.2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 10, 2003
One
up,
one
down
Women
earn pair
Ranked opponents
"* too much for tankers
of wins in
".t
dual meet
By Julie Master
Daily Sports Writer
On Friday night, the Michigan
women's swimming and diving team's
head-to-head battle with No. 16 Flori-
da State came down to the final race:
the 200-yard freestyle relay.
As the four-woman team of Kaitlyn
Brady, Lindsey Smith, Tracy Egnatuk,
and Abby Seskevics headed toward
the starting block, the Wolverines had
a slight advantage
in the overall '
match. Mi i 46
Brady entered
the water first and MICHIGAN Sr. 88
grabbed the lead, HA
which the Wolver-
ines were able to maintain until the
very end, as they posted a winning
time of 1:34.57, barely one second
ahead of the competition.
The victory proved that the Wolver-
ines (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) were on top of
their game, as they earned a pair of
wins and defeated Florida State 146-
136 and trounced Michigan State 194-
88 in a double dual meet at Canham
Natatorium.
The win against Florida State was a
huge accomplishment for the Wolver-
ines. The Seminoles are considered
one of the fastest in-season teams in
the country.
"Everybody thinks about it coming
down to the last relay, but if other
people ahead don't do the things they
need to do, then it doesn't matter how
fast you swim in the last race," Michi-
gan head coach Jim Richardson said.
Numerous Wolverines set the table
beforehand, as their individual wins
put the team in a position to win.
Freshman Susan Gilliam won three
of those individual events, as she
By Matt Venegoni
Daily Sports Writer
Even with a nasty flu virus hitting
it, the men's swimming and diving
team had a good showing against
top-ranked Auburn. Although Michi-
gan lost the meet, its first loss of the
year, there were strong performanc-
es, specifically from Peter Van-
derkaay, who led the team with two
individual wins in the 400- and 800-
meter freestyle. The Wolverines (2-
2) also lost to No. 10 Georgia
Saturday.
"Peter Vanderkaay and Andrew
Hurd really stood out in the meet for
the team, they carried us in the long
events," coach
Jon Urbanchek
said.EIA
All of the races
were close, even M GN
if the final score,
130-108, did not
show it.
"It was a very highly contested
meet, which is good for the early
season meets we have," Urbanchek
said.
The majority of the people feeling
the effects of the flu recovered, and
did well for the most part.
"Anytime that happens, which can
be a lot, others just have to step up
for those that cannot give their best,"
Urbanchek said.
The Tigers posted eight wins in
the first 11 events while adding six
second- and six third-place finishes.
The meet was in hand after that, and
Auburn swam just exhibitions the
final two events.
There were positives to come from
the meet, as senior captain Dan
Ketchum posted the first NCAA
consideration time of the season for
the Wolverines when he finished sec-
ond in the 200-meter freestyle with a
time of 1:52.99. Ketchum's time was
better than the NCAA standard of
1:53.24. In addition, there were a
few individuals that posted improve-
ment in their times, such as Davis
Tarwater, who won the 200-meter
butterfly. Tarwater's time of 2:02.86
was just 0.05 seconds behind the
NCAA consideration time for the
event.
"Anytime there is a meet you want
to win, but as long as there is
improvement in the times, we can
live we with a loss," Urbanchek said.
More losses could be in the future
for the Wolverines, who will face six
of the top 10 schools in the nation
before the conference schedule even
begins. The team hopes that its
schedule will provide good experi-
ence and competition before the Big
Ten season begins. The Wolverines
strength of schedule is as difficult as
any teams' in the nation.
"Our strength of schedule is num-
ber 1, we might be stupid for doing
that but it helps for the long haul,"
Urbanchek said. "We will gain
tremendous experience, but at the
same time, there will be some les-
sons learned also."
That difficult schedule included a
loss to the Bulldogs (4-0), 133-110,
on Saturday following the loss to
Auburn the day before. The shorter
pool, which is shorter than what the
Wolverines use, was good prepara-
tion for the NCAA Championships
later in the year, but Urbanchek con-
ceded that it was a little unusual for
the team. Ketchum led the Michigan
charge with a pair of individual mid-
distance freestyle victories, while
junior Andrew Hurd and sophomores
Chris DeJong, Davis Tarwater and
Peter Vanderkaay also'turned in first-
place finishes.
