0 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. 0 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 p I HEALTHY. MEDICATION-FREE VOLUNTEERS, AGES 18-45, ARE NEEDED FOR A RESEARCH STUDY INVOLVING VISITS TO THE HOSPITAL AND BLOOD DRAWS. COMPENSATION MAY BE UP TO $200. 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