6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 3, 2003
0
Stickers take
title after rout
of Penn State
By Megan Kolodgy
Daily Sports Writer
The less-than-stunning gray backdrop simply
worked to make the feat all the more breathtak-
ing. At what could very well be its final game at
Ocker Field this season, McHGAN_5_
Michigan's field hockey team __ENN__TATE____
trounced No. 7 Penn State, 5-
2, in a manner that could only be described as
astounding.
"This was probably the best game we've ever
played at this field," senior captain April Fron-
zoni said. "I couldn't be more proud."
After experiencing what Fronzoni described as
a "devastating" loss to Ohio State in Columbus
last weekend, the sixth-ranked Wolverines were
plagued by a nagging feeling that, perhaps this
year, the regular season Big Ten title might be out
of reach.
Their win on Saturday, though, clinched a
share of this honor, which the Wolverines will
split with Michigan State.
"We really stumbled last Sunday, and I think it
showed great character on our team's part to
come back today and play so well against a really
nice Penn State team," Michigan coach Marcia
Pankratz said.
Determination was etched on each Wolverine
face. They threw themselves onto the soaked
Astroturf in an effort to capitalize on any shot
opportunity and worked desperately to keep the
Nittany Lions at bay.
Michigan anticipated going up against some
roadblocks on its way through the matchup with
Penn State, which has developed a reputation as a
perennial field hockey powerhouse.
The Wolverines, however, found inspiration in
their graduating seniors, who were honored
before the game.
"I knew it was going to be an emotional day
because it was senior day," sophomore Lori Hill-
man said.
"I just wanted to put everything on the line for
them because I knew it was going to be a tough
game for them."
Hillman certainly did her part to contribute to
the effort. The defender notched two goals, her
second and third goals of the season.
En route to the title-clinching victory, the
Wolverines illustrated their depth with four differ-
Grapplers finally hit
the mat in Ypsilanti
By Eric Chan
Daily Sports Writer
With only three weeks left until
the start of the season, the No. 7
Michigan wrestling team got a
chance to work out some of its
kinks over the weekend. The
Wolverines traveled to nearby Ypsi-
lanti and competed in the Eastern
Michigan Open.
The tournament wasn't a part of
Michigan's official NCAA dual
meet and tournament schedule, but
was a good way for coach Joe
McFarland to test the readiness of
his squad.
"I thought the tournament went
well for our guys," McFarland said.
"I liked the fact that we wrestled
with a lot of intensity. Our young
guys looked great."
The Michigan freshmen were
impressive, indeed. Josh Weitzel
(184 pounds), a highly-touted
recruit out of Pennsylvania, wres-
tled his way into the finals before
falling to Alex Clemson of Edinboro
on a last-minute takedown.
Weitzel pinned defending Nation-
al Collegiate Wrestling Association
national champion Brian Thomas of
Grand Valley State en route to the
finals.
"[Weitzel] looked great," McFar-
land said. "He did a nice job. He's
proved to me that he is going to
compete at this level. He's going to
be a special kid - he just knows
how to win."
Freshman Eric Tannenbaum, a
three-time Illinois state champion
coming out of high school, wrestled
his way to the finals at 149 pounds
only to meet teammate and presea-
son No. 5 Ryan Churella in the
finals. Churella defeated Tannen-
baum to take the tournament title.
Michigan 141-pounder Clark For-
ward and heavyweight Greg Wagner
both made it to the top of the podi-
um at Eastern Michigan. Forward
looked dominant throughout the
tournament, winning his first match
by fall and his next three by a com-
bined score of 46-14.
An exciting finals match materi-
alized at heavyweight when Michi-
gan's Wagner and Michigan State's
Mike Keenan both won their semifi-
nal matches.
In a controversial match last year
in East Lansing, Keenan held a
decisive lead over an injured Wagn-
er. As time ran off the clock,
Keenan flagrantly attacked Wagner's
sprained ankle with a lock reminis-
cent of the WWE.
In their finals match this year,
Wagner got his revenge with a 2-1
victory.
The most well known name on the
Michigan roster, defending national
champion Ryan Bertin, did not
compete. The Wolverines will travel
to East Lansing next weekend to
continue preseason action at the
Michigan State Open.
JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily
Michigan's Kate Dillon looks to stop Penn State's charge during Saturday's 5-2 win by the Wolverines. The
trouncing of the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions clinched the conference title for the Wolverines.
ent players scoring a goal.
A little over a minute into the contest, Michi-
gan senior Jenny Zangara nailed a shot past Penn
State goalie Annie Zinkavich.
About seven minutes later, Hillman netted her
first goal, with her second coming near the end
of the first half.
Penn State's play appeared choppy when juxta-
posed to Michigan's smooth, long game.
The Nittany Lions scored one, lonely goal in
the first half, when two consecutive corners
extended the period and allowed them the chance
to slip a shot past Wolverine goaltender Beth
Riley.
In the second half, Michigan remained on top
of the game, with junior Adrienne Hortillosa
adding a fourth goal and Fronzoni swerving
through defenders for the fifth. Penn State fin-
ished off the scoring, but never threatened
Michigan's lead.
This decisive win provided the Wolverines
with a boost of confidence that will propel them
into the Big Ten Tournament, which will be held
at Penn State next weekend.
