I 6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 30, 2000 Big Ten finds itself in transition By Michael Kern Daily Sports Wiiter CHICAGO - Unlike last year, when experienced lineups at Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue dominated the Big Ten, this year will be a season of transition. None of last season's All-Big Ten first-team play- ers return to their respective schools. Only one play- er who finished in the top'five in scoring - senior guard Joe Crispin of Penn State --- will play in 2000-0 1 Every team, from last year s co-Big Ten champi- ons Michigan State and Ohio State to last-place fin- isher Northwestern, has hew faces and personnel to adjust to. Iowa coach Steve Alford has eight new players on his roster -- including junior transfer Luke Recker, who played his first two years at Indiana. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has three new coaches this season -- Bill Self at Illinois, Mike Davis at Indiana and 131i1 Carmodv at Northwestern. "New coaches mean new surprises," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "I don'i know a lot about their coaching styles, so Fll be watching a lot of tape in the preseason.'' One of the few things that has remained consis- tent from last season is Michigan State's place atop the conference. At Big Ten media day in Chicago, the coaches named Michigan State as their favorite to win the Big Ten this year and voted Illinois sec- ond. The two teams reversed roles in the media poll, with the Fighting Illini taking top honors. "Until somebody beats Michigan State, they should be the favorite every year," Self said. While most coaches often try to downplay presea- son rankings, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wel- comed the accolades. "I'm not going to complain about someone think- ing we're pretty good," Izzo said. "Are we worthy of some of the rankings I've seen? I don't think so, but instead of worrying about it like I have in past years, I'm going to embrace it and see it as a challenge for us - to be as good as you guys think we are." Wisconsin was voted third in both preseason polls. The Badgers return eight players from last year's Final Four team, including seniors Mike Kelley and Mark Vershaw. "You never look forward to going to Wisconsin," Ellerbe said. "They are the darkhorse of this league." Last season's co-Big Ten freshman of the year, LaVell Blanchard, garnered preseason all-confer- ence honors for the Wolverines, making both the coaches and media all-conference teams. The sophomore was joined on the coaches team Let it ride At Big Ten media day in Chicago, the writers and coaches released their preseason predictions for the top three finishers in the conference, as well as their picks for the all-conference team. Media poll Coaches poll 1. Illinois 1. Michigan State 2. Michigan State 2. Illinois 3. Wisconsin 3. Wisconsin All-Conference team (media) Cory Bradford, G, Illinois Charlie Bell, G, Michigan State Joe Crispin, G, Penn State*. LaVell Blanchard, F, Michigan Ken Johnson, C, Ohio State *lndiana forward Kirk Haston replaced Crispin on the coaches' all-conference team. by senior center Ken Johnson from Ohio State, senior guard Charlie Bell of Michigan State, junior guard Cory Bradford from Illinois and junior for- ward Kirk Haston from Indiana. Crispin replaced Haston as the only difference on the media team. "Naturally, there is going to be a lot more atten- tion paid to" Blanchard, Ellerbe said. "If you are an opponent, you are going to feel like he has the abil- ity to take over a game in certain situations and real- ly hurt you. "Hopefully, he'll understand that he is going to have to do a lot more to get the same statistics he had last year." By Sam Duwe DaIly Sports Writer Kacy Beitel is an integral part of the Michigan women's soccer team. She sets up plays, makes assists and is constantly on the ball - she does everything, except score. Until yesterday. The Michigan senior captain scored three goals and added two assists, pro- pelling the Wolverines to a 7-1 victory against Butler. "As a captain, we expect her to score goals," Michigan coach Debbie Belkin- Rademacher said. "And today, she did her job. We'll be able to use her in Big Tens." But if Beitel was good, the team was great. Michigan (6-3-1 Big Ten, 10-7-1 overall) scored six of their goals in the second half, destroying any hope of a Butler victory. Sophomore Abby Crumpton added two goals and an assist, and Amber Wilson had one of each as well. "We played all right the first half, but in the second half there was an explo- sion," Rademacher said. "And there were 'M' blasts Butler, 7-1 . nice-looking goals - a couple headers and good corner kicks. "And some of the goals were scod because Abbv beat everyone to the ball." This win didn't do anything for the Wolverines' ranking, but it meant everv- thing for morale going into the Big ten Tournament, which starts Thursday. "We needed a high-scoring game, on where we could work on our offense, Rademacher said. "We need power going into the tournament." Butler is no Notre Dame. The Idsh pummeled Michigan just five days ago in a 5-1 romp. The No. I team took advan- tage of a poor-playing Michigan teani, a team that needed to regroup. Yesterday's victory does not inflate egos, but rather reassures the Wolverines that they can win, and win big. Big wins are nothing new Michigan, though. Last year,w h Wolverines beat Butler 6-0. And also in 1999, Michigan took first place at-the Big Ten Tournament. "We've had a lot of success in the past three years," Rademacher said. "I don't believe that this year will be any different." Women split duals against league foes By Steve Jackson Dally Sports Writer Put your thumb and forefinger togeth- er. That distance between nails - that's how close the Michigan women's swim- ming team came to sweeping its first Big len double-dual meet Fridav at Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines dropped a close decision to Wisconsin 150-144 but handled Iowa 202-96. "We had a lot of close races, and usu- ally those even out. But we lost them all.' Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "Give Wisconsin credit -- they deserved to win. They came out verv aggr-essively and they really finished strong. They stepped up big when they nrieded to," Richardson said. "But we have a young team, and I feel good about where we are riht now." In five separate races, a Michigan swimmer finished behind a Badger by less than half a second. The Wolverines even led seteral of those races heading into the final 25 yards, but they couldn't match their opponents. sprints at the end. Richardson has put the early-season - emphasis on endurance rather than .R speed. Michigan has been training hard throuchout the week, including a work- out the morning of the meet. "There might have been some fatigue involved in those finishes," Richardson said. "But we're building an identity around our tough training. It's easy to just swim Monday to Wednesday and look good on Friday." Despite the training regimen, two freshmen looked good for Michigan - freestvler Samantha Arsenault and diver Tealin Keleman. Each turned in two indi- vidual first-place performances. Arsenault, a gold medalist in Sydney, won the 200- and 500-yard freestvles. She posted NCAA consideration times (1:49.64 and 4:53.63) in both events. "What Sam is doing for us is great," Richardson said. "She has only been with us for three weeks, whereas the other girls have been training for seven. I was especially pleased with her race in the 500. She is really swimming strong." Keleman also made her Michigan debut with a bang. She placed first in both diving events, posting NCAA zone diving qualifying scores in each. "She is going to be something special," Richardson gushed. Another impressive show ing came from the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Arsenault, Jennifer Crisman, Missy Helpflprep Since every meet in the Michigan swimming season serves to "get the team ready for NCAAs," The Michigan Daily sports staff would like to help in that objective. This season's NCAA's will be held in Long Island, N.Y. Here are some ways the Wolverines can get ready: Flood Canham Natatorium with hospital waste. Shout random obscenities as encouragement during practices. Lose all ability to swim straight and safely. Convince each other that they are indeed the center of the universe. Sugar and Laura Kaznecki. The four- some finished in a time of 1:33.68, edg- ing Wisconsin, which touched the wall in 1:33.96. Richardson was duly impressed. "That was not a first-semester time," he said. "They were two or three seconds faster then we were anytime during last fall. I'm really pleased." lowa's first-year coach, Garland O'Keeffe, didn't have as much to be happy about - the Hawkeyes were beat- en convincingly by both Michigan and Wisconsin. But Richardson forecasts a bright future for Iowa. "Garland is a great coach." Richardson said. "She has worked at camps here before, and I know she will do a good job of rebuilding that program" YPSILANTI - Eastern Michigan's campus was not at all messy. There was neither garbage on the grass nor cigarette butts littering the sidewalks. Likewise, the Michael H. Jones Natatorium appeared reasonably tidy. Still, the Michigan men's swimming and diving team decided to sweep up anyway on Friday. For their first competitive test, the Wolverines drew together the state's three other Division I swimming teams for a quadrangular meet in Ypsilanti. Oakland. Eastern Michigan and Michigan State strove to show up the twelfth-ranked Wolverines, but were blown out of the water. Michigan domi- nated from the start by taking first place in the first eight events, winning I11 of 13 overall. The Wolverines tallied 781 points - over 200 more than second- place Eastern Michigan (538 points). By Kristen Fidh Daily Sports %Vriter " It was nothing outstanding and noth- ing to write home about, for me anyway," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "The bar has been so high for this team, so nothing like this excites them. But I am very excited about some of our fresh- men." As predicted, freshman Dan Ketchum performed well, claiming first place in both the 200- and 500- yard freestyles. Taking the first half of the 40-lap, 500-yard race at a mod- erate pace, Ketchum sped up during the second half for a negative split. "Ketchum swam a beautiful race - probably the best swim of the day," Urbanchek said. "And not'only a very good swim, it was a very smart swim. He got an A+ on how to split the race." Not to be overlooked were the vet- erans. Senior Mike O'Connor swam a personal best, winning the 1000 freestyle in 9:19.80. Also nearing his personal best was breaststroker G.J. Men sweep up Ypsi quad meet. Zain. Meanwhile, senior captain Scott Werner claimed first in the 200 breast- stroke and the 200 individual medley, sophomore Garrett Mangieri dominated the 100 freestyle and sophomore Paul Ely triumphed in the 200 butterfly. In the 200 backstroke Ely, sophomore Ryan Earhart and junior Jason Mallory all posted solid times. 