) 2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 17, 2003 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY G1be £iduiisuu zilg Dance team spreading cheer to many By Erin Block For the Daily They came, they danced and they conquered. The Michigan dance team was able to show Saturday at the men's basketball game why it is one of the hottest club sports - and is on the verge of becoming a varsity sport. Especially enjoyable was the performance dur- ing halftime, where the team and members of their most recent clinic took the floor and performed a two- and-a-half-minute dance. The clinic - approximately three hours long - taught 60 girls from age 10 inter- ested college women how to shake it with the best of them. Although the men's basketball games are usual- ly the largest audience it performs in front of, the dance team also spreads spirit and energy to the lacrosse team, men's gymnastics team, women's vol- leyball and men's soccer. The dance team is a club sport which has seen huge growth over the last four years. With small strides, the team has gone from performing and cheering for sports with smaller audiences to receiving a corner to showcase its spirit at the Big House. Captain Lorin O'Toole credited this growth to their coach Valerie Postsos' determination to broaden the team's scope and also to fans who wrote the athletic department. "Being able to cheer for football is a huge treat and helps our team to get better," O'Toole said. Cheering for football, while an enormous step up for the dance team, is a small step toward becoming a varsity sport. There are many club sports at Michigan, but being a "varsity" sport has many added bonuses that allow the teams to live up to their full potential. The dance team has just recently submitted a letter of intention to the athletic department to become a varsi- ty sport, but O'Toole said involves a long process where funding will be an issue. While the dance team helps support Michigan teams by scattering spirit, it also competes throughout the year to display its finely tuned athleticism. "Games and sideline are important for the spirit of the game, but competition is another dimension where technique and athletic ability is more credited than just spirit, " O'Toole said. The dance team performs in competitions about twice per year at its summer camp in Wisconsin. If it teams on campus qualifies, it will participate at the Universal Dance Association National Competition. Nationals this year were held in Florida during January, where the Wolverines took 10th place out of about 30 teams. "We were happy with our finish and also had a very good time, but we are always striving to do better," O'Toole said. The girls will even be on ESPN next October when they televise the national tournament for the top-10 placement. With 22 girls on the roster, one would expect a very close-knit group, and this is exactly the case. "Not only is this a way to continue dancing, I am also with a group of people who love it just as much as I do" O'Toole said. "The amount of time we spend together is ridiculous, but it is by choice." The women are always looking for new talent and the next tryout for this energetic and entertaining sport is in April. Chelsea Cullen, a junior team member states she joined because, "It is a great opportunity to continue dancing and competing too-and the added bonus is definitely the great "seats" to all of the foot- ball and basketball games." ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Min- Anri fllin- C -.. T 1,-A ri w who: A pr'1 Phllips Hometown: Fraser Position: shot put Sport: Track and Field Year: Senior Why: Phillips broke two school records in Michigan first-place finish at the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup. She recorded throws of 54-71/4 and 63-1 1/4 in the shot put and weight throw, respectively. Phillips is a one of the Wolverines' tri-captains. Phillips Waltrip takes Daytona in rain-shortened race DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Michael Waltrip is the new master of Daytona. He doesn't win anywhere else. It's a burden well worth bearing - being the best driver in NASCAR's biggest race, at stock-car racing's most famous track. Under dark clouds, Waltrip raced past leader Jimmie Johnson after a restart on lap 106 yesterday to win the rain-shortened Daytona 500 for the second time in three years. Counting last year's Pepsi 400, he has three victories in the last five races at Daytona International Speed- way. Those are the only ones in his 535 career starts. "It's just amazing