The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 16, 2002 - 3B
Stickers rally
after giving
up early goal
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
For the third straight game, the Michigan field
hockey team surrendered the first goal.
And for the third straight game, the Wolverines
won despite the early deficit. Yesterday's 2-1
overtime victory over Connecticut is the most
dramatic, example of an early-season trend of the
Wolverines overcoming an opponent's lead.
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz is happy her
team keeps winning, but is concerned that the
Wolverines have not come out early and con-
trolled the pace of the game.
"It's a little disconcerting," Pankratz said. "I'm
not sure if it's in the warmup, our focus or just
bad luck.
"We are very potent and dangerous, so the fact
that we can let up a soft goal and bounce back is
something we can look at as
positive.'' FIELD HOCKEY
Saturday's Boston College
match might have been the Notebook
most unsettling.
Only a minute and a half into the game, the
Eagles' Kim French beat Michigan goalkeeper-
Molly Maloney for the 1-0 lead. Granted the
Wolverines went on to win 6-2, but senior mid-
fielder Jessica Rose is worried because the goals
aren't coming in the early going.
"We tend to have games like this," Rose said.
"You're not always going to score that first goal,
and sometimes we're going to be down. I think
we showed how to keep fighting today."
SHOT DOWN: After Saturday's 6-2 romp over
Boston College, the Wolverines struggled to put
the ball in the net against Connecticut. Despite
firing 25 shots on the Huskies' goalkeeper Mau-
reen Butler, Michigan could not get the ball in
the net until the 64th minute, and added the game
winner in overtime.
With the exception of the 2-0 loss to Wake
Forest on Sept. 1, yesterday's game featured the
lowest team shooting percentage - eight-per-
cent - of the season. Senior defender Molly
Powers felt it is a strain on the team's morale
when it drives the length of the field and comes
away with nothing.
STEVE
JACKSON
Bridge fans understand
the value of
This just in: Disa Eythorsdottir
was stripped of her silver medal.
for failing a drug test. I know
what you are thinking - is that the
same Disa Eythorsdottir that is one of
the premier bridge players in the world?
The one that was born in Iceland but
now lives in Alabama with her Ameri-
can husband?
Yes, sadly, I am speaking of the same
Disa Eythorsdottir.
Now, for the benefit of those of you
who don't follow the latest develop-
ments in the World Bridge Federation,
I'll relate the whole story.
Random drug testing for bridge play-
ers at the World Championships was,
introduced in January of 2000 as part of
the WBF's campaign for bridge to
become an Olympic sport.
To streamline the
process, the WBF While baseb
used the same list of to begin ad
banned substances as random dru
the International
Olympic Committee. bridge is al
That way it doesn't serious abou
have to argue over the
possible performance-enhancing effects
of legal substances like Ginko Biloba,
caffeine, etc.
Four members of the team were cho-
sen for the tests, but Eythorsdottir
refused.
WBF President Jose Damiani told
the London Telegraph: "Since we intro-
duced random testing two players have
failed, but both so narrowly that we did
not publish the names, informing only
the player and their federation of the
problem.
"However, she (Eythorsdottir)
refused the test. She is deemed to have
failed the test. Her medal has been
removed and her name has been
referred to her federation."
Eythorsdottir said she believed she
would fail the test because of the "diet
drug" she took for her back condition.
Apparently playing bridge professional-
ly can really make an impact on your
dress size.
Eythorsdottir was forced to stand
aside while her teammates accepted
their honors at the medal ceremony.
Close to tears, she said: "They have
taken everything: My medal, my name."
She was later consoled by the fact
that no one in the world really wanted
her medal or her name.
So what can we learn from this story
of woe? Well, besides the fact that I can
drug testing
spell Eythorsdottir, I also learned that
while baseball has yet to begin adminis-
tering random drug testing, bridge is
already very serious about this issue.
Bridge fans around the world
demanded an even playing field, and
they got their wish.
I understand the way those bridge
fans felt. If I'm watching a game on
ESPN74, I want to know that all the
players at the table are legitimate. When
I see them shuffling those cards, I need
to know that they are not just a bunch of
juiced-up creatine-created freaks. Some
medicine closet of a bridge player must
not be allowed to break the age-old
records that belonged to the legends of
the game. I think we would all agree
that it is crucially important to be able
to compare different generations in a
ball has yet
ministering
ug testing,
lready very
at this issue.
sport with as much
tradition as bridge.
Eythorsdottir's
incredible weight
gain and back prob-
lems (while they may
have something to do
with her inability to
JESSICA YURASEK/Daily
Sophomore Katy Moyneur and Michigan needed to overcome two early deficits in order to notch their victories
this weekend over Connecticut and Boston College.
"It was frustrating (not to get the ball in the Michigan huddle was composed, the sign of an
net) because you exert so much effort to get the experienced team.
ball down there," Powers said. The timeout gave the veteran players a chance
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: After Connecticut scored to demonstrate why this team won the national
the go-ahead goal with 13 minutes to go, the championship last season.
Huskies called a timeout to prepare for the poten- "The leaders and the upperclassmen had some
tial Wolverines onslaught. words to say that were pretty resilient," Pankratz
Despite the need to score to keep the Wolver- said.
ines' comeback hopes alive, the mood in the "The team listened, and stepped up."
BS1ms rounds out next
year s recritingcClas
leave the house or even stand up) could
lead bridge fans to believe that she was
using a banned substance.
