10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 20, 2003 'M' soccer earns first- round bye in NCAAs Senior-led Blue eyes second national title By Ellen McGarrity Daily Sports Writer Silence. A collective scream. And then a mob of people rushing into the hall to make urgent phone calls. Anyone standing in the hallway outside Crisler Arena's media room late Monday afternoon would have thought a murder had just taken place. To some on the Michigan men's soccer team, the event that tran- spired may have actually felt like a life and death situation. The team had gathered to watch the NCAA selection show to find out if Michigan would be awarded its first-ever chance at a tournament appearance. As ESPN began showing the tour- nament brackets, a stillness came over the room. Faces ranged from anxious to tranquil as each player squinted to find Michigan's name on the screen. And then there it was. But the name was in a different spot than expected. Instead of being in the first round, the team had earned the 12th-seed position, meaning Michigan would have a bye. "I was quite surprised," said Michigan coach Steve Burns. "The possibly of getting that first-round bye never crossed our minds." Burns and the team consider themselves lucky to have even earned a spot in the tournament. Last Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, No. 2 seed Michigan lost to No. 7 seed North- western. The Wildcats' 2-1 victory over the Wolverines was their first win over a Big Ten team in four years. Michigan worried that the loss might lead to a repeat of last year's NCAA selection - a year ago Michigan was overlooked even after making it to the Big Ten Championship game. Now that the team has been selected, some players reflected on last week's loss in a positive light. "I think we're going to stay focused, because our loss on Thurs- day really put us in place," senior forward Mike White said. "I think that we know that we can lose. We've said all year, 'Any team can lose to any other team on any given day.'" White is one of nine seniors that have been with the program since its start four years ago. "We don't want to stop here, especially as seniors," said White. "Every team that we've lost to, every team that we've seen play, we've said, 'We can beat them.' We RYAN WEINER/Daily Michigan senior Mike White breaks away from Northwestern defensemen. White will be counted upon to score in the absence of Michigan star Knox Cameron. really have a lot of confidence in our team." With its first-round bye, Michi- gan will now face the winner of the Brown-St. Peter's game next Wednesday in Ann Arbor. But one key Wolverine will be missing on the field. Junior midfielder Knox Cameron, who holds the Michigan record for career and season goals, will be playing with the U.S. Under-20 national team in the FIFA World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates. "In soccer, because goals are so difficult to score, you rely upon more of the team to win games," said Burns. "Certainly we'll miss Knox, but now greater emphasis will be placed on Mike White, who will step in for him at the target forward position. Kevin Robinson and Trai Blanks will also see more minutes." Cameron also is not worried about his team. "I was gone last year the last four regular season games and the Big Ten Tournament, and we ended up making it to the finals," Cameron said. "We're a great team, and obvi- ously, I've had a good year, but I know they can pull through." By Waldemar Centeno Daily Sports Writer Excited about the two tight victo- ries in East Lansing this past week- end, the Wolverines (5-1 Big Ten, 17-6 overall) celebrated as four play- ers received All-Region honors for their outstanding play during the year. Senior tri-captains April Fronzoni, Kristi Gannon and Stephanie John- son were all named to the 16-member STX/NFHCA Division I All-West Region first-team on Monday. Junior Adrienne Hortillosa also earned a spot on the All-West Region second- team. "It's good. It shows how good our team is," Johnson said. "A lot of the individual awards that we get reflect how our team plays. If we didn't have the rest of our team, we wouldn't be getting any of those accolades." Fronzoni has received All-West Region first-team honors all four years at Michigan. The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year is the first player in school history to do so. The All-West Region first-team award is Gannon's third selection. The Big Ten Athlete of the Year is the third player in Michigan history to receive such an accolade. The honor is Johnson's second straight selection to the first-team and Hortillosa's first selection to the second-team. "I think the whole team is really stepping up and playing well," Michi- gan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "It really does take an 'A' game from everybody to get in and win the finals. This past weekend, Stephanie Johnson had a very stellar game as usual. Kristi was our field general in the middle, and April finishing and scoring goals. But, with that trio commanding most of the attention, there are other players that are really stepping up their games and making a difference." With the stage set for the Final Four weekend, the Wolverines remember their national champi- onship run in 2001. "We're definitely a very supersti- BERTI N Continued from Page 9A difficult opponents: No. 2 Lehigh and No. 18 Central Michigan. Don't be fooled by Central Michigan's lower ranking, though; the Chippewas defeat- ed an injury-ridden Michigan squad last season. Central Michigan's Ty Morgan looks to tious team," Fronzoni said. "There are actually a lot of things that are lining up to the way it lined up when we won it in 2001. So I think that the way this team flows, it is actual- ly helping us to stay mentally focused." As they did in their championship year of 2001, this year the Wolver- ines beat the same two opponents en route to the Final Four. Michigan defeated the Tar Heels and the Spar- tans on both occasions. The Wolverines beat the Tar Heels 1-0 in the first round of this year's tournament. Michigan faced the Spartans next, and behind a contro- versial goal, due to high sticking, the Wolverines beat the Spartans 2-1 en route to a spot in the Final Four. "We are coming off of a really good strong weekend obviously," Fronzoni said. "The win against State is actually going to propel us. We are ready and prepared for Wake." Michigan is coming off of two hard-fought victories against No. 4 seed North Carolina (2-2 ACC, 16-6) and No. 5 seed Michigan State (5-1, 17-5) to gain momentum