October 5, 1998 - SportsMonday - The Michigan Daily - 38
.Stickers stay atop Big Ten with two wins
r
By Dan Dingw'son
For the Daily
To be the best, you have to beat the
best.
In the past 17 years, there has been
no question who the best field hockey
team in the Big Ten was - Iowa.
In that span of time the Hawkeyes
*ave won 12 conference titles and
advanced to the Final Four nine times.
In those 17 years Iowa had beaten
Michigan on 31 occasions - consec-
utively.
All that changed last year when the
Wolverines swept Iowa in two meet-
ings on their way to a share of the reg-
ular season conference crown.
Friday, former Hawkeye player and
current Michigan coach Marcia
Pankratz led the ninth-ranked
olverines into Iowa City, where
!Michigan downed Iowa for the third
straight time, 2-0.
The win was the third straight over-
all for the Wolverines. It dropped the
once-formidable Hawkeyes to 0-3 in
the Big Ten and marked their eighth
straight conference loss.
Michigan was led by sophomore
Kelli Gannon, who netted both goals
,to give her the team lead with eight.
e first goal came early in the game,
giving the Wolverines all of the scor-
ing they would need.
The defense shined as it has all
year, only allowing the Hawkeyes to
get off nine shots.
"It was another big win for us,"
Pankratz said, "I'm very happy with
the way we came out and played, espe-
cially in a tough place like Iowa."
Yesterday, the Wolverines faced
another traditional conference power.
Northwestern like Iowa, has fallen
from its place atop the Big Ten.
Last year the Wolverines swept the
Wildcats for the first time ever. This
year, Northwestern has been losing,
managing only a 4-7 record heading
into the game.
It was a struggle. The Wolverines
had to come back from a 2-0 deficit to
win 3-2.
Northwestern's Wendy DeFord and
Lindsay Wright struck first for the
Wildcats.
Gannon started the scoring mid-
way through the first half to get the
team on the board before the break.
In the second half Michigan shut
down Northwestern, and senior for-
ward Amy Philbrook netted two goals.
Gannon was the star of the week-
end, netting five points on three goals
and two assists. She had a hand in
every Michigan score this weekend.
The win kept the Wolverines atop
the Big Ten with a 3-0 conference
record. Michigan (10-2 overall) has
won four in a row.
"We're very happy to be coming
home undefeated in the Big Ten,' said
Pankratz. "Iowa and Northwestern
are two very good teams and we have
two very big games coming next
weekend against Ohio State and Penn
State.
"We wanted to head into the Ohio
State game perfect in the Big Ten and
we accomplished that."
JIM
ROSE
w
JOSH KLEINBAUM/Daily
After victories against two respected programs, Iowa and Northwestern, the
Michigan field hockey team can safely be called road warriors.
4Vichigan volleyball splits pair of sweeps
By Michael Shafrir
For the Daily
The Michigan volleyball team took
to the road this past weekend with two
goals. First, it wanted its first Big Ten
victory of the year. Mission accom-
plished.
Second, it looked to beat both
Northwestern and Indiana in its contin-
uing effort to move to the top echelon
of the conference.
Well, one out of two isn't bad.
The Wolverines dominated Friday
night in a three-game sweep of
Northwestern, 15-7, 15-12, 15-12.
Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi
credited Michigan's defense and ser-
vice game for the win.
"Our service game was excellent
tonight and really took Northwestern
out of its offense, which led to our
superb blocking numbers," Giovanazzi
said in a written statement.
Senior Jeanine Szczesniak regis-
tered a team-high hitting percentage of
.313. Giovanazzi said that he expected
a big game from Szczesniak.
"Jeanine is from Illinois and she
seems to always play well when we are
in this state," Giovanazzi said.
Michigan dominated play around
the net, led by Linsey Ebert's Il
blocks.
Anne Poglits and Joanna Fielder
also controlled the net, each registering
seven blocks. All three middle blockers
set career highs in blocks.
"This was the best blocking perfor-
mance I have ever seen out of a
Michigan team:' Giovanazzi said.
The victory marked Michigan's first
Big Ten win of the season.
"It was a huge win for us,"
Giovanazzi said. "It was really impor-
tant for us to get started on a winning
track."
After the triumph at Northwestern,
the Wolverines traveled to
Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers
in another Big Ten matchup.
The Wolverines faltered in a three
game match, 9-15, 12-15, 14-16. The
loss dropped the Wolverines to 1-3 in
the Big Ten, 9-5 overall.
"The reality is that the travel is
something we have to get used to,"
Giovanazzi said. "The level of play
emotionally was higher, but skill wise
and statistically it was lower."
Giovanazzi said he was disappointed
with the team's blocking performance,
especially after its showing at
Northwestern. The Wolverines man-
aged only two blocks against the
Hoosiers.
Michigan was either leading or tied
late in each of the three games. The
turning point, said Giovanazzi, was
deep in the second game.
"We had some breakdowns at cru-
cial points with our passing game and
they got really hot on their serve,"
Giovanazzi said.
He credited Sarah Behnke and
Annie Maxwell, two substitutes, for
coming off the bench in the third game
and providing a much needed spark for
the team.
Dedk~eati pereverance
no tjist found on Gdiron
OWA CITY - Outside, the town is buzzing. It's the usual football Saturday
scene, Big Ten campus, early October. Fans line the sidewalks and tailgaters
claim every corner. Scalpers case the streets. It's windy and gray and chilly -
football weather, no doubt about it. More than two hours before kickoff, the sever-
al-block radius surrounding Kinnick Stadium is alive with activity.
Meanwhile, in a hot and stuffy room on the second floor of Carver-Hawkeye
Arena, just a few blocks from the football stadium, there are a couple dozen spec-
tators watching a couple dozen athletes beat up on one another.
