The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 6, 2004 -11 Alaskan fun ends; 'M' readies for Nanooks Challenging field events too often overshadowed By Sharad Mattu Daily Sports Writer When Michigan coach Red Beren- son says that he'd rather ice-fish in Alaska than walk along a beach in Florida, he isn't joking around. When he played in the NHL, he spent two summers in Anchorage running a hockey school. And, ever since Alaska-Fairbanks joined the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, he's gotten to spend the occasional winter weekend there, as well. The Wolverines left Ann Arbor early Wednesday morning for Fairbanks, and currently - as is usually the case when they go up north - they are in the midst of quite an interesting trip. In the past, Berenson has taken the team to the University of Alaska Museum and the 800-mile-long pipeline system. Last night, the team went curling. But now, it's time to get down to business. Tonight and tomorrow, No. 4 Michigan (13-4-1 CCHA, 18-7-1 over- all) will look to extend their domi- nance over the Nanooks. The Wolverines have won 25 of their 28 meetings, and 11 of 12 in Fairbanks. Though Alaska-Fairbanks' record (11-10-1, 12-13-1) doesn't stand out, Michigan isn't looking past the Nanooks to next weekend's series against Miami - the team one point ahead of Michigan at first place in con- ference standings. This year's version of the Nanooks is the best the Wolverines have ever faced, according to Berenson, and they are especially tough at the Carlson Center, where they have gone 9-1 in conference play and 10-2 overall. Alaska-Fairbanks coach Guy Gad- owski doesn't attribute the team's great home record and poor road record to the travel that comes with playing in Alaska. In the CCHA, only the Nanooks and Northern Michigan play on an Olympic-size rink - which is wider than Yost Ice Arena's surface - and Gadowski places an emphasis on speed and skating ability when recruiting to capitalize on that. The Nanooks will be a tough test for Al Montoya, who was just named CCHA Player of the Month. The soph- omore goaltender has allowed just five goals in the Wolverines' last six games. The Nanooks are third in the league in scoring, averaging 3.36 goals a game. Kelly Czuy and Ryan Campbell lead the team with 24 points each. RYAN WEINER/Daily Junior Jason Ryznar - a native of Anchorage, Alaska - looks forward to playing a weekend series in his home state against Alaska-Fairbanks. "We like to get up and go," Gadows- ki said. "The fans here are very knowl- edgeable and like to see offensive hockey, and we like to play that way. I think it's an exciting brand of hockey, but I also think we can win that way." Michigan players enjoyed their last trip to Alaska two years ago. The Wolverines swept the Nanooks with 2- 1 and 4-0 wins. "It is a long trip, but we get to spend a lot of time together," junior defenseman Nick Martens said after last Saturday's game against Lake Superior State. "It's a good chance for us to put away the pressures of school, and focus on hockey while we're there. We have five days when all we have to worry about is hockey. It's just a great experience." By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer Whether it was in elementary, mid- dle or high school, at some point, almost everyone has had to run the dreaded mile. It is why most people can easily comprehend the significance of Michigan junior Nate Brannen running a 3:58 mile. It may also be why much attention at a track and field meet is focused on running events. The athletes who seemingly defy physics with the exact sciences of the high jump, long jump, shot put and weight throw appear to take a back seat to the runners. For the long jump, while pure speed is important, it takes much more to truly stand out. Consider redshirt fresh- man Jason Stewart. A Michigan high school state champion in the 400-meter run, Stewert clearly has the necessary speed. But more experienced jumpers, such as senior Joe Baldwin and junior David Malonson, are able to jump pre- cious inches further. This is because of the extra time they have spent develop- ing the finer points of their jumps. According to Michigan assistant coach Ricky Deligny, the hardest part of jumping is converting horizontal speed into vertical movement. "You've got to be explosive, and even so, it takes a high degree of kines- thetic awareness," Deligny said. "You need to be able to control, know where your body is in terms of the ground." This kind of awareness comes with experience, and Deligny is confident that younger jumpers like Stewart will develop this in time. High jumpers face the same obstacles. Junior high jumper Braylon Edwards is known all over the country for his leaping ability, shiftiness and blazing speed on the football field. But, even Edwards has had trouble with the finer points of jumping. "(Edwards) gets a little frustrated." Deligny said. "He has that speed, he can get off the ground and he is explo- sive. But now you're asking him to jump, to turn his back to the bar, and now he doesn't see. He is accustomed to seeing that ball coming towards him, so that throws him off a little bit" But Edwards is always working hard to improve. "(Edwards) really is very easy to work with," Deligny said. "He is very much a team guy when he is here. He loves track." Throwing events can be misunder- stood. Most people think that because throwers are generally big-bodied, they are slow and graceless. But Michigan throwers, such as freshman Chris McHugh and senior Nick Vander Ploeg, are far from that. "Any strong, powerful, explosive thrower would be a match for a sprint- er," Deligny said. "He'd be right there with them for the first few strides, because he is explosive and quick, but after that he has to carry that chunk of meat around, and it becomes more of a difficult thing." Explosiveness is necessary to get off a good throw, but a certain amount of gracefulness is also necessary. "You've got to have strength, but also a certain degree of finesse," Deligny said. "It's like one of those strong man contests, mixed with basketball." Deligny likened a good thrower to a dancer, as both have to perform many elaborate pivots and spins. Needless to say, there is a lot more to throws than pure strength. Wolverines face big weekend away from home By Stephanie Wright For the Daily The Big Ten is