The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 13, 2004 - 7B
TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily
Cocaptain Ryan Churella pinned opponent Marcus Effner on Friday, helping Michigan coast to a 40-9 win over Cleveland State.
Frosh duo leads 'M to win
New'M'
tumbler
shines at
first meet
By Katie Niemeyer
Daily Sports Writer
How does a Michigan gymnast learn
to concentrate on the four routines she
has ahead of her, standing in the tunnel in
Crisler Arena, waiting to hear her name
called over the loudspeaker as smoke bil-
lows into her face?
She competes in the Maize and Blue
intrasquad meet.
The Michigan women's gymnastics
team held the intrasquad meet yesterday
to showcase its new talent and give its
four freshmen an opportunity to experi-
ence competing in the high-spirited home
meet environment of Crisler Arena.
"The intrasquad is so important for the
freshmen," coach Beverly Plocki said.
"They need to get it. They've been prac-
ticing, but, until they get into the arena
and have the smoke and the lights and the
crowd, they don't get it."
One of the new faces on the team is
freshman Katie Lieberman from Lake
Forest, Ill. As an elite-level gymnast, she
has the potential to add a lot to the Michi-
gan team on and off the apparatus.
"She has a positive attitude every
day," sophomore Lindsey Bruck said.
"And she's fun to be around. She makes
us laugh everyday with some freshman
thing she does."
Plocki took the opportunity yesterday
to see how Lieberman would perform
under pressure. She found her answer
in how well Lieberman approached her
weakest event, the balance beam.
"I think I was most impressed with her
in that she went out there and made her
beam routine (scoring a 9.575) because
she's the most nervous on it," Plocki said.
"I was really proud of her that she went
out there and showed a lot of confidence
and hit the beam routine."
Though Lieberman will primarily
contribute to the team on vault and floor,
her beam routine gave her a mental lift.
"It was a good confidence booster,"
Lieberman said. "I was definitely a little
nervous when I got up therer- a little
shaky - but I think as the season pro-
gresses I'll get more confident."
Lieberman was crowned vault cham-
pion at the U.S. Classics in Rochester,
N.Y. earlier this year. She has the abil-
By Mark Giannotto
Daily Sports Writer
It was a day of firsts for the Michigan wrestling team on
Friday.
True freshman Craig Gilleson and redshirt freshman Josh
Churella both picked up their first wins at Cliff Keen Arena en
route to the Wolverines' first dual meet win of the season.
No. 5 Michigan (1-1) was dominant in its 40-9 defeat of
Cleveland State (1-1).
The Wolverines started the meet out slowly, forfeiting at the
125-pound weight class when starter Mark Moos was unable
to make weight.
With Michigan losing 6-0 after the forfeit, Gilleson was
able to turn the tide for Michigan with a pin of Cleveland
State's Matt Shultz in 1:26 in the 133-pound weight class.
"I was real happy with the way Craig got us going tonight,"
Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "I really liked how he
came out so aggressively."
Gilleson got a quick takedown 30 seconds into the match
and was in control throughout. He was able to turn Shultz to
his back easily, and, after struggling for 40 seconds, Gilleson
picked up the pin.
"I was pretty nervous coming out and put some pressure on
myself," Gilleson said. "I got that cradle locked up tight and
pinned him."
Churella followed Gilleson and was able to keep the momen-
tum going by picking up a 4-1 minor decision on Cleveland
State's Mike Hurley in the 141-pound weight class bout.
" Churella took the lead with a takedown midway through the
first period and never looked back. He accumulated 3:09 of
riding time en route to his first collegiate victory.
"I thought Josh did a great job today," McFarland said. "He
really looked comfortable on the mat."
This was Churella's first appearance of the season. He has
been sidelined by a high ankle sprain.
"It took a long time for me to recover," Churella said. "I was
debating on whether or not to come back (for this match) or in
January, but I'm real glad I came back now. This is going to
help me get back into shape for the Big Ten season."
Despite his strong performance, Churella looked a little
rusty in his return.
"I think my technique was all right, but my mat shape was
not where it needs to be," Churella said.
Redshirt sophomore J.R. Muldoon had been wrestling in
Churella's place, and, although there have been no official
wrestle-offs for the 141-pound weight class, Churella will
probably be the starter come January.
With Churella's victory, the Wolverines regained the lead
for good
Michigan got four more pins and won eight of the remaining
nine weight classes after the consecutive victories by Gilleson
and Churella,
Co-captains Churella and Ryan Bertin were both impres-
sive, winning by pin and major decision, respectively.
"It was nice to get a win today before the break," Bertin
said. "This match is going to give us a good indicator of what
we need to work on before the season picks up again after
break."
Michigan has a three-week layoff before it resume its non
conference dual meet schedule. Michigan faces No. 13 Central
Michigan on Jan. 2 at Cliff Keen Arena.
MIKE HULSEBUS/aily
Freshman Katie Ueberman was the vault champion at the U.S. Classics earlier this year.
ity to make a huge impact on the team's
vault performance, but, if she can stay
confident, Lieberman can also contribute
on both bars and floor.
"She's been working really hard in the
gym," Bruck said. "She's an excellent
teammate, so she's a good addition to
the team. She can definitely help us out
in vault, which we've been lacking in the
past couple years."
Yesterday, Lieberman tied Bruck for
fourth place with a 9.775 on vault and,
even with a fall on bars, placed fifth in
the all-around with 37.850 points - .625
points behind the all-around leader,
senior Elise Ray.
Lieberman hopes that, as the season
progresses, she can keep improving,
especially as she adjusts to college-level
gymnastics.
"We didn't have too many meets in the
elite level, and so this will be a challenge,
competing every weekend," Lieberman
said. "And we don't practice as many
hours, so I think there's more pressure.
But I think it's more fun. Overall, I feel
confident about the season, and I hope to
improve as the season progresses."
Plocki knew coming in that Lieber-
man was a skilled gymnast, and Lieber-
man proved yesterday that she could be a
valuable asset to the Michigan team.
"I think Katie is an extremely power-
ful and dynamic athlete," Plocki said.
"And if we can get her adjusted to com-
peting in front of big crowds, she's going
to make a great contribution and have a
great impact."
U K
JASON COOPER/Daily
Tyrone Willingham will retum to the West Coast as Washington's new head coach.
Huskies pounce
on
Willingham
SEATTLE (AP) - Tyrone Willing-
ham agreed to become Washington's
third football coach in four seasons
yesterday, just two weeks after being
fired by Notre Dame.
Washington athletic department
spokesman Jim Daves announced the
hiring in a written statement.
Willingham was 21-15 in three
seasons at Notre Dame; after an 8-
0 start in 2002, the Irish went 13-15.
Willingham is familiar with the Pac-
10, going 44-36-1 from 1995-2001
and reaching the 1999 Rose Bowl
length of their first contract.
Last week, outgoing Notre Dame
president Rev. William Malloy
criticized Willingham's firing and
expressed concern over a growing
trend of schools that are searching for
"messiah coaches."
Washington athletic director Todd
Turner and the university president
met last week with Boston College
coach Tom O'Brien. He and Willing-
ham were the only known candidates
interviewed for the position, but
O'Brien withdrew Friday.
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