The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 23, 1999 - 11 Wrestling raises Bahr of expectation Big Ten Championships slated for this weekend at Crisler Arena By Chris Grandstaff Daily Sports Writer We live in a society filled with expectations that cannot always be met, and potential that often remains unfulfilled. This is especially true in the world of sports, where all too often we hear stories of tal- ented athletes and teams that fall short of team goals and media predictions. These teams fail sons- injuries, WRESTLING Commentary ------------ for different rea- overconfidence, Teams that began their seasons with little or no expectation for suc- cess - and then go above and beyond those expectations - those are the ones we remember. This season's Michigan wrestling team is one of those teams. On Sunday, the Wolverines com- pleted the dual-meet season 11-4, with a 6-2 record in the Big Ten. Not too bad for a team in which six out of ten starters are freshmen and sophomores. Not too bad for a team that went 7-9 last year (4-4 in the Big Ten), and who lost three All- Americans captains Jeff Catrabone, Airron Richardson and Bill Lacure, Not too bad for a team which started the season unranked and now stands as the No. 9 team in the coun- try. This season's success has been especially sweet for coach Dale Bahr, who is in his final season of a successful 21-year campaign. "This year is one of the highlights of my coaching and wrestling career," Bahr said. "It's been a real pleasure coaching these kids this year." The ability of this season's squad to exceed expectations and to beat all of the teams they were supposed to beat could be the reason. "If you told me last year that we would beat Penn State and Illinois, push Minnesota to the last match, and hammer Michigan State twice I'd laugh at you," Bahr said. And so would the experts of col- lege wrestle, but it's the Wolverines who are laughing now. The Wolverines boast an impres- sive four players ranked among the nation's top eight in their respective weight classes in Chris Viola, Joe Warren, Damion Logan and Otto Olson. They also have three other grap- plers ranked in the top 20 in Corey Grant, Andy Hrovat and Matt Brink. Captain Frank Lodeserto, who has been hampered by a sprained ankle for the past few weeks, also has the ."potential to make it to the NCAA Tournament," Bahr said. Michigan's only four losses on the season have come to the No". 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Iowa, No. 6 Illinois and No. 8 Central Michigan. With the exception to Iowa, which Bahr calls "the lowlight of the sea- son," the Wolverines have been in every meet. With an impressive showingsat the Big Ten Tournament, which will be held at Crisler Arena, the Wolverines have a chance to defy the experts once again with an impressive show- ing. "Minnesota and Iowa wil be favored to win the tournament this year," Bahr said. "We've reached out this far, now let's go a little farther." lack of a work ethic are just a few. But the teams that surpass expec- tations, dig deep and overcome adversity are the teams that captivate sports fans. Team's like the Valparaisos and Princetons of college basketball - or the Michigan football team of 1997. DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily The Michigan wrestling team has given fans something to believe In-this season, surpassing expectations to compile an 11-4 dual meet record. The season will come to a peak this weekend as the Wolverines host the Big Tens. Women's tennis preps for unbeaten Spartans 'M' gymnasts still No. 2 3y Dan Williams nor The Daily While tough losses to Southeastern Conference )pponents Kentucky and Tennessee a week and a calf ago may have injured the Michigan women's e team's confidence, it's tendinitis that's caus- ng the most immediate concerns heading into omorrow's match against Michigan State, Three Michigan veterans have been hampered by endinitis recently, giving the 6-0 Spartans reason or optimism despite recent woes against Michigan. Juniors Danielle Lund, Brook Hart and Erin Weggenman have all suffered from tendinitisthis (ear. Weggenman had a bad case in the fall, and she >nly recently has returned to light practice. ,rt and Lund have both recently experienced et itis and although they've taken rest from 3ractice, they're questionable for Wednesday's natch. To compound matters, senior Jen Boylan has a ,houlder injury and hasn't practiced for three days. Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt has never seen a team with so much injury trouble. "It's unbelievable," said Ritt. "We haven't been ible to play a match at full strength yet." While the Wolverines (1-2) struggle, the unde- 'eated Spartans are playing with more confidence hghey have in years, and they hope to avenge the -ecent domination by Michigan in the head-to-head eries. The Wolverines have won 20 of 23 points in their victories over the Spartans the last three years. "Michigan State has improved significantly from last year and they will have more confidence," Ritt said. "They have struggled lately but the program is rebounding." The Spartans feature an experienced team, including the singles play of seniors Isabelle Oelze, Jaime Tannenbaum and Brook West. Their wins have come against Depaul and five Mid American Conference opponents, the most recent of which were Ball State and Miami (Ohio). If Michigan State has a vulnerable spot, it is at doubles, where they've yet to start the same lineup twice