2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 15, 2004 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY Ultimate not sport fo By Kevin Wright For the Daily What do stoners, dogs and a Frisbee disc have in common? Many students believe that Ultimate Frisbee contains at least one of these three elements, and the members of Michigan men's Club Ultimate Frisbee team get fed up with all the preconceived ideas people have about the sport. Dave Collins and Nick Siovan - two of the four team captains - want to end the stereo- types and clarify the true elements of the game of Ultimate Frisbee. "All the time, I get people coming up to me and asking if Ultimate Frisbee is the game with the dogs," said Collins. "There are no dogs, no holes and it's not just for stoners." Ultimate Frisbee is a game played between two teams with seven players on each team. The field is similar to a football field with two larger end- zones. At the start of a game, one team "pulls" the disc to the opposing team at the other end of the field. After a score, the team that has just scored repeats the pull. Overall, the goal of the game is to maintain possession of the disc, drive down the field and catch it in the endzone. "All the players know the plays and know where the disc is," said Slovan. "At the begin- ning of a possession, the defense is stifling, and the offense tries to break it open by throwing the disc to people downfield." Other nuances in the game include different kinds of offensive and defensive strategies that a team can use to gain an advantage. "The offense stacks in the middle at the begin- ning of a possession, and then they cut from the stack," said Collins. "There are different kinds of stacks - the iso, horizontal and vertical - depending on what you want to do." Since defenders can closely guard an offen- sive player, a variety of throwing motions are needed to advance the disc down the field. The backhand throw is the most common throw in the game while the forehand is used for quick side-to side-throws. Another important throw - the hammer - is the overhead throw used for throwing the disc over the top of the defender. It is such a valuable throw that Collins patented it "the demoralizer." In the fall, the team holds seminars for new players to learn the rules and techniques of Ulti- mate Frisbee. During the recruiting process, Slo- van and Collins look more for athletic students than just for students who can throw a disc with distance and accuracy. "Throwing is the easiest part of the game," said Slovan. "You can teach someone how to throw, but you can't teach athleticism. You need endurance for running up and down the field r the dogs and good jumping ability to catch the disc over defenders." While the fall season for the men's Ultimate Frisbee team is just a warmup for the real season in spring, the fall is used to integrate new players into the system. "The fall season involves getting the team to come together," said Slovan. "We have to teach the new players and bond as a team." Throughout the fall and the spring, the team travels to different tournaments. The Michigan Student Assembly provides it with a $3,000 bud- get, but it also has fundraisers to pay for tourna- ment entry fees, food and gas. Although the budget keeps it financially lim- ited, the men's Ultimate Frisbee team still finds a way to have fun. "It's a great way to stay competitive," said Slovan. "All but two on our team played varsity sports in high school. Even though we came to Michigan for the education, playing in a club sport allows us to get our competitive fix." In the spring, the season ends with sectionals, and if the team wins, it advances to regionals. If the team wins regionals it goes to nationals, the culmination of the season. In five out of the last six years, the team has gone to the national cham- pionships. "We have a lot of returnees from last year," Slovan said. "This year I think that we can do real well." lje £tgam Daft Athlete of the Week Name: Alyson Kohlmeier Team: Cross Country Hometown: Sarnia, Ontario Class: Freshman Why: Kohlmeier took third - her best finish ever as a Wolverine - at the NCAA Regional Championships in Ypsilanti on Saturday. Her time of 20:05.3 placed her Walter. Kohlmeier's stellar performance also helped the team take first and earn the NCAA Regional title. 'M' SCHEDULE "' 9 Date Event Location 11/15 M Basketball vs. Binghamton Preseason NIT 1st round 11/15 M Tennis 11/17 M Basketball Preseason NIT 2nd round 11/18 Wrestling 11/18 Ice Hockey 11/19 11/19 11/19 11/19 11/19 W Basketball M Swim/Diving M Basketball Volleyball W Swim/Diving Ann Arbor Madison Ann Arbor Bethlehem, Pa. East Lansing Tuscaloosa, Ala. East Lansing Sacramento, Calif. Madison Bloomington Columbus Evanston East Lansing Ithaca, N.Y. East Lansing Time 7 p.m. 10:15 a.