The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 6, 2003 - 7B

Aloha means victory
for Michigan tankers

By Waldemar Centeno
Daily Sports Writer

While he is only a high schooler, LeBron James is already predicted to be the first
pick in next year's NBA Draft.
ames struggles S stil
tops Strawvbertys son

It's better to give than to receive. That
was the motto for the Michigan men's
swimming and diving team during its
trip to Waimea, Hawaii over winter
break. When they weren't training or
competing, the Wolverines spent their
free time teaching the state's young
swimmers.
On Dec. 28, Michigan swam against
Hawaii Prep Academy, securing the vic-
tory over the high school with an over-
all score of 147-67.
"This was just a practice meet, which
came on a Saturday after a whole week
of double workouts," coach Jon
Urbanchek said. "Then we worked out
prior to the meet, so the team was really
tired. The meet wasn't very serious. It
was just a practice meet mainly to meet
the NCAA requirements, which
requires a training trip."
In addition to the victory, Michigan
also set four new pool records.
Ryan Earhardt, Jeff Hopwood, Davis
Tarwater and Dan Ketchum won the
200-yard medley relay with a time of
1:36.4. Tarwater and Ketchum teamed
with Garrett Mangieri and Mike Porth
to earn a record in the 200-yard
freestyle relay with a time of 1:27.04.
Hopwood grabbed his second

record of the day by winning the
100-yard breaststroke in 58.01.
Mangieri, Ketchum, Peter Van-
derkaay and Tony Kurth, who
clocked a 3:13:205 in the 400-yard
freestyle relay, captured the record.
Although the Michigan swimmers
had to compete while in Hawaii, they
took advantage of their stay on the
beautiful island and held free clinics
and camps for aspiring swimmers.
"Probably the best thing that came
out of the meet is the camps that we
held for the prep schools. It was good
for the prep school kids as youngsters to
see the No. 1 team in the country,"
Urbanchek said. "We were allowed to
share our expertise and help these kids
out there. That was probably the most
memorable thing for these youngsters,
to see the Michigan swimmers and have
one-on-one contact with them."
But the high school students weren't
the only ones who enjoyed the clinics.
The Wolverines "encountered many
new friendships," Urbanchek said.
"They were actually invited to birthday
parties and other events like surfing
during the week. The only bad thing
was that we had limited time there
because of all our training."
Many other benefits came out of
Michigan's trip to Hawaii. While the
coaches emphasized the training com-

FILE PHOTO
The Michigan men's swimming team spent part of the winter break in Hawaii,
where they competed against Hawaii Prep Academy.

ponent of the trip, they also wanted the
swimmers to bond together into a cohe-
sive team.
"The one benefit we get from train-
ing camp is not the amount of training
we get, but the fact that we stay in a
dormitory style," Urbanchek said. "It's
the best way to bond. It's the interaction
without all the classes. What we do out
of the water is far more important than
what we do in the water in building a
team.
Michigan did have one close call dur-
ing the trip - one of its top freshman

backstrokers, Chris DeJong, almost
blew out his knee during a good-
natured game of beach volleyball.
But the Wolverines still feel ready for
their upcoming meet against one of the
top teams in the nation. Michigan will
travel to Stanford to face the third-
ranked Cardinal Friday.
"I think this whole trip here is kind of
leading up to the competition with two
solid weeks of training," Urbanchek
said. "We were able to create a cohesive
team environment, which will help us to
prepare for Stanford."

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Darryl
Strawberry's son couldn't stop
LeBron James, but he at least slowed
him down.
Despite a relatively off night, James
and his top-ranked Akron St. Vincent-
St. Mary team held off D.J. Strawber-
ry and fifth-ranked Santa Ana Mater
* Dei mn a 64-5 8 victory Saturday night.
Strawberry held James, considered
the best high school player in the coun-
try, to 21 points, his second-lowest total
of the season, on 8-of-24 shooting
before a sellout crowd of approximately
12,000 at Pauley Pavilion and a nation-
al television audience on ESPN2.
"I think I did enough to help my
team win, besides not shooting the
ball well," James said. "I was doing
everything a shooter needs to do -
jumping straight up in the air, holding
my follow-through. It seemed like my
last five shots went in and out. I had
an off night, but we got a victory."
James also had nine rebounds and
seven assists as the Fighting Irish
improved to 8-0.
James, 17, is expected to bypass
college and become the first player
chosen in the NBA draft. He has
become one of the most talked about
* high school players ever after appear-
ing on the covers of Sports Illustrated
and other publications.
Strawberry and his team left with-
out commenting.
"Every night, he's not going to

