0 Thursday September 16, 2004 sports. michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com SPb r id i i]jan ? u iv PORTS 12A w . ... ............ . eG Sophomore shines in starting role By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Editor When Michigan free safety Ryan Mundy was asked what he liked most about his position, the true sophomore starter didn't hesitate at all. "Getting interceptions," Mundy said. "Being a post safety, I can sit back and read the quarterback and break on the ball." The Wilkins Township, Pa., native - who comes from the same high school as Michigan wide receiver Steve Breaston - has had his oppor- tunities to catch the football in the secondary in his first two games as a starter. In the season opener against Miami (Ohio), Red Hawk quarterback Josh Betts had a pass bounce off a Miami receiver's chest, fly backward and fall into the hands of Mundy. Mundy then proceeded to run the ball back 38 yards, setting up Michigan's first points of the season. During last week's game against Notre Dame, cornerback Marcus Curry tipped a pass that Mundy laid out for and picked off, temporarily halting the Notre Dame momentum. Two games. Two picks. Not bad. Mundy hasn't spent much time in Ann Arbor sitting on the bench. When Michigan kicked off last season against Central Michigan, Mundy was there on the kickoff team. Now, after playing a year on special teams, Mundy is a young star on one of the most experi- enced units on the Michigan team - the second- ary. The unit includes Curry and likely future NFL first-round draft picks Marlin Jackson and Ernest Shazor. "They're a great group of guys," Mundy said. "They try to guide me throughout the way." Mundy says that Jackson, also a Pennsylvania native, has been a great mentor to him ever since he's been at Michigan. "We had that special bond because we're both from Pennsylvania," Mundy said. "He's really been a big brother to me ever since I got here. He's shared his experiences with me in how he got in trouble in everything. He's guided me in what I should do." Mundy impressed the coaching staff with his poise and has fit into the position with relative ease. "One of the reasons we played with him is that we liked his maturity," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He's a smart guy, and it was obvious that he didn't have to wait. I can say this - it's unusual for a guy to step in and start as a free safety and play as well as he has in the first two games. I can say what he has done has really been impressive." Mundy also considered going to North Carolina Wolverines lucky to have great fight song BRIAN SCHICK Schick Happens Admit it. You have one, too. Everyone has some quirky hobby that they keep hidden from everyone else. C'mon, I know that you like to save Happy Meal toys or collect sugar packets from restaurants or something equally eccentric. If it'll help, I'll go first. I love college fight songs. No, I really love college fight songs. It might have something to do with playing hour after hour of NCAA 2005, with the endless loop of fight songs blaring in the background. But somewhere in my colorful past, I decided it'd be worthwhile to learn the fight songs of all the schools the Big Ten. But first things first. To me, the fight song is the one thing that gets fans excited for their teams. While each individual fan's knowledge of his or her squad will vary consider- ably, each fan can unite celebrating a touchdown with the chorus of the school's fight song - it's the ulti- mate unifier between fans; young and old, students and alumni, casual fans and die hards. Players may come and go from a school, but the fight song remains constant. In the era of marketing taking precedent over tradition, school logos may change to increase jersey sales (I'm looking at you, Miami). You don't often hear of a school changing their fight song. One of the things NFL players often require rookies to do is croon their alma mater's fight song on the first day of training camp. As you can see, this is something I take pretty seriously. So can I make a public service announcement for a second? I always get annoyed when the Big House crowd boos the band playing the opposing team's fight song during the pregame intro- duction. I'm not saying I'm pulling for the opposition, but, as a fan of fight songs, I would at least like to hear it during pregame. Then I'll boo with you after they score a touchdown. Thanks. So anyway, with a critical eye, I've decided to settle all arguments by ranking the fight songs in the Big Ten. I probably could do all the 117 division 1-A schools (bringing up the rear: Temple), but that might be a little scary. So, without further ado: No. 11: Penn State The I I"' team to join the Big Ten also brings up the rear with "Fight on State." When you listen to it, it has no rhythm; the first half has a slow tempo, then suddenly speeds up half way through. And any song that uses old English ("victory we pre- dict for thee") needs to get the axe. No. 10: Michigan State As former Daily sports editor Brady McCollough once said, their fight song sounds like a carnival song. The "Falcone Fight" (what's up with that title, anyway?) sounds like something you'd hear on the merry-go-round. After numerous discussions with my friends who go to Michigan State, I've never gotten a decent answer to what a "vim" is ("Spartan teams are bound to win / they're fighting with a vim"). Another gripe I have is that their fight song doesn't have a chorus - it's just one long running story about how the Spartans "specialty is win- ning." The chorus is a must for fight songs, because who wants to spend two minutes singing the entire fight song after a touchdown? Also, why does it seem that the only word that Spartan fans know from this ballad is "weak" ("see their team is WEAK / we're going to win this