considered by many to be the top wrestling conference in the nation. With eight teams currently ranked in the nation's top 25, this season is no different. The Michigan wrestling team has a similar tra- dition of success, owning an all-time conference record of 404-156-15. After a 3-0 Big Ten start, Michigan is once again working to solidify its position at the top of one of the nation's premiere conferences. Michigan coach Joe McFarland attributes much of the team's success this season to good upperclassmen leadership and consistent prepara- tion each week. He also praises the continued development of several underclassmen. "We don't want athletes to wait until their jun- ior or senior season to realize they can con- tribute," McFarland said. Chemistry has also been a factor in Michigan's success. Although there are individual aspects to the sport, McFarland believes it is important for team members to encourage each other in and out of practice. "During a match, you're out there by yourself," said McFarland. "But they can support each other through hard matches." The Wolverines will need to utilize their strong leadership and chemistry this weekend, as they have two dual meets on the road against tough Big Ten opponents. On Friday, Michigan travels to Columbus to face No. 21 Ohio State before heading to State College on Sunday to take on No. 6 Penn State. Under McFarland, the Michi- gan wrestling team has had great success against both Ohio State and Penn State, going 4-0 and 5- 0, respectively. Despite Michigan's past success against these teams, including a 21-17 victory against Penn State at the Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals earlier this season, Coach McFarland says the Wolverines have to be aggressive and confident in order to win this weekend. "We're in the hunt with a number of teams, neck and neck," said McFarland, referring to the current Big Ten standings. Currently, Michigan and Illinois are tied for first. Strong performances in the meets this weekend could provide important momentum for the rest of the season, particularly heading into tourna- ment play in March. "In this sport, it's really about how you per- form at the end of the season," McFarland said. For now, the team is focused on consistency, hoping to translate solid weekly preparation into wins. "We want to continue to be ready week to week," said McFarland. "We want to see this team overachieve." SETH LOWER/Daily Nick Vander Ploeg has to incorporate both explosiveness and finesse into every throw. Q 9 NOTE At last, Gaydos can contribute to Michigan By Matt Venegoni Daily Sports Writer Imagine being an "A" student and suddenly all your grades turn to C's. You had put in the same work, but something just was not right. That's similar to what happened to freshman Jackie Gaydos at the begin- ning of the cross-country season. "I just wasn't running the same times as I was a few months before," Gaydos said. "I was tired all the time and couldn't run a lot," Gaydos said. Gaydos and every other freshman redshirted. But, even though her efforts did not count for Michigan, Gaydos was still upset with her per- formance. How she was running in the fall was in stark contrast to how her senior season of high school went. "I improved a lot in my senior year compared to the years before that," the Allen Park native said. Gaydos made the Michigan all- state team in both cross-country and track, won the division II champi- onship in cross country and was the state champion in the mile. But when she arrived in Ann Arbor this past fall, she was not living up to her past accomplishments. Finally, in October she discov- ered what was wrong. She had ane- mia, an iron deficiency. She was simply using more iron then she was taking in. This was a direct result of the jump to division one athletics; all of the extra running was taking its toll. "The training in college was much more intense then in high school," Gaydos said. "I was running a lot more and my body wasn't used to all the running." Discovering the deficiency was a great relief for Gaydos. "I was glad I found out I had something and was not just me run- ning poorly," Gaydos said. "Some of the other girls had it before, so it was not a shock, although I didn't think it would happen to me." Gaydos did not start training again until December. However, the track season had already started, and she didn't know whether she would red- shirt or not. "Once the training started, I saw that I was at the same ability before I got sick," Gaydos said. For the Jack Harvey Invitational - the Wolverines' first meet of the season - Gaydos ran attached, implying that she was redshirting for the day. In the mile run she placed first in one of the sections and fifth overall, six seconds behind the first place finisher. "The section I won was the slow section, but it still felt good to be able to do well," Gaydos said. At the meet Gaydos showed she could help the team. Distance coach Mike McGuire talked to Gaydos about the season and let her know that she was not going to be redshirted. "I was nervous for the first meet after I found out I wasn't redshirt- ing, but I was excited also," Gaydos said. Now that she knows that she is competing with the team, Gaydos has one thing on her mind - quali- fying to run in the Big Ten Champi- onships. "I don't know if I can, but it would be a nice goal right now," Gaydos said. But, for now, she is happy that she can run effectively like she used to. Women's gymnastics team hopes to give out $1,000 to a lucky student at next meet The women's gymnastics team is holding a contest for football, basketball or hockey season ticket holders for the rest of their season. The name of one of these season ticket holders will be announced at the next home meet, the State of Michigan Classic, which will-be held at 7 p.m. tonight-in Crisler Arena. If the student is present, they will win $1,000 to go toward their tuition. If the student is not present, the prize will increase $500 for each succes- sive home meet until a student is present. The prize money is personally funded by women's gymnastics coach Bev Plocki. T-SHIRT PRINTERY A2'S FINEST & FASTEST PRINTED & EMBROIDERED TEES, SWEATS, CAPS, TEAM SHIRTS, SHORTS --UM PO#S ACCEPTED-- --CALL FOR OUR LOW PRICE QUOTE . 5-DAY TURNAROUND 1002 PONTIAC TR. 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