The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 5, 2001- 3B'=

13onus points key in
a lers' historic win

J

DAVID

DEN HERDER

By Richard Haddad
Friday night, the Michigan wrestling
ceam executed a complete reversal. In
defeating No. 3 lowa by a score of 18-
16. the fifh-ranked Wolverines avenged
last month's 20-18 loss to the nation's
most prestigious program.
Michigan's victory was procured by
remarkable individual displays of'
willpower and effort.
Fridays margin of victory, the four-
point swing between regret and jubila-
tion, was secured by the bonus points
ichigcan earned and the bonus points it
used to surrender.
List time, Michigan's 18 points were
recorded by virtue of six Minor deci-
sions, but two pins and two major deci-
sions handed Iowa the win. Aware of that
fact, the Wolverines entered Friday's
rematch determined not to grant the
I lawkeyes the same advantage.
Behind the efTorts of 174-pounder
Oto Olson, 184-pounder Andy I Irovat
1 heavyvweight Matt Brink, three of
the first five matches resulted in major
decisions for the Maie and Blue.
"I knew it would come down to a
close match and that a major decision
would be huse," Olson, the senior cap-
tain, said. "That's why I took the guy
down late in the match - that's the pres-
sure I put on mysel f, to get those big
points"
In a match that ended 13-5, that late
takedown secured the eight-point margin
0essary for the major decision, adding
an extra point to Michigan's team score.
The three bonus points from the major
decisions made up for the two-point
margin that Michigan previously had
fallen victim to against Iowa.
Afler racing out to the I 8-point lead,
Michigan's challenge became protecting
its advantage against the iawekeyes'
murderer's row of five wrestlers ranked
the top five - the weights that pro-
duced all 20 points in January.
At 141 pounds, Michigan's Clark

Forward took that challenge upon him-
self.
"I didn't feel too proud of'myselfafier
National Duals, because we got beat by
two points, and I got pinned," Forward
said. "I can't even remember the last
time I got pinned - I think I was a little
kid. It just isn't me to get pinned.
That pin provided the three bonus
points separating Michigan from victory.
As Forward retook the mat with top-
ranked Doug Schwab, he stubbornly
refused to suffer the same fate.
While 2,050 screaming fans provided
the backdrop in Cliff Keen Arena,
Forward wrestled valiantly, coming
close to an early pin and taking an 8-7
lead in the final period before succumb-
ing 9-8 by virtue of a late takedown.
"I knew that we were going to have a
lead going in to our lower weights,
Where they're tough. And I knew that I'd
have to suck it up and help us keep that
lead." Forward said. "So I went out there,
and I pushed him, and hell, I gave him
all he wanted.
"Tonight, I wrestled a hell of a match,
but I never go out there to keep the
match close. I go but there to win.
I".verybody's telling me Good job, you
wrestled a hell of a match. but that's not
what I go out there for.
Despite the conflicting emotions,
another factor ensured Forward's lasting
satisfaction. As a recruit two years ago.
Forward's services were actively pursued
by both the Wolverines and Ilawkeyes,
and the allure of Iowa prestige was hard
to turn down.
"I remember when I got my first
phone call from Iowa, I was so pumped,"
Forward said. "But (Michigan's) coach
McFarland's spiel was The Gable era is
over with, and I'm taking over now.
We're going to beat Iowa, and you're
part of the plan.'
"And I told him tonight in the locker-
room after the match, You were right,
we did beat Iowa."'
And Forward played his part in the
plan.

Life, Michigan football-
and the difference

Michigan heavyweight Matt Brink grinds Iowa's Randy Fulsaas into the mat en route
to a 13-3 major decision. That gave the Wolverines their final points in the 18-16 win.

HAWKEYES
Continued from Page 1B
The Wolverines benefited from a
nearly perfect draw of the weiuht class-
es, beginning with 165 pounds right
after the five best weiuhts for the
I Iawkeyes.
Junior Charles Narteli won the open-
ing match, 6-2, over Natt Anderson,
causing an explosion from the 2,050
fans packed into tiny Cliff Keen Arena
capacity 1,800.
"Starting off on the right foot was
hue," Martelli said.
Cliff Keen Arena was nearly a fire
hazard for the showdown with the
I awkeyes. Hlundreds were grouped.
standing, in a roped-off area normally
reserved fOr the 'wrestlers to use for
warm-ups. '
The noise was deafenine, but
Michigan had no complaints.
"I laving everybody root for you
makes you block out your lungs burnine.
your legs burning and he like. 'These
fans came to watch wrestling, and I'm
going to show them some wrestlingc."
Forward said.
"It was fantastic. It's a great arena for
wrestling the atmosphere, the crowd's
right on top of the mat," McFarland said.
"There were times I couldn't hear myself
talk."
After intermission, Nichigan held
Iowa's superstar low weights to minor
decisions, with Foley Dowd losing 12-5

