6B - The Michigan Daily -_ SportsMonday - November 20, 2000
Men's swimming touched- ut
The
final
4
By Mike Bloom
Daih Spors Writer
&anham Natatorium hosted 1I members of the
U.S. Olympic swim team this weekend. No,
Michigan wasn't hosting the qualifiers for the 2004
summer games in Athens. Canham was the site of the
ninth-ranked Wolverines' meet against No. I Texas.
Both coaches Michigan's Jon Urbanchek and
Texas' Eddie Reese - served as assistants to the U.S.
swimming team in Sydney. A combined seven male
swimmers from the two teams made the journey
down under. flying home with enough metal in their
bags to send the detectors into a frenzv.
The Wolverines' lone medalist, senior co-captain
Chris Thompson. took home the bronze in the 1500-
yard freestyle. The five other medals hung around the
,recks of the Longhorns. adding to their aura of
intimidation.
Anchored by Thompson's wins ;n the 500- and"
1000-vard freestyles, the Wolverines hung tough but
fell 15 points short in a 127.50-112.5 final.
With nagging injuries to ke" Michigan swimmers.
,r remarkable upset was unikely from the start
Junior Jeff Hopwood watched from the bleachers
while r esting a groin injury. Two-time NCAA cham-
pion Tim Siciliano made his return to the water still
nursing a sore shoulder. Testing out the muscles
above his "M"-tattooed tricep, he was pleased with
the resulst.
"The 200 (individual medley) was slow. definitely,
but it felt strong the whole way through," Siciliano
said.
Urbanchek used this weekend as a benchmark to
see how much improvement is needed before the con-
ference championships. Hosting the nation's best
squad, there was no better time to break out the urea-
surin stick.
"In swimming, everything is geared for the final
meet, which is the conference championships and the
NCAAs," Urbanchek said.
"Bringing in the No. I team in the country forces
You to perform to the best of your ability, and I think
we accomplished that."
The Olvmpic-esque atmosphere excited swim-
mers, coaches and viewers alike. Results aside, those
in attendance could appreciate the remarkable
amount of talent in the water.
"I think this was an awesome meet. It's a one!-in-a
lifetime chance when you see I11 Olympians in one
afternoon, in one setting," Urbanchek said.
In spite of the magnitude of the meet, the competi-
tors' minds weren't entirely on swimming. Hurrying
to his car for a football update, Urbanchek said, "Too
bad we scheduled it against the Ohio State football
game."
kick
11'
NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
TODAY, AMES, IOWA
4
BRANDON SEDLOFF!Daily
Michigan seemed doomed from the start as injuries hampered
its chances against Texas. The Longhorns won by 15 points.
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The women's swimming team split the weekend meets with Michigan State and Texas.
M tankers knockoff
Spartans, fall to Texas
By Jeb Singer
D1)il Sp( \s\ Writer
LAST LANSING--Atthe Michigan
State Open this weekend, Michigan
coach Joe McFarland reflected on what
he has seen thus far this season.
"It's still early This gives us a chance
to see where evervone' conditioning and
technique is. It is also a chance to win"'
McFarland said.
Four Wolverines won individual open
titles: Mike Kuiezycki (149 pounds). Otto
Olson (1 74), Andv Hrovat (184) and
heavyweight Matt Brink. Three Michigan
wrestlers took second: Foley Dowd (133),
Clark Forward (141 ) and Joe Degain
(197). Each lost in the finals to a wrestler
anked in the top six nationally.
"We are head and shoulders above
other teams in tenns of conditioning,"
Olson said. "We worked out really hard
this summer and this is where it pays off"
McFarland said that the team needs to
continue to be readv to wrestle as soon as
the whistie blows "I can't stress inten-
sity enough"' he said.
In the 141 pound final, Forward may
have been a little slow getting started
against Michigan State's senior Mike
Castillo.
-It's kind of disappointing to lose in
the finals," Forward said. "I really don't
think I got enough shots off earlv"
In the 133 pound final, redshirt fresh-
man Foley Dowd lost 3-2 to Michigan
State's Pat McNamara, who finished
fifth at the NCAA tournament last year.
McNamara seems to be immune to
Wolverine wrestlers - lastyear he never
lost to 3rd place finisher Joe Warren.
Unlike some of the Warren-McNamara
battles, vesterdav's match was never real-
ly in doubt. McNamara led 3-0 late in the
third period and Dowd's takedown was
somewhat of a gift.
Overall, Dowd and Forward have
demonstrated that they can compete on
the college level. One teammate who they
have managed to impressed is Hrovat.
