The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 22, 2000 -13 eThrough war-like times, 'M' wrestlers never quit By Jon Schwartz Daily Sports Writer It would have been so easy for them to give p. But then again, in a sport like wrestling, where the largest of margins can leave even the victor bruised and bloodied, "easy" takes on a whole new mean-_ ing. Taking the easy way WRE out doesn't work in war, and it certainly doesn't Commentary work in wrestling. So the Michigan wrestling team fought on. The wrestlers tried to put the loss of superstar Otto Olson behind them and keep on fighting. whey decided that losing a star did not mean crificing winning. And they won. No, the Wolverines did not win the NCAA Championships in St. Louis over the past weekend. They didn't even crack the top 10. This year they placed 13th, exactly the same spot as last year's team. But where the wrestlers succeeded was in their ability to exorcise a demon that could have easily killed them - the impulse to look * next year in the face of competitive tragedy. Instead they fought on and came home suc- cesses, forgetting about the outsiders who had ruled them out three months earlier. And while coach Joe McFarland would never follow the lead of the naysayers, even he was not beyond sharing the pain of his ath- letes. "It was frustrating," he said. "But as a coach, you have to hide those frustrations. Even though 'you may think, 'God, I don't have the confidence right now going up against a tough team,' it was encouraging see- ing these guys continuing to work hard in practice." Frustrating in that, during his first season as head coach, McFarland did not hold the insurance of wrestlers who he could pencil in for easy victories day in and day out. Besides Olson, the Wolverines found themselves without the services of Joe Warren, Mike Kulczycki and Damion Logan, each for sev- eral matches. "I don't know if there was one meet when we were completely healthy," McFarland said. But just as a rusty bullet wouldn't stop a .44 Magnum from firing - a few scars weren't sending this team down. The only thing stand- ing in the way was the Big Ten. The Big Ten is just an ordinary wrestling conference like the Civil War was a quarrel between neighbors. That point is evidenced by the fact that at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in February, seven of the 10 matches included at least one wrestler from the conference. And Michigan's 5-2-1 record in the Big Ten season probably didn't even approach its expectations for the year. But when expecta- tions include a team's best players, conces- sions must be made and understanding is a necessity. "I just tried to put that out of my head, and not to focus on it too much as a negative," McFarland said. The team won when it had to, and lost when it was expected to. Despite the best P4yRyt g'COrtRNUE/al y Sophomore 184-pounder Andy Hrovat is a key to Michigan's future contention in the Big Ten. efforts of the entire roster, with more wrestlers called into action over the season than any coach wants, the depleted Michigan team was just not going to beat powerhouses like Minnesota and Illinois. Both teams held the Wolverines to single digits in their respec- tive matches. But the records and scores didn't show the team's truly impressive feats. McFarland looked deep into his brigade and found the soldiers to keep his team alive. Wrestlers like Charles Martelli, Olson's replacement at 174 pounds, and 125-pound true freshman A.J. Grant stepped into the line of fire and escaped with only a few nicks. And as the season ends, it is the future that comes to the forefront of the rejuvenated Michigan team. Losing only one starter, All- American Joe Warren, and returning three former All-Americans, Michigan is looking solid for the coming years. And McFarland wants them to know that while injuries like this season's cannot be pre- dicted, 13th just won't cut it next year when the team gets Olson back and straps a stan- dard issue uniform onto the team's future stars - 133-pound Foley Dowd, 141-pound Clark Forward and the most touted recruit of them all, 125-pound Chris Rodrigues. "This team's capable of much more next year," McFarland said. "But there's going to be a price to pay. It's not going to come easy. Those guys are going to have to make that commitment to the team and stick around this summer, and continue to work out so they can get prepare for next