game")? No. 9: Minnesota I'm not from Minnesota, but I have no clue what "Ski-U-Mah" means. It sounds like some lame attempt at an inside joke. Also, I'm not a fan of using cheerleader shouts in fight songs ("rah for the U of M"). It sounds like some lame 1950's version of a high school cheer. Rah-team, shish-boom-bah! In addition, Minnesota is too long of a name to spell out at the end of "The Minnesota Rouser." No. 8: Illinois Continuing with the "what-the heck-did-they-just-say?" category, Illinois comes in with "Oskee Wow- Wow Illinois." This might be anoth- er thing that every student learns at freshmen orientation in Champaign: ("OK freshmen, you must guard the secret of our fight song with your lives! No one must know it's just gibberish!") It's not all bad; I like the notion of a team "trotting out before you." Women might be a little upset when the song asks that "every man stand up and yell." See SCHICK, page 18A 44 Sophomore free safety Ryan Mundy picks off a pass against Miami (Ohio) in Michigan's season opener. The first-year starter has two interceptions in as many games. State and Pittsburgh, near his hometown, but it of town." was the allure of the Big House that brought him Instead, Mundy is part of an ever-growing to Michigan. contingent of players from Pennsylvania that are "This place is like no other," Mundy said. "(At playing at Michigan. In addition to Jackson and other places), I can't play in front 110,000 people Breaston, linebacker Scott McClintock and tight every home game." end Tim Massaquoi also hail from the Keystone Mundy also added that he never seriously con- State. Mundy is just trying to enjoy what he calls sidered playing for what used to be the biggest "the time of his life." football power in the northeast, Penn State. "I think the sky's the limit for him, because he's "I did (consider Penn State) early on," Mundy got good size, he's got good athleticism and he's said. "But (State College is) really not my type smart," Carr said. Newcomers excited to compete for Michigan By H. Jose Bosch For the Daily During its first game of the sea- son, the Michigan volleyball team traveled to Indiana to face Valparai- so. As the crowd roared and the band played loudly, freshman Lyndsay Miller just soaked it all in. "It was pretty cool to be on the floor and have everyone watching you play," Miller said. "To see all the people loving the game of vol- leyball - it was just awesome." Miller, along with fellow freshmen Katie Bruzdzinski, Stesha Selsky, Sarah Draves and Mara Martin, isn't just satisfied with being at the game - these girls are ready to play. The class of 2004 is the strongest recruiting class Michigan volleyball has had in its history, ranking sixth in the nation according to one prep magazine. The class consists of two state Players of the Year - Selsky (California) and Bruzdzinski (Illi- nois) - and four of the five recruits ranked as top-100 preps in the nation. Though the season is young, four of the girls - Martin has been red-shirted - have already contrib- uted to the team, and the future looks bright for Michigan volleyball. But the girls aren't feeling pres- sure. "I don't know if there's necessar- ily pressure," said Bruzdzinski. "It's just more testing yourself to see if you can step up to the challenge of college volleyball." Martin agreed. "You're here for a reason," the Monroe native said. "You're not here to show off your high school skills." This kind of attitude makes these girls a force to be reckoned with. They understand what it takes to be a Michigan volleyball player. "I feel you have to work extremely hard to represent the 'M' that you wear," Selsky said. "You work hard and you will strive to make sure that Michigan gets recognized as a great academic and athletic school." Said Draves, "I think it's some- thing that I'll be able to hold my head high for the rest of my life knowing I played for such a good school." The new fab five isn't all business. Each girl has her own personal favor- ite moment of the young season. "(Michigan senior) Sarah Allen slipped really hard on the floor and we had just changed shirts so it shouldn't have been wet and the whole gym just started laughing so hard," Draves said. Miller also had her own personal favorite moment. "I love it when we'll be playing in practice, scrimmaging hard and everyone's sweating like crazy and Sarah Allen makes a great diving dig and tries to get up and her legs just fly out from under her," Miller said. "She gets back up and she's ready to go again and it's just awesome." Aside from being role models and providing comic relief, the seniors have been a major help to the young guns. "I think the seniors have been great," Bruzdzinski said. "Honestly ... they always make sure that we know what we're doing. They've just been really good at taking us in and showing us what Michigan is about." During that first match at Val- paraiso, with each Crusader kill the crowd and band got louder and louder. "That crowd just makes me want to dig every single ball and do the best I absolutely can to let no balls hit the floor," Selsky said. 0 ALEX DZIADUOy/ Daly Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski hits the bail over the net against Oakland. Fans celebrate a touchdown over Miami (Ohio) during Michigan's opener. University Musical Society Half-Price Student Ticket 0 Sat, Sept 18 9 am 12 noon For one day only at the beginning of each semester, UMS offers HALF-PRICE TICKETS to students. This extremely popular event draws hundreds of students every year - last year, students saved over $104,000 by purchasing tickets at the Half-Price StudentTicket Sales. Some perfomances have a limited number of tickets available, so get there early! How does the Half-Price Sale work? It's easy! Just make your way to Hill Auditorium that a 11:11 A ._J:i_..:......, I I jr -