2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 20, 2004 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY Wu woos Michigan with her table tennis skills Athlete of the Week By Ben Vass For the Daily If you had a class with her, you might not expect you were sitting next to a student who was just two spots away from making the U.S. Olympic team. If you walked by her on campus, the 5-foot-6 freshman from Potomac, Md., wouldn't look too intimidating. But in the sport of table tennis, Katherine Wu will own you. "You don't have to be big in table tennis, it's just a ping pong ball," Wu said. An internationally ranked competitor, Wu is expected to be one of the top players in the Michigan Table Tennis Club. Just recently, she was two spots away from making the 2004 U.S. Olympic team in table tennis doubles. Considering all the accomplish- ments on Wu's resume, she remains rather modest about her abilities. "It was doubles, so I had the help of my partner," Wu said. "My chances of actually getting into the Olympics weren't very good to begin with, but it would have been really cool if I made (the team)." Since the age of 8, Wu has competed in several nation- al and North American championships, 10 consecutive U.S. Table Tennis Opens and a number of junior and professional tours. Her record has boosted her current rating to 2,126 points, just 300 short of the top 25 (the top player has a score of 2,793). Now, Wu continues to participate on the Junior National Team and is happy to get the chance to play for Michigan as well. And her teammates are just as excited to have their new addition. "We had a really good freshman recruitment this year," junior table tennis club president Bryant Shain said. Even though Michigan has the largest collegiate table tennis club in the nation, Wu is only one of a few women competing on the team. Junior co-vice president Nicole Lynn Mellian was the first female to hold the position of an officer in the club's history and hopes to increase the female representation. "We're really trying to encourage girls to come out to join the team," said Mellian. To many, table tennis is played in basements where it is commonly called ping pong. It's known as a game where do-overs are likely and play is determined by house rules. In a game that is named for the sound its ball makes as it bounces across the table, Wu understands why some don't take it too seriously. "It's not a game like football or basketball," Wu said. "When I talk about (the sport), if I call it ping pong, I don't get very much respect. But when I call it table tennis, people think I'm trying to make it sound like some hardcore sport." While the sport is viewed as less intense by those in the recreational realm of table tennis, professional competitors commonly invest "hardcore" money in their equipment. "You'd never imagine that this paddle costs $140," Wu said, displaying a carbon fiber blade that is sur- rounded by two different sheets of synthetic rubber on the surfaces. Her paddle was made by her sponsor company, "Butterfly." Since table tennis isn't an NCAA-recog- nized sport, there aren't any rules governing player sponsorships. The paddle aids her in her signature move, "The Drop Shot." The move involves hitting the ball on a down stroke, increasing its backspin and loosing its momentum, effectively dropping the ball very close to the net on the opponent's side. The move proves difficult to return, especially when Wu plays against male opponents. "Guys tend to put a lot of top spin on the ball, and I always reverse (the spin) so the ball drops just on the other side of the net," Wu said. If the ball is returned, her opponent's only option is to pop the ball up high enough to get it back over the net, setting up Wu with a perfect overhand smash to drive the point home. On Oct. 1, Wu will travel to Vancouver to try to qualify for her second Junior World Championships, which will be held this year in Japan. As far as the next Olympics goes, Wu is keeping her options open. "I'm sort of looking into the next Olympics," Wu said. "At Michigan, I'm very busy with my classes, but we'll see. I'll let you know in four years." Name: Jessica Blake Hometown: Perth, Australia Team: Field Hockey Class: Senior Why: Blake led the No. 9 ranked Michigan field hockey team to an 11-0 shutout victory vs. Central Michigan on Friday with a four- goal effort. She added yet another goal to her record yesterday in the Wolverines' win over Northeastern. Blake's scoring total for the season is now 11 goals. Blake 'M' SC HIIIlJLE41 Date 9/24 9/24 9/24 9/24 9/25 9/25 Event Field Hockey at Indiana M Soccer at Rutgers W Soccer at Minnesota Volleyball at Iowa Football vs. Iowa Volleyball at Minnesota Location Bloomington Piscataway N.J. Minneapolis