10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 8, 2004
Gallo, Erdman working together
By Gabriela D'Jaen
Daily Sports Writer
Middle distance runners Lindsey
Gallo and Katie Erdman are two of
the most competitive runners on
the Michigan women's track and
field team. They train with each
other on a daily basis, but usually
do not run the same events in
meets. When they occasionally run
against each other, as they did over
the weekend at the South Florida
Invitational, they run as teammates
first and competitors second.
"The race plan was actually pret-
ty formulated," Erdman said of the
1,500-meter event. "We know who
is going to set the pace, but when it
comes down to the line, a race is
still a race."
As Erdman is focused more on
the 800-meter and Gallo's specialty
is the 1,500-meter, their respective
strengths compliment each other,
and they are not caught up with
inner-team rivalry. Instead, Gallo
carries Erdman on the longer track
intervals and Erdman pulls Gallo on
the short stretches. The duo's strate-
gies worked, as both ran NCAA
Regional qualifying times - Gallo
placed first with a time of 4:23.47
and Erdman clocked in shortly after
(4:28.65) - in their first outdoor
competition of the year.
The two women started the sea-
son a meet later than the rest of
the team, following their perform-
ances at the NCAA Indoor Cham-
pionships in March. Gallo's
sixth-place finish in the mile was
a personal-best and also was the
best showing by a Wolverine at the
National Championships.
Erdman, a freshman who red-
shirted her outdoor season last
year, had not raced on an outdoor
track for over two years. A stress
fracture in her femur took her out
of commission and gave her a new
outlook on running.
"It can be hard when you are so
out of shape that running two
miles feels like death," Erdman
reflected. "But you just have to be
patient and know that you'll come
back eventually."
As the current record holder in
the 600- and 800-meter events,
Erdman has recuperated and
achieved great success. She enjoys
the payoff of having to wait a while
to see her improvements affect her
results, and she finds racing
incredibly satisfying.
Gallo's biggest motivation to
train is being surrounded by her
teammates.
"I like the fe eling o f racing ,
well," Gallo said. "But I love being
on the team and training with my
friends."
Gallo's career was also affected.
by stress fractures. The junior was
forced to redshirt her freshman out-
door and sophomore indoor sea-
sons because of injuries in her
shins. These problems caused her
to always stay focused on the posi-
tives and remember that her only
goal is to always run the best she
possibly can.
Outdoor and indoor tracks are
shaped differently, which affects a"
runner's strategy and mindset. Theg
tighter turns on an indoor track
place stress on the inside (left) leg.
This slows down the runner and
also can lead to more injuries. On
an outdoor track, there are the
straightaways, making outdoor
times a little faster than the indoor
season.
This weekend the Wolverines
travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the
Sea Ray Relays and face Ten-
nessee, who boasts the current Dis-
tance Medley NCAA Champs. *r
"It should be a very competitive RYAN WEINER/Daly
weekend," Gallo said. "I'm looking Teammates Katie Erdman, pictured, and Lindsay Gallo push each other
forward to the challenge." to perform better.
SPRING
Continued from Page 8A
terms of the quarterback position."
But there is plenty of competition for the spot.
Spencer Brinton, who was recently granted a sixth year
of eligibility, has not been able to throw the ball hard
throughout the spring practice because of a shoulder
injury, but Carr said that sophomore Clayton Richard has
improved significantly over the last couple of weeks.
Richard has had to make some adjustments to his
game because he played most of his high school career
from the shotgun. But Carr was very optimistic about
the progress that he has made.
"Yesterday, I think he had the best practice of the
spring," Carr said. "He throws the ball and the ball
comes out of his hand very quickly. He has a great
release and he has a strong arm, and I think he's only
going to get better."
Two of the other big questions for the spring are at
running back and right tackle. The tackle spot was
vacated by second-team All-America Tony Pape, and
will be especially important if Richard, a left-handed
quarterback, wins the job. Carr said that he has been
impressed with freshman Jake Long, who has been
playing through a turf-toe injury this spring and hasn't
missed a practice.
"When a guy can go with a turf-type (injury) where
he is not going to make it any worse ... you like that
competitiveness, Carr said.
Carr dodged questions about who was leading the
pack at running back. He said that all the competing
backs have earned the confidence of the coaches and
that they have all gotten better. Pierre Rembert missed
practice this week and has not impressed Carr as much
as some of the other backs.
"I would say that he has not had a great spring,"
Carr said. "And I don't think he's played like he's
capable of."
a
0
SOFTBALL
Freshman
0
unfazed by
'M' culture
and climate
By James V. Dowd
Daily Sports Writer
With dominance reminiscent of Flori-
da Marlin Dontrelle Willis during his
rookie year, Michigan freshman pitcher
Lorilyn Wilson has taken opponents by
storm this spring. Like Willis, success is
nothing new for her - she has pitched
in the National Championships every
summer since 1997 and was a second-
team high school-All-American last
spring. It was just a matter of showing
coaches, teammates and fans at the next
level what she is made of.
Coming into this season, Wilson
knew that she was joining a team with
two solid starters in sophomore Jennie
Ritter and junior Nicole Motycka. And
the newcomer didn't expect to see the
amount of action that she did during the
nonconference season. But when given
a shot, Wilson jumped at the opportuni-
ty to prove herself.
"The (nonconference) games defi-
nitely helped my confidence," Wilson
said. "It also gave the coaches a chance
to see what I could do, because they
had not really seen me in game situa-
tions before."
Undoubtedly, she left a good impres-
sion. Wilson has compiled a perfect 6-0
record with an incredible 0.50 ERA. She
has also struck out 55 batters. Despite
the impressive record she has ompiled
this spring, Wilson will likely see less
action during the young Big Ten season.
Though her statistics this spring might
not show it, the transition from high
school in Salem, Ore., was far from
seamless. Wilson was prepared to deal
with the academic rigors of the Universi-
ty - its academic reputation was one of
the primary reasons she chose Michigan.
The difficulty in her transition had to
do with with her pitching mechanics
and a sort of culture shock off the field.
"I didn't realize how different
(Michigan) is," Wilson said. "Like the
culture, just everything, the way people
dress, the weather. The weather is a
huge difference. It's cold."
Wilson is confident that shi chose
the right school and program to pursue
her education and softball career,
"(Michigan) had the combination of
everything I want,' Wilson said. "It's a
great school, I loved all the girls on the
team, and the coaches are outstanding. I
didn't feel like any of the other schools
that recruited me matched what (Michi-
gan) had to offer."
Dealing with the on-field transition
was a burden lessened by teammates
like Motycka and Ritter.
"When I got here in the fall, (the
coaches) were changing some of my
fundamentals," Wilson said. "It was
frustrating at first, but they were like,
'We've all been through it, you're going
to get worse before you get better.' That
was a big help."
By playing summer softball for so
long, she has run into many hitters that
she will face in West Coast, nonconfer-
ence games.
"Lots of the girls we have played
already, like (UCLA's) freshmen, I've
played against them before," Wilson
paid "it's neat T"e nlrae them in
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