The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 31, 2003 - 78 Grieco stars in final conference meet 'M' finds silver lining at Big Tens By Michael Nisson Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Michigan's Big Ten Championship victory on Saturday was a bittersweet one for senior Janes- sa Grieco. On the one hand, she had just won her fourth Big Ten Champi- onship team. On the other hand, in the back of her mind was the fact that she was never going to be able to do it again. "I think it was a little bit more nerve-racking because it was my last one, and I really wanted to go out (on a good note)," Grieco said. She did just that, capturing the Big Ten balance beam title with a career- best 9.95. "When I heard them announce (that Grieco had won the competition) on the podium, my mouth dropped," jun- ior Calli Ryals said. "I was so excited, because you know Janessa is one of the hardest workers on this team, (one of the) most dedicated girls on this team, and she deserves it." Michigan coach Bev Plocki had a similar response, although it was bit more effervescent. "It always makes me feel good and warm and fuzzy inside when you see an athlete like Janessa come through the program, Plocki said. "She's just a great kid. She's a coach's dream in every sense of the imagination. She is a very hard worker, she's a very good student, she's a sweetheart of a person, and we're going to miss her. She's only one person, but our loss, with her grad- uation, is going to impact this team more significantly than anyone realizes just because of how much she brought to this program." "Miss her" is quite an understate- ment. Grieco has consistently scored with the best gymnasts over the course of the season, notching six individual event titles and winning the All- Around title twice. She was also named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week twice. What may be missed more than any- thing is the leadership that Grieco brought to the team. Grieco, who, along with junior Elise Ray was named team captain at the beginning of the year, has shared her knowledge and experience with some of the younger members of the team. But the one thing that may not be clear to the common eye is that amid the vast success that she has had as a gymnast at Michigan, Grieco has remained modest, often passing com- plements intended for herself to her coaches and teammates. One particular example of this was what she said when asked about what it was like to compete in her final Big Ten Champi- onship. "It was one of my most memorable Big Tens yet," Grieco said. "I was so impressed with the team and with everyone." Grieco's future is still largely to be determined, but one thing is for cer- tain: When she finally does leave the Michigan program for good, she will be gone, but definitely not forgotten. TONY DING/Daily Michigan senior Janessa Grieco posted a career-best score on the balance beam to win the Big Ten individual title in the event this past weekend. TUMBLERS Continued from Page1B one do beam, but I had seen Kara fall, and so I was like, 'This is it, we want to win Big Tens. This is going to be it,"' Grieco said. After the Wolverines matched their bars score with an identical 49.450 on floor, it was all over. Well, almost. The Big Ten also handed out its season awards. Deiley grabbed the Freshman of the Year award, and Plocki also received conference recognition, as she walked away with the Coach of the Year title. The feeling in the gym after it was all over was one of jubilation for the Michigan fans who had made the trek from Ann Arbor to support the team. Perhaps the happiest person of all was Plocki herself. "Up until tonight, I think that the 1992 Big Ten Title - the first won that we won - probably held the warmest place in my heart," she said. "But after tonight, this one definitely does because just what this team has been through. And to come out here and compete and win this meet with really only using 50 percent of our scholarship athletes is just a testament to these kids' sheer grit and determination. "I am so proud of them, I could just burst." By Nazeema Ali Daily Sports Writer For the Michigan men's gymnas- tics team, the weekend in Columbus for the Big Ten Championships did not meet expectations, but the Wolverines walked away with two important discoveries. First, outstanding freshmen per- formances that were comparable with the best of the Big Ten hinted the development of a gymnastics powerhouse in the near future. At second, the team found a sense of collective motivation, which they will need in preparation for the upcoming NCAA Championships in two weeks. The sixth-ranked Wolverines fin- ished in fourth place out of six teams with a score of 215.325. Penn State won its first Big Ten title ever with a score of 220.550. Ohio State (218.600) and Iowa (215.600) fol- lowed in second and third place, while Minnesota and Illinois took fifth and sixth place, scoring 214.300 and 211.850, respectively. "I hoped we could have finished in the top three," Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. "We got off to a good start on high bar, but we are not a strong floor team. We missed two golden opportunities on pom- mel horse, and we tied Penn State for first place on the rings." It was inconsistency in all the events that cost the Wolverines third place by less than three tenths of a point; but then again, that has been the story all season. With a team that is full of talent, injuries have altered the makeup of the lineup numerous times throughout the sea- son, resulting in unpredictable scor- ing patterns. As soon as all aspects of the team seem to be coming together and a rainbow of hope appears in the dis- tance, there is someone else taken out of the lineup, once again dis- mantling stability. But one thing that has remained consistent during the course of the tumultuous season has been confi- dence. No one on the team ever doubts that he is better than the numbers tell. It is inevitable that things will fall in place, and once the Wolverines meet the potential that Golder has repeatedly talked about all year, they are certain that no one will see Michigan coming for them. Individual performances of fresh- men Andrew Digiore and Justin Laury on Friday and Saturday are evidence of a championship-caliber team on the verge of breaking out. Laury finished third in the all- around competition, and was crowned Big Ten Freshman of the Year. "I felt consistent and focused," Laury said. "I went out there and did exactly what I did in practice." Laury, who ruptured his Achilles tendon over the summer, put togeth- er a solid freshman year that earned him a spot on the all-conference team. "I don't know exactly what