this year. Michigan hopes to exploit this weakness. "Its' really important that we're competitive in the doubles matches because they come first" Ritt said. One of the keys to this match - with the linger- ing injuries to Lund and Hart - is the play of sophomore Szandra Fuzesi. Fuzesi, a transfer from American University, has compiled a 2-2 record at No. 3 singles, and also contributes at No. 2 doubles. "She's been outstanding," said Ritt. "She's a very smart player." Despite the injuries, the Wolverines remain opti- mistic about the Big Ten season. But Ritt feels the Michigan State match is an important one to set the tone. "We're faced with many challenges right now," Ritt said. "This match is important because we need to know we can be faced with obstacles and still perform well and win." From Staff Reports The Michigan men's gymnastics team is still second-best in the land, according to the new NCAA Division I poll released last night. Despite an impressive weekend performance, the Wolverines are still playing second fiddle to No. I Penn State. On Saturday night at Cliff Keen Arena, Michigan handily disposed of No. 10 Massachusetts, 229.275- 220.15, on the way to a team high score under third-year coa9h Kurt Golder. Penn State also won on Saturday, defeating Illinois 224.2-222.9 in State College. Although the Nittany Lions had a lower score lastaweekend, the poll is based on the average of the two highest scores by each team, only one of which can be taken from a home meet. Penn State leads Michigan in the polls by 1.275 points. Ohio State is a close No. 3, while Big Ten rivals Iowa, Illinois and Michigan State round out the top six. The highest-ranked team from the West region is Oklahoma, at No. 7. The Wolverines will have a chance to bolster their road high score this Saturday when they take- on No. 4 Iowa in Iowa City. ADRIANA YUGOVICH/Daily The Michigan women's tennis team Is looking to fight through Injuries and smash unbeaten Michigan State. Women's hoops hard to gauge in postseason By Joshua Isaac Borldn Daily Sports Writer It is still a mystery as to which Michigan women's basketball team will show up for the Big Ten Tournament. To say the least, Michigan has been on a roller coaster ride all season. They started off the season trying to figure out ways to replace All-Big Ten center Pollyanna John. The team was very young, featuring 4 senior in Ann Lemire and four fresh- man who would all face important decisions. Stacey Thomas was expected to be the answer for the Wolverines, and for BASKETBALL Commentary theos.---..--t s the most part, she both the freshmen post players and ath- letes such as Alison Miller and Kenisha Walker. To fill that void and do it successfully would bring about great admiration and respect from both coaches and fans. But, the older players and the freshmen expe- rienced difficulties relating. This situa- tion might have caused internal turmoil before the season began. But Michigan learned to deal. Miller and Walker found their roles, and the freshmen, while at times trying to do too much, learned to work into the rotation and make it a fluid transition. Everyone thought that.the Wolverines were primed for the "Big Dogs" - the nickname Thomas called the elite teams throughout the season. Michigan came out fast and furious. They won a school-record nine games in a row, and looked poised for a run at the Tournament. But things quickly fell apart. Thomas's shots were not falling, inexperience was playing a role and Guevara was unable to stop the bleeding. Michigan dropped six games in a row. They were toyed with by Louisiana Tech and embarrassed by Minnesota. They lost games that they had no busi- ness losing and their emotional level was at a "school record" low. This part of the al phase. Michigan learned through losing. They learned that Thomas could not do it alone. They learned that the freshmen were not so fab, and they realized that only together could they salvage a dying season. Since the six-game losing streak, at times Michigan has come out and played close to perfection. But they also have had problems showing consistent effort and aggressiveness. ten in their faces, and I have supported them throughout," Guevara said. "But they are the only ones who can keep up the intensity, and show that they can compete with anyone in the Big Ten." Learning to deal could be the state- ment of the season. Through injury, competition, loss and victory, the Wolverines learned to deal with the situ- ation they were dealt. Maybe they have learned enough to deal with Big Ten's best. season could be known as the transition- "I have shown tough love, I have go t- _ was. Starting lineups were an issue as well. ch Sue Guevara seemed to be tinker- iwith her chemistry set all season in hopes of finding the perfect formula. Even in the last game of the season, Guevara inserted new lineups to spark better play. So Michigan stands on even ground at 8-8 in Big Ten play and 16-10 overall. But when Guevara was asked, "what team is going to show up for the rest of the season?" She replied by saying, "You should ask the players that one, but I the one that comes out fired up and p s with a lot of aggressiveness." But to figure out which team is going to show up in the postseason, one must examine the past and evaluate what the team has learned. Coming into the season, the void left by Johns was taken as a challenge by There's a whole world out there! 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