shoot the ball great," St. Vincent-St.
Mary coach Dru Joyce said. "That's
the game. Sometimes you are going to
shoot well, sometimes you aren't. But
there are other things. He still
rebounded, defended and blocked
shots. The bottom line is it's an ugly
win, but it's a win."
Strawberry finished, with seven
points. Wesley Washington, who has
signed with Minnesota, led Mater Dei
(15-2) with 18 points, and Marcell
Jones added 14.
James' first shot of the game was an
airball and he missed his next five
attempts before making a layup with
1:18 left in the eight-minute first
quarter. James also had a flashy assist
on a backwards bounce pass between
the legs to Romeo Travis, who
dunked.
After the first quarter ended tied
11-11, James scored eleven in the sec-
ond quarter and had an assist on Dru
Joyce's 3-pointer. James' basket to
close the half gave St. Vincent-St.
Mary a 30-24 halftime lead.
James missed both his third-quarter
shots and his offensive output was
limited to two free throws as St. Vin-
cent-St. Mary increased its lead to 46-
36.
James made two of four shots in the
fourth quarter.
Travis and Corey Jones finished
with 12 points, and Joyce had 10 for
St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Intrasquad meet prepares Blue for season

By Ellen McGarrlity
For the Daily
Finding the drive to compete against a member of
another team may be human nature, but finding the
motivation to compete against someone from your
own team can be tricky. Sophomore Darnell Talbert
found that motivation, though, when he won the 60-
meter high hurdles in the annual men's track
intrasquad meet.
"It's hard because you're used to working with your
teammates." Talbert said. "But having them beat you
in the intrasquad meet helps to train us for when it
really counts."
In the meet held Dec. 11-12, Talbert and the rest of
the Michigan men's track and field team were put
head to head against each other after being divided
into Maize and Blue teams.
Talbert's time of 8.44 led the Maize team to victory
in the hurdles. The race was particularly close, with
the other four participants clocking in within 0.37 sec-
onds of Talbert.
The sophomore was modest when discussing his
win. "I was honestly surprised that I won," Talbert
said. "I didn't feel ready for the race, but I had fun and
was happy with the results."

Coach Ron Warhurst would be pleased if Talbert
surprises himself again during the upcoming season.
Both sides had strong athletes, but the Blue team
claimed the win for the fourth year in a row with a
score of 381, leaving the Maize team with just 287.
During the first day of competition, sophomore
Nate Brannen, who was Big Ten Freshman of the Year
last season, scored points for the Blue team in the
1,200-meter run. Brannen tied for first with Maize
runner Nick Willis and the two broke the meet record
with a time of 3:01.69.
"I was really impressed with Nate and Nick,"
Warhurst said. "They always do a good job, but they
performed especially well in the intrasquad meet."
Freshman Andrew Ellerton, competing for the Blue
team, had a standout performance as well with his win
in the 800-meter run. With his time of 1:54.71, Eller-
ton set an intrasquad meet record. The rookie also fin-
ished sixth out of 19 runners in the 1,200-meter, not
far behind Brannen and Willis.
Other' noteworthy performances came from fifth-
year senior Kevin Lamb and sophomore Nathan
Taylor. Taylor took first for the Blue team in the 60-
meter dash with Lamb close behind him in second
for the Maize team. Lamb also won the 200-meter
dash in 22.51.

The meet not only gave the athletes a chance to
warm up for the season, but it also allowed the coaches
to see what talent they have to work with this season.
"The performances in the meet were very promis-
ing," Warhurst said. "Some of these guys have already
been through the cross-country season and are well
prepared."
Now that Warhurst knows what weapons he has, he
is looking toward the rest of the season. Ranked ninth
in the Big Ten last year, the team has plenty of room
for improvement. The loss of Alan Webb, who last
year as a freshman took fourth in the 1500-meter run
in the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships, will also
factor into the team's success. Webb turned pro after
just one year of competing in college track.
"Everyone's going to have to step up now that Webb
is gone," Talbert said.
Saturday, the team hosts the Jack Harvey Invitation-
al to officially kick off the season, but Warhurst is
already looking past this weekend's meet.
"I'm anxious to. see how the team does against Indi-
ana," Warhurst said, referring to the meet Jan. 18
against Indiana, Michigan State and Kent State. "That
meet will be our first big test. We've lost practice time
over the Christmas break, so we'll have to work extra
hard now that the season is underway."