The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 16, 2001- 7B
W erM' gobbles up
Wendy's foes
* Wrestlers perfect on weekend
Wrestling records
Wgt. Wrestler Record
125 A.J. Grant (4) 19-3
133 Foley Dowd 18-4
141 Clark Forward (18) 17-4
149 Mike Kulczycki (14) 23-3
157 Pat Owen 9-6
165 Charles Martelli (19) 21-6
174 Otto Olson (1) 16-0
184 Andy Hrovat (8) 18-1
197 Joe DeGain (19) 12-6
Hwt Matt Brink (8) 15-2
Star of the Weekend
Joe DeGain ,
197 Pounds
The co-captain
rallied from recent
struggles to post
two victories in
Akron.
Both of his wins
were b fall in less
than 90 seconds.
By Nathan Linsley
Daily Sports Writer
Perfection.
It is not often that a team can begin a
full day of competition and expect to
shutout three teams in a row, but that is
exactly what happened Sunday for the
Michigan wrestling team at the Wendy's
Classic Duals in Ashland, Ohio.
The Wolverines (7-0) did not surren-
der a match in their three duals on the
afternoon, defeating Binghamton, 45-0,
Marquette, 50-0 and Cleveland State
48-0.
All three of the victories saw the
Wolverines score bonus points with
nine technical falls and five pins total.
"It gives us a lot of confidence going
into next weekend," said sophomore
AJ Grant, noting the National Duals
which begin on Saturday in State
College.
The eighth-ranked Wolverines are
riding a wave of confidence with the
three victories improving their season
dual meet record to a perfect 7-0.
Senior co-captains Joe DeGain and
Otto Olson led the charge with DeGain
winning twice by fall and Olson record-
ing three technical falls.
Coach Joe McFarland had the oppor-
tunity to mix up the lineup a bit with
Katsuhiko Sueda (125), Mark Churella
(157) and Daniel Seder (149), all com-
peting in their first dual meets of the
season.
The lineup changes are important to
build experience and confidence for the
backup wrestlers as the Big Ten sched-
ule begins on Jan. 26 when the
Wolverines face Minnesota, the top-
ranked team in the nation.
In a grueling sport such as wrestling,
the threat of injury makes it necessary
for everyone on the team to be ready to
step in immediately.
"It's good that the other guys got a
chance to wrestle," Grant said. "They
got their confidence up, because they
really wrestled well this weekend."
133-pounder Foley Dowd and 141-
pound Clark Forward also won three
times for the Wolverines, who took six
matches by forfeit.
While the competition this weekend
was a step below the Big Ten, the team
was able to take advantage of the oppor-
tunity to refine its moves and sharpen
its competitive edge.
"You're still working hard because
you are working all of your moves,"
Grant said. "It gives you a chance to
work on your whole arsenal."
Michigan will need its whole arsenal
in the weeks to come with matchups
against Minnesota, Iowa and hated rival
Michigan State on the horizon.
CYCLONE TIES RECORD: Iowa State
Junior Cael Sanderson tied one of the
most revered records in sports this
weekend when he won his 100th-con-
secutive match. The streak ties the
record set by former Cyclones star and
the legendary Iowa coach, Dan Gable.
Sanderson is undefeated in his colle-
giate career, posting records of 39-0 as
a freshman and 40-0 as a sophomore.
He is bidding to become the first ever
undefeated, four-time NCAA champi-
on.
A win next weekend at the National
Duals would break the record, which
Gable set in 1970.
. ..
Finally
Men win tourney for first time in 31 years
WINDY HISTORY
Windy City Invite results.
Preseason rank in parentheses.
2001- First of seven teams
(1) Michigan 207.550
(8) Illinois 207.200
(2) Ohio St. 205.400
(6) Iowa 205.150
(12 Minnesota 202.250
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daly
Senior Jennifer Crisman swims the 200-yard backstroke during the Wolverine
Invitational.
Seniors honored
a Mts
as t0- s 1ni
i-
By Adam McQueen
DAIly Sports Writer
Elusive titles are always the most
coveted, and victory is sweetest
when it yields a new prize.
This was the case for the men's
gymnastics squad on Saturday, when
it claimed the Windy City
Invitational team championship -
its first in the event's 31-year history.
Michigan justified its preseason
No. I ranking by outmustering seven
other top-15 opponents for the win.
