6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 21, 2003
Sooners surge to
victory over Blue
'M' falls short in last
race of Quadrangular
By Eric Ambinder
For the Daily
A familiar scene played out Satur-
day night as the Michigan men's
gymnastics team hosted defending
national champion and top-ranked
Oklahoma . at Cliff Keen Arena
before a lively crowd of 1,187. Hav-
ing the experience of already com-
peting this season and a home-crowd
exhibiting spirit similar to what you
would experience around the corner
at Yost Ice Arena, the Wolverines
seemed to have the momentum nec-
essary to pull off an upset against an
Oklahoma squad that sputtered out
of the gate. But just like last year, the
Sooners came back and defeated the
Wolverines 214.275- 208.650.
"We were pretty awful at the begin-
ning," Oklahoma coach Mark
Williams said. "Last time we came up
here, we did the exact same thing."
Beginning with an excellent all-
around performance on the pommel
horse, the Wolverines surged ahead
after two events. But just as the
first-home-match jitters subsided
and the crowd energy increased,
Oklahoma still-rings specialist
Brett Covey scored an impressive
9.850, turning the match around for
the Sooners.
"It was awesome ... it was wonder-
ful," said Covey about his perform-
ance. "I had support from my team
and just nailed it."
Oklahoma took a narrow 105.7-
104.7 lead after three events and gained
control of the match by demonstrating
consistency through its final event.
Costly mistakes hurt the Wolver-
ines late as they struggled on the hor-
izontal bar. Some of Michigan's best
gymnasts fell off at key points in
their routine.
"If we're going to beat Oklahoma,
we're going to beat them with consis-
tency and by not making mistakes,"
Michigan coach Kurt Golder said.
With all that did go wrong Satur-
day night, there were reasons for
Golder's team to be optimistic. With
three of Michigan's top performers
battling injuries and being nowhere
near full strength, the Wolverines still
competed closely with the nation's
best team. Michigan junior co-cap-
tain Chris Gatti was not able to par-
ticipate in the match because of a
hand injury, and two-time NCAA All-
American Kris Zimmerman was lim-
ited to competing in just two of his
usual six events.
Despite a nagging shoulder injury
that caused him to take a medical red-
shirt last year, Michigan fifth-year
senior co-captain Scott Vetere was the
top performer on the pommel horse
- the only event he participated in.
"It's very frustrating," Vetere said
of his rehabilitation. "It's hard to get
your confidence up and compete."
While frustration may follow the
Wolverines until they're healthy, this
team appears to have the emotional
firepower and enthusiasm needed to
overcome the challenges that accom-
pany an injury-plagued lineup.
"We showed real good spirit, and
we did not give up," Golder said. "I'm
By Nicole Stanton
For the Daily
The outcome of Saturday's men's
track indoor meet was on the shoulders
of Michigan sophomores Seth Waits,
Nate Brannen, DarNell Talbert and jun-
ior Nick Meter.
The meet against Indiana, Michigan
State and Kent State went down to the
last event: The 4x400-meter-relay.
Before that event, the score between
Indiana and Michigan was close; the
Wolverines had to win the race in order
to win the entire meet. Waits started his
400 strong, running neck-and-neck with
an Indiana rival. Then the baton was
passed to Meter, who had an unfortunate
start and threw himself at Brannen to
pass the baton. After Meter's fall, Bran-
nen knew he had to catch up, and he
almost did, running about a foot behind
the Indiana and Michigan State runners.
Then Talbert took the baton, knowing it
was up to him to win the race. There was
raw fury in his eyes, and he possessed
sheer determination.
But Talbert's intensity was not
enough, as Indiana edged out Michi-
gan by one second. The loss gave
Michigan a final score of 157, behind
Indiana's 172.
"DarNell worked real hard today and
put in great effort," Meter said.
Talbert also ran the 400-meter dash,
finishing with a time of 49.3 seconds.
"I have to thank my teammates for my
success. When I run, I ignore everyone
else and can usually only hear my
mom," Talbert said. "But today, I could
hear my teammates cheering me on and
knew I had to keep going."
Although Talbert's determination did
not lead the Wolverines to victory, it was
still an important factor for Michigan.
"Relaxation and determination are
important in running because being
nervous is a waste of energy," freshman
Joe Schramski said.
Schramski's event of the day was the
800-meter race, and he had to run it with
one of Michigan's top runners, Brannen.
