I 8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 2, 2003 Lakers provide early threat Men's tennis opens season in South Bend By Michael Nisson Daily Sports Writer Two years ago, the Mercyhurst men's hockey team embarked on an adventure that was of Cinderrellic proportions. The small school from Erie, Pa., stunned the nation by making it all the way to the NCAA West Regional, where it ran into a powerhouse program nicknamed the Wolverines. Michigan fans may remember this game against the Lakers, which almost THIS knocked the Wolverines out of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Sixth-seeded Mer- York, M cyhurst led until midway through the Mu third period, when Michigan took com- Time:71:35 mand of the ice and finished off the 7:35 p.r Lakers, 4-3. Yost I "It was a great experience for our kids," Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin said at the time. "We don't know if we'll be back to this or not. We're certainly going to try, but there's no guarantee that we'll get back to this." Fast-forward two years, as Mercyhurst prepares to re-enter Yost this Saturday, and you'll find that Gotkin's dreams have become a reality. After starting slowly last year, the Lakers went 15-3 over the second half and vaulted themselves into the postseason. The Lakers have plenty of players return- ing from a squad that lost in the NCAA Regionals last year. Mercyhurst has been picked as the preseason favorite in the Atlantic Hockey Association this year. "They've shown that they're one of the top teams year in and year out, so I think they're a legitimate Division I program now," Michigan coach Red Beren- WEEKEND ercyhurst at chigan p.m. tomorrow, . Saturday ce Arena son said. Many people are expecting Michigan, which has been an annual contender for the national championship for a long time, to have a good season itself this year. Berenson said that the Wolverines are where they should be at this point in the season. "The good thing is we're healthy, and I think we're excited to play an opponent rather than each other," By Kyle Carpenter For the Daily The Michigan men's tennis team will head to South Bend, Ind., this weekend to kick off the season in an early tour- nament featuring several teams from around the nation. "This tournament is our first chance to compete this fall and will get us back in the competitive mode" coach Mark Mees said. "We will play a lot of matches that we just can't sirpulate in practice." The young team, which includes three freshmen and one sophomore, will need some collegiate-level experi- ence before the regular season begins. Mees says the upcoming tournament will provide just that. "It will give the younger guys a chance to play some quality matches," Mees said. Junior standout Mike Rubin, who is ranked No.78 in the ITA preseason sin- gles poll, is looking forward to some real competition. "We will be introduced to some competition, and there will be a lot of other good players there," Rubin said. "It is definitely a way for us to come out of the gates and start the season off well" Despite the team's youth, the Wolver- ines have a lot of depth this season. "I have nine guys I am confident in throwing into the lineup," Mees said. "Our freshmen will definitely make an impact on the team. They are getting better and excited" The Wolverines hope to walk away with a Big Ten championship in an extremely competitive conference. The team has some confidence after finishing 15-9 overall last year and 5-5 in the Big Ten, but won't be satisfied until it is a top contender. "I think we are going to be signifi- cantly better this season," Mees said. One of the biggest strengths of this year's team, according to Rubin, is the overall commitment to competing hard. With a few months of quality prac- tice still down the road for the Wolver- ines, the mindset right now is getting everyone on the same page before con- stant competition begins. "We really want to get everybody playing their best tennis day in and day out, collectively getting better," Mees said. Berenson said. "I think everyone knows that the York game is an exhibition game, but it's a game you want to play well in and a game you want to build on, because you've got a game that counts on the NCAA record the next night. So exhibition or not, they're important games," Berenson said. BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily The last time Mercyhurst met Michigan, the Lakers came close to ending Mike Cammallerl's season. Michigan's Weir' enjoys breakout weekend By Matt Singer For the Daily In April, Canadian lefty Mike Weir took the golfing world by storm, emerg- ing victorious in the Masters. Fast for- ward to late September in Bloomington, Ind. Michigan's Canadian lefty, Kevin Dore, may not have won at Augusta National, but his seventh-place showing at the Hoosier Invitational proved he can be a force at the collegiate level. "I changed my mental approach," Dore said. "During the first tournament, I was trying to hit perfect shots and I was a little too aggressive. I just tried to stay patient this weekend." A true freshman, Dore's break- through performance came in just his second college tournament. With his 14-stroke improvement from the previ- ous week, the southpaw led the Michi- gan men's golf team to a solid sixth- place showing among a 15-team field. "Actually, that's kind of the expecta- tion that I have for Kevin," Sapp explained. "He's just really played well throughout his career coming up into college.: A strong short game contributed