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712*- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 21, 2000


Tennis center opens its doors

By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Writer
Whether you're a former high school
tennis player who itches for the chance
to play competitively once again, or
someone who plays the sport as a hobby
and want to see how your abilities stack
up, opportunity knocks soon in Ann
Arbor.
For the first time, a competitive league
is being established at the Varsity Tennis
Center from May to early August.
Teams consisting of players of the same

ITA ranking will compete against other
local clubs around the state.
But before anyone enters this featured
league, players must put their abilities to
the test.
This ratings clinic will be hosted by
the Varsity Tennis Center in cooperation
with the United Stated Tennis
Association on Friday, March 24 from 6-
9 p.m..
This clinic is open to anyone who
wishes to to be rated for the purpose of
league play or just out of curiosity.
For those who already have a rating, it

still may need to be updated, depending
on certain circumstances.
Players who have a rating and
competed in only one match last year
must be rated again, along with those
who haven't been rated in the last
two years.
Participants do not need to be in atten-
dance for all three hours, depending on
their skill level. Beginners should arrive
from 6-7 p.m., intermediate players
should come between 7-8 p.m. and
advanced players should be here
between 8-9 p.m. The cost for partici-
pating in this clinic is $10.
Each player will be on the court for
roughly 45 minutes, and after that time
he or she will be given a rating.
Once ratings are tabulated, partici-
pants can start looking for leagues in
which they would like to participate.
Leagues are created on the basis of play-
ing level, so participants will compete
with others of the same rating.
Matches will start around the end of
May or beginning of June, and run until
early August.
The time commitment will range from
three hours once a week and more,
depending on how many teams for
which one wishes to play. The league

Tennis RatingsClinic
When: March 24, from 6-9 p.m.
Beginners from 6-7 p.m
lntermediate players from 7-8 p.m.
Advanced players from8-9 p.m.
Where: Varsity Tennis Center
1000 South State St. (about two miles
south of Michigan Union)
Why: Rating is needed to participate in
new summer league which will be intro-
duced by the Varsity Tennis Center, or just,
out of curiosity.
Price: $10
will consist of both home and away
matches with other local clubs such as
Huron Valley, Chippewa and Liberty
Sports Complex, with a SI12 fee per per-
son per match.
There will be roughly eight to nine
matches over the season with local play-
offs following. At the end of the season,
teams can qualify for the national finals
in August, which take place in San
Diego.
Eight players are needed to start a
team, and players can be added before
the season begins.
The registration deadline for new
teams ends April 15. For more informa-
tion or reservations call 998-8844.

Shakespeare departs
deep M' swimming

By David Horm
Daily Sports Writer

T


INDIANAPOLIS - As of Saturday
night, senior captain Shannon
Shakespeare's career at Michigan is over.
An evaluation of her career statistics
is a start in trying to understand what she
has accomplished as a Michigan swim-
mer. But there is more to what she has
done within the framework of this pro-
gram than her numbers suggest.
Shakespeare and her senior classmates,
Jennifer Arndt, Emily Cocks and Hanna
Shin, leave behind a very different team
than the one they joined four years ago.
"My first two years here there were
major power struggles among the senior
class,' Shakespeare said. "We reached
rock bottom during my sophomore
year."
Beyond the Top 10 finishes at the
NCAA Championships and the Big Ten
Championships, there existed turmoil
and struggle that left a sour memory in
the minds of the seniors.
"In the first two years, things were dif-
ferent," Cocks said. "There was no team
unity. We've grown to appreciate what it
means to be a team. We've been happy to
have these last years with a team that
cares about each other."
Secondary, perhaps, to the internal
team unity are the numbers.
This year's Wolverines brought only
seven swimmers to nationals. Two were
outgoing seniors - Shakespeare and
Cocks. And two were freshmen - Jenay
Carlson and Laura Kaznecki. After this
weekend, those two seniors now repre-
sent 19 All-American honors, eight
NCAA qualifications and 16 Big Ten
individual Championships.
Meanwhile, the two freshmen repre-
sent one Al-American honor (Kaznecki,
as part of the 200 freestyle relay team),
two NCAA qualifications and one indi-
vidual Big Ten championship.
But it is unlikely that Carlson and
Kaznecki will be alone at the NCAA
Championships next year. They are part
of a 17-member class, including Erin
Abbey, Lindsay J.ohnson, Mara Sveum
and Traci Valasco, all of whom con-
tributed consistently to Michigan's cause
this season.
"I'm definitely very proud of the
freshman class," Shakespeare said.
Daily

"They've been an absolute inspiration to
me. They're going to have some great
leadership in the next three years, and it's
sad for me to leave them, but definitely
still positive."
Shakespeare won seven All-AmericaW
honors in her freshman year, including
second and fourth-place finishes in the
100- and 200-yard freestyle, respective-
ly. Neither Kaznecki's nor Carlson's
accomplishments (three Honorable
Mention All-American honors between
them) this past weekend can compare to
that, but they could mean good things
for the Wolverines in the future.
This year's team of seven placed 14th.
There were seven swimmers on the team
who were either juniors or seniors, an'
of those seven, five swam in
Indianapolis.
Shakespeare, normally a reliable team
leader, was troubled this past weekend
by personal tragedy and fatigue, suffered
during her preparation for the Big Ten
Championships two weeks prior.
Without its superstar swimming at full
capacity, Michigan suffered from its first
non-Top 10 finish since 1991.
The size and strength of the latesr'
class of Wolverines should keep this
from happening again anytime soon.
"The lifeblood of any collegiate pro-
gram is recruiting first," Stanford coach
Richard Quick said. "You cannot get the
job done, from a coaching standpoint,
unless you have talented athletes.
"The main thing (in success at
NCAA's) is the number of girls that are
here, and are scoring here. You can win
this meet with (no less than) 11 swinm
mers."
But the size of the freshman class
'should yield more swimmers at the
NCAA Championships each year.
Neither Carlson nor Kaznecki proved to
be a "diaper dandy" this season, but suc-
cess at this event is reliant as much on
quantity as on quality. A perfect example
would be the Georgia Bulldogs, who
won the meet with 18 swimmers.
Shakespeare and Cocks leave a ha*
monious and supportive team - a far
cry from the turmoil that plagued the
statistically superior teams of the mid-to
late-90's. But they also leave a larger
team - one that may, by virtue of its
size as well as its accord, surpass the suc-
cess of its predecessors.
Sports -

RING DAYS
North Campus Commons Bookstore joStens
March 20.2 ots
from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Rings starting at $179.95

Still beside you after all these years.

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