Wednesday, September 8, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - 5E Uuevara wants wins By Stephanie Offen as AlayneI Daily Sports Writer Heather Oc Speaking to 3,000 fans who came out to watch lineup all s Michigan's football team lose to Notre Dame on the Ingramn newly installed scoreboards at Crisler Arena, Sue points a gar Guevara made her first attempt at filling that same arena 3-point fiel for the women's basketball season. Kipping a * She promised an entire Nike wardrobe to a student Goodlow as playing "Let's Go Blue" on a cowbell - so long as he a scorer an came to every home women's basketball game and played Oesterles that same cowbell to inspire her team. most of the That was the theme of the season - getting fans in the The up-a stands. team into th Michigan tried to draw a following by rattling off nine face Wester straight wins after its season-opening loss to Vanderbilt. "We wer This school-record winning streak almost pushed the NCAAs," G Wolverines into the top 25. ence for us, But the move up in the rankings did not bring in the The Wolv umbers Guevara was looking for. Instead, it started a enthusiastic llercoaster ride for the Wolverines. After two Big Ten ment game. losses, 1998 NCAA runner-up Louisiana Tech came to A win ov Ann Arbor for Michigan's first nationally televised game chance to re on CBS. gave them Before the game, Guevara predicted that no matter the themselves. outcome, it would be a win for the program. The "It givesI Wolverines' 84-66 loss couldn't overshadow the national Junior Allis attention Michigan received. chance for p They had two more televised games over the season. A Michigan road matchup with eventual national champion Purdue this already t the Wolverines see their first full house of the season. fans a great ven though the crowd support was not their own, the shooting bre Wolverines used it to come close to capturing the victo- and the game ry, and lost by just six points. Screaming "I think we like coming down here and playing in front with onlys of 12,000 people," Guevara said afterward. "It makes the Cummings' team pretty competitive. It was a good awakening for the and ended th freshmen, almost like a baptism." Next year The freshmen were most affected by their newfound uated just o publicity. became exp They walked into their first press conference and sat top scorersi behind their first nameplate with wide eyes. will lead the But they adjusted to it quickly. And Guev Michigan's four newcomers received a lot of attention She has alwa throughout the season. Before their wake-up call at lower bowlo Purdue, they had to adjust to college basketball quickly And not ju - and fans Ingram, Ruth Kipping, Raina Goodlow and sterle were pulled in and out of the starting eason. made the greatest impact, averaging 10.4 me, third on the team. She also led the team in d goals, and started in 22 of 28 of the games. and Goodlow also made an immediate impact. a strong presence in the post, and Kipping as d defensive presence. started the season strong, but had to sit out for year with a stress fracture in her foot. and-down season sent this respect-seeking e Women's National Invitation Tournament to n Michigan in the first round. e all disappointed with not making the ruevara said. "The WNIT was a good experi- but we do have the hunger for the NCAAs." erines were driven to victory by the large and crowd the Broncos drew for the first tourna- ver Western Michigan gave the Wolverines a turn back to Crisler for the second round, and an opportunity to draw crowd support for us a chance to play in front of our fans," son Miller said afterward. "It is another people to see us play." State came to Crisler for an extra game in -hot rivalry. The two teams gave Michigan show. It was a hard-fought game, but strong ought the Spartans back in the second half e was even down the stretch. g fans stood as Michigan State had the ball seconds to go, down by a point. Becky shot won the game 69-68 for the Spartans - he Wolverines' season. , they say, it will be different. Michigan grad- one senior and its talented four freshmen erienced sophomores. The team returns its in Stacey Thomas and Anne Thorius, who team as co-captains. vara will make her plea for fan support again. ays said it would be wonderful just to fill the of Crisler. ust for Crislervision. LOUISBROWN/Daily from sophomore Raina Goodlow and others, they might start If the Michigan women's basketball team gets exciting playi