MMMMMER 6E - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fall 2003 _a!o 0 OF A need for speed _ aM 0 w Blue snatches coveted Triple Crown Step One: Cross Country stomps down competition in West Lafayette By Mustafizur Choudhury Daily Sports Writer WEST LAFAYETTE - After a lackluster per- formance at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct.19, nobody expected the Michigan women's cross coun- try team to shine any brighter at the Big Ten Cham- pionships yesterday. That is, nobody except Michigan coach Mike McGuire, who never doubted that his team was capable of winning. Michigan went on to win the race, which was hosted by Pur- due, with the lowest score of 70 points. "We put the meet from two weeks ago behind us because we didn't commit ourselves," McGuire said. "It was non-indicative of how we had been racing and training up to that point. Our (goal) for today was to go out, commit and compete, and we did. "We had kids that were hurt and some that were hanging on, but at the end, everybody had fire in their eye and they stormed for home. Once you're committed, it just fires you up and keeps the momentum going." The victory was somewhat of a surprise, seeing as how No. 24 Michigan was ranked fourth in the con- ference going into the race behind No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 18 Indiana and No. 23 Michigan State. But a few Wolverines stepped up at key moments, helping the team capture its fourth Big Ten title and its first since 1994. Rebecca Walter and Lindsey Gallo ran side-by- side, pushing each other throughout most of the race. With about 200 meters left in the race, the duo passed several other runners, including Michigan State's Sarah Pepera. That move proved to be criti- cal, as the Wolverines went on to beat the second- place Spartans by just three points. "Gallo and Walter did a great job at the end," McGuire said. "Walter has been an absolute anchor in the lineup; she's just been so steady. Lindsay's a talented runner and hopefully, next year, she can even compete for the individual title. The expecta- tion of the program and the athletes is to step up, and I would say someone who did step up was Chelsea Loomis, who struggled with her races this year, but came up big today." "I didn't know what to expect, coming in," Walter said. "I went out feeling pretty good in the beginning. I was a little intimidated by the course and the hills, but as I got going, they weren't too bad." Walter earned All-Big Ten first-team honors as the first freshman in yesterday's race to cross the finish line. Gallo also received first-team honors for the second consecutive year, becoming the seventh Wolverine to earn the award multiple times. "I'm just happy that I could do my part," Gallo said. "I ran the best race that I could and I gave it my all, so I can't be disappointed. (Walter and I) ran together for most of the race and I think that helped both of us." The Wolverines won't have much time to cele- brate, as they will have to prepare for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 16. But the team can be proud of the fact that they went in to the tournament as the underdogs and overcame the odds to come out victorious. "We had good, strong performances from every- body," McGuire said. "It was just a great day and I'm really proud of them." 4 TONY DING/Daily Michigan junior Lindsey Gallo (34) and freshman Rebecca Walter (43) paced one another to help the Wolverines capture the 2002 Big Ten Cross Country Championships at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Step TWo: Phillips, Frdman lead to indoor victory Step Three: Outdoor track completes triple crown for harriers By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer Placed at the end of track meets, the 5,000 meters is usually more relaxed than the other events. But that wasn't the case at the Big Ten Women's Indoor Track Champi- onships in Bloomington. After exchanging the lead with host Indiana for most of the meet, the Wolverines found themselves down by a half point going into the 5,000 meters, the second-to-last event. Distance runners Rebecca Walter and Andrea Parker responded to the pressure by finishing second and fourth, respectively. More impor- tantly, they tallied 14 points for Michigan, clinching back-to-back indoor titles for the Wolverines prior to the mile relay, in which first place only receives 10 points. Michigan added a point in the relay to finish the race with 129.5 points to Indiana's 115. Assistant coach Mike McGuire said he was relieved that after an up- and-down championship, it didn't come down to the final event. "Anytime you are passing a baton, it is a nail-biting experience," McGuire said. McGuire said he was confident that Michigan's long-distance