The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 25, 2002 - 7B No. 1 Texas falls to 'M' tankers Swoosh I By Jake Rosenwasser Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's swimming and diving team responded to the pressure of competing against top-ranked Texas with a shocking road victory. The fifth-ranked Wolverines edged the defending NCAA champion Longhorns 123-120 in a very competitive meet. "It was exciting from start to finish. There was never more than a few points separating each team," Michi- gan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "This is what college swimming should be with two of the top programs facing each other like this. It brought out the best in both teams." Michigan trailed by a slim margin going into the final event of the night - the 400-yard freestyle relay. The foursome of Garrett Mangieri, Chris Dejong, Peter Vanderkaay and Dan Ketchum came through when it mat- tered most and clinched the win for the meet without the help of one exceptional .. Wolverines. Urbanchek had nothing but diving performance. Jason Coben placed praise for Ketchum. first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter div- b "Dan was instrumental in our victory ing events. , .j tonight," Urbanchek said. "He knew the "Jason dove really well tonight," div- 'r...E pressure was on our team in the final event, ing coach Chris Bergere said. "He knewx° .f. and he anchored our team to the win." the pressure was on, and he dives better To win the meet, Michigan had to rely knowing his team needs him to do it. I on its long distance swimming, one of its think the rest of the team fed off his con- strengths against a formidable Texas fidence, and it helped them to dig down team. Michigan swimmers placed first, deep and pull this one out." second and third in both the 500-yard Prior to this meet, Texas had blown and 1,000-yard freestyle events. Van- out all of its competition. The Long- derkaay, Andrew Hurd and Brendan horns also had received all but one first- Neligan finished in the top three spots in place vote in last week's national poll, . each of those races. Vanderkaay won the not to mention the fact that they havet 500-yard race while Neligan took the won the last two NCAA championships.t 1,000-yard race. The win is Michigan's first over "We capitalized on our strengths Texas in its last four meets against the and that is our distance events," Longhorns. Urbanchek said. "We had to do that to On Saturday the teams squared off again keep us in the meet as they are a very in an exhibition event. Michigan showed DANNY MOLOSHOK/Dail, good sprinting team." that Friday's competition was no fluke by With a win in the 400-yard freestyle - the final event Friday night - the Michigan could not have won the dual beating Texas in six of nine events. Wolverines edged No. 1 Texas 123-120. f4Unchecked Smith hurts Jays By Gennaro Filce Daily Sports Writer "Tonight, you saw point guard by committee. You look in the post, we had post-play by committee. You look out on the perimeter, at our two's and three's, it was perimeter play by committee." As well evidenced by Michigan women's basketball CREIGHTON 75 coach Sue Guevara's MICHIGAN 66 words, the Wolverines defeated Creighton 75- 66 by using a team-by-committee approach in their season opener. "I had the luxury of playing 10 people tonight," Guevara said. "I told the team that it's really encour- aging to me to be able to look down the bench, and play people I know are going to come in and make a difference." Utilizing their depth, the Wolver- ines kicked off their season with a convincing win over a solid Creighton team, which won the Mis- souri Valley Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. Although the word of the night was synergy, the first 10 minutes of the game were the "Jennifer Smith Show." When Smith, a junior center, subbed out at the 9:39 mark, she had individually outscored the Blue Jays 14-11 (Michigan held a 24-11 lead). Guevara believes that Smith's early dominance may have caught Creighton by surprise. "We exchanged tapes with Creighton," Guevara said. "I don't know if you remember, but (Smith) was 2-of-13 against the Dominican Republic, so if I'm watching that tape, I'm thinking, 'Well, I might not have to worry