The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 11, 2002 - 7B
Winter Cup not kind to gymInasts
By Evan Brown
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan sent the most gymnasts of any college or
organization to the 2002 Winter Cup Challenge, but
none of them were able to make the cut and move on to
the finals this weekend.
Injuries hampered some Wolverines, but those who
could fully participate didn't meet expectations. The
disappointed Wolverines couldn't find many positive
things to build on, and questions are starting to rise at
the midpoint of the regular season regarding the motiva-
tion of this team.
"Well, I hope that they are motivated," Michigan
coach Kurt Golder said. "You go into a meet like this,
with the best in America, and you're (not competing at
their level). You should get a lot of motivation from it."
Golder is worried about the direction his team is
going. Those who are healthy aren't making improve-
ments in their routines and are not adding difficulty to
them.
"I would expect that we wouldn't have to water down
routines so that we can hit in a competition," Golder
said. "When we should be adding difficulty as the year
goes on, we're reducing difficulty. That's definitely not
the way it should be."
No. 5 Michigan will return to regular season play this
weekend against No. 15 Illinois-Chicago at Cliff Keen
Arena.
Michigan (5-4) has hit the proverbial fork in the road,
and it will be interesting to see which way it goes. The
Wolverines could head to the promised land like their
1999 predecessors who won the national championship,
or they could fall well short like last year's team.
"We have to get home, figure out our problems, and
get this baby turned around," Golder said. "That's all it
comes down to."
Justin Toman was one of the few that Golder could
say anything positive about. He was very pleased with
Toman's progress in participating well in all six events
while dealing with ankle injuries. But in the middle of
the season, someone recovering from injury shouldn't
be the most positive thing for a team that began the sea-
son ranked among the best in the country.
Toman was the highest ranked Wolverine in compe-
tition on Friday but was able to muster just an 18th
place finish. Chris Gatti wasn't too far behind in a tie
for 23rd, and Edward Umphrey finished 51st. Brad
Kenna competed in five events and withdrew in the
last with a shoulder injury. Daniel Diaz-Luong, Kris
Zimmerman, Geoff Corrigan, Conan Parzuchowski
and Jamie Hertza all competed in two events or less
because of injuries.
In the.Winter Cup Challenge, each participant is sup-
posed to perform in six events on Friday, and then the
top six from each event moves on to Saturday. This
gives the gymnasts an opportunity to showcase their tal-
ents and try to get one of the last two spots on the U.S.
national team.
The U.S. team, which competes in international
events, already includes Michigan's Zimmerman and
Diaz-Luong.
After diving coach Dick Kimball was honored, Michigan handed Michigan State a 38-point deficit.
M handles emotion, competition
By Melanie Kebler
Daily Sports Writer
Saturday was an emotional day for
the Michigan men's swimming and
diving team on many levels. The
Wolverines not only faced their rivals
from Michigan State, but they also
said goodbye to legendary diving
coach Dick Kimball and honored the
five seniors who will graduate this
year. The Michigan swimmers enjoyed
the fanfare, but, unphased by the emo-
tional and potentially distracting
events, they also made sure to handle
the competition in the pool.
The Wolverines took the first six
events of the meet en route to a 137-99
victory over the Spartans. The early
lead proved insurmountable for Michi-
gan State, which managed to win just
four of the 13 events. The atmosphere
of the meet seemed almost casual for
the Wolverines, many of whom swam
events on Saturday that they hadn't
swam the entire season.
Jason Coben swept the diving
events; an appropriate performance
following the ceremony at the begin-
ning of the meet to honor Kimball's
many years of coaching. The team
surprised the coach, dedicating the
diving pool in his name. The entire
team expressed its gratitude toward
Kimball as an outstanding coach as
well as a great person.
Kimball not only offered his coach-
ing skills to his divers, but he also
acknowledged the importance of the
swimming aspect of the team earning
the respect of every member of the
team.
"I wish we could have given him
more than naming a pool after him,"
senior captain Eric Wilson said. "I
think he's proved his love for the sport
and for Michigan."
Wilson and his fellow seniors com-
peted for the last time at Canham Nata-
torium this weekend. As a class, the
seniors have helped lead the team to a
Big Ten championship and placed no
lower than 14th at the NCAA champi-
onships for three seasons.
"It felt good to swim this last meet,"
Siciliano said. "It's a great thing to
swim for Michigan, a great honor."
