The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 11, 1999 - 17A *Blue 24th at NCAAs By Jon Zemke Daily Sports Writer At the end of the NCAA indoor track meet the Michigan women's track team found themselves out in the cold. The Wolverines found themselves in a tie for 24th place. Surprising, since Michigan entered the meet as one of the top 10 teams in the nation. Michigan only mustered a meager eight points, 53 behind Texas' meet- leading 61. "It's not quite what we anticipated," Michigan distance coach Mike McGuire said. "It's not what we planned at the start of the season." Junior Nicole Forrester scored most of Michigan's points, taking third in the high jump with a leap of six feet-1 1/2 inches. Forrester's jump was only 2 @1/4 inches below the winning leap. The Big Ten Athlete of the Year also added another All-America honor to the two outdoor and one indoor All- America honors that she had already collected. But that was one of the few bright spots for Michigan, as the team battled sickness and fatigue, McGuire said. This lack of energy led to under- gachievement by the Wolverines in the distance events. "We didn't get it done in the distance events," McGuire said. "Katie McGregor wasn't at the same fitness level that she was earlier in the year and neither'was Lisa Ouellett. Our first (Ouellett) and fourth (McGregor) legs of the distance medley were slower." As out of shape as they might have been, McGregor, Ouellett, Sarah Hamilton and Adrienne Hunter went on to finish seventh in the distance medley relay. That finish was good enough to earn the team All-America honors for the second year in a row. The relay won the national champi- onship in the distance medley relay last year. "We need to get them healthy," McGuire said. Also not performing to her normal expectations was Michigan long jumper Brandi Bentley. After making a personal best of 20 feet, 6 1/2 inches earlier this season Bentley only leaped 18 feet, 9 inches. The jump landed her in 17th place. McGuire explained Bentley's per- formance by citing anxiety. "Brandy suffered from sore nerves," McGuire said. Hunter also competed in the 800- meter run that Friday. Her time of 2:12.29 earned her sixth place in her heat but was not fast enough to earn a spot in the finals. With the rash of illness, along with fatigue and the early start to the indoor season, Big Ten champion Michigan watched Wisconsin finished 16 spots ahead of the Wolverines at eighth place by scoring 22 points. Assistant coach mong to choices Goldberg candidate for men's tennis post By Raphael Goodstein Daily Sports Writer Replacing a legend can be a diffi- cult task. But that is the challenge Dan Goldberg might face. Goldberg, the Michigan assistant tennis coach, appears to be the front- runner to replace retiring men's ten- nis coach Brian Eisner next season. "I am a candidate," Goldberg said. "I feel my record as a player and assistant coach speaks for itself. I've been an assistant for the past six years and I feel that I would be ready for the job." Goldberg is "an outstanding and very deserving candidate," Eisner said. But Eisner also said the Athletic Department will have to make the decision, and they will likely make a national search. Goldberg, a three-time All- American, is Michigan's all-time career victories leader. He has been an assistant to Eisner for the past six years. Whoever becomes the coach, his job will not be too difficult next sea- son. Michigan only loses two players from this year's team: co-captain Will Farah and senior Jake Raiton. The Wolverines are young and tal- ented - this year's freshmen are 19- 2 - and will likely have three high- ly touted recruits coming in. And the other traditional Big Ten powers will be losing big classes to graduation next year. All of this factored into Eisner's decision to announce his intention to retire this season. Announcing now gives the (Athletic) Department enough time to find the right coach, Eisner said. "The team will be in good hands -next year. I have talked to our recruits about it, and with our new facilities. "I think we'll be in good hands. The team is young and is going to continue to keep getting better, so it was the optimum time for me to step down." A big factor in the Wolverines' recent good fortune on the recruiting trail has been their new tennis, facili- ty - the Varsity Tennis Center. "The future looks bright here. The facility will enhance recruiting and seven out of our nine starters return," Goldberg said. "Other Big Ten schools are losing most of their play- ers. "I would guess that we would be a Top 15 or Top 20 school and a favorite to win the Big Ten next year," Goldberg said. Junior Brad McFarlane also praised Eisner. "I think that he would be very capable, and a good candidate." McFarlane said. Before Eisner leaves there is the possibility that he could still receive the ultimate sign of recognition. Becoming immortalized by having the Varsity Tennis Center named after him. There is sentiment to rename the $5 million facility after