SportsMonday - December 13, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - 3B
'Wrestlers work some magic of their own
By Ryan C. Moloney
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING -You knew it was
going to be war before it even started.
A raucous crowd and an intrastate
rivalry on a Friday night juiced up the
Jenison Fieldhouse - a creaky old arena
hat once housed the Spartan basketball
team - to an atmosphere of excitement
comparable to the Magic days.
Unfortunately for Spartan fans, that
old Michigan State glory wouldn't be
reclaimed on this night, as the Michigan
wrestling team jumped out to a 12-0 lead
en route to a 19-15 dual-meet victory.
And while usual suspects Otto Olson
and Joe Warren did their collective jobs,
two lesser-knowns, Jason Rawls and
Andy Hrovat powered the Wolverines.
awls triggered the Michigan blitz with
an opening match decision over
Michigan State's Greg DeGrand, 5-2.
The victory put Michigan up 3-0, but
in the oh-so important area of psyche, it
might already have been the killer for
Michigan State.
DeGrand, the Spartans' captain and
seventh-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds,
stated that he "expected to beat Rawls,"
4ays prior to the match.
"We were real happy about Jason,"
Spartans coach Joe DeGain said. "After
all that smack DeGrand was talking, I
'Mgh oe
Warren'
*lominates
at State
By Jon Schwartz
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan State 133-pound wrestler,
Jason Nusbaum probably wishes that
*e'd contracted some sort of disease last
week. He probably wishes that he was
stuck in bed and couldn't move for days.
He probably wishes that he'd called in
sick.
It would have saved him from having
to face Joe Warren on Friday night in
East Lansing.
The difference between the two foes
was quickly apparent. Warren, the No. 4
wrestler in the 133-pound weight class,
iced onto the mat during the introduc-
tions, pumping his fists in the air and
getting the formidable amount of
Michigan fans present in Michigan
State's Jenison Field House excited.
Nusbaum tripped running up the
stairs.
From that point on,- the fifth-year
senior from Sturgis was beaten in every
way possible. Nusbaum wore a pained
expression throughout the meet.
"I just took over and did what I need-
dto do,' Warren said.
The match was never close. Warren
scored the first takedown after only 44
seconds and proceeded to take over. At
the end, the score of 20-7 said it all.
"(Warren) completely dominated,"
Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "I
want my guys to go out there with the
attitude that they're going to try to dom-
inate the other guys."
One has to sympathize with
Ausbaum, though, who proved that
David does not always beat Goliath.
After all, under normal circumstances,
he wouldn't have even had to worry
about Warren.
He wouldn't have been wrestling him
at all.
Michigan State's starting 133-
pounder, Pat McNamara, is still recover-
ing from shoulder surgery which will
keep him out of action for a few more
*eeks. One of Michigan State's top
wrestlers, the redshirt junior from
Jordan, Minn. beat Warren in all five ofE
their meetings last year.
Warren was clearly disappointed
about not getting a chance for redemp-
tion on Friday night.
"I was hoping in my heart that they
were going to put (McNamara) out there
but they didn't," he said. "That's some-
was happy to see him come out on top."
Rawls wrestled evenly with DeGrand
until the mid-point of the second round.
when a fatigued DeGrand started to fish
around in Rawls' holds. Rawls dominat-
ed for the remainder of the match.
"I told Jason before the match, 'I
know you're going to go first,"' Hrovath
said. "DeGrand was cutting a lot of
weight and, with the new hour-limit, I
knew he wasn't going to be ready.
"Jason did what he should have done."
Hrovat didn't go to quite as much
trouble - he didn't need that much time.
The sophomore needed just 1:16 of the
first round to slam Michigan State's Joe
Cotant to the mat before finishing him
off with a pin.
The pin gave Michigan their largest
lead of the night, 12-0, and put the
Spartans in a hole from which they
would not escape.
"That's what we call, 'breaking
them,"' Olson said. "You want to get up
on them early and show them that we are
in better shape - that's what happened
tonight.
"They know that we've been paying
the price in practice and they've been
taking it easy -- that's how they per-
formed."
After the intermission, the Spartans
clawed back to a 12-9 deficit after Chris
T. J.
BERKA
i
Teeing Off
A
The Michigan
wrestling team
jumped out to a
12-0 lead over
Michigan State
before finally
defeating the
Spartans 1915
this weekend in
East Lansing.