that we put that car in the front and then it started rain- ing," Waltrip said. "Today, I really wanted some rain, and I got it." Pre-race favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., done in by a dead battery, helped his friend and teammate take the lead on the last green-flag lap. "I had a plan," Waltrip said. "I knew what I had to do. I had to get behind Junior. I did that and I was able to squeeze out the win. "The victory in July was the best thing in the world, but this is the Day- tona 500." Waltrip's first career Winston Cup victory came here in 2001, but his joy was wiped away by the fatal last-lap crash of Dale Earnhardt Sr., his boss and friend. Yesterday, Waltrip followed Earn- hardt Jr., who had been lapped, past Johnson in a tight two-car draft. As the leaders neared the finish line, defending champion Ward Bur- ton spun and slammed into the fourth- turn wall, bringing out the fifth caution flag of the day. ' Moments later, rain fell for the sec- ond time, and cars were stopped on pit road to wait it out after completing 109 of 200 laps. After a little more than an hour, NASCAR declared Waltrip the win- ner. As anticlimactic as the triumph might have been, his team celebrated in a garage 100 yards from Victory Lane. Waltrip's wife, Buffy, and Earn- hardt's widow, Teresa, hugged. Waltrip lifted the trophy high above his head as the crew sprayed beer and cham- pagne all over him. Waltrip has practically owned Day- tona's famed 2 1/2-mile oval the past few seasons. He finished second to Earnhardt Jr. in the 2001 Pepsi 400 and was fifth in last year's 500 after winning a qualify- ing race. Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip's younger brother finally got to fully enjoy a vic- tory in July, taking that year's Pepsi race. At the 500, the tandem of Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. dominated. Junior, the heavy favorite after win- ning three preliminary races in eight days, led 22 laps and was still out front when he started having electrical problems. He finally slowed on lap 88 and drove slowly into the pits the next time around. He lost two laps - and his shot at victory. Waltrip then became the man to beat. He wound up leading three times for a total of 68 laps, including the final four. Kurt Busch finished second, fol- lowed by Johnson and Kevin Harvick. Mark Martin, last year's series runner- up, was fifth, with Robby Gordon 'M SCHEDULE Wednesday, Feb. 19 M Basketball at Purdue 7 p.m. W Swim/Diving at Big Ten Championships 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 W Basketball at Penn State 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 Water Polo at Loyola Marymount 6 p.m. Baseball at Armstrong Atlantic State 4 p.m. Softball vs. Temple 5 p.m. M Gymnastics vs. Iowa 7 p.m. Ice Hockey at Nebraska-Omaha 8 p.m. Softball vs. Washington 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 Softball vs. Bracket Playoffs TBA Baseball vs. Georgia Tech 11:30 a.m. M Tennis vs. Butler 12 p.m. Softball vs. South Carolina 12:30 p.m. Water Polo vs. SanJose State 7:15 p.m. Water Polo at California-Irvine 9 p.m. W Gymnastics at Denver 8:00 p.m. Wrestling at Purdue 7:00 p.m. Ice Hockey at Nebraska-Omaha 8:35 p.m. M Track/Field vs. Harold Silverston Invitational W Track/Field vs. Harold Silverston Invitational Sunday, Feb. 23 Softball vs. Semifinals/Championship TBA Baseball vs. Rider 11:30 a.m. W Basketball at Indiana 2 p.m. M Golf at The Puerto Rico Classic (San Juan, P.R.) Monday, Feb. 24 W Golf at Central District Invitational (Parrish, Fla.) Tuesday, Feb. 25 Water Polo at Long Beach State TBA Softball at Texas-San Antonio 1 p.m. CST Baseball at Saint Leo 7 p.m. Softball at Texas-San Antonio Wednesday, Feb. 26 Water Polo at California-Santa Barbara 7 p.m. Softball at Texas A&M 8:30 p.m. Baseball at Stetson 7 p.m. M Basketball at Wisconsin 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 M Swim/Diving vs. Big Ten Championships 12 p.m. W Tennis at Wake Forest 2 p.m. W Basketball at Ohio State 7 p.m. 0 AP PHOTO Michael Waltrip won the Daytona 500 for the second time in the past three years. The race was cut short this year due to bad weather conditions. sixth and defending Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart seventh. Officials moved up the start of the race about 20 minutes to try to get it in before the rain. Pole-winner Jeff Green was shuf- fled back to ninth on the first lap, and Waltrip moved from fourth to first. Earnhardt Jr. fell to fourth, but worked his way back to second on lap five. Friday, Feb. 28 Softball vs.Florida2.p.rm W Tennis at Duke 4 p.m. Softball at Texas 6 p.m. Baseball at Bethune-Cookman 7 p.m. W Gymnastics at Utah 9 p.m. Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State 7:35 p.m. 5 .v ,..- O o 0 A a I Q M 1JV 6 (9 1 1s NOTES S1Uy 0b 43 Softball drops three in opening weekend The No. 4 Michigan softball team didn't get off to a hot start this week- end as it dropped three out of five games at the Campbell/Cartier Clas- sic in Poway, Calif. The Wolverines defeated No. 15 Fresno State and Loyola Marymount, but lost to Cal State-Northridge, San Diego State and Oregon. Sophomore pitcher Nicole Motycka picked up all three los.ses for the Wolverines, while freshman Jennie Ritter and senior Marissa Young both earned their first wins of the season. The Wolverines trailed yesterday's finale 2-0 after Ritter gave up solo home runs in the first and fifth innings. But a Marissa Young home- run in the sixth evened the game at two. The game then went into the bottom of the ninth when Michelle Teschler, who was rarely used last season, hit her second homerun of the game to end the tourney. It was the first time the Wolverines had bro- ken through for a victory in extra innings after all three of their losses came in extra frames. Michigan's last extra inning loss came late Saturday night in an eight- inning 8-7 loss to Oregon. The win- ning run got on base because of the international tiebreaker used in the tournament that puts a runner on sec- ond to start the inning. Michigan loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but freshman pitcher Grace Leutele bounced into a double play to end the game. In Saturday evening's loss to San Diego State, both teams were dead- locked at one going into the ninth inning when the international tiebreaker scored the winning run yet again. In the bottom of the inning, the Aztecs sacrificed the leadoff run- ner over to third before an RBI single by Amber Granhalm won the game. The Wolverines had a chance to NBA STANDINGS 1 Saturday, Mar. 1 Softball vs. North Carolina 1 p.m. M Basketball vs. Illinois 12:17 p.m. Baseball at Bethune-Cookman 1 p.m. Softball vs. Semifinals 6 p.m. M Gymnastics at Stanford 10 p.m. Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State 7:35 p.m. Water Polo vs. Redlands Mini DAY SCOREBOARD EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION NHL STANDINGS New Jersey Boston Philadelphia Washington Orlando New York Miami CENTRAL DIVISION W 34 27 25 24 24 21 17 W 34 32 25 26 19 17 14 10 L 15 22 24 25 26 27 32 L 15 15 23 24 30 32 34 40 Pct. .694 .551 .510 .490 .480 .438 .347 Pct. .694 .681 .521 .520 .388 .347 .292 .200 GB 7 9 10 10.5 12.5 17 GB 1 8.5 8.5 15 17 19.5 24.5 New Jersey Philadelphia NY Islanders Pittsburgh NY Rangers W 33 29 25 22 21 NORTHEAST DIVISION Ottawa Toronto Boston Montreal Buffalo W L 34 14 30 20 27, 20: 21 23 15 27 L 13 14 22 24 28 OL 4 2 2 5 2 OL 1 1 5 4 OL 3 5 8 4 -5 PTS 76 65 61 54 41 PT5 GV; GA 73 140102 69 -128115 57 147 154 53 145 162 51 147 180 GF GA 182127 156 133 161144 148167 113141 Indiana Detroit Milwaukee New Orleans Atlanta Chicago Toronto Cleveland SOUTHEAST DIVISION W Washington 26 Tampa Bay 22 Florida 16 Atlanta 19 Carolina 17 L 20 20 20 28 27 T 7 8 11 3 6 PTS GF GA 62 161150 57 152156 51 128164 45 148191 45 119161 ~ C J8 I WESTERN CONFERENCE NORTHWEST DIVISION Dallas San Antonio Utah Minnesota Houston Memphis Denver W 38 33 29 29 26 13 12 w 34 32 29 24 21 21 17 L 10 16 20 20 22 35 37 L 17 16 21 23 27 27 32 Pct. .792 .673 .592 .592 .542 .271 .245 Pt. .667 .667 .580 .511 .438 .438 .347 GB 5.5 9.5 9.5 12 25 26.5 GB 0.5 4.5 8 11.5 11.5 16 WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION W L St. Louis 29 15 Detroit 27 17 Chicago 23 19 Nashville 18 23 Columbus 20 26 NORTHWEST DIVISION W Vancouver Minnesota Edmonton Colorado Calgary 31 27 25 23 18 PACIFIC DIVISION Sacramento Portland Phoenix LA Lakers Seattle GoldeneState LA Clippers L 16 18 18 14 26 L 11 19 24 23 24 T 8 9 10 9 6 T 8 8 6 11 8 T 12 7 4 6 7 OL 4 2 3 4 2 OL 0 1 6 3 OL 1, 4 4 5 4 PTS 70 65 59 49 48 PTS 70 63 62 62 47 PTS 75:, 59. 52 51 ;49 GF GA 180143 157138 132 130' 124144, 152 167 GF GA 17 143 1321120 151148, 153 X32 120 155 GF GA 133134 140149 147162 134148 PACIFIC DIVISION Dallas Anaheim Los Angeles San Jose Phoenix W 31 24 22 20 19. All clinics are held at the Intramural Sports Building. [~'~ Volleyball- February 17*, 7:00PM NBA GAMES Yesterday's games Philadelphia 90, New Jersey 83 Toronto 99, Orlando 97 Memphis 101, Milwaukee 95 Minpna 19 GlA..., C,..+ 109 NHL GAMES Yesterday's games Dallas 3, San Jose 1 Today's games 3 o:m.