lbe 9£idtigatn &dIg POIRTSL Section E Wednesday September 8, 1999 www .michigandaily com NEW STUDENT oDmON MOM 441'is kotbed M'n oUMe ofstron , urn Sacaemics People give many reasons for choosing the University of Michigan as their college. The top-ranked Business School, the diversity of the student body, and the beauty of the campus are the reasons cited by most incoming students. But those students are lying. Badly. The business school is good and all, but for those of us who could care less about business - or don't quite have the necessary grades to be a B-school kid - there is *ther reason to come to Michigan. Sports. Yes, I know your parents wouldn't be pleased if they knew that the Michigan Athletic Department was the main reason for attending this school. But your parents aren't here anymore. They are sitting at home, dreading the tuition bills that will soon come. You're in Ann Arbor, so this is your chance to come clean. Honestly, what would you rather do here at Michigan? Would you rather sit in a Math 115 class listening to some recently graduated student explain theorems at th? r would you rather be among 110,000 psychotic fans screaming for some Ohio State blood at Michigan Stadium in late November? It's OK. You don't have to pretend to be a bookworm geek. You can admit that the first thing that drew you to Michigan were T.J. the winged helmets and the Fab Five, not bluebook exams or the Law Berka Quad. I have already come clean. # eck, I didn't know that Michigan eMn had a business school until the second month of my freshman year. The Fab Five, winged helmets, and Yost ee Arena put Michigan in front of potential schools such as Northwestern. and Penn. I only applied to Northwestern _ _ _ because they went to the Rose Bowl when I was a senior in high school. So basically, Michigan's greatest appeal is its football, b sketball, and hockey teams. But behind those teams is a a p of programs which may not be as publicized but are equally as successful. True, the "big three" sports hold up their end of the bar- gain. The football team, fresh off a national championship in 1997, provided a respectable encore, going 10-3 with a 45-31 victory over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl. As with every year in Michigan Stadium, the expecta- tions are high. The Wolverines have two skilled quarter- backs in Tom Brady and Drew Henson, a bull at running bak in Anthony Thomas, and a defense ranked among the n ion's best. .ese factors, including a home schedule that features itter rivals Notre Dame and Ohio State - along with an xciting Purdue team - make football a big recruiting draw. The basketball team also is a big selling point for Michigan this year. Don't laugh. I know the Wolverines lost to traditional asketball powers Ball State and Florida International last eason. I also know that Ed Martin seems intent on killing he program with his birthday cakes and gambling debts. There are five reasons to stick with basketball, though. Vell Blanchard, Kevin Gaines, Jamal Crawford, Leland erson and Gavin Groninger represent one of the coun- ry's best recruiting classes and evoke distant memories of he Fab Five. This team won't go to the Final Four this year. But they ill be young, energetic, and a team to watch grow hroughout your "academic" careers. And then there is Yost. Possibly the craziest college arena in the nation, Yost ills to the brim with some of the loudest, most loyal peo- le you will ever deal with in your life. here has been a lot for them to cheer about: Two fnal championships in four seasons tend to have that ffect. And Red Berenson's crew should inspire even more ooniness this season. Goaltender Josh Blackburn had a stellar freshman sea- on, almost singlehandedly taking the Wolverines to the CAA Tournament "Frozen Four." Blackburn, along with coring stars Mike Comrie and Josh Langfeld, should keep Gost rocking. The so-called "minor" sports should be the spark neces- ary to convert those stubborn fools still singing the prais- s of the B-school from the dark side. * ichigan men's gymnastics is considered a minor sport, don 't tell them -- or the rest of the nation- that. The men's gymnastics team pulled the ultimate rags-to- iches story, going from the verge of extincton to the top f the world in three years. And with everybody but Randy 'Amura returning, the team should be a national power or years to come. The women's gymnastics team is solid, too. Last year, hey came three-tenths of a point from joining the men as ational champions. Michigan also has nationally renowned programs in 's and women's swimming, softball, baseball, estling, rowing, etc. The reason you came to this school was not because of cademics, but because of sports. Which is more enjoy- ble, watching a Michigan sports event or writing a 10- >age paper? If I have to answer that question for ya, you need more hefn than I can nrovide. Michigan squeezes 10-win season out of Citrus Bowl By Jim Rose Daily Sports Writer ORLANDO, Fla. - Rob Renes called it "a microcosm of the entire season," and a close look at Michigan's Jan. I Citrus Bowl game against Arkansas would seem to back him up. The Wolverines got themselves into trouble with turnovers and penalties, but eventually came back with a strong fourth quarter and won, 45-31, before 63,584 fans. The victory was the 10th in II games for Michigan, which finished 10-3 after starting the season 0-2. To many players, it meant the difference between a great season and a forget- table one. "There was a huge difference between 9-4 and 10-3." Rob Renes said. "Anytime you have 10 wins, that makes for a great team." Sophomore running hack Anthony, Thomas was voted the game's most valuable player on the strength of his 132 yards rushing and three touch- downs, and senior Tai Streets, in his final college game, caught seven passes for 129 yards. But in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, Michigan was pro- pelled by the