2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 22, 2004
CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY
Fencing a sport of drama, skill
By Kevin Wright stantly squatting. Your hands need a lot of quick, members of the club fence a little away from
Daily Sports Writer small movements that have to be trained." the table. People notice swinging swords. It's
In the sport of fencing, there are three differ- something that you wonder how it's really done.
Every action movie needs an excellent battle ent categories: foil, 6pee and saber, from light- When you were a kid, you never knew it existed
scene. est to heaviest. The rule of right-of-way dictates as a sport. You come out here and learn how
Some of the best movie battles Diane Fian- the scoring in foil, but not in 6pee and saber much fun it is."
Ale oftem eeU
Athlete of the Week
Name: Greg Wagner
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Jnd
Team: Wrestling
i. Class: Junior
r1
s
d
v
Why: Wagner - ranked fourth in the country - won the
championship in thenheavyweight division of the Body Bar
Invitational on Saturday, helping the Wolverines capture a
first-place finish overall. Earlier in the week Wagner opened
up his season with a victory over Lehigh's Paul Weibel.
der saw involved sword fighting, and she was so
captivated that she decided to pick up a sword
herself. Fiander was involved in the sport before
coming to Michigan and has continued her fenc-
ing career on the club team.
"I saw movies and wanted to see how it really
works," Fiander said. "It seemed really fun. I
did it for a few years before I came here, and
then I saw that they had a club here and started
up again."
In the movies, fencing is drawn out, with two
contestants battling for an extended duration
of time. But in real fencing, the game passes
quickly with spectators hardly able to see all
the moves. A participant scores points by hitting
the opponent before being hit, and the first to 15
points wins the match.
In order to succeed, a fencer needs athletic
ability - especially good hand-eye coordina-
tion and fast reflexes. Depending on their domi-
nant hand, fencers only strengthen the half of
their upper body that they use to thrust, parry
and lunge.
"You're constantly moving," Fiander said.
"Your legs have to be strong because you are con-
matches.
To many people new to fencing, right-of-way
can be the most confusing. In foil matches, only
the person attacking can score a "hit." In order
to gain the right-of-way, the person on the defen-
sive must either wait for the attack to end, parry
the attack by thwarting the opponent's blade or
back away from the attack.
"It's important to be aggressive," Fiander
said. "If you attack and you know that they will
parry, you can try to move your blade around
their parry and still score a point."
A relatively unknown sport, fencing has
recently gained support and recognition through
the coverage it received during this year's Sum-
mer Olympics.
"A lot people were interested in fencing
because they saw it on TV," Fiander said. "They
think it's cool and want us to explain how it
works to them."
In order to recruit new members to the team,
the fencing club has to think of entertaining
ways to attract attention from students.
"We participate in Rec Sports Day," Fiander
said. "We have a stand at Festifall and have two
Throughout the year, the fencing team par-
ticipates in numerous tournaments that consume
most of a day.
In college tournaments, the three or four teams
participating take their top three fencers. At the
end of the matches, the team with the most total
points wins the tournament.
In individual tournaments, anyone who is a
member of the U.S. Fencing Association can
compete. All of the fencers are divided into
pools, and the final pairings are made by rank-
ings based on total points scored in the prelimi-
nary-rounds.
"During tournaments, you're stuck in the gym
from 8 a.m. until late at night," Fiander said.
"We bring snacks bought with the club money
because there's no time for real meals."
Not only do fencers on the club team enjoy
the tournaments, they also enjoy the friendships
that they form along the way.
"This team is amazing," Fiander said. "The
whole sport is fun. There's a lot of camarade-
rie and sportsmanship; it's like a dance. There's
a lot of technique involved and always room to
improve; it's never boring."
'M' SCHEDULE
Date Event
Location
11/22 W Cross Country
NCAA Championship
11/22 M Cross Country.
NCAA Championship
11/22 W Basketball
11/23 M Soccer
NCAA Tournament 2nd round
11/23 Wrestling
NWCA Marine All-Star Classic
11/24 M Basketball
Preseason NIT Semifinals
11/26 Volleyball
11/26 M Basketball
Preseason NIT Finals
11/26 Ice Hockey
11/26 W Basketball
11/27 Ice Hockey
11/27 Volleyball
11/27-28 M Soccer
NCAA Tournament 3rd round
11/30 M Basketball
11/30 W Basketball
Terre Haute, Ind.