Iowa City Ann Arbor Minneapolis Time 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7 p.m. t WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Walter leads pack of dominant Wolverines Third time's a charm: M' spikers win agai By Erin Saling For the Daily The Michigan volleyball team bumped, set and spiked its way through the weekend's competition and was crowned tournament champion the third week in a row. Though the Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season at the Michigan/ Nike Invitational this weekend, they proved that it didn't shake them when they defeated nationally-ranked Ten- nessee in the tournament final. "We knew it was going to be a tough tournament for us," senior co-captain Sarah Allen said. "Virginia Tech, West- ern (Michigan) and Tennessee are really good teams, and we had to play our 'A' game because each night we played, the teams were going to get tougher." Michigan rebounded from its loss to Western Michigan from the first day of the tournament by defeating the previously undefeated No. 22 Lady Vols 3-1 in the championship match Saturday. The Wolverines won the first game of the match before they lost grip of the second game, which tied the match up at one. Tennessee found gaps in Michigan's defense and pulled away with a 12-4 lead. The Wolverines' hitting percentage dwindled to .024, one of their lowest percentages of the season. "We rolled over. We just let them walk all over us and that's not how we should play at home," Allen said. "We know that when someone comes in our gym and wants to beat us, they're going to have to fight. We came back out and played for the block 'M.' We played for pride." Michigan fought back with a resil- ient defensive effort. Sophomores Erin Cobler and Megan Bowman and fresh- man Lyndsay Miller exhausted the attacking efforts of Tennessee, record- ing an impressive seven blocks a piece. "We knew we had to play great defense, pass well and execute, or else we weren't going to win," Allen said. Determined to send the Vols back home with a flaw in their perfect record, Michigan released its offensive prowess late in the match. Senior Lisa Gamalski recorded her first triple-dou- ble of her career, collecting 10 digs, 21 kills and 42 assists. Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski, senior Jennifer Gandolph and Bowman successfully combined for 36 kills. In the first round, Michigan pounced on Virginia Tech, 3-0, to advance to the semifinals. Bruzdzinski led the Wolver- ines with a stunning eight aces and 12 kills, while Miller owned the net with seven blocks. Michigan lost its first game of the season on Friday. Gandolph set a new school record for career digs in the sec- ond game. She finished with 15 digs and 14 kills, marking her first double- By Jack Herman For the Daily EAST LANSING - After an impressive showing at the Indiana State Invitational last week, the No. 7 Michigan women's cross country team came out strong Friday. The Wolverines placed six runners in the top 10 at the Spartan Invita- tional, a nonscoring team meet. Despite the positive performance, Michigan coach Mike McGuire still feels the Wolverines can perform at a better level. "I thought it was okay," McGuire said. "There were a few things bet- ter than last week, but not necessar- ily collectively." Team depth was one area of con- cern for McGuire. "We need to sure up a bit beyond our fifth runners," McGuire said. McGuire also noted that some of the younger runners need to get used to the 6K races that will be run at this year's remaining meets. Last week's meet at Indiana State was only a 5K. One big surprise of the race was Michigan State freshman Danette Doetzel. She won the race with a time of 20:52, beating Michigan junior Rebecca Walter, the defend- ing Big Ten champion, by 21 sec- onds. Walter finished in second place with a time of 21:13. "It was a little bit of an off day for Walter but she will be fine," said McGuire. Walter - who was Michigan's top runner for the seventh time in a row - did manage to catch Doetzel mid-race. But then she herself held back, assuming Doetzel would fade. But the Spartan freshman kept her pace and went on to win the race. "She had more heart than I thought," Walter said. "Coming off the race last week we were not as fresh, but there were good perfor- mances from certain individuals." McGuire did mention many posi- tives to take out of the race such as strong performances by freshman Jackie Gaydos (21:51) and sopho- more Katie Erdman (21:57), who came in sixth and eight places, respectively. Seniors Sarah Pizzo (third place, 21:19) and Andrea Parker (fifth place, 21:31) also ran strong and stayed together for most of the race. "It's nice to have someone to lean on," said Parker about running next to Pizzo. "It really