The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 16, 2001--41
"Women lead after first
day of Big Ten finals
The No. 16 Michigan women's swim-
ming team opened the Big Ten
Championships with a bang yesterday in
Bloomington.
The Wolverines amassed 203 points
to lead the meet by 28 after the first five
events. Host team Indiana has been a
surprise and stands second, while Penn
State is currently third.
"Indiana swam out of their suits
tonight," Michigan coach Jim
Richardson.
Michigan punctuated the evening
wvith a first-place showing in the 400-
yard medley relay.
Jen Crisman, Traci Valasco, Anne
Weilbacher and Samantha Arsenault
combined to break the Big Ten
hampionship record (3:38.78), previ-
ously held by Michigan's 2000 squad.
"It was a very good evening,"
Richardson said. "And we ended with a
great final race."
The freestyle sprints were also a
strong point for the Wolverines.
Michigan earned 62 points in the 50-
yard freestyle, behind a 2-3-4 finish
from Crisman, Arsenault, and Laura
(aznecki. The same four also combined
o finish second in the 200 freestyle
relay.
"There is a lot of swimming yet,"
Richardson said. "But I'm happy with
where we are now."
--Steve Jackson
GOPHERS
Continued from Page 10
with 10 on the roster but season ending
injuries to Mike Bauer and John-Blair
Bickerstaff have crippled the team.
Minnesota has lost two straight since
Bickerstaff broke his leg against
Northwestern on Feb. 7.
But the Wolverines aren't taking the
Gophers lightly. Currently tied for
ninth in the Big Ten, winning this game
could mean the difference between
playing a team like eighth-place
Purdue or sixth-place No. 19
Wisconsin in the first round of the Big
Ten Tournament.
To make matters more difficult,
tomorrow night's contest is the only
meeting between these two teams in
the regular season - meaning neither
knows very much about the other.
"We're a little worried that we
haven't seen them up close," Michigan
coach Brian Ellerbe said. "We're going
to have to cram and watch an awful lot
of tape on these guys."
The other question for the
Showdown:
Blue hosts
top-ranked
Oklahoma
By Swgmll Patel
Daily Sports Writer
Having lost more gymnasts to injuries
than meets this season, the No. 3
Michigan men's gymnastics team will
host top-ranked Oklahoma and No. 10
Massachusetts this Sunday afternoon at
Cliff Keen Arena.
As the Wolverines prepare to face off
against the Sooners - perhaps their
most talented opponent this season -
and the Minutemen, they will undoubt-
edly have the status of senior tri-captain
Kevin Roulston on their mind.
Roulston, who injured his knee in the
warmups prior to the meet against Penn
State two weeks ago, had an MRi taken
yesterday. Results will most likely con-
firm a suspected torn ACL.
"We're pretty certain that it's a com-.
plete ACL tear," Michigan coach Kurt
Golder said. "We were hoping that
everyone gets healthier."
But thus far, while some gymnasts
have recovered from injuries, others have
fallen victim.
Juniors Scott Vetere, Daniel Diaz-
Luong and Brad Kenna-who have all
competed injured for the past few weeks
- are now starting to return to form.
To compete with the Sooners and
Minutemen, Michigan will need strong
performances from its trio of juniors, but
the wild cards will be sophomores Kris
Zimmerman and Jaime Hertza.
Zimmerman narrowly missed qualify-
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Conference Overall
Team W L W L
Illinois 10 2 20 5
Michigan State 8 3 19 3
Indiana 7 4 16 9
Ohio State 8 5 17 8
Iowa 6 5 17 7
Wisconsin 6 5 15 7
Penn State 5 6 15 7
Purdue 5 7 13 10
Michigan 4 8 10 13
Minnesota 4 8 16 9
Northwestern 1 11 9 16
Wolverines will be the status of fresh-
men Bernard Robinson and Maurice
Searight. Although he dressed for the
game, Searight did not play against
Iowa. Robinson also did not start for
the second-straight game.
Coming off the bench "was differ-
ent, but what can I say, it's the coach's
decision," Robinson said. "Everything
worked like it was supposed to, so I
have no problem with it as long as we
win."
CLIFF KEEN ARENA
Who: No. 3 Michigan vs. No.1
Oklahoma and No. 10 Massachusetts
When:1 p.m.
Latest: The Wolverines will look to con-
tinue their winning ways as they take on
the top ranked Sooners.
Gyminfo National Ring :(as of Feb. 12)
(by highest twomeet average)
{ Seniors
Katie
Dykhouse
and Anne
<:< Thorius
give each
other a
tearful hug
night's
game
against
lowa.