for this upcoming weekend. "I think we are obviously excited," coach Marcia Pankratz said. "It's something that the players have worked extraordinarily hard for. We are just looking forward to competing and winning a championship." The Wolverines will enter Amherst, Mass. Friday as one of the four surviving clubs in the 16-team national tournament. "It will be a wonderful Final Four," Pankratz said. "All four teams are really strong. It's probably the strongest field I've every seen in the final four, so hopefully we will be at the top of our game and playing the best hockey we can and capitalizing on our chances." The Wolverines' semifinal matchup is against the top team in the nation, Wake Forest (4-0 ACC, 18-1). Michigan lost its first game with the Demon Deacons earlier in the year, 4-2, and the Wolverines hope that their third trip to the Final Four in the past five years will end like it did in 2001. dethrone Bertin as well. This is not the fast time these two have matched up. Morgan defeated Bertin in the Ohio state high school championships. They will meet again for the first time since that match this weekend And Morgan better be prepared. "These guys better be ready to wres- tle Bertin for 7 minutes," McFarland said. 4 Saturday s home finale marks end of an era By Brad Johnson Daily Sports Writer Saturday, when the lights are turned off at Cliff Keen Arena for the last time this season, three Michigan volleyball players will have to say goodbye to the place they have called home for the last four years. "I'm really trying not to think about it," senior Erin Moore said. "I've been here a while with (Nicole Poquette), and it's going to be hard, and it's going to be emotional, but I'm going to try and not think about it until after the game. Minnesota is a tough team, and we really need to pull out a win against them." The match on Saturday night against the Golden Gophers will be the final home contest for Moore, Poquette and senior Chantel Reedus. This group of seniors is a very special one for coach Mark Rosen because of the history they share together. "I think the one thing that will always make this class very special is that they're our first class," Rosen said. "This is the group that came in with (me and Leisa when we took the job). (The seniors) made the choice to come here really trusting the fact that we were going to take this program to higher levels. I can never be appreciative enough of the fact that they took that opportunity or that risk to come in and make our program better." This group of seniors has done just that. Moore is Michigan's career leader in kills, and currently ranks among the top six Big Ten players in three different statistical categories this season. All of these factors make her a top candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Poquette is the Wolver- ines' all-time leader in hitting percent- age and Reedus has recorded 10 or more kills in four matches this year despite recovering from an injury that sidelined her for most of the season. The mark that these three seniors will leave on the Michigan volleyball pro- gram is undeniable. "They're great kids," Rosen said of the seniors. "They are people that are fun to be around, and I respect them as much if not more as people than I do as players. We hope that we can continue to recruit players who are of that moral fiber, because it's a great foundation to build on." Asked what she will miss the most about being a Wolverine, Moore refer- ences the atmosphere at Cliff Keen. "The support we get here from the students and the band -just the whole atmosphere. It's personally my favorite gym in the whole Big Ten," Moore said. The team's marathon warm-up ses- sions are what Moore will be glad to leave behind. "We definitely warm up longer than any team in the Big Ten," she said, laughing. "I am definitely OK with not doing that for very much longer." For Poquette, the dynamic compan- ionship that the volleyball team pro- vides each season will be the largest vacancy that is left once her playing days as a Wolverine are over. "It's so weird how even if just one per- son (graduates), each team is totally dif- ferent," Poquette said. "I like being able to play with different people every year." Although Moore and Poquette dis- agree on what they will remember most fondly once they leave Ann Arbor once and for all, they agree on one thing: winning on Senior Night against No. 22 Minnesota (12-4 Big Ten, 19-9 overall) will be the perfect way for them to go out as Wolverines. With four matches remaining, a win against Iowa (1-15, 6-20) on Friday and the Golden Gophers would give Michi- gan (9-7, 17-10) a much-needed confi- dence boost heading into the NCAA Tournament, which begins in two weeks. "If we win out in the Big Ten, I think that puts us in an awesome position just as far as the Big Ten goes," Moore said. "With the tournament coming up, it's my last one, and I'd like to go out on a good note." I U El I. *1 . >:nr... .:5:3' ::;: k'r ;r,:.,. ::)%: : t ::... Winter Commencement Sunday, December 14, 2003 Crisler Arena Doors open at 1:15 Ceremony begins at; and lasts about two h p.m. As an engineer in 2:00 p.m. lours. the U. there' S. Air Force, >._. , : . , : r:: Eis':ff j f ' f,. f Lr' s no telling what Eligibility you'll work on. (Seriously, we can't tell you.) g Summer Term 2003 and Fall Term 2003 graduates and candidates are eligible to participate in Winter Commencement. Ticket Distribution a Tickets will be distributed Monday, December 8 through Thursday, December 11 between 8:30 a.m.and 4:30 p.m. in the Pond Room of the Michigan Union. Graduates and candidates are eligible to receive up to six (6) tickets during this time. Additional tickets will? be distributed on Friday, December 12 from 8:30 a.m.to noon in the Pond Room of the Michigan Union. ademic Attire (Cap & Gown)7 1 Ac United States Air Force applied technology is years ahead of what you'll touch in the private sector, and as a new engineer you'll likely be involved at the ground level of new and sometimes classified developments. You'll begin leading and managing within this highly respected group from day one. Find out what's waiting behind the scenes for you in the Air Force today. To request more information, call 1-800-423-USAF or Log on to airforce.com. Michigan Book & Supply, Michigan Union Bookstore and Ulrich's Bookstore all carry Bachelor's attire. Both Michigan Book & Supply and the Michigan Union Bookstore carry Master's attire, while Doctoral attire is only available from the Michigan Union Bookstore. I Sa i L4 i I AW