The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 20, 2003 - 10A Williams sisters take on M ichigan By GlnaAdducl Daily Sports Writer Want to get to know some celebri- ties? If so, perhaps you should consider playing tennis. The Michigan men's ten- nis team members have encountered numerous famous players throughout their careers. And not only have some Wolverines met these celebrities, but some have even played with them. When junior Anthony Jackson was 10 years old, his family traveled to Florida so he could participate in a tennis camp. Coincidentally, it was at this same camp that No. 1- and No. 2- ranked women's professional tennis players Serena and Venus Williams trained. Jackson practiced with the soon-to be prodigy Serena Williams for a couple of rounds when Ser- ena's father Richard directed $> him to walk up to the net. Mha Mr. Williams then instructed Serena to rip ground strokes u r as hard as she could straight at Jackson. "I was really small in those days, and Serena is really Track shoots for 'Triple Crown' By Jeremy Antar Daily Sports Writer College track programs usually have three teams compet- ing every year at different times- with the cross-country team in the fall, the indoor track and field team in the winter and the outdoor track and field team in the spring. Although track may be best known for individual accom- plishments, something needs to be said about a program that has won Big Ten championships in four straight seasons. The Michigan women's track and field team has done just that. In 2002, the Wolverines won the indoor title, then the outdoor title and finally the cross-country title. So far in 2003, the Wolverines have continued their remarkable streak, winning the Big Ten championship in the indoor competition earlier this month. Now, as the Wolverines embark on the outdoor season, their dream of capturing the illustrious "Triple Crown" seems well within reach. Even though the Wolverines have won four straight Big Ten championships, the "triple crown" refers to three straight championships within the same school year. The team is confident, determined and focused about accomplishing the prestigious goal, a feat that Michigan has not reached since the 1994-95 season. "We have depth in every event this year, so we are in for the title. We want the Triple Crown, and we want it really bad," said senior tri-captain April Phillips. This Wolverine squad is fresh off a Big Ten championship in the indoor season and has three school record holders com- peting in the upcoming outdoor season - April Phillips in the shot put and hammer throw, senior Vera Simms in the 400-meter hurdles and junior Melissa Bickett in the discus. While there are several differences between the indoor and outdoor seasons, those differences seem to only better the chances of another Michigan title. Phillips' specialty is the hammer throw, and it is solely an outdoor event. She believes she is better at the hammer than the shot put because the hammer requires more skill than strength. "Hammer is a more technically based sport, it doesn't have a lot to do with your size and your mass," Phillips said. Bickett, like Phillips, also gets to compete in her best event, discus, only during the outdoor season. Bicket was All-Ameri- can in the discus last year, and posted the furthest throw in the country on her way to a stellar sophomore season. Adding Phillips in the hammer and Bickett in the disc will only help the team. "Not only will we have the same events that we did during indoors, but we have extra events that we will be able to score points in;' said Bickett on the move outdoors. Bickett competes in the shot put during the indoor season, but is at her best with the discus and plans on devoting a lot of time this season to her specialty. "I focus a lot more on discus, I'll throw discus every day," said Bickett on the approach she will take during practice. Another reason the "Triple Crown" is Michigan's for the taking is senior Rachel Sturtz. Sturtz recently broke her own school record in the 800-meter run and will most likely play a major role in the Wolverines' success this spring. Keeping all the pieces of the puzzle in place is Michigan coach James Henry, who was recently named Great Lakes Regional Indoor Coach of the Year. Henry is building a track and field dynasty, and it looks like pretty soon, the 2002-03 Wolverines could have the "Triple Crown" to show for it. 01 TOM FELDKAMP/Daily Practice against Serena and Venus Williams helped Anthony Jackson improve. "If we played now, she would defi- nitely beat me," Jackson said. Sophomore Josef Fischer has also had a few celebrity run-ins, including ter:. jai' iE)CiT1 rast s 4 is center rE . his own meeting with the Williams family. Three years ago, Fischer and his friend were in Florida practicing with both Ser- ena and Venus. After two hours, Fischer had to leave the session, but the head of the academy required Fischer's friend say that he wanted to stop because it was the number-one and number-two players in the nation." Fischer also got the chance to observe some other top-ranked players in action. Fischer noticed that some players worked incredibly hard while others only practiced for a few hours a day. The