WOOD/Daily
Sekniorswshine infinal
home game at Criler
M
By Jeff Phillips
Daily Sports Writer
1. 0klahoma
2. Ohio State
3. Michgan
4. Michigan State
5. Illinois
214.575
214.125
212.500
210.887
210.325
Webber sidelined
with ankle injury
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - All-
Star forward Chris Webber will miss the
next four games for the Sacramento
Kings because of a sprained left ankle.
X-rays on the ankle, which Webber
injured during the final seconds of regu-
lation Tuesday night in the Kings' 97-94
overtime victory at Utah, did not show
any broken bones.
The Kings said Webber, who was to
miss last night's game in Portland and
home games tonight against Denver,
Sunday against Utah and Tuesday
against Atlanta, will have his ankle re-
evaluated early next week.
.Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said
Tuesday night that losing Webber would
be "a very bad thing."
The injury happened as Webber tried
to drive the baseline with 0.9 seconds
left in regulation. Webber said he
*hought he stepped on someone's foot as
he became entangled with Karl Malone.
Gretzky returns to NH L
as owner of Coyotes
PHOENIX (AP) - The Wayne
Gretzky era began yesterday for the
Phoenix Coyotes as the former hockey
wreat and developer Steve Ellman com-
pleted their $88 million deal to buy the
team.
The closing, delayed by a series of
cmplications lining up financing,
ame the day of the NHLs Feb. 15 dead-
1ine and months after the sale was orig-
inally supposed to be completed.
Ellman and Gretzky had been given
two extensions to up the purchase.
Had the sale fallen through, former
owner Richard Burke would have been
free to keep $26 million that the new
*owners paid in advance and sell to
someone else. Trucking company exec-
utive Jerry Moyes helped ensure the
deal would get done by stepping in as a
partner last month.
''NAACP boycott won't
affect hoops tourney
*COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The
Southern Conference basketball tourna-
ment will be played at Greenville's Bi-
Lo Center despite a boycott effort by the
NAACP
In a letter to the NAACP, conference
commissioner Alfred White said
Wednesday the organization should feel
free to protest Southern Conference
tournaments through pickets, sit-ins and
other means deemed necessary.
The NAACP has led a boycott of
outh Carolina since January 2000
ecause of the Confederate flag that
flew atop the Statehouse dome. That
flag was removed in July and a similar
one put up at the Confederate Soldier
Monument on Capitol grounds.
"The Southern Conference was in
favor of relocating the flag from the
dome of the Capitol just as much as the
NAACP," White wrote to state NAACP
president James Galiman.
NCAA men's basketball
Yesterdky's rits
TCU 102, No. 20 Fresno State 88
No. 8 Arizona at No. 24 UCLA, inc.
NBA
On senior day at Crisler Arena, it
was fitting that both of the
Michigan women's basketball
team's seniors got a chance to shine
in ways that fit their roles on the
team.
Katie Dykhouse - a vocal leader
for the Wolverines - was given the
opportunity to sing the National
Anthem prior to the start of the
game, and she did not disappoint. A
nervous Dykhouse stood in front of
her teammates and never cracked,
"I used to (sing the National
Anthem) all the time during high
school volleyball," Dykhouse said.
"I think everybody liked it and it
got my team hyped up."
While Dykhouse's moment of
glory was at the beginning of the
game, Anne Thorius saved her
clutch performance for the end.
Thorius hit a jumper in the lane
to put Michigan up by four with
1:23 to pliay. Then, with one second
left in the game and the Wolverines
ahead by one point, Thorius was
sent to the line to seal the victory.
Thorius - the Big Ten's free-
throw peocentage leader at 87 per-
cent - sunk the first shot, but
missed the second in order to run
out the clock on Iowa, which did
not have :any timeouts.
"It's hard (to miss) when you are
shooting; 19-of-19," said Thorius,
who had, actually made 21 consecu-
tive free throws coming into the
game. "'It sucks to shoot a shot
knowinp you are going to miss."
In addition to sealing the victory,
Thorius; again showcased her pass-
ing abillity by dishing out seven
assists .- enough to put her over
500 assists for her career
"It is. a great feeling (mu reach the
milestoie), but when you are in the
game, you don't have a lot of time
to celeIbrate it," Thorius said. "Once
I am done here I will look back and
have .a proud monimt within
myselir"
The game brings to a close the
home careers of Thorius and
Dykhouse, who were part of coach
Sue Guevara's first recruiting class.
This senior class will leave as the
most successful group in Michigan
woman's basketball history.
