The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 12, 2004 -_9 ____ ______ ______________ WOENS TRACK AND~ FIELD Distance By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer It isn't a popular tourist destina end, Fayetteville, Ark., will becon collegiate track and field world. T' letes will converge on the town NCAA Indoor Championships a the highest-level competition the And in the midst of it all, five M attempt to assert their position amo "We're all pretty excited," sopho said. And they have reason to be. E Wolverines' distance medley rel includes senior Carly Knazze, juni and redshirt junior Lindsey Gallo. medley relay squad nation's seventh-best time in the event (11:11.58). Last year's medley relay, which included Erd and Gallo, managed a 10th-place finish (11:19 tion. But this week- two spots short of All-America status. Michig me the center of the semi-revamped relay team presents a formidablec Fhe nation's best ath- lenge to its opponents. a of 58,000 for the The boisterous crowd at Arkansas' Randal T nd provide some of Track should provide an extra adrenaline boost fa e sport has to offer. Michigan runners. ichigan women will "It's so fun because it's packed," Erdman said. Ong America's finest. spectators are set up higher up from the track a omore Katie Erdman bit - it's really loud out there." Three Wolverines will compete at the meet as rdman leads off the viduals. Erdman enters the 800-meter run with ay team, which also nation's seventh-fastest time this year (2:05.38) or Theresa Feldkamp an unblemished indoor season at stake. Gallo The squad holds the race in the one-mile run, in which she holds ready to impress eighth-fastest time in the nation (4:40.91). Junior Jen- [man nifer Kulchar rounds out Michigan's individual field, .61), hoping to top her previous best of 1.81 meters in the gan's high jump. chal- Michigan's athletes will have to rely on their experi- ence to keep their nerves under control. yson "Last year, I was pretty worked up about (the NCAA r the Championships)," Erdman said. "I was pretty nervous about everything." "The But a year later, Erdman and Gallo know what to little expect at nationals. None of the Michigan athletes are strangers to pressure-filled situations - all five were indi- state champions in high school. h the While the competition will be fierce, Michigan will and arrive in Arkansas with a positive attitude. Free of title will expectations, the athletes aren't feeling pressure. s the "We've got nothing to lose," Erdman said. Michigan's Jason Coben will be competingi COBEN Continued from Page 8 this day, he makes his disgust known bydhitting the shiny poolside railing and forcefully throwing his towel to the ground. "It's really frustrating," Coben said. "It's easy to get over it after my prac- tice because I can sit down with Chris and I can ask him, 'What exactly did you see that I couldn't feel?' But if I had to coach myself, I'd probably hang myself. I just have to refocus and go on." Despite the difficulties of training, Bergere is confident that Coben will not disappoint. "He's got a great shot," Bergere said. "I expect him to qualify and go. He's going in with a lot of experience, he knows what the contest is going to be about, he knows who's going to be there. I just expect him to go in there, have a good day, do what he's been doing all year, and it should be no problem." If any diver knows what to expect, it's Coben. He has qualified for the NCAA Championships each of his previous three years. In his signature event - the 10-meter platform - he has improved his final position every year (28th as a freshman, seventh as a sophomore and first as a junior). Coben will take his past experiences and successes with him to the Diving Zones. "(Winning the title) last year taught me that anything is possible," he said. "I didn't think that I'd even come close to winning, and I just ended up win- ning that year. I just want to come back and either try to repeat or at least get in the top three." Coben's showing at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago in West Lafayette was almost as impressive as this national title run. He captured first place in the one-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform en route to being named Diver of the Champi- TONY UDWG/Daly in the NCAA Diving Zones this weekend. onship. The highlight of Coben's per- formance came when he nailed a back arm-stand double with two-and-a-half twists from 10 meters up, a dive that has been attempted by just 12 people in the world. This weekend, Coben will proba- bly unveil a dive that is even more difficult. "His hardest dive is a reverse three- and-a-half tuck," Bergere said. "That other one has (a higher degree of diffi- culty), but this one is a lot harder for him, because you have to spin toward the platform with your head." Even with his long list of achieve- ments, Coben knows he will have but- terflies at the beginning of the competition. "I'm probably going to be very nervous when I get there," he said. "At Big Tens, I wanted to make sure that I did better than I have in the years before, and my nerves just went crazy. I learned from that experience. I just need to get out there, get my first dive out of the way, and then my nerves usually calm down." Bergere knows that, even though Coben is considered a favorite, the senior must earn his spot at the NCAAs in Long Island, N.Y. "On any given day, even the best person can be beat," Bergere said. "He just needs to go in there and take care of his business." Coben knows exactly what he needs to do this weekend. But practice is once again proving to be more trouble- some. "You just look like you missed your right leg a little bit in