6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - Monday, February 12, 2001 Blue netters catch Ball State napping Comeback victory sweet for 'M'. By Albert Kim Daily Sports Writer .When the snow hit Ann Arbor over the weekend once again, Ball State was hop- ing that the Wolverines would go into hibernation. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they were the ones that were caught napping. The Wolverines were very much awake on Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center, sending Ball State out the door with a 5-2 drubbing. As with the previous four matches for the undefeated Wolverines, they jumped out to an early lead by winning the dou- bles point, jumpstarted by the team of junior co-captain Henry Beam and sophomore Chris Shaya. Michigan then posted four straight singles victories to put the match away. "I think everyone was very intense and focused throughout the match," sopho- more Jeremy Edelson said. Winning in singles was Beam, junior Ben Cox, co-captain Greg Novak and freshman Anthony Jackson. All four won convincingly in straight sets. Junior Danny McCain and Shaya suf- fered the only two setbacks, but both were close matches. McCain went to three sets with two tiebreakers, and Shaya dropped a close tiebreaker in the second set. "We definitely didn't play our best ten- nis, and for me, I basically need to get my head out of my butt," Shaya said. Michigan opens conference play next weekend at Northwestern, and although TOM FELDKAMP/Daily Co-captain Henry Beam won both sing- les and doubles matches last weekend. the Wolverines are 58-23-1 all-time against the Wildcats, it's still the Big Ten. "In the Big Ten, we can play well and still lose;' Shaya said. "There are a lot of good players coming back for a lot of teams." It will also be the first road test for the Wolverines, who have played all five dual-matches at home this season. "It's really going to start to get rough, and we all need to step it up," Shaya said. M' tennis driven from DiXie By Jeb Singer Daily Sports Writer Despite the aid of a loudspeaker, the roar of 1,306 intense wrestling fans almost drowned out his voice. "Otto Olson shows you why he's your captain;' announcer Matt Stout said. The 174-pounder Olson's pin of 19th- ranked Ryan Hieber brought the Wolverines within two points of Ohio State with only 184-pounder Andy Hrovat left to wrestle. At this point, Hrovat's biggest fan - his father - knew No. 9 Ohio State had blown their chance at an upset. "That was a tremendous bout Otto had," Bob Hrovat said. " All Andy had to do was win the match (instead of need- ing bonus points). It was over before his match even started as far as that team was concerned." Hrovat's 13-5 major decision gave the Wolverines a 20-18 victory. Coupled with Friday night's 24-14 domination of No. 22 Indiana, No. 3 Michigan (5-1 Big Ten, 15-3-1 overall) continued its trek to the top of college wrestling. "They have a very nice young team and we have a very nice young team," Ohio State coach Russ Helickson said. "There will be close battles for these kids. I think that a lot of these guys will be multiple All-Americans and probably multiple national champions." Coach Helickson possibly could have had one more All-American on his roster if he had recruited Hrovat, a product of St. Edward's High School in Ohio. "He's a heck of a wrestler - I proba- bly should have recruited him harder" Helickson said. Helickson rejected the notion that his recruiting efforts decided the outcome of the match. "That match was decided in a lot of places" Helickson said. "Unfortunately it wasn't always in the hands of the kids. Three matches were decided by some- body else" Olson's match was at the foremost of By Seth Klempner Daily Sports Writer This weekend, the Michigan women's tennis team invaded Kentucky and ,Tennessee with the same trepidation that the Union Army held back in 1861. Unlike the Union Army, Michigan was unable to escape the South with a victo- ry, losing 7-0 to Kentucky and 4-0 to Tennessee. The Wolverines failed to win a singles set and were spared Sunday, when the match was ended because it became mathematically impossible for the Wolverines to defeat the No. 17 Volunteers. Against the Wildcats on Friday, the Wolverines snapped a three-match win streak when they failed to win a set and won only 22 singles games. The last time Michigan failed to win a set was March 6, 1999 against No. 2 Duke. "I felt that Kentucky played well at every position,' Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt said. "I thought they would be a bit more erratic and give us a few more easy points, but they committed few unforced errors and they were able to hit winners from the net. They were more aggressive then us and we were caught on our heels." Kentucky was coming off of consec- utive losses to powerful Vanderbilt and North Carolina teams. Coach Mark Guilbeau was surprised at how well his team played and felt this was the best performance of the season. Undoubtedly, Kentucky was favored by the experience of facing top competi- tion in recent weeks. This was Michigan's first match against a ranked opponent and it showed throughout the match - Michigan's inability to take control of many points forced them into a defensive position. "As you play better competition match in and match out, you are going to improve," Ritt said. It was clear Michigan had improved from the Kentucky match and applied its newfound knowledge against Tennessee. The team played longer points, allowing it to take more control. That lesson allowed Szandra Fuzesi and Kim Plaushines to win their doubles match, 8-3, over Kim Gates and Agnes Wiski of Tennessee and allowed Kavitha Tiperneni and Jennifer Vaughn to come within two games of winning the lone doubles point at the No. 3 doubles spot. K"N" '""a" y Michigan captain Otto Olson converts the pin against Ohio State's Ryan Hiebet. The pin helped the Wolverines overcome an 18-7 deficit to win 20-18. Helickson's officiating complaints. "There was an illegal move going on the entire time the pinning combination was going on;' Helickson said. "Otto's a