hJbe llriWn1a~ PORS Sports desk: 763-2459 sportsdesk@umich.edu SECTION #3' P-eIf 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" I II