6B- The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday, March 5, 2001
BIG TEN
Continued from Page 1B
which is more than we've had in a long
time:
There were definite highlights for the
Wolverines. Though Otto Olson was the
lode champion, the team received a
stoig performance from sophomore
Mike Kulczvcki. Kulczvcki moved up
from his fifth seed to finish third, aveng-
ing two Big Ten losses to wrestlers from
l6wa-and Ohio State.
'Mike had a great tournament,"
McFarland said. "I really thought he
wtdstled fantastic"
Th'e- Michigan freshmen had mixed
'results in their first Big Ten Tournament.
Foley- Dowd and Clark Forward both
lost s'eventh place matches, just missing
th&'t for NCAAs.
'But freshman 157-pounder Pat
Owen continued his recent improve-
ment by finishing seventh and qualify-
ing for nationals.
" t'hink this will be a great experience
foi him, to get there as a freshman,"
MPhrland said. "There's no pressure on
him, so he can just get there and wrestle
as hard as he can."
Minnesota captured the team title
thanks to balanced scoring throughout
its lirieup. No Golden Gopher finished
l0Weithan fifth, and eight were in the
top three.
Illinois was the surprise team of the
tournament, finishing second. The Illini,
like Minnesota, were able to place five
wrestlers in the championship matches.
Michigan's Joe DeGain, wrestling in
his final Big Ten tournament, finished
fourth with- a 4-2 record. He will have
the opportunity to finish his career at
nationals in two weeks.
"I'm real excited for Joe," McFarland
said. "He's a real hard worker, and he's
one of the leaders of the team. And 197
pounds is a crazy weight. I think Joe is
going to be a force at the nationals"
Though the Wolverines were disap-
pointed with their finish, the team'did
improve from last season, and the pro-
gram continues to grow.
"We want to stay in the groove, and
make improvements both for nationals
and for next season," McFarland said.
Final Big Ten standings
TEAM SCORE
1. Minnesota 154
2. Ilinois 130.5
3. Iowa 129.5
4. Michigan 109
5. Ohio State 104.5
6. Wisconsin 75
7. Michigan State 65
8. Indiana 59.5
9. Purdue 50
10. Penn State 35-
11. Northwestern 6
Duke smokes 'Heels
for ACC title, 95-81
A
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - No. 2
Duke hasn't dominated the ACC the
past five seasons by backing down from
a challenge. The Blue Devils were
determined not give ground against
their biggest rival yesterday.
Duke (26-4, 13-3), playing at a
breakneck offensive pace without its
top inside threat, made Atlantic Coast
Conference history by winning or tying
for their fifth straight regular-season
title with a 95-81 victory over No. 4
North Carolina.
"This is the result of coming to work
every single day with the dedication
needed to be a champion," said Duke's
Shane Battier, who was spectacular in
his final regular-season ACC game.
"Not once, but five times. That will be
something to look back on."
Duke lost by two points to the Tar
Heels (23-5, 13-3) in Durham a month
ago, missing 14 of 27 free throws, but
remained alive for a No. I seed in the
NCAA tournament with a dominating
offensive show in the Smith Center.
"We're Duke, this is a championship
program," freshman Chris Duhon said.
"We're not going to lay down and lose
to anybody. We came together as a team
and showed why we're still pretty good.
"We came into this game not worry-
ing about Xs and Os," added Duhon,.
who scored 15 points and had four
assists in his first career start "Thist'
game was more about heart and desire
and a will to win. We knew we were
outsized, we knew we were going
against the world, but we had a bigger
heart, a bigger will to come out and
quiet all the critics."
Duke's two stars were the heroes in
the Tobacco Road rematch as the Blue
Devils were 14-for-38 from 3-point
range without center Carlos Boozer
who watched from the bench with a
broken bone in his right foot.
Jason Williams scored 33 points and
Battier added 25 points, 1 I rebounds
and five blocks as Duke won its third
straight in Chapel Hill.
Many counted the Blue Devils out of
this one as soon as Boozer went down
in Tuesday's loss to Maryland.
DAVID KATZ/Daily
Michigan wrestling coach Joe McFarland rallies the troops in preparation for
Saturday's matches in the Big Ten Championship.
Olson returns, wins Big Ten title
By Nathan Unsley
Daily Sports Witer
EVANSTON - In a season that
almost never happened because of a
horrific knee injury a year ago,
Michigan's Otto Olson amazed fans
from around the country with yet
another title: 174-pound Big Ten
Champion.
