14A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 7, 2002 Big Ten champs have just one NCAA rep WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. CHAMPIONSHIPS By Courtney Lewis races more and started performing well Daily Sports Writer again. Jazwinski's recovery appeared to be Michigan fifth-year senior Katie complete two weeks ago in State Col- Jazwinski was the only Wolverine who lege when she led Michigan to the Big competed at last year's NCAA Indoor Ten Championship. Jazwinski's win in Track and Field Championships, finish- the mile -her first race of the year at ing seventh and 15th, respectively, in that distance - and her second-place the 5,000 and 3,000-meter runs. But finishes in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters after battling injury for much of this landed her the Athlete of the Meet season, Jazwinski figured she had little award. chance of returning to She followed that with a nationals this season and i 0 0 personal-best 4:44.40 mile. decided to focus on the FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. at the "last-chance" Alex Big Ten Championship. Wilson Invitational last So she's thrilled just to Who: Michigan at NCAA weekend, and on Monday have qualified for the Wn: 1 pCm.iond 3psm learned that her time was NCAA Championships tomorrow and Saturday good enough for the this weekend in Fayet- Latest: Katie Jazwinski - NCAA meet. teville, Ark., where she the Big Ten Championship Jazwinski competed in will run the mile. Athlete of the Meet -will the mile in high school "Making it to Nationals compete in the mile as and said it's one of her is just a bonus because at Michigan's representative, favorite events. the beginning of the sea- "I definitely love the son I didn't think I would make it," mile, and I'm happy that I'm going to Jazwinski said. Nationals in the mile," she said. "It's An Achilles' heel injury she suffered fun to run because it combines speed, at the end of the cross country season strength and endurance." kept Jazwinski out of the first three Because the mile is usually a faster meets of the indoor season. She race than the 3,000 or 5,000 meters, resumed training about five weeks ago, Jazwinski has to make a few minor and put considerable pressure on her- adjustments. self to quickly return to form. "It goes by pretty quick, so you can "My coaches and everyone told me never let your guard down," Jazwinski not even to worry about Nationals, just said. "You have to be ready for every- think about Big Tens," Jazwinski said. thing and be ready to make changes." After that, she relaxed, enjoyed her Right now, Jazwinski isn't aiming Brannen's tactics may propel him to a title MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. CHAMPIONSHIPS By Steve Jackson Daily Sports Editor Months of training ended in dis- appointment and tragedy for the Wolverines last weekend, when the Big Ten Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships were can- celled after Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare fell and died during competition. After the meet, several members of the team expressed mixed feelings FAYETTEX about going home early. But in the last few days, What: Michig the perspective has shift- indoor Cham ed toward support for the toerrow an cancellation. Latest: Freshi "A young man lost his Nathan Branr life," Michigan coach Michigan's ik Ron Warhurst said. "And tive, hoping b the kids understand that American hoi some things are just more important than collegiate ath- letics. After (Dare's) memorial serv- ice, I don't think they could have competed at the same level." But the Wolverines still have one person competing the final race of the indoor season. Nathan Brennan, who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year yesterday, will compete in the mile this weekend at the NCAA Champi- onships in Fayetteville, Ark. Brannen qualified for the 800- and 3,000-meter events as well, but he will concentrate on his strongest event at nationals. "The mile is an easier run for him," Warhurst said. "When you VIL ian npici ien one toe )nor, look at his split times, he may be the fastest miler in the field." Brannen's time of 4:01.4 is the 14th best in the country this year; he is ranked No. 9 in the 800-meters. But Warhurst doesn't put too much stock in those rankings, and he remains confident that Brannen will be an All-American in his first year. "Early in the season, people go out with rabbits-- (fast " pace-setters that speed LLE, ARK. up the race in the begin- ning and then step off the at NCAA track) - and they just inships run as fast as they possi- bly can out of the gate ia3pturday an miler and just finish," Warhurst i will be said. "You won't see a representa- 3:56 this weekend. It is earn All- going to be a tactical s. race, and that will bene- fit Nathan." Brannen has received a great deal of attention since he and Alan Webb became the first pair of recruits with sub-four minute miletimes to attend the same school. Webb, who is redshirting the indoor season because of an Achilles heel problem, is the American record holder in the mile. Brannen, who hails from Ontario, Canada, was the No. 1-ranked junior in the world last year in the 800-meters. "They could be the eire apparents, they could be the best milers in America and Canada in a few years," Warhurst said. "That is their dream, and that is my aspirations for them." BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Michigan's Katie Jazwinski - seen running for the cross country team - will run in the mile In preliminary rounds of the NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships. for a particular placing - she's just concentrating on running well enough in tomorrow's prelims to make it into the final on Saturday - but she expects the competition to be fairly balanced. "At Nationals, everyone is pretty much equal and it's just whoever wants it the most," she said, adding that her experience of competing at NCAAs last year should help her feel less nervous. While Jazwinski is excited to be competing this weekend, she wishes teammate April Phillips could join her. Phillips set provisional marks in both the shot put and the weight throw at Big Tens, but she missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships by one spot. Jazwinksi prefers competing in team events, which is why this weekend won't be her biggest - even if she runs well. "My highlight of the year no mat- ter what is the Big Ten Champi- onships," she said. Sharing the victory with the entire team "was the most awesome experience I've had in my five years here." It takes an iMac to create a village. uj i:F' ,.y :. choosing a concentration? < 'feLJ~IS&A O Movie Theater. Relax & watch a DVD movie on your iMac. Record Store. Create your own mixes with iTunes. Burn your own CDs. Film Developing Hut. Create your own albums with iPhoto. Arcade. Play the latest video games on your iMac. Library. Connect to UM's library system online. Movie Studio. Create your own flicks with iMovie2. Burn your own DVDs. Special Pricing for UM Students iMacs starting at $1,249 Concentration & Advising t vj where when: i a e: Michigan Union Ballroom Thursday, March 7 11:ooam--3:oopm see website for Concentration Fair Week programs and events: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/saa/concfair Freshman singles player Matt Lockin and the rest of the Wolverines will embark on a Big Ten roadtrip this weekend. Michigan is still seeking its first conference win. Blue needs growth from lower singles By Brian Steere Daily Sports Writer Spring break was at the beach for the certainly no day Michigan men's tennis team. After an impressive nonconfer- ence start, the Wolverines dropped their first two Big Ten matches at home against No. 5 Illinois and Northwestern. Now, sitting at the bottom of the conference, Michigan (0-2 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) will hit the road this weekend to face Min- nesota (0-1, 4-3) and Wisconsin (1- 1, 6-3). A frustrating theme percolated throughout the Wolverines' past two losses. "We had some opportunities, and for whatever reason, we got a little nervous and had some lapses," coach Mark Mees said. "Against good teams, you just can't do that." Great tennis players distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack by their ability to excel when it mat- ters most. Mees knows such a knack MINNEAPOLIS & MADIsON Who: Michigan (0-2 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) vs. Minnesota (0-1, 4-3) and Wisconsin (1-1, 6-3) When: 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, 1:00 p.m. Sunday Latest: Michigan is looking for its first Big Ten win of the season and trying to end a three- match losing streak trip. Cox was sidelined for the Northwestern match due to a viral infection, and he has not picked up a racquet in two weeks. That means Mees will have to tin- ker with the singles lineup and bring in some new players at the bottom, a place where the Wolverines have not been very effective this season. "We have to play a little better down at the bottom of our lineup," Mees said. "We've got some guys that are capable of doing that, but they need to start executing in matches, not just in practice. We've been playing a lot of matches this week so we'll see who comes through." One player who does not need to