The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 30, 2002 - 9
'M' powerplay
fizzles without
*Cammalleri
By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer
The first goal of Michigan's 7-0 rout of Alaska-
Fairbanks three weeks ago was scored by forward
Mike Cammalleri on the powerplay. Cammalleri,
who had quarterbacked Michigan's first power-'
play unit before he went down with mono on Jan.
17, accepted a pass from John Shouneyia at the
point and scorched a one-timer into the net.
But goals like that haven't happened much in
the past three games, as Michigan's powerplay
has hit the skids since it lost its star.
"Mike's a special player," Michigan associate
head coach Mel Pearson said. "He's got skills that
you can't give someone, and he makes things hap-
pen on the powerplay. His absence has hurt our
first unit, but we've had to adjust to that."
Michigan is 1-for-15 on the powerplay since the
Alaska-Fairbanks series (the last time Cammalleri
skated). The lone goal came on a two-man advan-
tage in its 3-2 win over Bowling Green this past
Saturday.
Without the extra dimension that Cammalleri
brings to the powerplay, the Wolverines are sim-
plifying their game. The focus is no longer on
finding their quarterback at the point for a slap-
shot. Instead, the strategy is to dump the puck in
the zone and work hard around the boards to gen-
erate scoring chances.
"We're getting back to basics," Pearson said.
"By that I mean trying to get shots through to the
net and outnumber people - not try and be as
USCHO top 15
Team (first place votes) Record Points Last
1. Denver (24) 23-3-0 582 1
2. New Hampshire (16) 19-4-2 576 2
3. Minnesota 18-5-4 492 4
4. Michigan State 19-5.3 477 5
5. St. Cloud 20-5-2 457 3
6. Maine 15-7-4 343 11
7. Northern Michigan 17-7-2 315 10
8. Colorado College 16-8-2 307 9
9. UMass-Lowell 16-7-1 270 7
10. Boston University 14-7-2 245 6
11. Cornell 13-5-1 232 12
12. Michigan 14-8-5 201 8
13. Nebraska-Ohmaha 16-9-3 110 15
14. Harvard 9-6-3 58 -
15. Alaska-Fairbanks 14-10-2 54 13
Suspended players
return after service
By Jim Weber
Daily Sports Writer
Stephanie Gandy was the first one
to practice yesterday, working on her
shooting for more than a half-hour
before the team was required to be at
Crisler Arena.
Gandy wasn't there to prove her
dedication to teammates after she
was suspended for a "violation of
team rules" before Sunday's game
against Illinois - they still believe
in her.
Instead, Gandy was there to prove
something to herself.
"I just wanted to see if I still had
my. touch after all that time off,"
Gandy said.
Tabitha Pool and Katrina Mason
were also suspended against the
Fighting Illini. During the suspen-
sion, Michigan coach Sue Guevara
required the three to perform com-
munity service by working with
women involved in domestic vio-
lence. After all three performed the
community service, they returned to
practice yesterday.
The seven active players for Sun-
day's game against Illinois cried in the
lockerroom after Sunday's loss to Illi-
nois from frustration, but they have
been supportive of Gandy, Pool and
Mason. While her team was playing
its heart out, Gandy was screaming at
her computer as she listened to the
game.broadcast as Michigan fell to 2-
7 in the conference.
Gandy has since apologized to her
teammates and coaches about the
incident. All three players will
receive playing time in Thursday's
game against Iowa, based on how
they perform in practice. But Gue-
vara decided that none of the three
will start against the Hawkeyes or
anyone else for the rest of the season.
Although Pool and Gandy have com-
bined to start 20 times this season,
Guevara will stick with the starting
lineup of Sierra Hauser-Price, Alayne
Ingram, Heather Oesterle, Jennifer
Smith and LeeAnn Bies for the
remainder of the season.
Guevara discovered the infraction
last Wednesday, found out the entire
story on Thursday and suspended the
three prior to Friday's practice. She
declined to comment on the specifics
of the violations.
The suspensions, Oesterle's knee
problems, Raina Goodlow's season-
ending injury and Ingram's one-game
suspension have allowed the Wolver-
ines to dress their full 11 player ros-
ter just three times this season.
