SPORTS
The Michigan Daily - Changing times - April 16, 2002 -11B
AMAKER
Continued from Page 1OBi
championship teams in 1991 and
1992. But he wants to make a name
for himself beyond the Duke label.
Krzyzewski "always told me to be
yourself," Amaker said. "We will do
things that will be similar in the
way that we run our program. But I
think he would be disappointed in
me if I didn't say this now or if I
didn't carry myself in this way that
I'm going to be Tommy Amaker."
Despite having the highest
respect for Krzyzewski and the
Duke program, Amaker made it
clear that he is not using the Michi-
gan job as leverage to be Krzyzews-
ki's replacement.
"I don't think you look at Michi-
gan as being a stepping stone to
anything," Amaker said.
When Martin assembled the
screening committee for the confer-
ence call, its goal was clear. "It's
our dream at Michigan to mirror
what Duke has done and I think
Tommy Amaker is our best chance
to do that," said Tim McCormick
who sat of the search committee
and is an ESPN analyst.
Amaker did not see the same suc-
cess that he saw at Duke in his four-
year stint at Seton Hall, but the
Pirates had a taste with a Sweet 16
appearance to go with three NIT
berths. A strong factor in the deci-
sion was the fact that Amaker has
seen success at the highest level of
basketball and of life.
"His pedigree at Duke is about
winning, character, academics, and
that's exactly what we want at
Michigan," McCormick said.
Speculation continues to swirl
that Amaker will bring in other for-
mer Duke players as assistants, but
Amaker said he has not made a
decision on the fate of the current
coaching staff. While coach at
Seton Hall, former Duke players
often would come and play the
Pirates. Amaker said he would try
and form that relationship at Michi-
gan with former Wolverines.,
Welcome to the show
In the past four years, two new
sports have taken on varsity status,
giving Michigan 25 varsity sports.
Women's water polo
Michigan coach Amber Drury-Pinto took
the helm last season and led the Wolver-
ines to a fifth-place finish at the Eastern
Championships.
Men's soccer
The second-year program made great
strides this season, advancing to the
semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament
only to lose in triple overtime to Indiana.
Two Shining moments
Caravan of supporters watches
field hockey team make history
K ENT, Ohio - They came from all over
the country. Nearly 100 alumni, students
d other Michigan athletes made the
three-hour drive to witness a moment with far
more magnitude than this small city could hold.
For once, football
played second fiddle at
Michigan, and for good
reason - history was in<
the making.
The national champion
Michigan field hockey.
players rushed the field
with chest-bumping
pride, mauling each other JOE
in both smiles and tears.
Nothing could take this SMITH
moment away from them. The One
Dozens of fellow Michi- And Only
gan varsity athletes from
the softball, gymnastics
and swimming teams carpooled to make the
fateful trip in support of their "Michigan fami-
ly," because they realized how special this day
was.
As junior forward Stephanie Johnson, a mem-
ber of the first women's national title in school
history, waved the Michigan flag, she also sym-
bolically carried the torch for future women
champions. .
"It was an unreal feeling," Johnson said. "It
didn't hit me until all the fans rushed onto the
field how special being a Michigan athlete is
and being part of the Michigan family."
The feeling was the same for the representa-
tives of women's teams that have came so close
to the holy grail in the past few years.
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now"
said Meghan Doe, a sophomore on the Michigan
softball team. "This is something we'll always
remember."
Nobody expected this Michigan team to make
it so far-except for the Wolverines them-
selves. Maybe that's why they seemed so loose
before the game, dancing around on the bus,
playing touch football on the field and holding
the confidence that everyone who dons the
maize and blue carries. It didn't matter that the
unseeded Wolverines started off the season 3-2
and finished third in the Big Ten. It didn't matter
that they faced the top-ranked Terrapins or that
no field hockey team with five losses had ever
won a national title.
On this day, they were the leaders and the
best. On this day, they were national champions.
The only other Big Ten team to capture a field
hockey title was Iowa in 1986.
But with Michigan's crown and perennial
national prowess, the Wolverines have leveled
the playing field.
And they couldn't have set a more important
precedent for future Wolverines. After the last
seconds ticked away, the Wolverines immediate-
ly rushed to the front row of the stands to
embrace their loyal followers. Whether it was
parents, alumni, fellow athletes or classmates,
they all began a rousing rendition of "It's great
to be a Michigan Wolverine."
And after a moment like this, it's awfully hard
not to feel that way.
Joe Smith can be reached at LESLIE WARD/Daily
josephms@umich.edu The Michigan field hockey team celebrates after its national championship victory in Kent, Ohio. The
11/19/01 title is Michigan's first from a female sport.
*Michiglan claims first men s gmnastics NCAA title
By Dan Dingemon
May 4, 1999
LINCOLN, Neb. - The goal for the men's
gymnastics team this year was to win a team
national championship. On April 23, the team
accomplished that.
The season was not over though for the
Wolverines, as the following night they had to
prepare for individual championships.
Michigan had 11 routines that qualified for
the event championships, more than any other
team. Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman and
freshman Scott Vetere led the Wolverines by
qualifying for three events each.
The competition determined not only the
event individual champions, but the top six
qualifiers in each event were also named All-
America.
Justin Toman scored a 9.8375 on the parallel
bars to capture the national title. In all, five
Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor with All-
America honors. During the team qualifying
round, the all-around national champion was
crowned. The Wolverines had three gymnasts
competing in the all-around with Toman, Vet-
ere and junior Lalo Haro.
At NCAAs -just as he had two weeks ear-
lier at Big Tens - Toman fell just .15 short of
the title, this time with a 57.9.
"It was disappointing, to finish so close
again, but the team title makes up for it,"
Toman said. "It was like deja vu when they
were announcing it - it was just like at Big
Tens."
On April 24, Toman rebounded from the dis-
appointment of finishing second to take the
national championship on the parallel bars
with a 9.8375.
"I am very pleased with this team, we won a
team title, we had an individual national cham-
pion, and the most All-Americans," Golder
said.
Once Golder joined the program, things
started to change. His first major move was
convincing the Mexican national champion
Lalo Haro to attend Michigan. His first recruit-
ing class contained six present members of the
team.
"He (Golder) told me 'Lalo, we are at the
bottom right now, but we are going to start
working, and we will get to the top,' " Haro
said. "I didn't know it would be this soon, but
we did it."
LAURIE BRESCOLL/Daily
Michigan gymnast Justin Toman won the National
Championship in the parallel bars in 1999.
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