JESSICA JOHNSON/Oaly
On the 12th day o
Ghristmas, the athletic
Williams' 6-5 decision over A.J. Grant at
125.
But it wouldn't stay that interesting.
After. a dominant victory by Joe
Warren, Damian Logan won a strategic
match over Michigan State's Mike
Castillo, 5-2 at 141.
Up 19-9, nothing outside of a rare pin
and a major decision could beat
Michigan.
As proud parents and awe-inspired
high school wrestlers filed out of
Jenison, Michigan coach Joe McFarland
was already looking towards the future
- but not without reverence for what his
team had just accomplished.
"These guys need to go home to their
families over break for a few days,"
McFarland said. "Our next tournament,
the Midlands, will be tough and give us
something to train for.
"But what a way to end the semester
- come up here and beat a real solid,
tough Michigan State team."
Swimmers head west to
begin winter training
JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
Joe Warren was dominant in is victory
this weekend, scoring his first
takedown after just 44 seconds.
body who I want to get. He's gotten me."
Instead, Nusbaum went out and
fought the inspired, albeit hopeless
fight.
"Nusbaum has been with the program
a long time, but he's just not at Joe
Warren's level," Michigan State coach
Tom Minkel said. "I'm real proud of
him."
While the score didn't show it,
Nusbaum worked hard throughout the
match. He made Warren work for his
points, and prevented the obvious
favorite from scoring any higher than a
major decision when most were expect-
ing a pin or a technical fall.
He impressed his opponents, but most
importantly, his coach, who actually
described Nusbaum's performance as a
bright spot in what he considered to be
an otherwise miserable night for the
Spartans.
"Often times on a team, the kid who
really shows courage is that kid who has
to go out there and face almost certain
defeat," Minkel said. "I have a lot of
respect for what he did and his contribu-
tion to the team."
The Spartans will get another shot at
Joe Warren on Jan. 23 in Ann Arbor.
But not Nusbaum.
By that time, McNamara should be
back, and Warren, ever the Muhammad
Ali of the wrestling team, can't wait for
the chance at revenge.
"I'm going to get him at the end of the
year," Warren said. "I'm going to get on
him and crush him."
Frustrated and
disappointed
with the University?
Need help making
sense of your
U of M experience?
Check out
http://universitysecrets.com
By Emily Mitchell
For the Daily
Exactly two weeks from today, the
men's swimming and diving team will
begin its winter training camp. The
swimmers will be off to Colorado
Springs, Colo., as the divers remain in
Ann Arbor.
Both teams usually travel as one,
but winter training camp is different.
"Winter break is a very valuable
time for training during the year.
They can train twice a day and rest in
between without having to worry
about classes," said Dick Kimball, the
men's and women's head diving
coach. "We don't travel with the
swimmers because there are as good
of facilities to train in on the road and
if we stay in Ann Arbor, we don't have
to share the pool with anyone. It's the
best for us."
Winter training camp ends on Jan.
4. Just three days later, the
Wolverines will hop on a plane to
Arizona where can look forward to
two big meets. January 7, Michigan
will be in Phoenix where they will
take on Arizona State at 1 p.m. the
Wolverines will pack up and head to
Tucson where they will face Arizona
just 24 hours later. The Wolverines are
just coming off a loss to Eastern
Michigan, Kalamazoo, Allegheny, and
Wayne in the Eastern Michigan
University Invitational that took place
in Ypsilanti Dec. 3-4. The men took
fifth place out of six, defeating Hope
by 431 points.
Currently, the Wolverines are
ranked ninth in the College
Swimming Coaches Association of
America poll. They hold this ranking
firmly with a record of 2-1 overall and
1-0 in the Big ten.
The men's swimming team is led by
four-time-U.S. Olympic Assistant
Coach Jon Urbanchek, whose creden-
tials include multiple U.S. World
Championship head coaching awards,
a pair of coach of the year awards, and
a Big Ten Conference coach of the
year award.
The divers are led by a university
legend. Men's and women's diving
coach Dick Kimball has provided
inspiration, teaching, and encourage-
ment for over four decades. Entering
his 41st season, he is confident and
pleased with this year's team.