Schramski was used as the rabbit of
the race. His job was to start the race at
full speed, giving Brannen that extra
urge to keep up and win. But he didn't
expect to finish in second place.
"I knew I could run it with Nate, but I
expected at least third place, not sec-
ond," Schramski said.
As a freshman, it was a little intimidat-
ing for Schramski to run with Brannen,
and he didn't want to let his team down.
"I knew what I had to do and just
hung on the best I could," Schramski
said.
Brannen took first place in the 800,
finishing at 1:48, just over the automatic
qualifying time for the NCAA Champi-
onships. And Schramski placed nicely
behind him with a time of 1:55.
Schramski wasn't the only freshman
who ran well for the Wolverines. Fresh-
man Nick Willis won the mile with a
time of 4:04, a provisional qualifying
time for the NCAA Championships.
"I wasn't even thinking about run-
ning,"Willis said.
"I was just counting the laps down
like four, three, two, one."
Michigan's last indoor meet, the Red
Simmons Invitational, is this Saturday.
04
TONY DING/Daily
Michigan freshman Justin Laury competes on the pommel horse. The Wolverines
performed well in that event Saturday, but lost the meet to Oklahoma.
real proud of our fight."
When they weren't cheering each
other on, the Michigan gymnasts
raised the energy inside Cliff Keen by
launching t-shirts into the crowd and
high-fiving the children that waved
their outstretched arms over the
dividers on the sideline.
"We're definitely not nearly as
good as we can be this year," Gold-
er said. "This is a team that's really
capable. At the end of the year, we
can challenge for the national
championship."
Inexperienced netters split first dual matches
By Melanie Kebler
Daily Sports Writer
The young and fairly inexperienced Michigan
men's tennis team got its first taste of dual match
play this weekend, splitting its home matches
against Western Michigan and DePaul. The
Wolverines defeated DePaul 6-1 on Sunday, after
Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Broncos.
Michigan began the match against the Blue
Demons by sweeping the doubles matches. In
singles play, the Wolverines took five of the six
matches fairly decisively. Senior co-captain
Chris Shaya described his team's play, saying it
"could've been better, could've been worse."
"I think if you look at our team, we're defi-
nitely inexperienced in every position," Shaya
said. "There's no one who's really played that
position before, who knows the people they're
going to play or knows what it takes to get it
done at that spot. It's going to take some getting
used to. I think we did a better job of it today."
Shaya's recurring injuries - tendonitis of the
knee and a nagging arm injury - forced him to
sit out his singles match, where he usually plays
in Michigan's No. I spot. His absence gave every
one of his teammates a chance to move up in the
lineup and gain valuable experience.
"We've got small numbers this year, and I
think at some point this season everybody's
going to be contributing to the lineup," Michigan
assistant coach Dan Goldberg said. "It was good
experience for Carey (Rubin) to get in there and
play and win decisively, and it was good for his
confidence."
Rubin won his match at the No. 6 spot, 6-0, 6-
2. His brother, Michael, won a tighter match at
the No. 2 spot, 7-6(6), 6-1. The lone defeat for
the Wolverines Sunday came at the No. I spot,
where DePaul's Andy Michaels defeated Antho-
ny Jackson 4-6, 6-4, 1-0(7). The match was
decided by a match tie break in lieu of a third
set.
"Anthony's had a tough weekend. Both of the
players he played are good players. Both guys'
are people I feel he should beat and has beaten,"
Goldberg said. "He just has to be a lot more
focused mentally."
Jackson also lost his match Saturday, con-
tributing to the Wolverines' 4-3 loss. It was
Michigan's first loss ever to Western Michigan at
the Varsity Tennis Center.
"Obviously, (Saturday) was extremely disap-
pointing," Goldberg said. "Especially with a rel-
atively young group and really only one player
out of last year's team with extensive playing
experience, I did expect that it would take a little
while for us to get into top form."
Saturday's match was the Wolverines' home
opener for the season, which may have produced
added pressure for the team.
"We had butterflies for the start of the season,
and at home matches, you want to play well for
the crowd, you want to play well for your coach-
es, you want to play well for your parents,"
Shaya said. "Next weekend, we won't be under
nearly as much pressure on the road."
The Wolverines travel to Oklahoma next week-
end to take on Tulsa. Goldberg thinks his team
will continue to gain confidence, as well as
experience.
"A lot of these guys have never really compet-
ed at the top level of college tennis," he said.
"You talk about confidence, but the only way to
get it is by going out there and winning."