It's just a practice session, one of hundreds, but it's intense. Bodies are crashing.
Tempers are flaring. And thereare more All-Americans in the room than there will
be all fall at the football stadium.
It's wrestling practice at Iowa.
It's tucked away in the back of the basketball arena, but here, in this sweltering
shoebox of a room, is where greatness is born on this campus.
Iowa wrestling is like Michigan football. Only better. Much better.
The Hawkeyes' wrestling success is arguably the most impressive of any athletic
program in decades. The numbers are staggering: 61 All-Americans in the 1990s
alone, 20 individual national champions in that same time frame. Twenty-four Big
Ten team championships in a row.
And here, in a small second-floor room, is where it begins.
Practice today consists of one-on-one wrestling matches. They look a lot like the
real thing, actually, except that they just don't ever end. Oh sure, every few minutes
the whistle blows and the players have a minute or so to get a quick drink, but after
that, it's back to the mats. Pushing, pulling, smacking, grappling - it's so brutal, it
hurts to watch.
Coaches Tom Brands (Olympic gold medalist, two-time world champ, four-time
All-American, 1992 Iowa grad) and his twin brother Terry (two-time world champ,
three-time All-American, 1992 Iowa grad) are running the show. They're your
basic products of the Iowa program.
Mike Zadnick and David Marrah, a pair of 134-pounders on this year's team, are
scratching and clawing at each other like a couple of crazed cats. They're a micro-
cosm of the entire practice. At first, they're simply writhing and rolling across the
ground - but as the duel heats up, they stray off the mat, onto the cement floor,
and into - no, make that onto - the bleachers. The tremendous crash of their
bodies hitting the stands is noticed by, well, nobody. They disentangle themselves,
crawl back to the mat, and start over. This, apparently, happens all the time.
A yellow garbage can, about three feet tall, sits a few paces from the mat. It's
about one-fourth full - of spit. Every couple minutes, an exhausted wrestler stag-
gers over and spits in its general direction, the result being an area with a rather
foul smell and an awfully slippery floor. Right now, sophomore Paul Jenn is
adding to the mess. Just for good measure, he removes the bloodied tape he's got
around his head and adds it to the collection. This, too, is part of the normal rou-
tine.
Dan Gable, Iowa's coach for the past 21 years and probably the most recogniz-
able name in the not-so-recognized world of collegiate wrestling, is in the early
stages of a "one-year leave of absence" from his position, though many have
referred to him as actually "retiring." And while his sport may be difficult for some
to understand and appreciate, there's no denying the fact that the program he's
developed is one of the best, probably the best, of its kind.
Outside, the atmosphere has heightened; kickoff approaches. But inside the
wrestling room, the crowd has thinned. And it's still sweltering. And they're still
practicing.
It's enough to make you realize, as another twisted mass of muscles screeches
dangerously close to the bleachers, that the best things are not necessarily the ones
for which thousands of people are willing to stand out in the rain. It's one thing to
create a reputation when 70,000 people are watching, win or lose, every single
Saturday. It's another thing entirely to do it from a hot and stuffy second-floor
room, with a couple dozen working and a couple dozen watching.
- Jim Rose can be reached via e-mail at jwrose@umich.ed
U N IT E D STUDENT SPECIALS
A U T 0 *Oil Changes
*Tune Ups
AND*-Winterizations
F L E E T Complete Auto Repair
*Foreign and Domestics
R EPA R Serviced
WARREN ZINN/Daily
The Michigan volleyball team found itself on each side of a sweep this weekend.
The Wolverines beat Northwestern, but fell to Indiana, each in three games.
Staff Picks
all picks made
against the
spread.
Game (HOME TEAM IN CAPS)
Michigan (-10) vs. IOWA
EMICHIGAN STATE (-29) vs. C. Michigan
Florida (-16.5) vs. ALABAMA
Florida State (-28) vs. MARYLAND
LOUISIANA STATE (-8.5) vs. Georgia
UCLA (-23.5) vs. Washington State
NORTHWESTERN (-14.5) vs. Illinois
NOTRE DAME (-18) vs. Stanford
OHIO STATE (-14) vs. Penn State
PURDUE (40.5) vs. Minnesota
SOUTHERN CAL (-3) vs. Arizona State
Tennessee (-7.5) vs. AUBURN
Best Bet
Last Week (best bet)
Overall (best bet)
2321 Jackson Ave.
Ann Arbor 48103
(734) 665-7130
{ i
p p O
SHARAT
RAJU
JiM
ROSE
SNYDER
Guest Selector
JIM BRANDSTATTER
Michigan
Michigan State
Florida
Maryland
Louisiana State
UCLA
Illinois
Stanford
Ohio State
Purdue
Arizona State
Tennessee
Michigan
7-5-4 (041)
24-24-1 (2-2)
Michigan
Michigan State
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Washington State
Northwestern
Stanford
Penn State
Purdue
Southern Cal
Tennessee
Florida
5-7-1 (0-1)
18-30-1 (0-4)
Michigan
Michigan State
Florida
Maryland
Georgia
UCLA
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Minnesota
Arizona State
Tennessee
Minnesota
66-1 (0-1)
20-28-1 (2-2)
Michigan
Michigan State
Florida
Florida State
Louisiana State
UCLA
Illinois
Stanford
Penn State
Purdue
Arizona State
Tennessee
Michigan
5.74 (01)
25-23-1 (1-2) *
S(TO WING
2321 Jackson Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
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(734) 761-4343
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will be someone famous, but if you think you deserve to pick, e-mail us
at dailyjotball@umich.edu and tell us why. Friends and family of Daily
staffers are not only not excluded, but are welcome to apply. Good luck.
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