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6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 9, 2002
Wildcats down Blue
3-0 in NCAA tourney
By Albert Kim
Daily Sports Writer
There may not be much out in the
fields of Kansas, but the Wolverines
learned Friday that there is a good vol-
leyball team there.
The Michigan volleyball team fell 3-0
to No. 22 Kansas State in the first round
of the NCAA Tournament at Ahearn
Field House in Manhattan, Kan. The
tight match came down to which team
could manufacture points late.
"We haven't been very good playing
on the road," senior Katrina Lehman
said. "We haven't been able to put
teams away."
The Wolverines finished the season 2-
13 on the road and 14-2 at home, and
the hostile environment in Manhattan
proved to be too much.
Michigan led for most of game one,
but couldn't stop the Wildcats after they
called a timeout with the Wolverines up
24-20. Kansas State ran off five straight
points and Michigan never recovered,
losing 30-26.
Similarly, Michigan.led 24-23 in game
two, but was victimized again after a
Kansas State timeout and lost 30-25.
Game three went down to the wire,
with Kansas State earning five match
points. Michigan fought back to the tie
the score four times, but was unable to
make the final push, dropping the game
35-33. Errors down the stretch led to the
Wolverines' downfall.
"The crowd got into it, and we
expected them to lose it instead of us
expecting to win it," junior Nicole
Poquette said.
Poquette and Chantel Reedus led the
Wolverines with 11 kills each, while
Jennifer Gandolph led the team in digs
with 14. Michigan did out-block the
Wildcats, but had three less digs.
Lehman posted eight kills, three digs
and three blocks in her last match as a
Wolverine. She leaves Michigan as the
best blocker in the program's history,
artd will be missed for not only her play
on the court, but her leadership off of it.
Although disappointed with the loss,
Lehman had nothing but good memo-
ries to look back on.
"I'm definitely leaving Michigan with
no regrets," Lehman said.
The loss may taste bitter now, but
Michigan knows that it will be motiva-
tion to climb even further next year.
"The core group is going to know
what it feels like to lose in the first
round," Poquette said.
Poquette is one of five starters that
will return to the lineup next year.
Despite losing in the first round,
Michigan showed perseverance and
resilience throughout the season. The
last month of the Big Ten proved to be
Early out
Michigan's first-round loss on Fri-
day was the first time the pro-
gram didn't advance in the NCAA
Tournament. Here's a look at
Michigan's four appearances.
2002: T ne Wildcats ousted the Wolver-
ines in the first round, sweeping them 3-0.
2000: Michigan beat Louisville to
advance to the second round, where it lost
to No. 2 seed Arizona.
1999: The Wolverines fell to Pacific after
a first-round win over Fairfield.
1997: Michigan beat Temple before Texas
knocked it out in the second round.
rocky as the Wolverines fell in the rank-
ings, but the players were able to pull off
an NCAA Tournament bid. Michigan
ended the season with a winning (16-15)
record, including big wins over Ohio
State and Penn State. In addition, the
Wolverines also swept the State Pride
series against the Spartans.
The Wolverines have improved in Big
Ten play in each of the last three years,
winning eight games in 2000, nine
games in 2001 and 10 games this year
- good for a sixth-place tie.
Losing only Lehman to graduation
bodes well for a team that made it to the
NCAA Tournament despite a late season
slump. And with virtually all its key
players coming back, the future seems
bright for Michigan.
"Experience helps a lot, and I think
this team will be extremely strong next
year," Lehman said
Tumblers
rusty 1in
intrasquad
By Michael Nisson
Daily Sporis Writer
Lots of airtime, combined with mind-
boggling body control, can mean only
one thing: its gymnastics time.
On Friday, the Michigan women's
team opened its season with its annual
intrasquad meet. The Maize team edged
out the Blue team 161.625-159.375.
Those familiar with gymnastics
might find the final score to be quite
surprising, considering that a good
winning score is usually at least 195,
and often times higher. It appeared
that Michigan was a little rusty com-
ing out of the gate.
"We still have a whole month
before (the actual season starts),"
Michigan coach Bev Plocki said.
"This is the earliest that our
intrasquad has ever been."
Some of the problems can be attrib-
uted to the fact that the two teams were a
little shorthanded. Normally, six team
members perform in each event, with
the two lowest scores being dropped and
then the scores totaled. Each team in the
intrasquad only had five people.
Both teams had trouble on the uneven
bars. There were a number of falls, and a
few gymnasts had to back out of more
complicated maneuvers.
"We had more trouble than I thought
we would on bars," Plocki said. "We've
been a lot more consistent on bars in
practice, so that was a little surprising."
Grieco came in first in the all-around
with a score of 39. Calli Ryals was a
close second with a score of 38.6, and
freshman Jenny Deiley rounded out the
top three with a score of 38.425.
a
44
Calli Ryals peforms in the women's gymnastics intrasquad on Friday. The Maize team
won the meet 161.625-159.375.
