2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesda - Januar 20, 2004 4 CLUBsPORTSWEEKLY Dance Team shows off 'energy' and moves By Chastity Rolling For the Daily As 18 women, dressed in unique black mini-dresses finished with shiny stripes and a matching tie out- lined in silver glitter, huddled for a pre-show pep talk, "energy" was what they called for. They wanted a to give an exhilarating performance for their family and friends last Tuesday night. The ladies put in everything they had, dancing to a mix of artists rang- ing from Dolly Parton to Missy Elliot. Their dances were definitely full of "energy" and diversity. The girls integrated a wide range of moves, blending a little hip-hop with a little bit of ballet and even some pompom routines. The Michigan dance team dances for a range of events. It performs on the sidelines of all home football games and men's basketball games. Occasionally, the squad performs at soccer games or other university events, including pep rallies, Greek events and specialty performances. "School spirit and crowd interaction during the performances are my favorite things about this dance team," junior Justina D'Agostini said. Other members cherish the bond between teammates. "The togetherness is what I like the most about this dance team - we're like a tight-knit family," said senior Lorin O'Toole, who has been part of the team since her freshman year. "My favorite experiences are not during performances, but during the practices," coach Valerie Potsos said. "As a team, we work together all year. The camaraderie that is formed lasts a lifetime. Together, we go through peaks of challenges and rewards. Dance team is a lot of fun, but most of it is hard work, determination and ded- ication. Most importantly, we do it together." The dance team practices on Tues- days, Thursdays, Fridays and Satur- days for a duration of about three hours per practice. But the ladies do not think this demanding schedule is a burden. D'Agostini said the performances make the practices "all worthwhile." The team's activities do not end with university functions. The dance team is involved in many events outside of the University as well. The ladies attended a Universal Dance Association camp in Bowling Green this summer and took first place in that competition. "It's a four-day dance-intensive pro- gram that involves technique classes, learning and being evaluated on multi- ple routines and two competitions," D'Agostini said. "We proudly repre- sented the University of Michigan in both the fight song competition and the home routine competition, taking first place in both." ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Who: Tealin Kelemen Spot: Diving Hometown: Riverton, N.J. Year: Senior Why: Kelemen was named the Big Ten Diver of the Week for the third time this season. She took first place on the one-meter board at the Michigan Invitational this past weekend, her fifth individual title of the season. She also finished second on the three-meter board. Kelemen 'MS CHEDULE 4 Wednesday, Jan. 21 M Basketball vs. Wisconsin Thursday, Jan. 22 W Basketball V Friday, Jan. 23 W Swim/Divingv M Gymnasticsv Wrestling V Ice Hockey E 9 p.m. 8 p.m. 4 vs. Wisconsin vs. Northwestern vs. Penn State Ms. Iowa at Western Michigan 5 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:35 p.m. Plocki sees need to improve despite win over Minnesota By Jeremy Antar Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's gymnastics team squeaked out an important road victory over Minnesota on Saturday by a score of 194.650 to 193.975. Senior Calli Ryals and junior Elise Ray led the way, finishing second and third, respec- tively, in the all-around competition. The win was the first for Michigan in the young season. But for such an accomplished program, a win does not necessarily mean that coach Bev Plocki is happy with the team's performance. "I'm not unhappy, and I would be happy if I felt that we were hitting with a higher percentage of the rou- tine," Plocki said. "Overall I am pleased that we won, but we still have some areas that we need to work on and improve in." The Wolverines have had their work cut out for them in these first few weeks, traveling to Nebraska and Minnesota. Plocki noted that when preparing for an away meet, she tries to create a more pressure-filled atmosphere at practice. She also said the team talks about what it will take to perform well on the road. "We talk a lot about where we want to be mentally," Plocki said. "It's the mental aspect of the sport that makes it difficult. Someone else's crowd, someone else's judges - it all makes a difference in your men- tal state." But Plocki admitted that while practicing for these conditions may help, you can not truly simulate what it is like to compete in another team's arena. At away meets, the team tends to be more nervous and tenta- tive, which can lead to mistakes. As if starting a season with three meets on the road isn't enough, Michigan has also had to fight off injuries. Ray, one of Michigan's most consistent per- formers, did not train this week due to strep throat, and junior Lauren Mirkovich did not compete on Sat- urday due to a wrist injury suffered during the first meet at Nebraska. The Wolverines' best performance on Saturday came on the floor exercise. Freshman Lindsey Bruck performed brilliantly, scoring a 9.50, and captured a fourth-place finish. Ryals and Ray each responded to their teammate's feat by land- ing a 9.75, tying for first place. Junior Chelsea Kroll and sophomore Becca Clauson also con- tributed solid performances and Michigan com- bined for a team score of 49.125 on the floor exercise - nearly a full point higher than the Wolverines scored one week earlier at Nebraska. "We improved significantly on floor exercise," Plocki said. "We still need to work on our consistency in our bar routine." Michigan also put forth a strong performance on the vault. Senior Christine Mantilia, Bruck and Clau- son earned scores of 9.550, 9.575, and 9.650, respec- tively. Freshman Carol McNamara, Ryals and Ray Ch. Philagelphia, Penn. Carolina 14 Philadelphia Cham GRshki Gme Fox ero, ass. Indianapolis New England 24 1. Detroit 29-13 . Yesterday's win over San Anto- nio was the most impressive victory of the Pistons' 13-game streak. 