to No. I Eric Juergens at 133 and
Forward losing only 9-8 to No. I Doug
Schwab.
Forward actually led,. 8-5, in the third
period, and the crowd reached a volume
that nearly made the walls shake.
Thouch Schwab won the match, the
Wolverines had recained any momen-
tum the three victories could have given
Ioa .
Mike Kulctycki lost a heart breaker to
Mike Zadick at 149 pounds when
Zadick escaped with 8 seconds remain-
ing in the sudden victory overtime peri-
od.
"Nobody knows this, but Mike
(Kulczycki) was sick tonight. I was
really worried about sending him out
there," McFarland said. "lie got out
there and wrestled his heart out fir
seven minutes, and that's a tribute to
how tough he is.-
Pat {liwen needed only to avoid hein
pinned in his match with No. I TI
Williams of Iowa. Though Owen only
lost in a minor decision, he was still dis-
appointed.
"It was bittersweet. I didn't know
whether to be excited after the whistle
blew or to be disappointed.' Owen said.
"but it was exciting for the team to get
the win.
With enthusiastic crowds like the one
on Friday night. Michigan believes it is
only a matter of time before it strikes the
same fear into its opponents as the tradi-
tional wrestling powerhouses.

have a friend who says her life is
like a movie. That's always been
an ambigcuous statement that for
some reason makes perfect sense. It's
easy to feel the same way that
somehow, your life is a screenplay.
acted out before your eyes. What I'd
always had trouble with was the fol-
low-np question:
Why is life like a movie?
Now, that can be the source of'
many hours of ceiling-staring late at
night or a swig from a beer
bottle and a simple "whatever"
But this past week, as the Registrar
harassed me to declare a major and
two more friends were accepted to
post-graduate programs, I
realiied all this time that After z
I'd been struggling with
the wrong fllow-up ques- almos
tion. predi
Because it doesnt so
much matter why life anoth
feels like a movie. ano h
The real question
should be, "What kind of
movie is life like?"
The reason I'd never thought to ask
such a thing before had a lot to do
with the Michigan football team -
or perhaps more accurately, the 1997
football season.
Showing up on this campus as a
freshman, it is easy f'or football to
become a big part of your life.
For me, there was really, no choice.
For whatever reason, I'd decided to
try my luck with the Michigan
Marching Band - a commitment
that brought me to Ann Arbor two
weeks before classes even convened.
And from that point on, life revolved
around Michigan football. Every
play, every story, every step the play-
ers took down the Michican Stadium
tunnel the only people following
the season more closely than I was
had offices in Schembechler I Iall.
We watched every Saturday as the
Wolverines conquered, and returned
to practice every Monday with more
vim in our steps, more vigor in our
voices.
After a while, it almost seemed
predictable another game, another
victory. There would be hardships,
but the heroes alwvays overcame
them. Charles Woodson, the leading
man, conquered conventional wisdom
to win the 1 leisman Trophy. The
drum major, a native of Pasadena,

Calif., performed his final game of
the year in front of a home crowd.
And in the end, of course, the good
cuvs won it all. And everyone lived
happily ever after.
The season, for that autumn, was
my life. And life was like a film a
story I could only sit back and watch
unfold one that I'll play back in
my mind a thousand times.
It never occurred to me to wonder
exactly what kind of movie life was
like back in the fall of I 997. One
semester at Michigan had shown me
a film where the heroes always fin-
ished first. A film without real uncer-
tainty or heartbreak the kind

.
"= z
-
.,.;

a while, it
t seemed
ctable -
er game,
er victory.
and sorrow

where everything works
out in the encl.
That makes fbr a wood
f'ootball season, but not
a good screenplay.
It was everything that
defined life in the next
three years the unpre-
dictability, the tribula-
tions, the satisfaction
that really makes col

Star of the Week
Andy Hrovat
184 pounds
According to Coach Joe McFarland Andy Hrovat turned in
his best meet of the season against the Hawkeyes.
Hrovat's posted a major decision against ninth-ranked
Jessmin Smith of Iowa (10-1). He fofflowed that perfor-
mance with a 13-10 decision over Wisconsin's Ralph
DeNisco.

lege worth the price of admission.
If' it's true that life is like a movie.
then college life has taught me it is a
good one. Not because every story
has a happy ending, but because most
things don't turn out the way you
thought they would.
And I've found that while you can,
do nothing to make Iife more pre-
dictable, the lead role is still yours to
craft.
A fer your tassel has moved from
right to left and you throw your cap
in the air when you can do no
more with your film than play it back
in your mind over and over - only
then are you truly helpless to affect
the storyline.
And if that day is as close for you
as it is for me, take these next three
months to remember everything.
Remember every voice, every name,
every day you see the sun peak
through the Ann Arbor overcast.
You won't be able to predict every
plot twist, the good guys won't
always win, and in the end. the hero
probably won't even get the girl.
It's lilfe - but remember every
detail. Because it makes for one hell
of a good movie.
David Den IHer'der can he
reauchedc at cdden (&umich. edit


