The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 13, 2004 -11 In Iowa, Michigan finds foe with some real big problems Stars need co-stars in distance medley relay By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer After Wednesday's loss at previously conference win- less Minnesota, Michigan is in the depths of adversity. Now it has to play a team that has overcome a lot of that. The Wolverines (4-5 Big Ten, 13-7 overall) travel to Iowa City this Saturday to face the Hawkeyes in a game Michigan must win to entertain any chance of an NCAA Tournament bid. While the Wolverines are in serious trouble of failing to meet its pre-season expec- tations, Iowa (5-5, 12-9) has continued to hang tough despite losing three players. Things went from mediocre to poor for Iowa in Jan- uary when the Hawkeyes were dismantled in the span of just a couple weeks. First, senior center Jared Reiner had to undergo surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. Just days later, freshman guard Mike Hen- derson was deemed academically ineligible for the remainder of the semester. When it seemed things could not get any worse, Iowa's other senior center, Sean Sonderleiter, left the team for personal reasons. But coach Steve Alford and the Hawkeyes are not mak- ing any excuses. "That was not the fault of anybody in the locke- room," Alford said. "Now our numbers are less, so we are going to have to demand more from one another." Looking at Iowa's recent results, one would never guess the team had just dropped three players. The Hawkeyes almost came back from a 15-point deficit Wednesday night at home against league-leading Wis- consin. But guard Jeff Horner missed a 3-pointer as time ran out and Iowa lost by two. Last Saturday, they pulled out a double-overtime victory against Indiana. Iowa has been able to stay with teams mainly because of Horner and fellow guard Pierre Pierce. Horner has been firing the ball as well as anyone in the Big Ten lately, shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc and 84 percent from the free throw line. Alford said that the coaching staff always believed that Horner could shoot the ball, but that he is coming into his own this season because he is becoming accustomed to dealing with the pressure of having to create. "(Horner is) the first one in, he's the last to leave, Alford said. "Nobody has worked harder than he has." Pierce currently leads the team with 17 points per game. The sophomore scored 20 points against Wiscon- sin, but turned the ball over twice in the final minutes. "He just loves to play the game, and those are the type of guys that you love to coach,"Alford said. While the Hawkeyes recently made a comeback RYAN WEINER/Daily Michigan looks to take out Iowa again this Saturday. against a top team, the Wolverines have given a few up. Michigan has had second-half struggles in many of its recent road games, and is going to have to improve upon taking care of the ball, shot selection and ability to hold on to leads if it's going to have any chance of making a run in its final seven games. Iowa gave Michigan a game in late January when it scored 84 points and shot 59.3 percent from the field, but ended up losing by six. The Wolverines may not be able to do that again, playing a team that has been able to fight the challenges it has faced. Now Michigan has to conquer a challenge of its own. Its season depends upon it. d r)sgsf for big athletic success By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer : _ ..:... JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daly Miami's Matt Christie, No. 11, has enjoyed a very productive freshman season. MIAMI Continued from Page 10 This weekend should be Blasi's best chance yet to triumph at Yost. The coach believes this is the finest overall team he's had in his five years at Miami. "I think you have to emphasize the word 'team,' " Blasi said. "This is the best 'team' (I've ever had). They do a lot of things together, and it's been a good year. We're excited about where we've put our- selves." Miami and No. 5 Michigan (19- 8-1, 14-5-1) are evenly matched, sitting atop the CCHA in most sta- tistical categories. Miami leads the conference in goals per game (3.55), while holding second place in goals allowed per game (2.27) and powerplay percentage (.205). Michigan is just behind the Red- Hawks in goals per games (3.50), but the Wolverines sit atop the con- ference in goals allowed per game (2.05) and