3. Indiana 32-11 - Think coach Rick Carlisle wantsto tinoer Detit tnight against his former team? Maybelusta little. I 4 5. Dallas 24-16 .Newsflash: An Italian newspa- per voted Dirk Nowitzki the European Player of the Year. No, really? TONY DING/Daily Senior Calli Ryals led the way in the Wolverines' win with a second-place finish in the overall competition. each landed Yurchenko-full vaults with McNamara and Ryals earning third and fourth place finishes. Ray's nearly perfect execution and landing earned her a 9.850 and first-place. Plocki said she is glad that the team has had the experience of competing on the road during the first few weeks of the season. She added that it is especial- ly useful for the underclassmen, who she hopes will learn from their mistakes and improve as the season continues. "All and all you just try to take baby steps and try to stay focused on what needs to be improved," Plocki said. frantic crowd 7. L.A. Lakers 25-12 * Medvedenko is averaging 17 points per game in his last five out- ings. Where did that come from? & 8 Mln.esta 24 * Anytig thy ca o a a S do better. That's wht Satrdy's 95K 9. New Jersey 21-17 * The team's new owners may move the Nets to Brooklyn. Blue takes second in front of By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer Indiana's Gladstein Fieldhouse is not a welcoming venue for visiting athletes. "It's really loud there," senior Carly Knazze said. "They have a lot of support, just like we do. Their fans cheer a lot." Traveling to Bloomington, Ind., in a packed bus, the Michigan women's track and field team participated in its first indoor road meet, the Indiana Quad. Senior Melissa Bickett and red- shirt junior Lindsey Gallo each cap- tured two victories, headlining the team's second-place finish. The Wolver- ines earned 166.50 points, just shy of Indiana's first-place mark of 173. The meet also featured teams from Kent State (104.50) and Indiana State (92). Bickett dominated the meet's two throwing events. In the.shot put, Bickett's heave of 15.78 meters was TRY 0 U R NEW; I ~ SHADES. BLEHDU FOR A SHORT TIME ONLY. nearly two meters longer than her nearest competitor's. In addition, her weight throw of 17.45 meters was a personal best. The meet's sec- ond longest weight-throw belonged to Bickett's teammate, Ashley Eckel, who delivered a 16.41-meter toss. Combined, Bickett and Eckel earned 30 out of 32 possible points in the two throwing events. Gallo, fresh off a first-place perform- ance in the 800-meter run at last week's Jack Harvey Invitational, continued her hot streak with victories in the grueling one-mile (5:00.77) and 3,000-meter (9:57.04) runs. "This meet, it was really important for my team to win both of the races," Gallo said. "It was just a matter of car- rying out the coach's plan." But participating in both long-dis- tance races wasn't easy for the New Jer- sey native. "I had about an hour and 45 minutes between the two races," Gallo said. "It's hard because you can't get out of the racing mentality." Redshirt junior Anna Jones picked up right where Gallo left off in the 800-meter run, placing first with a time of 2:12.79. After win- ning the 60-meter dash in her previ- ous meet, Knazze sped through the 200-meter dash in 25.19 seconds, beating out Indiana's Charlene Mad- dox by a fraction of a second. "We're training through the meets," Gallo said. "It's a good way to see where we need to improve." Dan Rosen: New England will If Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison couldn't move the ball through the air against the Patri- ots, what chance does Jake Delhomme have? Stephen Davis is good, but Carolina can't win the game on the ground alone. New England is well-balanced. Antowain Smith went over the century mark against the Colts, and Tom Brady picked the Indi- anapolis secondary apart with the short passing game. The defense is a brick wall. Granted, they won't have home-field advantage, but Brady and Ty Law went to Michi- gan. They're my pick. New England 28, Carolina 23 Jir Weber: Carolina will win in "piratey" fashion Ahoy once more, matees! I'm back after predicting Tampa Bay's victory in last year's "Pirate Bowl." Once again, I'm going with the underdog because of the way they pillaged Philadelphia. New England was the best team over the course of the sea- son, but Carolina is the best team right now. DeShaun Fos- ter's touchdown run said it all about this team's swagger. Look for Ricky Manning to become the second straight Super Bowl MVP from the sec- ondary (Dexter Jackson) and put the slit-throat celebration back en vogue. Yarggggh! Carolina 20, New England 12 1 .Denver 2448 DaRy aNLPaa anig 1. D >r1t6 ps * clearly the deepettgeam Jnt x gN : 2. Ottawa 58 pts. r The Senators are about to take over the Eastern onference lead. a allye vuln able Wtio Iknew 4. Colorado 59 pts. . The Avs have an easy schedule for the next two weeks. They need to take advantage. - Anoher bad wek to bea 6. Philadelphia 59 pts. * Big week for Jeremy Roenick. He lost a tooth, some blood, a water bottle and a paycheck. Try the new Buffalo Bleu sandwich - a creamy bleu cheese spread and sliced chicken breast marinated in Buffalo wing sauce. Or, the new Balsamic Bleu salad with crumbled bleu cheese, walnuts, apples and dried cranberries. the NEW Buffalo Bleu SANDWICH { E 8. San Jose 57 pts. * The Sharks could lose out and probably still win the Pacific Division. Or, they could iust keep winning. 10. Boston 56 pts. *The Bruins scored one goal last week. Now that's just boring hockey. POINTE PLAZA <_.A~f~.