's skills. I have to come to
practice everyday ready to work."
Nevertheless, Williams has some-
thing else going for him other than his
drive. Hockey is in his family's blood.
His father, Bob, has been a trainer for
the Montreal Canadiens and New York
Rangers. The first ice that Williams
actually skated on was at The Forum in
Montreal with the Canadien personnel.
"I had an opportunity that a lot of
other kids didn't have by being able to
go out early and skate with some of the
pro guys and learning some of their
tricks," Williams recalled.
Starting at a very early age didn't
exactly hurt either - right away, Wil-
liams knew that he had found his call-
ing.
"I can't even rememberwhen I fell
in love with hockey, it was so long
ago," Williams contemplated. "If I
didn't have hockey, it would almost be
like losing my left hand. It hasjust been
a part of my life for so long."
Although he spent many years liv-
ing on the East Coast, and went to
boarding school in MassachusettsWil-
liams really felt no pressure to staP
there to go to college.
"I grew up thinking about how great
it would be to play at a place like
Madison," Williams said. "And when I
came out and visited it just made my
decision more complete. The people
were so great, everybody was so nice
and I just had a blast."
As a senior in high school Williams
did not get drafted by the NHL. Hi*
older brother Karl helped explain to
him that his not getting drafted could
really be a "blessing in disguise."
"I have the attitude in hockey now
where I won't let anyone outcondition
me, I won't let anyone ever outwork
me," Williams said. "I know that these
are the things that will help me get to
where I want to be."
Williams has emerged as one of th
leaders of this hockey team. His hon-
esty and dedication to the game of
hockey have impressed a lot of people,
namely coach Jeff Sauer. Sauer be-
lieves that Williams is the best member
of his team to take recruits around
campus.
"You know that he will be honest
with kids and tell them how it is," Sauer
said.
With too much pride invested in the
sport of hockey, Max Williams has
decided that no matter what kind of
talent he is going up against, he will
always be successful.
Klingelhoets
them."
Michigan is ranked 38th in the
country by the Intercollegiate Ten-
nis Association and is No. 3 in the
Midwest Region. Wisconsin's 12th
in the region, according to the ITA.
The Badgers, coached by Pat
Klingelhoets, have fallen hard since
finishing the 1989-90season ranked
No. 22 in the nation.
The only comparison between the
two teams are the multiple-match los-
ing streaks both are on.
The Wolverines (2-1 Big Ten,
7-6 overall) dropped three straight
(No. 8 Texas, No. 21 North Caro-
DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily
Michigan will face either Michigan State or Wisconsin Saturday.
Blue gymnasts try for fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship
By Sarah DeMar
Daily Sports Writer
Instead of getting a new leotard or
money for her birthday this year, Tina
Miranda of the Michigan women's
gymnastics team hopes for something
a little more meaningful.
In Champaign Saturday, on
Miranda's 21st birthday, the No. 5
Wolverines have a shot to win their
fourth consecutive Big Ten champion-
ship.
Michigan may be able to claim vic-
tory with its eyes closed. After eleven
Big Ten meets, not a single squad has
been able to match up to the undefeated
Wolverines.
In 1982 the Wolverines claimed
the Big Ten title with a score of
140.95. Last weekend in a four-
team meet at Crisler Arena, Michi-
gan defeated its opponents with
197.225 - a career team-high. Only
No. 1 Georgia,scoring 197.3 points,
has posted a higher score this sea-
son.
"We usually score close to our
high," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said.
"Championship meets tend to be a little
more conservatively scored, though."
Penn State, last year's runner-
up, fell to Michigan last weekend
by an overwhelming margin of 45.65
points. However, with three return-
ing All-Big Ten performers and
placewinners - Kerry Slattery,
Tracy Kerner and Bridget Foley -
the Nittany Lions could surprise and
live up to their No. 10 status.
Furthermore, Penn State came to
Crisler without a full artillery March
18. Many Lady Lions had sustained
injuries the weekend before. However,
the squad should be back up to par
Saturday with a full lineup.
Minnesota finished third at the
Big Ten championships last year
without a single placewinner. This
year the Golden Gophers will rest
their hopes on freshman Mindy
Knaeble, who is ranked in the top 20
on the balance beam.
Michigan State, Ohio Stateand Iowa
placed fourth, fifth and sixth respec-
tively, in last year's tournament. Illi-
nois found itself in the cellar with a
score of 185.300 -9.55 points under
Michigan's winning score of 194.85.
Several Wolverines performed ex-
ceptionally well at Big Tens last year.
Team co-captain Beth Wymer was
named 1994 Gymnast of the Year for
her first-place finish in the all-around,
her third straight year accomplishing
this feat.
Of the four events - the vault,
uneven bars, balance beam and floor
exercise - Wymer took the top score
and broke Big Ten records in every one
except for the balance beam, in which
she placed fifth.
Wymer is currently the nation's
best in the uneven bars and has
earned a perfect 10 in the last four
meets in that event. These accom-
plishments came after a torn liga-
ment in her shoulder early in the
season.
"It's all coming together for me,"
Wymer said. "I'm not quite at my peak
yet, but all I really want to do is hit my
routines consistently."
The Wolverines' other captain, se@
nior Kelly Carfora, came in first on the
beam at last year's championship. The
All-Big Ten performer scored a 9.875
to win and snatched seconds in the all-
around and floor exercise.
Carfora tied for the No. 2 spot in
two events. She tied with former Fresh-
man of the Year Andrea McDonald on
the uneven bars and with Wendy
Marshall on the vault.
Marshall is another Wolverine
expected to do well. She is currently
ranked No. 7 on the vault and in the
top 20 in the all-around. The junior
claimed a second-place tie with
Wymer on the balance beam and
fourth in the all-around at the Big
Tens.
Women
golfers
looking to
improve
By Monica Polakov
For The Daily
The Michigan women's golf
team began its season in Florida at
the Spring Break Tournament. The
Wolverines placed 12th in the 18-
team tournament.
"It's still really early and our
goal is to improve every time out,"
coach Cathy Teichert said.
Improvement should not be dif-
ficult since Michigan lost only two
members from last year's squad.
Freshmen Nicole Green, Laura
Tzakis and Laura Hesf join the re-
turning starters.
In particular, Teichert is count-
ing on sophomore Wendy Westfall
and junior Shannon McDonald, who
posted the lowest averages on the
team (80.4 and 80.7, respectively*
last season. Westfall and McDonald
must play. an important role this
weekend in Carbondale, Ill. if the
Wolverines hope to place in the top
three.
"If the fall (season) is any indi-
cation of our upcoming play, we
should play well and we are very
excited," Westfall said.
Additionally, Michigan is very*
excited about hosting the Big Ten
Tournament this year, which will be
held May 5-7.
"We have a good chance to do
well because it's our home course,
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