a whole lot.' But she did a good job of running, catching and finishing." Besides Smith, Michigan received a very large contribution in the first half from junior Stephanie Gandy. The energetic forward came off the bench, and contributed 11 points in 13 minutes. Although the Wolverines played an impressive first 20 minutes, Creighton hung in the game, mostly due to guard Dayna Finch and her 14 first-half points (27 for the game). At halftime Michigan led 39-26. Although they had handled the Blue Jays' full-court press in the first half, at the beginning of the second half, Michigan crumbled under the pressure. "We were being kind of lack- sadaisical with the ball, not hanging onto it like we should, not ball-fak- ing like we should and that's exactly what coach Guevara told us," Smith said. "She told us to settle down, take our time, ball-fake and do all the little things." The Wolverines regained their composure, and weathered the Blue Jays' storm. But eight minutes into the half, Creighton was still threatening. Guevara then turned to freshman Lauren Andrews, and the guard gave turnover-happy Michigan the need- ed stability at the point. "We put her in at the 12-minute mark, and she gave us 12 really, really good minutes," Guevara said. "That is one of the things we talk to the kids about a lot: 'Make the most of your minutes,' and she got that steal right away and converted the three-point play. She also did a good job of handling the pressure down the stretch." Late in the game, the Blue Jays made a run, and found themselves down just 69-63, with possession. But senior LeeAnn Bies delivered the final blow as she blocked a Finch 3-point attempt, and hit two free throws in the ensuing possession, giv- ing the Wolverines a 71-63 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. "We definitely have things to work on, but I think we looked good out there, and this was a key game for us to start our season off," Gandy said. FRIDAY'S GAME Creighton (66) FG FT RED MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Wessling 23 0-4 0-0 042 0 3 0 Burns 22 2-7 00 2-3 1 5 6 Spanheimer 31 1-6 0-0 2-5 3 3 2 Neneman 24 4-15 4-4 1-4 1 5 12 Finch 36 10-18 0-0 1-4 2 4 27 Rochelle 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Woodard 12 2-2 0-0 0-1 1 1 4 Erickson 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 Ferguson 1 0-0 0-0 1-1 1 0 0 Walk er 19 0-3 2-2 3-4 2 2 2 Janis 15 2-6 2-2 2-3 0 2 6 Hoffman 13 2-3 1-2 0-3 0 3 5 Totals 200 2465 9-10 14311128 66 FG%: .369. FT%: .900. 3-point FG: 9-24, .375 ((Finch 7-13, Burns 2-5, Neneman 0-4, Spanheimer 0-2). Blocks: None. Steals: 13 (Spanheimer 5, Nen- eman 3, Finch 3, Walker 2). Turnovers: 18 (Janis 4, Walker 3, Wessling3, Burns 2, Finch 2 Span- heimer, Neneman, Woodard, Hoffman). frchnIcal fouls: none. MICHIGAN (75) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Pool 19 1-6 1-2 0-4 3 3 3 Smith 33 7-11 6-6 1-6 2 1 21 Bies 26 4-6 3-4 2-6 1 3 11 Reams 29 3-7 1-2 2-4 1 0 8 Burin 21 1-3 00 0-4 5 2 2 Andrews 12 1-1 6-9 1-3 0 1 8 HauserreH C7 0-0 1-2 0.2 0 0 1 Carney 7 0-1 0-1 1-1 0 1 0 Goodlow 15 3-6 2-2 1-3 1 1 8 Gandy 31 4-5 4-5 1-3 2 1 13 Totals 200 24-46 24-33 9-37 15 13 75 FG%: .522. FT%: .727. 3-point FG: 3-6,_500 (Reams 1-2, Gandy 1-1, Smith 1-1, Burlin 0-1, Car- ney 0-1)). Blocks: 6 (Bies 3, Goodlow 2, Gandy). Steals: 7 (Pool 4, Gandy 2, Andrews). Turnovers: 21 (BDuriin 5, Biles 4, Pool 3, Gandy 3, Smith, Reams, Andrews, Hauser-Price, Carney, Goodlow). Technical fouls: none. Creigton ................26 40 - 66 Michigan..................39 36 - 77 At: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor Attendance: 1,101 Blue is thii rd at Nike Cu By Steven Shears Daily Sports Writer Most of the time, third place is rather unconvincing. But this past weekend, Michigan women's swimming and div- ing team showed that third place is just: a small starting block in its race for a successful season in the water. Michigan captured that spot in a field of 10 teams at the Nike Cup in Chapel r Hill, N.C. Many Wolverines accom- plished career-best performances and the team admits how far it has come u from last season. "We didn't have these types of results last year' coach Jim Richardson said. "I think any time you can swim faster than 7 you've ever swam in