;ne Micfllgan uaiy -- t-nray, Mvarcri ..u, 2UU1 - 1 Softball's roadtrip *puts rematch on deck Polo practices breed success By Kristen FIdh IDaily Sports Writer It's an old clich6 and a Rolling Stones trademark tune. "You can't always get what you want. Weeksago, the Michigan softball CHICAuO &4 team couldn't wait for wo:No. 24 Mid the chance to practice vs. No. 10 Depau in the dirt and grass - Iflinois(28&12) outs ide O os terba an When: Toddy at n Ficjdhouse. N ow, wvith DePaul, tomorrow Alumni Field welcom- Ihiinois and Sunda ing the action, the s Ilinoisli WolIverin es g ra bbe d ast: is is Bigren the e qui pment and snteigr threwv on some coats. 0But practicing outside is not all its cracked up to be. she has racked up 67 total strikeouts with a 0.63 ERA. The Blue Demons are hitting .258 as a whole while holding their opponents to just .1 84. Michigan's hatting practice has gone well. But there is anything that By J. Brady McCOIlough The next time you look in the mirror and admire your physique, go down to Canham Natatorium, strap on a six-pound weight belt and try to tread water for an extended period of time. Then, when you're struggling to stay afloat, try to pass a ball with one hand and catch it with one hand while being tuggzed on CHAMPAlGN higan (11-9) I (17-7-1) and Qon vs. at 2 p.m. vs-. y at 1p.rn. nois first sea- Ten. It's t should confuse the hitters it will be seeing double - DePaul's first base- man and second base- man, Sarah and Christina Douglas, are identical twins. Tomorrow, MIichiigan will face Illinois for the first time, as this is the Fighting Illini's inaugural season as part of the Big rue that Michigan's experi- by another player. Welcome to the No. 13 Michigan water polo team's basic training voith drill sergeant Amber IDrury- Pinto. While Drury-Pinto is. in reality, a coach, and not a drill sergeant, she does put the Wolverines through a demanding regimen. "It's tough. I get sick of it," Who: No. 13 Mchiga 17 Indiana. No. 18 M setts and ichigan When: All day tormor Sunday Latest: The Wolver n l oe her co pe oppoets. -- aLUlowing the players to push each other to "The team's out for each other," Rupp said. "I f one member of your tean fl weak than the rest of you are weak. "So exerybody tries to do their best in (the weight room) and get everyone else to do their best." The workouts are a new experience-for all the Michigan players this year, espc.- c ially for the players whd played for Michigan as aelupb iO\ team. ~nvs.No. '"lractices are over twice'as lassachu- long, so it's a little more- riine state consuming, but it's worth it' row, all day said utilit y player A bbi Rowe. who played on the club team~ ~slook tO last year. "Our team has defi- tc nitely improved a lot. We do -a lot more leg work now, run a t more drills, and have a lot more plays. It takes miore concentration, a lot more focus." lFresh off of a 4-() sweep of last weekend's Southern Division Tournament, MIichigan. travels to Bloomington this weekend for the Indiana Invitational The Wolverines beat their arch-rival Indi- ana twice last weekend, once in overtime an~d the second time in sudden death. In tough situations like the overtime per - ods against the I oosiers, the Wolverir a' hard work has paid off. "The satisfatctioni when you win makes (ihe work) all worth it, Rupp said. lIn the bitter cold, in fielder L iz Elsner hit a grounder to center field that would have been a base hit, had the team been playing a real giame. She dropped the bat and hunched over in pain. ~That one hurt," she said. Pitcher Marissa Young hit a long Oline dive to left that spurred cheers from her teammates. But she imme- diately threwv her bat against the fence, clutching her right wrist. Between the vibration of the metal bat hitting the balls and the players' already cold bones, each swing shot a painful jolt through the joint. "Inethis weather the vibratio an bechn said. "Your bones are cold, the bat is cold, the ball is cold - it's But the Wolverines will have to put all the stings aside this weekend, when they compete in Chicago and Chapagn. Today, the 24th-ranked Wolverines (19) play a doubleheader against No. 10 DePaul (1 7-7-1) and begin their Big Ten schedule against lllinios (28-12) with games tomorrow *nd Sunday. The las t t ime Michigan me t DePaul wvas last season's NCA A Rio nal Tournamen t in whic h the Wolverines lost both matchups - the first time the Blue Demons defeated Michigan in series history. "We schedule them because they are always a good team," Hutchins said. '"The chance of us running into DePaul again is really great, so meet- -ing t hem early like this is a chance Ofor us to build some confidence." De Paul's ace, Sarah M artz, w ill give the Wolverines some trouble as ence will have an advantage over the newcomers, bitt II linois cannot be brushed off. "We can't look down on Illinois because they are a new team - they are good," Hutchins said. A s the team starts its Big Ten matchups, "I don't think it gets easier because the intensity really goes up," Hutchins said. "We play 20 games, and - whether we play Illinois or whether we play Iowa -all the wins and all the losses count the same. said two-meter Stephanie Rupp about the I 0- 20 miles of swimming that are required each week. "I know the other girls do too, but you have to do it just so you can be quick." Along with swimming extreme niileage,. Michigan hits the weight room three times a week in the offseason, and twice a week dur- ing the season. "It's really intense" Rupp said. "We do a lot of heavy weights, and w~e push it to the maximum." The weightroom, while helping the Wolverines bulk up and be more of a force in the pool, has also brought the team together Stephanie Volpe (16) celebrates after scoring a run against Western Michigan-. A,? Get a jump on your degree-or wrap up a required course or