Michigan returns to action next
week when it welcomes defending
Big 12 champion, No. 3 Texas, to
Canham Natatorium Friday and Sat-
urday. The Wolverines and Long-
horns will get started at 6 p.m.
Friday evening and return to the pool
for a 1 p.m. tilt on Saturday.
TONY DING/Daily
In the final race against Florida State on Friday, freshman Kaltlyn Brady grabbed an early lead for the Michigan 200-yard
freestyle relay team. The Wolverines held on to win the race, by Just a second, and the meet.
wiped the board in the 1,000-, 500-
and 200-yard freestyle. Early in the
meet, Gilliam posted the top time in
the 1,000 freestyle that bettered the
field by nearly seven seconds. About
four minutes later, Gilliam was back
in action, grabbing the win in the 200
freestyle event. Back-to-back events
can be draining on a swimmer, but
Gilliam stayed strong.
"I'm an instant swimmer, and I
have a lot of endurance so it doesn't
affect me," Gilliam said. "I know that
we need the points for the team, so
that motivates me to try."
Anne Weilbacher was another work-
horse for the Wolverines, as she
earned two straight wins for her team.
After her first-place finish in the 100-
yard butterfly, she returned 10 min-
utes later to win the 200 individual
medley with a time of 2:04.14, break-
ing the NCAA B standard of 2:04.29.
Along with Gilliam, Weilbacher
proved that she could finish strong
after a short break.
"My coaches told us both that they
needed wins from the doubling up in
events in order for us to win the
meet," Weilbacher said.
"It was just a matter of putting
aside the way that your body feels and
getting your hand on the wall ahead of
everyone else. And that is what we
tried to do the whole evening."
The Wolverines showed they could
swim faster than the competition all
day Friday, but Saturday morning in
an exhibition relay meet against Flori-
da State, the Wolverines lost their
energy.
They earned just one relay title, in
the 500-yard crescendo relay, as the
Seminoles posted a 103-47 victory
over the Wolverines.
Despite the loss on Saturday, the
coaches and swimmers were pleased
with their progress and performance
over the weekend. High energy and
determination allowed the Wolverines
pull through.
"The team did a great job of staying
focused and keeping our energy high
throughout the whole meet," Weil-
bacher said.
"Even when we were behind during
the meet, we didn't give up and kept
fighting for every point we could get.
That shows a lot about our team's
character."
t
'M' falls to Badgers
Suprisingly, Blue holds court
DaCosta and Rutherford stun Florida doubles team
By Bradion
Daily Sports Writer
No one can fault Erin Moore for try-
ing. The senior notched 19 kills on Fri-
day to become Michigan's all-time
leader, but it simply was not enough, as
the Michigan vol-
leyball team fell WISCONsIN-3N
to Wisconsin on
the road.
Moore now has 1,273 career kills,
surpassing the mark set by former
Wolverine Karen Chase (1995-98). Of
course, Moore and the Wolverines were
more concerned with the loss to the
Badgers than with the record.
"Erin would rather have won the
game than set the record," coach Mark
Rosen said. "I respect that a lot about
her. She's been so good for so long, and
it pays off that at the end of her career,
she'll be the record-holder."
Michigan (8-5 Big Ten, 16-8 overall)
came out of the gates firing with a .350
hitting percentage in the first game and
kept it close throughout. The hot start
was not enough, however, as the Bad-
gers were able to close out the opening
frame on the strength of a 6-2 run.
The Wolverines captured the second
stanza 30-23 in workman-like fashion,
but gave up a seven-point run in game
three that allowed the Badgers to get a
stranglehold on the match that they
would never relinquish.
"We actually played pretty well, but
what we did that really hurt us was give
up small streaks," Rosen said. "Those
two streaks hurt us because we couldn't
play good enough defense in order to
get (the points) back."