makes the race go quicker." Junior Theresa Feldkamp rounded out the top 10 for Michigan - she came in 10th with a time of 22:03. Freshman Alyson Kohlmeier was held out of the race because of a small hip problem. Next up for the Wolverines is the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1. The race will include many of the bet- ter teams from across the country. "We will be tested at Notre Dame," McGuire said "Stanford (the No. I team in the country) will be there." MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Michigan takes control Freshman Lyndsay Miller, along with sophomores Erin Cobler and Megan Bowman, each racked up an impressive seven blocks In their game against Tennessee. double of the season. Bowman and Miller worked together for an impressive 36 kills as Gamalski also recorded a double-double with 54 assists and 10 digs. Michigan has a record of 9-1 and 1-0 against ranked opponents in 2004. The Wolverines open the Big Ten Confer- ence season this week with matches against Iowa and No. 1 Minnesota. It's fun. It's challenging. It's Innovative. It's P&G. in caY OLAY DEPARTMENT OF STATE U.S STUDENT FULBRIGHT PROGRAM administered by the INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION utaRIGH The U.S. Department of State U.S. Student Fulbright Program funds graduate study or research abroad in academic fields and professional training in the creative and performing arts, as well as teaching positions. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent by the beginning date of the grant. For more information, visit: http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/fulbright/index.htm or contact the U-M Fulbright Program Advisor at the International Institute at 763-3297 or at iie.fulbright@umich.edu. Application deadline for U-M students is September 23, 2004 at Spartan Invitational 4 ust n case. you want a challenge Olay Daily Facials INTERACTIVE ON-LINE case study: Give us an hour, and we'll give you an innovative way to experience product case studies. Work with a team of players from all functions to defend your new market share against the competition. Washtenaw Community College RESEARCH ANALYST STATISTICS AND SURVEY Washtenaw Community College The Research Analyst will participate in all phases of quan- titative and survey research including the design and implementation of research projects and institutional stud- ies. (This is a full-time temporary position currently funded through June 30, 2005. No continuing employment rights are inferred). The successful candidate shall possess a recently earned Master's degree in Statistics or in a social science (sociol- ogy, education, psychology) preferably completed within the last five years. Coursework must include at least four graduate level statistics courses beyond basic statistics. Applicants anticipating completion of Master's degree by the end of the Fall 2004 semester are encouraged to apply. Completion date must be specified. In addition the candi- date must possess an advanced knowledge of basic and inferential statistical methods (sampling, multiple regression, multivariate techniques), survey research design and ap- plied research methods. Equivalent of one year full-time work experience in social science research preferred. Starting salary is $35,065 - $38,571 dependent upon edu- By Mark Giannotto For the Daily EAST LANSING - The Michigan men's cross country team put on a domi- nating performance at the Spartan Invi- tational on Friday. The Wolverines had nine of the top 14 finishers in the unscored meet. Freshman Michael Woods turned in an impressive second place finish with a time of 24:56 for the Wolverines, who were without senior captain Nate Brannen and 2004 Olympian Nick Willis. "It was my call to hold Nate out,"Mich- igan coach Ron Warhurst said. "He's going to run in two weeks and we'll be loaded up by (Pre-Nationals)." Woods was in the front pack for near- ly the entire race. He appeared to pull away with about a half mile to go in the 8K course, but was out-kicked by Oak- land University's Adam Frezza down the stretch. "It was an awesome course, but I didn't walk the end," Woods said. "I kicked too early and I think it cost me first place." Warhurst called the error a "typical freshman mistake." Many of the Wolverine runners ran extremely well. Senior Jonathon Kieliszak and sophomore Todd lacovelli both turned in career-best performancesinjust the sec- ond meet of the season, finishing fourth and fifth place, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 for the Wolver- ines were freshman Victor Gras, sophomore Andrew Bauer and senior Matt Mulvaney, who finished eighth through 10th. The field at the Spartan Invitational included rivals Michigan State and East- A Become elioible toI