to Dore's team-best 54-hole score of 214. "There were times over the weekend where I didn't hit it that great, but my short game kept me in it," Dore said. Although Dore is just beginning to assert himself at the NCAA level, he is no stranger to success on the links. In high school, he was the second-ranked junior male in Ontario. He medalled at the 2002 U.S. Junior Championship Qualifier at the Michigan Golf Course. "I just liked the atmosphere when I came here on my visit," Dore said. "The coaches and the guys on the team are great, and the facilities are also really nice. It just seemed like the right place." The Wolverines hope to build upon last weekend's 15-shot team improve- ment. Sapp is looking for greater focus and consistency as the Wolverines travel south for the First Street Trust Invita- tional this weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. The tournament takes place on the home course of Sapp's alma mater. "The main thing we need to improve is to take care of the small stuff," Sapp said. "We need to maintain our focus throughout the entire round, and finish each round strong." After just two weeks of play, Dore has emerged as a leader on the Michi- gan men's golf team. Down the road, Weir might not be the only Canadian lefty sporting a green jacket. M' coxswains bring volume, leadership 4 By Ryan Sosin Daily Sports Writer Spikers earn key win over nival Spartans By Brad Johnson Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING - At 7 p.m. Wednesday night, Jenison Fieldhouse was rowdy, boisterous and teem- ing with electricity. By 8:30, it was as quiet as a morgue. The Michigan volleyball team (2-1 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) rolled into East Lansing and swept the Spartans 30-20, 30-23 and 30-27.H No. 14 Michigan State (1-2, 9- 4) kept trying to inch its way back throughout the match, but simply could not catch up with the Wolverines, who sprang out of the gates. "Our team came out very prepared tonight," coach Mark Rosen said. "It's not a matter of being motivat- ed, it's how you handle the motivation." Michigan handled it well, neutralizing what could have potentially become a very hostile environment for the visiting Wolverines. "You get a few heckles from the crowd," junior Lisa Gamalski said. "But we shut them up because we were playing so well." Michigan took the crowd out of it in the very first game with its dominant play up front. For Rosen, his team's early success was a matter of execution, since the rival Spartans were such familiar foes. Michigan State tried to close the gap in the second set, but could not pull even with the Wolverines no matter how hard it tried. Michigan swaggered onto the court for the final stanza, which was the tightest of the three, featuring many ties and lead changes. The Jenison crowd finally came back to life near the end of the match, but was silenced with two momentum-changing kills by Michigan's Jennifer Gandolph. The junior caught fire in the third game and helped the Wolverines hold on for the victory, their first over a ranked team this season. "(Michigan State) is a great team and is always consistent," Gamalski said. "We knew we had to play our game and play it well." The fact that the win came on the road made it even sweeter for the Wolverines. "It's my first time (beating Michigan State)," fresh- man Megan Bowman said. "Everyone is real excited. It was a lot of fun." For Gamalski, Michigan's third straight triumph over the Spartans was just as satisfying. "It feels great," she said. "To play as well as we did gives us confidence going into the Big Ten." If you had your back to Belleville Lake during a Michigan rowing meet, you might think the Army is running drills behind you. Booming off the water are commands that make no sense to the average ear while groups of peo- ple move in unison. Odds are, the voice issuing the commands is that of juniors Louisa DiLeone, Tara Medina or Sarah O'Brien. They are the coxswains for the Michigan rowing team. The coxswain is one of the most vital parts of a boat's crew, in charge of issuing commands and steering the boat. DiLeone (5-foot-0), Medina (5-foot- 2) and O'Brien (5-foot-3) are built for coxing due to their short height and have taken to the job and excelled in the position. The coxswain sits at the front of the boat and coordinates the rowers to help the team reach the finish line. It is the coxswain's job to insure that everyone is doing their part and staying in unison with the rest of the team. "Everyone has to be doing the same thing at the same time." DiLeone said. "If you can't work together, than you're never going to go anywhere." Being a coxswain carries connota- tions off the lake as well. Because the coxswains are essentially captaining the boats, the rest of the team tends to look to them for leadership and inspiration. "We're not only steering and coach- ing technique, but we also have to know what's going on with each rower so that during a hard workout we know what to say to pump them up," DiLeone said. Michigan has only been practicing for a month now, but thanks to the lead- ership of its coxswains, the Wolverines are gelling quickly. The team will be making a bid for its sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships this year and looking to capture its first national title. The Wolverines will take on Ohio State in a training race this Saturday at Belleville Lake. It marks the second-to- last home date before the fall season draws to a close. 4 .« m > St 4.;;.,;. i