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. r _ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __i The hot , nvestment DIC S o f hv have lust been announced, Congratulations to Michigan's newest additions to Bear Stearns. 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