year. "Summer wrestling brings winter champi- ons, no question about it." Spartans reminiscei Final Four party EAST LANSING (AP) - After Joshua Zantello watched Michigan State's basketball team lose to Duke in last year's Final Four, he and some friends went out into the chilly March night to join a raucous street party. As the bonfires grew larger and students poured into the streets, the party became a full-fledged riot. Zantello was amazed as he watched a stranger rip the grille off someone's car. He didn't know that witnessing that act, without trying-o stop it, would cost him thousands of dollars in legal fees and restitution. He didn't know that East Lansing and Ingham County, furious about alcohol-induced problems, would crack down more harshly than ever before after the March 27 riot: Zantello wound up one of 71 Michigan State students and 132 people total arrested on riot-related charges. Because he didn't stop the man who ripped the grille off the car, Zantello was con- -d S sidered an accessory to Facts and figures from the March 27 the crime, a charge that riot at Michigan State. Rioters were could have sent him to prosecuted both by Ingham County prison for up to a year. and the City of East Lansing. Zantello said he Arrests: 132 peopl, including 71 believes the punishment Michigan State students and 12 stu- would be justified if he dents from other schools. had taken the grille. "If I had actually Convictions: 113 people, including done something, yeah, 55 felonies and 58 misdemeanors. but I personally didn't Costs for damage andi even know the guy that $ sd9n vs t took it," he said. "We had nothing to do with Retribution payments ordered: it whatsoever. I think it $325,818 was a little extreme for what we had done." Tips: Website set up to catch rioters whatwe hd doe." received 575 tips; 106 of the people Zantello, a sopho- arrsted were identified through the more marketing major Website. from Niles, said police identified him because aew cymsom . he was quoted in The State News, Michigan State's student newspaper. Police arrested him and a neighbor on April 11. He posted a $250 bond and was released with an electronic tether on the condition that he leave home only for work and school. On April 28, his charge was reduced to disorderly conduct, a low-level misdemeanor. He was sentenced to I l days in jail, but wasn't jailed because the judge gave him credit for the time he spent on the tether. Still, he was ordered to remain on the electronic tether for six months, and was given a computer monitor hooked to a Breathalyzer so police could make sure he was at home and alcohol-free when he was supposed to be. Zantello said police checked on him several times a night, calling at 8 p.m., 12 a.m., 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Zantello paid $75 for the Breathalyzer. He also was ordered to pay $2,300 in restitution plus courtroom and attorney fees. He's still making payments to the court. Zantello says he took a second part-time job to help pay his bills. But he says the experience hasn't changed somethings. "I still go out, I have a good time," he said. "I'm not wild and crazy, I'm not a bad guy, so I'm not the kind of person the police would be going after." But if there's ever another riot? "I'll be at home watching it on CNN," he said. The Albany essentials Women's tennis trying to halt losing streak By Joe Smith Daily Sports Writer If tennis was like the game of horse- shoes, the Michigan women's tennis team mnigfit be in a lot better position than the resent. Losing several close matches to top- ranked teams and proving they can com- pete with the best is simply not good enough for the Wolverines (0-3 Big Ten, 5- 5 overall). After starting off the season 4-0, Michigan has lost five out of its last six, including setbacks to No. 12 Northwestern, No. 20 Tennessee and No 23 Kentucky. The lack of execution and consistency in certain spots were the dif- ference in the highly competitive matches. opportuniti "We need to cut down on our own mistakes," ,, senior co-captain Base Danielle Lund said. After sta "The teams weren't that women'si much better than us, We and som just couldn't execute Wolverin and prove it out on the the BigT court." But these losses are No3 not what bother No. 12 NK Michigan coach Bitsy Illinois Ritt the most. San Dien Letdowns to Illinois No.201T and Minnesota on the Minneso days following these heartbreaking defeats represented