r '4 . 4 1 t4 III~~II~SECTONF Sports desk: 647-3336 sportsdesk~@umich .edu SECTION B ....... ...... Women face difficult NCAA bracket y Raphael Goodstein and Michael Kern Daily Sports Writers After finishing second in the Big Ten regular season, the No. 25 Michigan women's basketball team thought it had earned national respect. Yesterday, the Wolverines learned they're still not quite there. When Michigan's name was finally *vealed, happiness and relief turned to frowns and disappointment. Michigan (13-3 Big Ten, 22-7 over- all) is going to the NCAA Tournament, but not with the seed it was hoping for. As the eight-seed in the West region, Michigan will have another opportunity to garner national respect by playing perennial-power Stanford (20-8). "I thought we should be a fifth or sixth (seed)," senior forward Stacey Thomas said. The ninth-seeded Cardinal won the 1990 and 1992 national titles and made four other trips to the Final Four in the '90s. Despite being snubbed, Michigan appreciates the opportunity to play for national respect. "I think this gives us the chance to let people know who Michigan is," fresh- man point guard Infini Robinson said. The Wolverines' tournament bid was even more bittersweet considering Illi- nois - who finished fourth in the Big Ten, and lost to Michigan twice - was a six seed. Michigan coach Sue Guevara ques- tioned the Fighting Ilini's seed since her Wolverines beat them twice, by a 14-point average. "We wondered how could Illinois be ahead of us after we beat them twice," Guevara said. "Why do you think? Respect- or lack of it" Junior guard Anne Thorius voiced similar sentiments. "We think we're a better team than Illinois and we proved that during the season," Thorius said. The Big Ten will also be represented by second-seeded Penn State in the Midwest, and No. 4 seed Purdue in the East, last season's national champion. The top four seeds in each region get the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the tournament. As the No. 1 seed in the West, Georgia hosts the See SNUB, Page 3B Postseason update-e~inSycint aeur'el for either of Mihigan's basketball teams. WOmet: The WolVenines wiU face -, ninth-seeded-Staniford in the first; round on Friday in Athen4, Ga, Mem Michigan will travel to Notre Damnefor the NIT. The Wolverines won the NIT Championship i1997. lnside tod4y's section: Full worhen's bracket <-Page 3B R Midliigan State easily takes Big Ten Tournament, No. 1 seed -Page 5B iClip th iaen's bracket and win 10 free pizzas from Piza House -Page 8B i Sweeping progress Blue bucks Broncos out Of plavfs By Chns Grandstaff Daily Sports Editor Western Michigan forward Anthony Battaglia summed up the Broncos playoff series against Michigan even before it started. The Broncos left winger, eager to hit the ice in what would be Western's first CCHA playoff appearance since 1997, promptly fell flat on his face while entering the CCHA arena for Friday night's Playoffs pregame skate.Pa f In his earnest jaunt to the frozen surface, the sophomore had forgotten to remove the protective fabric skate guards from the blades on his feet, and the result left him reel- ing. The same proved true for the rest of the Bron- cos, who were sent reeling just 1:37 into Friday night's opener on a lightning quick one-timer by Michigan forward Josh Langfeld - a bolt from which the Broncos were never able to recover. Michigan swept the two-game series from Western Michigan, 4-2 on Friday and 6-2 on Sat- urday, and will now head to Joe Louis Arena for next weekend's conference tournament semifinal. "I thought we played well," Michigan center Mike Comrie said. "There were lapses that we still don't want to have, but it's still the first round of the playoffs and we can still improve on things. It's exciting, but it's still only the first round." The two-game sweep did not come as easily as some may have expected for the Wolverines, though. After charging ahead 3-0 on Friday night the Wolverines allowed Western Michigan to pull within one goal early in the third period. But Michigan junior Scott Matzka ended the Broncos bid for an upset by netting a tally with just 2:45 left to play. Matzka took a pass from Irish host Michigan in NIT first round By Mark Francescuti Daily Sports Editor Despite finishing eighth in the Big Ten with a 6-10 record, Michigan will still enjoy the fruits of postseason play. Michigan (15-13 overall) will battle Notre Dame (18-14) in South Bend, Wednesday at 9 p.m. in a first-round National Invitation Tournament matchup. The winner of the Notre Dame- Michigan contest will battle the winner of the Marquette- Xavier matchup NIT for a second- First round round battle at a later date, to be determined by the NIT committee. The Wolverines lead the overall series, 12-6, and have won the past four times. Michigan is 15-4 in NIT play. South Bend may not be the favorite vacation spot for the Michigan football team, but it does hold some.favorable basketball memories. Michigan's Fab Five played for the first time together in the starting lineup at Notre Dame in the 1990-91 season. South Bend was also the stop on the Wolverines' cruise through the 1997 NIT, when Michigan beat the Irish, 67- 66 at the Joyce Center in a third-round game en route to the championship. The Wolverines beat the Irish in New York to win the 1984 NIT crown. Michigan's circumstances entering the NIT are quite different than in the 1997 campaign. Postseason play comes as a blessing to this young Wolverine squad, which can use the the next week to prac- tice and continue to hone its skills. Battling a team like Notre Dame, which upset the likes of Connecticut, Syracuse and Ohio State, gives Michi- gan another good test before next sea- son. The Irish have some big guns, the biggest in the form of sophomore Troy Murphy, the Big East player of the year, who averages 22 points and 11 rebounds per game. The postseason play also allows freshman guard Jamal Crawford to serve at least one more game of his eight-game suspension for violating an NBA draft rule. Crawford has already served five games. Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe is cur- rently on a recruiting trip in New Jersey and could not be reached for comment late last night. Tickets are set to go on sale tomor- row at 10 a.m. at the Michigan Ticket Office. According to Notre Dame sports information, tickets will cost $18 (loge), $15 (lower arena) and $8 (bleacher) for the game. DANNY KALICK/ Daily Michigan freshman Jed Ortmeyer gets a good look at Western Michigan goalie, Jeff Reynaert, on this scoring attempt. Reynaert gave up 10 goals in the CCHA first-round series. With the sweep, the Wolverines have advanced to the CCHA semifinals at Joe Louis Arena on Friday. linemate Josh Langfeld, and, after patiently sizing up Western Michigan goaltender Jeff Reynaert, fired a wrister off his stick side shoulder and into the back of the net. Michigan closed out its home schedule with one of its best performances of the season in front of a raucous Yost Ice Arena crowd. The old barn sent senior Sean Peach off in style - rock- ing with each of the Wolverines' six goals and the crowd-involving cheers of the Michigan pep band. "Our crowd was outstanding tonight through- out the game, and that's why you play for home ice advantage all year," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "When you get into these type of games you appreciate home ice and you appreci- ate your fans. Western played hard, and they played very well. We earned this though and it was a good feeling tonight." Especially for Peach who played his last game at Yost on Saturday night. After the game Peach slowly glided off the ice, facemask open, visibly emotional, and obviously reluctant to leave the ice that he has called home for the last three and a half years. "It was a good way to go out for me," Peach said. "We played a pretty solid game, a lot better than last night. I wouldn't have been pleased if we had played like we did (Friday) night." Matzka got the Wolverines on the board first on Saturday with a shorthanded goal. Matzka took a pass from Geoff Koch near center ice with a defender right on his heels. With a burst of speed Matzka quickly outdistanced his defender and he - along with the rest of the Wolverines - never looked back. Matzka tallied another shorthanded goal in the second period and added an assist in the third to bring his weekend point total to five. Not to be outdone Comrie, Michigan's leading scorer, tallied his 19th and 20th goals of the sea- son in the game. The Wolverines will now await the winner of Tuesday's "play-in" playoff game between Bowl- ing Green and Nebraska-Omaha. 'fop-ranked gymnasts barrel into postseason pressure Women rip up Florida, Bowling Green By Sarah Ensor zily Sports Writer The No. I Michigan women's gymnastics team began its final home meet of the season on Saturday night with a tribute to its past. By the time the final routines were completed, the attention had turned to the brightness of the Wolverines' future. Before the meet, Sarah Cain, Kate Nellans and Sarah-Elizabeth Langford were honored in senior night festivities, and distinguished alum- ni of the Michigan gymnastics program joined e current Wolverines on the floor. But once e competition began, Michigan proved that it would much rather look ahead than behind. The Wolverines scored a 197.05 to defeat No. 13 Florida and Bowling Green in Crisler Arena. The Gators took second with a 194.5, while the Falcons came in last with a 192.175. "I'm pleased," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "We had a good meet - we didn't have a great meet. It was a great way to end the season r the seniors, though." It was indeed the seniors who captured the headlines in their last hurrah in front of the home crowd. Tri-captain Cain won the all- around competition with a 39.55, while Lang- ford scored the first perfect 10 of her career on the vault en route to a first-place finish in the event. happen on senior night is that much more spe- cial." Langford agreed. "It was so amazing," Langford said. "I hope that my team can continue this momentum and excitement into the upcoming meets." Other top Michigan performers included freshman Cami Singer, who stood atop the podi- um after scoring a career-high 9.95 on balance beam, and junior tri-captain Bridget Knaeble, who took first-place honors in the uneven bars with a 9.95. The Wolverines finished 1-2-3 in the vault, uneven bars and balance beam, and freshman Janessa Grieco took second in the floor exercise. The meet marked the last regular-season competition for the Wolverines, who head into the Big Ten Championships at Penn State this weekend. Michigan appeared ready to success- fully forge on with its season, as it demonstrated a high level of confidence in its performances and seemed to strongly believe in its chances for success. While Saturday's performance was not the Wolverines' most consistent of the season, they proved their ability to achieve top scores even when not hitting on all cylinders. "I think if we consider a 197 one of our not- best meets, that's a great start for the postsea- son," junior Christine Michaud said. "We're confident, we have some good meets under our Men conquer State, seal season sweep By Rohit Bhave Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING - While lesser teams may view a nar- row 229.5-229.25 victory over No. 4 Michigan State in a posi- tive light, the No. 1 Michigan men's gymnastics team is not satisfied with the sloppy win. Ahead 154.575-153.275 before the high bar - its fifth rotation - Michigan appeared to be on pace to score above 231 points for the meet. The Wolverines then nearly gave away the meet with an ugly 36.1 performance on the high bar that included four disastrous falls. Down 191.425-190.675, Michigan's resolve powered it to a 38.825 parallel bar performance on its last rotation. Having finished their last event, the Wolverines nervously watched as Michigan State finished on the high bar. With the meet on the line, the Spartans blew the victory with a low 37.825 score, after a Michigan State gymnast fell flat on his face. Scott Vetere's outstanding 9.95 on the parallel bars com- bined with solid scores from Lalo Haro, Daniel Diaz-Luong and Kevin Roulston to overcome the 191.425-190.675 deficit. On the other side of the mat, Michigan State coach Rick Atkinson claimed a moral victory in his team's tussle with the top-ranked Wolverines. The meet "showed that we're young, and that we're good - we just do not believe in ourselves yet. But we are ready for the Big Ten championships," Atkinson said. Unlike the upbeat Atkinson, Michigan coach Kurt Golder was irked by the Wolverine's staggering inconsistency. The falls "are isolated incidences of something going SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daily r