MEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL (2) DUKE 89, (10) North Carolina 77 (4) MARYLAND 107, Florida State 87 (7) AUBURN 64, Mississippi St. 54 MICHIGAN STATE 76, (15) Ohio State 71 (9) St,John'-s75, (17) SYRACUSE 70 Northwestern 54, (14) PURDUE 50 (16) IOWA 84, Penn State 74 NEBRASKA 84, (22) Kansas 69 (21) ARKANSAS 86, Louisiana State 64 (23) MIAMI (Fla.) 77, Seton Hail 71 ;13c)lOak TS CheCk out the No. 4 Michigan men's gymnastics team as it hosts No. 3 Ohio State and No. 6 Illinois at the r BMG Showdown tomorrow. Free CDs and tapes will be' given to the first 1,000 fans. Admission IS free. Thursday January 28, 1999 ..L A q __, -9 __ = . , Dread Pirate Vignier? Not so inconceivable Spartans canned By Rick Freeman Daily Sports Writer Like the Fire Swamp in the movie "The Princess Bride," the low post in Big Ten basketball is a place fraught with peril. Deadly elbows, fiery per- sonalities and Students Of Unusual Size threaten all who dare enter. The meek might inherit the earth, but the low post is best left to those brash enough to laugh out loud in the face of danger. But if Peter Vignier has laughed in danger's face this season, nobody heard it. You could say his success has come in a vacuum, but black hole would be more like it. Which is fitting for tonight's opponent - no team in the Big Ten has collapsed on itself more since last season than Illinois. "I think there's plenty of post play- ers that play just fine," Vignier said. "They're not loud, they're not run- ning up and down the court ... danc- ing." Big Ten regular-season co-cham- pions last season, the Illini, 8-11 overall, are 0-7 in the conference. Michigan, of course, was predicted to fall as far, but the Wolverines (3- 5, 9-11) have held together, and part of the reason for their surprise has been Vignier's sorely needed pres- ence at center. His game may not have the flash of Josh Asselin's. "He's definitely a more reserved Michigan center Peter Vignier and forward Chris Young battle under the boards. Rebounding has been Vignier's forte this season, averaging 7.9 per game. DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily and quiet type of guy," Vignier's teammate, senior guard Robbie Reid said. He might not make the splash that Louis Bullock does from behind the 3-point line. But quietly, he's been cash. He's fifth in the Big Ten with 7.9 rebounds a game; his 3.45 offen- sive rpg is currently second in the Big Ten. But more importantly, he's gone from the end of the bench to the starting lineup and helped stabilize what was a shaky frontcourt at the start of the season. Asselin show-dunked his way to three straight career highs last week, and into the corner of the media spotlight not taken up by Bullock and Reid. His three straight career- highs in scoring led the way for Michigan's young frontcourt. Even though Michigan dropped its last two games to Purdue and Minnesota, every member of the frontcourt has been gaining confidence. "Especially Pete," freshman for- ward Chris Young said. "His confi- dence irgincredible now." Wait a minute. Vignier? And he's playing well? Inconceivable! At least that's what most would have thought before this season. His coach, Brian Ellerbe, said that Vignier "got a raw deal" from the media last season. He may not have Traylor's touch See VIGNIER, Page 14A DAVID ROCHKIND/ Daily Michigan's Shannon Shakespeare and her teammates reopened Canham Natatorium with a victory over Big Ten rival Michigan State, 162-144. Shakespeare won the 50- and 200-yard freestyle races. She also anchored the 200 free relay. Canham now 'cathedral' of Women reopen pool with vitor By Michael Kern Daily Sports Writer Last night, the Michigan women's swimming team capped off its Big Ten dual-meet season with a 162-144 victory over Michigan State in the newly renovated Canham Natatorium. The victory. was the Wolverines' first since they ' defeated Purdue on Jan. 15. Michigan did not expect very much competition from the unranked Spartans and was sur- prised when the Spartans took the lead after a surge in the middle of the meet. The Wolverines have suffered from a lack of depth, all season because of season-ending injuries and poorly timed illnesses. Michigan's woes continued against Michigan State as freshman Kerrianne Kalbko and junior Amy Fritsch were both out with the flu and senior Jen Eberwein, who has been out most of the season with Epstein-Barr syndrome, missed another meet. In many events, Michigan only had two swimmers competing while' Michigan State had three or four. The Wolverines named the depth problem as the main reason that the..u meet was so close. "When you don't have a lot of depth, if the team swims fairly solid- ly, you've got a couple people who are a little more tired than they nor- mally would be and it swings things:'Richardson said. "But that is what makes college athletics inter- esting and exciting." See SPARTANS, Page 14A - , By Ryan C. Moloney Daily Sports Writer There was excitement in the air last night at the newly restored Don Canham Natatorium - and not just because the air was clean. The Michigan women's swim- ming and diving team christened the renovated pool with a victory over Michigan State, adding