TOM FELDKAMP/Daily
Michigan's Chris Shaya attempts a forehand shot. In their first dual-meet action of the
season, the Wolverines beat DePaul Sunday, but lost to Western Michigan Saturday.
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Continued from Page 18
them to be up their every time."
Despite Grieco's event-winning
score of 9.825 on beam, the
Wolverines struggled a bit on beam
overall, having to count a fall in the
overall score.
"Beam is one of those events
where it's always a make or break
event," Grieco said. "It's not always
going to go perfect. I think that it's
good we get our jitters out at the
beginning of the year as opposed to
the end of the year."
"I told the kids afterwards I'm
not that disappointed because this is
about realistically where I thought
that we'd be with the lineups that
we're fielding right now," Plocki
said. "We showed some places of
improvement, some different indi-
viduals who had places of improve-
ment tonight over last week."
The Wolverines hit the road this
week to face No. 2 Georgia in a dual
meet on Friday.
"We're at the point now where
we've accomplished most of the
major things," Plocki said. "We have
to go into Georgia with confidence
that we can be a great team and not go
in feeling like we're licking our
wounds, and maybe we'll-be good and
maybe we won't be."
Entry Deadline:
Thurs, 01/23
5:00 PM
IM Building
Entry Fee:
$9.00 - doubles team
$5.00 - individual
Tournament Date:
Saturday, January 25
Sports Coliseum
Table Tennis
Entry Deadline:
Tues, 01/28
5:00 PM
IM Building
Entry Fee:
$25.00 per team
$5.00 per individual
Manager's Meeting:
MANDATORY
Tues, 01/28
6:00 PM
IM Building
Meet Date:
Thurs, 01/30
Canham Natatorium
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$2.00 Off Sai"'uT
Any Purchase of $15 Or More
Must Mention Coupon When Ordering. *Coupons May
Not Be Combined With Any Other Offer. Expires 4/30/03
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Combo Specials: Served with Fried Rice & Spring Roll (or Daily Soup or Soda)
Lunch Dinner. Lunch Dinner, Lunch Dinner
Entries due:
Friday, 01/31
IM Building
Entries will I
throughout1
be taken
the contest.
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Entries due:
Friday, 01/31
IM Building
Entries will be taken
throughout the contest.
Entry Fee:
$5.00 per individual
Contest Date:
Friday, 01/31
IM Building
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
*9.
*10.
*11.
Sweet & Sour Pork............4.95
Sweet & Sour Chicken............4.95
Sweet & Sour Shrimp.............5.45
Moo Goo Gai Pan.....................4.95
Chicken with Broccoli.............4.95
Cashew Chicken.......................4.95
Almond Chicken........................4.95
Shrimp & Chicken w. Veg........4.95
Kung Pao Chicken....................4.95
Yu Hsiang Chicken....................4.95
Hunan Spicy Chicken...............4.95
6.75
S 6.75
7.25
6.75
6.75
6.75
6.75
6.75
6.75
6.75
6.75
*12.
*13.
14.
*15.
*16.
*17.
*18.
19.
*20.
*21.
*22.
Szechuan Chicken...........5.45
General Tso Chicken............5.45
Sesame Chicken...................5.45
Orange Flavor Chicken........5.45
Yu Hsiang Pork.....................4.95
Pork Home Style...................4.95
Hunan Spicy Pork................4.95
Pork with Broccoli................4.95
Mongolian Beef.....................5.45
Beef w. Bar-B-Q Sauce.......5.45
Hunan Spicy Beef.................5.45
7.25
7.25
7.25
7.25
6.75
6.75
6.75
6.75
7.25
7.25
7.25
23.
*24.
25.
26.
27.
*28.
29.
*30.
31.
*32.
F 5
Sesame Beef......................5.45 7.25
Orange Flavor Beef.................5.45 7.25
Baby Shrimp w/ Mixed Veg....6.25 7.75
Baby Shrimp w/ Snow Peas...6.25 7.75
Cashew Baby Shrimp..............6.25 7.75
Kung Pao Shrimp.....................6.25 7.75
Vegetable Deluxe....................4.95 6.75
Yu Hsiang Vegetables.............4.95 6.75
Bean Curd w/ Vegetables...... 4.95 6.75
Home Style Bean Curd...........4.95 6.75
* Indicates spicy dish
Entry Fee:
$5.00 per individual
Contest Date:
Friday, 01/31
IM Building
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3-Polnt Shootout
Free Throw Contest
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