GIMME FIVE The men's tennis team has begun7 the season with five convincing wins. PAGE 3B February 16, 2004 TUMBLERS KEEP ROLLING The women's gymnastics team upsets No. 8 Utah, extending its home winning streak to four matches. PAGE 7B THE SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH: Ron Warhurst's caring tutelege fuels Michigan's dynamic track duo. PAGE 3B RrFSMONDAY SECTION B f E gC w anull --------------- - ------ - - Leaping ahead Friday: MICHIGAN 4, M i ; Saturday: MICHIGAN 8, io) 5 'M' storms to top of CCHA with sweep By Shmad Mattu Daily Sports Writer First place in the Central Collegiate Hock- ey Association was up for grabs Saturday night, and one team was ready for the open- ing faceoff. When the puck was first dropped, Miami played with the intensity it failed to bring in the beginning of Friday's 4-1 loss to Michi- gan. Midway through the first period the RedHawks had outshot the Wolverines 12-1. But it only lasted for about a dozen min- utes. From then on, for every one good play the RedHawks made, almost immediately afterward, they would make one or two bone- head plays. And did Michigan ever capitalize. Its 8-5 win may have been sloppy and may have left Michigan coach Red Berenson dis- pleased, but with the home sweep the Wolver- ines are now one point ahead of Miami in conference standings. "I think we did send a message," said T.J. Hensick, who gave Michigan control of the game with a two-minute flurry. "Going into the weekend, we wanted to emphasize that we're the team to beat in this league and I think we showed that. Last night was a big win and then it carried over into tonight. I think confidence and momentum will help us as the season goes on with our next six games. " Miami's Matt Christie opened the scoring at 11:50, but 20 seconds later the RedHawks gave Michigan a powerplay. While on the man advantage, forward Milan Gajic nestled into his sweet spot on the ice - the left face- off circle - and ripped a one-timer past Red- Hawks goaltender Brandon Crawford-West to even the score. Miami still had some mettle and retook the lead 2-1 when RedHawk Matt Davis weaved through Michigan's defense and poked the puck through goaltender Al Montoya's legs. Michigan's response was just as swift. With the puck along the boards, defenseman Eric Werner swooped in on the right side and quickly fired a pass across the ice to center Dwight Helminen, who snapped a wrister for the goal. And that was when Hensick went to work and personally delivered Miami a message on See REDHAWKS, Page 4B Hockey program all 'business on ice September, at the beginning of my tenure as a Michigan hockey That was the final straw. I had to know. Did this team really deserve beat writer, I was constantly bombarded with one description of the acquaintance of this vaunted noun? This noun that's mindlessly the team from experienced followers: tossed around the sporting world like it's George Steinbrenner's "They're straight business in everything bankroll. they do - Red Berenson runs it like an I turned to an old Internet friend for assistance: Dictionary.com. NHL squad." I typed in "business" to see if the "B" word had any parallels with Having been fanatical about sports since the Wolverines on ice. almost the zygote stage, I've steadily heard The results were astounding, freakish and even eerie. All 11 defini- "business" applied to sports. Yet, I've never tions of the noun perfectly corresponded to everything in the last week truly grasped this noun's true relevance to involving Michigan hockey, and followed chronologically to boot! anything that didn't involve a cubicle, three- GENNARO With every connection rapidly unfolding in front of my eyes, I felt like piece suit or TPS report. FILICE I was in the final scene of "The Usual Suspects." I dropped my porce- Business and sports. Sure, the association Nuthin' But a 'G' lain coffee cup and ran home in search of Keyser Sdze - I mean - is frequently made: "This team is business- Thn the truth about Michigan hockey. first." But is there really a group of athletes Is Michigan hockey really business-oriented? that embodies the upstanding, honorable, white-collar workers of Here are each of the 11 possible definitions of the word "business" America? and their comparisons to the last week of Michigan hockey. I know From everything I've heard all season, the answer to this question many people will read this in the morning, so hold your Starbucks sports sweaters of maize and blue. Following this weekend's sweep of double latte tight. Miami, the 'B' word surfaced numerous times in-Yost Ice Arena. Definition 1: The occupation, work or trade in which a person is "This weekend, Michigan took care of business." See FILICE, Page 4B AIMnoa t trtteto p h u kTONY DING/Daly :r:y h ouh h e Freshman TJ. Heick, ght, jumps into junior Brandon Rgers's arms after scoring a powerplay goal In the first period of Saturday night's 8-5 win over Miami. Cagers can't escape early Penn State run 0 MEN'S BASKETBALL Tournament chances hurt with loss to Iowa By Josh Holman Daily Sports Writer STATE COLLEGE - It was no secret to the record 15,389 fans in attendance at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Michigan women's basket- M cHI ball team looked outmatched by No. 8 Penn State com- ing into the game. Before the Wolver- ines walked off the court with a 73-44 loss, it was obvious that the Wolver- ines were beaten in every aspect. "We had a lack of preparation," sen- ior center Jennifer Smith said. "We had a lot of turnovers. We should have ome nut mwith more intensit. We did- very good team and give up incredibly easy layups, it's very hard to then play from behind," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. The Lady Lions continued to pour it on in the second half. It wasn't just behind the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer in senior Kelly Mazzante, either. While Mazzante did lead the team in scoring, she scored just 16 points, more than five points below her season average. Penn State's decimation of Michi- gan was truly a team effort. Eight of the nine Lady Lions that played scored. Five of them - Jess Brungo, Jennifer Harris, Jess Strom, Tanisha Wright and Mazzante - scored in By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's basketball team went to Iowa City in need of change. A change in its shooting woes, its ability to hold a lead, its offense against a zone and its way of holding onto the basketball. It got none of the above. Michigan continued the struggles it has been plagued with all season in its 69-61 loss to Iowa Saturday at a sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 69-61 loss greatly damages the (6-5, 13-5) used hot 3-point shooting to go on a 24-9 run, and increase the lead to as much as 11. The Hawkeyes hit five of their eight 3-point attempts in the second half following a 2-for- 12 effort in the first. "It was the difference in the ball game and it kind of took the life out of us," said Michigan coach Tommy Amaker of Iowa's long- range shooting. Iowa used a tight zone in the sec- ond half, and Michigan was unable to create any good shots, something that has stymied the Wolverines all sea- son. The Wolverines shot 2-for-10 from beyond the arc and 7-for-29 I