Siciliano has racked up honors
while swimming as a Wolverine, win-
ning the national championship in the
400-yard individual medley the first
three years of his career.
"Tim obviously showed Michigan
his best, winning those three IM
championships," Michigan coach Jon
Urbanchek said.
The coach also had nothing but
praise for the senior class as a whole.
"Good swimmers come and go, but
good people, as a class, that's hard to
find," he said. "We're going to miss
them."
Siciliano and Wilson, along with
Matt Raines, Jordan Watland, Jason
Mallory and Jon Arndt have led the
team for the past four years in and out
of the pool. Arndt has taken the role of
assistant coach due to a shoulder
injury his freshman year that left him
unable to compete, but he is still very
much a part of the senior class.
Urbanchek said they were "probably
the best class academically," citing the
fact that all the seniors will graduate
in four years. The coach especially
praised Mallory's academic perform-
ance, saying: "He exemplifies the real
student athlete at Michigan."
All of the seniors competed Satur-
day in the win over Michigan State,
which brought Michigan's final dual
meet record to 8-3. The meet served
not only as a sentimental goodbye to
Canham Natatorium, but also as a
warm up for the competition the team
has been looking forward to all year:
The Big Ten Championships.
"We've got two and a half weeks
left," Wilson said of the champi-
onships. "I think we'll be ready. We've
already started to taper."
Siciliano agreed, stating his desire
to finish his career on the best note
possible.
"As a team, we're going to put up a
good fight against Minnesota," the
three-time NCAA champion said.
"(The Gophers) think they're going to
come in there and just beat everyone
like they did last year. But I think
we've got a good chance of beating
them this year, and that would be a
great thing to end my Michigan swim-
ming career on."
Blue leaves Happy Valley smiling
By Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan women's track and field
coach James Henry was pleased
with the way that his team competed
at the USTCA Collegiate Challenge
this weekend.
The Wolverines placed second
among a field of 13 teams, and,
more importantly, gained some
valuable experience in State College
- where the Big Ten Champi-
onships will be held in just two
weeks.
"They got a chance to see how
loud (the atmosphere) actually was
and how confusing it could seem at
times," Henry said.
Henry's hope is that the confi-
dence the team gained from this
weekend's success will help the
Wolverines get into the top three
when they return to Happy Valley.
"It's going to be tough with teams
like Illinois, Indiana, Penn State and
Purdue," Henry said.
But the 18-year coach was
pleased with what he saw from the
Wolverines this weekend.
"I think they won the battle,"
Henry said. "I don't think we came
out bloodied."
On their way to second place,
Michigan got strong contributions
from two of its senior captains,
Katie Jazwinski and April Phillips.
Jazwinski finished first in the 3,000
meters for the second consecutive
week. She ran 3.37 seconds faster
than her first-place effort at the
George Mason Patriot Games last
weekend in Virginia.
Phillips continued to dominate
her opponents in the shot put with
her fifth NCAA provisional throw.
A provisional finish earns an ath-
lete consideration for a spot in the
NCAA Championships. The senior
won the event for the third consec-
utive week, and also completed her
first provisional toss in the weight
throw by shattering her own school
record for the second week in a
row.
Phillips is "so relaxed and confi-
dent," Henry said.
These are attributes which have
contributed to her continued success
and which make Henry believe that
Phillips can be considered a favorite
in the throwing events at the Big Ten
Championships.
If the Wolverines are going to
place well as a team, they will also
need the continued support of their
large freshman class. This weekend,
first-year competitor Theresa Feld-
kamp gave Michigan its first provi-
sional time on the track on her way
to a fourth-place finish in the 800
meters.
The Wolverines have one more
event to prepare themselves for the
Big Ten Championships - the
Harold Silverston Invitational in
Ann Arbor next weekend. Henry
feels that this week will give them
an added opportunity to clear up
any remaining blemishes in the
team's performance.
"Overall, there were more posi-
tives than negatives," Henry said of
this weekend's event. "I think we
got a lot out of it."
Diving area named for Kimball
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan diving coach Dick Kimball will retire after the
NCAA Championships in March. But on Saturday, the
Michigan Athletic Department made sure his legacy would
live on in Ann Arbor.
Before the men's meet against Michigan State - Kim-
ball's last dual meet - both the men's and women's swim-
ming and diving teams gathered on deck in Canham
Natatorium to honor their legendary coach.
Athletic Director Bill Martin presented Kimball with a
plaque and christened the diving area the "Dick Kimball
Diving Pool."