"Wq have a good blend between our
new divers and old ones," said
Kimball. With a good chunk of the
season remaining, Kimball looks for-
ward to "increasing crowd support"
and a solid season.
director ga
es, t's 12 days< before Christmas
and I'm screwed . As the yule
log burns and the mistletoe
hangs, I realized that I haven't done
anything to celebrate the last
Christmas of the millennium.
In that list of undone tasks includes
buying Christmas presents and making
out a list of goodies for friends and
relatives to give me in a couple of
weeks.
I can't say I'm worried about my
lack of mall shopping this month. I
really don't execute my hour of }holi-
day shopping until the 22nd or 23rd
anyway, so my buying any Christmas
presents at the time of the year would
be a sign of ridiculous things to come.
But this Christmas I've come to a
realization. I realized that the greatest
Christmas presents won't be from my
relatives this year. While I appreciate
the boxer shorts, crew socks, or board
games that I receive every year -and
for good reason- my Christmas list
this year is a little harder for Mom and
Dad to fulfill.
While I do need a new car, I figure
that since my parents pay a million
bajillion dollars for me to write this
blather in this paper, they don't need to
get me a car.
But in exchange for another semes-
ter of bumming rides, I truly believe
that somebody owes me something.
But instead of asking my parents,
grandparents, great uncles, etc. I'll ask
for presents from someone who I've
exerted a lot of time and energy
towards.
The Michigan Athletic Department.
I do appreciate the free food that the
Athletic Department gives to me while
covering events. I've gained at least 30
pounds eating the Mr. Spot's that the
Athletic Department has forced down
my throat.
But besides the increase in social
life caused by my extra poundage, I
think the Athletic Department could do
more for me.
To help the process, I made up a list
of demands, er requests, for Michigan
to grant.
I) Convince the NCAA to allow the
trading of players between schools: I
know this is a radical move, but I defi-
nitely think its warranted.
How many times this season did
Todd Howard give Michigan fans anx-
iety attacks? Didn't you just feel help-
less because no matter how many
times Howard would stumble and give
up a 50-yard reception, there was no
way to get rid of him?
With all apologies to Howard, trad-
le to m...
ing him would have been the best for
the team this year. Because Howard
has mediocre trade value - which is a
shocker to this sportswriter - I would
add offensive lineman Kurt Anderson
to sweeten the deal.
While Anderson hasn't ever played
in a non-blowout for the Wolverines,
he has served time at linebacker and
defensive end in practice. So he adds
versatility to any school.
I think the best trade would have
been Howard and Anderson for Penn
State cornerback Bhawoh Jue. Not
only did Jue return an interception for
a touchdown against the Wolverines,
but he also has a cool name. That's
always a plus.
2) Force the alumni to sit in the gold
seats at Crisler: I never thought I'd say
this, but the crowd at Crisler Arena
was pretty rowdy against Duke. The
Duke players, used to the noise of the
nerds at Cameron, seemed to be affect-
ed by the screams of the Maize Rage.
Not affected enough to actually lose
the game, but hey, what can ya do?
While Crisler has lost the mortuary
feel it had last season, there still is a
lot to be done to make Crisler crazy,
The best way to accomplish this is to
force the alumni out of the seats
behind the basket.
While the Maize Rage can be bois-
terous and intimidating to the opposi-
tion, shooting free throws for opposing
players is about as intimidating as a
walk through the Gumdrop Mountains
in Candyland.
It's fine that alumni still find Crisler
a good place to take a nap. But I think
it would be more proactive for the bas-
ketball team for the loud fans to be
behind the basket on free throws.
3) Free T-shirts at all minor sports
events: College students love T-shirts.
It's a fact of life that can't be disputed.
With all the ways T-shirts can be
destroyed in college, the production of
T-shirts is a must.
Minor sports at Michigan are the
best places for this, as they don't get
the attendance that football, basketball,
or hockey command. But if they gave
away T-shirts, attendance would
increase tenfold. Not only would the
students get more clothing to spill beer
on, but the university would get more
exposure for the minor sports.
So here is my list. I have more, but
if Santa Goss grants these three wish-
es, it will be a jolly time for all.
- T.J Berka also wants cash, but he
would have toforfeit his remaining
semester of eligibility He can be
reached at berkat@unich.edu
READ THE DAILY.
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