tough kid. I have nothing whatsoever against him" Olson rejected Helickson's claim. "It was a legal move," Olson said. Some of Michigan's top wrestlers did not win. The Wolverines were trailing 18-7 when the heart of the lineup - 165-pounder Charles Martelli, Olson and Hrovat - stepped up and rescued the victory. Michigan coach Joe McFarland's starting lineup includes three Ohio natives - Hrovat, 141-pounder Clark- Forward and 149-pounder Mike Kulczycki - with a total of seven high- school state titles. Hrovat is happy where he is. "I didn't really want to go to Ohio State," Hrovat said. "The style that we wrestle is what got everyone up here. It's a great wrestling style because we.are after it for seven minutes." The team was unable to defeatthe Buckeyes by a greater margin than they had beat then-No. 3 Iowa the Week before. Although he was displeased with the team's overall performance, McFarland will take the win as it came. V "It just shows you what kind of Kart we have" he said. "It shows what kind of guts we have on this team." Hrovat was thrilled to wrestle last. "I wanted to put an exclamation mark on our victory," Hrovat said. "I knew if something didn't go our way it was going to come down to me. I have never had a match come down to me." Rivalry extends to wrestling as fans vie for control of Cliff Keen By Nathan Linsley Daily Sports Writer The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry began on the gridiron and has diffused to every other interscholastic sport. The crowd was enveloped in a compelling game of tug of war - whenever the Ohio State fans found something to be excite about, a Wolverine would put a stop to the run. It took a Wolverine from Washington to bring sanity to the dual meet between the two wrestling teams. Cliff Keen is the perfect setting for such a rivalry, magnify- ing noise because of its small size and arched ceilings. Though the Wolverines seemed to have more fans, the Buckeye faith- ful were more vocal for the majority of the match. Even the national anthem singer was wearing a red Ohio State wrestling shirt. Though the arena was only three-quarters full, the close match between two heated rivals made it seem as imposing as either the Big House or the Horseshoe. While this was not the biggest match of the year for the Michigan wrestling team, Ohio State and its fans nearly made it the Wolverines' biggest disappointment. The Buckeye fans and wrestlers were charged throughout the afternoon, and the Michigan team, and faithful, struggled to keep up. With the Buckeyes leading 18-10, Washington native Otto Olson pinned Ryan Hieber, injecting new life into the Michigan fans in attendance. In such an emotional rivalry, crowd noise can be crucial - sometimes even the deciding factor in a meet. "I think it took a little wind out of Ohio State, going into that last match;' Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. Besides the large contingent of red-clad Ohio State fans, a group of around 200 people from tiny Archbold, the hometown of Michigan 141-pounder Clark Forward made the 88-mile drive to see their favorite Wolverine. "Everybody in our area knows Clark, simply because of the success he had in high school," said Chuck Forward, Clark's father and high school coach. Forward is one of three Michigan starters from Ohio - the others are 149-pounder Mike Kulczycki and 184-pounder Andy Hrovat. "There are a lot of people in Ohio who don't like me, or don't like Mike or don't like Clark because we came up here to Michigan" Hrovat said. At the beginning of Forward's match, the Maize and had regained control of the bleachers after two Wolverine tories, but three consecutive Ohio State victories brought the tug-of-war rope a little closer to Columbus. There was no compassion shown to the Wolverines, from Ohio or not. Throughout the match, jeers could be heard from the stands towards the Michigan team and the referee The Ohio State fans had come in full force, and they fully expected their grapplers to add another victory to their 15 match streak. In all five matches after the intermission, the entire-Ohio State team stood and cheered every move on the mat. When Michigan finally won, the Ohio State fans had been silenced and order in Cliff Keen seemed to have been restorkd. "There were a lot of people here to watch some wrestling," Olson said. "They weren't disappointed, I hope" .' {{ Microsystems Symposium Friday, February 16, 7:30 am-1:00 pm Michigan League, University of M ichigan The Symposium is free. For Registration and Program Information, visit: www.zli.bus.umiich.edu/news _events "I3est in the Field" National Kevnote Speakers Kurt Petersen, President & COO, Cepheid, California Roger Grace, President, Roger Grace Associates, California & Special Guest Bill Trimmer, CTO, Standard MEMS, Inc., New Jersey Panel Topics " Path to Commercialization " Killer Apps " Growing the Microsystems Industry in Michigan Presented b Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Center for WIMS, College of Engineering, Technology Management Office Peace Corps career opportunities await you! Business Advisor English Teacher Health Educator Agro-Forester University of Michigan Information Meeting & Video oC pTuesday, February 13, 2001 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. International Center Michigan Union, Room 9 www.peacecorps.gov * (800) 424-8580 Star of the Week Otto Olson 174 Pounds Olson erased any doubt that he is the leader of the Wolverines with a much-needed pin against Ohio StatW Team Leaders Total Victories: 30 - Mike Kulczycki, 149 pounds Total Losses: 2 - Otto Olson, 174 pounds Pins: 10 -Pat Owen, 157 pounds Fastest Pin: 0:41- ClarkForward, 141 pounds Technical Falls: 8 - Mike Kulczycki, 149 pounds Major Decisions: 9 - Otto Olson, 174 pounds and Andy Hrovat, 184 pounds Dual Meet Victories: 17 - Matt Brink, Hwt and Otto Olson, 174 pounds 0 '9. -w'1"'11' i ''1'* r1 ;-. . . '1ti 1 1 a _11 v Break in the Butte Ski, Board, & Party at 9,375 feet A _ Crested Butte, Colorado V\A-, 4., _AA $1 25 per person * A Nnth~cer cn roid vpiwih n dcaion utniuelv focused onnthe 2 1St century.A