The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 5, 1998 - lIA

'M' field hockey prepares for Big Tens

'M' women splash
south tomorrow

By Steven Kyritz
For the Daily
'When the Big Ten field hockey tour-
nament began last year, Michigan came
in as the regular season champion look-
E g to repeat. But once the smoke cleared,
was Penn State that wore the crown of
tournament champion, with a stunning
victory over the Wolverines.
As the 1998 season came to a close, it
looked as if Michigan might get another
shot at taking both titles, but once again,
it was denied.
This time, the culprits, were the Iowa
Hawkeyes, whose 3-0 victory in the sea-
son finale prevented the Wolverines from
claiming their second consecutive regular
on title.
Now, the team must rebound from that
blow and turn its attention to the Big Ten
tournament, which begins tomorrow in
East Lansing.

Before the tournament gets underway,
though, Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz
has given her players a few days of rest
before final preparations begin.
"We're taking a few days off, resting
our legs and having a little fun outside of
hockey" co-captain Loveita Wilkinson
said. "Then it's time to get back and
focus on hockey again"
Maintaining its focus shouldn't be a
problem for a team that now has two
crushing defeats to serve as motivation
during the tournament. Wilkinson said
Sunday's home loss against Iowa will
"definitely" be a motivating factor in
East Lansing.
"In the past when we've lost, we've
always come back refocused," said the
senior.
For the Wolverines, a strong tourna-
ment is a must, particularly when the
field includes nationally ranked teams

such as Ohio State, Iowa and regular sea-
son Big Ten champion Penn State.
This isn't to say, however, that
Michigan should plan for an early exit
from the championships. Seniors
Wilkinson, Lindsay Babbitt, Erika
Lorenson and Amy Philbrook provide
skill and four years of experience, and are
supported by a talented corps of under-
classmen. Among the youngsters who
should play a large role are high-scoring
forward Kelli Gannon and goaltender
Kati Oakes.
Besides talent, another vital ingredient
for the Wolverines' success will be the
strategy they employ.
"One of the keys is sticking to the
game plan,' Wilkinson said. "We always
decide what we're going to do before we
play a team."
With the strategy, talent, and motiva-
tion in place, Michigan looks set for a run

through the tournament, but the team
isn't allowing itself to become overconfi-
dent.
"We're just going to try and last as
long as we can," Wilkinson said.
"Hopefully, we'll end up in the final
round."
Should the team reach the finals for
the second consecutive year, memories of
1997 will surely be evoked. But as
Wilkinson pointed out, some things have
changed.
"We definitely learned something
from the Penn State game, but we can't
say 'This is what we did last year, so this
is what we should do this year," she said.
"We're two different teams."
The team may have changed, but the
ultimate goal remains the same for the
Michigan field hockey team: to bring the
Big Ten tournament championship home
to Ann Arbor.

By Jon Zemke
The w armup for the Michigan
women's swimming team continues,
but this time in a warm place. The
Wolverines will travel to Chapel Hill,
N.C., to participate in the North
Carolina invitational on Nov. 6 and 7.
Michigan enters the meet expecting
to finish on top, after coming in first
at the Northwestern Relay Meet last
weekend for the fourth straight year.
Junior Shannon Shakespeare looks
like the team leader this season. She
took first-place finishes in the 100
breast stroke, 50 freestyle and 100
freestyle in Evanston. Shakespeare
also led the winning 400 freestyle,
300 breaststroke, 800 freestyle and
500 freestyle relays.
Another contributor should be
freshman Lindsey Carlberg. In
Evanston, Carlberg took firsts in the
100 and 200 backstroke. She also trac-
tored the winning 300 backstroke and
400 individual medley relay teams.
Diving should be a Michigan strong
suits going into the meet. Michigan

had the two of the top three finishers,
including the winner, in both the one-
and three-meter diving events.
Sophomore Hanna Shin took first
and third in the three- and one-meter
diving events, respectively. Fellow
sophomore Amanda Crews also per-
formed well in the same events.
Taking third place in the three-
meter dive and fourth in the one-meter
dive at Northwestern, senior Jill
Unikel also looks to be a force to be
reckoned with. The Wolverines will
also hope that freshman Lindsey
McElroy looks to improve and con-
tribute on Friday.
Michigan's relay teams look to be,
the most imposing part of the team.
They finished no lower than second in
12 of 13 -relays.
Senior Jennie Eberwein, freshman
Kerrianne Kalbko and sophomore
Missy Sugar also look to swim well at
the meet. They took first places in the
500 freestyle, 400 individual medley
and 200 freestyle, respectively, at
Northwestern.