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 8 p.m. 12 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. TBA 1 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:35 pm. TBA TBA 11/20 Football 11/20 Volleyball 11/20 Ice Hockey 11/20 Wrestling at Body Bar Invitational 11/20 Wrestling at Michigan State Open Tankers build Daily's NF16 Power Eight Rankings on dual-meet success By Dan Ketchel Daily Sports Writer Consistency. That's what the No. 17 Michigan women's swimming and diving team (2-0 Big Ten, 2-1 overall) is all about. Need proof? Look at its dual- meet conference record over the last four seasons. With the Wolverines' 126-112 victory over Ohio State this weekend, they have now won 12 consecutive dual meets against con- ference opponents. Their last loss came on Jan. 18, 2002. The Wolverines' latest conquest came over rival Ohio State at Can- ham Natatorium. The comfortable victory marked the beginning of their Big Ten dual-meet season, which they hope to keep perfect for the third consecutive year. But Michigan has a very differ- ent squad from last season, as it lost a lot of experience to graduating seniors. The Wolverines - who fea- ture 14 freshmen on their roster this season - have impressed Michigan coach Jim Richardson with their solid start. "I'm really proud of this team." Richardson said. "I think that they just have a lot of integrity in their preparation. They're sticking to the plan. We came into this meet want- ing to be sure that the way we race reflects the way we prepare. We pre- pare really well, and I thought we raced really well." The meet was highlighted by some impressive individual perfor- mances for many young Wolverines. Sophomore Susan Gilliam contin- ued to blow the competition out of the water single-handedly, taking both the 500- and 1,000-yard free- style races. Gilliam's performance was particularly amazing in the 1,000-yard freestyle in which she posted the second fastest time in school history (9:45.89), finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the next closest finisher and nearly two laps before anyone else. The Michigan 400-yard med- ley relay of junior Carolina Sierra, freshman Valeria Silva, sophomore Kaitlyn Brady and junior captain Abby Seskevics started off the scor- ing for the Wolverines with a pow- ,erful first-place finish. The victory was just the beginning for Brady - the sprinter and backstroker led 1-2-3 Michigan sweeps in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke. "I know everyone's still a little tired," Brady said. "This week has been really hard -training, so it was tough to go from that and then come into this meet. But I think everyone swam really well because we took this meet pretty seriously." Sophomore Lindsey Smith fin- ished on top in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle races. The fresh- man duo of Justine Mueller and Michelle Uhlig also finished first and second, respectively, in the 200-yard individual medley. With veteran divers, such as senior captain Alexis Goolik, taking a meet off and sophomore Ellen Van Cleve performing a little below par, the diving responsibilities fell on the shoulders of the freshmen talent. Up-and-comer Elyse Lee was the top Michigan finisher, taking second in the one-meter dive and fifth in the three-meter dive. The Wolverines will take a break from dual meet competition this Friday when they head to Bloomington, Ind. for the Indiana Invitational. i2. New England (7-1) e The win streak is over, but the Pats are still dominant. 4. Atlanta (7-2) e4 How does a team with the most exciting player go so unnoticed? * 6. Green Bay (5-4) * Next to the Steelers, the Pack own the league's longest winning streak. TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily Wolverine sophomore Susan Gilliam won the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races in this weekend's meet against Ohio State. Her time of 9:45.89 in the 1,000-yard freestyle was the second fastest in Michigan history. 8. Baltimore (6-3) * Ray Lewis can dance whicheverway he likes if he keeps playing this well. Daily's NBA Power Eight Rankings Students Fly Chea p er holiday travel, study abroad, spring break Visit StudentUniverse.com for cheap student airfares on the world's major airlines to 1,000 destinations across the US and around the world. Fly on major airlines for discount airline prices. Sample roundtrip Student Airfares from Detroit to: 2. Miami (5-2) * It's a fact - adding a little Diesel does make that much of a difference. 0 4. Utah (5-1) * The Jazz made major offseason moves, and are better off for it. A 6. Indiana (5-2) Q <'' Ron Artest has a rap album, and the Pacers are still among the East's elite. Miami New York Minneapolis/St. Paul San Francisco London Paris/Rome $194 $199 $209 $259 $225 $262 $429 $549 0l 8. Minnesota (3-2) " When Spree is happy, the T-Wolves could be the best in the West. Mexico City Sima . i 1j' L i1 d : r7 1 1! FOOD FOR THOUGHT The Protest Movement Food for Thought has reneatedlv 0 I m