12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 1, 2004 M WOMEWS TRACK AND FIELD Blue pole vaulters face daunting task Gymnastics heads to Regionals after rocky season By Jeremy Antar Daily Sports Writer Like an avalanche storming down a mountain, the Michigan women's gymnastics team has been gaining momentum over the last few weeks. On March 12, Michi- gan bounced back from a poor performance and went toe- also seen what we're capable of doing," senior Calli Ryals said. "So I think coming off a good win is ideal for us." Michigan has to capture either first or second place in order to advance to the NCAA National Championships; a feat that the team has accomplished in each of the last 11 years. Due to past regular-season success, Michigan usually enters this weekend as a favorite to move on to Nationals. As a result, the team is used to looking at this weekend as more of a step- ping stone to Nationals. But this year, the s Wolverines have been seeded fourth, and are ROLLER COASTER RIDE Here's a look back at the up-and-down sea- son for the 2004 women's gymnastics team. Michigan's scores are listed first. By Phil Kofahl Daily Sports Writer A good memory is a great quality in an athlete. And when it comes to pole vaulting, it very well could be the most impor- tant. The Michigan women who take on this daunting event are able to compress their "to do list" into a few seconds. They are constantly reminded to do a lot of little things before each vault: run hard, keep the pole up, plant quickly, drive your knees, etc. Txus W They may be the bravest athletes at the track, too. It takes a little more Dater rida than ambition to go tUSFTak upside-d'own over T an aluminum vault- ing box at heights over 10 feet, while holding on to a pole. Repetition and strength- training are the keys to reaching the top of the podium, but no one vaulter can do it by herself. Each woman depends on her coach and teammates to get through each day. "In high school, I didn't even have a pole vault coach, so I learned everything on my own," sophomore Kelly Catino said. "But in college, the coaches worked with me all last year and never gave up on me, even though I redshirted and didn't travel with the team. All the hard work paid off though, because things are starting to click this year and I have improved a lot." But none of them will com- plain, because they wouldn't have it any other way. Constant- ly training together in such a demanding event has brought the vaulters closer together. "The best part of vaulting at Michigan is definitely just being with the other girls," sophomore Courtney Doyle said. "It makes practice every day so much easier." Getting a chance to leave the cloudy Michigan weather behind for a weekend in the sun makes things a little easier, too. The women's track team travels south for the majority of the out- door season, taking advantage of the better weather. "I love traveling, meeting people from all over - it's great," sophomore Elizabeth Boyle said. "As we travel, we become very friendly with all the other vaulters. There's a great sense of camaraderie between teams." Unfortunately, for a Division I athlete, competing can't be all fun in the sun. With so many things required for a successful vault, there are many things that can take a vaulter off of her game. "At times pole EEKND vault can be so frustrating because F <Y [ta f cm F ! )P it IiIH:: O r'.lli. z s not expected to advance. "Usually I worry about Regionals being an emotional let-down because, when we are seeded one or two, chances are that we are going to Nationals," coach Bev Plocki said. "But this year, we know we're going in as the underdog, and we're definitely not going Michigan's 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Championships and its 14th overall. The timing for Michi- gan could not be bet- ter, as its confidence is the highest it has been all season. "I think our setup for Regionals has been per- fect because we've seen our downside, but we've into this meet with a complacent attitude." "It's in the back of our minds that people are thinking we are not going to make it, and I think that that drives us even more," Ryals said. Michigan's lower seeding this year comes as a result of poor performances earlier in the season. But Plocki said that it is not necessarily a bad thing to have a few bumps in the road early in the season because, for many athletes, the drive to correct a mistake is very strong. "I think that in the early part of the season, what contin- ues to motivate you to work hard is when you come out of a competition and you know what you need to fix, what you need to work on and what you need to improve in," Plocki said. But coming into the biggest meet of the season, Plocki is glad that Michigan is coming off a great performance. "If we didn't hit at Big Tens, I think we would be going into Regionals questioning whether or not we could do it. I think now we know we can do it, and that's the mentality we are going into this weekend with." DATE OPPONENT Jan. 11 No.7 Nebraska Jan, 17 No, 17 Minnesota Jan. 24 No, 6 Iowa Feb. 6 State of Michigan Classic Feb. 14 No. 4 Utah Feb. 22 at West Virginia with Maryland Feb. 27 No. 2 Georgia Mar, 7 No. 1 UCLA Mar. 12 No. 5 Alabama Mar. 20 Big Tens REsuLT 195.075-196.550 194.650-193.975 196.325--196.750 1st out of 5 196.725-196.350 2nd out of 3 196300-197.000 195 .725-198.325 197.025-197.725 1 st out of 8 Michigan's Elise Ray M WOMEN'S ROWING Mandoli falls back on experiences By Chastity Rolling Daily Sports Writer For Canadian native Heather Man- doli, the 2003 NCAA finals regatta is her most memorable rowing moment. Michigan started in last place, but just as the Wolverines began to doubt themselves, they pulled together and finished second. Teamwork was the key in winning that race, and it's just the same for any other. And the closer a team is, the more synchronized it can become. "You cannot get random people and go (compete in) rowing." Mandoli said. "It's the ultimate team sport." Rowing creates a scenario in which all team members must remain iden- tical in form and speed. That strict condition of synchronization is hard to achieve, and is not seen in many other sports. It is also a very physically demanding sport. Rowing requires the arm and leg strength of a swim- mer and the speed and endurance of a runner. Rowing also gave Mandoli another type of strength. It helped her endure college life and being away from her home in British Columbia. "When I was a freshman, rowing helped my transition into college," Mandoli said. Mandoli has enjoyed her experi- ence at Michigan, especially her coaches. "There is no other program in the country that you can compare the coaching staff to," Mandoli said. "They are all amazing coaches, as well as wonderful people." Mandoli's coaches and team- mates have helped her balance col- lege and rowing. "It was pretty tough balancing the two," Mandoli said. "But I never have one without the other. The most impor- tant thing for me was to set priorities." Mandoli's college experience is practices and regattas intertwined with papers, tests and presentations. Now Mandoli finds herself on the verge of graduating this year. "I love Michigan and can't believe that my time is almost up here. The team has become part of me, and is like a second family to me." After graduating, Mandoli plans to study physical therapy at the Univer- sity of Western Ontario next fall, and she plans to continue rowing. m r