coreboard- A0R LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL. St. Louis 6. AMERICAN LEAGUE MILWAUKEE 2 Tampa Bay 4, COLORADO 11, BOSTON 1 Montreal 10 Minnesota 6, ARIZONA 3, KANSAS CITY 4 Philadelphia 2 Pittsburgh 3, SAN DIEGO 0 SAN FRANCISCO 5. Florida 4 Atlanta 11, LOS ANGELES 3 ZApe Michigan a g ;13ol),.1s Tracking 'M' stories CheCk out the Daily's extensive Coverage in our last paper of the semester. Features on men's golf, base- ball, women's gymnastiCs and men's tennis await. The fun starts on Page 22. Tuesday April 20, 1999 21 , n ., b THE YEAR THAT WAS ... AND WASN'T 'As we saw the Michigan football and basketball teams reach less-than perfect seasons, we also saw some of the most memorable Michigan sports moments ,in other sports. Heie are the Daily's five most memorable sports moments of the past school year. Some you may know well, others maybe not, but each will remain in our ,minds forever. 1. mtie McGregor - the women's cross country runner won Michigan first vidual national championship in history, finishing a career in which she ce almost every Michigan record. 2, The Michigan hockey team - In the first round of the NCAA Regionals against Denver, the Wolverines found themselves down 3-0 halfway through the second period, but fought back for a 5-3 victory. TThe Michigan men's gymnastics team - Michigan coach Kurt Golder strikes gold as he leads his team to its first Big Ten championship in 25 years. Michigan also was ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history. 4 The Michigan softball team - In what looked to be in a rebuilding year, * Wolverines fought off an early 5-5 start to spur a 33-game unbeaten r'ak. 5, Amber Berendowsky - The junior forward tallied her 36th career goal last fall, making her the most prolific scorer in Michigan soccer history. The Brighton native owns nearly every offensive record with one more season yet to play. Full crcle o-men g ead to N yStophen A. Rom ailySports Writer Afte r what has been a roller- a'ster ride of a season, the Sichigan women's gymnastics am finds itself just one competi- o biy of attaining the coveted ipe crown - the Big Ten, NCAA e i.nal and NCAA National hampionships. This Thursday, the fourth-ranked okverines will travel to Salt Lake ity to match up with the top 11 ams in the country and vie for the tiogl championship of women's ymnastics. en are fa in at char y,9n Dingerson yOly .Sorts Writer All good things must come to an end. hi'eliche is more fitting in sports than areas of life. In sports, no matter ~o d a season or dynasty is, even- t must end. For the Michigan gymnastics team, the end of this is near. ,r Wolverines have enjoyed their son in 25 years. Michigan has i up the rankings, occupying one f1getop two spots nearly all of the ec~he Wolverines were crowned the 9EJig Ten champions, and on y finished second in the East 1, just missing another title. AJer years of imperfect routines and = Michigan fans probably never ithis team to stop competing. There sim1y one thing that is making the end ithe season attractive - the possibil- t national championship. 1Michigan travels to Nebraska to take n the country's best teams, and to oftball crams for partans, . awkeyes Stephanie Offen laily Sports Writer As finals near and the libraries come busy with students cramming or exams, the Michigan softball team i be studying something else. Wfense will be on the minds of the olverines during Wednesday's sched- led "study day" when Michigan will visited by Michigan State for a mid- vevjk doubleheader. The winner will walk away with con- erene bragging rights. Though ,ymnasts FCAAs If attained, it will mark the first time that a Michigan women's team has won a national title -in any sport. "We are peaking at the right time," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "We're not going to be burned out at the national championships." That's good news, considering Michigan has been going full throttle ever since March 6, when they topped their season-high team score in a drubbing of No. 25 Arizona. From that point on, the cruising Wolverines never slowed down, repeating their record feat the See NCAAS, Page 23 vorites to mpionships claimthe coveted title of the nation's best - something it hasn't been since the Nixon administration. Claiming a national championship won't be easy though. Six teams will be fighting for the crown, and all are ranked in the top 15 in the country. The three teams from the East region will be the favorites to win it all - Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State have been ranked in the top four nearly all of the season. All three teams have enjoyed time ranked No. 1. The West region advances three teams that have not performed as well as the Big Ten contingent. Stanford and }Brigham Young qualified along with the host school Nebraska. Nebraska has been in the top ten all year long, and should gain some confidence having the home crowd behind them. Michigan in recent weeks has already seen teams take an advantage from