Forward and Dowd "don't doubt
themselves, and this is key to competing
in college," Hrovat said. "I didn't win this
tournament my freshman year and I was
still an All-American."
Dowd and Forward both lost to
Michigan State wrestlers and will have a
chance at revenge in a dual meet Dec. 8.
"I know what I need to do to beat him,"
Forward said. "It is hard to have to wait
two weeks. Next match I will get at him
ri ght off the bat."
Olson also looked at this weekend's
results as a preview of the upcoming
intrastate showdown. Michigan State fin-
ished with four champions as well.
"We really wrestled the style we need-
ed to" Olson said. "It is going to be real-
ly interesting to see where Michigan
State and we are in two weeks."
BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily
Mark Pilja is Michigan's lone male representative at the NCAA championships.
Season-long Comeback
leads Pilja to nationals
4
By Naweed Sikora
Daily Spois Writer
After winning the Continental
Airlines Classic at Rice Nov 10. the
I Ith-ranked Michii uan women's swim-
mine team returned home this weekend
to face Texas and Michigan State in a
dual meet. The Wohlerines (2-3) easily
defeated Michigan State, 210-91. but
lost to the 10th-ranked I.onghorns, 168-
132. Michigan and Texas also swan
Saturday in a non-scoring meet.
Although Saturdav:s meet was an
exhibition, several Wolverines turned in
excellent individual performances.
Junior Lindsav Carlberg and freshman
Annie Weilbacher finished first in the
t00-vard backstroke and 200 breast-
stroke. respectively.
The relav team of Weilbacher,
Jennifer Crisman, Laura Kaznecki and
Traci Valasco finished first in the 200
medlev relav.
.At Friday's dual meet. Mirchigan per-
1oimed well. racking up five separate
first-place finishes. Weilbacher took
first in the 100 breaststroke, while fresh-
man Emily Fenn had a first and second
p Lce finish in the 1,000 and 500
freestyle races respectively.
The Wol erines performed particular-
ly well in longer events, capturing the
top four spots in the 1.000 freestyle and
the top three spots in the 500 freestyle.
Despite the loss to Texas, assistant coach
Stefanie Kerska said she was happy with
the team's effort over the weekend.
"We had lots of positive things come
out of the meet this weekend," Kerska
said. "I saw grcat consistency from
Carlberg and Weilbacher. and our dis-
tance swimmers really stepped up. I feel
that we matched up pretty well with
Texas.-
The Wolverines were without fresh-
man freestyle -swimmer Samantha
Arsenault, who did not compete due to a
tender shoulder. Arsenault, who won a
gold medal for the United States in
Sydney this past summer, is currently
Michigan's top freestyle s\wimner.
Arsenault has collected five first place
finishes this season while recording
NCAA consideration times in both the
500 and 200 freestyle events.
"Samantha has been swimming and
training really well. "Kerska said, At
this point in the season, we did not want
to push her too hard."
Another impressive streak came to an
end for Michigan this weekend.
Freshman diver Tealin Keleman, who
had not lost a single diving event this
season. finished fourth in the one-meter
dive and fifth in the three-meter dive.
Ve kend sweep halts
late-season progress
By Shawn Kemp
Daily Sports Writer
The 2000 cross country season has
been a comeback period for Mark
Pilja.
After finishing 57th in the 1999
NCAA championships, Pilja set out to
build on his cross country mileage base
and have a strong track season for the
Wolverines.
But lie encountered some road-
blocks along the way.
A viral infection in January kept
Pilja from training, which, in return,
led to his decision to go on a diet. His
already lean frame turned into a weak,
5-foot-l0, 130-pound skeleton, caus-
ing him to end his track season early.
Fast forward to June. With a new
strategy to his training, Pilja took more
time to stretch, concentrated on run-
ning quality miles and regained his
confidence to take on the role as
Michigan's top runner.
Coach Ron Warhurst said he is satis-
fied with Pilja's comeback for the sea-
son.
"I'm tickled pink and pleased about
the way he's been running, Warhurst
said. "He's shown that when he's
healthy and done the right things, he
can have an impact."
Pilja's lead-by-example mentality
has led the Wolverines to runner-up
finishes at both the Sundodger and
Murray Keatinge Invitationals, with
Pilja finishing as the overall champion
in both meets.
"I kind of thrive on it," Pilja said
about being No. I for the Wolverines.