4 "Probably the best thing that hap- pened was that the whole team was durable, which means they kept com- ing back event after event," Urbanchek said. "Their endurance is really good, so we are accomplishing what we set forth to do. We are in real good shape, and nobody died." Urbanchek plans to improve' the relays before Michigan's next mee Although the foursome of Ketchup Werner, Jordan Watland and Tony Kurth took first in the in the 400 nied- lev relay, Urbanchek said he felt'that the starts require some tweaking. Volleyball falls short, twice on road w U McKinsey & Company MeYc.insey extends ane open in Vtalti~fl10 nverstyf Mhigan students to learn rmovre .about mzag ezt consulting opportuis for gayan lesbian professitonals By Kristen Fidh Daly Spolis Writer Junior outside hitter Nicole Kacor once said after a victory, "I hate to freak- ing lose." After this weekend's road losses against Indiana on Saturday and Penn State on Fridav, Kacor and the rest of the Michigan volleyball team returns to Ann Arbor frustrated. The Hoosiers, who are tied with Michigan for seventh in the Big Ten, took the match in four games (11-1I5, 17- 15, 15-7, 15-10), making the loss Michigan's fifth straight against confer- ence opponents. The Wolverines entered the court with high energy and strong attacking and bolted to a 5-0 lead in game one. This quickly fell as Indiana returned with a six-point scoring streak. The Ioosiers were able to tie the score at 10 apiece, but Michigan's fire returned, allowing Indiana to only score one more point en route to taking the game 15-11. .Iunior setter Shannon Melka scored the final kill for game point. Melka hit .308 for the match and tied her career- best with 16 digs. Despite her noteworthy performance, Michigan could not get past the Hoosiers' strong attacking. "We tried to come out strong, but, unfortunately, it just didn't happen," senior captain Sarah Behnke said. "We tried to hustle the defense, but we weren't ready wvhen the ball came around." Michigan lost the next three games, frequently dropping its serve and giving up long point streaks. In games two and three, the Hoosiers racked up six-point leads and the Wolverines fell short in the comeback. Michigan did manage a five- point run in game four, but could not attack for the win. Michigan coach Mark "Rosen tells us to focus on our side of the court, and we just failed to pull it off," Behnke said. Despite the loss, freshman Erin Moore was able to tally career highs with 10 kills and five blocks. Friday's match against the defending national champion Penn State was another failed Big Ten test. i.'" R. Wac-, 734.27-2837 One Mie West of Weber's Inn $5.00 Matinees til 8pm & all day Tuesday $4.75 Kids & Seniors al shows $5.75 with Student 30 I= M $5.75 Late Shows Fri & Sat 0 No passes or Tuesday discounts Unlimited Free Drink Refdils & .25c Corn Refis Although senior Shawna Olson received her first intercollegiate start hopes of aiding to the Wolverines defense, Michigan dropped the match in three games 15-6, 15-10 and 15-10. "Penn State played really well, but we just gave up too many point streaks," said senior Alija Pittenger, who leads the Big Ten in digs. Hitting a percentage of just .029 in game one, the Wolverines struggled with consistency, drawing I I errors compare to No. I I Penn State's five. Despite losing in the end, Michigan was able to out-kill the Nittany Lions in game two 18-17. Behnke performed an impressive nine kills, 12 digs and two aces, but team consistency was lacking. "Our team has the ability to match Penn State, and in many runs we did," Behnke said. "But, in the end, it seemed that we just gave up." Freshman Chantel Reedus, a strong outside hitter, posted a steady hitting percentage of. 167 in game three, putti pressure on Penn State. Still, Michigan's blocking trailed 14-8 as the Nittany Lions swept the disgruntled Wolverines for the second time this season. TITLE Continued from Page lB It was the shirts and hats that Wolverines received at the end of the game which read "2000 Big Ten Champions" And they didn't have t share the title with anybody. Four years ago, the senior class expe- rienced Michigan's first shared Big Ten title with Penn State. The Wolverines hadn't had a claim to the championship since. The seniors knew going into yester- day's game that a loss and a Penn win meant that the Wolverines w have to share the conference champi- onship with the Nittany Lions again. But all they had to do was win, and they could keep it to themselves for Michigan's first outright Big Ten cham- pionship. "To end on a Big Ten championship and to win it on your home field is spe- cial," Pankratz said. "The seniors are a special class. That class is really foundation of turning this progr around." Michigan was so intent on not sharing the Big Ten title that the mentality car- ried over to the game, as the Wolverines did not share the ball with Michigan State. Michigan State didn't have a cor- Location Bella Ciao Address 118 W. 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