6F - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3, 1997 SPORTS TEAMS Continued from Page :L Title IX established women's sports programs on campuses nationwide. At the time, many programs were underde- veloped. The women's program was "below average," Schembechler said. "We'll call it successful when we have our first (women's) basketball (conference) championship." After last summer's resignation of women's basketball coach Trish Roberts, Michigan emerged from the cloud hang- ing over the program to improve its record dramatically. Guard Stacey Thomas was named Big Ten freshman of the year and junior forward Pollyanna .Johns led the conference in rebounding. Michigan improved over last season's dismal 7-20 finish to this year's 15-11 record. This step forward moves the women's basketball team closer to JoSchembechler's ideal. An unexpected success came in a sport with less exposure: Bev Plocki's women gymnasts vaulted into the spot- light with a surprisingly strong season. Freshman Sarah Cain took the Big Ten by storm, catapulting her team to its first- "ever NCAA regional championship. Michigan entered the national champi- onship round as the top seed. While the Wolverines faltered at the national cham- pionships, finishing fourth, it was a boost from past seasons. "Women's programs have really come a long way in the last 10 or 15 years," Schembechler said. Another sign of success can be seen in the hordes of fans attending Michigan events on campus. For the 22nd consecu- tive season, Michigan Stadium led the nation in attendance, despite having the second-largest facility in the country. (Tennessee's Neyland Stadium has a seating capacity of 102,544, while Michigan Stadium holds 102,501 fans.) When looking at the Michigan athletic program as whole, Michigan's top two- sport athlete, Matt Herr, said that judging the success should go beyond the results on the field of battle. "Coming here is something special," Herr said. "There's nothing like it." After three seasons of double duty as a forward on the hockey team and relief pitcher on the baseball team, Herr epitomizes Michigan's athletic success. "When you join hockey, they've always set the standard," he said. "Now I've been a part of a team like baseball who has accelerated their standard. We weren't even .500 my freshman year and it's nice to be a part of a team that's stepped it up." Guevara improves women's hoops By Kevin Kasiborski Daily Sports Writer The cover photo of the 1996-97 Michigan women's basketball media guide is the sun rising over a picture of the five seniors. The intended metaphor: A new beginning. Daybreak for the '96-'97 Wolverines came this past July 11. On that day, Sue Guevara was introduced as interim coach, replacing Trish Roberts. During the press conference, Athletic Director Joe Roberson promised a national search for ahead coach at the end of the season. Seven months later, on Feb. 11, Roberson removed the 'interim' from Guevara's title with four games remain- ing in the regular season. What happened in the interim? Guevara made Roberson's search unnecessary by directing a turnaround in the fortunes of the women's basket- ball program that was nothing short of remarkable. The Wolverines opened the '96-'97 campaign with a 68-54 win over Kentucky and a 75-55 victory over Northeast Illinois to capture the Western Michigan Invitational tournament. The Wolverines won eight of their first nine games, and 11 of their first 14. Their only non-conference loss - a 77-74 near- upset of No. 1 Stanford. The Wolverines faced stiffer compe- tition during Big Ten play, and suffered through a pair of three-game losing streaks. Michigan closed out the regular season by winning three of its last four. Included among those victories was ta school-record 107 points scored in a win over Minnesota. Michigan finished with a 7-9 record in Big Ten action, tied for eighth with Indiana. Overall, Michigan posted a 15- I1 mark last season, its first winning record since '89-'90. Junior center Pollyanna Johns led Michigan in scoring (15.0 points/game) and rebounding (12.4 rebounds/game) for the second straight season. She was a second-team All Big Ten selection. Guard Stacey Thomas was named Big Ten freshman of the year by both the coaches and media, and is the first Wolverine to receive that honor. One of the few disappointments of the season was the way it ended. Indiana pounded the Wolverines, 72- 54, in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. The Hoosiers lead from start to finish, picking up their third win of the season over Michigan. Although it was the Wolverines third-straight first round exit from the Big Ten tournament, it couldn't put that big damper on successful season. Even more important than doubling the improvement in won-loss record is the program's change in attitude. The players enjoy playing for Guevara. The sun has finally risen. - OBATFITTERS -BACKPACKING I CAMPING MOUNTAINEERING X-COUNTRY SKIING OUTDOOR CLOTHING EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS JEANNIE SERVAAS/Daily Pollyanna Johns heads for the basket in a game against Purdue. Johns led the women's basketball team in scoring and rebounding last season. Womlen's tankels win 1g Ten tile r. . " . , _- 333 S. Main 9 (313) 761-8515 Hours: Mon-Sat, 10-6 " Th-Fri, till 8 pm Open Sundays! 4F. J fr i4 I.A .. V. ILK +. <~ sV e d _ R. V +C M _ V a;! U m 11w to make the most of-your quality time Always feellike a Invest ine *The Get to know Coff1 Jones Exchange Joee Mitchell Have lunch with PERRY E L L I S Know where to \ M'A"R "MY S/Daily The Michigan men's swimming team took the Big Ten championship last season, but failed to take the NCAA trophy in the March tournament. After taking NCAAs, 'M falls In nationals By B.'