Line blues rting off 4-0, the Michigan tennis team hit the wall- e rough competition. The nes are currently winless in en. es to beat conference foes against which Michigan stacked up well. "I thought we matched up pretty well with Minnesota," Ritt said. "We have to improve our consistency throughout the whole lineup and win those close matches." The Wolverines' 0-3 start in the conference is their worst since the 1989- 90 season, when they start- ed off 0-4. But that team turned things around and - won its next five games en 7-6 conference record (20-9 overall). Although this same fate could hold true for these Wolverines, their path will not be as easy. Next week, they will face three Top 40 teams, including No. 14 Notre Dame. But Michigan has the opportunity this weekend to rejuvenate the season in its first Big Ten road match. The Wolverines will face Michigan State (0-3 Big Ten, 2-7 overall) in East Lansing on Saturday at i p.m. The Spartans, also winless in confer- ence play, have not enjoyed many close matches. They've been blanked in each of their first three Big Ten matches, winning only one set, and being outscored, 21-0, by their opponents. (entucky Northwestemr 00 State ennessee ta Lost, 3.6 Lost, 2-5 Lost, 2-5 Won, 6-3 Lost, 4-5 Lost, 2-5 missed route to a ALBANY Continued from Page 12 Peach knows this better than anyone. With three years of NCAA blue line experience and a nation- al title under his belt, the captain has tried to impart his knowledge onto Michigan's large crop of freshmen. "It's so much more intense than the regular sea- son," Peach said. "All the games that I remember from my career here are from the tournament. You just tell the younger guys to think of the Michigan State game times two. The freshmen have learned a lot this year and I hope I've been able to teach them that this is the time of year that you have to put all of your eggs in one basket." TOURNAMENT NOTES: Michigan enters the 2000 NCAA Tournament with the highest winning per- centage of any team in history. The Wolverines boast an astounding .700 winning percentage with a record of 35-15. The team's 35 tournament vic- tories are second all-time to Minnesota, which has 39. Michigan is appearing in its 23rd NCAA Tournament - third most behind Minnesota (24) and Boston University (25). Michigan starts off the new millennium the same way it ended the last. The Wolverines were the only team to appear in all 10 tournaments in the '90s. Saturday's matchup with Colgate will be the first time the two teams meet in the NCAA Tournament. The two teams have met four times in the regular season, with the Wolverines holding a 3-1 advantage. The two teams split their last meeting back on Oct. 16-17 of 1997 at Yost Ice Arena. SPORTIN' THE FUZZ: A few of the Wolverines have already begun growing a little playoff facial hair for the NCAA Tournament. The styles range from the traditional full facial beard, to the goatee to the on-to-Sturgis handle bar approach by Blackburn. "Last year I had a goatee and we know how that turned out," Blackburn said. "This year I've got handle bars so we'll so what happens." If you're planning on heading to Albany this weekend for Michigan's first-round matchup with Colgate, here are a few important things to know: _ H ^. TICKET INFORMATION: Tcket packages for the whole weekend can be purchased for $36. Single session packages can also be purchased for $16. Tckets are still available. Contact the Michigan Tcket Office at 764-0247. THE RIDE THERE: Take 1-94 through the Wintsor tunnel. Get on 401 east and take it to est 403. Get on QEW west and take it too 03eat.Take the' Queenston Lewistin ridge hadk into the U.S (make sure to stop at Niagara Falls on the other side). Take 1-290 east to 1-90 east to US-9 east. Tum right onto Lark Street and than a left onto NY-5 to Albany. '_ WHERE TO CHILL: Bogies: Call (518) 482-4368. Must be 21. 8 Cafe Hollywood: Call (518) 472-9043. Must be 21. Michaels: Call (518) 426-8733. Must be 21. Caffe Lena: Call (518) 583-0022. ,, i. ยง DANNY KALICK/Daily Freshman Andy Hilbert anchors Michigan's top line along with fellow freshman Jed Ortmeyer and sophomore Mike Comrie. ,, } Sz1 i S t t t 4 { i "' K vot'ONV l . .. fir-ills-. -a4rt --s"- ..da-. t V to toeB t ofA nn Ar or Online y'OwwW.michi andaily.com llt will bon'e ONLY from: Marc 10 -March 26 7!1b1 II ii do ( 5 1 { 5jj 1 f ( Y jjj j 3 ,I'. SS! 3 f " , t , :f .. PFIT N ji/ I _ WIMW I rn- I