Despite the importance of last Sun-
day's game against Illinois, Guevara
knew the significance of the suspen-
sions for the future of her program.
"You get paid the big bucks to
make the big decisions," Guevara
said. "Nobody is bigger than the pro-
gram. Sometimes you have to take
some steps that make an impact right
now so they understand. I know they
all got the message, and it will never
happen again."
Gandy also made it clear that the
suspension was the result of an iso-
lated incident, and they both insist-
ed that the entire team is solely
focused on putting the incident
behind them.
"I am really big on if you make a
mistake, let's deal with it now and
then it is over," Guevara said.
"(Then) I don't want to talk about it
anymore."
DAVID KATZ/Daily
Freshman Jason Ryzner is just one of the players asked to step up on the powerplay since Mike Cammalleri
came down with mono. Since Cammalleri left, Michigan has scored just one powerplay goal.
cute as possible. We have to work harder on the
powerplay than we have."
Another dimension of Cammalleri's game was
his ability to create chances for those on his line.
Without him, good scoring opportunities have
been hard to come by for some of Michigan's
other top players.
"When you're missing a key fixture in your
powerplay, then it's going to affect you," Michi-
gan captain Jed Ortmeyer said. "But we haven't
been executing and we've been getting out-
worked, and that's why we haven't been scoring.
"We're not going to get as many opportunities
as we do when Mike's here, so we have to take
advantage of what we do get."
On the other side of the special teams spec-
trum, Michigan's penalty kill has not experienced
a decline with Cammalleri's departure. Michigan
has not allowed a powerplay goal since facing
North Dakota in the first game of the Great
Lakes Invitational on Dec. 28. In its last nine
games, Michigan has killed off 37 of 38 penal-
ties.
"It's been great," Ortmeyer said. "We're out-
working other teams, we've got guys who block
shots, who get their sticks in the passing lanes
and we've been able to keep teams off the score-
board."
Said Michigan coach Red Berenson of the
team's penalty killing: "We just want to build on
the confidence that we have and make-it a source
of pride for the team. When you're not scoring on
the powerplay, it's the only way to stay positive in
special teams."
GET WELL SOON: Pearson reported yesterday that
Cammalleri, who is recovering at home from
mono, is starting to improve.
"From what I understand, he's feeling much,
much better," Pearson said. "They talk about the
spleen getting enlarged, but when that starts to get
back to normal size, he can start working out.
"But from talking to him, he feels a lot better,
and hopefully that will continue so we can see
him again this year."
'Battle between Big Ten powers hits Cliff Keen
By Eric Chan
Daily Sports Writer
Ih college wrestling, the Big Ten is
the elite conference. There is no doubt,
nor has there ever been, that the teams
in the Big Ten are the top wrestling pro-
grams in the nation. Big Ten teams cur-
rently hold the top four spots in the
latest NWCA Division I wrestling poll.
Undefeated Minnesota holds the No. 1
spot, with Ohio State, Iowa and Michi-
gan coming in right behind. Purdue,
Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin
have also broken into the top 25.
To truly gauge how good the Big Ten
is, one can just look at the heavyweight
class. Five of the top six wrestlers in that
class are from the Big Ten - Iowa's
Steve Mocco, Ohio State's Tommy Row-
lands, Illinois' John Lockhart, Minneso-
ta's Garrett Lowney and Purdue's Jake
Vercelli. With such heavy competition,
Michigan's All-American Matt Brink,
currently ranked No. 17 in the nation by
Amateur Wrestling News, may have
trouble placing at the Big Ten Champi-
onships.
Friday night, the. No. 4 Michigan
wrestling team (1-1 Big Ten, 10-3 over-
all) will continue Big Ten competition
against No. 15 Illinois (1-0, 5-1).
"Illinois is a really tough team.
They're good from top to bottom," said
Michigan coach Joe McFarland. "I
know they had two guys in the All-Star
meet - Matt Lackey and John Lock-
hart."
The match of the night should be at
165 pounds between Michigan's No. 12
Charles Martelli and Illinois' No. 2
Lackey. Monday, at the NWCA All-Star
dual meet at Hofstra University, Lackey
topped Oklahoma State's Tyrone Lewis
- who is currently ranked third in the
nation.
