The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 29, 2001- 9A
Tankers strive for a
ba anced team effort
LEADERSHIP
Continued from Page 8A
come the Falcons in Anderson Arena.
When the final buzzer sounded,
the Falcons' fans rushed the court,
like a sea of Tropicana flooding the
arena.
"They deserved to do that," Amaker
said. "I thought their fans really did a
fabulous job of helping their team win,
no question about it."
DESPITE ALL MY RAGE: Following the
defeat, a dejected (and fouled out)
Bernard Robinson put his fist through
the glass door of a fire extinguisher.
His hand was cut and bloody, but he is
reportedly fine.
By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Writer
This season has been anything but
easy for the Michigan women's swim-
ming and diving team, but by looking
at its work ethic, one would never
know it.
Injuries and illness have left the
Wolverines six swimmers short this
fall, practices have been constant
except for a quick breather two week-
ends ago and they have yet to compete
in their own home pool.
"We've been on the road a lot and
we're tired," said swimming coach Jim
Richardson. But after taking the week-
end of Nov. 16-17 off instead of com-
peting in East Lansing and Ypsilanti,
the swimmers' "mood state was con-
siderably elevated the following Mon-
day after having had two full days off.
They earned the break. They've done
everything we've asked them to do this
fall, and they've done it well."
The Wolverines will be asked to do
one more thing before their fall season
ends and their winter training begins in
mid-December: carry their individual
successes from this season into the
Georgia Invitational beginning tomor-
row.
The NCAA Championship-formatted
event will be the first time that Michi-
gan will have each of its swimmers try
to qualify for the NCAA Champi-
onships this March. To prepare for this
weekend, the Wolverines have sacrificed
their bodies and sometimes their per-
formances in dual meets. Using the
meets as extra training, they enter the
Peach State without a team win (0-3),
but in the best condition possible.
"I think everybody is going to swim
well," Richardson said. "We've trained
very well this fall and I've always
believed you're going to compete the
way you train."
Those who do not qualify at this
meet will try again to peak at the Big
Ten Championships in February, but by
the way this season has gone so far,
one can expect more than a few
Wolverines to be invited to Austin,
Texas for NCAAs.
Senior backstroke swimmer Lindsay
Carlberg "was a consolation finalist
last year. She's certainly in a position to
be able to get to the meet," Richardson
said. Annie Weilbacher (butterfly) "has
been very fast this fall. She's got as
good an opportunity as anyone. But I
think overall I am looking forward to
seeing good times across the board."
Richardson also expects his two new-
comers - sophomore Kelli Stein in the
breaststroke events and freshman Amy
McCullough in the 500- and 1650-yard
freestyle - to be very competitive in
qualifying, as each have tasted victory
.x~x.o . :.;..,... .
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Junior Traci Valasco and the Michigan women's swimming team are looking for
consistency top to bottom.
in their events already this season.
The Georgia Invitational will also be
the first true test for the freshmen, as it
is a three-day event against some of the
best in the nation. The Bulldogs have
swimmers ranked in the top 10 in 11 of
the 13 events that are raced at NCAAs.
No. 19 Alabama and Minnesota -
which already beat Michigan - will
come in as well.
How the freshman handle the pres-
sure of facing top competition will be a
determining factor in whether the
Wolverines will triumph as a full team
or just individuals.
"This could be one of the best teams
we've ever had at the University of
Michigan so far in terms of how the
team goes about doing what they do
everyday," Richardson said. "I can't
think of a better group of young
women we've had here in my sixteen
years here.
"We deserve to swim well, and .1
think we will."
ATHENS, GA.
Who: Michigan (0-3) vs. No. 2 Georgia, No. 19
Alabama, No. 20 Minnesota and others.
When: Tomorrow through Sunday
Latest: Senior Lindsay Carlberg is one of many
Wolverines who will try to qualify for the NCAA
Championships this weekend in Georgia.
FALCONS
Continued from Page 8A
held its largest lead of the night at 28-
18.
But the Falcons answered immediate-
ly with four consecutive layups, and the
Wolverines headed to the lockerroom
with a slim 34-30 edge.
Michigan returned to the shorter
squad several times throughout the
game to rest Young, because sophomore
center Josh Moore did not play.
"I tho:. ht it was a very difficult
matchup for Josh to be in," Amaker
said. "With the way their offense is
structured with so many screens by
their big men away from the basket, we
were concerned."
