10 The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, Aprl 4, 2000 Duprey's g naa and legitimacy For Michigan State, its storyline is now complete. It took home all of the prizes: the Big Ten regular-sea- son title, The Big Ten Tournament and the crown jewel of them all, the NCAA championship. There were many stories to this team - most uplifting, some over told - but last night, the Spartans added one more yarn to their tale. When Mateen Cleaves went down on his ankle and had to limp off to the lockerroom, the game again came in question. Fans in East Lansing had a ready-made excuse, in case their team fell apart. Cleaves' return will always be por- trayed as heroic - the fallen leadei seemingly down and out, limps back to the ring and dishes out a few more punches. But the truth of the matter is that Michigan State effectively won the game in his absence. Rather than folding without Cleaves, the remaining players in the rotation seemed exactly in tune without him. Cleaves' early-season injury, which forced him to miss the nonconference slate, trained the Spartans to play with- out him. They learned what worked (Jason Richardson) and what didn't work (David Thomas). With this learning behind them, they were made capable to deal with what normally would be a team-killing injury. And because of that, they didn't blow the national champi- onship when the game was all but in their hands. Give credit to Michigan State - its preparedness won it the national title. - Chris Duprey can he rcacled at cdupreyv(aumich.cdiu. " Baseball returns for ocket test I Singer By Dena Beth Krischer Daily Sports Writer Tuesdays seem to be fairly unlucky for the Michigan baseball team. In fact, each time Michigan has played on a Tuesdav, it has been demolished - a 9-2 loss to North Florida on Leap Day and an 11-4 embarrass-- T ment compliments of_ Western Michigan a RAY FisH week ago. Who:Michi If the Wolverines (2- bTledo (-13 4 Big Ten, 9-15-1 over- When:3p . all) can come out today Latest: Mch with a win over Toledo its econdho will be a step in the Toledoat'Th right direction. "It's the same thing," Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "We need to get out there and play. It's just a matter of the young guys getting out there and our older guys coming around." A victory would also be only the second the Wolverines will have seen at home this season since beating Bowling Green 6-2 at Fisher Stadium last Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Rockets haven't won a game since playing Defiance at home last Wednesday and are cur- rently on a five game skid. Translation: Toledo is ready for a win and will most likely come out thirsty for blood. The Wolverines are fresh off a cru- cial 4-3 win over Indiana on Sunday. Translation: Michigan can't come out cold thinking that, due to Toledo's susceptibility, this non-con- ference game is unimportant. An attitude like that could very easily begin a possible deterioration of a Wolverines )DAY ER STADIUM glln(9-15-1)vs. a. rtxlav" igan is looking for te vicry ofthe y nieiiiinss . ate Fisht.' squad eager to string together a few wins. "We shouldn't take anybody lightly," Zahn said. "For our guys, we have to go all out and worry. I'm niore concerned about our team than I am about Toledo'shstrengths or those things. If we execute well, we have a good chance of win- ning the ballgame." But if the Rockets The Michigan softbaii team brims its 16-game winning streak home today as it faces Bowling Green in a doubleheader to open its home season at Alumni Field. in hmdeu are aggressive early, the Wolverines could collapse into the inexperi- enced squad that has already dropped 15 games. "There's a level of being timid at first," Zahn said. "There's a lot of firsts when you're a freshman. If you don't get off to a good start, you start to wonder 'can I hit?' There's a peri- od of time when you say, 'This is harder than I thought it would be, what do I need to do?' "You have to fight through this adversity and there's times when you get too anxious and that makes it tough on you," Zahn said. By David Roth I)aily Sports Writer Alumni Field, home of1 softball, has been very lonely While Michigan has been out on a 16-game win- ning streak, Alumni Field has sat fallow. But at 3 p.m. today, the Wolverines will break in their home turf to host a doubleheader against Bowling Green. And if Michigan looks impressive on the road, - who knows what success