The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 13A

Year-round
training aids
Brannen, Blue
By Sara Uvingston
For the Daily
When it's January, and the wind-chill factor puts the tem-
perature at 30 degrees, most of the men's cross country team
is out running as part of its 80 to 90 mile a week routine.
Thirteen of the 19 runners on the team are also a part of the
men's track and field team as distance and middle-distance
runners, which requires them to train all year long.
Although running cross country involves a variety of sur-
faces and inclines, the training for the cross country season
and the indoor and outdoor track seasons are very similar.
"Training wise, it's basically the same," senior Nate Bran-
nen said. "It's just the races are usually shorter in track."
The majority of runners see the cross country and track
seasons as one, since their training seems to be endless.
"There isn't any transition, it's a continuation really
because all of the cross country runners run the same dis-
tance in track," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said.
As for the varying conditions and the physical wear from
running on a variety of surfaces, cross-country running is
more demanding overall.
The runners train together from August to June, and under
the guidance of Warhurst, who coaches both the men's cross
county and men's track and field teams. This energetic coach,
who has 31 years of experience at the helm of the Michigan
program, finds it pivotal to the team's success that the runners
spend time together.
"It takes a while for a distance coach to get to know the ath-
letes," Warhurst said. "You know their times from high schools,
but you don't know how they are going to respond to me and
the way I coach. Some of them are scared to death of me when

Harriers prepare for nation's best

DAMVID TUMAPN/Dl~dy
Senior Nate Brannen runs a grueling 80 to 90 miles a week.
we first start and then some of them adjust right away."
Brannen is an eight-time NCAA All-American in three
different sports - cross country and indoor and outdoor
track. In addition he is a back-to-back NCAA title winner
and is constantly leading the 19-person cross country team
by example.
"He is very quiet about his leadership," Warhurst said. "He
leads by example, and I think he is totally respected by the
athletes and he tells people what he thinks."
To make sure there are no bumps in the trail for the incom-
ing freshmen, Brannen developed a big-brother program where
each upperclassman is assigned to a freshman, easing their
transition into college and their new role as a student-athlete.
"I think it's a great idea, and it gives them the opportunity
to come and approach us without the feeling of being scared
to talk to the upper classmen," senior Nick Willis said. "It
means I can call (freshman Victor Gras) up even if I don't
have a reason and tell him to get to bed, and he has to listen
to me, which gives me a bit of authority, which is a bit of fun
as well."

By Ian Robinson
For the Daily
The Michigan women's cross country
team is sitting pretty right now with the
No. 3 national ranking behind the Provi-
dence Friars and the Stanford Cardinal
respectively.
"Stanford is loaded," Michigan coach
Mike McGuire said. "They would have
to come back to us (for us to beat them),
but we will continue to improve. Any
coach in the country would say that they
are the best team."
But a trip to Terre Haute, Ind., this
weekend will give the harriers a chance
to make a run for the No. 1 or No. 2 rank-
ing. The team will compete in the NCAA
Pre-National Meet, the biggest event of
the year so far.
This weekend's race has a different
structure than the others. With 85 teams,
the field is divided into two groups. Prov-
idence is not competing this weekend,
making Michigan the second-ranked
team in the meet.
"It will be set up as a bracket,"
McGuire said. "Stanford will be in the
other race. On paper, we are the No. 1
seed in our race."
Although they will not be competing
head-to-head with Stanford, the Wolver-
ines feel that the rest of the field will pro-
vide stiff competition.
"Even though we are ranked third,
there are other teams that are better than
their rank," senior Sarah Pizzo said.
The team must continue to provide a
maximum effort to maintain its ranking.
"It's all about consistency and hard
work," McGuire said.
Before the Notre Dame Invitational

on Oct. 1, Michigan was No. 6. But after
finishing second to Stanford, the team
found itself in its current position.
"We are ready to go coming off a good
race at the Notre Dame Invitational,"
McGuire said. "This is the biggest meet
of the year, so far."
Michigan has found consistency among
its top four runners - Rebecca Wal-
ter, Sarah Pizzo, Alyson Kohlmeier and
Andrea Parker - but that same steadiness
is not evident among the other runners.
"We are working on suring things
up beyond our fourth runner," McGuire
said.
In order to continue improving its

national rank, the runners behind No. 4
must continue to improve.
"Five, six and seven (Theresa Feldkamp.
Katie Erdman and Jessie Stuart respective-
ly) always run together." Pizzo said. "They
need to compete with one another to stay
strong throughout the race."
Although improving upon their finish
at Notre Dame is a daunting task for the
Wolverines, a solid performance at the
Pre-Nationals will set the team up for a
memorable end to the season.
"Hopefully, this meet will set us up to
accomplish our goals of being Big Ten
and NCAA Regional Champs," Pizzo
said.

The women's cross country team - including senior Sarah Pizza - hopes to
improve Its No. 3 ranking this weekend.

