Friday March 21, 2003 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu ReTiStiqan ailg 10 Icers eye repeat in battle at oe Louis Cantalamessa feeling comfortable at plate By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer When visitors entered the Michigan hockey office over the past year and glanced to their left, they used to see the Mason Cup displayed proudly. But 12 months have passed, and the Mason Cup is gone. This weekend, the Wolverines have the chance to THIS I reclaim it. Michigan will begin its Michi1 defense of the trophy CCHA named after the legendary Tune: 7: former Northern Michi- (vs.Oh gan and Michigan State Saturd coach Ron Mason tonight Joe Lou when it takes on Ohio FOX Sp State in the CCHA Super Six Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena. "When you hold a trophy, you defi- nitely want to defend it," Ortmeyer said. "It's a letdown if you're not able to. We've faced a lot of adversity at the beginning of the season, and I think that's going to help us have a chance to go down there and defend it." The Wolverines started the season ranked as high as second in the national polls, but injures and third-period col- lapses left Michigan fighting for sec- ond, as Ferris State won its first-ever regular season championship. "We haven't accomplished a thing," Ortmeyer said. "We came up short in the league. This is our opportunity to try and win a championship, and hope- fully that will lead us right into NCAAs." By virtue of finishing as the top two teams in the league, Michigan and Fer- VEEKEND gan at the Tournament :35 tonight io State), day TBD is Arena. )orts Detroit ris State received byes into tonight's semifinals while Ohio State and Northern Michigan had to defeat Notre Dame and Michi- gan State, respectively, last night to advance. Tonight's winners will play at 7:35 p.m. on Satur- day for the Mason Cup and an NCAA Tourna- ment automatic bid. The losers will play in a newly By Jake Rosenwasser Daily Sports Writer Jordan Cantalamessa's year-long nightmare is finally over. Last year as a junior, Cantalamessa could not do much of anything at the plate. He batted .196 and failed to reach base in nearly three out of every four at bats. The second baseman began the season as the team's leadoff hitter, but was dropped down to the bottom of the order due to a lack of production. His season was not one to remember. Fast forward one season and Canta- lamessa is playing like last year never happened. The No. 2 hitter has been a sparkplug for the offense and has taken advantage of scoring opportunities when they have been presented. He is current- ly batting .333 and is second on the team with 19 RBIs. This is quite the turn- around from last year, when he managed just 12 RBIs over the entire season. So what caused this extreme transfor- mation? A new coaching staff and a more aggressive approach at the plate. "We let all of the kids start with a clean slate," coach Rich Maloney said. "The past meant nothing, each player had to prove to me that they could play." Cantalamessa took advantage of the new beginning. He played in the Cali- fornia Central League over the summer and built up some confidence that has carried over into the season. "They let me do my thing when I'm up," Cantalamessa said. "If I see a good pitch, I'm not going to let it by me. Last year, I was more passive." Cantalamessa also credits the new coaching staff for a new attitude that had been lacking on past teams. "There is a totally different manner this season," Cantalamessa said. "There is a greater sense of team now then there ever was before." His best performance of the year came on March 7th at Oklahoma. After a fifth inning three-run homerun to tie the game, he knocked in two runs in the seventh inning to help Michigan come back from an eight-run deficit. In the eighth inning, he tacked on an infield single and knocked in his seventh run of the game. The single was his fourth hit on the day. Michigan came out vic- torious with a wild 16-12 win. "Jordan has been so clutch," Mal- oney said. "He has really come through when the team has needed a big hit." This weekend, the Wolverines will travel to Indianapolis to play in the But- ler Classic. They will compete against Butler, Western Michigan and Central Michigan. At 6-7, the Wolverines would love to get their record above .500. "These kids have never been over .500, so it would be such a confidence boost," Maloney said. Once we hit .500, there is no telling where we could go from there." TOM FELDKAMP/Daily Former alternate captain Jay Vancik hoists the Mason Trophy after last year's CCHA Playoff Championship. Michigan hopes to defend its title this weekend. formed third-place game at 4:05 p.m. The Buckeyes, led by Hobey Baker candidate R.J. Umberger, played the Wolverines to two fierce ties on the final weekend of the regular season. The Vancouver Canucks' first-round draft pick finished second in the league in scoring and caused havoc inside Michigan's blueline. To be successful, the Wolverines' young defense and the nation's best penalty kill will have to be at their peak. "This time of year you have to play good defense," Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson said. "It's a lot easi- er to win a game 2-0 than it is to win 7- 6. We put a lot of emphasis this time of year on our defense, and it's not just our defensemen, it's total team defense." This is the time of year, historically, when Michigan starts to shine. The Wolverines have advanced to the Mason Cup finals six of the last seven seasons and to six of the last eight NCAA Frozen Fours. One ex-Michigan star, 1997 Hobey Baker Award winner and Vancouver Canuck Brendan Morrison, called Red Berenson this week and said about this weekend's action: "Well, this is the time when Michigan plays its best." The Wolverines have built their recent national reputation over the past decade on winning on weekends such as this one, and the players realize that. "I think they understand this tradition when they decide to come to Michi- gan," Ortmeyer said. "I