4 The Wolverines vs. the nation Icers. wrestlers and swimmrs r nmnaet in NCAAw B I, 1w I %w qwR %p f w R lw kw wR %wA iR irR m 9 Met' e ff R R E R R R r \y V rI4 fLr R wlr(' /'1 11 "' ' " p I NO womp .4 NOR POW WOO - I I polo IN" NO Illomm cbe idtgan aig Women swimmers struggle to 3rd y Marc Ughtdale aily Sports Writer Overcoming obstacles remained the ne consistent feature of this year's 4ichigan women's swimming and div- ig team. After a sixth-place finish on the first ay of NCAA competition, the Wolver- aced the uncomfortable position of av ng to refocus mentally. "It's no secret that we got off to a tally rough start," Michigan coach Jim .ichardson said. "If we had not made n attitude adjustment, we would have been out of the meet after the first day." At the end of the meet in Canham Natatorium, the Wolverines battled back to a third-place finish, behind Stanford and Southern Methodist. Stanford won its fifth consecutive tournament with 478 points, Southern Methodist came in second with 397 points and Michi- gan followed with 363.5 points. The most exciting event came in the last event of the meet, the 400-meter freestyle relay, which exemplified the Wolverines' perserverance. In their second-place finish, the relay squad consisting of Jen Eberwein, Megan Gillam, Kim Johnson and Talor Bendel appeared to be neck and neck with Stanford for most of the race. Michigan was edged out by the Cardi- nal, but managed to beat Southern Cal's highly-touted relay team. "The relay got together and said,'sure we need to beat USC,"' Bendel said. "The goal is to swim the best relay we could." The inspired performances of two sophomores, Bendel and Kerri Hale, led the team's comeback to a top-three finish for the second year in a row. Hale emerged from the 1,650 freestyle with a season-best performance (16:12.95). "That was amazing," Hale said. "My team was along my side for my highest finish in the 1,650. When I got done, I was so excited." Before celebrating her outstanding performance, Hale arrived back on the deck to race in the 200 butterfly. In her third event, she managed to secure a second-place finish in the consolations See SWIMMERS, Page 7B MARK FRIEgMAN/ Michigan's Jodi Nafta takes off during the NCAA championships this weekend. Icers slip b Minnesota I , . * , into semis By Danielle Rumore Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING -The two parties on a see-saw must stay on either end to keep it balanced. If one party jumps off, the other comes crashing to the ground. Last night at Munn Ice Arena in the NCAA quarterfinals, the Michigan and Minnesota hockey teams teetered back and forth in a relatively balanced contest for close to 60 minutes until Michigan jumped off. And in an instant, the Golden Gophers' season came crashing to the ground in the 4-3 Wolverine victory. Michigan's Brendan Morrison fed Bill Muckalt who slid the puck past Gopher goalie Steve DeBus at 17:59 of the third period. The Wolverines were able to hold the Gophers off for the remainder of the period, securing the victory. Muckalt's goal sent Minnesota packing and Michi- gan to the NCAA semifinals. "This was a classic college game," Minnesota coach Doug Woog said. "This was (equivalent to) a final four game. The closer you get to the ultimate goal, the more intense it gets." The Wolverines looked flat at the start of the game. managing only three shots on goal in the first period, season low, compared to Minnesota's 13. Excluding yesterday's game, Michigan averaged 12.2 shots on goal in the first stanza over its 40-game span. Minnesota's Nick Checco started out the scoring with G shorthanded goal at 3:38 of the first stanza. The puck slit into the neutral zone after the Wolverines lost control of it in the Gophers' end. Steven Halko could not stop the puck in the neutral zone, but Checco managed to get ; stick on it and flip it past Michigan goaltender Marty Turco. From that point on, the two squads exchanged goals ir what proved to be a nail-biter until the final buzzer. Muckalt's first of two goals tied the game at 8:32 of the first. After a few quick passes after a faceoff, Muckalt steadied on the left side of the crease, grabbed a feed froir Morrison and slid it past DeBus for the power play score The Wolverines entered the lockerroom down 2-1 at the end of the first after Jay Moser tapped the puck across the crease for a power play goal at 11:56. Turco made ke) saves down the stretch, which could have easily giver. Minnesota a two or three goal cushion at intermission. "Marty made a save that could have put (Minnesota) up two," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Minnesota had the edge in the first, but we expected it because of the game (they played Saturday). We came back in the secon. and then it