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Netters finally get going, sweep weekend
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
Last weekend, Michigan women's tennis coach
Bitsy Ritt met with her two freshmen after the
loss to Wake Forest and discussed how they had
improved this season. She told them that the dif-
Reversal of fortune
The Michigan women's tennis team has faced
nine opponents from the top 40 this season and
finally beat two of them this past weekend:
Jan. 30 No. 14 Notre Dame L 5-2
Feb. 14 No. 8 Tennessee 15-2
Feb. 16 No. 16 Kentucky L 5-2
Feb. 2 No. 13 Northwestern L 7-0
Feb. 24 No. 34 Illinois L 5-2
Mar. 16 No. 32 Wisconsin L 6-1
Mar. 31 No. 3 Wake Forest L 6-1
Apr. 5 No. 27 Miami (Fla.) W4-3
Apr. 6 No. 36 Ohio State W 4-3
ficult schedule the team has faced provided them
with much-needed experience. And as a result,
they have the maturity of older players.
"They've really learned from the experiences
in their dual matches this season," Ritt said.
"They stepped up this weekend when it counted."
These freshmen proved they were up to the
challenge, helping the Wolverines (3-4 Big Ten,
10-8 overall) sweep their three opponents this
weekend, including upsets of top-40 teams Miami
(Fla.) and Ohio State.
Before this weekend, Michigan had faced a
challenging schedule with seven opponents
ranked in the top 40 nationally. Michigan lost all
seven of those matches by scores of 5-2 or worse.
At times this season, Ritt felt her team was solid,
yet it never proved itself against top teams -
until this weekend.
"There are so many good players out there that
all dual matches are so competitive and so
tough," Ritt said. "So much heart and fight was
out there on the court (this weekend)."
Given one of the best opportunities of the sea-
son to showcase this talent against two teams in
the top 40, Michigan answered the call.
On Friday, the Wolverines pulled the biggest
upset of the season against No. 27 Miami, hand-
ing the Hurricanes (2-0 Big East, 11-5) a 4-3 loss
- the Hurricane's first to a team not in the top
25. Saturday produced a similar result against
rival Ohio State. Michigan handed the 36th-
ranked Buckeyes (3-2, 15-2) their first Big Ten
loss in more than a month.
Michigan completed the sweep yesterday with
a convincing 5-2 victory over Penn State (1-5, 6-
9). These matches proved to be the most success-
ful of the season, and the team's record is two
games above .500 for the first time since the
opening weekend.
Freshman Leanne Rutherford clinched the
Michigan victory on Friday over Miami's Sihem
Bennacer in three sets - without even realizing
the match was riding on her shoulders. Michigan
See SWEEP, Page 7B
LAUREN BRAUN/Daily
The Michigan women's tennis team, which has struggled tremendously this season
in Big Ten play, notched wins over Penn State and Ohio State this weekend.
urmbling orward
WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: 2ND PLACE AT NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL
MEN'S GYMNASTICS: 4TH PLACE AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Women inch past Iowa,
clinch a spot at NCAAs
By Matt Kramer
Daily Sports Writer
STATE COLLEGE - Co-captain Janes-
sa Grieco feared the No. 5 Michigan
women's gymnastics team's season was
slowly slipping away Saturday night.
"This meet was so nerve-wracking and so
close that I thought I was going to lose it,"
Grieco said. "I didn't feel so good."
But like they have done all year, Grieco
and the rest of the Wolverines hit their rou-
tines when they needed them the most - at
the NCAA Northeast Regionals - as they
squeezed their way into second place and
the final berth for the NCAA Champi-
onships two weeks from now in Alabama.
Michigan's second-place score of 195.6
was just good enough to fend off Iowa,
which turned in a surprising 195.475 after
leading the Wolverines all night. Nebraska
won the meet with a 195.925.
Sophomore Elise Ray took first place in
the all-around competition with a score of
39.45.
The Wolverines, who had no problem dis-
mantling Iowa two weeks ago at the Big Ten
Championships, were just one more slip up
away from packing their bags and heading
home for the season.
It wasn't until Iowa's Alexis Maday, the
meet's final competitor, failed to score a
perfect 10 on the floor exercise that Michi-
gan knew it would be going to its 11th
National Championship.
Michigan's Calli Ryals, the nation's No. 1
gymnast, hinted that Michigan may have
been looking ahead when it should have
been focused on what was going on in front
of them.
"I guess you can never really take for
granted that you're going to the NCAA
Championships - never," Ryals said.
Michigan opened up the meet on the
uneven bars and immediately dug itself a
hole by scoring a 48.2, the Wolverines' low-
est score of the season. The score didn't
even include a 9.25 from Ryals, who fell
off the bars for just the second time all year.
"I've never competed under so much
pressure," Ryals said. "Almost everyone of
our girls had a minor error before me, and
that just made me more nervous going into
the routine. My adrenaline was flowing too
much, and I just overdid it."
Trailing No. 6 Nebraska and No. 16 Iowa
after the first rotation, Michigan moved to
the balance beam.
After two solid performances from
Grieco and freshman Kara Rosella, who
stepped in for the injured senior Missy
Peterson, senior Amy Kuczera lost her foot-
ing on the beam and fell. That forced the
Wolverines' next three competitors, Shan-
non MacKenzie, Ryals and Ray to all to hit
their routines or else Michigan was going to
be in bigger trouble than it ever imagined.