'M' cheer
becomes
tradition
for golfers
By Daniel Bromwich
For the Daily
"It's great... to be... a Michigan
Wolverine."
This line of a popular Michigan
cheer has quickly become the mantra
of the women's golf team, and it is due
to sophomore Brianna Broderick.
"We were on the road and we were
trying to teach Bri the rhythm of the
cheer, and she just couldn't get it,"
senior captain Laura Olin said. "But
she loved the cheer. She said it before
she played her round at the Lady
Puerto Rico classic, and then she went
out and had an incredible round, and
since then we have said it before every
round we play.
The cheer prior to the team's matches
is one of many contributions Broderick
has made to the team's success this year.
Through three tournaments so far this
year, she leads the team in stroke aver-
age, and she is the only member of the
team to have an individual first-place
finish this year. Broderick attributes the
success to her great summer, and her
mental maturation.
"Last year I was too worried about
school and classes while I was on the
golf course, and I was not able to com-
pletely focus on my game," Broderick
said. "Coming off my summer, now I
know how to balance school and golf
and stay mentally tough throughout a
match."
Her teammates have noticed the
difference, too.
"Bri has learned how to score well
,even when she isn't shooting her best,"
Olin said. "Before, if she was shooting
badly, she would get discouraged and
finish poorly. Now she knows how to
fight through it, and still finish strong.
This year, she finishes with a 74 on a
day where she isn't shooting her best,
whereas before she would finish with
an 84"
Fellow sophomore Ali Stinson,
who shared the women's golf new-
comer award with Broderick last year,
has also noticed the difference in her
teammate's mental approach.
"Her mental game has really
improved, and she is focusing and fin-
ishing her rounds much better," Stin-
son said.
Stinson has noticed that Broderick
has become a "really consistent ball-
striker."
Consistency is a clear indicator of
the mental control a player has over
the game, and Broderick's goal is
exactly that. She wants to shoot good
scores consistently, and she does not
want any "roller-coaster years."
Broderick said that she is very con-
sistent in the way she prepares for
tournaments - whether it be a small,
unimportant summer tournament or
the Big Ten Championships.
"I practice hard and I trust my

Dore, Vozza use practice to push each other

By Chastity Rolling
Daily Sports Writer

ELISE BEHMAN/Daily
Sophomore Brianna Broderick was the
inspiration for the team's adopted cheer.
I want that weight on my shoulders. I
like the pressure."
Her teammates want her to have that
pressure, too, since she has certainly
looked like she can handle it. Olin
decreed that Broderick "is going to be
a great captain someday." Broderick
will probably just say that it's great to
be a Michigan Wolverine.

At the Northern Intercollegiate in Madison last
month, sophomore Kevin Dore and junior Chris-
tian Vozza tied for seventh place. Together they
led the Michigan golf team to sixth place of 13
teams. The team will travel to the Duke Intercol-
legiate in Durham, N.C., this weekend, and Dore
and Vozza will play to break their tie.
Dore came to Michigan with high golf honors
from high school as a 2002 American Junior Golf
Association All-America honorable mention. He
was also ranked No. 2 among Ontario junior boys
in 2002. But the sophomore has developed greatly
since coming to Ann Arbor.
"He has a great junior golf record," Michigan
coach Andrew Sapp said. "And he has a strong
desire to improve."
Vozza shares the drive to improve. He also
boasted impressive credentials entering Michi-
gan, being named first-team all-state three times
and honorable mention all-state once. Vozza, who
had the lowest stroke average last year, wished to
remain on top of his game and this summer went
to Dave Pelz Scoring Game School in Glen Arbor.
He worked on his short game techniques, such as

chipping and putting.
Both athletes have worked hard to enhance their
golfing techniques and have some common goals
this year: to improve their individual games and
to establish themselves as team leaders. With the
similarities in their intense training and efforts
to lead their collegiate team, it didn't come as a
surprise that they battled to a standstill.
"(Dore) hopes to win individuals, and (Vozza)
came in this year with a desire of being all-con-
ference," Sapp said.
Though their individual goals differ, their com-
petitive spirit does not. Dore and Vozza partake
in competitive one-on-one scrimmage golf tour-
naments with each other on a normal basis to
improve their game.
"I enjoy (internal) competition in golf because
it is a lot more mental than other sports," Dore
said. "And the tournaments help me control how I
play (in the conference tournaments)."
Dore uses competitions to enhance his mental
ability during actual tournaments. Vozza feels
internal competition has long-term and short-
term benefits.
"Competition within the team is awesome,
because it makes me better," Vozza said.

TONY DING/Daily
Sophomore Kevin Dore has a healthy competition going
with Junior teammate Christian Vozza.

- U * -- ~ p ' ~ p-u.

"THE GREATEST

BURRITO OF ALL
TIME
-MAHATMA GANDHI"
Gandhi died in
810 S. STATE ST. 1948. But rumour

r

OPEN UNTIL 4AM

has it that he would
break his fast with
BTB.

mmmmm


-Umm m mm e U.e- w


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