"How do you come to an end?" men's swimming coach
Jon Urbanchek asked after the meet. "After 43 years what
are you going to say? We felt like we needed to do some-
thing to honor Dick, and there's no better way to honor him
except have his name carry on forever in this building."
Urbanchek and women's swimming coach Jim Richard-
son gave Kimball an easy chair on behalf of the swimming
and diving program so Kimball - known for arriving at
the pool at 6:00 am - can finally take some time to relax.
The festivities ended with a slide show remembering
Kimball's career. The teams an( the crowd watched in rev-
erence as images of Kimball - first as a Michigan athlete
and then as a coach - appeared on the wall just behind the
diving well, narrated with words of praise from Urbanchek,
Richardson and some of Kimball's former divers. At the
conclusion, the teams joined in singing The Victors, and
then the men's team started the meet by breaking their hud-
dle with a shout of "Kimball!" instead of its usual "Go
Blue!"
It was a fitting tribute to a man who has spent the last 46
years of his life here, a man who Urbanchek described as
"true blue."
"That was just an amazing thing," Kimball said of the
ceremony. "Somebody put a lot of work into it, and I had
no idea they were going to do that. It was really a great
honor."
Kimball has received plenty of recognition over the
years, but he said Saturday was especially meaningful.
"I've been inducted in the International Sports Hall of
Fame and also the Michigan Hall of Honor, but this is real
special because these are the Michigan people," Kimball
said.
Diver Jason Coben called the ceremony "a tear-jerker,"
but the tone of the afternoon soon changed. After the div-
ing competition, Kimball and a group of current and for-
mer divers convened atop the 10-meter tower. Dressed in
costumes from comedy shows Kimball did in past sum-
mers, the troupe performed for the crowd. Kimball began
the show sitting on a folding chair, his back to the pool, and
then suddenly tumbled off the platform. Other divers used
props such as umbrellas and bicycles, and the 66-year-old
coach looked like one of the kids as he ran up the diving
well steps between stunts.
That young-at-heart attitude has been typical of Kimball
during his entire career.
"Really nothing has changed about Dick in 43 years,
even his jokes - the same. He still has the same jokes he
had 40 years ago," Urbanchek said with a laugh.
Those jokes are just some of the many memorable
moments Urbanchek, and the entire program, has shared
with Kimball.
"He meant more than just a coach," Urbanchek said.
"He was also a friend of swimmers and divers and every-
body, so I'm sure he's going to be greatly missed."
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By Rohnt Bhave
Daily Sports Writer
Fresh off a 33-6 pounding of No. 24
Penn State (2-2 Big Ten, 5-8 overall)
Friday, the Michigan wrestling team
(4-1, 13-3) gnashed No. 4 Ohio State
(3-1, 18-2), 23-12 yesterday in
Columbus.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 7-0
lead on the strength of Mike Kulczyc-
ki's 17-7 major decision over the
Buckeyes' Josh Daugherty in the 149-
pound match. No. 5 Ryan Bertin
added to the lead by beating No. 8
Josh Janson, 12-6.
"I think Mike and Ryan did a great
job," said Michigan coach Joe McFar-
land. "They took the crowd out of it
right away."
respectable by winning their favorable
matchups. Before Olson and Hrovat
won their matches, Seventh-ranked
John Clarke earned a close win over
Michigan's No. 9 Charles Martelli,
and No. 4 Nick Preston fought to a
well-earned 9-3 win over Michigan's
No. 5 Kyle Smith. Second-ranked
Tommy Rowlands slipped by Michi-
gan heavyweight Matt Brink, 4-3,
making it 16-9.
But the axe fell on Ohio State when
Michigan's No. 8 A.J. Grant recorded a
12-3 major decision over Jesse Leng.
With Grant's major decision, Michigan
had earned five extra team points
resulting from major decisions or tech-
nical falls.
This type of aggressiveness, in the
eyes of Michigan coach Joe McFar-
Michigan's Otto Olson recorded two
technical falls this weekend.
points by beating Todd Brennan of
Penn State, 25-8.
Hrovat scored six team points on a
fall when.he pinned Curt Thompson at
the 6:16 mark of the match.
To complete the demolishment of
Penn State, 197-pounder Smith beat
All teams welcome:.
Men, Women and two levels of Co-Rec
$525 - 10 games plus playoffs
$1050 - doubleheader - 20 games plus playoffs
NO PLAYER FEES!
All games are played at Mitchell Fields
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