McPhilamy ~unfazed b bumpy road By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer BreAnne McPhilamy is a survivor. In her four years at Michigan, the senior has experi- enced some of the most turbulent times in the history of the women's basketball program. She's played for two coaches, dealt with sporadic playing time and seen dozens of teammates come and go. By all accounts, McPhilamy has handled it all with class, seeing through her commitment to the Wol- _ verines. And now, after an offseason spent strengthen- TONIGrT ing her body and working M > hgan>vsAustrian on her game, the 6-foot-2 l.stitut.ofport forward is ready to make her T biggest impact yet. "What she did from the end of (last) year to the first day of practice has been phenomenal in terms of her work ethic, commitment, what she did in the weight room," coach Cheryl Bur- nett said. "We test players on their physical aspects - how fast they sprint, how much they lift. Bre's just made incredible improvements from a year ago." In Michigan's first exhibition game against Athletes in Action, McPhilamy's improvement was obvious. During her 16 minutes of playing time, McPhilamy went 5-for-7 from the field, scoring a career-high 10 points and pulling down four boards. Apparently, McPhilamy remembers a thing or two from her days at Portage Northern High School, where she averaged 18.5 points per game as a senior. "It felt good," McPhilamy said. "I was getting a lot of good screens from people. They were just looking for me, and I was hitting shots when I was open. I give a lot of credit to my teammates for helping me out, get- ting me open, and getting me the ball." While McPhilamy looks poised to have her best sea- son on the court, her biggest impact might come off of it. She has made herself readily available to the Wol- verines' seven freshmen, providing academic assis- tance as well as a place to relax. "I try to do what I can to help them out if they have questions about school or if they need help with study- ing," McPhilamy said. "I helped someone out with a paper the other day. I've been able to have them over my house a lot, so we can hang out in a non-basketball setting." Her coach is especially impressed with the example McPhilamy sets for the younger players. "In the classroom, (McPhilamy) is a tremendous example of responsibility," Burnett said. "And off the floor, there could not be a better ambassador for Michigan. There could not be a better ambassador for women's basketball." This praise is even more impressive considering the adversity McPhilamy has faced in her Michigan career. The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 13A ._.. ._V __.. ..! .! _.. . . __t _ .. Bowman eager for fast start By Sara Livingston Daily Sports Writer Now that the men's swimming and div- ing season is underway, Michigan coach Bob Bowman is hoping to do what no other active coach in the Big Ten has done - win a Big Ten Championship during his first year with the team. With 18 returning swimmers - three of them Olympians - it would seem as if the team is in the perfect position to win the tournament after coming in second last year. Although it's only November, and the tournament is in late February, winning this tournament is on all of the swim- mers' minds. However, Bowman isn't ready to pencil his team's name on the trophy quite yet. One of the main problems Bowman foresees for his team is its lack of depth. "Depth is by far our biggest problem, and getting enough guys in the top five to score the points," Bowman said. "We have the top-flight guys to win events, but get- ting the third-, fourth- and fifth-place guys will be the toughest part." Many of the other swimmers also pre- dict depth will become a problem during the Big Ten Tournament. The tournament winner is decided by points. While the Wolverines can easily win a large majority of the events, they will still need to accu- mulate points from lower-place finishes, and their problem will ultimately lie in get- ting more swimmers to qualify for those final races. "The depth is a little bit of a problem and that should get a little bit better - and we hope to win Big Tens, which is our goal right now,"senior Andrew Hurd said. "But it will be hard to score those big numbers needed to win a Big Ten." The team is hoping to tackle this prob- lem early in the season, by making sure it has each event accounted for so it will be fully prepared when the tournament comes around. "We have the distance events covered pretty well right now, it's just the shorter events, the shorter freestyles," said Hurd. "We're going to have to have to use some of our distance swimmers - which we have a lot of - in some of our shorter events. (It's) something we normally wouldn't do, and that's just a depth problem." Bowman is eager to improve the team's