Eiw 3id~igun aIt ?E W S TU DE NT E DI TI ON .P4 - - __ Section Wednesday, September 3, 1997 Sports are as much apart of .J'as classes and professors f you're reading this column, you probably care about Michigan sports - at least a little bit. There are some people at this University who don't, those you believe that college athletics is either barbaric and indulges the v( of mind. hat is fine - diversity is what makes this campus so great. Some of these people will be your profes- sors, one may be your RA and some will sit next to you in an English or philosophy class. Sports aren't for everyone. College athletics can get downright nasty. But while these detractors have their rea- sons, I believe they are wrong. *r the rest of us, the Wolverines who march into Michigan Stadium, Crisler Arena and Yost Ice Arena will have an effect on our lives. People that we do not even know will move us to tears, or induce us to party in the streets. Athletics fos- ter kinship, not just among the players, but among the fans. Contrary to what JOHN naysayers LEROI believe, there is Out of intellect Bounds involved, too. And for those political science majors who thinks our Athletic Department could contribute noth- i to his pursuit of intellect, see h political Lloyd Carr is handling a four-man quarterback controversy. The bottom line is this: For those of us who care even a little bit now, Michigan athletics will tug at your heartstrings. You will rejoice when the Wolverines win and you will suffer when they lose. You will remember comebacks against Duke, shocking finishes. a inst Colorado and overtime ges on ice that last forever. And whether you were a big Maize and Blue supporter in high school or just a casual fan, it will get worse now that you're a fresh- man, now that you go to Michigan. You can file into Michigan Stadium with 100,000 others. You can watch away games on TV in your dorm. You can even drive all t way to Penn State one weekend fu game - your parents will have no idea. No matter what, in your four years here, you will be disappointed and you will be surprised. Who will be Michigan's quarterback? Can the Wolverines survive without Maurice Taylor (answer is certain to be yes, by the way)? How much longer will Steve Fisher last? How will a hock- ey team that has been the best in the on for two years react after los- i seven of the most decorated players Michigan has ever seen? You will be stunned by bad plays and bonehead calls. Somebody will fumble, somebody will miss a free throw. You will be elated by lucky bounces and improbable comebacks. Just as important, you will learn about people you knew nothing of before. You'll learn that the best ath- s at this school aren't Charles oodson, Marty Turco and Louis Bullock, but Sara Griffin, Stacey Thomas and Jeff Catrabone (okay, Woodson is, too). You will be amazed at how good our swimming programs are. You'll find out just how daunting a task Sue Guevara faces turning our women's basketball program around (she's been outstanding so far). 'll learn that the only Big Ten s Michigan won last year went to the baseball, softball, women's gymnastics and women's tennis teams. You'll sing Hail to the Victors. You'll buy Michigan sweatshirts. You'll throw marshmallows at foot- ball games and not know why. Now, you are a Wolverine, just as much as Robert Traylor is. gttending Michigan is special. letics is just as much a part of college as classes. When you're 40, you'll remember where you were sitting when Michigan beat Notre Dame. Chances are you won't have the foggiest idea what you scored on your first exam. For all these reasons. you will heres nothin le It 4 M' sports strong, deep despite lackluster yar By Mark Spyder Daily Sports Writer One of the first images that comes to mind for a Michigan sports fan is that of an athlete, arms raised in triumph. On the Ann Arbor campus, it could be any athlete, in nearly any sport. Multi-sport success is a unique distinction not held by many other schools. Even fewer can claim such high levels of achievement. Accompanying Michigan's history of success is one of the strongest fan bases in the nation. Michigan teams perform in packed stadiums and before national television audiences. This combination of athletic excellence and strong fan sup- port make for a powerful sports program that outshines any potential competitor. Bo Schembechler, the legendary coach of the Michigan football team from 1969-89 and the winningest football coach in Michigan history, said the rela- tionship between teams and fans at the University is strong. "Here at Michigan they've had a lot of success in most sports, therefore there's a lot of following for the teams," said Schembechler, who also served as athletic director from 1988-90. "There is something special about college sports that people can associate with, more so than they do in the pros." Bill Freehan, who coached the Michigan baseball team from 1990-1995 after spending 15 years as a Detroit Tiger, said the University's athletic tradi- tion compliments its high academic standards. "I