shortest practice was held by Xavier Malisse, who is currently ranked No. 19 on the ATP tour. "Many of the players are so talented and loose that they only had to practice for an hour or two," Fischer said. "Xavier Malisse would practice for only 45 minutes and then leave." Unfortunately, Michigan doesn't get the opportunity to choose the duration of its practices. But all the work could help prepare the Wolverines for this weekend's match against Penn State at the Varsity Tennis Center. Cowboys looking like the team to beat strong. Even back then, she was lifting weights and boxing," Jackson said. "After one drilled me in the stomach, I didn't wanna come in there after that." The Williams sisters have gone on to dominate the women's tennis world and have even been in a few commercials for McDonald's. to stay. He had to stand at the baseline and serve two baskets of balls to each of the sisters while they waited for a return shot. "My friend couldn't play tennis for the next week, he was so tired," Fischer said. "The girls made him serve over and over again, but he couldn't really NCAA Continued from Page 7A relieved. The last two seasons didn't end the way he wanted, and for him to get over that hurdle was great." Kulczycki, competing this year at 165 pounds, is unseeded, but could come out of nowhere and surprise some people. An All-American in 2001 who has been battling injury all season long, Kulczycki looked good at the Big Ten Championships and hopes to finish his career on a good note. Kulczycki will square off against ninth-seeded Matt R. King in the first-round, and if he is able to make it to the quarterfinals, Kulczyc- ki would likely face defending national champion Matt Lackey. Another senior, 197-pounder Kyle Smith, is looking to put the memories of a bad regular season behind him and repeat as an All-American. Smith, seed- ed ninth, will square off against signed jersey you'll never ever wash: $150 2003 john franco poster: $20 game schedule: $0 trr'Dhies: $0 fc >am finger: $6 subscription to "baseball america": $62 Wyoming's Kevin Kessnar in the first round and then against the winner of Cleveland State's Stipe Miocic and Sacred Heart's Anthony Reynolds. Oklahoma State, coached by Olympic gold medallist John Smith, looks like the team to beat this year. The Big Ten has won the last nine years, but may not have the weapons to gun down Oklahoma State. "On paper, Oklahoma State is clearly the team to beat," McFarland said. 'M' sets sights on NCAAs By Anne Ulble Daly Sports Writer It's championship season, a time when the best will be forced to prove that they deserve to be at the top. This weekend, nine well-prepared Michigan swimmers will matchup against the best in the country and *>~nr: . attempt to emerge from tie pool vic- Mehga atth torious NCA Cmpn Michigan's Trsdy to ad swimming and diving A bung Ateam will be competing in the NCAA Championships this weekend at Auburn University. The nine athletes who are swimming this weekend headed down to Alabama on Tuesday and are warming up for the tough competition they will face off against. "Hopefully, by bringing them down here two days ahead of time they'll get used to the pool facilities and how the water feels' head coach Jim Richardson said. "We want them to be as prepared as they can be." This will be the Wolverines' 18th appearance at the NCAA Champi- onships. Michigan has placed in the top 10 at the Championships 12 times, and has produced seven individuals that have earned NCAA Championship titles. "I think that if we just swim faster than we did at the Big Ten meet, every- thing else will fall into place for us," Richardson said. "As of right now, we are ranked 19th going into the meet, but we have the chance to work our way up to 15th place." Covering the board, Michigan has ath- letes entered in 17 of the 21 events scheduled for the Championships. "The girls are calm, but they are defi- nitely ready," Richardson said. They've worked really hard and have had some great practices over the past three weeks; I think this weekend should be proof of their endurance and stamina." With seven athletes seeded within the top 20 in their events, Michigan is poised to bring home some solid races and fast times. "All of the races are going to be very exciting," Richardson said. "The 200- and 400-yard medley relays should be fun to watch. The relay teams have really progressed throughout the season. But the 200-yard free relay should be the most interesting, because the team isn't seeded right now, and it has a lot of room to move up in the competition and pull off a huge upset." Being the first event of the cham- pionship weekend, the 200-yard free relay consisting of Anne Weilbacher, Erin Abbey, Abby Seskevics and A 'Z 1 I - -1 __4SI 9 . finding out there's an internship for people like you: priceless Apply for a summer internship in the sports business at mastercard.com. You could be sent to Nashville, where you'll spend five weeks learning from industry bigwigs. Some students will even go on to work with the St. Louis Cardinals® or the NewYork Mets. there are some things money can't buy. for everything else there's MasterCard. " * .00 No purchase necessary. 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