"This game definitely motivated us," Fronzoni
said. "Everyone's going to be gunning for us
now, obviously, but I think we're ready for that
challenge."
As the already miniature crowd dwindled into
a small pack of parents and players, the Wolver-
ines celebrated their third Big Ten regular season
title in four years by singing a rousing chorus of
"The Victors."
Though the win was a happy occasion, there
was a lingering sense of sadness as the seniors
left the field for post-game stretching, possibly
for the last time. However, should the Wolver-
ines capture the Big Ten Tournament title next
weekend, they will play host to first-round play
in the NCAA Tournament.
Pankratz summed up her feelings accompany-
ing the seniors' impending departure this way:
"I can't believe how fast it's gone by. They're a
great group of young women. They're successful
in every avenue of their lives, and I'm going to
miss them a lot."
She noted, however, that it was not time to say
goodbye to this class quite yet.
"Hopefully, we still get to play another
month," she said.
Spikers capture huge weekend
sweep as Michigan State looms
By Phil Kofahi
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan volleyball team's
success against H
Big Ten oppo-_ _
nents on the road
was almost over-
shadowed by a PRDE _ 2_
losing record at
home. But a dramatic comeback
Friday and a solid performance Sat-
urday helped the Wolverines com-
plete their first weekend sweep at
home this season.
A crowd of 1,126 at Cliff Keen
Arena played host to Indiana on
Saturday night.
Things were looking good for the
Wolverines in the first game, serv-
ing game point, 29-26. The
Hoosiers fought back however, and
jumped to a 31-30 lead. Michigan,
led by junior Jennifer Gandolph's
seven kills, fought back and won
the game, 34-32.
Game two displayed the Wolver-
ines balanced and smart play.
Michigan's 17 kills and Indiana's 13
overall errors resulted in a 30-23
Michigan victory.
Gandolph again led the way, this
time with four kills, four digs and a
serving ace.
Five servic aces, including three
straight by redshirt freshman Erin
Cobler, led the Wolverines to a domi-
nating 30-20 victor in game two.
Senior Erin Moore's 17 kills paced
all players, and senior Lisa Gamalski
pitched in with 39 set assists.
"It went well," Moore said. "We
came out and took care of it in
three games."
Michigan coach Mark Rosen was
pleased with how his team was able
to use Cliff Keen to its advantage.
"We realized that we weren't
playing as well as we thought we
needed to at home," said Rosen.
"And I think we were taking it for
granted a little bit."
Purdue came to Ann Arbor Friday
night and jumped out to an early
two games to none lead on the
Wolverines.
Michigan fell behind due to poor
hitting, committing 19 errors in the
first two games.
But in game three, solid defense
and an early lead kept Michigan in
the game long enough for senior
Erin Moore to end the set on a kill
for a 30-28 win. Game four was a
major swing in momentum for the
Wolverines, as they quickly won,
30-15.
The final set went back and forth,
but solid hitting kept the match in
hand and finished off the Boiler-
makers, giving the Wolverines their
first three-set comeback since Oct.
3, 2002.
The added confidence at home
will serve the Wolverines well, as
Michigan State visits Wednesday
night.
"It's going to be a great
matchup," said Rosen. "We had a
lot of success up at their place, and
we've had a lot of success recently
against them. They are a very good
team, and they are going to come in
very hungry."
Senior Nicole Poquette needs no
help getting excited for Wednes-
day's matchup.
"You don't really have to do a
JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily
Outside hitter Erin Cobler slams one
down during Michigan's win over Purdue.
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rnn kv.Th Mirhisrn flDily n t40
whole lot to
game," said
pumped about
them."
get ready for that
Poquette. "We're
it and excited to beat
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Michigan goalie Peter Dzubay was stellar against Ohio State on Saturday, saving
eight shots as the Wolverines snuck out of Columbus with a 1-0 win.
Trybuls 'uglyCgoal
steals Bu e a victory
I
By Ellen McGarrity
Daily Sports Writer
Saturday afternoon, forward
Bobby Trybula was just thankful
that he had a ___HGAN___
spot on the team
bus to Colum-
bus. The freshman has only suited
up for about 20 percent of Michi-
gan's games this season and usually
only gets about 10 minutes of play-
ing time.
So when Michigan coach Steve
Burns decided to sub him in during
the final moments of the then-
scoreless game against the Buck-
eyes, Trybula knew his coach was
expecting something special.
"He pulled me off to the side and
was like, 'Score me an ugly goal,' "
Trybula said.
Trybula knew exactly what Burns
meant.
When Trybula stepped onto the
field, Michigan had just been
volley.
The goal wasn't pretty, but it did
the job. The Buckeyes had fallen 1-
0 to the Wolverines for the third
year in a row.
"I was brought into the program
so I could finish ugly goals," Try-
bula said. "I guess that's my spe-
cialty. I'm not a player that triples
three people and then puts the ball
up at 90 (degrees).
"I make the defense safer and
cover their mistakes"
But Michigan did not win this
game on Trybula's goal alone.
Although the Wolverines have tri-
umphed over this rival before, the
game was no easy battle.
"Ohio State's the kind of team
that makes you play in ways that
you don't really want to," Burns
said. "They make you play more of
a direct game. It was a hard-fought
victory, that's for sure. Lots of
fouls, lots of tension on both sides."
Burns noted that both teams had
Ia
go
A