drawing the kind of crowds Sue Guevara wants to see. Richardson: rocess, not product By Michael Kern Daily Sports Writer After 12 straight Big Ten titles from 1987-1998, five Big Ten coach of the year honors, and two NCAA coach of the year honors, Michigan coach &r Richardson looks like he has the same type of ard-nose, win-at-all-costs attitude that you find in many successful coaches - or so it seems on paper. For a team to achieve such limitless success in such a short time, it must have been worked to the bone all season by a demanding coach who cracks the whip anytime anyone steps out of line. So ask Richardson his philosophy on coaching - you might be surprised to hear his response. Rather than focus on nothing but winning champi- ships, Richardson concerns himself with the ocess of a season and developing student ath- letes. "That's not to say that I don't pay attention to the product," Richardson said. "I just happen to believe that the product that you get is going to be a lot more fulfilling if your process has integrity. "The fact that we have been able to string togeth- er a number of championships, that's the byproduct because our focus is on a process that has integrity and that will yield those kind of results if you enjoy what you are doing and you are willing to work #ard at it." While this past season's team was the first in 13 years to not bring home a Big Ten Championship, the smiles on the swimmers' faces made it hard to tell. Michigan headed into the meet knowing it had little chance to win with a lineup heavily depleted by injury against a deep Minnesota team swim- n'ging at home. But the Wolverines swam hard and placed second in the meet. Perhaps the finest example of Richardson's vim-hard-and-have-fun attitude that stressed process over product was senior Kathy O'Neill. Despite a number of close calls, O'Neill had never won a Big Ten title or swam at the NCAA Championships. But with a gutsy performance in the 400 individual medley, the senior defeated the defending champion, Minnesota's Katy Christoferson, by just .07 seconds in a come-from- behind victory. O'Neill finally achieved the goal that had eluded her for so long. But for the Wolverines, it was not the product, but the process of getting to that point hat was the real story. Another such story came from senior Jen Eberwein, who hadachieved a great deal of suc- cess in her Michigan career, including 14 Big Ten Third-place finish a rarity for 'M' men's swimming KRISTIN GOBLE/Da y Missy Sugar is just one of the many swimmers to have experienced the Michigan women's swimming program in the 15 years that Jim Richarson has been in charge of it. By Jon Zemke Daily Sports Writer Michigan's men's swimming and diving team has almost always been a powerhouse. A place where the best swimmers of not only the Big Ten, but the world, have chosen to take laps. Watching a Big Ten swim meet is like watching a who's who of the next summer Olympics. "The fall and winter looks to be a long 12-15 months," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "Not only preparing for the Big Ten and NCAA's, but for the Olympic trials as well." Since 1986, the Wolverines have finished as Big Ten champions 11 times, including 10 in a row from '86 to '96. Although last year's third-place finish was the worst in 15 years, the placing was deceiving. Minnesota, the other Big Ten pow- erhouse, finished ahead of Michigan in second, while upstart Penn State took the Big Ten championship. The top three teams were only 13.5 points apart, a rareoccurrence. But the level of competition in the Big Ten was almost as high as that of the NCAA Championships. At NCAAs, Michigan finished eighth. With the graduation of All- Americans Tom Malchow and Andy Potts, along with All-Big Ten diver Brett Wilmot, Michigan has a few holes to fill. Especially the hole left by Malchow, who has been Michigan's best swimmer during the past few seasons. But Michigan looks to reload instead of rebuild. The Wolverines boast All- American and All-Big Ten swimmer of the year Chris "Bird" Thompson. The junior dominated the distance events at Big Tens setting new pool records. Thompson can dominate the dis- tance events yet again in the '99-'00 season. Last year's freshman class, the strongest in the Big Ten, can play a bigger role on the team this winter" Sophomores Jeff Hopwood and Tim, Siciliano shared the Big Ten fresh- man of the year award. "Those two rose above the fresh- man class last year," Urbanchek