the tuck there," Bergere said to his champion. "But you stayed over it better. The pickup looked a little delayed, but you seemed to make it no problem. If you connect that a bit smoother, that will be fine." Another nod, another attempt. If everything works out, another berth in the NCAA Championships will follow for Jason Coben. M MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD Teammates to hit road for support at NCAAs By Phil Kofahl Daily Sports Writer Michigan men's indoor track team has four elite athletes who will compete in the NCAA championships. But, not everyone can compete in nationals, so 16 teammates will go down to cheer for the four who will take part in the meet. They're hoping that they can give their teammates that added boost by making the track feel like their own. Juniors Nate Brannen and DarNell Tal- bert, combine with sophomores Nick Willis and Andrew Ellerton to make the nation's No. 1 ranked distance-medley relay. Going into today's race, the quartet is confident. "We just need to go into it with that mindset, that we're the favorite," Eller- ton said. "There's no reason we shouldn't win, as long as we run to our capabilities." While Brannen, Willis and Eller- ton competed on the distance med- ley relay in Arkansas last year and finished third, this will be Talbert's first national meet. Talbert's hard work throughout the season earned him the right to run the 400-meter leg, and he will treat the medley like any other race. "I keep it chill until the day of, and even the hour before," Talbert said. "I try not to think about it." This race will be different than the others Talbert's run in the past - he'll have some extra support in the crowd. "It's just as exciting that my mom and dad will be there," Talbert said. "My dad has never seen me run a collegiate race before. It's just great that they'll be there. What better meet to have them there, especially my dad?" Talbert won't be the only one with some extra support. Brannen, who will be defending his 800-meter run title, and Willis, who will try to chase down defending champion Alistair Craigg of Arkansas in the 3,000-meter run, will both have the aforemen- tioned fan section of their own. Last night, 16 Michigan men made the 12-hour drive to Fayetteville to cheer on their teammates at the Tyson Indoor Track Center. Packing 16 people into two hotel rooms for the weekend is just part of the fun. The athletes trav- eled overnight to make it in time to see Brannen run his 800-meter preliminar- ies at 4 this afternoon. And the group will look forward to the distance-med- ley relay tonight at 9. "We'll probably have the second biggest group of fans, only behind Arkansas," coach Ron Warhurst said. oll .imc z_- Saig0s Garen 6 Dine-In & Carry-Out Vietnamese & Chinese Cuisine 1220 S. University (at the corner of Forest) Sun-Thur. 11 am to 1l pm Fri 11 am to 11 pm Sat 11:30 am to Il pm . 734 747-7006 ----- -- ----- --- - ---- I1 A Night of Persian Sounds Reza Derakshani, a vocalist and virtuoso of several Persian instruments, such as the Tar and Setar (Persian style lutes), Ney (reed flute), Tarmanche and Kamanche (bowed strings), and Daf (Persian handdrum), will perform a fusion of traditional Persian music, jazz, and other world genres. Sunday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. Michigan League Ballroom 911 N. University, Ann Arbor Also well known as a visual artist, his paintings will be on display and available for sale prior to the concert. Information at 734-764-0350 or www.umich.edu/~iinet/cmenas U I CONGRATULATIONS! The following students will be among those recognized during the Honors Convocation program on Sunday, March 14, 2004. These individuals have demonstrated the highest level of undergraduate academic success by achieving seven or more consecutive terms of all A's and earning the designation of Angell Scholar. The University of Michigan congratulates these students on their superior scholastic achievement and wishes them continued success. NINE TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS Mark David Buckles Nathan R. Platte School of Music School of Music Julie Ann Blume Aimee Marie Egan Bryan David Emmett * Erica Lauren Fenby School of Music School of Education School of Natural Resources and Environment College of Literature, Science, and the Arts EIGHT TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS Paul Stephen Albertus * Gwendolyn Bree Arnold * Laurence Adam Benenson * Jonathan W. Davidson Elise Nicole Erickson * Paul Kuttner * Abigail Virginia Sebaly * Eric Y. Shieh Kristen D. Slosser Sarah Ann Uhler * College of Engineering College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts School of Management -- UM Flint School of Nursing Residential College College of Literature, Science, and the Arts School of Music College of Arts and Sciences -- UM Flint College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Caitlin Ellingen Friedemann* College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Mi ndy Shumin Han * Thomas Mu-Chang Liu Elizabeth Yi-Hsin Lin Kate Elizabeth Longcore College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Engineering College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Thomas Patrick McDonough College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Michael R. Nettleman Crystal M. Pepperdine Ofer Reger * Rachel Helene Rose Noah Franklin Roth Mesian Kate Strauss * College of Engineering College of Arts and Sciences -- UM Flint College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts SEVEN TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS T-% * 1 A AlI T'\ I1 I 1 1 R; c, 1-, r A A l l ),a k a rr h rrn~n ~i' 4 vic, nx.r Cnintanno Tr44 T+rsaii I ii