Michigan fought off four match
points in the final game, but just could
not hold off the Badgers in the end. One
bright spot for the Wolverines was the
play of sophomore Candace Gay, who
finished with a career-high 18 kills on
the night. Gay has recorded at least 10
kills in three of her last four matches.
"(Candace) has given us a lot of
offense;' Rosen said. "She made three
or four plays just using her athleticism.
All of a sudden, she would kind of
jump up over the top of everyone and
make a play to save the rally"
Gay will need to step up big again
next weekend for the Wolverines.
Michigan will hit the road for the sec-
ond straight week to face Penn State
and Ohio State in two crucial Big Ten
matches.
SETH LOWER/Daily
Michelle DaCosta, along with Leanne
Rutherford, lost In the consolation finals.
DOWN AND OUT
The hen's tennis team had three play-
ers competing in the ITA National
Indoor Championships, held at the Var-
city Tennis Center this past weekend..
Michael Rubin (Singles)
First Rd, - lost to No. 4 janne Holmia (Fla)
Consolation - def. Pedro Rica (Pepperdine)
Consolation - lost to Richard Barker (Rice)
Brian Hung/Anthony Jackson (Doubles)
Mist Rd. "- lost to Bo Hodge and John Isner
(Georgia)
Consolation - def. Gabriel Laredo and Juan
Escalante (Wichita State)
Consolation semifinals lost to Mark Grow
cott and Jordan Freitas (Tyler )C.)
By Jamie Josephson
Daily Sports Writer
They weren't even supposed to
win a match.
But Michigan's women's tennis
team certainly showed its opponents
whose house they were in this week-
end at the ITA National Indoor Ten-
nis Championships.
At the doubles wildcard spot, jun-
iors Michelle DaCosta and Leanne
Rutherford claimed the runner-up
position in the consolation finals
after a stunning second-round win
over Florida, but fell just short to
Maria Brito and Julie Coin of Clem-
son, 8-6.
"We ended on a good note,"
Rutherford said. "Even though we
lost, we played a competitive
match."
The duo had a rocky start to this
final match, trailing 5-1 in the eight-
game pro-set. But a pair of aces
from DaCosta and a handful of put-
away volleys by Rutherford enabled
Michigan to take three games in a
row.
In the end, Clemson's lobbing tac-
tics proved to be the deciding factor
in the Wolverines' narrow loss.
Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt
explained that the duo's upset win
over the No. 2 Florida team of Jen-
nifer Magley and Zerene Reyes, 8-4,
was the highlight of the tournament.
"I don't think there was one ounce
of intimidation on the court," Ritt
said.
"We were pretty focused and
made our shots. We showed we have
a lot of poise and confidence."
A combination of patience and
quick hands at the net allowed
Michigan to take this second-round
consolation victory.
DaCosta and Rutherford entered
the consolation bracket after suffer-
ing a tough loss to Amy Wei and
Megan Muth of William & Mary, 2-
8, in their opening match.
The doubles tandem quickly
bounced back with an impressive
win over Nikkita Fountain and
Larikah Russell of Southern
Nazarene, 8-4.
"We're taking lots of confidence
for our doubles team away from this
tournament," DaCosta said.
On the singles end of the Michi-
gan-hosted event, freshman Liz
Exon earned an easy victory, 6-1, 6-
2, in the first consolation round over
Jessica Roland of Texas A&M, who
is currently ranked No. 36 in the
country.
"I feel real good," Exon said. "I
played competitive with pretty much
everyone.
"Knowing you can play with the
top girls in the country is definitely
a confidence booster."
Eighth-seeded Alice Barnes of
Stanford defeated Exon, 6-2, 6-0, in
the opening round, though both
Exon and Ritt stress that the score
did not reflect the intensity of the
match.
Exon also lost a tough match to
No. 6 Darian Panova of Oregon, 6-3,
6-2, in the semifinals of the consola-
tion bracket.
"I think it's just an unbelievable
experience for Liz," Ritt said. "She
knows she can play at the top of col-
lege tennis."
