20 -The Michigan Daily - Thursday Gober 4. 99

I

COURSE
Continued from Page 17A
are either grinding it out uphill or tak-
ing it fast on the downhills "
An illusion which could wreak
havt& du the younger, inexperienced
teatits-eitered in the race.
"Lots of teams get a surprise
around the three-mile mark," Cantin
said, "Out in Maine last week, the
New Hampshire guys were asking us
what they should expect.
"We were like, 'You don't want to
know.
Cross country success, as most run-
ners will tell you, depends on the
ever sa delicate balance between tip-
top physical fitness and mental
toughness.
At this point of the season, most
teams have the physical aspect down
- but a course like Michigan's is
known for turning even the most sea-
soncd runners into head cases.
"It works both ways," senior co-
capt4in-Steve Lawrence said. "It can
intimidate our guys because we know
how hard it is, but other teams get
afraid, too, because they hear about
howhard the course is."
How appropriate that the
WoLyerines' toughest challenge of the
season arises at the beginning of the
end. After the Interregional "the big
three,'" the Big Ten meet, the Great
Lakes Regional and the NCAA Final
chamipionship - loom on the hori-
zon.
"Thismeet is right in the middle of
the season when you start to decide
what changes need to be made,"
Warhurst said. "I am happy with the
progress we have made so far and I
would be real happy if we ended the
seaspn ranked tenth or 1Ith (in the
country)."
The Wolverines, unlike in past
years, are not the obvious favorite
going in - they are not quite the

powerhuse thy.usedtodh)
with it, the destiny of this season may
very well he decided on the rain-
soaked fairways of the Michigan
linik s
Consider this: In 1996, the
WoLverines finished second at the
Interregional and parlayed that per-
formance into a second place show-
ing at the Big Ten meet and a third
place finish at the RegionaL.
But in 1997 and '98, Michigan
cruised to first place finishes and
went on to capture the Big Ten title.
What's more, in '97 the Wolv erines
won the regional and finished 4th
natonally -in '8, the t'am fin-
ished second at the Regional (without
injured All-American John Mortimer)
and duplicatd their previous national
finish.
'A f:w vga: ago. we were pretty
tired gomng into this met," Lawrence
said "This se n, we started out that
way, wherSa other ams started the
season fit and are beginning to wear
down."
No, Michigan got all of that fatigue
out of their system in the first two
months of the season, training to
Warhurst's now famous "100 miles a
week" clip.
The teaim is down to 85 miles this
week and the mileage will decrease
with each remaining week.
And while the No.1 goal is always
to beat Wisconsin at the Big Ten
meet, a win at the Interregional could
be the necessary springboard for the
underdog Wolverines to best their
Lake Michigan nemesis for a third
straight year.
"We expect to run our best race of
the year," Warhurst said. "It's a good
build-up for the Big Ten --if we can
win this race it'll be nice to ride that
wave into next week.
"We have got to believe we will
win, otherwise we'll get waxed.

All jokes aside, Ouellet
says bring on Big Tens
OUELLET friends since their freshman year,
Continued from Page 17A when they roomed together in West
Quad.
"She said, 'You're actually inter- "Lisa corrupted me," Froud said.
ested in that stuff?"' Ouellet said. Froud described the suffering of
"'OK' I said to myself. 'That's it. her residence-hall neighbors, who
You've lost me."' endured prank calls, being taped into
The climate of Ann Arbor and its their room, and having food scraps
relative proximity to home (com- thrown through their window.
pared with other prospective schools "We are each others' best friends,"
like Rice and Arkansas) was another Ouellet said of her teammates.
important factor in coming here. "Nothing compares to the relation-
Ouellet professes her hate of warm ship with them."
weather when detailing her ideal rac- Ouellet has undergone a change in
ing conditions. her approach to running over the past
"Today is the perfect day," Ouellet few months. Even since June, she has
said on a sunny, crisp fall day. "If found herself running with more con-
there was a race today I'd be like, fidence.
yeah!' I like courses on trails, in the "I want (to win first place at the
woods. Big Ten championship race) now,"
"I like getting dirty in the mud. Ouellet said. (Coach) Mike
That's cross country. If you're going (McGuire) said that we should get
to race on a flat golf course you second at Big Tens. I hate second.
might as well run five-K on a track." This team can do anything."
Ouellet recalls with laughter how On a personal level, Ouellet is no
gray her sneakers were after a day of longer intimidated by some of the
running on gravel tracks. other top runners in the country.
But laughter aside, Ouellet blames "I can compete with these girls,"
the running conditions in her native Ouellet said. "I need to get my head
Ontario for a stress fracture she suf- into it, let myself hurt. I don't want to
fered prior to her first season at compare myself to anybody. You've
Michigan. Injury is a natural part of got to have your own standards,."
the sport, and her recovery became a The Canadian prankster and the
team effort. rest of the cross country team host
Ouellet's housemate and close the Wolverine Invitational this
friend Julie Froud, who is currently Sunday.
recovering from tendinitis, agrees. It is a chance to take an important
"The team is pretty awesome," step forward toward the three big
Froud said. "They send cards, phone meets - the regional champi-
calls. It's all about the team." onships, the Big Ten Championship,
Froud and Ouellet have been and the NCAA championships - at