run- ners would outperform the Hoosiers, but there was still cause for concern. Walter could have been tired after finishing third in the 3,000-meter race the day before. The Hoosiers had an excited home crowd and a bitter taste in their mouth after losing to Michigan last season in the closest Big Ten Women's Indoor Champi- onship ever. With the support of teammates, coaches and parents, Walter and Parker put those fears to rest. "I have never been at a track meet with this much intensity and sup- port from the team members," Wal- ter said. "I could hear them the whole way." Said Parker: "It was crazy. It was really great to have the parents and the teammates cheering. I heard roars of people cheering and people yelling 'Go Blue.' I could just feel the energy and the noise." What about the Indiana runners? "I didn't even see them" Parker said of the three Hoosiers. One fin- ished 11th, one finished 12th and one didn't finish. Michigan also had three individ- ual champions in Rachel Sturtz, Katie Erdman and April Phillips. Sturtz won the 800-meter run, set- ting a school and meet record in the process, while Erdman won the 600- meter run, setting a meet record in a preliminary round. Phillips won her second consecutive shot put title with an NCAA automatic distance of 54-2. By Mustafizur Choudhury Daily Sports Writer After an astounding performance at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, the Michigan women's track and field team has plenty of reasons to celebrate. With the cross country and indoor track and field conference titles already captured earlier in the year, the Wolverines needed to win the out- door championship to complete the "Triple Crown" for the second time in school history. This past weekend, the team did just that. Led by four indi- vidual victories, Michigan was able to capture its second consecutive out- door championship. "We expected to win," Michigan- coach James Henry said. "We were the favorites going in and that's what made it so hard for us." Senior tri-captain April Phillips got her team off to a good start on the first day of competition by winning the hammer throw with a toss of 199'3". Freshman Rebecca Walter and sopho- more Chelsea Loomis added to the early success with a 2-3 finish in the 10,000-meter run. The Wolverines ended the day leading all teams with a total of 25 points. On the second day, Phillips was at it again. She successfully defended her shot put title from last season by winning the event with a heave of 53'8". Phillips was followed by team- mate junior Melissa Bickett, who unexpectedly jumped six places on her final attempt to finish second overall. Sophomore Andrea Parker and freshman Beth Vinckier also con- tributed to Michigan's 26 total points for the day. Parker came in fifth place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a school-record time of 10:34, while Vinckier finished eighth overall in the heptathalon. But despite these performances, Michigan trailed Penn State by 15 points at the end of the second day. This made the third day of competition a challenging one for the Wolverines. "Collectively, we didn't have a great day," Henry said. "But it was an outstanding day in the sense that we did not panic. We worked togeth- er as a team." Junior Vera Simms and senior tri- captain Rachel Sturtz helped the Wolverines stay on top, winning the 400-meter hurdles and 800-meter run, respectively. Second and third place finishes in. the high jump by sopho- mores Stephanie Linz and Jennifer Kulchar held off the competition for the remainder of the day and enabled Michigan to hoist the trophy once again. "These kids will remember this for- ever," Henry said. "This is the type of thing that you want to enjoy and relish because it's a very rare (occurrence)." 4 SETH LOWER/Daily Vera Simms finished first in the 400-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Champioships. Sail with us. New and experienced sailors as well as windsurfers welcome. No U-M affiliation required. Membership includes: A all instruction A use of sailboats and sailboards A weekly racing A use of club facilities on Baseline Lake in Dexter Clubhouse phone: 734-426-4299 j 4 I niversity of Michigan sailifln ('11111 The University of Michigan is offering a student health insurance plan to students and their dependents through The Chickering Group endorsed by the Michigan Student Assembly. The plan may be obtained by enrolling from the convenience of your computer. No stamps, no envelopes. Confirmation of enrollment received via email in minutes. Plan highlights include: - Coverage for medical services outside of University Health Service (UHS) with reduced copays if treatment is initiated and referrals obtained from UHS. 5 T~:.. gip. .U,"1* raY ., .t..4.E 51 1 y