11A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 18, 2004
End of a coaster ride
Tanchon, Rothenbach end 'M' careers
By Seth Gordon
Daily Sports Writer
In the world outside college football,
where championships are decided in a
playoff, only one team can walk away
completely satisfied - the champion.
For outgoing senior captains Laura Tan-
chon and Rachel Rothenbach, Michigan's
one-goal loss last Friday to Detroit in the
first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer
Tournament was a bitter end to an up-and-
down season. But, it wasn't enough to sour
how they view their careers as collegiate
soccer players.
"Obviously I'm disappointed in the
way it turned out," Tanchon said. "But we
saw a lot of successes and still have a lot
of positive things that next year's team can
grow off of from this season."
"One of my goals coming into
Michigan was to leave the program
better than I came in," Rothenbach
said. "I think that definitely happened.
We hadn't made it past the second
round (of the NCAA tournament by)
my freshman year. Then we made it to
the elite eight and sweet sixteen. So,
I think it's all about the ride of going
through the four years. It's not the best
way to end it, but I still have a good
taste in my mouth."
After their sweet-sixteen appearance
last year, the Wolverines entered 2004
with high hopes, but got off to a slow start.
Michigan opened the regular season with
two losses at No. 5 Texas A&M and at No.
13 Texas.
The Wolverines returned home for
a 2-1 overtime win against Kentucky
which began an eight-game unbeaten
streak in the month of September that
vaulted Michigan to No. 16 in the
national rankings.
During the 7-0-1 streak, freshman
Melissa Dobbyn and junior Therese Hea-
ton emerged as the heart of Michigan's
offense, scoring 11 of the Wolverines' 17
goals. On the defensive side, sophomore
goalkeeper Megan Tuura picked up where
she left off in the 2003 NCAA Tourna-
ment, posting four shutouts and allowing
just five goals in those eight games.
Last year, the Wolverines relied heav-
ily on their stingy defense, which stymied
opponents long enough for the offense to
score timely goals.
Michigan continued to play solid defense
to start this season, but this year it jumped
all over its opponents on the offensive end.
Through 10 games, the 2004 squad out-
scored opponents 20-11, compared to last
year's team, which was outscored oppo-
nents 11-10 in the same span.
The combination of solid defense and
aggressive play from their forwards had
Michigan sitting on top of the Big Ten at
midseason.
Michigan's season took a turn for the
worse when No. 5 Penn State and No. 21
Ohio State came to Ann Arbor for a pair
of games in October.
The Wolverines struggled to scores
goals against both teams, despite numerous
scoring chances. Michigan lost a double-
overtime, 1-0 heartbreaker to the Nittany
Lions and tied the Buckeyes 1-1 after the
Wolverines failed to score in two overtime
periods for the second straight game.
"We peaked probably too early,"
Rothenbach said. "We peaked in the
middle of the season when we were on an
eight-game unbeaten streak. It's unfortu-
nate, but we still had a lot of fun. There
was a lot of team chemistry and it was def-
initely still a successful season at times."
For the rest of October, the Wolver-
ines found themselves in one of two
positions - either failing to cash in on
scoring chances in close games or get-
ting behind in the first half and falling
short in their second-half comebacks.
After their scorching performance in
September, the Wolverines went 2-5-1
in October to finish the regular season
at 10-7-2.
The late-season slide left the Wolver-
ines in third place in the Big Ten with a
6-3-1 record, and they headed into the Big
Ten Tournament unsure of their chances
to qualify for NCAA postseason play.
Michigan avenged an earlier loss to
Wisconsin with an opening-round, 1-0
victory over the Badgers in Columbus.
In the second round, the Wolverines fell
behind Ohio State 3-0 after just 20 min-
utes, and goals by Tanchon and fresh-
man Melissa Dobbyn were not enough
to overcome the deficit - Michigan
fell 5-2. Despite the loss, Michigan still
earned an at-large bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
In a twist of fate, Michigan returned
to Columbus one week later for the first-
round game and suffered a similar defeat
- this time at the hands of Detroit. The
TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily
Michigan senor Rachel Rothenbach started all 22 games on defense for the Wolverines this year.
