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 Order on our website @ Ulrichs.com ULRICH'S BOOKSTORE 549 E. University 662-3201 wwMdm/ny Wed. - Fri. November 28, 29 & 30 11:00am to 4:00pm A sma*USA said Michigan head coach Joe McFar- land. "We'll be seeing some good teams and some of the best individual wrestlers in the nation." Michigan has been attending the tournament for 18 straight seasons, dat- ing back to 1983. The Wolverines have never won'the tournament, finishing no i L i Steve Madden ASTHMA'~ Physicians in your area are seeking subjects to participate in a clinical research study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an investigational medication for symptoms of asthma. Participants must be: " Generally healthy men or women between 18 and 70 years old " Symptoms of asthma reasonably controlled with use of an albuterol or similar inhaler (Proventil, Ventolin) " Able to complete 7-8 visits over 4 months Reaction Women's *4 C I IIIU RUEii' w