Terre Haute, Ind.
Ann Arbor
Bloomington
Edwardsville, Ill.
New York
Ann Arbor
New York
Minneapolis, Minn.
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Madison
AnwArbor
TBA
Atlanta, Ga.
Ann Arbor
Time
11 a.m.
12:15 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
9 p.m.
7 p.m.
8:05
10
8:05
7
TBA
p.m.
p.m.
p.m.
p.m.
TBA
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
Injury no longer slows Parker .
By Daniel Bromwich
For the Daily
When Michigan coach Mike McGuire
began recruiting Andrea Parker for the cross-
.}' yk2 country team, he knew he would have no prob-
L. .. . ..4 , 7lem convincing her to come to Ann Arbor. Her
older sister, Tracy, had run for him at Michi-
gan until 1997, and he knew of Andrea since
x she was in 10th grade. -
But Parker, now a fifth-year senior, was not
ysure that she even wanted to run in college.
McGuire describes convincing Parker to join
the team as being like "pulling teeth," which
is ironic for a runner he says is "as into (run-.
44 ning) as anybody I've ever had."
Eventually Parker did join, and she cer-
^...tainly hasn't looked back, even though she has
had occasion to.
.'. ~In the summer prior to her first season on
the team, Parker had both mono and tonsilli-
tis, which resulted in a redshirt her first year.
She soon ran into far bigger problems.
There was something wrong with her stom-
ach, and the pain would hamper her in longer
races. She wasn't running the times she knew
she was capable of.
So, in addition to the physical pain she
experienced during a race, there was enor-
TONY DING/Daily mous mental frustration she experienced was
Fifth-year senior Andrea Parker is enjoying a stellar season after overcoming injury. enormous. She went to eight different doctors,
and none could figure out what was wrong or
offer a solution. But she didn't quit.
"I had never quit anything in my life up
to that point, and I certainly was not about
to start doing it now," Parker said. "I knew
there were lots of other people who had expe-
rienced pain similar to this, and they had
gotten through it, so I was determined to do
the same. The thought of quitting never even
entered my mind."
McGuire attributes her perseverance to her
competitive desire.
"She's an extremely fierce competitor,
which is why I think the stomach issues were
so hard for her," McGuire said. "One of the
toughest things about it was that her results
really weren't mirroring her competitive spir-
it, or the effort that she was putting into her
running and that she deserved to get out of
it."
Parker struggled through these problems
for the first three years of her running career.
McGuire felt her results were good - 17th at
the Big Ten Championship as a sophomore
and 152nd and 195th at the NCAA Champion-
ship in 2002 and 2003, respectively.But these
results didn't represent what everyone knew
she could achieve.
Finally, she saw a doctor who figured out the
problem - a circulatory-system disorder that
prevented blood from reaching her abdomen
- and prescribed her medication. The pills
have worked brilliantly, and Parker, McGuire
and the team could not be happier.
"This is by far my best season, and it almost
makes it better that I had to struggle through
adversity in order to achieve it because it just
makes it that much more rewarding," Parker
said. "I feel great. I am running the way I want
to run and I am really helping the team win."
McGuire calls Parker a champion, and
really admires the way she has pulled through
adversity to become one of his top runners
this year.
She finished ninth at the Big Ten Champi-
onship - 19 spots lower than in 2003 - and
the team expects big things from her at this
year's NCAA Championship today in Terra
Haute, Ind.
But McGuire isn't surprised that Parker has
been able to achieve these results.
"The sign of a champion is the type of person
who can persevere through tough situations
and extenuating circumstances - and Andrea
really epitomizes that," McGuire said.
For now, Parker is just enjoying her last sea-
son.
"It feels like I've really come full circle
since my freshman year, and this year has just
been the culmination of all the hard work that
I've put into it since then," Parker said. "I feel
like a million bucks."
I
0
A
M WRESTLING
Churella rallies on mat
By Jack Herman
Daily Sports Writer
Last Thursday, Ryan Churella's career in the 165-pound weight
class got off to a rough start with a loss to Lehigh's top-ranked
Troy Letters. But if his performance in the Body Bar Invitational
at Cornell on Saturday is any indication, then Churella - who
wrestled last year at 149 pounds - is well on his way to adapting
to his new weight class.
"He's starting to look like the Ryan Chruella we all know and
love," Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "He really improved
as the tournament went on."
