2E - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - September 8, 1998
All-America Haro takes fourth in regional all-around
By David DenHerder
Daily Sports Writer
One All-America honor was not enough for
LaLo Haro.
It has been 28 years since Michigan has had
an All-American in the all-around. This past sea-
son, sophomore LaLo Haro broke that skid,
placing fourth at the NCAA Championships at
Penn State.
But after Berkeley claimed the team title one
day earlier, the Michigan co-captain returned for
the individual finals, where he was again
crowned an All-American - this time on vault.
"I went into the competition without expect-
ing anything," Haro said. "All I was thinking was
'just do your best."'
After a season of roller coaster performances,
Haro was able to eliminate mistakes down the
stretch, turning out strong routines both at the
NCAA Regionals and the championships.
"He did what any good athlete will do"
Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. "He was at
his best when it was most important."
Haro placed fifth on vault with a 9.500, while
in the all-around he recorded a 57.100 for the
fourth-place finish. All-America status is
rewarded to the top six competitors in each
event.
"He sure pulled it together this weekend,"
Golder said. "He has certainly done a lot for the
Michigan program."
However, Haro was not the only one to be rec-
ognized for his accomplishments after the
ground-breaking season. Golder was named the
Collegiate Gymnastics Association Central
Coach of the Year, as well as being elected vice
president of the association.
After only two seasons as an NCAA head
coach, Golder said the honor was unexpected,
though his team seemed to think otherwise.
"We all knew he totally deserved it," Haro
said. "It was such a good feeling after a long sea-
son. I think he was happy just like us."
In his two years at Michigan, Golder has
brought the program from the league cellar to
the NCAA Regionals. His new recruiting class
is considered by many other top coaches to be
the most talented in the nation.
Aside from Haro, three other Wolverines par-
ticipated in the individual prelims during the
first night of competition, but failed to advance
to the finals. Freshman Kenny Keener scored a
9.650 on rings to finish in 15th place, while
classmate Justin Toman was 37th on parallel
bars with a 9.100.
Senior Tim Lauring concluded his collegiate
career by finishing 23rd in the nation on vault
with a 9.550.
Golder said that Haro's All-America perfor-
mances were a big step for the program, but that
the championships were just a precursor for '98
season.
"This experience will be good for our team,"
Golder said. "We plan on being here next year,
and we plan on winning the thing."
Women
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MAKWAKLI MTLK5/L0fl
Tom Maichow'. butterfly technique was not enough to keep Michigan afloat at the 1998 men's swimming championships and,
consequently, the Wolverines had their lowest finish in 12 years.
Men's swunmmg finishes lowest
in championships in 1years
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COMPANY
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1I
By Rick Froeman
Daily SportsWriter
AUBURN, Ala. -- Alabamas highway commissioner Jimmy
Butts makes sure every border has a welcome center rest stop.
And Southerners are famous for their hospitality. But the sight
of prisoners in coveralls stamped 'Alabama Department of
Corrections' landscaping these oases off of Alabama's pine-
lined highways is a little jarring. Not quite what you expect.
Fitting for the Michigan men's swimming and diving team
at the NCAA Championships. Things just didn't go as
expected for the seventh-ranked Wolverines at the meet, as
they finished "lower than a frog's ass" according to Michigan
coach Jon Urbanchek. Michigan' 12th-place finish out of 36
teams was its first time out of the top ten since the Wolverines
finished 25th in 1986, Urbanchek's fourth year as coach.
All season long, they had said that a top-four finish was
their highest goal, reasoning that the Cardinal, defending
champion Auburn - the host school - and the No. 3 Texas
squad would be too tough to crack.
But the list of other teams they found just as hard to break
was as long as Mike McWha's face after Michigan's bread-
and-butter 800-yard freestyle relay team finished a disap.
pointing ninth, snapping Michigan's five-year streak of
NCAA titles in the event. The sophomore hung on a lane
marker trying to forget how much it hurt. He stared blankly
at the block 'M' on the swim cap in his hands.
"We're not the same team we were last year," he said. "I
gave my best, but it wasn't enough, obviously."
McWha could have spoken for most of Michigan's team.
After his fifth-place finish in the 200 butterfly, Tom Malchow
could only say "it just wasn't there" of his race. The only
Wolverines who didn't feel shackled were Owen vonRichter
and Chris Thompson.
VonRichter turned in the only performance that could have
reminded the Wolverines of their glory days, by finishing third
to Tom Wilkens and Steven Brown, both from Stanford, in what
Michigan assistant coach Eric Namesnik called a "tough race".
Junior Brett Wilmot, the only diver who qualified for the meet,
struggled his first day, in the one-meter springboard, but was opti-
mistic after his 15th place finish in the three-meter event.
Despite his bravado, Wilmot followed a great dive with a
flop that landed him flat on his back, but remained in con-
tention for a scoring position until he hit the tower with his
feet on a dive.. The low scores dropped him to 18th.
The only Wolverine who seemed unshackled by the myste-
rious chains that seemed to slow his teammates, was looking
ahead to the '99 season before the meet was even over. As he
watched Arizona State and Harvard secure the points to vault
them ahead of then tenth-place Michigan, he spoke of
Michigan's return to prominence.
r
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'
1
finish 7th
in NCAA
By TJ. Serka
Daily Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS -Throughout last
season, Michigan women's swimming
coach Jim Richardson said that he was
not concerned about where his team
placed, how hard they worked and how
they fought. According to the place-
ment and the effort put out by he
Wolverines at the NCAA champi-
onships, one can assume that
Richardson's request has been granted
The Wolverines finished with 249.
points, good for seventh at the champi-
onships, matching their final national
ranking. Stanford also lived up to its
No. 1 ranking, winning its sixth nation-
al championship in seven years. The
Cardinals ended up with 422 points,
outdistancing runner-up Arizona by 44
points.
"People ask from time-to-time 'Ds
it ever seem the same?"' said Stanforo
coach Richard Quick, who has won
twelve national championships as the
coach of Texas and Stanford. "Each
year the chemistry is different, the ath-
letes are different, and it never gets
old."
While the Wolverines didn't capture
any titles, they did receive two second-
place finishes.
Oddly enough, the two Michigan
swimmers who were runners-up -
senior Talor Bendel and sophomoW
Shannon Shakespeare - finished sec-
ond in the same event. They finished
behind Southern Methodist's Martina
Moracova in the 200 freestyle with a
time of 1:46.58.
"It's great for Michigan,"
Shakespeare said. "Its great to have
that kind of competitiveness on a team.
Its a strange thing that happened, but
you know that you are competing wit*
the best."
The best certainly were on display at
the meet, as six NCAA and 12 pool
records were set over the three days of
competition.
"It's fast isn't it?" Richardson said of
the speed. "This meet has really taken a
huge step forward. Just to say that you
are one of the 235 swimmers here is a
major, major accomplishment."
Along with getting to the meet,
Michigan provided a rare feat, as juni4
Jennie Eberwein finished fifth in the
200-free.
Grouped with Bendel and
Shakespeare, the Wolverines grabbed
three of the top five places in the event.
Michigan was the only team to have
three swimmers in the championship
heat of any event.
"It's great to have three people from
the same team in a final Period
Shakespeare said. "I don't know
we've ever done it before, but it's a
great accomplishment.'
Eberwein led the way for the
Wolverines, tying for fourth-place in
the 50-free and fifth in the 100 and
200-free.
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