All three did hit their routines, with Ray
capping it off in style by hitting for a 9.9 -
good enough to take first in the event.
Still trailing Nebraska and Iowa for the
top two spots, Michigan moved to the floor
exercise, an event the Wolverines have done
very well on all year.
But once again the unexpected fall bit the
Wolverines at the worst time, as freshman
Kallie Steffes, Michigan's first competitor,
fell on her last tumbling pass. Knowing that
one more fall was going to be the end of it
See REGIONALS, Page 6B
Minnesota loss
tough to take
for Blackburn
Cammalleri and Komisarek
named first-team All Americans
By Seth Kempner
Daily Sports Writer
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Senior Josh Blackburn sat at his
locker after the loss to Minnesota with both his jersey
and pads still on while other teammates had already
started dressing. He stared into the distance unsure of
where he would go next and unsure of how his four years
as Michigan's goaltender passed by
without his knowing. HOCKEY
"I think that it'll take some time to ZIOCEY
really set in," said Blackburn, while Notebook
trying to hold back a stream of tears.
"Right now, I just feel pretty sad that it's all over. Every-
one tells you this will be the quickest four years of your
life - and they're right.
"I think that I'll sit in this jersey for a bit. I'm not
ready to take this off quite yet."
Blackburn, who spent the last four years as Michigan's
No. 1 man in goal will now move on to the professional
ranks, where his rights are owned by the Phoenix Coy-
otes, without a national title in hand. Despite four trips
to the NCAA Tournament and two Frozen Four appear-
ances, Blackburn never got his chance at a champi-
onship.
Last Thursday, with 19,234 people watching intently at
the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Blackburn and Minnesota's
goalie Adam Hauser turned out stellar performances as
both tried to get one step closer to an NCAA title. They
seemed to try to outdo each other with every jaw-drop-
ping save.
Unfortunately for Blackburn, he played much of the
game from behind, while Hauser continued to stone every
Michigan scoring opportunity. But Blackburn played one
of his best games of the year when Michigan needed it
most. In his second, career start in the Frozen Four, he
played with the poise of a seasoned veteran that was sure
to catch the attention of any NHL scouts on hand, as he
stole more than four goals from the Golden Gophers.
See BLACKBURN, Page 3B
Blackburn: By the numbi ,ers
M ichigan goaltender Josh Blackburn has received pen-
ty of criticism this season, but after his impressive per
formance in the NCAA tournament, no one is doubting
his place in Michigan history.
YPear RecorGt#!aA e ;
1998-99 2510-6 °2.2$ .905
1999-00 14-4-4 2.38 .905
2000-01 26-2-5 2.27 .905
2001-02 27-11-5 2.22 .90
Career 9236-20 2.28 . 905
Hoosiers not a
match for 'M'
in easy sweep
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
Sophomore Calli Ryals, the nation's No. 1gymnast, and her Wolverines qualified for
the NCAA Championships by finishing second at the NCAA Northeast Regionals.
Men finish
fourth at
NCAAs
MEN'S NORMAN,
GYMNASTICS OKLA.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Evan Brown
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's gymnastics team
ended its season as the fourth-best team
in the country, and senior Daniel Diaz-
Luong won the NCAA High Bar title.
To most of the people involved, the
Wolverines' finishtwas disappointing.
But after entering the NCAA Champi-
onships ranked eighth, coming in fourth
isn't too bad.
"This year was much better than last
year," Michigan coach Kurt Golder said.
"As it turned out, the only thing that was
a significant difference was that we had
11 All-Americans last year (versus) five
this year. (Last year) we went into
NCAAs third and came out fourth. So,
this year, by taking a fourth-place fin-
Michigan's Kris Zimmerman helped the Wolverines finish fourth in the nation with this performance on the horizontal bar.
best team in the country this season,
won the championship. It scored a
219.3, besting Big Ten Champion and
NCAA runner-up Ohio State by less
than a point. Michigan scored a 215.05.
"We came away with a trophy," Gold-
er said. "The top four teams come away
with one."
The NCAA Championships started on
Thursday with two groups of six teams
final. Michigan cruised through this
preliminary competition, finishing sec-
ond in its group.
The Wolverines moved to Friday with
some confidence, but they didn't have
the firepower to beat teams such as
Oklahoma or Ohio State.
Michigan lost standout gymnasts
Brad Kenna and Kris Zimmerman early
in the championship, which hurt
"They are all-around guys (and just
our luck) that it happened during the
championships," Golder said. "I did like
20 substitutions (to make up for their
absence), which was more than all of
the other teams made on their rosters
combined. And when you make a substi-
tution, it's not a substitution that's mak-
ing you better."
All the while, Michigan still finished
BLOOMINGTON - Meghan Doe's dribbler in the fifth
inning of Michigan's 4-3 win over Indiana on Saturday did-
n't look like it held much promise, but it sparked a Michi-
gan comeback. The Wolverines were trailing 3-1 and
struggling offensively when Doe beat the throw to first for,
Michigan's first hit of the day.
In the next at bat, third baseman Stefanie Volpe lined a
two-run shot over the right-field wall to even the score.
Melinda Moulden's double in the sixth inning brought in
Marissa Young and gave Michigan a 4-3 lead.
"We just kept telling the kids, 'Swing hard' and Volpe
swung hard," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said.
"Meghan getting on base was huge, and Volpe attacking the
ball like she's capable of... It was a timely hit"
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