your life, that is exceptional." Many strong swimmers completed record times that were faster than last year's NCAA Championships qualifica- tion standards. This already puts a num- ber of swimmers in consideration for this year's championships, including Amy McCullough, who is guaranteed a trip to Auburn, Ala. with a 1:46.89 time in the 200-yard freestyle. Other season- best performances were recorded by Erin Abbey in the 100-yard backstroke (55.17), Kelli Stein in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.26) and Anne Weil- bacher in the 100-yard butterfly (54.20). In addition, the Wolverines broke a Nike Cup record in the 400-yard med- ley relay. Again it was McCullough, Abbey, Stein and Weilbacher shattering the record by more than four seconds. While these team leaders were com- pleting career-best times, the Wolver- ines admit that they are still far from their peak this early in the season. "We have a few relays that are excel- lent," Richardson said. "However, we need to get the other relays going at high levels in order to be in contention down the road. We have people swim- ming faster they have ever been in their lives, but our number one priority is to have the whole team accomplish great performances. We are swimming good, but we want to be better than good. An important part of this success from the bottom up starts with the fresh- - men, and the Nike Cup showed that Michigan's young swimmers are ready to handle that-task. Freshman Abby Seskevics helped the 200-yard freestyle relay team to a second-place finish. She was also utilized as an anchor leg in the 400-yard medley relay, a position usual- ly given to upperclassmen. "As the meet went on, you could see Seskevics' deep determination," Richardsonwsaid. "She has the courage to do what we need?' While a few swimmers will be com- peting in the U.S. Open on December 5- 7, the next meet for the team will be the Rainbow Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii on Jan. 2. From now on, the team's training regimen will become more strenuous as the swimmers will be focused on progression in hopes of their ultimate goal: "We want to swim scary fast and rip the lid off the competition this year," Richardson said. Coming off the bench, junior Stephanie Gandy scored 11 points in 13 minutes and helped Michigan beat Creighton 75-66. Off bench, freshman Andrews makes impact Full-court press nearly costs Wolverines; Michigan newcomer leaves team By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer Michigan women's basketball coach Sue Guevara knew heading into this season that the play of her freshmen would be an important factor for the Wolver- ines, but she probably didn't expect them to have an impact in the very first game. In Friday's contest against Creighton, four freshmen combined for 69 minutes and 18 points in their first regular season BASKETBALL action. Whether off the bench or Notebook from the starting lineup, every player made her minutes count. Guard Mie Burlin started for the Wolverines, and led the team with five assists in the first half, mostly feeding forward Jennifer Smith in the post. Guard Niki Reams led all freshmen with 29 minutes, and committed just one turnover throughout the game. Guevara indicated that she liked rotating several play- ers into the lineup, and rotating guards in and out was a key to beating the Blue Jays. "Tonight you saw point guard by committee," Gue- vara said. "If that's what it takes (to win) this season, that's what we'll do." Perhaps the biggest impact came from guard Lauren Andrews. Coming off the bench at the 12-minute mark in the second half, the Wolverines had been struggling to find the rhythm from their first half. As soon as Andrews came in, she stole a pass, ran coast-to-coast for a layup, got fouled and completed the three-point play. The effects were immediate as Michigan began to attack the basket again. Andrews also remained in the game during the wan- ing minutes as Creighton cut into the Wolverines lead, but Michigan held on for a nine-point win. "When Lauren Andrews came in for us in the sec- ond half, she made a huge difference for us," Guevara said. "She also did a good job of handling their pres- sure down the stretch." PRESSING CONCERN: In the early minutes