think it's the reason why I chose to come to Michi- gan, and I think a lot of these kids when they made their decision, I think it weighs a big part." 01 No. I Ferris State 2002-03 record: 22-5-1 CCHA, 27-8-1 overall (1st place) y,'~ ,, No. 5 Northern Michigan 2002-03 record: 14-13-1 CC HA, 18-16-2 overall (5th place) Crew ready to get on water, redeem itself USCHO poll: 4 Pairwiss Ranking: 5 USCHO poll: NR Pairwise Ranking: 17 Watch out for: All three of the Bulldogs first liners finished in the top seven in the CCHA in scoring.vs. Why the Bulldogs can win: Picked to finish ninth in the CCHA preseason poll, Ferris State won its first seven conference games and never looked back. Bulldogs forward Chris Kunitz was recognized on Wednesday with the CCHA Player of the Year award and is the most potent threat the conference has to offer with 30- 40-70 totals on the year. Ferris State goalie Mike Brown is no slouch either, as he was second in the conference with a 2.21 goals-against average. Kunitz1 Watch out for: Senior Chris Gobert is listed at just 5-foot-9, but he plays much bigger than that, leading his team with 44 points. By Nick Arnold For the Daily Why the Wildcats can win: They may be the lowest-seeded team left in the field, but the Wildcats have had their share of wins against those above them this year. Northern Michigan sports a 5-4 record against the other teams in the semis. The Wildcats do a lot of their damage on the powerplay, where they rank second in the conference. Senior Mike Stutzel leads that attack with 13 powerplay goals on the year. Junior goalie Craig Kowalski is tied or fourth in the conference with three shutouts. Gobert No. 2 Michigan N6. C Ohio State 20O2-O3 reeird: 16-8-4 CCHA, 22-10-5 overall (3rd place) 2002-03 record: 19-7-3 CCHA, 26-9-3 overall (2nd place) USCHO poll: 8 Pairwise Ranking: 9 SHQ pol: 13 ., 'w e akg:11 Watch out for: Michigan always seems to step up in the playoffs. Look for a big weekend from the unsung heroes. Why the Wolverines can win: History. Michigan always takes it up a notch come March and April. The Wolverines won the tournament last year. They've won it five times in the last nine years. Plus, they're healthy. After battling injuries all season, Michigan heads to the Joe relatively healthy for the first time this year. Jeff Tambellini led the Wolver- ines in scoring this year, becoming the first freshman to do so since the 1988-89 season. He also took home CCHA Freshman of the Year honors on Wednesday. Tambellini VS. V /W . Watch 'it fr: 2001 NHL first-round draft pick R.J. Umberger wasthe conference's third-leading scorer with 25-27-52 totals. As Dickie V would say, they can flat-out defend. On the season, Ohio State allowed just 2.18 goals per game - tops in the conference. Buckeyes goalie Mike Betz is sixth in the nation with a 2.21 goals-against average. They're deep too. Aside from Umberger, Ohio State has 12 players with 10 or more goals. The Buckeyes go into toni ht's game with Michigan with some confidence, too.The Wolverines needed a miracle last-second goal to tie Ohio State two weeks ago. Umberger After a disappointing eighth-place showing at the NCAA Championships last June, the Michigan women's crew team looks to reclaim its position as a top team when it starts the spring sea- son tomorrow in South Bend against Notre Dame. Originally, the dual regatta was scheduled to take place at Michigan's facility at Belleville Lake, but, due to unfavorable weather, the home waters were left unacceptable for tomorrow's meet. "We are very pleased that this week's match was moved (to South Bend) so we can focus on our row- ing, and not worry about the condi- tions of the water," sophomore Brett Sickler said. This week's regatta will be staged in three, separate 1,000-meter pieces rather than the usual 2,000-meter race, due to the shorter length of the water. But these last-minute changes will not affect the Wolverines, as they look forward to being involved in competi- tion for the first time since October. "Notre Dame is a fairly strong opponent since they have already been on the water, and they beat two up- and-coming teams in Clemson and Tennessee," senior coxswain Helen Dalis said. "They actually got invited to the NCAAs for the first time last year. They will certainly be challeng- ing since we haven't been on the water yet, and the entire team is anxious and excited to get back to racing after such a long break." Junior Heather Mandoli, who has earned two varsity letters, agrees that winter training has gone very well, as it is such an integral part of keeping a team at the top of its game. "Rowing is such a growing sport," Mandoli said. "Each year, the com- petition is getting stronger and stronger, and it is important to keep up with that." After Notre Dame, the Wolverines have an even tougher challenge as they travel to New Jersey next weekend, when they will take on national powerhouses Princeton and Brown, who won the 2002 NCAA Championship. "We have a big race at Princeton coming up, and it is quite determin- ing," Mandoli said. "It is a measuring stick for us, to see how far we have come and if we have performed to our expectations." Stickler added: "We're really excit- ed about the Princeton race. We want to put in a good showing and show that we're a force nationally." Expectations are high for Michi- gan this season and the upcoming competitions will go a long way toward determining whether or not they are met. JOIN DAILY SPORTs. THIS COULD BE YOUR BOSS rE .1 jianStorage " All Units Indoors " Temperature Controlled - Close to Campus * Safe and Clean Call for a Reservation Now! 1251 Rosewood, Ann Arbor 663-0690 vISA O Presented By GALYAN'S CCHA Championship Weekend Thurs., March 20 Quarter-Finals ID vs. 4:00 pm S vs. S 7:30 pm "tcn" Fri, March 21 .'s VS. *Semi-Finals Seed #4 . Seed #3 4:00 pm 7:30 pm Afte A world premiere wrtten and directed by Holly Hughes A fun-filled play about how clothes and hairstyles define who we are. ,-7 *Teams will be reseeded after Thursday's games Sat., March 22 Finals I I I I