2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 5, 2004 Bloomington blues hit 'M' By Seth Gordon Daily Sports Writer After conquering Southern Illinois just one week earlier,. the Michigan women's golf team was stymied in Hoosier country, finishing a dis- appointing ninth place at the Indiana Invitational over the weekend. The Wolverines were again led by junior Laura Olin, who has now paced the team in its last nine tournaments. After an impressive showing last weekend at the Saluki Invitational, where Michigan won the team competition and Olin took home medalist honors with a score of 148, the Wolverines strug- gled to bring in low numbers. "It was disappointing," coach Kathy Teichert said. "You can't shoot 80s and expect to compete in the Big Ten." The tournament in Bloomington also offered stiffer competition for the Wolverines, as they faced a field that included five other Big Ten teams. Michigan finished with a team total of 955, which put it fourth among its conference foes. The Wolverines placed higher than Wiscon- sin and Minnesota, but fell to Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State. Missouri took home the team competition with a 908, catapulted by an even- par 296 in the final round. After a slow start on the first day of the tourna- "(Yesterday) morning it was extremely cold and windy throughout the day," Teichert said. "I felt we played better than our score indicated, but we didn't play our last six or seven holes very well." As for Olin, whose success has been closely linked to that of the team, it was also a matter of making up ground after a slow start on Saturday. Sitting in 31st-place after the first two rounds, Olin fired a three-over-par 77 to finish with a total of 235 and a tie for 17th-place overall. "It was cold and windy and we didn't play up to our personal expectations," Olin said. "We had goals set and we didn't accomplish those goals." The weekend wasn't without bright spots for the Wolverines as sophomore Brandi Zielinski fired a career-best 77 in the second round, and freshman Brianna Broderick carded an opening- round 74. Despite the disappointing finish, Teichert is optimistic about the team and its future. "There were a lot of signs of good play," she said. "With a break here or there, or a momentum change, there may have resulted a totally differ- ent outcome. We just have to get out and play right now because we have to figure out a way to get the ball in the hole." The Wolverines now head back to Ann Arbor with two weeks to practice before heading back out on the road for their next event, the Lady Boilermaker Invitational on April 17 and 18. AT HLETE O:F TH E WEEK Who: Elise Ray SportWomen's gymnastics Hometown: Columbia, Md. Year: Senior/junior (elig.) Why: Ray earned the all-around title (39.700) at the Northeast Regional Championships at Penn State's Rec Hall on Saturday. The junior led the Wolverines to a second-place finish and their 13th appearance in the NCAA National meet. Ray won event titles on the uneven bars and the balance beam. Ray 4 I TONY DING/Daily ment put them in ninth place, harsh Freshman Brianna Broderick opened the Indiana made it difficult for the Wolverines to Invitational with a team-best, even-par 74. the rest of the field. CREW Blue win one of five races in tough loss to Buckeyes conditions catch up to By Chastity Rolling Daily Sports Writer The No. 4 Michigan women's crew team trav- eled to Scioto River on Saturday and faced stiff competition against No.1 Ohio State. Though Michigan lost five out of six races against the Buckeyes, it still benefited from the regatta. "Our crews raced well," Michigan head coach Mark Rothstein said. "But we just came up short today." Despite Michigan's efforts, its boats were just not fast enough to claim an overall victory over Ohio State. The Wolverines' first varsity four did win one race against Ohio State with a time of 7:29, beating Ohio State by a com- fortable second. "Our first varsity four performed well," Roth- stein said. It was the only Michigan boat that defeated Ohio State this weekend. The Wolverines now know where they stand against the best team in the country. "Ohio State is a big challenge," senior Heather Mandoli said. "This year, (the 'Buckeyes) are a very strong team, but they are beatable." Mandoli