Was she using? We'll never know
because she never even took the test.
Why would any athlete elect not to
take a random drug test? Well, from my
limited data in other sports, I would say
that she is either a) guilty or b) a mem-
ber of one of the most powerful unions
in the world.
I repeatedly tried to call Ms. Eythors-
dottir at her home in Alabama so that I
could pull a Rick Reilly and offer her a
place to get tested. But no one answered
the phone, and she has not returned any
of my messages. However, I can tell
you right now - without a shadow of a
doubt that I am not her father.
Rumor has it that back in the 1990's
Eythorsdottir was a champion of the
drug testing movement. One of the peo-
ple I met on the pro bridge'message
boards even told me that she claimed
she would be "the first in line" when
testing began.
I'm glad the WBF laid down the law
in this case. This sort of hypocrisy has
no place in the world of sports - or
card games.
Steve Jackson can be reached at
sjjackso@umich.edu.
By Charles Paradis
Daily Sports Writer
A few years ago if you asked
Courtney Sims what his plans for col-
lege were he might have told you that
he wanted to play tennis. After all, the
Boston native did win the Youth
Games Nationals three times. But
now, a few years
later, and seven
inches taller, Sims
will be playing
basketball for
Michigan, a
school he has
wanted to go to U
since he was a kid. Sims
Michigan coach
Tommy Amaker proved once again
how talented of a recruiter he is,
securing another blue-chip recruit.
"I just felt very comfortable with
Tommy Amaker," Sims said. "I con-
nected with him and I always wanted
to go to Michigan."
With Sims, Amaker secured his
third verbal commitment by a top-
100 recruit for the 2003-04 season,
after locking up Dion Harris and
Brent Petway earlier this year. Sims
committed to the Michigan basket-
ball program last week and according
to' Sims' high school coach, the
Wolverines got a gem.
"As a player he is about as talented
offensively as you can find," Noble &
Greenough basketball coach Michael
Herring .said. "He's 6-11 and 225
(pounds) and can shoot the ball very
well from beyond the arc. He hits a lot
of threes for us, and he can post you
up. He can shot fake, take one or two
hard dribbles and hit the mid-range
shot."
Sims offensive skills are not the
only thing he brings to the table.
Despite seriously picking up basket-
ball just four years ago, Sims is also a
force on the other end of the court.
"Defensively he is clearly one of
the best shot blockers in the country,"
Herring said. "He will be a force."
After two years of coaching Sims,
Herring knows what kind of individ-
ual Michigan is getting with the com-
mitment of Sims.
"As a kid there is no finer person,"
Herring said. "He's a straight arrow
from a great family."
While at Michigan, Sims has a few
simple goals.
"I want to win the national champi-
onship, I want to get as good as I can
get and maybe go to the next level
after that and to graduate."
Sims' mentality sounds a lot like
the philosophy instilled by Amaker,
and according to Sims seeing eye-to-
eye with his coach made his decision
to come to Michigan even easier.
Another thing that made Sims'
decision easier was his interaction
with the Michigan team when he
came to Ann Arbor.
"I got along well with (the team)
and they showed me a nice time,"
Sims said. "I heard that they liked me
a lot too."
One of Sims' fonder memories of
his campus visit occurred at the West-
ern Michigan football game when
fans started cheering his name. The
unexpected surprise startled Sims.
"My mother enjoyed it more than
me," Sims joked.
With Sims, Michigan seems to have
secured a top recruit with size and
versatility.
"This kid is very, very talented,"
Herring said. "He can absolutely
score the ball virtually everywhere on
the court ,and he will make his pres-
ence felt defensively and he will erase
a lot of mistakes."
With the way he plays, Sims can
expect to hear Michigan fans cheering
his name in years to come.
DAILY.SPORTS.
NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED.
No DRUG.TEST.S NEEDED.
MASS MEETINGS ONSEPT. 17,
19, 8 P.m..23.9.P.M.
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Senior Kim Benedict, one of two returning starters from last year's team, shot a
final-round 79 during Michigan's runner-up finish at their own invitational.
Schmucker, Olin set
pace for young team
By Dave Stuart
For the Daily
As far as Michigan women's golf
newcomer Amy Schmucker is con-
cerned, her first collegiate tourna-
ment finish was a good stepping
stone for both herself and her team.
For someone who has been swing-
ing golf clubs since the age of
three, that's certainly saying some-
thing.
Despite a shaky start with a dou-
ble-bogey on the first hole of her
first college tourney, Schmucker
eventually regained her poise and
finished strong. Before her first
round was through, Schmucker sank
two birdies and ended with a satis-
factory 75 strokes.
Sophomore sensation Laura Olin
began Saturday with phenomenal
play, draining four birdies on her
first nine holes. But the back nine
for someone new to come in and fill
the void. After this past weekend, it
appears that Schmucker is going to
be the person to take on this task.
Teichert feels good about the
potential of Schmucker and the rest
of her team.
"I think we were very consistent
in this tournament, and I'm very
happy about that," Teichert said.
Although Teichert believes that
some players are going to need to
"step up" in the future, she was
very happy with how her top golfers
competed this weekend.
"I'm happy for the players that
really came through for us today,"
Teichert added. "Amy Schmucker
and Laura Olin really played well."
Next week the Wolverines will be
travelling to Michigan State, look-
ing for their first tournament win of
the fall.
Before that happens though, the
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