the friendly confines of Alumni will bring. "The team is really lookin to our first couple of home g week," firstbaseman and Marissa Young said. "We hop out with a bang at home." But while Michigan has hi of keeping Alumni Field a w ly environment, there is soi for concern. Tomorrow's con the Falcons, have been pre competition in nearby territor most recent meal was a 6-{) s Oakland, where Bowling Gr up only three hits. "We would rather be playir at this time of the year than practicing, which is what we would be doing tomorrow at 3 p.m,' Michigan coach Michigan Carol lutchins said. this year. Hutchins is grateful that the gates to Alumni Field are open- TODAY in . up early. Originally, Bowling ALUMNI FIELD Green was not on Who: Michit in (?6-6)vts. Michigan's schedule, Bowling Green f- 8) but since the When: 3 p m. xd} Wolverines were short latest:Thesofthllfteam's 16'. on games, and they gane wining streak s Onde shared an open date line in the d uibleheoderat with the Fa}COWS, thie Alumzni ield which k'gein a sip ihteFlos h gi me hmesknd ir thea. two teams decided to suit up and play. "Bowling Green is 15-8 and should be a good opponent,' g forward Hutchins said. aames this Hutchins will be focussing on three pitcher key points to make the most of today's e to come double header. "We need to play hard, generate gh hopes some offense and give all of our pitch- in-friend- ers some pitching time," Hutchins me cause said. mpetitors, Whatever the outcome, Alumni eying on Field will finally get some use in the ics. Their coming weeks. Michigan will host hutout at Wisconsin in a doubleheader on een gave Friday, and then will play single matches against Minnesota Saturday ng games and Sunday. soars for gmnasts By Sarah Ensor Daily Sports Writer STATE COLLEGE - Sometimes it is those who develop out ofthe spotlight who have the potential to grow the most. The performance of Michigan fresh- man gymnast Cami Singer over the lat- ter half of the 1999-2000 season is living proofofthis sentiment. Singer, frequent- ly overshadowed by Big Ten and NCAA Region V Gymnast of the Year Sarah Cain and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Janessa Grieco, has emerged from the shadow of her teammates' success to make a major impact on the top-ranked Wolveines. Two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships, Singer scored a 9.95 on the uneven bars to become the co-con- ference champion on the event. While the victory was the culmination of a sea son's worth of hard work and develop- ment, it was only the beginning of the unseasoned gymnast's postseason accomplishments. This weekend, at the NCAA Region V Championships at Penn State, Singer proved that she is far from finished. She tied for third on the beam with a 9.875, and continued her consistent perfor- mance on the bars with a 9.85. On a night when seniors took first place hon- ors on every apparatus, Singer's perfor- mance was a testament to the youth movement that is the future of collegiate women's gymnastics. "I am so impressed with our freshmen that I cannot say enough," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "But Cami in particular in the latter part of the season has really come through. She did not even warm up a skill on her bar routine, and she rocked. She got up there and showed an incredible amount of poise on beam, and didn't have a bobble" Singer, always modest about her own accomplishments, preferred to focus on team, rather than individual, successes. "I'm really excited that I was able to come and step in, contribute to the team, and be part of this experience' Singer said. "It's good to know that we're going into nationals and that I could help." Things haven't always appeared this effortless for the freshman from' Monument, Colorado. Early in the sea- son, Singer struggled to find her place in the lineup. She experienced the proverbial grow- ing pains of freshmen and watched as classmates Grieco and Tara Tagliarino garnered more success and acclaim. But halfway through the season, she broke into the uneven bars' lineup and gained the confidence that seemed to be lack- ing in her earlier performances. After struggling on the bars against Georgia, Singer has been one of Michigan's most consistent performers on the apparatus, never scoring lower than a 9.8 Meanwhile, as herhconfidence on the bars has developed, her performance on the beam has continued to improve. After not topping 9.85 for