think it stands for what a lot of people want to achieve in life, and that's excellence," Freehan said. "I think the athletic programs mirror what the whole University is about." Last year, Michigan did not win a national championship in any sport. While at another school that may not be significant, at Michigan this shortfall was notable. The aberration is hardly cause for concern among maize-and-blue faithful, however, because suc- cess was abundant. Year after year, Michigan fields the top teams in the nation in multiple sports, and is among the most successful whenever championship play- offs roll around. Michigan won six Big Ten championships last year, one post-season tournament title and were in the championship rounds of three others. "There is something special about college sports .." -- Bo Schembechier Former Michigan football coach Above: Center Robert Traylor moves to the basket in a December game against Duke. Traylor, the NIT's most valuable player, will return this year for a third season at Michigan. The football team, coached by Lloyd Carr, did not win the Big Ten title. But the Wolverines did play in the Outback Bowl, and defeated national powers like Colorado and Ohio State. The victory over Ohio State, a team that went on to win the Rose Bowl, denied the arch-rival Buckeyes the national championship. The Michigan basketball and hockey teams enjoyed even greater success. After narrowly missing a bid to the post-season NCAA basketball tourna- ment, Steve Fisher's basketball team did not roll over. Instead, the Wolverines made the most of the invitation they did have, to the NIT tournament, and ran with it - literally- winning the tournament cham- pionship by defeating Florida State, 82-73, in New York City. The season, despite the absence of a Big Ten championship, elusive for the eleventh consecutive season, had many additional high points for Fisher's squad. Michigan defeated both ACC-power Duke and eventual national cham- pion Arizona in a December run. On the ice, the Michigan hockey team was unstoppable all season long - the regular season, that is. Michigan faltered when when it faced Boston University in the national semifinals. The game was a role reversal from the previous season, when Boston was the favored team in the national semifinals and Michigan was the underdog. This season, Michigan was the defending national champion that was shocked short of the title game. But success can be determined by other factors, primary among them the culmination of Michigan's senior class. The nine seniors won more games in their four-year tenure than any class before them. They were the first to claim four CCHA championships and went to three national semifinals, claiming one national championship. At the head of this class was Brendan Morrison, the nation's leading scorer. After three years of nominations, Morrison won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's best college hockey player. Morrison's achievement was unparalleled in Michigan hockey history. He joined Desmond Howard and Tom Harmon in football, and Cazzie Russell in basketball as the winners of national player of the year honors in their respective sports. Few schools, if any, can claim such high achievement in the three major sports - an unqualified success. In recent years, Michigan has also struggled to achieve success of anoth- er sort - in the burgeoning fields of women's= sports. Twenty years ago, See TEAMS, Page 6F Left: Tailback Clarence Williams dodges past an Illinois player in a game during August, 1996. More than 100,000 fans pack Michigan 6 .i Stadium on any given football Saturday - emblematic of FILE PHOTO Michigan's athletic tradition. Women's gymnastics takes fourth in nation at NCAAs - - 4 By Jacob Wheeler Daily Sports Writer A coach crosses his or her fingers the entire year, hoping the team will peak at just the right moment. But for the 1997 Michigan women's gymnastics team and its coach Bev Plocki, the climax happened a little too soon, and the Wolverines finished fourth at the NCAA championships. Michigan came on strong in the spring after a sluggish start that Five performers attained solid scores week after week, and one of them, fresh- man Sarah Cain, was establishing herself as one of the nation's top gymnasts. Cain captured unanimous Big Ten freshman of the year honors and Big Ten gymnast of the year, as the Wolverines won their sixth straight Big Ten title in Minneapolis. Heather Kabnick was among the nation's elite all season in the floor exer- cise, recording two perfect 10's during the Arbor's Crisler Arena. In the season's highlight, the Wolverines hosted the central regional competition and knocked off regional powerhouse Alabama, scoring a school record all- around score of 197.7 in the process. "The regional title is something that has eluded us for a number of years," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "It's something that we've waited a long time for, but we knew we had a great opportunity to do it this year." I i ... : .-, .. . w .. ,a .xnt , x .ss .i- ., ..: .