was anyone's game in the third." Michigan started the second period as the more aggres- sive team and continued the power play barrage that begar in the first period. Mike Legg started things off, tying the game at two with a goal that was one of the most incredibl of the entire season. See GOPHERS, Page 5E WALKER VANDYKE/Daily Minnesota goaltender Steve DeBus couldn't bat the puck or the Wolverines away in yesterday's NCAA quarterfinal game in East Lansing. Vichigan mentally ready to win, but are the ghosts gone.? EAST LANSING - Michigan doesn't like to remember, but old ghosts are not easily forgotten. The 4-3 overtime loss to Maine in the 992-93 semifinals. The 5-4 overtime loss to Lake Superior n the 1993-94 quarterfinals. he 4-3 triple overtime loss to Maine t season's semifinals. Each year, the Wolverines needed only ne more.goal -just one. One more goal, a game-winner in vertime, and Michigan could have rabbed glory. But the bounces didn't go heir way, the goals didn't come, and the Volverines had to settle for pain instead. They add up, these tough defeats. They near at a team's constitution and confidence. Hearts can only be broken so many times. When a certain point is reached, they can't be healed. But yesterday was different. Something about the game hinted that Michigan is on the mend. The Wolver- ines beat Minne- sota, 4-3, in a championship caliber game. The breaks went their way, and Michigan about past years too much," Michigan captain Steven Halko said. "The only thing we can control is now." Winning in the quarterfinals is nothing new for Michigan. The Wolverines have done it four of the past five years. But there is something special about Michi- gan this year. Michigan expects to win, wants to win, and is enjoying the pursuit. Last Saturday, just hours after the Wolverines had won the CCHA playoff championship, they celebrated. But they didn't go out and throw a big bash. They sat at Halko's house and watched the game again. The night was spent talking hockey. That was fun enough. "There were some parties around town, but everyone ended up at our place," Halko said. "We're serious about what we're doing." Michigan has been focused all season. The Wolverines are mature. "They're really learning how hard they have to work to win these types of games," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "I like their preparation, and I like the way they've played." They beat the teams they were supposed to beat earlier this season, blowing them out night after night. They concentrated on the little things like goals against average, special teams and team defense. They might have won See COTSONIKA, Page 5B COTSONIKA The Greek Speaks got the goal it needed. "I don't think anybody's thinking a - - m Wrestlers claim 9th; 5 earn All-American honors Regional Fnais y Will McCahill aily Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS-Michigan found acure for what ailed it, and Howe weet it was. Minnesota native Brandon Howe 0 ked the Wolverine wrestling squad ninth-place finish at this weekend's 4CAA tournament, as he and fellow ophomore Bill Lacure surprised just bout everybody but themselves with reat tourney runs. Howe, wrestling at 126 pounds, fin- shed eighth. while Lacure olaced fourth whose finishes earned them All-Ameri- can honors. In addition to Howe and Lacure, sophomore JeffCatrabone finished sev- enth at 158 pounds, while senior cap- tain Jesse Rawls Jr. and sophomore Airron Richardson placed fourth at 177 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. The results were a marked improve- ment over last year's NCAA result: Michigan placed 22nd while garnering only two All-American spots. Michigan coach Dale Bahr said the team's high finish goes a long way Ten tournament, in which the Wolver- ines finished seventh. "This was a heck ofa performance by our kids,' Bahr said. "We lost some tight matches (at the Big Tens) and we were really down after that. It looked like (the season) wasn't going to end all that well." Bahr singled out the unseeded Howe for having given the team the momen- tum it needed going into the final rounds. "Brandon ... was the catalyst, espe- cially in the medal round (Friday night)," Bahr said. Friday, repaying the Spartan in full for a loss late in the Big Ten tournament. Once Howe started the ball rolling, Bahr said, his teammates felt obligated to keep the team on the winning track. After defeating Bolton, Howe was waylaid by Willie Carpenter of Brown, and eventually lost to Northwestern's Scott Schatzman to finish in the eighth slot. Lacure -who began the tournament seeded ninth - was equally inspiring on his path to fourth place. In Friday afternoon's quarterfinal round, he came -a -.. . Massachusetts 86, Georgetown 62 Syracuse 60, " Kansas 57