start and turn times - problems he noticed during a meet against Eastern Michigan on Oct. 29. This could hurt the team as times usually come down to frac- tions of a second. While the team's freshmen have shown great promise early on, coach Bowman is looking for more long-term improvement from them. "I think that as we go, we are going to have to get improvement from (the fresh- men) or our Big Ten finishes aren't going to be what we want," Bowman said. "That's what I'm looking for them to do. And move up to where they can be big scorers in the Big Ten (Championships)." Contrary to what Bowman and many of his teammates believe, senior captain Nicholas Douville feels that by the time the Big Ten Championship rolls around, the freshmen will be more than prepared and ready to step up and contribute to the team's success. "The depth issue is just because our freshmen are not as well known out- side the state of Michigan," Douville said. "But what we have seen internal- ly - the work ethic from them and a lot of returning guys - I think people will step up and make the depth issue not an issue at all." RA IiN ' Lm iy Michigan senior BreAnne McPhilamy has outlasted tough times as a member of the Michigan women's basketball team. A first team All-State selection as a high school senior, she came to Michigan the year after its last NCAA Tournament appearance. But beginning in McPhila- my's freshman year, the program took a turn for the worse. The women's team's struggles went far beyond not making the Big Dance - the Wolverines limped to a 9-23 Big Ten record over her first two seasons. To add insult to injury, McPhilamy played just 71 minutes during that span. Following McPhilamy's sophomore season, former coach Sue Guevara resigned, opening the door for Bur- nett's tenure. While the new coaching staff brought a fresh sense of optimism, the transition wasn't easy, and Michigan finished the year with a 14-17 record. After the season, many of Guevara's recruits transferred or quit the team, leaving McPhilamy, senior Tabitha Pool and sophomore Kelly Helvey as the only returning players on this year's squad. Poised and optimistic, McPhilamy has taken it all in stride. She's shrugged off the disappointments, the turmoil and the roster turnover of the past three years. Now, without a hint of bitterness, she's looking for- ward to a successful final campaign in Ann Arbor. "Change has been good," McPhilamy said. "I really like the coaches, and I'm excited for what they're doing here. (Pool) and I have both been through a lot, so we've had a lot of experience dealing with situations. It's made us stronger people on and off the court." McPhilamy and the Wolverines will face off against the Australian Institute of Sport tonight at 7 p.m. in Crisler Arena. * COLLEGE FOOTBALL Pair of State wideouts arrested for explosions EAST LANSING (AP) - Two Michigan State football players have been charged with planting home- made bombs outside apartments. Terry Love and Irving Campbell, both 19-year-old redshirt freshmen wide receivers, were arrested Tuesday morning as they left the scene of the first explosion, police said. A second bomb exploded shortly afterward, and a third was detonated by the Michigan State Police bomb squad. The men said they planted the homemade bombs outside doors at Spartan Village as a prank, campus police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Tay- lor said. No one was hurt and there was no property damage, McGlothian- Taylor said. The devices were described as "MacGyver bombs," which are typically plastic bottles filled with a chemical and aluminum foil that react. Love and Campbell were charged with possessing a d'an- gerous chemical compound and released on $500 bond after being arraigned Tuesday. If convicted, both could face up to 90 days in jail and a $100 fine as part of the misdemeanor, McGlothian- Taylor said. Coach John L. Smith will let the legal process play out and take any action, if necessary, after that, said John Lewandowski, assistant ath- letic director. Love had a breakout game against Iowa, catching nine balls for 103 yards. The up-and-coming receiver also scored a touchdown against Minnesota. Campbell is a rarely used player from Lake Worth, Fla. TONY DING/Daily Chuck Sayao and the men's swimming and diving team are looking to answer questions about the squad's depth. EXH IBITION Continued from page 12A and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Despite early foul trouble, he also logged six assists. "I think every player goes through that maturation process, and I think I went through that last year," Horton said. "Hopefully I can come out and show that I have improved as a player this year." When both Horton and Abram did encounter foul trouble, Harris picked up the slack. Though he shot just 5-for-14 from the