Swimers stroke
to first dual meets

t

By Michael Kern
Daily Sports Writer
Last weekend, the No. 8 Michigan
men's swimming team kicked off its sea-
son against Eastern Michigan and
Michigan State with an easy victory.
This weekend, the Wolverines will face
their first test when they travel to No. 17
rida and No. 6 Georgia for their first
o dual meets of the season.
This weekend will be the first chance
for the Wolverines to compare them-
selves to some of their main competition
forthe NCAA Championships in March.
iWe've got Qur work cut out for us'
senior co-captain Andy Potts said. "Both
Florida and Georgia are top programs."
Because of the back-to-back meets
is weekend, the Wolverines will have
e time to relax.
Right after their meet ends tomorrow
night, they have to get on a plane to
Georgia to swim the next day.
"We are going to be tested,"
Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said.
"We'll find out Saturday night what this
team is made of."

The Wolverines are led by senior co-
captains Tom Malchow and Potts.
Malchow, an Olympic silver medalist in
'96, was the 1998 Big Ten swimmer of
the year. He is a five-time All-America
and four-time Big Ten champion.
Potts, an individual medley swim-
mer, is a two-time All-America and Big
Ten champion. Last year, he won a Big
Ten title in the 400-yard individual med-
ley.
"IM Swimmers are very valuable,"
Urbanchek said. "Potts can be a work-
horse for this team, and we can put him
anywhere."
Michigan also has high expectations
for last year's Big Ten freshman of the
year, Chris Thompson. Last season,
Thompson won a Big Ten championship
in the 500 freestyle and the 1,650
freestyle.
At the NCAA Championships, he
finished second and third in the two
events, creating a great deal of anticipa-
tion for this season.
The greatest questions for the
Wolverines this year lie in the freshmen.

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FILE PHO
Andy Potts and the Michigan swimming and diving team will get a chance to see
how they measure up to tough competition this weekend.

This year's freshman class was labeled
one of the best in the country, anchored
by Tim Siciliano from San Marcos,
Calif, the nation's top recruit last year.
Unfortunately for Michigan, Siciliano
will be out of competition with a shoul-
der injury until later this month.
"We've got a great freshman class,
Potts said. "We're looking for them to
step it up and contribute this year."
The roles of the freshmen this year
will be mainly as sprinters. Although
Michigan has had some great sprinters in

the past, in the past few years they have
been unable to score very many points in a,_-""
sprinting events. pI t
The Wolverines' goal is to add a new -
dimension to the program. They believe
that freshmen Jordan Watland and Jon
Arndt, as well as junior Scott Meyer, will
build a base for revitalizing the sprinting
program.
"In the long run, we are on the right
track to building a good sprint team,
which you need to succeed in a champi-
onship environment;' Urbanchek said.
Michigan-
women's hoops.
Monday, Nov. 16.
In the Daily.o
RFrHMRMXO Ks~imnssetdseee awwiaao

Grapplers open in East Lansing

David Mosse
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan wrestling team will
kick off its season this weekend as it
takes part in the Michigan State Open
in East Lansing. The Wolverines have
high elopes fbr a strong season, after
conMig off yet another successful
*son under Dale Bahr.
Last year the Wolverines posted a
7-9 record and finished ranked 17th
in the nation.
This year's team has added motiva-
tion, as Bahr announced this summer
that this season will be his last. The
Wolverines would like nothing more
than to send Bahr off as a winner.
The University wasted little time in
reacting to Bahr's announcement.
Tom Goss named longtime assistant
'h Joe McFarland as Bahr's suc-
cssor. McFarland will take over fol-
lowing this season.
The team hopes the somewhat
unstable coaching situation will not
prove to be a distraction.
The Wolverines' major concern this
season is their lack of experience.
Michigan' s roster includes 11 true
freshmen. In addition, most of the

eight sophomores have yet to see
action in a match.
Michigan faces a daunting task in
trying to replace departed seniors Jeff
Catrabone and Airron Richardson.
Both Catrabone and Richardson were
All-Americans, and both reached the
semifinals of last year's national
championships.
The team will also miss the leader-
ship it got from Catrabone and
Richardson, last year's captains. In
addition, senior Bill Lacure,
Michigan's third All-American, has
departed.
In spite of these losses, Michigan
possesses a talented squad. Senior Joe
Warren impressed many in the nation-
al championships last year and will be
counted on to be a star. Warren
weighs in at 133 pounds.
Much of the leadership responsibil-
ity will fall on the shoulders of fifth-
year senior Chris Viola. But many of
the younger wrestlers will have to
learn as they go.
This season will be an emotional
one as the team tries to recover from
the loss of wrestler Jefferey Reese.
In a tragic accident, Reese died

after working out last December.
With a cloud of uncertainty hover-
ing above them, the Wolverines will
travel to East Lansing to compete in a
tournament they hope will set the
tone for the rest of the season.
How they handle themselves may
be a telling sign for the prospects of
the '98-'99 Michigan wrestling team.
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