. Luria Daily Sports Writer The 1996-97 Michigan men's swim- ming team had two goals - regain its Big Ten crown and win the NCAA Championship for the second time in three years. Michigan succeeded in tak- ing the Big Ten title, but fell short of the NCAA championship. The 1996-97 Wolverines featured five Olympic veterans, including silver medalist Tom Malchow. Gold medalist Tom Dolan gave up his final year of eli- gibility at Michigan to capitalize on his Olympic success. Despite the loss of Dolan, and Jason Lancaster to a shoulder injury, Michigan, had high hopes for the season. Michigan traveled to Indiana on February 27 to attempt to regain the Big Ten crown claimed by Minnesota in 1996. Minnesota held the lead through the first two days of the three-day meet. Olympian John Piersma helped push Michigan to victory on the final day, and was rewarded for his efforts by being named Big Ten swimmer of the meet. Michigan then headed to Minneapolis on March 27 for the NCAA championships. However, the Wolverines did not fare well in their quest to bring home the NCAA trophy. After finishing the first of three days in 11th place, Michigan climbed to only the seventh spot in the meet. Despite winning the Big Ten champi- onship, the Wolverines left one goal for which they would have to wait until 1998 to fulfill. "It was a season of ups and down, mostly downs," coach John Urbanchek said. "It looks good for the future though. We will learn from this year." By Fred Link Daily Sports Writer The 1996-97 season was an up and down one for the Michigan women's swimming team. After going 4-0, the Wolverines lost three straight meets before recovering to win an unprecedent- ed 11th straight Big Ten championship. Early on in the season, the Wolverines concentrated on swimming fast and qualifying as many swimmers as possible for the NCAAs. Despite loosing All-American Rachel Gustin to shoulder surgery in October, the Wolverines opened the season strong raking up dual meet victories against Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, and taking first place at the Northwestern Relays and the Miami University Invitational. By the time winter break rolled around, eight Michigan swimmers had swum times fast enough to qualify for the NCAAs. Having accomplished their early sea- son objective, the Wolverines turned their attention to hard training with the hopes that they would be swimming fast when it counted - at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. The Wolverines spent two grueling weeks in Coronado California at the Navy Seals training facility training. Before returning home from California, a fatigued Michigan team was convincingly defeated by then-No. I Stanford and No. 15? California. Two weeks later, the Wolverines were blown out at home by No. 4 Georgia 172-130. At the time, Michigan coach Jim Richardson insisted that the loosing streak was nothing to be concerned with. "I love where we are right now," Richardson said. "I can't think of a year buy the best in the 12 years I've been at Michigan where I felt better about where we than 1 do right now." At the Big Ten championships, the Wolverines faced a tough challenge from Big Ten rival Minnesota. On day three, the Wolverines were able to pull away, winning a record I1th straight Big Ten Title, 99.5 points ahead of second place Minnesota. The 99.5 point margin made the meet the fourth-closest finish in the meet's 16-year history and the closest since 1993 when Michig defeated Northwestern by 4 . The Wolverines were led by senior Anne Kampfe and freshman and Canadian Olympian Shannon Shakespeare. Shakespeare was named co-Big Ten 5 vimmer of the Year after winning th '.0-yard individual medley, the 200 freestyle, and the 100 freestyle. Kampfe won the 400 IM and the 200 backstroke and finished fifth in the 200 breaststroke. "I'm just so happy for our team Shakespeare said. "We've faced some rough times this year, but we over- came them." At the NCAA championships,' the Wolverines were again led by Kampfe and Shakespeare, but unfortunately there wasn't much else. The two com- bined for 77 individual points. The rest of the team combined for only 43.5 points in individual events. Next season, Michigan will look improve on its finish at the NCAA meet, Though Michigan lost Kampfe to graduation, Shakespeare will return to lead a talented Michigan squad. "She's a great racer ... and a really good team person," Richardson said. "She's fun to have around." Injunes halt. women s harriers By Chris Farah Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's cross country team began the 1996 season rankedji the nation's top ten, and, at first, ever thing seemed to be going just as planned. The Wolverines easily won their first three meets of the year, with runners placing in the top ten individually in each competition. Then the season collapsed. Preseason injuries and a young roster combined to lead to the Wolverines' rapid decline from the ranks of the nation's elite teams. First came an unexpected loss Eastern Michigan in the Michigan Intercollegiate on Oct. 20. Michigan was out of the nation's top 25, and things only got worse. The Wolverines went into the district meet on Nov. 16 with a lot of tradition to uphold. Michigan had qualified for the NCAAs for the last eight years. Quality. Price. Selection. Michigan Book and Supply 317 S. State 665-4990 I " Ui~ U do ANN ARBOR I AF~kIV vnir w -Av f Cycle Cellar RACING * TRIATHLON " TOURING * RECREATION * ALL-TERRAIN Mon-Fri 10-6 Sat 10-5 220 Felch Street 0_ Plenty of FREE Parking FCK KINGSLEY 769~1115MILLEI ANN VISA_. W®L HUaRON tnrU n.A ..rw. I 0 -.j .99LW4 m... I; w C BACK TO SCHOOL SALE! WANT TO FLY? 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