the first ten meets of the season, Singer tied the team season-high with a 9.95 in the Wolverines' home finale against Florida and Bowling Green, followed by a 99 in. the Big Ten Championships. "Confidence is a combination of everything," Singer said. "Your team- mates, your coaches - you go into the gym and do routine after routine after routine every single day, because every little tenth counts. The harder you work in the gym, the more confident you become. As Singer has risen, so has Michigan' Heading into the National Championships in Boise, her perfor- mance has become among the most crit- ical to the Wolverines. After progressing from overshadowed freshman to Big Ten Champion in three short months, the sky appears to be her linmit. And no one is more excited about that prospect than the gymnast herself. Heading to the national champi- onships riding such success "feels won- derful," Singer said. Rowers finish fifth in Classic The dolphins at Sea World weren't the only ones making a splash this weekend in San Diego. The Michigan women's rowing team was at the San Diego Crew Classic, competing against some of the best teams in the nation. Needless to say, it wasn't just a day at the park for the women. The Wolverines ran into a Washington team that had won the Classic nine straight years and a Virginia team that was out for revenge. This proved to be too much for the women, as they finished fifth in the varsity race and third in both the .IV and novice races. The Wolverines were riding high after their upset of Virginia last week, and until Saturday night the season was per- fect. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. "Our team just didn't show up on Sunday, sMichigan coach Mark Rothstein said. What a difference one day can make. Although both the varsity and JV boats jumped out to early leads in their respec- tive races, both faded fast, finishing well behind the winners in both races. "The girls were just not able to get into a rhythm' said Rothstein. Nevertheless spirits remain high for the still young season as Michigan looks to build on the weekend. "We need to get stronger from what we learned this weekend. We still have the ability, we just have to perform," Coxswain Belinda Koo said. - By Al bert Kim V Student Discounts Summer Session I Mlay 23-June 30 Summer Session I! July 3-August 1 Summer Evening Session May 18-August 1I SUMM ER 2000 * Undergraduate and Graduate Courses * Programs for International Students * Programs for High School Students * Summer Abroad * Internet Courses ~ Professional Bartending Training ~ Tips on Finding a Top Paying Job ~ Become a Talented, Socially Conscious Bartender ~ National Restaurant Association Alcohol Awareness Programs ~ Great Part-time or Summer Job \b i CLASSES BEGIN APRIL 7TH - 6:00 PM OXFOR D CONFERENCE - ActNow, CENT ER Spacesinite www.universitybartending.Com F I~5 MLI3 Scores National LgueAmedanleague ApAt 2. Coorado 0 Cleveland 4. 3:A..M ,'i: 1 $r. I ,5 . slecageCubs 1 t i . . :k sas City 4 NY h1 Ms 2. Sain Diego 1 r-A a 1C' CiAWi2 t SOx 4 Milwaukee 3.C: ..'at3 T npa Bay 7. M'.'. r,.0A Los Angeles 1D M . 4 4 Detroit i Oane a-'.,"r HoustOn At P a s'LXG1. 1311' NY Yankees Ar A.. , M. late NBA Standings EAtlanti- w L PcT GB HOME AWAY STK program board Miami New Yoi*c, Philadelphia Orlando New Jersey Boston Washington 46 26.639 --- 28-7 4828.616 1.5 29.8 42 31.575 4.5 25.311 37 36.507 9.5 2313 3142.425 15.5 22-16 3043.41116.5 22-13 26 47.356 20.5 15-21 1819 Won 3 26-20 lost 2 17 20 lost 3 1423 Won 6 9 26 Lost 2 8-30 Lost 7 11-26 Won 1 ECENMTRAL W L PCT G8 Indiana 49 24.671 - Toronte .4033.54_6.5 Charlotte 4131.569 7.52 Detroit 3735.514 10.5 Milwaukee 35 38.479 13.5 CIveland 2944.397 19 Atlanta 26 46.361 20.51 HOME AWAY 32-5 17-19 23-14: 17-19 2610 1521 24-13 13-22 19-17 16 21 20-17 9-27 19-18 728 STK Won 2 Lost 3 Won 6 Won 1 Won 1 Lost 1 Lost 2 LOOKING FOR IDEA PEOPLE And MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE 4 Positions: MUPB Executive Leader Arts & Entertainment Programmer Promotions Coordinator Current Events Programmer X25O.00 Stinend ner semester The University of Michigan-Dearborn invites you to be a guest student for the Summer 2000 semester. We have three options to accommodate students who are home for summer vacation. Full Term - May 8 - August 29 Half Term I . May 8 - June 30 Half Term II July 5 -August 29 SCOREKEEPERS TS5CALLBE o E 'DRINKS M L0R , - AEI Ic i -. . I - 11.1 i'% tt