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. :. . .......... AmnArlpo.rMentAcoFIT it 3 aJ Y. ' , s ee% .: j '' .v + % 3 f r" Hello, I just signed up to win $25,000 with Snaz.com. Visit this web sit and you can too: http://www.snaz.com/snazafriend/snazafriend.jsp Or go to www.snaz.com and click on the Snaz-A-Friend link. Snaz provides a free universal shopping basket that allows you to shop your favorite online retailers and put everything you see into your basket. And Snaz has great merchants Chun-Ma Taekwondo o Kickboxing Acadamy