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10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 9, 2003
'M' avenges previous loss to Sycamores
By Gina Adduci
Daily Sports Writer
Since last year's match against Indi-
ana State ended in a sweep by the
Sycamores, the Michigan men's tennis
team wanted to come back with a
vengeance, and it did. Yesterday, the
Wolverines got their revenge, 4-3, at
the Varsity Tennis
Center.
Although Michi-
gan lost the doubles
point, each match provided more experi-
ence for the newly-changed pairs. The
coaching staff changed the doubles roster
last weekend for the games against Iowa
and Minnesota.
The freshly paired duo of sophomore
Michael Rubin and junior Anthony
Jackson provided an engaging match,
battling Indiana State's Henry Choi and
David O'Connell. Michigan was
behind 7-5 in the match and could not
find a chance for a comeback. Rubin
and Jackson eventually crumbled in a
tiebreaker at 9-8.
"I felt that I did some good things out
there today, and I feel that Anthony did
some good things" Rubin said. "It was a
tight match, and I think we should have
won, but at the same time, we are getting
better, which is the main goal."
The other two doubles teams also
played close games, but eventually ended
in defeats by Indiana State.
"Anytime you are playing with a new
partner you are both really excited,"
Rubin said.
Despite the upset in doubles, Michigan
clinched the event in singles matches.
Rubin played an excellent singles match,
dominating Indiana State's Verdan
Vidovic 6-3, 6-3. Throughout the match,
Vidovic was openly rattled and uneasy,
which pushed him to make mistakes.
Rubin maintained his composure and was
able to silently secure the game.
"I just started executing well, and I
began to like how the points were playing
out," Rubin said.
Jackson was one of the last matches of
the day, which added to the suspense.
Ending in a Michigan victory, spectators
cheered and encouraged Jackson in his
fight against Henry Choi. The first set
showed a calm, relaxed Jackson. But the
third set brought some suprises. Jackson
broke Choi at 3-1, bringing the score to
4-1. Choi came back to break Jackson's
serve at 4-3, which disturbed Jackson's
momentum somewhat.
"I got a little passive and hoped that he
was going to make mistakes to give me
the match," Jackson said. "But that was-
n't going to happen."
Choi's efforts in the last set were
not enough to give him the game.
Jackson raised the his intensity and
was ultimately triumphant over Choi,
6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Sophomore Vinny Gossain also played
a strong singles match. This singles sea- ,f
son has been rocky for Gossain, but yes-t
terday's match helped shift the tides.
"I've had a lot of opportunities to win ,
matches this season, and I've come up
short," Gossain said. "So this game I told
myself to go out relaxed and have fun and
see what happens."
Gossain was able to secure a solid win
over lonut Hurduc in two straight, 6-2, 6-3. ^
"I started moving my feet a little bit
and looking for forehands and putting
them to the court," Gossain said. "The TOMFELDCAMP/Daily
last game was probably the longest four Anthony Jackson won a close match with Henry Choi of Indiana State in three
points of my life." sets to help the Wolverines defeat the Sycamores.
RITTERS
Continued from Page 9
I get to pitch."
This type of support seems to be a
hallmark of the Ritter family, as the
girls' parents also spend a significant
amount of time watching their daugh-
ters' games.
"They haven't missed a game yet,"
Jennie said. "Not even the away ones.
They saved all of their vacation days
and scheduled them around games."
The hundreds of hours that the Ritter
sisters have logged together thus far
this season might make them a little
edgy at times. Once again, these sisters
contradict the norm.
"We hardly ever fight," Jennie said.
It is clear that Jennie has a great deal
of admiration for Meghan.
"We played together in high school,
and I definitely missed having her
around for the last couple of years. It's
been a privilege to play with her."
O'NEILL
Continued from Page 9
have treated the freshmen like sopho-
mores, so that there would be no haz-
ing or anything resembling it. And
from day one, these five have been up
to the challenge.
Fab Five II has accomplished what
Fab Five I did: They got to the Final
Four when they weren't supposed to.
But where there is unfinished busi-
ness and questions of what could have
been for the originators of the Fab
name, their successors can now com-
plete what was started and accomplish
what should have been.
- Kyle O'Neill still couldn't believe
ESPN Classic showed the 1993 men's bas-
ketball championship on Saturday, as he
thought it no longer existed. Please con-
tact him at kylero@umich.edu.
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MALONEY
Continued from Page 9
BACKING UP THE BEST: Through 24 games, Michigan catcher
Jake Fox is tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .360 with eight
homeruns and 27 RBIs. But catching five games a week can take
its toll on a hitter's body.
"(Fox) is a special talent, I just have to be careful not to get
him too tired," Maloney said. "You can just see in his face some-
times that he does look a little tired."
This is where Jeff Kunkel comes into play. The redshirt-
freshman catcher has flourished in spot starts and pinch-hitting
opportunities. Always known for his defense, Kunkel has
stepped up his offense production - hitting .316 witha dou-
ble, triple, and four RBIs - to give Maloney a legitimate
backup for one of the Big Ten's premier catchers.
"Jeff's a solid defensive catcher, and really when we've put
him in there, he's hitting pretty good - he's shown sparks," Mal-
oney said. "It makes you feel a lot better when you've got two
solid catchers like we've got."
In the extra inning of Michigan's loss to Minnesota last
Sunday, Kunkel entered the game as a pinch hitter. Although
Kunkel struck out swinging, the opportunity to bat with the
game on the line showed the team's confidence in him.
"Jeff Kunkel's been swinging the bat really well, and I
thought, especially with a right-handed pitcher up there, he
(gave us) a very good opportunity to get a base hit and get a
winning run," Fox said.
MORE CANCELLATIONS: The Wolverines' game today
against Detroit was postponed due to the snowy field con-
ditions. A make-up date has not been scheduled.
To make up recent lost games, Michigan has scheduled a
home game for tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Concordia Uni-
versity, an NAIA school in Ann Arbor.
6M9 NOTES
Annualspnggm
scpWed de 'to snow
The annual spring football game
was cancelled yesterday for the fourth
time since 1990. The decision was
made because of the unknown field
conditions that were caused because of
this week's snow storm, according to
Michigan Executive Associate Athletic
director Mike Stevenson. The Wolver-
ines will instead conduct their final
spring practice, which will not be open
to the public, on Saturday at Schem-
bechler Hall.
"The safety of our players is vital,"
Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr said.
"The uncertain status of the field
makes playing a potential risk to their
safety. I was really hoping to have a
spring game for the public because
having our players in a situation where
you have a game atmosphere with a
crowd is important."
- From staff reports
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