SB - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 29, 2001 I Freshmen make strong debut against Eastern Lowly Boilermakers nearly upset spikers By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Writer After winning an intensely competi- tive dual meet at Canham Natatorium Friday against previously undefeated Florida, the Michigan men's swimming team showed signs of fatigue Saturday. But that wasn't enough to prevent it from'dominating Eastern Michigan. The Wolverines (2-0), won the first 12 races on their way to beating the Eagles 174-115. Dan Ketchum, Jeff Hopwood and Garrett Mangieri led Michigan against Eastern Michigan with two first-place finishes apiece. Five other Wolverines won races, and Michigan also took first in the 400-yard medley relay. Michigan wasn't thrilled with the way it swam Saturday; but after opening the 2001-02 season with two wins in two days, the Wolverines weren't complain- ing. "A lot of us didn't swim as well as we did (Friday), but it was great to come back and do a double like that," senior Tim Siciliano said. The short-course format of the East- ern meet was a big adjustment for Cana- dian freshmen Andrew Hurd and Chuck Sayao, who were swimming in yards for the first time. "It's a totally different strategy," Hurd said. "I didn't know my times, I didn't know exactly how fast I was going." Despite the change, Hurd still man- aged a first-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle on Saturday, and Sayao won the 200 backstroke. Friday's meet was a smooth transition into NCAA swimming for Hurd and Sayao because it featured the long- course style they are accustomed to. Long-course races are measured in meters, and swimmers race the entire 50-meter length of Matt Mann pool. Collegiate events are normally short- course, but Michigan and Florida have a running agreement to compete in meters. Michigan was much stronger on Fri- day than it was on Saturday. The Florida contest remained close until Brendan Neligan, Hurd and Siciliano took the top three spots, respectively, in the 400- meter freestyle and boosted Michigan to a 17-point lead. The Wolverines went on to win 137- 106, marking the 34th consecutive time they have won its opening dual meet. Michigan's highly touted freshman class made its debut against Florida and lived up to the hype. Neligan was tops amongst the rookies, winning his first two collegiate races - the 800-meter freestyle and the 400 freestyle. Zayd Ma was equally impressive. Ma came within .05 of a second of winning the 200-meter butterfly, but was beaten By Eric Chan Daily Sports Writer If it weren't for the play of fresh- men Carrie Ritchie and Jennifer Gandolph, last-place Purdue might have upset the Michigan volleyball team in Ann Arbor on Saturday. But Michigan (7-5 Big Ten, 11-8 overall) beat Purdue (1-11 , 3-17) in five games. The final game was an exciting and emotional one as the Wolverines - down 8-5 at the switch - won 15-11. Big serves and timely digs by Ritchie helped Michigan battle back in the deciding game. Ritchie fin- ished with 3 kills, 4 assists, 17 digs and a block - all career highs. "I thought Carrie played great tonight. She came in for the first time in the front row, and had some huge jump serves and played some nice defense for us in a pressure sit- uation," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "That's the kind of kid Carrie is, though - she's a tough competitor and she's very feisty." Ritchie's extended playing time was due to the fact that junior Katri- na Lehman is currently nursing a pulled muscle in her back. Despite her injury, Lehman still came in against Purdue and recorded an impressive 18 kills. "I've wanted to play front row all season. I love playing defense, but I knew going in (to the front row) that I would have to get the job done," Ritchie said. Early in the first game, errors by Michigan gave the Boilermakers an early 7-2 lead. Michigan battled back with some key kills by Lehman, and after trading blows for the rest of the game, the Wolverines took the 1-0 match lead by winning 30-27. Michigan jumped out to an early lead in game two, but couldn't hold it. After leading 9-5, a streak of untimely Michigan errors let the Boilermakers back into the game. The score remained close after Pur- due tied it at 15, and the Boilermak- ers squeaked out the 31-29 win in game two. In the third game, the Wolverines looked like the team that swept No. 11 Penn State two weeks ago. Pur- due kept it close at the beginning bht Michigan jumped out to a 18-9 lead sand never looked back, taking the game 30-18. The Wolverines looked to close out Purdue in the fourth game, but once again, miscues gave Purdue an early lead from which Michigan could not recover. Despite six kills by Gandolph, Purdue forced a game five by winning game four 30-24. "I've