16A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 21, 1996 WHITE Continued from Page 13A ines by 19 points. Instead of being disappointed with the second-place finish, Michigan was proud. The Wolverines were the first team other than Stanford, Texas and Florida, in the 14-year history of the NCAA championships, to finish in the top- three. It was an accomplishment achieved in the pool, but it never would have happened if the Wolverines hadn't be- lieved they could. For the swimmers who competed in the trials, making the Olympic team represents the same kind of mental chal- lenge as breaking into the top-three did last season. Plus, it should be noted that it is a major accomplishment simply to get to the trials. Those 14 swimmers on the Michigan roster are among the best swimmers in their events in the country. And when you have 14 of the best swimmers in the country on your team, you are going to be pretty good. The Wolverines are very good. They won their 10th straight Big Ten cham- pionship this season and dominated nearly every team they faced in dual meets. Let's face it, this hasn't been the best year for Michigan sports. The 'men's basketball team was bounced from the NCAA tournament in the first round for the second year in a row, and the football team lost a second-tier bowl game. The swimming programs are two of the few teams Michigan fans can have hope for. That's why it would be a shame if the women's team wasn't at its best this weekend. The Wolverines are one of the teams who have a legitimate shot at winning the title. The swimmers know it and the coaches know it. Michigan was happy to break into the "big three" last year, but as a competi- tor you always want to move on and take the next step. The next step for this team is the- national championship. A trip to the Olympics would have been the realization of Kampfe's dreams, of the dreams of 13 of her teammates. At the same time, those are indi- vidual dreams. As a team, the focus is this weekend, and this meet. The Olympic trials didn't end as Michigan's participants would have hoped, but this season still can. That will bring a lot of smiles. - Ryan White can be reached over e- mail at Target@umich.edu. KRISTEN SHAEFER/Daly Talor Bendel, Jenny Kurth and Kim Johnson will try to forget about their diasappointing performances at the U.S. Olympic Trials last week and concentrate on the NCAA championships, which begin today at Canham Natatorium. Full coverage of the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships. Tomorrow through Monday in Daily Sports. This guy's got a lot on his mind. I could use some extra credit this summer, and I think Northwestern's the place to go. Summertime means smaller classes and better access to some of Northwestern's most popular professors. They even have a course on the Beatles, and if I get ambitious, I can earn a full-year of college credit with No'rthwestern's eight-week intensive course sequences in physics, chemistry, and nine languages. It'd be nice to go back to school in the fall with a few extra credits on my transcript. Summer in the Windy City0 1 1.1 1- - - - - If I go off-campus this summer, Northwestern has the programs. But how am I going to choose between Chicago Field Studies, the Archaeological Field School, and the Ethnographic Field School? They're all great opportunities and they all offer the chance to earn college credit. Having fun and getting ahead... Not a bad idea. O sounds like a hot time. Chicago has jazzfests, blues- fests, and gospelfests, Cubs and Sox games, some of the O 0 0 best museums and art galleries in the world, and ethnic festi- vals all summer long... I'd have plenty to do, and it's all just minutes from the Northwestern campus. 0 0 0 0 I never thought of Northwestern as a summer hot spot, but the campus is right on Lake Michigan. They've got beaches, intramural sports, arts and crafts workshops, wine-tasting and pot- tery making minicourses, basket- ball and volleyball tournaments, campus musicals and theatrical performances, outdoor movies, and hiking and canoeing trips in Wisconsin. All with Northwestern Summer Session '96... Pretty cool. Blue bitters snowed out in home opener From Staff Reports Geoff Zahn will have to wait until next week for his first home game as head coach of the Michigan baseball team. Yesterday's home opener waspost- poned due to snow. The Wolverines were scheduled to take on Eastern Michigan (2-9) at 3 p.m in Ray Fisher Stadium. Michigan (1-13) will travel to Purdue (7-11-1) this weekend to b* gin the Big Ten schedule with double- headers against the Boilermakers on Saturday and Sunday. Play is sched- uled to begin at 1 p.m. each day. The new home opener will be Wednesday, March 27, against To- ledo at 3 p.m. Yesterday's game with the Eagles has not been rescheduled. Senior hurler MarkTemple (0- was scheduled to start on the mou for the Wolverines. Due to the cold weather and the approach of the conference season, Temple was originally slated to pitch no more than a couple of innings any- way, Zahn said. Yesterday's contest was supposed to be Michigan's last chance to tune- up before heading to West Lafayette to begin Big Ten play. Several Wol- verines were scheduled to see actic. on the mound SWIMMING Continued from Page 13A said. "No one person has to step up, but we really need our relays to swim well." The Wolverines hopethatthis season's adversity will give them an extra edge j their quest for an NCAA title. "Last year was a magical year," Kampfe said. "This year, we have re- ally had to work for it. "Our team's starting to swim really well. (Not) many women'steams have won national titles, so that (is) some- thing to shoot for." Richardson hopes that the home- pool advantage will make the cham- pionships memorable. "Friends from other teams will coming in, and it will be like having guests at your house," Richardson said. "You want to treat them well. Hopefully, it will bring out the best in us." WRESTLING Continued from Page 13A meet by dropping a one-point de sion to the No. I wrestler in Iowa Joe Williams. Catrabone established himself as one of Michigan's all-time leaders in wins in a season with a 41- 5 record and will look for a rematch with Williams this weekend. Senior captain Jesse Rawls Jr. will bring leadership and experience as the only upperclassmen making the trip to Minneapolis. After receiving All-American honors at 177 pounds in 1994, Rawls qualified for the 19 championships but did not wrestle due to a knee injury. Ranked fifth, Rawls (30-8) will look to avenge his controversial one-point loss to Iowa's Curt Heideman in the third-place Big Ten match. At 118 pounds, redshirt freshman Chris Viola will make his first NCAA appearance. Viola had been injured earlier in the season but returned to compile an 18-10 overall record the Wolverines. He qualified for a spot in the national championships by upending Penn State's Jason Betz in the fifth-place match of the Big Ten meet. Sophomore Brandon Howe will re- turn to his home state to challenge for the 126-pound title. As a returning NCAA qualifier, Howe placed sixth in the Big Ten after compiling an 1 8- 1 5 season record. Fellow sophomore Bill Lacure qualified for his first NCAA appear- ance with a fourth-place Big Ten fin- ish at 150. Although Lacure did not begin the season with a national rank- ing, his solid performance and 28-11I record earned him a No. 8 ranking by the end of the season. Rounding out the Wolverines' championship squad is heavyweigh and repeat qualifier Richardson. A though illness slowed Richardson down in the Big Ten's, he has turned in many clutch performances in con- ference dual meets while compiling a 37-9 record and earning a No. 7 rank- ing. "Based on how thev did this sea- He just received our summer catalog... Northwestern University Summer Session '96 _ . i