competing at home. At the Big See GYMNASTS, Page 28 McGregor ends illustrious career quiet as a whisper BY RYAN C. MOLONEY La DAILY SPORTS WRITER Kt ie McGregor has waited for this moment the entire K oering. The hunger? The hunger is always there - where else would it be for someone who claims the title of best collegiate cross-country runner in the land? As the moment of truth arises, McGregor seems a sure bet to devour her prey in the usual quick and painless fashion. Wait a minute. This isn't a track or golf course - it's the Michigan Union. This isn't a starting line - it's a pizza counter. And what is McGregor about to destroy without so much as an afterthought - a three-dollar pizza. "You're going to think I'm a pig," McGregor said with a smile. "I haven't eaten all day." Pizza isn't normally a "lunch of champions," as most flabby college students will tell you. But the physically impressive McGregor is not your run-of-the-mill champion McGregor exploded onto the scene in the fall of her junior year at Michigan. After a respectable, but unspectacular two years, she brought hope to late bloomers everywhere. McGregor took fifth at the NCAA cross-country finals that year, then proceeded to win the 3,000 meters and anchor the win- ning distance medley relay at the NCAA finals in track. This past fall, McGregor might as well have had the words "Who's your daddy?" written on back of her singlet. She captured every race but one in the cross country season - including the crown jewel, the NCAA individual title. If running was a lucrative professional sport, McGregor could have declared herself eligible for the "running draft," hired an agent, and strolled around with a cellphone attached to her palm. Even so, she is recognized throughout the world of running as an up-and-comer, an Olympic hopeful and a national force for years to come. And McGregor eats lunch at the Union? She could probably dine at the Gandy Dancer everyday, strictly because of her new- found stardom. "She's just one of those very modest types of people," team- mate Julie Froud said. "She's not going to brag, she's not going to jump up and down. "When she wins, she's happy and we're happy for her. She's not like other athletes who get all cocky about their ability - it's just not like her to do that." See MCGREGOR, Page 26 LOUIS BROWN/Daily Katie McGregor has done just about everything in her Michigan career. She's been a force on both the women's cross country and track teams. She also won a national championship. Experienced Warhurst to lead men's track By RON GARBER AND DAVID MOSSE DAILY SPORTS WRITERS The numbers are staggering. Six Big Ten Championships, 16 All-Americans, and 25 years as head cross country coach. But even those sta- tistics don't come close to telling the whole story. For the last quarter century, Ron Warhurst has become synonymous with Michigan athletics. In addition to being Michigan's first and only men's cross country coach, he has served as Jack Harvey's top assistant in track and field. Earlier this month, Warhurst's legacy grew as he was chosen to succeed Jack Harvey as the head track and field coach. The responsibility of coaching both teams may seem overwhelming, but Ron Warhurst has never been one to hide from a challenge. After an illustrious career as a runner at Western Michigan, Warhurst was hired as an assistant at Eastern Michigan. But soon after, he was called to serve his country as a soldier in Vietnam. Even the war could not stand between Warhurst and his true love. While serving his tour of duty, he correspond- ed with his athletes back home. "Ron would always write to us to keep up with our training and make suggestions," said Michigan assistant Fred Laplante (then a runner at Eastern Michigan). Upon returning, Warhurst moved to Ann Arbor, a decision that would change his life. His reputation quickly grew as a running guru. Local runners would often seek advice from this pillar of knowledge. Eventually, Warhurst caught the eye of Michigan athletic director Don Canham, who hired him as head cross country coach. His arrival at the University reunited him with old friend Jack Harvey, recently hired as track and field coach. Harvey wasted little time in con- vincing Warhurst to double as his assistant. "He has a great overall knowledge in all the events," Harvey said. "The guy knows track and field in and out." For the last 25 years, Warhurst has been instru- mental in putting Michigan track on the map and in the process has turned himself into one of the premier distance-running coaches in the nation. During his long tenure, he has coached Olympic medalists, and a Boston Marathon win- ner. In recent years he has molded the likes of Kevin Sullivan, John Mortimer, and Jay Cantin into All-Americans. "He's definitely one of the best coaches in North America," Cantin said. "He helps us a lot with our race strategies." It is not just Warhurst's technical knowledge See WARHURST, Page 26 -i .......... - - ............. ........................ ..........