A. Thursday March 18, 2004 sports.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com ite icid igEu-id ;,1~~r 8A M Two-ay elmienEATIE OF THEU( fIGS - XII Vs. 1O Tw o-w ay H elen 6 tgesuLastniirght er L y b sketbaite %bHn's v earaslnihss aCCnLad owIt/il afehonorian By Gennaro Fiice Daily Sports Editor "He does it quietly - just his style, there's not a lot of pizazz, not a lot of notoriety," Michigan coach Red Beren- 'son said. "He doesn't draw attention to himself - he kind of deflects atten- tion. But, when it's all said and done, - whether you're looking at him on the 'ice, or you're looking at him on paper, he's a great player." Berenson's words -speak volumes of the Wolverines' leading goal scorer. T.J. Hen- sick? Nope. Having undressed opposing blueliners all year long, Hensick defines pizazz. Milan Gajic? Remem- .ber, Berenson said, "quietly." Berenson's description applies to * junior center Dwight Helminen. -,Helminen, known as "Dewey" to his * teammates, doesn't receive the hype of many fellow Wolverines, but he's qui- etly put together the team's most well- rounded season of work. Last night, #Helminen - Michigan's leader in Z 'goals with 17 - was named CCHA Best Defensive Forward at the confer- Ience awards banquet. "So you're looking at him as the best defensive forward and then you're looking at him as our leading goal scorer - that's a pretty good hockey player," Berenson said. "I ;.compare him to (former Wolverine and current New Jersey Devils center) Johnny Madden. "(Helminen's) a great two-way player." Helminen, whose NHL rights belong to the New York Rangers, ;attributes his defensive prowess to his speed and an innate hockey sense. "Basically it's being in the right position," Helminen said. "And with my speed, I have the opportunity - if I get caught out of position - I have the ability to get back in position. I'm maybe a little quicker than somebody else. But it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time." Helminen's line, which currently includes junior Eric Nystrom and freshman Mike Brown, has routinely matched up with the opponents' top group of forwards. In facing the CCHA's finest in 37 games, the Brighton native has been called for just two penalties. "For our line, our priority is playing tough 'D,' " Helminen said. "Our job's to go out there and shut down the other team's top lines, and when that hap- pens, that's when we're usually getting chances. Our line has just happened to capitalize on those chances and it hap- pens to be coming off my stick." Although Michigan's lines have changed throughout the year, Helmi- nen and Nystrom have been almost inseparable because of a chemistry they've enjoyed since first playing in Ann Arbor on the U.S. Under-18 team in high school. "It's unbelievable," Helminen said. "We've been playing together since the U.S. program. We know each other like the back of our hands. It's huge playing with a guy like that you know so much about and played with so much." Helminen and Nystrom are two of the team's 10 juniors. Since the Wolverines have just one senior who sees regular playing time, captain Andy Burnes, the junior class's role on the team has been heightened. "It's a little more responsibility and a little more pressure, you might say, but it's something we've got to thrive off of," said Helminen of being one of TONY DING/Daily Junior Dwight Helminen earned Best Defensive Forward honors last night at the CCHA awards. the team's elder statesmen. "That's how I kind of looked at it. It's a chance for me personally and a chance for our class to step up this year, show the team and show everybody else that's remembered at Michigan as a success- ful, hardworking class." HEN-SICK: In addition to Helminen's award, T.J. Hensick was named CCHA Rookie of the Year last night after lead- ing all freshman in goals and leading the entire conference in assists. Hen- sick is the third freshman in six years to lead Michigan in scoring. 