powerplay percentage (.218). "These are going to be two great games," Blasi said. "We know Michigan's a great team, they have a lot of balance and they're well- coached, and we're looking for- ward to it." Most of the RedHawks offense comes from three players who rank in the top six in the CCHA in goals. Seniors Derek Edwardson (1st) and Greg Hogeboom (3rd) and freshman Matt Christie (6th) form the CCHA's most potent trio. In October, the teams split the series in Oxford. The RedHawks trounced Michigan 8-3 in the weekend opener, but the Wolver- ines bounced back the next night and edged Miami 3-2. "We're a different team than that time and so are they, so we don't really know what to expect," Nys- trom said. A pack of girls, jostling for position, strain to inch out their competitors. They run their hearts out. Unfortunately, they can only hope for second place. Why? Because way in front, out of reach, an athlete sporting maize and blue grace- fully strides toward the finish line. With a powerful finishing kick, Katie Erdman wins another race for the Wolverines. The sophomore, recently named Big Ten Athlete of the Week, has been hav- ing a monster year for the Michigan women's track and field team. Erdman has won all five individual events she has entered this season, four by a margin of two seconds or more. In all of her events - the 600-meter run, the 800- meter run and the mile run - Erdman has been unstoppable. Given her pedigree, the Cadillac native's success is no surprise. "My parents were athletic," Erdman said. "My mom played volleyball and my dad still has (Harbor Beach High School's) mile record (4:40), which I'm chasing." Erdman is breathing down her father's neck. She ran a 4:47.85 mile in Janu- ary's Michigan Intercollegiate. Her three younger siblings, Laura, Beth and David, are also excellent ath- letes. But Erdman's family provided more than just the genes for success. "I had tons of support from my par- ents and also had great coaches," Erd- man said. "Together they made me believe that there was no limit to what I could accomplish." Erdman's record-holding father laid the groundwork for her future running success. Each summer, father and daughter would go running together. The grueling long-distance runs taught young Erdman how to be a warrior. "He'd pull me through each mile," Erd- man said. "Dad always made me realize that I could push a little harder for a little longer." The long-distance training would prove useful when Erdman joined the cross-country team. Although she spe- cializes in shorter distances, Erdman became an integral part of the 2003 Wolverine squad that finished fourth in the nation. In fact, she believes the experience was her greatest athletic accomplishment - better than her Michigan records in the 600 and 800- meter runs. The extra work paid major dividends once the indoor season began. "All the miles that I put in then are paying off now," Erdman said. "I really owe a great deal of my success this sea- son to my running in the fall." With help from her cross-country training, Erdman has avoided any trace of a sophomore slump. Coming off a year in which she earned Big Ten Fresh- man of the Year honors, Erdman has turned heads at every meet, and she con- tinues to improve. Topping an extremely strong field at the Meyo Invitational with an 800-meter run time of 2:05.38, she automatically qualified for her first individual trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. What does the future hold for Michi- gan's superstar runner? Some more col- legiate victories seem likely, but are visions of Olympic rings dancing in Erdman's head? "Who wouldn't want to go?" Erdman said. "But it is the least of my worries. I'm just going to keep working as hard as I can." By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer You would think that winning an NCAA Championship or breaking an NCAA record would make a runner superhuman in his teammates' eyes. Seeing that no one in the country can compete with him would make it hard for teammates to push him, possibly alienating that athlete, putting him on a pedestal. The Michigan men's track and field team has been blessed with two such champions, junior Nate Bran- nen and sophomore Nick Willis, but neither runner keeps his personal focus to himself. "(Brannen and Willis) are very team-oriented," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said. "Their number one goal for this year is to win the national