In Moore's absence, senior tri-cap-
tain Rotolu Adebiyi (6-foot-4) saw time
at the center spot, showcasing the
Wolverines' lack of depth at that posi-
tion.
The second half started out ugly for
Michigan on offense as the Wolverines
committed seven turnovers and scored
zero points in the first five minutes.
Finally, with seven minutes to play,
Michigan found its offensive touch.
Blanchard led the charge for the
Wolverines with 17 points on 6-of-13
shooting. His leaner off the high glass
was the highlight of an 8-0 Michigan
run that gave it a 54-5 0 advantage late
in the game.
But in the final minutes, the Wolver-
ines couldn't hang on amid the roof-
shaking screams of the sellout crowd.
"A lot of coaches - a lot of our
coaching heroes -have cancelled with
teams, meaning 'I'm not going to
MICHIGA
Robinson
Blnchard
Queen
ng erson
Adebiyi
Totals
W (59)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T
32 2-7 5-6 1-4
Bcad35 6-10 4-4 2-5 201
Yg 32 3-5 4-4 0-5 241
Gfesn11 0-2 0-0 0.1 00
Gngr24 0-2 0-0 0-3 24
29 4-5 1-3 1-4
iesn 22 3-6 0-0 CU 3
Bly 13 1-2 2-6 2-4 14
2 1-1 0- 0-00
Team3 0-0
Tas 200 20.39 16-23 6.271529
Bowling Green in my first year.' That
was never an issue for Tommy (Amak-
er) or (Michigan's) athletic director, and
I think that's a very classy thing," Bowl-
ing Green coach Dan Dakish said.
"They had to know that this was going
to be a tough place for them to win."
YESTERDAY'S GAME
A
4
2
2
0
2
3.:
1 .
1
0
16
F PTS
5 9
0 17
4 11
0 0
4 0
2 9
3 8
4 3
0 2
21 59
FG%: .465. FT%:.696.3-point FG: 3-10, .300
(Ingerson 2-3, Blanchard 1-3, Robinson 0-3, Got-
fredson 0-1). Blocks: 2 (Young 2). Steals: 5 (Robin-
son 3, Bailey, Queen). Turnovers: 19 (Blanchard 6,
Robinson 4, Queen 3, Young 3, Groninger 2, Inger-
son). Technical fouls: none.
BOWLING GREEN 5)
FG FT REB
MIN. M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Crawford 29 2-6 4-5 2-5 0 3 9
Klassen 29 1-3 0-0 0-4 1 3 2
Matela 28 5-9 4-5 2-7 1 4 14
McLeod 39 5-12 6-8 1-6 9 4 17
Pardon 35 5-9 0-0 0-1 6 4 11
Fitch 11 1-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 2
Almanson 10 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
Wilson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Mattox 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Ryan 3 1-1 0-0 0.1 0 0 2
Netter 14 3-3 0-1 1-3 0 0 6
Team 0.1
Totals 200 24.4714-20 6-27 17 20 65
FG%:.511. FT%:.700. 3-point FG: 3-14,_214
(McLeod 1-7, Pardon 1-4, Crawford 1-3). Blocks: 4
(Matela 2, Klassen, Netter). Steals: 7 (McLeod 3,
Crawford 2, Fitch, Kassen). Turnovers: 15
(McLeod 5, Pardon 3, Crawford 2, Matela, Ryan,
Wilson). Technical fouls: none.
Michigan ..................34 25 - 59
Bowling Green...................30 35 --65
At: Anderson Arena, Bowling Green
Attendance: 4,736
Blue anticipating stiffer competition in Austin
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
competing
Senior'
confidenc(
The Michigan men's swimming team has a dual meets
chance this weekend to see if its extended training The fas
stint translates into results. The Wolverines travel to minds, an
Austin, Texas for the Texas Invitation-
al, one month after their last meet - a
20-point victory over Georgia. . AUSTIN, TEXAS
Michigan spent the first part of Who: No. 9 Michigan at
November in intense workouts, hitting the Texas Invitational
the weight room and doing plymetrics day
in addition to putting in extra time in Latest: Senior Garrett
the pool. The team then had an oppor- Mangieri was named Big
tunity to recuperate. Ten Men's Swimmer of the
"We had a nice two and a half weeks Week for his performance
of training and everybody went home against Indiana and Geor-
for the holiday," coach Jon Urbanchek gia November 2-3.
said. "I think they're all rested up and recovered." pionship
Despite the month-long gap between meets, Urbanchek
Urbanchek doesn't expect Michigan to show any indicatoro
signs of rust in Austin. He- said the training period fare at the
has male the Wolverines anxious to get back to still earlyi
Tim Siciliano said the Wolverines have
e left over from winning their first four
s.
t start to the season is "still fresh in our
d we're still happy about that and want to
keep it going," Siciliano said.