Though Agata Cioroch of Georgia
claimed the singles championship
and Christelle Grier and Jessica
Rush of Northwestern took home the
doubles title, Ritt feels Michigan
proved worthy of its wildcard posi-
tions as the host school.
"Seeing this level of competition,
we realized how close we really are,"
Ritt said.
Heading into the offseason before
their dual-match season that begins
in January, Rutherford echoed Ritt's
optimism.
"We're there," Rutherford said.
"It's just a matter of maintaining that
competitiveness and fighting for
Michigan."
0
Moos lives up to hype,
wins his weight class
By Eric Chan
Daily Sports Writer
This weekend, Michigan fresh-
man Mark Moos, a 125-pounder for
the No. 7 Michigan wrestling team,
proved that the hype surrounding
him is justified. Moos also made
strides to prove that he deserves the
starting spot this year at his weight
class.
At the Michigan State Open this
past weekend, Moos annihilated the
competition in a field that included
preseason No. 7 Tom Clum of Wis-
consin.
The top-seeded Clum dropped an
early match to Pittsburgh's Drew
Headlee before Moos faced Headlee
in the finals and bested him, 11-2,
to take his first title against colle-
giate wrestlers.
"Moos ist dominated his weight
because of its "open" status, which
allows all college-aged wrestlers
and older to compete. The underdog
Churella stunned Grant, 3-2, to take
the crown.
"The whole coaching staff has been
really pleased about where we are at,"
McFarland said. "All of our young
guys showed a lot of promise."
Senior 165-pounder Pat Owen
took second place in a weight class
that included four wrestlers ranked
in the top-20. Owen topped No. 17
Tim Foley of Virginia in the semifi-
nals, only to fall to No. 12 David
Bolyard of Central Michigan in the
championship match.
"Pat wrestled well for us this
weekend," McFarland said. " He
wrestled in a pretty tough weight
class. Both of those semifinal
matches were really exciting to
watch."
CLUBSPORTWEEKLY
Champions ! Water polo takes national title
By Gabriela D'Jaen
Daily Sports Writer
The men of Michigan's club water polo team left
for the National Collegiate Club Championships on
Nov. 6 with a clear goal for its four-day trip: To put
up a fight for the national title while showcasing
the abilities of all players on the team.
After a 14-3 victory over Dartmouth and a 13-4
win over Georgia Tech, the Wolverines faced the
No. 1 team in the nation, Cal-Poly State. Michigan
started out with force and was leading 3-0, but Cal-
Poly State rallied back to 4-4. With 38 seconds left
on the clock, Michigan freshman John Thomas
shot the game-winning goal.
"There is a reason we call him John T. Money,"
coach Vaughn Cooper said. "He hits big shots."
Palmerlee was strapped to a backboard in the hos-
pital, staring at the ceiling for 10 hours.
He was told he had broken his neck and was
going to have to spend three months in a halo,
eliminating any possibility of playing water polo
for a year.
"I was racing my girlfriend through an inflatable
obstacle course, and felt a snap in my neck, but I
finished the race anyways," Palmerlee said.
Palmerlee went through intensive physical thera-
py. Showing diligence and determination, he was
practicing with the team by early October.
On Oct. 26, Michigan played against Michigan
State for the Big Ten Championship. In double-
over time, sudden death, Michigan received a
penalty shot off of a technical foul, and Palmerlee
was told to take the shot.
work and dedication. The team spends at least three
hours in the pool every day, and travels to tourna-
ments across the country on weekends.
"Our season is pretty short, but it's still a major
time commitment," goalie Jeff Bronson said.
"We've had two off weekends since we've gotten to
school, but the experience is very rewarding."
The hard work has paid off, and the success of
this team can be attributed not only to the time
spent, but also to the surplus of talent on the team.
"In past years, if you looked at the goals scored
column you've seen a couple guys who had most
of the goals and a couple others trickling here and
there," senior co-captain David Arscott said. "This
season we have eight 20-goal scorers, a pretty sig-
nificant number of people."
The team is stacked with depth, rotating players
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