said. Hopwood, Michigan's top swim- mer in the breaststroke, earned All- Big Ten honors in the 200 breast, He'll have to compete with junior Scott Werner, who finished a close second behind Hopwood by .78 see- onds behind. In the 400 individual medley relay, Tim Siciliano can follow in the foot- steps of former Michigan captain.. Potts, who was one spot away from making the '96 Olympics in the 400 IM, and Tom Dolan and Eric Namesnik Sicliano could be just as- good if not better. Siciliano shows similarities, to Dolan and Namesnik, who finished 1-2 in the 400 IM at Atlanta in '96. Urbanchek said Siciliano "is right where Dolan was his freshman year"- Taking over for Brett Wilmot in, the one- and three-meter diving, is Josh Trexler, who placed second at Big Tens in the three-meter. But all of the swimming in college. is really just a preparation for the Olympics. Dolan could reclaim gold in the 2000 Sydney games in the 400 IM Siciliano might also claim one of the spots for the U.S. team because .his. time at NCAAs last year was second. only to Dolan's time. Potts is also still mulling over another attempt at cracking the Olympic team's lineup. Malchow can also improve on his silver-medal showing in Atlanta. when he tries out for the team agaip. He is ranked third in the world in the 200 butterfly. Barring a repeat of the sickness. that plagued him last year, he has a good shot at making the team. titles and 14 All-America honors. Before the Big Ten Championships, Eberwein had struggled, sitting out most of the season with Epstein-Barr syndrome. Throughout most of the season, it was questionable whether she would even be ableto return in timewto compete at Big Tens. But the All-American did not simply compete in the championships - she won the 100-yard freestyle, an event the Wolverines swept 1-2-3, and also swam as part of three Big Ten-title winning relay teams. Once again, it was process over product. This season, the Wolverines return four All- American swimmers and six who were namedto the All-Big Ten team. Leading thattcast will be senior Shannon Shakespeare. Shakespeare enters the season with 20 All-America and honorable mention All- America honors and 14 Big Ten titles, making her by far the most decorated swimmer on the team. Crisman, junior Missy Sugar, and freshman Lindsay Carlberg are all returning All-Americans that, combined with a strong supporting cast of upperclassmen and a solid incoming class, could turn in an outstanding team performance. "There are seventeen new swimmers coming in," Crisman said. "That's more than there are return- i ng." Part of Richardson's success lies in his ability to reload the team with outstanding athletes, year in and year out. But Richardson's dedication to his swimmers and pull-no-punches style draws top swimmers from around the country to Ann Arbor. "He was the main reason I came here," Crisman said. "He knows what is best for us, and he trusts Naturally, Richardson said Michigan won't focus on its past success but rather the upcoming season. "I don't ever like a team to be held hostage by the past," Richardson said, "because that can limit you." As the season draws near, the Wolverines will continue to train and prepare, focusing on Richardson's philosophy of process over product. "The will to win is important," Richardson said, "but the will to prepare to win is more important." No summer off for women's cross country y Ryan C. Moloney aily Sports Writer It would be easy for the Michigan women's cross country team to sit back and relax during the summer months. The Wolverines were ranked in the top three in the nation throughout Michelle Slater, graduated in the spring. Most discouragingly, the Wolverines failed to defeat arch-rival Wisconsin last year, finishing second to the Badgers at the Big Ten and Regional meets. But the Wolverines follow a tried .. . ". s ,.l _....yhr ~ lu nt .:. it "took a hit" when they lost Radkewich at the beginning of last season. The sophomore transfer from Providence last year was a premier high-school runner but has struggled to remain injury-free throughout her college career. When she has been healthy enough to compete, ndAi-rhh bc chowvn flahes of her who could not close the time gap between their positions and McGregor's. But as everyone in the Big Ten knows, the Wolverines no longer enjoy the luxury of a front-runner. Runners expected to pick up the slack this season include Marcy Akard, Julie Froud and Lisa Ouellet. U ". I i.