2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 12, 2004 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY MagnUM truly makes ultimate experience a blast By SethGordon Daily Sports Writer What team would show up at midnight for a two- to-three hour practice at Oosterbaan Field House? It's actually the men's ultimate Frisbee team, maybe not your first guess. For those who aren't familiar with the game - it is known as "ultimate" to those who play - it is akin to rugby with a Frisbee, but also incorpo- rates aspects of soccer, football, and basketball. It's a non contact sport, played by two teams of seven, on an area similar to that of a football field. There are endzones on each end of the rec- tangular field. This simple explanation is just the beginning of understanding ultimate, and the Michigan team. The team goes by the nickname MagnUM, uphold- ing a tradition in ultimate to name your team some- thing besides the school's mascot. Seeing the energy and dedication the players put into their practice at the indoor facility - at 1:30 in the morning - one gets the feeling that there is some- thing special about this sport and this team. The level of sportsmanship and camaraderie in ulti- mate is so unique, it's actually built into the rules - there are no referees in ultimate. The game is self- policing, with players calling their own fouls. The camaraderie in the sport is so strong that it extends to the other team. Once the game is over, players feel just as connected to their opponents as they do to their own teammates. "I played a lot of sports all throughout my life, and I've never played a sport like this," sophomore Dave Collins said. "You can run all day on the field against opponents, and then hang out with them all night, and just chill. On the field you hate them. But then at night you have a great time. It's an awe- RULES OF ThE.GME Similar to f atha's kikof, ultimate begins with a pu«t" where one team throws the disc the length of the field The offense dvances the dis. down the fiel by passing the disc between players. The defense attempts to prvent the offense from advning by "marking" or cov-. erng offensve players much hke in soccer or basketball, A player cannot run with the disc he must establish a aixo root and he then has 10 second to throw the disc. If the disc;s dropped hits the ground or is caught Out of bounds it is considered a turnover or "skult at which si possess in ofthe disc goes to the defense and the affense must switch to defepse, A point is scoee ven the disc is caught in the end one, zuch ke a toucldown catch in football, Th actn begins 8ew with a freshputl There are two basc p.itions in ulimantethandlers and uttes. Hlandles usull have exelent disc skills and control the of£ense with horizontal passingacross the field Cue. ae simlar ta we receiversin football, stetchihe ieldv eticly with long pass routes. some sport." Perhaps the aura that surrounds this team can be understood by seeing of the diversity of the people in the sport, all united under one common bond. Sophomore Eron Cayedito sees this as a definite strength. "There's no greater variety of personalities than there is in the sport of ultimate frisbee," he said. MagnUM offers a unique experience to Universi- ty students. One that they can't get on any other team, varsity sport or not. "What I love about this team, is that I've gotten to travel all over the United States, to cities I never would never go to originally," fifth-year senior Sean Halladay said. "Boise, Boston, Baton Rouge, we're going to Seattle, San Diego, with a group of 25 of my best friends, in college, and basically my life, right now. And at the end of the year we get to go out and compete for a National Championship. I've never played in a sport like that before." The team has two coaches, head coach Ricky Eickstadt and assistant coach Jonathan Brodhag, but is run democratically. The major decisions are made by an elected "leadership group." This group includes both coaches and players in every class, from freshmen to seniors. "I don't want to run the team," Eickstadt said. "It's their team. I'm there to provide some mentor- ing and guidance. And I provide my 10 cents." Ultimate is physically demanding, requiring a great deal of stamina and conditioning. To pre- pare, MagnUM practices and trains year round, starting in the fall. Eickstadt actually boasts that his team's coniditioning habits could stand up to any varsity team on campus, short of maybe the track team. This past year, 100 students tried out for the team and only 25 made the cut. Practices in the fall focus on conditioning, and progress towards strategy and scrimmages as the season progresses. Ultimate offers excellent competition for students at the club level, with a comprehensive network of college teams around the country, and culminates in the National Championships. MagnUM has stepped up to the competition and advanced to Nationals in the last five seasons, fin- ishing in the top 10 each year. Currently, the team is preparing for the first round of the College Championship at the Michigan Sectional, to be played on Saturday and Sunday. From there, MagnUM hopes to advance to the Great Lakes Regional Tournament, where it could earn a sixth consecutive trip to Nationals. ahe AiNoan i ATH LETE OF THE WEEK Who: Kavitha Tiperneni Sport:Women's tennis Hometown: Galloway, Ohio Year: Senior Why: Tiperneni extended her winning streak to 11 matches yesterday with a victory in No. 3 singles over Indiana's Sarah Batty. Tipirneni fell behind 4-1in the first set, but battled back in exciting fashion and disposed of Batty 6-4, 3- 6, 6-3 to keep the winning