the (all-Big Ten team) is about," Laury said. "It was unexpected and an added bonus." Digiore also did enough to impress the judges, as he won first place on the vault in both the pre- liminary competition and the finals. He was also chosen to represent Michigan on the all-conference team. "Drew worked hard and definite- ly deserved to win," Laury said. Golder agreed after pointing out that Digiore had unveiled the two- and-a-half twist vault that he used in competition just two weeks before at the Wolverines' final regu- lar season meet at Ohio State. Although he was not able to land the vault the first time he per- formed it in competition, he domi- nated the Big Ten Championships with a score of 9.500. "The year started out shaky, but I tweaked a few techniques and added an extra half twist (to the vault)," Digiore said. "The whole year kind of built up to that one moment. I went to the meet think- ing I could win, and I'm really excited about how things went." For both Laury and Digiore, the excitement of two nights of intense competition culminated with the support and enthusiasm of family and friends that were present at the competition. "It was nice to compete on the road and feel like you're at home," Laury said. Laury has a lot of family living in the Ohio area, and many Michigan fans were able to attend the event given its close proximity to Ann Arbor. "Family and friends were loud and excited when our names were called up for the conference team," Digiore added. The Wolverines also showed strong performances on the still rings, on which they sent three gymnasts to the individual event finals. Conan Parzuchowski led Michigan with a score of 9.625, which was more than enough to capture second place behind Penn State's Kevin Tan (9.725). Michi- gan's Scott Vetere took third place on the event, and Laury finished seventh. Golder is confident that the results of the Big Ten Champi- onships will only motivate Michi- gan to work harder in order to succeed at the NCAA Champi- onships. "When we add Eddie Umphrey and Jeff Corrigan back into the lineup we will have stronger team," Golder said. "The guys who com- peted at the Big Tens have shown that they are resilient and can do a good job. Hopefully everything will fall into place once we put all these things together." Umphrey had been out eight weeks after breaking his hand on a parallel bars routine earlier in the season, and Corrigan was suspend- ed from competition for two meets for disciplinary purposes. Golder believes that its presence in the lineup will help fortify the team as it sets out to finish within the top three spots at the NCAA Champi- onships in two weeks. Blue rolls through Southern Division By Ellen McGarrity Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's water polo team is so hot right now, even Hansel and Derek Zoolander couldn't touch them. For the third year in a row, the team has dominated in the Southern Division conference, trampling all eight teams played. Four teams were conquered two weeks ago, and this weekend in Wash- ington, Pa., the Wolverines finished what they started, dominating the remaining four teams. Yesterday, Washington and Jefferson fell 16-4, and on Saturday, Slippery Rock (10- 4), Gannon (8-2) and Mercyhurst (19- 5) felt the Wolverines' thunder. One reason for the Wolverines' strong showing was the team's abil- ity to take control in the first half of the game. In the first two quar- ters of its games against Mercyhurst and Washington and Jefferson, Michigan scored an impressive 13 and nine goals against its oppo- nents, respectively. "We wanted to get out quickly in our games so we could shut them down defensively," coach Matt Ander- son said. "We held both Gannon and Slippery Rock scoreless in the second half (because of) our first half lead." But even though the team seemed to overpower these Eastern teams, some Wolverines felt that winning wasn't so easy.i "The teams weren't as good as we're used to," senior Delia Sonda said. "But two of the teams, Slippery Rock and Gannon, were (harder). "We may have beat them on the scoreboard, but they gave us a tough time in the water." One disadvantage Sonda pointed to was that the pool they were playing in was older, so it had a shallow-deep feature. In water polo, the entire pool is normally deep water, but in Wash- ington's Henry Memorial Center, one end is deep, while the other end is shallow. "It's harder to shoot because the net is higher and the goalie gets to stand up," Sonda said. "You have to a shoot a different way, and the rules change. Only the goalie can stand up so (it can be difficult) staying down in the water while trying to make a goal." The ease at which the team over- took its opponents allowed Anderson to give nearly every Wolverine a chance in the water. But it was sopho- more drivers Erin Brown and Meg Knudtsen who really made waves. Knudtsen, who has been filling in for an injured Megan Hausmann, scored a total of eight goals including two hat tricks throughout the four games. Brown rounded out the week- end with 10 goals for the Wolverines. "It was really more of a team effort," Knudtsen said. "We were able to get up on the counters easily, and Erin (Brown) gave me a lot of assists." Anderson cites the fact that Knudt- sen and Brown worked together as a key factor in winning their games. "Meg and Erin really had a chance to shine this weekend," Anderson said. "It gave them a chance to take over the reins when called upon." The sweep of the Southern Divi- sion conference was just the first obstacle in the road toward the Final Four, to be held May 10-11 in San Diego. Now that the Wolverines have cap- tured the title of No. 1 seed in their conference, they will enter the South- ern Division Championships in two weeks in a good position. "Our first goal was to get the number one seed in the tournament and win the division again," Ander- son said. "We (now) need to prepare for what hopefully will be a confer- ence championship." FRANK PAYNE/Daily The Michigan water polo team defeated four teams this weekend and Is in good position for another Final Four run, which will be held May 10-11. 1. The Office of Student Activities and Leadership Invites you to a discussion and review of the University's "Diag Roflcy" from 6:00 to 7:00 pm on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2003 In the Michigan Union, Welker Room ATTENTION TUIDENT ORCANI!ATIONI! Where can you... Recruit new members? Do a service for the University? Make money for your group? WELCOME TO MICHICAN 100? For more information, attend the MASS MEETING Thursday, April 3-6:30pm Wolverine Room, Union Pizza provided Ifyou are unable to attend the mass meeting, see www.onsD.umich.edu/welcome .