of both halves, Creighton came out with an aggressive full- court press, which forced several Michigan turnovers and resulted in quick points. The first two Michigan possessions in the first half resulted in two turnovers. The only saving grace for Michigan was that Creighton didn't score very often in the first half, which didn't allow them to press. "If we could score and get into our press, we would have a lot more success than we did," Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. In the second half, the press was much more effec- tive. The Blue Jays opened the half on a 9-0 run, and ended up cutting the 13-point halftime lead down to three. Had it not been for Andrews' entrance to the game, Creighton might have taken the lead. "(Our turnovers in the second half) made this game too close for comfort," Guevara said. "We had (numer- ous) unforced errors." HAPPY TRAis: Guevara announced Friday that fresh- man guard Stephanie Douglas officially quit the team. One of six freshmen on the roster this season, Douglas did not play last week in the exhibition game against the Dominican Republic national team. "While we hate to see any player leave the program after spending just over two months here, we really wish her the best," Guevara said. No REST FOR THE WEARY: The Wolverines only had two days to rest and prepare for tonight's game against California-Santa Barbara. Guevara predicts that hav- ing a deep bench will allow her team to be fresh after an unusually short break between games. "We turn around and play Santa Barbara (tonight), and I have people that I can rotate," she said. "I'll be anxious to see if we are sas State in going to have anything left in our ament today tank, not necessarily physically, but ng from the the emotional tank of our team right is. now," Amaker said. Come Check Us Out!! * "Wednesday Nite" at 8:45 p.m. " 5:45 p.m. Sunday Service " Ski Retreat 9 Spring Break in Utah HOKIES Continued from Page 113 Senior LaVell Blanchard shot a dis- mal 1-for-12 from the field, including missing all six of his shots from behind the arc. Blanchard's perform- ance was indicative of the whole team, which connected on just three of its 18 attempts from 3-point land - all hit by freshman point guard Daniel Horton. Before the season started, Amaker tabbed Blanchard as the team's best worker and best player. So as Blan- chard goes, Michigan goes, and last night neither went well at all. "We're not going to be competitive or have a chance to win if we can't get solid play and offensive production from (Blanchard)," Amaker said. "Not to put it all on his shoulders, and I'm not blaming him, but just being absolutely honest. We can't be a team that is going to expect to win if we can't get him to score." One of the few bright spots of the where the game was never in ques- tion. Blanchard dropped in 21 points, but the Wolverines were out- matched early on and could never get back into the game after trailing YESTERDAY'S GAME Virginia Tech (65) 54-34 at the half. Michigan will face Kan: the final round of the tourna to try and salvage somethin weekend in the Virgin Island First Presbyterian Church 662-4466 Contact Graham Baird for details: grahamjbaird@aol.com The! Ann Arbor FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Matthews 21 2-4 1-3 4-8 1 5 6 Thompkins 28 1-7 01 2-5 3 3 2 Taylor 31 7-13 9-10 2-5 0 3 23 Chase 27 0-2 2-3 0-2 4 2 2 Dixon 38 7-15 1-2 0-3 0 2 20 Branham 16 1-2 1-2 0-2 1 1 3 Davis 11 2-2 0-0 0.1 1 2 5 Galloway 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Harris 8 2-6 0-1 2-2 0 0 4 McCandies 14 0-2 0-0 1-3 1 2 0 Team 6-8 Totals 200 22.53 14-2217-3911i21 65 FG%: .415. FT%: .636. 3-point FG: 7-13, 2538 (Dixon 5-7, Matthews 1-2, Davis 1-1, Chase 0-2, Harris 0-1). Biocks: 7 (hompkins 6, Dixon). Steals: 4 (Thompkins, Chase, Dixon, McCandies). Turnovers: 10 (Branham 3, Matthews 2, Taylor 2, Thompkins, Harris, Team). Technical fouls: none. MICHIGAN (53) FG FT RED MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Robinson 35 2-9 8-9 3-7 3 2 12 Blanchard 29 1-12 4-4 0-5 1 3 6 Hunter 20 3-7 0-0 2-4 1 3 6 I. Chanel Lancome . { / Donna Karan DKNY Intimates Christian Dior Elizabeth Arde -.. ....and many more! on I I I f . , -.,,. 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