Four Tankers make Open finals
Deiley was a bright spot for the team,
finishing in the top four in three events.
"Jen looks really good on all events,
and we're really excited for her to coin-
pete all-around," Ryals said.
"I was actually more relaxed than I
have been usually," Deiley said. "I felt
comfortable coming in here and my
teammates are really supportive."
Freshmen Becca Clauson and Rachel
Colon also had their moments.
"I'm really proud of how (the fresh-
men) did (Friday)," Plocki said. "For
them to get through this, even with one
or two mistakes, is a really big thing."
The other encouraging story was
the emergence of redshirt freshman
Lauren Mirkovich, who scored a
9.800 on the uneven bars to win the
event. Last year, Mirkovich injured
her knee on a bad landing during a
floor routine.
Performing for the first time "was
very exciting," Mirkovich said. "I sort of
did feel like a freshman, but with a little
more experience behind me."
By Megan Kolodgy
Daily Sports Writer
While most of Michigan's women's swimming and diving
team remained in Ann Arbor for a weekend of grueling mid-
season practices, four particularly talented Wolverines made
the trek to Minneapolis to compete in the U.S. Open, one of
the most prestigious swim meets in the country.
Despite the high caliber of athletes at the Open, Michi-
gan's competitiors went into the event without interrupting
their regular training schedule. They did not taper or shave
down, which are typical practices when preparing for a big
meet.
"We were racing to see how we could do in the mid-sea-
son," coach Jim Richardson said. "I wanted to see how close
to their personal best times they could come."
The Wolverines came out of Minneapolis - their first
attempt at long-course racing this year - with several out-
standing achievements. One of the most significant of these
was junior co-captain Anne Weilbacher's 2004 Olympic Tri-
als qualifying and NCAA consideration time of 1:02.75 in
the 100-meter butterfly, which placed her fourth in the event.
Richardson called this "avery good swim." -
Apart from Weilbacher's Olympic Trial cut, this meet
marked milestones for sophomore Amy McCullough and
junior Kelli Stein. Each made it to finals for the first time in
her career. Stein placed eighth in the 200 breaststroke, and
10th in the 100 breaststroke with a NCAA consideration
time of 1:13.31. McCullough finished 14th in the 400
freestyle.
"Finaling is a tremendous accomplishment, particularly
because they weren't rested," Richardson said. "It's a big deal
when you do that for the first time."
Although the Wolverines' times this weekend were excep-
tional, Richardson knows that his team must continue to
work hard to attain similar results in upcoming meets.
"There is no correlation with the end of the season,"
Richardson said. "If someone swam well at the Open,
that's great. If not, oh well."
Richardson also believes that performances at this meet
will give the swimmers the kick they need to come into the
final stretch with strength.
"A bad swim is just motivation to improve at future
meets," Richardson explained. "And a good swim provides
motivation to maintain your time."
While this was not the most eagerly anticipated event on
Michigan's schedule, Richardson was still pleased with his
swimmers' efforts.
"It's always fun to go to a meet like the U.S. Open,"
Richardson said. "But it wasn't a focal point." I"
M' places 2nd at Eastern invite
By Waldemar Centeno
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan's men's swimming and diving team entered
the Eastern Michigan Invitational in Ypsilanti atop the nation-
al rankings. The Wolverines earned that prominent spot after
their win against last year's national champion, Texas.
Although the Wolverines felt good about their placement in
the rankings, they found their next meet to be more casual.
Facing Eastern Michigan, Kalamazoo, Wayne State, Calvin
College, Allegheny and Case Western Reserve, Michigan put
most of its swimmers in events other than their specialties.
Michigan did this so that its swimmers may gain more
experience in multiple events, but the Wolverines ended up
taking second place in the tournament behind Eastern
Michigan. The Eagles destroyed the Wolverines, 1,157-815.
"The meet during the weekend didn't surprise me,"
Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "Because the meet
was an exhibition, we entered most of our swimmers as
non-scoring and entered our bottom 10 swimmers so that
they may gain more experience in the events."
Despite the second-place finish, Michigan came out of the
tournament with a better understanding of its swimmers.
The Wolverines earned eight event wins including a first-
place finish in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays. They
also finished first in the 400-yard medley relay.
Senior co-captain Jeff Hopwood contributed with his per-
formances in both breaststroke events. Hopwood earned first
place in both of the events with a time of 56.59 in the 100-
yard breaststroke and 2:02.62 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
"I thought Jeff Hopwood did an excellent job," Urbanchek
said. "He was one of the few swimmers out there that had a
good amount of experience in his event."
Michigan also had a powerful performance from its dis-
tance swimmers. Junior Dan Ketchum claimed his third
NCAA consideration time with a time of 1:37.75 in the 200-
yard freestyle.
Freshmen Peter Vanderkaay s'wam an NCAA consideration
time of 4:21.47 in the 500-yard freestyle.
The Wolverines had many first-rate performances dur-
ing the exhibition, but the Eagles captured the victory by
winning five major events.
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
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