an Daily - Thursday, March 13, 1997 - 19A
.Forgotten 'M' divers seek respect
By John Friedberg
Daily Sports Writer
Half of the Michigan men's swim-
ming and diving team is forgotten.
Experts associate Michigan swimming
with Olympians like John Piersma and
Tom Malchow, not divers Brett Wilmot
and Al Fleming.
Yes, the divers are hardly even
thought about when there are discus-
sions surrounding the success of the
team, but they should be included.
The diving team will attempt to earn
,soxne respect at the Diving Zone Meet
in Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday.
The Zone Meet is the only chance for
the divers to earn a spot in the national
championships.
The Zone Meet provides an opportu-
nity for the best divers of the Big Ten
Conference and the Mid-American
Conference to gain a berth in the
national finals in two weeks. The top
three finishers in the meet will advance.
REVIEW
Continued from Page 15A
Guevara would lead the Wolverines on
a permanent basis by removing "inter-
im" from her title.
The start of Big Ten conference play
in January brought stiffer competition,
and Michigan had problems being con-
sistent. The Wolverines beat Illinois -
which finished in a first-place tie with
Michigan State and Purdue - and won
for the first time ever at Carver-
Hawkeye Arena.
However, Michigan also lost to even-
tual 10th-place finisher Ohio State, and
lost three times to an Indiana team that
finished below .500 in the conference.
While Michigan's shooting was
erratic at times, its effort was fairly con-
sistent. Guevara's enthusiastic attitude
rubbed off on her players. Michigan
played with emotion and a competitive
fire all season, even when it was suffer-
ing from one of its all-too-frequent
shooting slumps.
* Against Michigan State on January
19, Michigan was down by as many as
21 in the second half, but fought back to
make the final score a respectable 76-67.
Michigan finished Big Ten play with
a 7-9 mark, tied for eighth with Indiana,
and lost to the Hoosiers in the first-
round of the Big Ten tournament - the
Wolverines third-straight first-round
exit.
While the Wolverines were disap-
pointed that they didn't make a longer
run in the conference tournament, the
season on the whole can only be viewed
as a successful one.
Michigan's go-to lady all season long
was junior center Pollyanna Johns, who
led the team in scoring and rebounding.
The only way to stop her in the post was
*OUTDOORS.
Continued from Page 15A
Outdoor tracks are 400 meters
long, as opposed to the 200-meter
length of indoor tracks, making for
longer straightaways and smoother
cornering. Many athletes also com-
plain about the stuffy, cramped con-
ditions of indoor tracks.
"Especially for the half, it's so
crowded," Ouellet said. "Like in the
finals of the Big Tens, everyone was
basically the same caliber. We want-
ed to run to run in the same place. It
was just really bumpy.
"Outdoors there's a lot more
room, the air is much fresher, the
track is softer. I can't wait to get out-
doors," she said.
As much as the Wolverines may
prefer the outdoor to the indoor sea-
son, weather can always be a prob-
lem. This early in the year, especial-
ly in Michigan, there are no guaran-
tees. Sunshine one day can easily
turn into a blizzard the next.
Ouellet, who is used to the condi-
tions of her hometown in Ontario,
Canada, is not concerned.
"(Monday) I ran in a t-shirt and
shorts," Ouellet said. "Back home,
we have nine feet of snow, so this
was a treat. I'm used to racing in
shorts when it's snowing, so actually
any day (here) is a treat for me."
HURRICANES
Continued from Page 15A
thought we'd be playing them so I never
really watched them that closely. They
struggled like us towards the end (of the
season)."
Taylor was more specific, noting a
potentially worrisome aspect of the'
Wolverines' opponent.
"They're an athletic team, they have a
lot of guys who can run and jump," the'
junior forward said. "They play real hard
on the defensive end."
"Sometimes they get erratic, but
Despite their strong impact at the
conference championships, the divers
were overshadowed by the excellence
of their swimming teammates. Without
the contributions of Wilmot, Fleming
and the other divers, the conference
crown may not have returned to Ann
Arbor.
Wilmot finished seventh in the three-
meter competition and a more impor-
tant third in the platform competition.
Joining Wilmot in the top 10 in the plat-
form were sophomores Fleming and
Nate Shepard.
All four Michigan divers that head to
the Zone Meet made important contri-
butions throughout the dual-meet sea-
son.
Michigan divers won events at every
meet except against Michigan State and
Ohio State. The Wolverine divers swept
the top three spots against Purdue,
California and Stanford. In the Cal and
Stanford meets, Michigan swept both
diving events.
However, the biggest contribution
the divers made this season was during
the Purdue meet.
The Wolverines had never lost to the
Boilermakers and the meet was much
closer than anticipated. The clutch div-
ing of Wilmot, Fleming and freshman
Josh Trexler provided much of the 14-
point margin.
"The diving really helped," Michigan
swimming coach Jon Urbanchek said
that day. "Without the diving we would
have lost."
Indeed, the 16 points that the divers
provided gave the flu-stricken
Wolverines the win.
Michigan enters the Zone Meet with-
out an NCAA champion in any diving
event since 1984. Olympian Kent
Ferguson took the three-meter title that
year. Cracking the top three in the Zone
will be difficult, but the divers have
been up to the challenge all year.
JONA HAN SUMMEH/Uaily
The Michigan women's basketball team lost In the first round of the Big Ten tourney.
to make sure she didn't get the ball.
Johns was named to All-Big Ten second
team for the second year in a row.
Another Wolverine receiving post-
season accolades was freshman Stacey
Thomas. She became the first Michigan
player to be named Big Ten Freshman
of the year. All season she frustrated
Wolverine opponents with her offensive
rebounding and quick hands, averaging
almost three steals per game.
The Michigan seniors, Catherine
DiGiacinto, Amy Johnson, Mekisha
Ross and Silver Shellman, were the
first class in seven years to win their
final home game.
Captains DiGiacinto and Shellman
provided leadership all season, and
Johnson leaves Michigan tied with
teammate Jennifer Kiefer for the lead in
career 3-point field goals made.
Although only Shellman was starter
a this season, they can all leave
Michigan proud of this season, and
proud that they were a part of 'A New
Beginning.'
JEANNIE SERVAAS/Daily
The Michigan women's track team is preparing to begin its outdoor season.
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