The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 6, 2001 -- 11

.Cliff Keen gets
boost from fans
against Iowa
By Richawi Haddad
Daily Spor yWriter
The Mfichigan wrestlirg team prepared to host one of*
the greatest dynasties in the history of sports this Friday
night. For the first time since 1983. Big Ten rival Iowa
owner oif nine out of the last 10 NCAA championships
and 26 of the last 27 Big Ten titles - visited Ann Arbor.
And to the Wolverines' delight, 2,050 wrestling fans
packed into Cliff Keen Arena to commemorate the
biggest meet in years.
At tilesame school that routinely draws (10,000-plus
to Midhigan Stadium every Saturday afternoon, in
autumn, 2,050 may seem like a paltry figure.
But in light of the fact that Cliff Keen's capacity is list-
ed at 1,800, the positive effects of such a turnout cannot
be ovezestimated.
"Thiey obviously have huge crowds out there in lowa
City." Michigan coach Joe McFarland said of lowa's
Carvoir--lawkeye Arena, which has seen a national record
15,29H attend a dual meet. "That's a tough place to wres-
tIe. So I was hoping that we were going to create an
*atmosphere that would he tough for them to wrestle in."
Michigan succeeded in knocking off the No. 3
Ilawikeyes 18-16. and the advantage created by the
Michigan faithful was too great to be measured.
The arena's gates closed 20 minutes before the meet
even began. After hospitably begging people to come
watgb volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling for years, on
this night, old Cliff refused to let anyone else in.
"We got here 45 minutes early and we were fighting
for a seat," said Terry Weatherholtz, a 1986 Michigan
grAuate who drove three hours from Cincinnati, to
amid.
eft was fantastic," McFarland said of the evening's
atmosphere. "There were times I couldn't hear myself
tak. Those uner weights getting us started off on the
right foot got the crowd into it, got them enthused
bocause we jumped out to a lead, and we were able to
14id on."
After his 10-I major decision gave the Wolverines an
early 8-0 lead, Andy Hrovat stood on the mat for a few
seconds longer, gesturing to the crowd, working it into a

Tankers exact
revenge in pool
By Mike Bloom
1) itik Sp : s Writer
List Tuesday. Nichigan State' mens basketball team camne
into Crisler Arena and embarrassed its opponents as well as the
home crowd.
If you are a Michigan fan still depressed over the loss. the
mens swimming meet this past Saturday may have prov ided a
little redemption.

SWIMMING
Commentary

The Wolverines traveled up to Fast
Lansing with a 3-0 record in the Big
Ten. Michigan was looking to finish
the season with an undefeated conifer-
ence record like it had done an aston-

BRANDON NED"f"4)AY
Wrestling coach Joe McFarland was ecstatic with the fan support at Friday night's dual meet with Iowa. Fans had to be
turned away because the 1,800 capacity arena was packed with more than 2,050 people:

ishing 41 times before.
Much like last week's on-court slaughter, the competitiortat
McCatiree Pool in East Lansing was over as soon as it begatn.
U.S. Olympic medallist Chris Thompson led the Michigan
charge with a first-place finish in the 500-yard frestyle.
Following behind him were three other Wolverines thaf cip-
tured the next three spots. Only after four Michigan swimmers
had done so, did a Michigan State swimmer touch the wall.
The 200-yard breaststroke was no different. Senior G.1
Zann led the charge with a first-place time of 2:04.86. Trailing
behind him was another pack of Wolverines with the Spartans
only able to salvage a filth-place finish. Michigan racked up a
total of 133 points, its second highest all year.
The massacre spread to the diving boards when freshmen
Jason Cohen completed a spectacular season with two firt-
place finishes. His three-meter diving score of 327.90 \vas
high enough to qualify him a spot in the NCAA tournamenf
Many Michigan iIns feel that when the Spartans left the base
ketball court on Tuesday night. they owned Crisler Areria.'Well
when the Wolverines left McCalree Pool, they, too, took a little
piece ofit for themselves.Two Spartan records were broken, their
names replaced with ones of their archrivals.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Jordan Watland. Scott
Werner, Tony Kurth and Matt Raines left their mark with a
time of 1:31.48.
Two-time NCAA champion Tim Siciliano also emhedded
his time in the record books with a 1.000-yard freestyis lit
time of 9:10.06 in the 1,650 freestyle, Michigan State swiii-
mert Ian Mull previously held the record at 9:10.14.
When Michigan headed home, its undefeated season vas
intact. It had demorali/ed the Spartans with a 133-95 win;
The strength of both school' basketball programs has
teetered through the years, but the overall 64-5 advantalgethe
Wolverines have in the pool is a little more permanent.

deafening frenzy, and like the Wolverines, the crowd
never lost its intensity.
"The crowd was right on top of' the mat," McFarlmd
said, and indeed, hundreds of latecomers stood crowded
behind the Iowa bench. hoping for a glimpse of history in
the making.
Michigan did not disappoint, treating its fans to a
thriller that wasn't decided until the final minute of' com-
petitin..
"The crowd was awesome," Michigan freshman Pat
Owen said. "I could tell all the wrestlers fed off that
crowd energy. You could feel them getting psyched up."
In a night filled with thunderous eruptions and starl-
ine ovations, the noise level reached its ear-drum-shatter-

ing apex during 141 -pounder Clark Forward's inspkring
9-8 loss to No. I I)oug Schwab.'
"You hear it getting louder in the back of your lt'ad,
and you're like. 'that's our Bans,"' Forward said. "It was
awesom. especially since they told me that my batch
 as the loudest one.
"llavi g everybody root for you makes you block out
your lungs burning, your lees burning,, it makes you
block that out and think 'these fans came to vatch
wrestling, and damn it. I'm going to show them nome
wrestling.' You can't ask for a better crowd."
Undoubtedly, 2,050 fans left Cliff Keen Arena sati sfied
wiih the wrestling they had seen. And the Nicigan
wrestling team left elated by the support of its fins.

