Wednesday, September 8, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - 7E lowers go out f way to punish I1ves in practice Emily Achenbaum ily Sports Writer To simply say the Michigan rowing am finished its season fifth in the ition for the second consecutive ar at the NCAA rowing pionships in Sacramento, tW, would trivialize its experience. "Any team in the building process s to go through a year of ups and wns," sophomore Kate Johnson id. "This was ours." Still in its infancy, the rowing team :eived varsity status in 1996. The tm has handled the important tran- ion from club to varsity status with se under coach Mark Rothstein's i nce. Yet despite their relative rience, the Wolverines attend- nationals for the second year in a in May, joining schools with 1l-established programs, like inceton and Brown, and tough West ast schools which have warm father and endless access to water an advantage for practices. Despite proving once again that y are one of the top teams in the tion, the Wolverines' road to t als was by no means easy. The w g team has one of the longest tsons of any varsity sport, compet- for nearly eight months. Without raining facility of their own, the >verines spent much of their win- practicing on ergometers in the unheated visitor's locker room of Michigan Stadium or in the hallways of Yost Arena. But it's not just the odd locations that make rowing practices so hard. "I may not be sure of many things, but I promise that it is the most painful experience you can imagine," senior Vita Scaglione said. The requi- site mental toughness and grueling practices leave no question about it. Despite recent noteworthy recruiting classes and walk-ons, these rowers are a self-selected bunch. The team's motto? "'Relentless pursuit,"' junior Nora Obringer said. Team members radiate dedication to their sport and demonstrate a deep care for themselves and their team- mates. "Not something necessarily found on every team," Scaglione pointed out. Their teamwork is crucial - after all, "no one can row an eight-person boat by themselves," said Obringer, who describes rowing as "the ulti- mate team sport." She's right - everything one rower does affects the others in the boat. "It doesn't matter how strong or fast you are if your rhythm is off," Scaglione said. The team's persistence has earned it national attention. While perennial powerhouse Virginia earned the cen- LOUISBROWN/Daly Michigan's rowing team finished fifth in the nation this season, but if hard work is Its own reward, the Wolverines accomplished far more than that. tral region's slot at the NCAAs last year, the Wolverines were not alarmed - they knew their stellar record made them a top choice for an at-large bid. Sure enough, the Wolverines caught the NCAA's eye and sent their full team to Sacramento. The three days of championship races were a tough elimination process that culmi- nated in a seventh-place finish for the first varsity eight boat, third for the second varsity eight and fourth for the varsity four boat. The year before, Michigan fin- ished fifth in team competition behind repeating champion Washington and perennial power- house Virginia, with both the first varsity eight and second varsity eight finishing fifth in their respective races and the varsity four boat finish- ing seventh. With the honor of being the first women's varsity sport to win a national championship for Michigan still up for grabs, it looks like the rowers have their work cut out for them. "Keep your eyes on us," sopho- more Kate Johnson. "We'll be mak- ing waves." field hockey cst among'M' hampions Stephanie Offen ily Sports Writer University of Michigan faithful were watching Wtheir football team captured a Big Ten title en route first national championship in fifty years. People took tice as the underdog Wolverines skated to the CCHA urnament championship last year. Michigan fans even cheered on their Olympic swim- ers as they captured several medals in the 1996 sum- er Olympics. But another, often overlooked team has accomplished liar feats. Michigan's field hockey team was ranked one of the k teams in the nation for the entire 1998-99 season. M r a regular-season Big Ten championship in 1998, e team placed second last season and fell to field hock- powerhouse Penn State in the tournament finals. All three Michigan coaches are former Olympians. ssistant Tracey Fuchs is the most decorated individual United States field hockey. As former Olympians and as current representatives of e U.S. team for the 1999 Pan American Games, Fuchs d fellow assistant Peggy Storrar are only two of the embers of this nationally recognized team. Head coach Marcia Pankratz was also a member of the and 1996 Olympic teams, and will coach the U.S. r-20 national team this summer. "What's wonderful about us being on the national ams is that we can bring the newest tactics to ichigan," Pankratz said. "We can utilize them for train- g and techniques and have a team that is fresh and on e cutting edge." And with four top recruits coming in for the 1999 sea- n, this cutting edge team can fight once again for a Big n title. The most heralded recruit, Jessica Rose, is rated as one top three players in the nation. Rose committed as h-school junior and Pankratz said she is "an amaz- g commitment to the program." Stephanie Johnson, Krista Meckley and Molly Powers I display incredible athletic ability and are expected to VARSITY Intnued from Page SE pact," Hanlon said. "This does not can consideration of (women's 4sse and women's ice hockey) is 'We just found stronger cases for ocer and water polo," he said. fhe two new sports will have com-. nod start-up costs of $215,000. By er fifth year as varsity sports, they il cost the Athletic Department a sibined $1.25 million per year. Both teams' coaches think their a can be nationally competitive p after they become varsity. With soccer's status as the world's ost popular sport and with 4,000 )th playing organized soccer in the n Arbor area alone, the Athletic eoartment has faced criticisms for ars for not making men's soccer a .r ity sport. Title IX, the federal statute man- ting gender equity in athletics, was eri by many men's soccer fans to be e, ajor stumbling block. A letic Director Tom Goss said e' introduction of creative roster aagement policies has allowed the iwersty to buck the natonal trend 'make men's soccer varsity. "o ... give opportunities without opping sports is an opportunity we e'looking to continue." Both sports will cost a combined .L5 million per year in five years, *all scholarships are fully phased U N IT E D STUDENT SPECIALS A U TO :Oil Changes *Tune Ups AND -Winterizations F L E E T :Complete Auto Repair Foreign and Domestics R E PAIR Serviced 2390 Dexter Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ForsIN' 2390 Dexter Ann Arbor, MI 48103 AAA Contractors WE DO NOT IMPOUND (734) 761-4343 FILE PHOTO Despite three coaches with United States Olympic team experience and talent from around the country, the Michigan field hockey team often gets overlooked in Michigan's busy fall sports season. make a strong impact on the 1999 team Although the team lost star players in Amy Philbrook, Lindsay Babbitt, Loveita Wilkinson, and Erika Lorenson, the Wolverines return their second-leading scorer in Kelli Gannon and their starting goalkeeper Kati Oakes - who was one of the premier defensive players in the nation last season. Michigan also proved last year that it could play with- out leading scorer Philbrook when she was out with a fractured knee. Even without one of their star players, the Wolverines were still able to defeat the top teams in the conference and stay atop the Big Ten. From the nationally recognized coaches to the nation- ally recognized players who come to Michigan from all over the world, this field hockey team is developing into a Big Ten powerhouse. "We have the championship attitude," Pankratz said. "We recruit the best players and athletes from around the world. We practice as hard as football and go for cham- pionships just like the hockey team." MICHIGAN LIVE BUSIESJ You're a sports nut. This is your party mix. COMMUNITY HEALTH & FITNESS ENTERTAINMENT FORUMS/CHAT TRAVEL FUN AE HOME & GARDEN Swiss Watches since 1853 T Ve. CO m Try mlivegsports, For the most complete Wolverines coverage online, visit mlive.com. Check out daily Wolverines news, stats, scores and more. 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