0

S
Nicole Kacor anda
the Michigan vol.
leyball team were
swept by
Michigan State
last night. The
loss drops the
Wolverines to 2-5
In the Big Ten.
JEREMY MENC~iK/Oaiiv
BtD-ri g Ten l panfll
bonsistent for'M

Speak your mind!.
E-mail: l B C Ofl @T mBc dBcn

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[ _.-


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By Dena Krischer
Daily Sports Writer
Although the season's philosophy
has been consistency, there has only
been one thing that's remained the
same for Michigan's volleyball team
the wrath of the Big Ten.
The Big Fen took over again, giv-
ing Michigan (2-5 Big Ten, 10-6
overall) another three-game loss
against in-state rival Michigan State
(2-5 Big Ten, 12-7 overall).
It's like a rollercoaster - one
night the Wolverines are up and win-
ning, and the next, they're on a long,
gut-wrenching fall to the bottom -
and everybody has taken notice.
"With the caliber of the athletes in
the Big Ten, you can't afford to have
an off night," said Joe LaChapelle,
the father of redshirt freshman Jenny
LaChapelle. "There's no reason why
Michigan couldn't beat Michigan
State if they were on tonight.
"Everybody needs to work togeth-
er. It's not just one person, and with
volleyball being a team game, there
has to be a number of things that
happen for things to go right."
Michigan has had only two "on"
nights so far this Big Ten season. If
they don't start turning it on more
often, it's going to be a long road to
the finish.
"We're at that point in the season
where if we don't do it, then we
could lose the rest of the season,"
sophomore outside hitter Nicole
Kacor said as she choked back tears.
"I think this would be a turning point
for us."
For the Wolverines, how they play
has constantly depended on the night
they're having - the type of night
that each individual player is having.
And once one player plays inconsis-
tently, it shows throughout the game.

Career Planning Placement
l Ao j-

"We need to focus more on what's
going on on our side of the court and
worrying about every individual 4p
our team and working as a team,"
Kacor said. "We're too worried that,
ok, this is a Big Ten team, they're a*
rival, they're good ... and about
everything else besides just taking
care of ourselves."
That inconsistency is why
Michigan has been swept by Penn
State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, ard
now Michigan State.
"A lot of it's mental," Michigan
assitant coach Leisa Rosen said. "We
make a couple of errors, and then we
make a ton of errors. They thirik.
about what happened the last play
rather than thinking about what's
going to happen in the next one."
As it stands right now, the Big T n
is divided into two groups - thosein
the top five, and those who are
scrambling for a place in the top ten.
Michigan is one of those who are
scrambling.
"On any given night, whoever exe-
cutes the best, whoever comes out
and plays the best, and whoever is
most consistent is probably going to
come out on top," said Michigan
coach Mark Rosen, "There's a group
of teams that are very similar, and we
need to continue to try and become
the best team in that group. At times
we'll make a bunch of mistakes, at
times we'll look really good."
It hasn't been an even give-and
take for the Wolverines. They wi;
one, they lose three. They're on t
brink of a winning streak, and t
get stuck with yet another big, fat "
on their record.
"Our inconsistency shows up 4%
times, and we get in trouble," Mar
Rosen said. "When we get like that
then we're going to struggle."
I

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