"In high school I was the top runner all
the time -- I feel like I'm back where I
belong"
Being back in the top position has
brought Pilja to a new level nationally
- he is a prime contender for All-
America honors at the NCAA champi-
onships, which begin today in Ames,
Iowa.
Pilja qualified for nationals Nov. II
at the NCAA Regionals, where he
placed fourth in the 10-kilometer race
in a talented pool of runners, crossing
the line only four seconds out of first4
place.
Michigan finished seventh in the
race, so Pilja will be the lone Wolverine
in Ames.
Warhurst and Pilja discussed the
runner's strategy for the national meet,
figuring an average race should put
him among the top 25 finishers unless
he "gets knocked down and trampled."
"This is a no-pressure situation,"
Warhurst said.
Warhurst's encouragement has influ-
enced Pilja's mindset for races such as
nationals.
"He's been able to calm me down,"
Pilja said. "He's taught me how to pre-
pare for big races. I know now that if
you can control your emotions, you're
going to do well."
Throughout his comeback season,
Pilja's actions have inspired the rest of
Michigan's team, Warhurst said. "They
look at hirr and they know who he is.
They think, If he can do it, maybewe
can, too."
His admirers will be rooting him on
to accomplish his personal goals on his
176th consecutive day of running.
"When the season started, finishing
in the top 15 was my goal," Pilja said.
"It's still my goal now at the end.
Hopefully (today) will be the high
point."
1
p
By Adam Kaplan
t)a ports t \ ito
The Michigan volleyball team was on
a roll after beating No. 25 Michigan State
and No. 13 Ohio State last week. This
past weekend, the Wolverines brought
this spirit of confidence into their road
matches against No. 8 Minnesota and
Iowa.
But Michigan fell short this weekend,
losing 3-l to lowa (1 5-8, 15-1 2-15, 15-
12), and 3-0 to Minnesota (14-1, 10-15,
13-I15). Don't let this fool you- the
WVolvcrines played competitively.
On Saturday night, Michigan faced a
deceptivle team in lova. The Wolverines
were frustrated by Iowa's unorthodox
style of play.
"It was hard for us to get into any
rhythm because Iowa had no rhythm to
its game?" Michigaii coach Mark Rosen
said.. "We ended up playing their styles---
anytime you are forced to play another
team's style, you pa the price."
Michigan players said they were
unprepared for the Hawkeyes.
"We weren't accustomed to playing
this style before," senior outside hitter
Sarah Behnke said. "We never played
with this style in practice."
Part of Michigan's problem was that its
attack was not balanced. Behnke led the
team with 25.kills and 15 defensive digs.
But, senior outside hitter Alija Pittenger
was the only other player to post double
digits in kills, with 1.
Things went a little better on Friday
night against the Golden Gophers.
Michigan was able to play a style more to
its liking against Minnesota. Despite los-
ing 3-0, Rosen was pleased with his
team's performance.
In the first game, the Wolverines were
up 13-12, but Michigan could not put the
Golden Gophers away. Minnesota rallied
to win that nail-biter, 16-14.
Behnke and junior Katrina Lehman
led the team with 10 kills apiece.
Pittenger finished with 16 digs, a match
high.
On the downside, freshman outside
hitter Chantel Reedus, who has emerged
as an offensive force this year, was
injured. Rosen said, she might have a
stress fracture in her foot.
01
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Top 10 finish is aim
for women's cross
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By Rhonda Gilmer
Daily Sports Writer
Today marks the last meet of the
season for the Michigan women's
cross country team. At I1 a.m. the
6-kilometer race kicks off at the
NCAA championships in Ames,
Iowa. The Wolverines will go up
against 31 teams on the Iowa State
University cross country course in
hopes of finishing in the top 10.
"Our goal all year has been top
10," senior Lisa Ouellet said.
Favorites for the national title
include Stanford, Wisconsin,
Colorado and Brigham Young.
"When you get to the national
meet, anything can happen - there
are girls all around you at all times,
Also running are sophomores
Katie Easton and Jane Martineau
and freshman Lindsey Gallo. Gallo
will be competing in her first
NCAA championship meet.
"Hopefully, the weather will be a
little nasty, even cold so that teams
from the south will have trouble,"
Ouellet said.
Bad weather conditions should be
an advantage for the Wolverines
against teams from warmer climates
such as Arizona, Arizona State and :
South Florida.
"We're tough, we're a very tough
team and Iowa is a tough course -
it's pretty challenging:" Ouellet said.
Michigan has seen some of its
competition earlier this season. No.
3 Wisconsin has been a nemesis for
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