Cox returns and netters burn
By Brian Druchniak
For the Daily

With a record of 3-0, Michigan men's tennis team did-
n't really seem to need any extra boost. Yesterday against
Louisiana-Lafayette, the Wolverines got one anyway.
Michigan's Ben Cox was absent from the two matches
prior to yesterday's due to what coach Mark Mees
referred to as a "team situation."
Against the Cajuns, Cox came back with a vengeance.
He appeared to show a little bit of rust at the beginning
of his doubles match with partner Anthony Jackson. That
took all of about three minutes to wear off.
The Wolverines' No. 2 player deoxidized pretty quick-
ly, looking strong through the remainder of the match and
teaming with Jackson to defeat Louisiana's duo of Bruno
Puzzi and Bobby Hawkins, 8-6.
"Today he played with energy and concentration, and
when he does that, he brings a lot to the No. 2 spot," Mees
said.
That energy and concentration only increased as Cox
went into his singles match against the Cajuns' Jakub
Ilowski.
Cox came out swinging, and pounded Ilowski into
submission early.
"I just jumped on top of him early and kept on top,'
said Cox.
He concentrates on getting an early edge on his oppo-
nents, hoping to break their confidence and positioning
himself for a relatively painless win. Ilowski was not able
to recover from Cox's opening salvo, dropping the match
in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
"Some guys, you can see, once you get them down one
set they pretty much throw it in," Cox explained.
The Wolverines dominated the majority of the match-
es, with the No. 2 through No. 5 singles matches all being

-ajuns at home
clinched in straight sets. There wasn't much tension sur-
rounding the outcome, as the deep Michigan squad out-
perfonned the young Cajuns' team that includes five
freshmen.
Although the Wolverines beat Louisiana-Lafayette by
the same 5-2 margin last year, that match was much more
of a battle. Cox expressed some suprise at yesterday's
comfortable victory.
"Every match went right down to the end last year,"
Cox said.
Maybe the Cajuns - who seemed a little bit bewil-
dered by the cold white stuff that carpeted the ground
yesterday outside the Varsity Tennis Center - had some
trouble adjusting to their surroundings in Ann Arbor.
The only losses for Michigan came from No, 6 player
Chris Shaya and top player Henry Beam.
The doubles team of Shaya and Beam also dropped its
match to the Cajuns top tandem of Jason Pieters and
Jakub Ilowski, 8-6.
Although Beam's blistering serve was on target in his
singles match, he seemed to lose his edge after winning
the first set against Pieters, 6-4.
Beam was up 5-3 in the second set, but Pieters refused
to throw in the towel. The second and third sets ended in
hotly contested tiebreakers as Pieters fought his way to
the victory, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(15-13).
Not that Beam wilted either - his bloodied and blis-
tered hand had to be taped in the middle of the match, but
he didn't allow that to effect the velocity of his serves.
Like Cox, the Wolverines have come charging out of
the gates this season, improving their record to 4-0 with
yesterday's win.
If they can emulate the killer instinct Cox showed
against his Louisiana opponents and continue at their
present clip, a successful Big Ten season could be on the
horizon for Michigan.

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,UMY I LLUKAP/U lly
Henry Bear of Michigan serves in his three-set loss
to Jason Pieters of Louisiana-Lafayette yesterday.

Te is falls back to
ft h; stars struggle

By Set K e pner
Daily o ns xfe
The Michigan women's tennis team
suffered a rude awakening yesterday,
causing it to fail back down to Earth. But
entualy it had to happen. After shut-
,_g-out their previous two opponents 7-
0., the Wolverines lost two of their three
doubles rnatches, causing them to sur-
render their first point of the year.
But not all is lost. Michigan was able
to come back and defeat DePaul 4-3
behind the stelar play of the four, five

I hurried to finish up the match."
Fuzesi played very strong and forced
her opponent to make several errors,
hitting every shot with a purpose. It
was obvious when she found out the
team score. Not wanting to have to play
two more sets or another tie-breaker,
she stepped onto the court on a mis-
sion. She went about breaking Hilpus'
serve in surgeon-like fashion, winning
a long volley at the net on the first
point then forcing two unforced errors
before winning the match on a second
service.

TOMMY FELDKAMP/Daily
DePaul's Kadi Hilpus delivers a forehand in her loss to Michigan's Sandra Fuzesi.
This matchup of European players made the difference in the Wolverines 4-3 win.

coach Bitsy Ritt said.

Michigan got key contributions from

Adults between the ages of 22 and 39 (non-undergraduates, pleased