Churella capped off a strong tournament run by defeating
Edinboro's Nate Yetzer - who was also new to the weight class,
but ranked fifth in the country - by a 5-0 decision in the finals
to take the title. Churella's victory helped lead the sixth-ranked
Wolverines to a first-place overall finish.
Opponents challenged Churella every step of the way on his
road to victory. In the second round, he squared off against Mary-
land's Jason Kiessling - who was seeded seventh in the bracket.
After defeating Kiessling, Churella faced Virginia's Will Durkee
in the semifinals. Churella prevailed in a 4-2 battle before Dur-
kee would go on to take third place in the weight class.
Churella was not the only Wolverine to enjoy success in
Michigan's victory this weekend, as teammates Mark Moos
and Greg Wagner joined him in the winners's circle.
Moos - a sophomore who came into the tournament as the
top seed in the 125-pound bracket - passed through the com-
petition with ease. He took technical victories in his first two
matches before winning a 16-3 decision in the semifinals. In the
finals, Moos beat Maryland's Kevin Vinh by a 10-1 decision to
capture first place.
Wagner - top seed of the heavyweight bracket - had a simi-
lar experience on his way to the championship. After taking a
mere 10 seconds to pin his first opponent, The junior won deci-
sions of 11-2 and 5-1 before his victory over Army's Joe Forsman
in the finals.
Even though he did not win a championship, true freshman
Craig Gillison - who wrestled in the 133-pound bracket - also
turned in a solid performance. Gillison was seeded fifth and won
two matches to put himself in the semifinals, where he was pit-
ted against Cornell's Travis Lee - who was 34-0 en route to a
national championship at 125 pounds last season.
Gillison put up a good fight, but in the end he could not over-
come the top-ranked Lee, who pinned him in 4:20. But he did
not let the loss keep him down, as.he went on to defeat Virginia's
Steve Hromada 13-0 to earn a third-place finish.
McFarland said that that it is notable that someone new
to college wrestling like Gillison made such an immediate
impact.
"I've been really impressed with (Gillison)," McFarland
said. "He's a great competitor. We're real excited to have him
in our lineup."
In total, Michigan left Ithaca with three winners, one run-
ner-up and three third-place finishers. The Wolverines scored in
eight out of 10 weight classes, leaving them with a total of 1395
points, 8.5 points ahead of No. 12 Cornell.
Although McFarland feels there are some problems that the
team needs to work on individually, he was glad to see the Wol-
verines performing at this level at this point in the season.
"Overall, it was a really great team effort," McFarland
said. "We're not where we need to be, but I like where we're
at right now."
Sophomore Nick Roy was one of the wrestlers who did not
score for Michigan. After starting the tournament with two wins,
Roy pulled out of the competition because of an elbow problem
that has been bothering him since last summer. McFarland said
the injury is not serious and he expects Roy to be back on the
mat soon.
The Cliff Kean Invitational in Las Vegas, which starts Dec. 3,
is the next event on the team's schedule.
Michigan senior Ryan Bertin will compete tonight in the
National Wrestling Coaches Association's Marines All-Star
Classic at Southern Illinois University. Bertin - who is ranked
third in the 157-pound weight class - will face Ohio's Jake
Pericival, who is ranked second in the country.
0
ZIPS
Continued from page 1B
after Michigan defender Chris Glin-
ski slipped on the play. Haugland
sent the ball past Michigan goalie
Peter Dzubay to tie the game at one.
"Going a goal down, it put us on
the back foot a little bit," Akron
senior Cameron Knowles said. "But
everyone knew we had more goals in
us. We were going to create chances,
and we did."
opponent's front third of the field."
The halftime strategizing would
prove to be decisive for the Wolver-
ines, as Sterba's game-winning goal
came from the flanks.
On the defensive end, Dzubay tal-
lied a season-high eight saves on
the day. With 19 seconds left in the
game, he made a critical save that
would've otherwise sent the game
into overtime. Dzubay got down in
the muddy grass to push an Akron
shot out wide and seal the victory
and pressure of single-elimination
looming over the players' heads, the
game became very physical. One
of the unfortunate consequences
of this aggressiveness came at the
Wolverines' expense. With just over
three minutes left in the game, Bruh
jumped up for a loose ball with an
Akron player, who came down on
Bruh's leg.
The junior was rushed to the hos-
pital in an ambulance, and it does
not appear likely that he will be able
0
*
0