The Wolverines tallied a score of
207.550, good enough to edge No. 8
Illinois (207.200) and No. 2 Ohio
State (205.400), who finished sec-
ond and third, respectively.
Senior tri-captain Tim Dehr and
junior Scott Vetere keyed the
Michigan victory.
Dehr delivered a first-place finish
in the parallel bars (8.800) and took
second on the pommel horse
(9.200).
Vetere was equally impressive
sharing first-place honors on the still
rings (9.150), second on the parallel
bars (8.750) and fifth on the high bar
(8.800).
The meet was marked by an
impressive overall team effort. At
least two Michigan athletes finished
in the top five in four of the meet's
six events.
Strong showings in the pommel
horse, the last event of the night,
sealed the title for the Wolverines.
Dehr placed second in the event,
junior Daniel Diaz-Luong took
fourth and senior tri-captain Kevin
Roulston was fifth.
Roulston was the only Michigan
gymnast to compete in the all-
around. He finished with a com-
bined score of 49.650 - turning in a
second place performance in the
floor exercise (8.950) and placing
fifth on the horse (8.750).
Michigan coach Kurt Golder
could not have been happier to take
home the championship.
"We have chased the elusive
Windy City title for 31 years,"
Golder said. "It feels great to finally
win."
The Wolverines have steadily
improved over the past four years at
the invitational. A fourth-place fin-
ish in 1998 was followed by third in
1999 and second in 2000.
Last season Michigan entered the
meet as the preseason No. 1, but was
defeated by the No. 2 Buckeyes.
They came into the meet this year
in the same situation but were able to
avenge years of disappointment by
finally taking home the crown.
The Michigan squad showed no
sign of its preseason injuries in
Chicago. It turned in a top-rate per-
formance and avoided any further
injuries.
"It was our goal to come away
healthy and to have a nice, consistent
performance," Golder said. "We did
both of those things."
As a team, the Wolverines won
three of the meet's six events - the
floor exercise, pommel horse and
parallel bars.
The second-place finish to Illinois
in the still rings, an event Michigan
is traditionally very strong in, sur-
prised Golder.
"The rings are a strong event for
us," Golder said. "It was a shock to
be beat by Illinois. It was a real wake
up call."
No. 2 Ohio State received its
wake-up call this weekend, finishing
third.
The Buckeyes will try to rebound
when they visit Cliff Keen Arena this
Saturday in a head-to-head match-up
with the Wolverines.
"By beating Ohio State, ranked
No. 2, we really put a target on our
(10)Michigan St.
(14)lllinois-Chicago
2000 -Second of s
(2) Ohio St.
(1) Michigan
(6) Illinois
(7) Iowa
(15) Minnesota
(11) Michigan St.
(14) Illinois-Chicago
seven teams
225.750
224.900
223.450
221.175
219.325
218.800
217.075
1999 - Third of seven teams
(1) Iowa 226.675
(3) Ohio St. 225.000
(9) Michigan 224.050
(6) Illinois 223.400
(12) Michigan St. 223.200
(17) Illinois-Chicago 221.050
(12) Minnesota 216.330
1998 - Fourth of seven teams
Iowa 228.050
Illinois 223.800
Ohio St. 222,850
Michigan 220.800
Illinois-Chicago 217.900
Michigan St. 217.300
backs'" Golder said. "It should be
real exciting to have the two top
teams go at it next weekend."
201.350
196.250
By James Mercier
Daily Spoilns Writer
The Michigan women's swimming
.team couldn't have been faulted if it had
been unenthusiastic about the weekend's
Wolverine Invitational.
After spending the break competing in
Hawaii, a return to dreary Ann Arbor
weather couldn't have been enticing. In
addition, a meet against Illinois - a Big
Ten bottom-feeder - couldn't have pro-
vided much extra motivation. But on the
last home meet of the season and to the
careers for the squad's seven seniors,
those issues mattered little.
Inspired by a ceremony for the senior
class prior to the competition, the team
came through, defeating the Illini, 182-
156. This came on a weekend in which
two swimmers - freshman Samantha
Arsenault and senior Jen Arndt - were
out with shoulder injuries.
"This meet wasn't all that important in
the overall picture," Michigan coach Jim
Richardson said. "Nobody will remem-
ber the results of (the Invitational) two
months from now. But we saw.some per-
formances that showed that, despite the
travel, we're a better team than we were."