streak alive. Tiperneni MONDAY, APRIL 12 No Events Scheduled. TUESDAY, APRIL 13 No Events Scheduled WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14 Baseball at Central Michigan Softball at Eastern Michigan THURSDAY, APRIL 15 W Gymnastics NCAA Championships Preliminaries FRIDAY, APRIL 16 Baseball vs. Illinois Softball at Illinois M Track/Field at Eastern Michigan Invitational W Track/Field at Mt. SAC Relays W Gymnastics NCAA Championships Super Six SATURDAY, APRIL 17 W Rowing at Michigan State W Tennis at Illinois M Tennis vs. Purdue Softball at Illinois Baseball vs. Illinois Water Polo Second Round W Gymnastics Individual Event Finals W Golf at Lady Boilermaker Invitational M Golf at Kepler/Cleveland Intercollegiate 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 7 p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA 11 a.m. noon noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. TBA TBA TBA 9 Backup- chelor Has quarterback Jesse Palmer found a new home after his stint on "The Bachelor?" By Eric Ambinder Daily Sports Writer SUNDAY,. Softball Baseball APRIL 18 vs. Penn State at Iowa noon 1 p.m. 0. I admit it. I watched "The Bachelor" on Wednesday. I'm the biggest New York Giants fan at this University, and if I could deal with the embarrassment of that playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers two years ago, I can deal with Giants backup quarterback Jesse Palmer being The Bachelor. After mulling over the future of the franchise, I realized Palmer's latest gaffe wasn't all that bad - his teammates have warmed up to the idea. Plus, with rumors of the Giants trading up to get Eli Manning, Palmer's future as a Giant is uncertain. And seriously, what sin- gle man wouldn't accept such an opportuni- ty? So, to help Jesse out (he is, after all, still a Giant), I'll evaluate what is better: his role as The Bachelor or his role as a quarterback. Rating: Memory: Odds of Ring: Runs from: Heartbreak: The field: Biggest critic: Depth chart: Biggest fear: Education: Experience: THE QUARTERBACK 59.8 as a quarterback (That's horrible) Can't remember defenses 1 in 32 300 lb. lineman each week 4-12 season with Giants last year Giants Stadium His boss (Giants GM Ernie Accorsi) Backup Sapp loves pretty boys Political Science and Business degrees Four weeks (all losses) THE BACHELOR 10.9 on ABC (That's good) Can't remember pretty girls' names 1 in 25 A stalker (as seen in preview) Inevitable 25 beautiful women Karen (he forgot her name) Starter Ending up with the spy. It's Jenny S! Earning another Bachelor's degree Six weeks (Lots of "playing" time) Host Chris Harrison EDGE Bachelor Quarterback Bachelor Bachelor Push Quarterback Bachelor Bachelor Push Bachelor Bachelor Push 7. Memphis 50-29 " This week: Posey kicks ball in stands, Williams ejected. It's okay because Grizz are playoff bound. 7. Kansas City 4-2 " Do you have Carlos Beltran on your Fantasy team? No? Tough luck. Yes? You're lucky, not smart. *I 9. Houston 44-36 , Houston has problems: lost seven of 10, waived Oakley and could drop to eighth spot in West. 9. San Diego 3-2 -Jimmy Carter threw out the first pitch at the $458 Million PETCO Field. Ouch! Stiffest competition: Kerry Collins Final analysis: 7-2, Bachelor - It looks like Palmer should quit his day job. f3I 8 l ~ Golfers searching for depth across the roster By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Writer Following its best tournament in nearly three seasons - a third-place finish at the Furman Intercollegiate two weeks ago - the Michigan men's golf team hoped to build on its success with a strong showing at the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette. But the Wolverines were confronted with a force stronger than momentum. Call it home-course advantage. Despite carding a solid 54-hole score of 901, Michigan finished 46 strokes behind winner and host school Purdue, placing 14th out of 18 teams. "Whenever you're playing a tourna- I ment on your home course, where your players have practiced a hundred times, the course you play day in and day out, you definitely have a great advantage," Michigan coach Andrew Sapp said. Sophomore Christian Vozza led the Wolverines for the second-straight tour- nament, carding a total score of 221 to finish in a tie for 27th overall. Freshman Kevin Dore finished tied for 31st, one stroke behind Vozza with a 222 total. "Basically, we're getting two good scores each round, but we're not getting numbers three and four, in order to fin- ish the round with good overall team scores;" Sapp said. Junior Rob Tighe, sophomore Bran- don Duff and senior Dave Nichols attempted to fill this role, finishing third, fourth an.d fifth, respectively. But uneven play over the two-day tourna- ment prevented them from scoring as low as they might be capable of. Despite their inconsistency, Sapp praised both Tighe and Nichols for posting low scores following a rough round. In addition to the strong play of Vozza and Dore, Sapp believes this ability to bounce back will help his team for the rest of the season. Michi- gan will also be able to make the most of a home-course advantage of its own when it hosts the Big Ten Champi- onships in early May. "I think it's a great advantage," Sapp said. "Our golf course isn't exactly dif- ficult, but there are lots of nuances with the greens. If you've played on it a lot, you definitely have an advantage." By beating Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin this weekend, Michigan has finished ahead of five Big Ten teams this season, one more than it beat all of last season. 0 Try All The Winning Vaneties! 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