"I've changed some things about my
wrestling style, and I'm going out there
and having fun," Olson said. "I'm just
doing what I have done for 18 years
now."
Olson claimed his first-ever Big Ten
title. The accomplished senior finished
third during his sophomore season,
when he was the NCAA runner-up.
Last year, Olson had to watch the
competition from the sidelines while
nursing his potentially career-ending
inj ury.
"Last year I was in tears watching
these guys compete, and I wasn't able to
help," Olson said.
Olson had a bye in the first round
before recording his fastest fall of the
season in 1:05 against Ryan Lewis of
Wisconsin.
In the semifinals, Olson escaped with
a 3-2 decision against Jacob Volkmann
of Minnesota.
Olson faced sixth-seeded Ryan
Hieber of Ohio State in the finals.
Hieber upset second-seeded Gabe
McMahan of Iowa in the semifinals.
"(Hieber is) a real good upper body
greco wrestler. He's got a lot of throws,"
Olson said. "That's how he won his
semifinal match, and that's why I was a
little more cautious out there."
Olson scored an early takedown in
the match and never trailed en route to a
6-3 victory.
The usually ultra-intense Olson
adopted a more laid-back attitude for
the tournament. He could often be seen
joking around with his teammates and
cheering on other Wolverines while
waiting for his matches. In the past,
Olson would spend most of the time
between bouts focusing his intensity for
the rest of the day.
Even though he was unusually
relaxed, Olson said that he was still very
nervous before the final.
"Especially in the first period -
The glass is half full ...
Despite finishing fourth in the BTT;
No. 3 Michigan managed to qualify
an impressive eight wrestlers for
NCAA's. How Michigan's wrestlers
finished:
Wrestler Seed Finish
Otto Olson 1 1
Mike Kulczycki 5 3
Matt Brink 3 4
Joe DeGain 4 4
Andy Hrovat 4 5
AJ. Grant 5 5
Charles Martelli 5 5
Pat Owen 7 7
Foley Dowd 5 8
Clark Forward 8 8
0
that's when guys get nervous, or freoze
up, and that's when the other guy can
get some offense going," Olson said.
The No. 2 wrestler in the nation,
Olson will look to continue his success
at the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
"I'm not going to sit back and be
happy for this win," Olson said. "That's
not my goal -- to be a Big Ten champi-
on, but to be an NCAA champion."
DAVID KATZ 'Da.y
Michigan's Mike Kulczycki goes to work on Northwestern's Ryan Cumbee en route to an 18-6 major decision win in the first
round of the Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines' 149-pounder finished third in the conference.
NCAA concerned
with college gambling
f
0
Where's the beef?
Baseball homerless
CA RSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A
top hTAA official told Nevada law-
make on Friday that legal and ille-
gal Tetting is threatening the
inteity of every college game.
William Saum, the NCAA's direc-
tor f Agent and Gambling
Activties, also told Nevada legisla-
tors,Vcgulators and gambling indus-
try ffares that point-shaving is the
best tample of how college sports
bettif ruins games.
"I ave witnessed students, their
famies and institutions publicly
humrnIated," Saum said.
"1 Pave seen students expelled
fron ollege, lose athletics scholar-
ship;worth thousands of dollars,
and _,pardize any hope of a profes-
sionacareer in athletics."
Tlw NCAA has been lobbying
Congess to pass a law banning all
bettig on college and amateur
sportj
Mgflbers of the state's Assembly
Judiipry Committee reacted by
pronrgtly passing a resolution urg-
ing Gongress not to outlaw Nevada's
legaIorts betting industry.
Tl~estate's Senate is expected to
do AX same when they receive the
Ass ibly resolution.
Sct Dina Titus, a professor at
UNLV, said she has never heard that
student gambling was a problem. If
it is, she said the NCAA should
focus on getting universities to do
something instead of trying to place
regulations on Nevada, the only
state to allow such betting.
Lawmakers also said Nevada's
strict regulation of legal sports gam-
bling prevents point-shaving from
happening more often.
State Gaming Commission chair-
man Brian Sandoval said the
NCAA's efforts to ban sports betting
would "eliminate Nevada's watch-
dog role in this whole process."