Michigan will face the best of the
NCAA at the Texas Invitational. As
Urbanchek said, "everyone" will be
there.
Defending national champion Texas,
currently ranked No. 2 in the College
Swimming Coaches Association of
America poll, hosts the event. Other
top-10 teams include Southern Cal,
Arizona and Auburn.
Although most of the NCAA Cham-
contenders will be in attendance,
k doesn't see the Texas Invitational as an
of how the ninth-ranked Wolverines will
national title meet in March. Because it's
in the season, most teams won't be in top
form.
Arizona, which shaves for this invitational, is
one of only a few teams that will attempt to quali-
fy for the NCAAs in Austin. Most collegiate
teams shave when they need to post their best
times of the year.
Instead, the Wolverines plan to use this weekend
as a measure of progress made during the last
month. It will be looking for improved times and
strong showings in the relays.
"This is a great time to put some good tin'ies on
the board and maybe show the other guys what we
can do," Siciliano said.
Siciliano is one of Michigan's individuals who
should shine. The three-time-defending national
champion in the 400-meter individual medley
expects to see the same opponents in the final heat
as he'll meet at NCAAs.
"I've never really swam well in-season," Sicil-
iano said. "I've really been working on my indi-
vidual medley and I'm anxious to show them I'm
still around. It's a great place to maybe put a lit-
tle fear into them."
Grapplers desert-bound to begin title run
By Eric Chan
Daily Sports Writer
One of the best Michigan wrestling
teams of the decade heads to the
deserts of Nevada this
weekend to kick off the
season. The season offi-
cially begins with the Cliff
Keen Invitational in Las
Vegas. The Wolverines
have not yet participated
in a scored tournament,
making this weekend very
important.
"This is our first big
tournament of the season,"
LAS V]
Who: No. 4 Mic
No. 8 Lehigh, N
ka, No. 11 Arizo
When: Tomorrov
urday
Latest:hReigning
ment champion
leads Michigan
Cliff Keen Invita
higher than fourth. But No. 4 Michigan
is the highest-ranked team at the tour-
nament and is the favorite this season.
Competition has always been stiff in
the desert for Michigan, and it should
be more of the same this
weekend, with teams like
EGAS No. 8 Lehigh and No. 9
higan vs. Nebraska in attendance.
o. 9 Nebras- Last season, Michigan
na State. finished in a disappoint-
w and Sat- ing 10th-place, with only
gtourna- two champions in Joe
Otto Olson Warren at 133 pounds and
into the Otto Olson at 174. Olson
tional. is the Wolverines' only
returning wrestler that has
ever won the Cliff Keen Invitational.
Although Olson is the returning cham-
pion, he will not be the favorite this
time around. Olson will most likely be
the No. 2 seed behind top ranked and
reigning national champion Josh
Koscheck from Edinboro.
A.J. Grant, Michigan's 125 pounder,
has a bone to pick with No. 1 ranked
Stephen Abas of Fresno State. At this
same venue last season, Grant had a
phenomenal tournament, only to be
defeated by Abas in the finals. Grant
looked tough against Abes last year,
and plans to get his revenge on the
defending national champion.
This is the first tournament of the
year in which the Wolverines will have
their roster set. Wrestle-offs are com-
pleted, and the team that has emerged
looks to be one of the best that Michi-
gan has ever fielded. Of the 10 roster
spots, Michigan has filled nine with
wrestlers that are ranked in the top ten
nationally.,
"Our intensity level is .at the right
level, and our team is ready to go,"
McFarland said. "We're all looking for-
ward to it."
High rollers
Rankings provided by Amateur Wrestling
News.
WEIGHT
125
133
141
149
157
165
174
184
197
HWT
WRESTLER
A.J. Grant
Foley Dowd
Clark Forward
Mike Kulczycki
Ryan Bertin
Charles Martelli
Otto Olson
Andy Hrovat
Kyle Smith
Matt Brink
RANK
3
9
11
5
6
-6
2
3
11
6
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