Martelli has really started to pick up
steam this season after a very slow start.
"Charles has been wrestling really
well recently, except for that slip against
Purdue," McFarland said. "I think he
should do just fine if he wrestles all
seven minutes."
Monday night at the NWCA All-Star
meet, in a match that shot him to No. 1
in the rankings, Michigan 184-pounder
Andy Hrovat beat the No. I wrestler,
CLIFF KEEN ARENA
Who: Illinois (1-0 Big Ten, 81 overall) vs.
Michigan (1-1,10-3)
When: 7 p.m.
Latest: After a tough loss to No. 1 Minnesota,
Michigan beat Purdue to even its record in the
Big Ten last weekend.
Victor Sveda of Indiana, 8-6. Hrovat
won the match by taking control early
on with two takedowns in the first peri-
od.
Top ranked 174-pounder Otto Olson
of Michigan also competed in the All-
Star meet, defeating No. 3 Rick Spring-
man of Pennsylvania, 13-8.
"Those guys wrestled great," McFar-
land said. "I really think they represent-
ed Michigan well."
'Women's tennis eyes vulnerable Notre Dame
TOM FELDCAMP/Daily
Junior Janessa Grieco and the Michigan gymnastics team have stepped up
since several of members of the team have been limited by injuries.
Injury-plagued Blue
resembles years past
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer.
ranked opponents this season, despite being unranked
themselves. The team posted impressive performances
this season with a dual match victory over No. 69
Western Michigan and posted at least three singles
victories over No. 50 Penn State, No. 49 William &
The early success of the Michigan women's tennis
team will be put to the test tonight at the Varsity Tennis
Center against one of the toughest
*opponents the team will face this
season. VARSITY T
No. 14 Notre Dame (2-0) comes Notre Dar
to Ann Arbor riding a seven game When: 5 p.m.
winning streak against Michigan, Latest: Although Mic
and it has won 10 of the past 11 against ranked oppo
meetings between the two schools. Notre Dame has won
The Irish have consistently been last year's 7-0 win in
one of the top teams in the country
recently, finishing in the top 15 or higher in the past
three seasons.
Coach Bitsy Ritt feels the time is right for the
Wolverines (2-0) to end this trend, based on the early
accomplishments of this young season.
"It will be interesting to see Notre Dame this sea-
son;' Ritt said. "It's always a good match. Their team
has changed a lot from last year and I think there are a
lot of question marks (for them). I like our chances -
we'll be ready to play."
The Wolverines have had success against other
SPARTY Oh'
Continued from Page 8
ENNIS CENTER
me (2-0) vs. Michigan (2-0)
Mary and No. 27 Louisiana State
at the Tribe Classic three weeks
ago. This was a invitational in
which members of each team
competed unattached from their
hip
one
n t
in S
gan has had success respective teams.
nts this season, Since the Wolverines did not
he last seven, with have a match this past weekend,
outh Bend. it gave them a few extra days to
prepare for Notre Dame. The
Irish had a match this past Saturday against Northern
Iowa, which Notre Dame easily won 6-1.
"We've really worked hard the past few days and
made sure we'll play well and compete hard," Ritt
said.
The extra practice will come in handy, as the
Wolverines will have their hands full with No. I sin-
gles and doubles player Becky Varnum. As Notre
Dame's senior co-captain, Varnum is ranked No. 58
nationally in singles. Although Varnum should be a
tough opponent, Ritt feels that the Irish are not as
competitive this year because former Notre Dame ten-
nis star Michelle Dasso graduated.
"(Dasso) was an outstanding player for them, one of
the best players in the country last year," Ritt said. "It
will be interesting to see them without her. I don't
think they've replaced her."
Ritt indicated that the team has been playing well
recently, and the timing is right for a victory over the
Irish. This match has the potential to boost the team
into the rankings and gain national recognition for her
squad, which has been missing so far.
"I think it's a great challenge and a real opportunity
for us," Ritt said of the difficulty Notre Dame poses.
"I think the pressure is on them, as they're expected to
win."
Two players will look to set benchmarks in career
victories in tonight's singles action. Sophomores
Kavitha Tipirneni and Kim Plaushines seek their 20th
and 15th career singles victories, respectively.