Currcntly, their career record is 75-
39.
B ig Ten
looms for.
'M' tennis.
By Albert Kim
Daily Sports Writer
The key to victories on the road to te
Big Ten tennis championship is doing
just that - winning on the road. And the
unbeaten Michigan men's tennis team is
looking to do so this weekend as it kis
off the conference slate at Northwestern.
As always, the Big Ten will be strong
from top to bottom, boasting four top 35
programs and upset-minded teams every
weekend.
As a result, the Wolverines'5-0 non-
conference record is already distant in
the minds of the players.
"The Big Ten is what it's all about,"
sophomore Chris Shaya said.
Last year the Wolverines tied for fourth
in the Big Ten with a 6-4 record.
Meanwhile, last season was supposed to
be a rebuilding year for Northwestern,
but the Wildcats still gained a berth in the
NCAA Tournament. Like Michigan, the
Wildcats are currently unbeaten, and the
teams have split their last ten matches.
But, the similarities between the two
teams don't end with their records. The
Wolverines and Wildcats boast similar
lineups - Michigan brings three sopho-
mores and four juniors to the table while
Northwestern has three juniors and three
sophomores.
"It will be our toughest match to date,"
Michigan coach Mark Mees said.
Northwestern is led by its No. I sin-
gles player, sophomore Jackie Jenkins,
who beat out last year's No. 1 player
Brad Erickson for the top spot.
"I guess you could say they are a lot
like us in terms of age," Mees said.
"Jenkins has improved from last year
and is a quality player."
Michigan has yet to play on the road
this season, and the unfriendly surround-
ings will be -an adjustment for all
involved.
The courts at Northwestern will be
different from what Michigan is used to
at the Varsity Tennis Center, both in
atmosphere and speed. Northwestern has
only three courts to play- on, rather than
the traditional six - which may disrupt
the normal order of the matches.
"I think it will be important for us-to
get off to a good start and to keep our
composure in a difficult, noisy environ-
ment," Mees said. "They will have a
good crowd in their bubble which they
play in."
ing for a spot on the U.S. national gym-
nastics team, bringing home a sixth-
place finish in the Winter Cup
Challenge.
Zimmerman and Kenna will take part
in the all-around against Oklahoma and
Massachusetts.
"Oklahoma has a different approach
than us," Golfer said. "They are much
more aggressive and add a lot more diffi-
culty in their routines than we do. We are
trying to be more consistent with ours.
"And so far, it's worked."
The likes of Zimmerman and Hertza
will be called upon to contribute heavily
this weekend - and perhaps the rest of
the season - towards the team score,
especially with team's lack of depth.
Though the Wolverines have yet to
lose a tournament this season, they
dropped to the third spot in the GymInfo
national rankings after having been atop
the polls for four consecutive weeks.
The rankings are based on the average
scores of a home meet and two away
meets.
Despite beating the Nittany Lions in
State College two weeks ago, Michigan
dropped in the rankings because of its
low margin of victory.
"We beat Penn State at Rec Hall and
that's the main thing," Golder said. "The
rankings don't bother me much at this
point."
M
OTAH KIANS'
Continued from Page 10
"We talked a lot about this," Plocki
said. "It was a heartbreaking loss for
us in Georgia, but a lot of positive
things happened also. We just have to
continue to increase our concentration
so that we can get better as a team."
Of late, maintaining concentration
and focus in pressure situations has
been a problem for the Wolverines.
Their performance on the balance
beam in Georgia is a prime example of
their inability to respond in key situa-
tions against key opponents.
"The beam is a very arbitrary
event," Plocki said. "But we still have
to try and be more aggressive as a
team. In Georgia, we let the pressure
get to us.
When the beam courts the way it
did fa r us, and your performance is
going, to make or break everything, it's
really hard."
This weekend, Michigan has an
opportunity to regain its early-season
confiklence and get back on the win-
ning track. But, with meets against
Utah and UCLA looming, the
Wol'ivrines must maintain the high
level of intensity that is necessary to
compete with the nation's best.
K*AEBLE HONORED BY BIG TEN:
Mice igan senior Bridget Knaeble
received Big Ten co-athlete of the
wee': honors for her performance in
Georgia. Knaeble posted three-season
highs and two career-highs in the three
eve its she competed im.
t
1
i
EVANSTON
Who: Michigan (50) vs. Northwestern (4-0)}
When: Noon
Latest: Michigan freshman Anthony Jackson
looks to stay undefeated in dual match play;
while junior Ben Cox hopes to improve on a
37-9 career singles mark in Big Ten play.
. r
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