championship in the distance medley." At this weekend's Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup in State College, four Wolverines will have their first chance to be a part of a potential champi- onship Distance Medley Relay team. Brannen will lead off with the 1200- meter leg, freshman Stann Waithe will continue with a 400-meter dash, soph- omore Andrew Ellerton will take care of the 800-meter third leg and Willis will anchor with a mile run. This relay consists of four of the more talented runners in Michigan history, who could potentially run several seconds faster than last year's NCAA champions - Villano- va - who ran 9:29.12. Michigan finished third with a time of 9:29.76. With an extra year of experience, an NCAA championship is not out of reach. Wolverine fans should not, however, be disappointed if this weekend's race is not up to those standards. "(Qualifying for NCAA Champi- onships) is all we want to do," Warhurst said. "We don't need to try and run under 9:30 yet, but we will. We will at the Nationals." The NCAA automatic qualifying standard is 9:35, certainly a tangible goal for the Wolverines. Any college track fan is familiar with Brannen and Willis, but the lesser known Ellerton and Waithe will be the key to Michigan's success. Waithe had a breakout race in last weekend's 4 x 400-meter relay, running an impressive 46.2. Being buried in a relay has kept him a relative unknown to most of the track world. "(Waithe) is an unknown quantity," Warhurst said. "Last week he ran a 46,2, which makes him a known quan- tity to us and nobody else." The pressure on Waithe will be greater in the distance medley. With recent success, the relay has become somewhat of the cornerstone of Michi- gan's distance program. Warhurst is optimistic, but far from certain that Waithe will perform like he did last weekend. "He's a real loosey-goosey type of guy," Warhurst said. "That's the way (freshmen) come. He did well in high school. He ran against some big time quarter-milers and was not intimidat- ed by them, so I can't imagine he will be now. (After Brannen's lead-off) he'll be chased, he won't be doing the chasing." Ellerton will be trying to bounce back from a disappointing perform- ance in the distance medley relay at the Boston Indoor Games two weekends ago. This particular race - the 800- meter leg - should be better for him. In Boston he was out of his element, running the mile. "He's back in his own backyard in the 800-meters," Warhurst said. "We've had really good practices the last couple of weeks. This is his domain, and he came back and ran 47.7 in the mile relay at (Last week- end's Meyo Invitational)." The distance medley relay will not be Ellerton's only focus - on Saturday he will try to qualify for the NCAA championships in the 800-meter run. Last spring, Ellerton was a mere .02 seconds from qualifying for the out- door championships in the 800-meter run. Though he achieved All-American status with last year's distance medley, he will undoubtedly be aiming for an individual berth in the meet. Brannen will also run the 800-meters, in hopes of automatic qualification to the cham- pionships, where he won the 800-meter run last winter. ASHLEY HARPER/Daily Junior Nate Brannen will compete in the distance medley relay this weekend. w - q REC SPORTS INTRAMURALS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports Intramural Sports Program www.recsports.umich.edu 734-763-3562 REC SPORTS ImTRAMURAL S I I "4+C> I I4 Entries taken: Mon, 02/16 ONLY 11:00AM-5:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $85.00 per team Manager's Meeting: MANDATORY Wed, 02/18 6:00 PM IM Building Play begins: Mon, 03/01 IM Building yball Entries due: Monday, 02/16 4:30 PM IM Building Entry TFee: $30.00 per team Manager's Meeting: MANDATORY Mon, 02/16 6:00 PM IM Building Meet Date: Enties also Tuesday, 02/17 Indoor Track Relay Meet I I A,: UPCOMING EVENTS A- Entries taken: Mon, 02/16 ONLY 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $75.00 per team Manager's Meeting: MANDATORY Wed, 02/18 8:00 PM IM Building Play begins: Tues,'03/02 Sports Coliseum Entries taken: Man, 02/16 ONLY 11:00 AM -5:30 PM IM Building Co-rec, Womens & Sorority ONLY Entry Fee: $85.00 per team Manager's Meeting: MANDATORY K Wed, 02/18 7:00 PM IM Building Play begins: Mon, 03/01 Yost Ice Arena Men's Tennis Women's Gymnastics #12 ' iM G p rustics Wrestling #3 Men's Tennis Saturday @ Noon II I..I CII IAmwru i 11 ii 11- _I i I