On Friday, the first night of the
Invitational, the Wolverines sprinted out
of the gate and never looked back -
placing first in four of six events and
sweeping both relays. Appropriately
en'ough, two seniors-Jennifer Crisman
and Missy Sugar -- led the way, taking
first and third in the 50-yard freestyle.
The duo continued to perform well on
Saturday. Crisman won the 100-yard but-
terfly, while Sugar captured first in both
the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events.
"It was nice to end on a good note,
Sugar said afterward. "I don't think it's
hit me that it's the last home meet. It was
strange to go out there and be honored (in
the pre-meet ceremony). During my first
three years, I got used to watching it hap-
pen to someone else."
The team was given a cake with the
words "We Love Our Seniors" following
the competition. The prevailing mood
among the team was jovial. The suspen-
sions, levied following team violations
on the lawaii trip, did not seem to pro-
vide a distraction.
Three teams - Michigan, Illinois and
Notre Dame - took part in the
Invitational, but the Wolverines and
Fighting Irish did not compete against
each other. Each team was scored head-
to-head only against Illinois.
The event gave a chance for
Richardson's team to get an up-close
look at Notre Dame, which will host the
Wolverines on Jan. 26.
Strength program powers 'M' to elite
LEADING LADIES
The updated Top 25 individual swimming times were recently released.
Michigan has top 10 finishes in:
By Rohit Bhave
Daily Sports Writer
While it may not be traditional,
Kurt Golder's strength-training
program has allowed the once-
downtrodden men's gymnastics
program to muscle its way into the
nation's elite.
Beginning at 7:45 a.m., the team
staggers into its gym at the
Intramural Sports Building, ready
to undergo an intense one-hour
strength session.
Each gymnast works out twice a
week in addition to his daily after-
noon practices and meet competi-
tions.
The benefits have been obvious
- the Wolverines have dominated
in strength-based events like the
still rings. But to some, the morn-
ing is not kind.
"I hate getting up to go to morn-
ing strength," senior Kevin
Roulston said. "It's still dark out-
side and the gym is freezing. But
it's a small price to pay to be a part
of the nation's premier strength
program."
Golder has developed his unique
techniques since his high-school
gymnastics days.
The strength program has
evolved from Golder's coaching
years at Iowa - it is now in its
ninth year.
"It's a combination of what I did
in high school and picking peo-
ples' brains," Golder said. "I use
my philosophies and a lot of
logic."
Because gymnastics requires a
precise combination of strength,
balance and flexibility, the
they train entirely on their gym
apparatus.
"There is nothing better for an
Iron Cross (a skill on the rings
event), than actually practicing an
Iron Cross," Golder said.
In addition to shunning the
weights, Michigan's program dif-
fers in other aspects from its com-
petitors.
For one, the coaching staff
demands that each gymnast per-
form a minimum number of repeti-
tions, no matter how many sets it
takes.
Secondly, spotting the gymnast
on an exercise is not allowed -
only full unassisted repetitions
from the gymnast are counted.
Many other schools allow the
assistance of their athletes on their
final repetition, reasoning that it
promotes more strength gain by
pushing their bodies more.
But Golder believes that
strength gain must go hand in hand
with the gymnast's confidence in
himself. He feels that if Scott
Vetere is accustomed to being
aided on his final handstand
pushup, he may not be able to
duplicate the skill in a meet when
he is severely fatigued.
Along with muscular growth,
"there is some psychological
development that has to happen,"
Golder said.
The last key distinction of the
Michigan program is that it sepa-
rates strength gain from endurance
and conditioning.
Athletes perform each set when
their muscles are rested and recov-
ered from the previous one.
As a result, sets are performed
Event
200 Freestyle
500 Freestyle
1,000 Freestyle
1,650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
200 Free Relay
800 Free Relay
Place
10th
2nd
5th
7th
8th
10th
8th
9th
5th
Time
1:48.19
4:42.91
9:52.33
16:34.51
1:59.33
1:59.71
2:14.51
1:33.34
7:23.93
Name
Samantha Arsenault
Samantha Arsenault
Samantha Arsenault
Jenay Karlson
Lindsay Carlburg
Erin Abbey
Traci Valasco
Team Michigan
Team Michigan
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Like many Michigan gymnasts, senior tri-captain Kevin Roulston has improved
his still rings routine since adopting Michigan's morning strength program.
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