Wolverines were down 3-0 by halftime
and their two second-half goals were not
enough to prolong their season, as they
lost 3=2 last Friday.
"Obviously, it was a disappointing end-
ing," Tanchon said. "We started off the
season a little (slowly), then we gained
momentum in the middle of the season.
We were really optimistic going into the
(NCAA) Tournament because we had a
great draw."
With no professional women's soccer
league, both Tanchon and Rothenbach
will now turn toward a new chapter in
their lives.
"I think when the days pass by and
at three o' clock I'm sitting in my house
somewhere, that's when it's going to hit
me more (that my soccer career is over),"
Tanchon said. "It will be interesting to see
what life is like without soccer because it
has been such a huge part of my life since
I was about six or so. It hasn't totally sunk
in yet, but I imagine in the next couple of
weeks it will."
After graduation in May, Tanchon will
look to turn her biopsychology degree
into a career in the pharmaceutical indus-
try. Rothenbach will continue coaching
youth soccer for Ann Arbor United before
traveling around the world next fall. Both
regard their time at Michigan and with the
soccer team as a vital experience.
"I've definitely grown a lot since fresh-
man year," Tanchon said. "I'm definitely
more of a leader now. I'm not afraid to
speak my mind. I think the team has
evolved, too, from four years ago. The
four years I've been here, it has grown
tremendously, so I can't imagine what it
was like 11 years ago (when the program
started). It was exciting to be a part of it for
four years and I'm interested to watch how
the program continues to do."
It will be up to Michigan coach Deb-
bie Rademacher to make sure next year's
team learns the lesson of this season.
"I want them to realize how quickly
things can turn in the world of women's
soccer in college," Rademacher said. "It
just shows us that we have to be at the top
of our game every time we come out to
play - because someone is always out
there and is able to knock you off. We
can't afford to rest or take a sigh of relief
or feel good about our last performance."
But Rademacher will have to do it with-
out Tanchon and Rothenbach.
"Every year we lose key and important
people," Rademacher said. "Then your
team finds a new identity. I look at the
group we have and it's exciting because we
have some of our big, core players coming
back. They are still going to be core play-
ers, but they will have another year under
their belt."
Michigan will look to Dobbyn, Tuura
and Heaton to be that core. But also look
for freshman Jamie Artsis, sophomore
Brenna Mulholland and junior captain
Stephanie Boyles to play major roles.
SUCCESS IN SOCCER IS MONTH-TO-MONTH
Looking at its results by month, it appears that the success of the Michigan wom-
en's soccer team was determined by the calendar.
August record: 0-2
Opponent
8/21 aEastern Micigan (No ib3tTox
8127 @, No. 5 Texas A&M
8129 4 No. t13 Texas
Result
L.2-F
L:4-2
September record: 7-0-
Opponent Result
9i3 K~entuck~y w2-
9,15Ohiow 3.1
9132 No, 22 Boston College W3-0
9117 Northwestern W 3-2
4119 No- 11Illinois w 1'-0
9/24 49Minnesoa W 1-0
9/26 C-Ow jW4-¢U
October record. 3-5-1
Opponent Result
10/ No 5Penn StaeL1
M ,3No, 25 Ohio SaeT 1--I
10/9 (Purdue w 1-0
110 IQflndiana w 1-0
1004 @Oaki ndL1-
10118 @Wis-onsin L 3-1
10125 Notra Dam, L
10/60 st'Weste Michigan W2-
November record: 1.2
Opponenti Result
114 No25 Wisconsinw -f)
11 / 12 leroi L 3-2.
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Senior captain Laura Tanchon was third on the team with 11 points this season.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Mono can't stop McCullough
U U
By Dan Ketchel
Daily Sports Writer
Swimming four consecutive laps
across a 25-yard pool without stop-
ping might be considered a challenge
Swimming 100 yards while com-
ing up sparingly for air and doing it
in just 53 seconds might be consid-
ered an achievement.
But conquering all of those obstacles,
while fighting off the effects of a fatigu-
ing virus, would be nearly impossible.