believes that Michigan has potential to improve by the end of the sea- son. It has plenty of time to increase speed and endurance. "Saturday was a measuring stick," Mandoli said. "Ohio State is a strong team. We just need to stay motivated and to get faster." Heavy concentration on these two things in practice will help Michigan improve and close the gap. "Ohio State is an outstanding team," Rothstein said. "They were just the better team, today." Mandoli also believes that that her team can measure up to Ohio State in the future. "Being the better team now does not nec- essarily mean Ohio State will be next month," Mandoli said. "We just need to improve our race." Michigan will have a chance to show its improvement against Ohio State this week- end when the Wolverines travel to Char- lottesville,Va., to compete in the ACC/Big Ten Double Dual against Ohio State, No. 8 Virginia and No. 18 Duke on Lake Michie. GYM Continued from Page 1 said. "I had no idea that I would have this opportunity to make All-American because the competition was real good. I just happened to hit real well. It's exciting because I'm a freshman." Bottke also finished the event finals as an All-American. He put together what he described as his best routine since he started training to place fifth in the nation on the floor. Sophomore Justin Laury, one of the favorites on the high bar, struggled during the finals of his event. But his all- around score of 54.675 was good enough to earn him fifth place. It was the second year in a row that Laury was an All- American in the all-around competition. "It was a little bit of a disappointment because I thought that Justin could probably win high bar," Golder said. "But he did a great job for us overall. He had a great weekend." When the gymnasts came into Assembly Hall, where the competition was held, they were greeted by artificial smoke, bright lights and thousands of screaming Illinois fans. The arena was deafening the entire night. "Coming into here is the most amazing thing ever," Laury said. "As far as gymnastics goes, I have never experienced anything like this. "It's so loud, and it's so intense. It really gets your adrena- line going." Rakes - who had never been to NCAAs before - agreed. "The atmosphere was why I was able to perform so well," Rakes said. "Emotionally, everyone was excited. And for me, my excitement overcame my nervousness. It didn't feel like a- competition with all of the yelling. "We are just going to work so much harder this summer and next year. And we're not going to take anything less at the first meet." 4 DaRy's NHL Power Rkg 2. Tampa Bay 106 pts. 2 Martin St. Louis is listed as 5- foot-9 but he's much shorter. Inch- for-inch, he may be the NH's best. 3.~ Bostojn 1O4 pts * Jo1bhomtn is ot idfltely With an "upprd hnj{PiIretty vagueou May st soft. 4. San Jose 104 pts. 'Nobody expected the Sharks to be this good, themselves included. A *Ty nd say "Qwen Nolr ten Plyf sermes gaint the Blmess n exp. We-.yO n ty 6. Ottawa 102 pts. * A 6-0 loss to Toronto, your first round opponent, is not a good way to finish the regular season. 7. V 101 . * The C8ukswill isBevui In the plyoffs WIi hi~m h laes wolntstand a hnc. 8. New Jersey 100 pts. * Do the Devils have another Stanley Cu p run in them? No, no they don't! But Rafalski will be back. ,slew of allen&s.1es a go u. 10. PhIladelphia 101 pts. * Desjardin and Pnimeau are back just in time for their playoff battle with the Devils. Home ice will help. ~y's NRA Power Rankings 1. Los Angeles 53-24 * Lakers now: Best team in the league. Lakers next season: No Kobe, Phil, Payton, Malone or Fox. 3. Minnesota 54-24 *"Don't remind the Wolves that they've never won a playoff series. Remind Flip to start Wally. 5. Memphis 49-27 " Wells, Gasol and Swift all went down with injuries, but Poseyis rosie and wants a ring around his finger. 4 4 7. Detroit 50-27 * A fan threw an octopus on the Palace court during Wednesday night's game. This IS HockeyTown. 9. New Jersey 44-31 " Shut up, Richard Jefferson. Nets are 2-5 without Kidd and Martin. Ready for Spike and co. at MSG? *Ta u4rge aon to ae a "e .y.dy' 0es....3. Bu..s ?:rs f.}"er daug';hte:; ! ':r s b . s '4 I I uin etuce, waira prout, omto yo ot I Ir I1men j'1'j.m ere1IIIgI it nionsII Mayo,1 I I yr w L' 1.vp v46 1 E :a