Plaushines has accumulated a 1-1 record this season at
No. 5 singles and Tipirneni is also 1-I at No. 1 singles
for the Wolverines.
Last year's match at South Bend was a decisive 7-0
win for the Irish, who were ranked No. 8 in the country
at the time. Michigan lost all three doubles matches,
and the team won one just set during the entire contest.
Ten years ago women's gymnastic
coach Bev Plocki's team was deci-
mated by serious injuries.
"We had torn ACLs, we had bro-
ken bones, we had everything," Ploc-
ki remembers. "And every time we
'thought it couldn't get worse - it
did."
Remarkably, Plocki's 1992 team
was able to piece together numerous
lineups and eventually win the
school's first Big Ten championship.
"We did it because our kids had
persevered through so much with all
the injuries that by the time our kids
got to the Big Ten Tournament, they
were so focused and wanted it so
much that nothing stopped them."
While this year's team has yet to
lose anyone for the season, three
Wolverines - including last year's
national all-around champion Elise
Ray - have been hampered with
nagging injuries that don't seem to go
away.
But that didn't stop No. 9 Michi-
gan (2-0 Big Ten, 4-2 overall) from
putting together previously unused
rotations and having two consecutive
successful weekends.
The Wolverines defeated Minneso-
ta 195.125-195.025 two weeks ago
and then scored a season high
196.175 to easily beat Ohio State last
Saturday.
By Matt Kramer
Daily Sports Writer
CRISLER ARENA AND YPSILANTI
Who: No. 9 Michigan (2-0 Big Ten, 4-2) vs.
No 13. Florida (6-3) 7:30 p.m. Friday; at
State of Michigan Classic
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Latest: The Wolverines face their fifth
ranked opponent of the year Friday.
thing but the floor exercise competed
in three events (floor, vault and
uneven bars) for us."
Another walk-on, freshman Kara
Rosella, has pleasantly surprised
Plocki with her consistently solid per-
formances on the beam - always a
tough event for Michigan.
All three of them should play a
pivotal role in both of this weekend's
meets, when Michigan faces No. 13
Florida on Friday and then travels to
Ypsilanti on Sunday to compete in
the State of Michigan Classic against
Michigan State, Western Michigan,
Central Michigan and Eastern Michi-
gan,
It will be the first time that the
Wolverines will have two days of
competition over a three-day span
this season.
"Ordinarily if we as an entire team
were feeling great and all feeling
healthy, I would say that it's good for
us to start learning how to compete in
two meets on a weekend because
when we go to the National Champi-
onships we Have to compete three
days in a row to go all the way,"Ploc-
10 State t'rashes Illinois 89-71
An anonymous note and picture of the
vandalism were delivered to the Daily
yesterday - claiming responsibilty for
the act which it said occured at 4:45 a.m.
Several other Michigan students were
also quick to accept responsibility, even
if they didn't actually commit the act.
"They're getting their payback,"
Michigan LSA sophomore Jay Li said.
"If they want to complain, they can
blame the clock operator."
This fall in Snrtan Stadium, Michi-
COLUMBUS (AP) - Brent Darby
thought he let Ohio State down, so it
was only right that he pick the Buck-
eyes up.
Darby scored 22 points - making
16 of 18 free throws and a pivotal
jumper with two minutes left - as
No. 25 Ohio State beat No. 12 Illi-
nois 78-67 last night.
Ohio State watched the videos of
Saturday's 89-71 loss at Minnesota,
and Darby felt it was his poor plav
me," Darby said. "I was disappointed
in my performance, especially on
defense. I came out and showed
today that I was focused, that I was
ready."
The loss dropped Illinois (4-4 Big
Ten, 15-6 overall) three games behind
co-leaders Indiana and Ohio State (7-
1, 16-3) in the conference. It also
gave them more losses this season
than they had all last year when they
shared the conference title with
place, it's the players. This is an awe-
some place, an awesome setting. But
if they don't guard people so well out
there, then it's not so awesome play-
ing here. It's Darby, Brown and the
coaching."
[Big Ten standings
Team C
Ohio State
Indiana
onference
W L
7 1
6 -1
Overall
W L
16 3
13 6