the man that was instrumental in getting the facility built and putting Michigap Tennis on the map. "People equate Brian Eisner with Michigan Tennis and all of the con- ference titles and Top 10 finishes that he has brought to Michigan," Goldberg said. LOUIS BROWN/Dal The Michigan women's track team fumbled away its chance at a top-l0 NCAA position, finishing 24th. Michigan dvers look to stay afloat Five divers travel to Bloomington to compete for berths in the NCAA Championships By Ryan C. Moloney 'Daily Sports Writer National placement, as well as pride, are on the line this weekend for the Michigan diving team as they travel to Bloomington to compete in the NCAA Diving Zone Meet. The men's and women's teams will be sending a combined five *divers-Brett Wilmot and Josh Trexler from the men's team and Hannah Shin, Jill Unikel and Amanda Crews from the women's. But the competition will be fierce as most of the opposing divers hail from competitive, Big Ten rival teams-only five women and six men will advance to the NCAA finals from the zone meet in the combined events. *-. The Michigan representatives have, at the very least, one advan- tage over the competition-the expert tutelage of coach Dick Kimball. Kimball is celebrating his 40th year of at the helm of the Michigan diving program. While the team this season has not been overpowering, Kimball hopes to mine the potential of the team during the weekend. "Brett and Josh are both diving well and they have a shot at a high placement," Kimball said. "Jill Unikel also has a good chance of advancing." Though the Michigan team are viewed by many as underdogs going in, Kimball thinks the team possess- es a key intangible-experience. "In diving, the more times you go through a big meet, the better," Kimball said referring to seniors Wilmot and Unikel. "For Brett, the zone meet is right at his level," Kimball said. "In the tower dive, he might get top eight or higher. He is one kid who can con- tinue to dive after his career here is over. He improves every year." On the theme of improvement, Trexler has progressed faster than anyone else in the program this year. "Josh has been a real eye-opener in terms of improvement," Kimball said. But personal achievement is not the sole motivation for the diving teams this weekend-an entry into the NCAA meet guarantees the potential of a higher meet score for the men's aiid women's teams com- peting in the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis and Athens, Ga., respectively. "This meet is strictly just about getting to the next level," Kimball said. "You need to score pretty high to make it, but diving is the type of sport which allows anybody on a given day to do well." A strong performance would be a fitting tribute to the Father of Michigan Diving. THIS WEEKEND NCAA Diving Zone Meet Where: Bloomington When: Tomorrow and Saturday The Latest: FW Michigan divers will compete for spots in the NCAA Championships. DAILY PORTS KNOWS TENNIS. Tourney pools popular POLLS Continued from Page 12A *ears. "This is my fourth year running it," Ryan said. That, according to the NCAA Director for Agent and Gambling Activities William S. Saum, is one of the problems. "You see seventh and eighth graders getting involved with these pools for money," Saum said. "And that's a problem." The NCAA encourages use of the brackets for fun only, Saum said. Saum also said the NCAA is very worried about student-athlete gam- bling, especially at the tournament sites. In addition to the normal precau- tions taken against student-athlete gambling, the NCAA takes special steps to prevent gambling directly related to the tournament. "We have an FBI agent on site (at he Final Four) and we make the players sign affidavits about gam- bling," Saum said. "We also meet with the referees twice during the Final Four to talk about gambling." Jay,an LSA first year student, who is participating in a pool this year, said that he does it for the chance to win money. "I don't really care that it's ille- gal," Jay said. "The chance of win- ning a lot of money is why I do it." Those sentiments were echoed by Adam, an LSA first year student. "You can make an exorbitant amount of money," Adam said. "Everyone does it too, so people don't really care about the fact that it's illegal." Whether it's between a group of people in an office, or hallmates in a dorm, the NCAA Tournament gives people the opportunity to cheer for teams like Gonzaga and Penn, not just Duke or Stanford. And most people think that if they get lucky enough or cheer the loud- est, they may be celebrating at the end of tournament. Not with a trophy, but with a large wad of cash. Time's Running Out,,,. This is your LAST CHANCE to prepare for the April GREI It's the LAST paper-n-pencil exam EVERT Our "Last Chance" course begins March 13"'. The Princeton Review Call us. 734-663-2163 1-800-2-REVIEW Rememb'er your freshman year... Senior Days Kickoff: The Final Escapade ComedIian FREE FOR Wally ALL Pleasant SENIORS MARCH 11 Cotton % - - 2 0 V-1 i M-M. m