Bill Bible, head of the Nevada
Resort Association, which repre-
sents major hotel-casinos, said
Saum and the NCAA 'are using
Nevada as a scapegoat for their
nadequacies.'
"To say the least, we are insulted
and disappointed by the NCAA's
bewildering position," Bible said.
Legislators estimated that legal
sports betting represents less than I
percent, or S2.5 billion, of an esti-
mate S380 billion bet around the
nation every year on sports.
One-fourth of the Nevada betting
involves college games.
Saum estimated that 25 percent of
AVN
The NCAA continues to push for a law banning gambling on contests
such as yesterday's Duke-North Carolina game.
student basketball and football ath-
letes bet on their games, and the
NCAA has been urging universities
to do mores tostop sports betting.
This isn't about the NCAA
against the state of Nevada,' Saum
said.
"We have never said that if
Nevada makes sports gambling ille-
gal that the problem will go away -
but that a piece of the problem will
go away.
U.S. Senators Sam Brownback, R-
Kan., and John McCain, R-Ariz.,
first introduced legislation in
Congress a year ago targeting legal
betting in Nevada.
The NCAA-backed bill stalled in.
committee, but they plan to reintro-
duce it this year.
By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. --- The Michigan
baseball team had all its bags when
it landed in sunny Florida, but its
power game never arrived.
After the first nine games of the
season, the Wolverines were without
a homerun as Michigan posted a 3-5
record against Western Michigan,
No. 23 Stetson, South Florida and
Boston College over break.
And while coach Geoff Zahn
acknowledged that the long ball
would not be a strength for the team,
lie wasn't losing any sleep over the
matter either.
"We're not a big power hitting
team," Zahn said. "We're more of a
gap hitting team.
"I think (the homeruns) will start
to come, but I'm very happy that
they aren't trying to hit them.
They're trying to hit the ball hard,
and that a lot of times is more effec-
Without the luxury of the periodic
three-run homer, the Wolverines
have been extra aggressive on the
basepaths.
"You've got to go with what you
have," Zahn said. "We've got a little
more speed on this club. We are not
going to be shy about running. We
like to put the pressure on the
defense."
The plan has worked well so far
-- Michigan has been successful in
80 percent of its attempts to steal
(12-15).
Shortstop Bill LaRosa leads the
team with four steals in as many
attempts.
The fifth year senior also extend-
ed his club-leading hitting streak to
17 games by hitting safely in all
seven of his games in Florida.
The team may be fast, but its real
strength lies in its talented pitching
staff.
Led by senior captain Nick
Alexander and right-hander Bobby
Korecky, the hurlers will shoulder
miwh o~f the. loadclfor the Wolverines
"The pitching will be strong, and'
it could carry this team," said Daviid*
Parrish, the MVP catcher fro m
Michigan's 2000 campaign who was
in attendance for two of the games
in Florida.
Alexander (1-0) started two of the
Wolverines' three wins. He current-
lv leads all Michigan starters with a
3.65 ERA.
But the newest addition to the
staff, freshman Jim Brauer turned
the most heads.
The 2000 Indiana Mr. Baseball
has yet to yield a run, boasting si*
strikeouts in his five innings of work
that included a save against Souti
Florida.
"Brauer took big steps today;
Zahn said after the South Florida
win. "He was impressive."
But even Michigan's strong suit
fell on hard times at the end of the
week.
The Wolverines allowed at least
eight runs in their last three consec
utive losses.
Another early-season problem f6r
Michigan has been fielding. The"
Wolverines committed 13 errors,
mostly on aggressive late throws and
miscommunications.
But their opponents didn't catch
the bobble bug, posting just two
errors.
"Although we made some errors
in the last couple games, I think thisO
team will prove to be pretty strong
defensively." Zahn said.
Michigan is already looking-
"pretty strong" compared to last sea-
son.
In the 2000 home opener against
Minnesota, the Wolverines botched,
dropped, and threw away ai
astounding 18 balls in the four-game
series.
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2001
Food For Thought
Who was the
better fighter?
American pilots took
tremendous losses while
being forced to fly one of
five corridors into North
Vietnam, often bombing
what were nothing more
than already bombed-out
buildings, just so the reports
showed that X number of
sorties were flown that day.
More to come in future ads.
tr I illie R. Acncr
0
A week in the swamp'
The Michigan baseball team ran its
record to 3-5 by opening its season in
Florida last week. Here is a synopsis of
each series.
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