field, Harris played 39 minutes and recorded 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the process. "I don't think I'm settling for all threes and wandering around the perimeter," Harris said. "I'm cutting hard, I'm getting the ball and I'm trying to create inside the lane, as well as outside for three." The Wolverines begin regular season play on Monday in the Preseason NIT against Binghamton. If they advance, they would await the winner of the game between Colorado and College of Charleston on Wednesday in Boul- der, Colo. 0 MEWS SOCCER STurpln hopes for fond farewell By Anne Uible Daily Sports Writer Senior Mychal Turpin wants to play professional soccer. He's majoring in soci- ology, but his exactly per- tain to his major area of study. But before he moves on to post-gradu- ate life, Tur- pin will give college soc- cer one final shot. post-graduate plans don't TODAY Ohio State at k Micgn Times 3 pm ' parents to put him on a team. While grow- ing up in Pontiac, Turpin played both club and high school soccer. His club team, Vardar, won state cham- pionship titles in 1998 and 2001, while his high school, University of Detroit Jesuit High School, was the 1999 Division I state runner-up. When it came time to pick a college, Michigan was the obvious choice. "My brother was playing on the team and having a good experience," Turpin said. "I also knew Michigan had a great balance of academics and athletics, so it looked like a good place for me." Turpin fit well on the team, and not just because his brother was an upperclassman. As a freshman, Turpin started all 18 games on the schedule and tallied 10 points in the season with three goals and four assists. His first career goal as a Wolverine was off of an assist by his brother in a game against Michigan State. Over the next three years Turpin set the curve for the Michigan program by break- ing several pivotal records: Career points (85), career goals (33), career shots on goal (86), career shots (152) and number of goals in a season (14). "Mychal is a special player," Burns said. "He's special because he can do things that very few players in the college game can do, and he does them at times when you think he's shut down." Burns says that he may not remem- ber how many records Turpin broke or how many goals he scored in the sea- son, but he will remember him for one particular reason. "I will always remember Mychal for those special moments in practice or in a game," Burns said. "Those moments when he gets the bench or the crowd on their feet and puts a smile on their face. That sums him up - he gets people excited about soccer." Turpin said it will be difficult to say goodbye to the team and the Michigan tradition. "It's been a positive experience play- ing here," Turpin said. "Every year we've improved with better players with more strength which makes me take pride in what we've accomplished here." Today, Turpin will lead his team into the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, as the Wolverines will face off against Ohio State at 2:30 p.m. This weekend represents Turpin's last chance to compete in Ann Arbor, and pos- sibly his last opportunity to compete at the at the college level. Winning the Big Ten Tournament would give the Michigan men's soccer team (1-4-1 Big Ten, 9-6-4 overall) its best shot to earn a bid to the NCAA Championship. "Mychal definitely has a professional future ahead of him," Michigan coach Steve Burns said. "He knows how to play the game and get people excited about what is going on." Burns has known Turpin since the player was in seventh grade, when Turpin's older brother Robert was a player on a Burns-coached youth soccer team. Burns has watched Mychal mature and grow over the past nine years. "Every year, he has turned into a more complete and polished player," Burns said. "When he first came into our program, he was mostly concerned with the offen- sive game or the glamour position. Now he's come to the realization that there is an importance for offense and defense on both sides of the ball and isn't above work- ing defensively." Turpin began playing soccer by default. His older brother and sister were involved with the sport, so it was just natural for his "U of M Shoots for a Cure" 3 on 3 basketball tournament Benefitting the Danny -leumann Foundation for Spinal Cord Research What: 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament When: Sunday Dec 5th Where: U of M Sports Coliseum Who: 3-6 people per team Email: shoot_for_cure@yahoo.com for registration information OR Visit the official website at http:Ilwww-personal.umich.edul-jaciewel The University of Michigan's Institute for Research on Women and Gender and Women's Studies Program present PMkdcha1ese for E deite-based Medi te 1t Wo men Health: New Ali.tces br a New Era. 2004 Vivian S aw Lecture