got two emotions. I'm very proud that the girls pulled it out in the fifth game, but I'm not too happy with the inconsistent play," Rosen said. "We can't afford to play that way this late in the season if we want to compete." Michigan travels to Minnesota and Iowa this weekend. BKETT MUUNIAIN/Daily Michigan hit the pool for its first home meet of the year against Florida on Friday. out by Florida's Eric Donnelly, one of primarily on the Florida meet all week. the best in the country in that event. Ma "We *ere all pumped up" Hurd said. posted a personal-best 2:05.80. "You could totally tell we were all so Ma predicted a personal best before- ready for Florida." hand, but Michigan coach Jon Michigan knows it has to work on Urbanchek had his doubts. sustaining that energy over two days, but "I said 'okay we'll see. Talk is cheap was pleased overall with its opening - you have to do it now,' " Urbanchek weekend. said. "He did it. So, he lived up to what "It looks like the whole ball of wax is he said." going in the right direction," Urbanchek The Wolverines had been focusing said. Michigan wms races, but Harvard secures meet By Kyle O'Neill Daily Sports Writer Sometimes being first just isn't enough. The Michigan women's swimming and diving team found that out the hard way against Harvard on Friday. Though the Wolverines won 11 of the 12 events, the score still favored the Crimson 246-238 in the end. Losing won't affect them statistically though, as the event was an exhibition and all the events were relays - most of which are never seen in actual dual meet competition. They did get some regular competition in an exhibition dual meet against Brown on Saturday, but no score was kept to determine a winner. The meet against the Crimson also gave them an opportunity to evaluate their mechanics at the begin- ning of the season. "None of us had ever swam against Harvard and Brown before, so we didn't know what to expect," sen- ior Lindsay Carlberg said. "It was kind of weird swim- ming all relays, but everyone did well on their strokes, turns and dives." Michigan also looked good with its times. Though all the events were relays, many got to race their indi- vidual events at Harvard. Amy McCullough, Emily- Clare Fenn and Lori Eberwein continued their success from earlier in the season in the 500-yard freestyle by coming together to dominate the 1500 free relay with an impressive 18-second victory. Michigan diver Tealin Kelemen also preserved her unbeaten streak when she teamed with Lindsey McEl- roy to win both the three- and one-meter diving relays. The weekend was also the first time the Wolveines had to deal with the combination of the after effects of traveling and a grueling weeklong practice. After its meets with Florida last weekend, Michigan returned to the pool and continued practice until it departed to the East on Friday. "It was hard because we had just got done traveling and now we have to travel again next week (to Min- nesota)," Carlberg said. But swimming coach Jim Richardson "doesn't let us let up ever. Everyone is pushing so hard, and we are working more this year than in any other of my years here." The hard work is necessary as Michigan has a large class of freshmen, meaning that it is necessary for the swimmers to get used to the schedule and pace of col- lege life. So far the young class has responded well, with most of them factoring into each race. Katherine Peterson earned the first win of her career swimming the second leg in the 300-yard breaststroke relay and is currently No. 2 on the breaststroke depth chart behind Kelli Stein. Two freestyle swimmers, Tracy Egnatuk and McCullough, have each made their mark on the team. Egnatuk, who was sick with the flu for the weekend meets, was vital in the 400 free relay victory over Florida last weekend. McCullough was one of eight Wolverines who won three or more events against Har- vard. "Our freshmen have done amazing at this point in the season;' Carlberg said. "They've become an inte- gral part of the team and have meshed well with every- one." With a week to get Egnatuk and all others battling colds and influenzas healthy, Michigan looks to improve on its 0-1 record against teams like Minnesota and North Carolina in Minneapolis this weekend at the Minnesota Invitational. How much stamina Michigan has on the second day of the Minnesota Invitational will be important as it will set the tone for the three other invitationals the Wolverines have in November - including the Geor- gia Invitational, where many of the Wolverines will look to qualify for the NCAA Championships. DANNY MOLOSH Michigan's Katrina Lehman and Jennifer Gandolph blocked the Boilermakers' attempts at an upset on Saturday. U U 4 Comcast High Speed Internet 'til end of year. ' :, . t ... y. f°. a ,, . t r , , rs: _ .* i i .