0 * WOMEN'S TENNIS Netters return to winning ways with thumping of Broncos NIT SCORES By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer On St. Patrick's Day, the No. 19 Michigan women's tennis team didn't -need the luck of the Irish - it just .needed to be back home. After dropping its first match of the season in Alabama, the Wolverines returned to the Varsity Tennis Center to cruise past Western Michigan 6-1 yesterday. "I just love playing on these courts - everything's so normal;" freshman Eliz- abeth Exon said. Exon and her doubles partner, sen- ior Chrissie Nolan helped Michigan (8-1) jump out to an early lead, domi- nating their match 8-2. The No. 43 first doubles pairing of junior Michelle DaCosta and freshman Kara Delicata didn't have it as easy and had to battle back from a 1-4 deficit to come up with an 8-6 victory. "When you get down that far at one, it's tough to come back and win - and they did," Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt said. "We just have to work at getting out to a better start at one doubles and play with more energy." With the doubles point already sealed, the usually consistent team of sophomore Debra Streifler and senior Kim Plaushines (No. 36) gutted out a 9- 8 (7-4) victory. "It was the first time we weren't play- ing well together," Streifler said. After sweeping doubles, the Wolver- ines picked up where they left off. Deli- cata (6-3, 6-1), Streifler (6-4, 6-4), No. 67 Exon (6-3, 6-3) and senior Kavitha Tipimeni (6-3, 6-1) all won their singles matches in straight sets. Junior Leanne Rutherford had to fight for her victory after dropping the first set 4-6. She bounced back after dropping a 6-1 sec- ond set and won the tiebreaker, earning Michigan's sixth point of the match. The hardest-fought match featured two ranked players, as No. 99 DaCosta faced off against No. 95 Fredrika Gir- sang. Girsang jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set when - just like in her doubles match - DaCosta turned it on. She forced a tiebreaker, but was unable to seal the deal, falling 3-7. The second set was just as tight until Girsang broke DaCosta's serve late, winning the Bron- cos' lone point. As if homecourt advantage wasn't enough, the Wolverines had some extra supporters in crowd. A day after win- ning a thriller against Missouri, three members of Michigan's basketball team were in attendance: Amadou Ba, J.C. Mathis and Dani Wohli. "We are just going to go and give them support," Ba said. 'Just like they did for us last night." With the decisive victory, Michigan managed to get right back on the win- ning track. While the Wolverines came in with superior talent, they avoided the trap of taking the Broncos lightly. "(Western Michigan is) always competitive," Ritt said. "They are well-coached. They compete hard. Certainly we're deeper than they are, but to beat Western, you have to go out and play well." Yesterday's results: GEORGE MASON 58, Tennessee 55 VIRGINIA 79, George Washington 66 Florida State 91, WITCHITA STATE 84 (2 OT) AUSTIN PEAY 65, Belmont 59 RUTGERS 76, Temple 71 Hawaii 85, UTAH STATE 74 OKLAHOMA 70, Louisiana State 61 NIAGRA 87, Troy State 83 NOTRE DAME 71, Purdue 59 WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE 91, Rice 63 RHODE ISLAND 80, Boston University 52 VILLANOVA 85, Drexel 70 IOWA STATE 82, Georgia 74 West Virginia 65, KENT STATE 54 Tuesday's results: MICHIGAN 65, Missouri 64 SAINT LoUis 70, Iowa 69 Nebraska 71, CREIGHTON 70 Monday's game: MARQUETTE 87, Toledo 72 0 U'! i7 WANTED UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE UM STUDENTS WITH CROHN'S DISEASE OR ULCERATIVE COLITIS Please e-mail for more information rajus@umich.edu 4 GAIYANS QUARTERFINALS U u SEMI-FINALS FRIDAY, MARCH 19@4:00 70030 PM Michigan Head*Pain & Neurological Institute is conducting an in-clinic research study evaluating an investigational medication for migraine. Participants must be 18 to 60 years old and suffer no more than 15 headaches per month. A total of three clinic visits are required. Visit 2 THE HUNGER WITHIN WORKSHOP CHAMPIONSHIP DAY SATURDAY, MACH.2 3RD PLACEGAME @4:30 PM CI4AMDPIOlNSHIPC AMF *7! fl0 pM " Do you typically feel guilty after eating? " Do you find yourself preoccupied with thoughts of food? Is your sense of self worth connected with your weight? If so, then read on... The Hunger Within Workshop, a nationally recognized treatment program for disordered eating, takes the focus off food and guides the participants through an intensive group program designed to unlock the psychological barriers which precipitate emotional eating. This course of treatment encourages each is a four to six hour i I I di