'1
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For women's basketball, a new starting point


By Benjamin Singer
Daily SpE'C4Wrilcr
When the year began, the Michigau
women's basketball team could rely
on two things senior point guard
Anne Thorius was going to pass the
ball and junior two-guard Alayne
Ingram was going to shoot it. The two,
were set in their clearly defined roles
on the team.
Hut coach Sue Guevara thought
both were neglecting other aspects of
their offensive game.
"I wanted Anne Thorius to he more
aggressive offensively," she said. "I
wanted (Ingram) to pass the ball
more."
A letdown home loss to Ohio State
put Michigan in the throes of a 1-4
slump. Guevara decided that was her
cue to shake things up.
The next game in FIvanston.
Ingram, who had spelled Thorius in
the past at point whenever she sat
down. saw many more minutes at the
one-spot. Thorius spent time over at
the wing.
Thorius' statistics have risen slight-
ly. But then an injury three games ago
at home against Northwestern has
prevented her from continuing to
adjust to the new spot on the floor.
She is still day-to-day.
Ingram's numbers, on the other
hand, have sky-rocketed at her new
position and improved even more of
late to make up for the loss of'
Thorius.
Over the past six games, she has
shot 42 percent from the floor as
opposed to the 34 percent she shot in
the first 16 games from the shooting
guard position.
Ingram also rediscovered her

stroke from 3-point land it was
supposed to be her specialty as she
nailed 42 percent as opptwed to the
28 percent. she w as struggling
through earlier.
"It's not a matter of where I feel
com fortabie, it's what I have to do,"
Ingram sa~id. "Anne's out, I've been
playing tihe point a lot more. I just
have to step in and do what coach '
asks me to do."
As well as finding her stroke.
Ingram has shared the weaf.1h by dish-
ing the ball more, just as Guevara had
envisioned. The past two games,
Ingram set and reset her career best
with eight and nine assists.
"I think she's doing a better job of
seeing people on the floor." Guevara
said.
Ingram's success has translated
into wins for Michigan. With Ingram
as the main point guard, Michigan is
5-l. Its one Foss came at N. 6 Purdue
where Michigan was down by three
with just over a minute le.
These past couple of' games with-
out Thorius, as Guevara has pointed
out, may be a good indication of what
the Wolverines will look like next
year. They lose Thorius to graduation,
meaning it is likely that Ingram will
take over as the 'ull-time point guard.
Before the season got underway,
the blueprint for Michigean's future
showed freshman Michaela Leary
would possibly emerge as the backup
to Thorius and play point once she
left.
But the experience and leadership
from Ingram allowed her tie opportu-
uities to show what happens when she
runs the offLeise, and it looks like
both she and Michigan do better than
before.

The changing of the guards
Anne Thor.7iuts Alayne Ingra m
4S
ftt
As . UAkO As A SHOOTINGcU
GP Min FG PCTop Mh FOPCT,
16 330 352 3Q 34.4
3-P PCT APG PTS .17PCT APf TS
33,3 3,1. 7.9 ZI3.3 {.6
AsrA SHOOTING GAR Ai PoiNT GUARD
GP Min FG PCT Min PCT
4 30.8 39.1 36.24
3-PT PCBT APG PTS 3-PT PCT APG P'S
445 4.7 .$ 60, 135
' { nnraos ItyMARJObRIE MARSHALL, Dadiy

MARJORIE MARSHALL/Dai l
Alayne Ingram has run the point a lot for Michigan over the past six games. The
natural shooting guard's statistics have increased since the switch.

M' looks to end the Georgia curse

By Naweed Sikora
Daily Oports t tk
10 In 1994. the Michigan women's gym-
nastics team finally climbed up into the
ranks of the elite. Michigan finished the
season at 27.1. and placed fourth at the
NCAA Charmpionships.
Since that season, the Wolverines have
never looked back. They have captured
five Big Ten championships and have
established themselves as perennial
national championship contenders. But,
he Wolverines will face a challenge this
Saturday they have yet to conquer.
They wi attempt to defeat Georgia in
.a regular season meet.
"I guess ieorgia is kind ofthe monkey
on our backs," Michigan coach Bev
Plocki said. "I have come to expect the
same thieg from them every year.

fourth, but the Bulldogs again finished
third, In 1999, Michigan finished in sec-
ond right, behind Georgia, which won the
national championship. And last year, the
Wolverines finished in sixth, while
Georgia took third.
Once again. No. 4 Georgia has
claimed its spot at the top of the gymnas-
tics world, and once again. No. 8
Michig an faces the daunting task of com-
peting against the squad. The Bulldogs
are looking to maintain their perf'ct sea-
son record while the Wolverines are
looking to rebound from a disappointing
loss to Florida this past Friday.
Prior to entering the toughest month of
the season, Michigan was forced to
absorb a tough loss to the Gators, a loss
that ended its impressive four-meet win-
ning streak, and one that put a halt to its
building momentum.

range, Michigan has proven that it has the
ability to compete with the nation's elite.
But, Plocki feels that mental prepara-
tion has been lacking - making it diffi-
cult fir her team to succeed in big
meets.
"If we can pull it out this weekend. it
would do fantastic thines for our confi-
dence level," Plocki said. "It would really
help us against UCLA, at regional. and at
nationals.
"At this point in the season, 90 percent
of what we do is mental, while 10 percent
is physical. We just have to make sure we
are prepared and confident enough to do
well."
I raduating studentsI

I