2B -The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 8, 2004 0 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY Synchronized swimmers ready for nationals By Chastity Roling For the Daily The Michigan synchronized swimming team placed sixth overall at the North Regional Cham- pionship in Columbus this past Saturday. "We're going to the nationals," Michigan co- head coach Rebecca Trombley said. The road to this championship tournament was not an easy one. Team practices are three times a week for three hours each. Sophomore Ericka Picciotto said that practice consists of laps, stretches, land drilling and run through routines in the water. "Land drilling is an arm movement that corre- sponds to leg movement done in the water," Pic- ciotto said. "It's a way for us to practice our routines outside of the water." This technique allows the team to practice at home and other places where a pool is not neces- sarily available. "The routines are set to music, so land drilling really helps us concentrate on counting the move- ments and staying on a steady beat before we even get in the water," Picciotto said. Sophomore Katie Davis, who is new to the team this year, said training outside of the pool includes "aerobics, workout videos and stretch- es." These things help with flexibility when the team is in the water. "Synchronized swimming is not based on time like competitive swimming," said Junior Kelly Monahan, who swam competitively in high school. "(When) you have six to eight people doing the same routine in the water, you have to all be doing the same thing at the same time," Monahan said. "In competitive swimming, time was the only obstacle to overcome." Davis says that swimming and school take up all of her time. "I do not work as much and I cannot volunteer anymore, because the routines are hard to learn, but the coaches and my teammates work with me," Davis said. Monahan said that getting to know diverse group of girls is a "growth on its own." People from different regions of the U.S., different back- grounds and different swimming experiences are all welcome in this club sport. Considering the fact that the team is rebuilding, Picciotto feels there is opportunity for growth. "I didn't swim in high school, so this team, for me, is a nonacademic challenge that pushed me to new heights," Picciotto said. Synchronized swimming blends the flavor of music, the flexibility of gymnastics, the leg strength of dancing and the breath control of swimming. "Swimming is a bond - we not only share our friendship, but also out past experiences with one another," Monahan said. Michigan's synchronized swim team will host the U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Tournament March 25 -27. "This tournament includes 30 schools and 300 athletes across the nation," Trombloy said. "We have been planning on hosting this event for about two years, and with the cooperation of recreational sports and the help of Canham Nata- torium facilities director Chris Onstead, this event will finally happen." TEje & ignBa ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Who: Ryan Churella Sport: Wrestling Hometown: Northville Year: Sophomore/Junior Why: Churella claimed a Big Ten title in the 149-pound weight class at the Big Ten Championships yesterday. Churella beat Penn State's Matt Stornio- 1o 5-0 in the final round. The Wolverines finished fourth overall. Churella 0 0 Has the bubble burst? Some Michigan basketballfans think it has, and they're hoping the Wolverines somehow win the Big Ten Tournament. For others, there's still the possibility that other 'bubble' teams choke this week, allowing Michig-an to sneak into the bracket. Here's how fourfellow bubble teamsfared last weekend... WASHINGTON HUSKIES SEATTLE (AP) - The Stanford Cardinals never got a chance to pull off another last-second victory. The top-ranked Cardinals lost for the first time this season Saturday, falling 75-62 to Washington two days after rallying to beat Washing- ton State on a buzzer-beater. "Nobody likes to lose, especially when you have 26 wins straight," center Rob Little said. "We can't always have a miraculous come- back." Tre Simmons scored 16 points for unranked Washington (17-10, 12-6), enjoying its first winning season since 1999. "I said repeatedly that one day I saw this coming," second-year coach Lorenzo Romar said. "I didn't know it would happen this year. "I thought it would be great if we could knock off the No. 1 team and get into the tournament. It's awfully exciting to be in this position." Stanford was trying to become the first Pac-10 team to finish a perfect conference season. Instead it joined Oregon State and Arizona as the only teams to go 17-1. The 26-game winning streak was the longest in the Pac-10 since Oregon State won 26 straight in 1980-81. Washington lost its first five con- ference games, including an 85-72 setback at Stanford, and was in last place in January. Since then, the Huskies have won 12 of 13 league games to claim second place. They start four sophomores and a junior. MISSOURI TIGERS COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - No. 21 Kansas, victimized so many times over the years at the Hearnes Center, spoiled the final game at the 32-year-old building. Freshman reserve David Padgett scored with two seconds left and Wayne Simien had 22 points and seven rebounds in the Jayhawks' 84- 82 victory over Missouri on Sunday. "To beat a team like this at the buzzer, it's the best thing that's hap- pened to me so far," Padgett said. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for us," coach Quin Snyder said. "I feel bad for our seniors, and I think they feel bad for our fans that we just did not close this building's tradition out on a winning note." Snyder isn't sure what this loss means to the Tigers' NCAA hopes, although they now likely need a strong showing in the Big 12 tour- nament this week in Dallas. Mis- souri is seeded sixth and will Texas A&M in the first round on Thursday. "We've had our share of adversi- ty," he said. "There is no answer, except to pick up the pieces and go down to Dallas and fight like hell." FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES ATLANTA (AP) - In the final home game of his college career, Marvin Lewis finally stood out. He scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and tied a season high with five 3-pointers, helping No. 19 Georgia Tech hold off Flori- da State 63-60 Saturday. Adam Waleskowski and Anthony Richardson each had 12 points for the Seminoles (18-12, 6-10), who lost their fourth straight and fin- ished 0-8 on the road in the ACC. Despite five victories over Top 25 teams, they likely need a run in the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993. "I knew going into the game that as a team we were entering unchart- ed waters with the importance of this game," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "There's a certain mind-set that you have to get into to win on the road. I was hop- ing, with our backs against the wall, we'd be able to find it." OKLAHOMA SOONERS NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Fresh- man Lawrence McKenzie hit a pair of free throws with 21.4 seconds left and Jaison Williams made a steal on the next possession, helping Okla- 40 DaMy's NHL Power Rankings L Detroit89 pts. / < Ha e ad JosePh are set te .retum. Until then, the Wings are the team~itobeat forthe Stanley Cup- 2. Tampa Bay 90 pts. * The Lightning are in first place, hockey will cease operations after this season as a result. . otorad 85 pts- *If they fire Granat*, Tocchet and Cloutier, the eliminate their chaences of beating ~)fotagain ... forever. 4. Toronto 86 pts. -"What is the capital of Canada? Ottawa, not Toronto. Which means one thing, the Leafs won't win the cup. Daffy's NBA Power Rarddngs 1. Sacramento 45-16 " Lucky: C-Webb shows no signs of rust; team owner Joe Maloof wins 1 million in a Black Jack tournament 3. San Antonio 42-21 * No Duncan, no cry. Looks like Ginobili and Parker are up for the challenge - Spurs 4-1 without Tim. *Atsh s ack just 1 as .fe 5. Dallas 39-22 "*The Good: ESPN rankstheMa asthesecond bestfrnchise inprofes- sional sports. The bad: 3 straight losses .6. DeIWtr 4-$ pleyolfs may tvte $heed teget gon toNe oknxsao 7. New Jersey 38-23 * No Finals appeaonce meai Frank is gone. Phil may be available. 6. Vancouver 84 pts. " Vancouver is dangerous, but the Canucks need a new goalie or it will be another early exit. AP PHOTO Washington players celebrate after stunning Stanford with a 75-62 win yesterday. Before this game, Stanford was undefeated. 8. Philadelphia 88 pts. .. 8. MemphIs 38-24 0 It looks like Jeremy Roenick's G havGwoftinetfeIeven absence hurts more than Philadel- ft est bece phia expected. tle e. 9Dals $ p. 9. Houston 36-26 * TheSarshavesnuckbackto he * They may be the most boring showlngflashesofheStarsof . team to watch in the league, but JVG's adGt do "Yao-centic" offense is working. 10. Boston 85 pts.° 10. Ls Angeles 40.21 . Their powerplay is exponentially *KbeIs :.ehe:bing pin- better thanks to Sergei Gonchar and Michael Nylander. homa avert a loss that would have been disastrous to its NCAA tourna- ment hopes with a 46-41 victory over Baylor on Saturday. Oklahoma (18-9, 8-8) will proba- bly still need a win or two in next week's Big 12 tournament to clinch an at-large berth to the NCAA tour- nament. The Sooners, who will be the seventh seed, will face Nebraska in the first round. The victory, however, showed just how far the three-time defending WRESTLING Continued from Page 11B During his match with Blevins, Wagner let out a little of his frus- tration by shoving his opponent off the mat and into a wall. It only cost him a point for unnecessary rough- ness. In the consolation finals, Wagner struggled and dropped a 8- 2 decision to Cole Konrad of Min- nesota. "I got a few guys that just aren't committing on their attacks and that hesitation is costing us," McFarland said. "It just cost Wagner that match." Illinois, who sent two Michigan wrestlers home without a title, con- tinued to wreak havoc on the Wolverine squad. The Illini bumped Michigan out of the top three in team scoring, making the Wolver- ines' 96 points worthy of a fourth Big 12 tournament champions have fallen this season. Baylor (8-21, 3-13) ends its painful season here because of self- imposed penalties stemming from major NCAA violations under for- mer coach Dave Bliss. The Bears would've qualified for the Big 12 tournament had they been allowed to go - a credit to first-year coach Scott Drew. The Bears almost pulled off its biggest win of the year in the finale. place finish. Iowa ran away with the team title, with 129.5 points. Min- nesota made a late push to finish second with 124.5, and Illinois dropped in right behind in third with 98.5. "I was just a little disappointed that we let third place slip away, but I guess we just didn't do the things we needed to maintain it," McFar- land said. "I think we just have to wrestle a little tougher at (the) NCAAs." Freshmen Mark Moos and Nick Roy also qualified for the NCAA Championships in two weeks by fin- ishing sixth and seventh, respectively. "I lost a lot of close matches where I was winning and I could have done better," Roy said. "But when you go to the NCAAs, it does- n't matter what seed you are, it just matters how 'on' you are." Wizen you gotta 4 I 1 go . JSOOOPER/ Dily Illinois' Alex Tirapelle, top, takes revenge on Michigan's Ryan Bertin. At 157 lbs., Bertin beat Tirapelle to win the title at last year's NCAA Championships. AP Photo Residents of Spring Arbor push their outhouse sled down the course during the 11th annual Trenary Outhouse Classic in Trenary last month. . _ I <. ,. , f. 'g. 2 , «. '« ,«.. :.y.,, :.' ,.;z. > o r New Master's and Ph.D. Programs Affiliated with the University of Chicago oYo r - CHICAGO 'CA L 4". .?* <' * UGIIIT MOIIw 3G GGIDIIUIC R UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BIOLOGICAL STATION Join us fora rewarding summer in northern Michigan Spring Session (May 16-June 12) ~ Student Discounts / Professional Bartending Training y Tips on Finding a Top Paying Job Become a Talented, Socially Conscious Bartender Introduction to Natural Science General Ecology Ethnobotany All courses 5 credits BIO/EEB v I -m mmmrxr -qccnnf-ia ianimf 4 A'i1 a