heroics of Diallo Johnson and James Whitley. Johnson pulled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 2:25 left in the game to give the Wolverines a 38-31 lead. And on Arkansas' ensuing pos- session, Whitley sealed the deal when he returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown. Michigan nearly self-destructed, thanks to a host of penalties, two interceptions by Brady, a fumble by Thomas, a 36-yard pass interference call against Whitley and a missed field goal. A 24-10 halftime lead had evaporated less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, and Arkansas went up 31-24 after quarterback Clint Stoerner's second touchdown pass of the afternoon. But the Razorbacks did not score again, and Michigan controlled the play for the rest of the game. "This was the way we wanted to finish," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said after the game. "We had started this season in a way that no one expected. And this was a great way to end it." Michigan struck first in the game's first quarter, with a 44-yard Jay Feely field goal. On Michigan's next drive, Drew Henson took over at quarterback. A bit of excitement fol- lowed - Henson threw behind the line of scrimmage to Johnson, who See SWEET, Page 2E MARGARET MYERS/Dady The Wolverines have begun a new habit of ten-win seasons - which they like better than their old, four-loss seasons. TH TI e just three years, Golder M I wi>nsfirst title By Dan Dingerson Daily Sports Writer LINCOLN. Neb. --As the Michigan men's gymnastics team basked in the glory of its first national championship since 1970, one man stood out as the proudest of all. Kurt Golder is the one person most responsible for the revi- talization of the men's gymnastics program at Michigan. Although Michigan's head coach would be the first to credit his gymnasts for winning the national championship, he would be mistaken if he did not acknowledge what he has done for the team in his three years in Ann Arbor. Golder inherited a team that had fallen on misfortune after winning 18 NCAA titles - both individual and team - between 1963 and 1970. In that time, Wolverines were named All-American 26 times. Since 1970, only nine Michigan gym- nasts have gained All-American status. When he took over the team, it had just finished a season that saw Michigan go winless, finishing last in the Big Ten, General consensus amongst the holdovers was that the team might have been the worst in the country that year. Golder, who had competed for Michigan in the 1970's; was coaching at Iowa at the time. He had been an assistant there, after coaching internationally. "It was hard to see Michigan go through that, because I had gone there;' Golder said. "The program had lost all respect around the gymnastics community." Legendary Michigan coach Newt Loken asked his former gymnast to come back to Ann Arbor to help rejuvenate the sag- ging program. The program had fallen on hard times in the arena, and the athletic department, too. Michigan was considering dropping the program because of Title IX restrictions and economic losses. The program actually lost its scholarships for a short period of time. Once Golder joined the program, things started to change. His first major move was convincing the Mexican national champi- on - Lalo Haro --to attend Michigan. His first recruiting class contained six present members of the team. In his first year at the helm of the program, the Wolverines were the most improved team in the country, raising their score 14 points during 1997. "When he came in in 1997, he brought to the table what he learned from lowa, and set out to get a national championship," Randy D'Amura said -the only gymnast remaining from the pre-Golder era.After making great strides in 1997, Golder was able to entice more people to join his crusade. Assistant coach Mike Burns joined the program in 1998 after competing at Penn State, coaching at Iowa as well as See GOLDER, Page 9E DANA LINNANE/Daily Justin Toman couldn't be happier that Kurt Golder revived the Michigan men's gymnastics program - the Wolverines won a national championship last year. Water polo, men's soccer get varsity nod By Jason Stoffer Daily Staff Reporter Years of club team dreams were realized March 27 when the University's Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics voted unanimously to grant men's soccer and women's water polo varsity status for the 2000- 2001 academic year. Planning Committee Chair Phil Hanlon, who oversaw the new sport selection process, said revenue from rising football season ticket prices for the upcoming season helped make the additions possible. "One consequence of the increase in football nrices is that the denartment gained the flexi- where many campuses are cutting sports because of rising scholarship costs." The men's soccer and women's water polo coaches could sum up their reactions in one word - ecstatic. Soccer club coach Scott Burns, who has been with the team for 12 years as a player and a coach, said men's club soccer has been trying to attain varsity status since 1989. "For the past four years we've been prepar- ing ourselves in the event this should happen," Burns said. "We tried this time to address all the perceived stumbling blocks of the past: facilities, financing and gender equity. "Anything that'll give this much nleasure to said he is elated and is convinced that a Michigan women's water polo team will spur statewide interest in the sport. "We had been hearing rumors for a couple of months but I wasn't sure until I heard it today," Russell said. Hanlon said the planning committee also considered adding women's lacrosse and women's ice hockey, but decided upon soccer and water polo after evaluating four business plans prepared by a group of University grad- uate students. "We considered a number of factors includ- ing revenues and costs, the existence of an NCAA chamnionshin. growth of the soort in I DANA LINNANE/Daily r