to an already jubilant evening in which the team returned to the natatorium after a nine-month layoff from the building due to repairs. Nary an expense was spared in the restoration of the facility - from the gleaming pool tiles to the crisp American flag draped from the highest diving platform. Most impressive of all was the noticeable difference in atmosphere condi- tions. "The air quality was the huge thing," Shannon Shakespeare said. "We have a few asthmatics on the team and the air in here before was really thick and didn't circulate very well. It's a big difference." Additionally, the water in the city of Ann Arbor "causes problems when it is put in swimming pools," said natatorium aquatic director Mark Lambert. "The safety of the swimmers and other users was of paramount importance to the Michigan Athletic Department," Lambert said. "This is an illustration of the Michigan way in that we found a means to do it better." Other problems with the build- ing's structural integrity, ranging from moving walls to a suspect roof, prompted the Athletic Department to proceed with the renovation in order to guarantee the quality of the building in the years to come. "I think were looking at 30 years (before scheduled repair)," Lambert said. "It's one of the top ten colle- giate facilities in the United States and I want to say it's one of the top 10 indoor facilities in the world. I'm just happy as hell about it." For the past four months, the team has had to take a nomadic approach to training - alternating between both Pioneer and Huron High School, Eastern Michigan and even the IM swimming pool. "It needs to be pointed out that for four months we were the 'school with no pool,"' Lambert said. "Our girl and guy swimmers swam out- side in September and October when it was in the 30s." The construction of the building began at the conclusion of the sea- son last year and was hindered con- siderably by the unusually volatile See CANHAM, Page 14A S SYRACUSE STUDY ABROAD Zimbabwe * England " Italy Mallory lost for year; tankers in hot water ACL injury benches freshman for season as team prepares for Big Ten Championships R#° Hong Kong . Spain. France Wide-ranging courses " Internships & service-learning * Business programs in 3 countries * Organized study-travel * Grants, scholarships, loans " Placement in foreign universities Syracuse University 119 Euclid Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244 800-235-3472 suabroad@syr.edu http://sumweb.syr.edu/dipa By Josh Kleinbaum Daily Sports Editor Michigan freshman Jason Mallory, who is still wet behind the ears when it comes to collegiate swimming, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. "Jason can't be replaced," Michigan men's swimming coach Jon Urbanchek said. "He's our most valu- able swimmer as far as total points in the Big Ten championship." Mallory, who could swim in any event, specialized in the individual medley for the Wolverines. He will have surgery on his knee Monday to correct three problems, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a meniscus injury. "The damage is pretty extensive," Urbanchek said. "They'll have to scope it, and then probably open it up. Urbanchek said that team doctors do not expect any permanent damage. After rehabilitat- ing until June and training during the summer, Mallory should be ready to compete next sea-K son. "That's life," Urbanchek said. "It can happen in q any sport." Mallory was Mallory especially valu- able to the Wolverines because of his versatility. While Michigan's strength lies in its distance swimming, led by Olympic silver medalist Tom Malchow, Mallory was able to con- tribute in a handful of events, making him more valuable in terms of points. "At Big Tens, we're going to be scouring for points that he would have contributed," sophomore dis- tance swimmer Chris Thompson said. "We will have to find people to step up. Senior freestyler John Reich will also miss the talented freshman. "He's a huge loss for us," Reich said. "We were counting on him to score a lot of points for us in all the meets and at Big Tens." But Urbanchek doesn't think any one person can step up and fill the void left by Mallory's absence. Rather, he thinks it will have to be a team effort. "Twenty-two guys are going to have to pick it up," Urbanchek said. The Granger, Ind., native joins freshman and best friend Jon Arndt on the sidelines. Arndt suffered a shoulder injury in early action and will also miss the rest of the season. - Daily sports writer David Den Herder contributed to this report. A huge loss' Freshman Jason Mallory, who coach Jon Urbanchek calls his most versatile swimmer, is out for the season with nagging knee injuries. A look at Mallory's stats in his first season at Michigan: Jason Mallory Event Hometown Individual Medley Granger, Ind. Mallory recorded team-best per- formances in the following events: - 200 Backstroke 1:50.08 - 200 IM 1:51.69 - 400 IM 3:55.17 -800 Free Relay (1) 6:43.33 Mallory has posted consistent+ top-three finishes in Michigan's events this season as the Wolverines cruised to victories in their first two Big Ten meets. I.& The Princeton Review MCAT students have an average score increase of 8 points.