:10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 11, 1998
Freshmen icers grab awards, seniors' respect
By Chris Farah
)aly Sports Ldtor
Last week's home game against Lake
Superior -- also known as Senior Night
--- honored i(ur years of stellar perfor-
m<ncecs from players like Bill Muckalt,
MaI Ierr and Marty Turco.
This week, the CCHA lauded the
eiforts of those who will fill the senior
roles in three years - and several
Wolverines were included. Freshman
center Mark Kosick and defenseman
Mike Van Ryn earned spots on the all-
rookie team and forward Josh Langfeld
received honorable mention recognition.
Conference coaches voted on the
award, and Kosick was one of just two
unanimous select ions, finishing second
among freshman forwards in scoring
with 28 points. including 10 goals.
"It's definitely an honor being recog-
nized that way, being named to the
CCHA all-rookie team," Kosick said.
"But I'm just happy I've had the oppor-
tunity to play with such great guys, and
had the chance to get better every day.:
Van Ryn's four goals and 14 assists tie
him for the scoring lead among
Michigan defensemen. Michigan coach
Red Berenson said that players like Van
Ryn and Kosick will help this year's
freshman class live up to all of their pos-
itive expectations by the time they grad-
uate.
"I think they'll be a strong senior
class, no question," Berenson said."The
all-rookie team is a small indication of
what this class will be all about when
they mature and get some more experi-
ence. I think there's a lot of potential in
this class that hasn't even surfaced yet"
Even though three more years will
undoubtedly help the class realize its full
capabilities, not all players are satisfied
with their first year.
Langfeld managed to win honorable
mention on the all-rookie team, but he
felt he could have done better. Langfeld
started the season strong as one of
Michigan's top goal scorers but hasn't
been consistent in the past month.
"Yeah, I'm disappointed, but stuff
happens," he said. "Maybe I'll have a
better year next year. The last month of
the season I wasn't really playing well,
so I wasn't expecting to get it. But now
that the decision came. I'm just disap-
pointed in myself."
Although Langfeld might be a little
hard on himself- he's still managed to
rack up 31 points for the season, includ-
ing 16 goals - other freshmen
Wolverines have yet to demonstrate their
full potential.
While defenseman Dave Huntzicker
has exceeded expectations with his
adjustment to college competition, oth-
ers have more potential than their statis-
tics indicate.
Freshmen like Scott Matzka and
Geoff Koch may not be stars yet, but
there's a general consensus that they'll
continue to grow.
" I think (Koch) is going to be a great
leader on this team," Herr said. "He's a
guy after my own heart - he's a prep-
school kid, he's my weightlifting partner
and I think he's going to do very well.
He may only have three or four goals,
but down the road, you better watch out
for him - he's going to score a couple
more.
The bond between the freshmen and
the older play ers who have shown them
the ropes may be strong, but the rookie
class has also developed a chemistry of
its own.
"We came together pretty tight,"
Langfeld said. "We're always hanging
out together and going out every day.
We're jelling - everyone gets along,
and with the exception ofa couple times,
we don't get too upset at each other."
It may be just their first year, but the
friendships they form will see them
ascend to the senior podium in just a
short time - maybe in too short of a
time.
"People were like, 'You guys are
going to be seniors before you know it,"
Kosick said. '"You guys are going to be
standing there shaking all the younger
guys' hands.' I still can't picture myself
in that position."
6
6
0
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Josh Langfeld's performance may have trailed off a bit in the second half of the
season, but the freshman still racked up 16 goals and dished out 15 assists, help-
ing him obtain honorable mention on the CCHA all-rookie team.
Women
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Soaring center Pollyanna Johns and the women's basketball team may be heading
to the NCAA tournament, but they aren't nervous. The Wolverines shook away
their jitters in two Big Ten Tournament games during spring break - a luxury that
their first round opponent, UCLA, didn't have.
We're going south for the tourney ... how about you?
NCAAs
By Josh lenbaum
Daily Sports Writer
Three turnovers in two minutes.
It wasn't exactly the Michigan
women's basketball team at its finest.
But considering that those two minutes
were the first ones of its most impor-
tant game of the season, the perfor-
mance wasn't shocking.
"The kids were very nervous going
into that first game, there's no doubt
about it,' Michigan coach Sue Guevara
said of the Big Ten Tournament quar-
terfinal against Wisconsin. "The nerves
are down, and now it's down to busi-
ness. We're not going to have first-time
NCAA Tournament jitters."
The Wolverines had a pretty nasty
case two weeks ago when they fell
behind the Badgers, 8-0. They were
obviously nervous- making bad pass-
es, taking bad shots and committing
bad fouls early in the game. But they
got over it, settled down and pulled out
a 79-70 victory, securing an NCAA
Tournament spot in the process.
The tournament awaits, and the
game against Wisconsin is nothing
compared to the pressure they'll face
Friday.
Big Ten tournaments - they've
done that before. Every year for the
past four years, in fact. But an NCAA
game'? No current Wolverines have
played in one.
Guevara turns to that tournament
game as solace, thinking the
Wolverines got rid of the nerves against
Wisconsin.
Regardless, the conference tourna-
ment is a luxury Michigan's first-round
opponent, UCLA, doesn't have to fall
back on.
None of the Bruins have played in a
postseason game of any kind.
The Pac-10 is one of the few confer-
ences that doesn't have a post-season
tournament. The Bruins haven't had a
chance to get into tournament mode
and haven't had a chance to lose the jit-
ters.
"We've been in the (tournament)
atmosphere, we've played in front of
12,000 people," Guevara said. "So
maybe that gives us an advantage.
We've been in that type of situation and
they haven't."
In fact, the Bruins haven't played in
a tournament all season.
"We're a really young team," UCLA 4
coach Karen Olivier said. "We start
four sophomores. I hope we don't get
too excited or too nervous. We haven't
played much in that kind of an environ-
ment,"
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