If you don't think it can be done,
talk to senior Michigan freestyle
swimmer Amy McCullough. She got
back in the water this past weekend
and swam the anchor leg in the 400-
yard freestyle relay while still recov-
ering from the lingering effects of
mononucleosis..
About four weeks ago, McCullough
started getting a fairly-consistent
fatigued feeling that kept her on the
bench for the first meet of the sea-
son. After feeling sick for quite some
time, she was diagnosed by the doc-
tors with having mono. Michigan
swimming coach Jim Richardson
took no chances with one of his star
athletes and promptly refused to let
McCullough in the water for the fol-
lowing week.
Begrudgingly, Richardson allowed
McCullough back into the pool for
light workouts in late October and
got her on a very slow and gradual
plan of getting back to full strength.
"We're trying to be very conser-
vative with her return to the pool
- also with her dry-land training,"
Richardson said. "We're gradually
increasing the volume of what she's
doing so, she gets some nice adapta-
tion and hopefully by January, she'll
be back to 100 percent."
This seems pretty far off for an
athlete who has already got back into
competition after being so ill. But
McCullough thinks that Richardson
has her right on pace. She still appears
to be feeling the residual effects of the
virus, as she is still unable to partici-
pate in full workouts with the team.
Even the carefully laid out plan which
has been set up for her leaves her
exhausted after practice each day.
"Sometimes I'll swim half of a
workout and I'll be completely beat,"
McCullough said. "I'm hoping to be up
to full training by the end of semester.
If I work hard during Christmas break,
I should be back at full strength and
swimming my fastest by January."
Nobody is more anxious for
Amy to get back into competition
than Richardson, especially seeing
her demeanor on the sidelines. It is
apparent to him that not being able
to race has not at all fit with plans
for her last year with the Wolverines.
Both McCullough and her teammates
feel the impact of her absence.
"Each day, we're watching to see if
that day's better than the day before,
Richardson said. "We're watching for
signs of e.nergetic progress. I know
she's not going to be content until she
sees some signs that things are mov-
ing in that direction significantly."
The hardest part of being absent
from competition for McCullough
is the time she loses with her team-
mates. Because of her current cir-
cumstances, she is not always on the
same practice schedule as the rest of
the Wolverines and has had to miss
the last few road trips where the team
really connects. Luckily for Michi-
gan, McCullough will be back on the
road this weekend as the Wolverines
head down to Bloomington for the
Indiana Invitational.
* Tigers ink Percival for two years
DETROIT - Free agent Troy Percival and the Detroit
Tigers agreed yesterday to a $12 million, two-year contract, a
move that will lead to Ugueth Urbina becoming a setup man
or getting traded.
Percival, 35, was 2-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 33 saves last
season with Anaheim. The Angels made no attempt to re-
sign him and plan to use Francisco Rodriguez as their closer
in 2005.
Percival was fourth in the AL in saves, reaching 30 for
the seventh straight season, the longest streak by an active
pitcher.
"We're extremely pleased to have a person of his makeup
and his ability to bolster the bullpen," Tigers president Dave
Dombrowski said.
Coming off a $21.25 million, three-year deal that paid him
$7.5 million in 2004, Percival gets $6 million in each of the
next two seasons. He thinks Detroit can win the AL Central
next season.
"They've got the players to do it and they've got the com-
mitment from the owner to do it," he said.
cival, who had meetings scheduled with several other teams.
"That's why it happened so quick."
Percival made his decision to sign with Detroit on Tuesday
night while dining with Dombrowski and his staff.
"My steak was coming, and I was hungry," the pitcher
joked.
Percival had been with the Angels for his entire 10-year
career. He's 12th on the career list with 316 saves and has a
29-38 record.
"I'm looking forward to coming here and making Detroit
baseball what it used to be,' Percival said.
L5NATI C5
The Blunatics, the student cheering section for the U of M Women's
Basketball team, are looking for students who are passionate about
Wolverine athletics and basketball to hype up the crowd and support the
Women's Basketball team in their quest for the 2004-2005
Big Ten Championship Title!
We will be holding a Blunatics organizational meeting in
Crisler Arena at 6:00 PM on Nov. 22nd to talk about
the upcoming season with
special guest Coach Cheryl Bumett.
;.