Tuesday November 23, 2004 sports. michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com eRTidSiG 9 . . .. ... .. ..... ..... . . . .. . .... ....... .... .. . eager to hunt down elusive win Carr incensed with doggish behavior By Jamie Josephson Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's soccer team has shown time and time again that it will not back down in the face of adversity. In an up-and- down season that has been To> plagued with injury, the Wolverines have refused to retire their cleats for the season thus far. Time Heading into the second Armstro round of the NCAA Tour- -___m_ nament tonight at 7 p.m., Michigan will face anoth- er daunting challenge: No. 2-seed and defending NCAA Champion Indiana. After defeating Akron 2-1 in the first round of the tournament, Michigan (11-7- 4) will now face the sixth-rated Hoosiers (14-4-1) in Bloomington for the second time this season. In the teams' first meet- ing this season on Oct. 10, Indiana defeat- ed the Wolverines 2-1 after Michigan kept the Hoosiers scoreless in the first half. Michigan has never beaten Indiana since the Wolverines began play in 2000. "Indiana has been, and continues to be, the standard by which all teams model themselves after in our conference," Mich- igan coach Steve Burns said. "To have an opportunity to play in Bloomington under the lights in an NCAA tournament game, there is no better way to play with our hearts out on our sleeves and show exactly where we measure up." Indiana boasts sophomore Jacob z:> ni ng 18 points, including eight goals and two assists. Defensively, Hoosiers goalkeeper Jay Nolly has given up less than one goal per game this season. "They are able to bring in the top play- ers in the country," Burns said. "They have a great IGUT style of play. Most impor- tantly, they take a lot of pride defensively." Several Michigan upper- 7 f' classmen have tasted the g Stadiumn sour flavor of defeat at the tn, lnd> hands of the Hoosiers six times in their careers. "(Fifth-year senior Joe) Zawacki has never beaten Indiana in the five years he's been here, and he wants to get a win," junior Peter Dzubay said. "So we're going to try to do it for him." In the two schools' last meeting on Oct. 10, each side received 14 fouls, including a red card on each squad. Tonight's match- up promises to be no less of a physical and emotional contest. "Emotionally, we want our guys peak- ing at the start of the game," Burns said. "But once it begins, you have to fall back on the fundamentals you have (used) all season long. It's going to be a difficult game. You want to make sure defensively you are taking care of the fundamental principles of the game." Playing on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, Michigan mid- fielder Adam Bruh will not be available for tonight's game. The junior was rushed to the hospital after an Akron player came down on his leg in the final minutes of PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily Senior Mychal Turpin sat out last Friday's game against Akron, but will be back today. Friday's game. But for the Wolverines, injury has been a recurring theme all season that the team has learned to work around. "It's just another opportunity where a young guy gets an opportunity to gain some valuable experience and hopefully thrive in that environment," Burns said. Senior Mychal Turpin will return to the field for Michigan after sitting on the side- lines against Akron. He was suspended for a game after receiving a red card against Northwestern on Nov. 12. Tonight's winner will face the winner of the Boston College/Connecticut match- up that also takes place today. Peterson, who leads the Hoosiers with 0 ICE HOCKEY ICers ink six recruits for next season By Ryan Sosin Daily Sports Writer Replacing 10 experienced seniors won't be easy. But yesterday, Michigan coach Red Berenson announced six players who will be charged with helping to do that. Forwards Jason Bailey, Andrew Cogliano, Zac MacVoy and Tim Miller and defensemen Jack Johnson and Mark Mitera all signed letters of intent for next season. Cogliano is heralded as the pick of the litter for the Wol- verines. A pure scorer, Berenson describes this future play- er as a mix of T.J. Hensick and Jeff Tambellini, combining speed and a scoring touch around the net. Cogliano is very quick, with a good sense of the ice. But his size - 5-foot- 10, 185 pounds - will lead to an adjustment period as he gets acclimated to the physical CCHA style. "He's a very dynamic player," said associate head coach Mel Pearson, who, along with assistant coach Billy Pow- ers, spearheads the Michigan recruiting process. "He can really shoot it, so I have a feeling we're going to be on him to shoot it a little more" Cogliano still has the option to play major junior hockey after being selected in the 2003 Ontario Hockey League draft, but the Michigan staff believes this is no longer an issue. Miller and Bailey are good two-way players and both could emerge as key members of the Michigan back-check and dish out some heavy hits. Bailey, Cagliano, Johnson and MacVoy were recently rated as an 'A' players in the preliminary Central Scouting Service rankings for NHL draft-eligible players. Next season's defensive unit will look drastically dif- ferent with half of its seven-member corps graduating. Johnson and Mitera will join what remains from this year's squad - which could include currently ineligible transfer Adam Dunlap - and an additional player that will likely be signed in the spring. Both players can dic- tate the flow on the offense and defensive side of things. "They bring good size and good physical presence on the blueline," Pearson said. "And we need that. We haven't had that since (Mike) Komisarek and Jay Vancik (in 2001-02)." With so many seniors on their way out, the adjustment period will be just as short as it was for last year's recruits. Freshmen Chad Kolarik and Kevin Porter have played well all season and logged significant time on special teams. If Michigan wants to avoid spending next year to 'rebuild,' its freshman will need to adapt just as quickly. "(The recruits are) going to add some size and some muscle and some hustle to our team," Berenson said. "They'll get good direction and good playing time, and I think they'll step in and surprise people." Michigan also faces the possibility that junior Al Mon- toya could leave for the New York Rangers - who drafted him eighth overall in last year's NHL Draft - when this season concludes. "We're looking at a goalie, yeah," Berenson said. "We have to be aware of the goalie situation." For the seventh straight year, Michigan will become the new home to U.S. National Team Development Pro- gram alumni. Bailey, MacVoy, Johnson and Mitera are teammates this year on the Ann Arbor-based program. The development program hasn't been short of produc- ing results for the current Michigan team. Six of this year's top-10 point leaders came out of the program. Pearson also pointed to the character of the players plucked from the U.S. NTDP as something that draws him to them. "As a staff, we try to get the best student-athletes in Michigan, wherever they play," Pearson said last week. "It's just a coincidence that program has landed here and we've had so many players from that program." SHARAD MATTU Mattu fast, Mattu furious magine you're in a bus rolling into Columbus, and you're hours away from the biggest game you may ever play. If you beat Ohio State, you finish the conference sea- son undefeated and earn a bid to the Rose Bowl. You get out of the bus, and you and your teammates make the short walk to the locker room. The gate is straight ahead, but otherwise, you're surrounded by scarlet-clad fanatics trying to rattle you. You've visited Notre Dame and Purdue this sea- son, but you're still not prepared for Ohio State. All you want to do is get into the locker room, collect your thoughts, and focus on the game ahead. But instead, a police officer stops you, and tells you that he and his wild, barking dog are going to check your bags. This is what happened to all the players and coaches on Saturday, and it's something Michigan coach Lloyd Carr isn't very pleased with. "I think, at best, it was extremely disrespectful," Carr said. "It was an extreme measure from the standpoint that the potential for a serious confrontation - some kind of reaction from our team and our players. It could have been an ugly situation." But wait - there's more. Much, much more. Carr ordered Michigan's direc- tor of football operations, Scott Draper, to find out why this hap- pened, and he was told Ohio State can "do what they want to do at Ohio Stadium." Carr wouldn't say whether or not he thought it was gamesmanship on the Buckeyes' part, but it appears as though it was. "We had people in our traveling party who took bags in, who weren't coaches, and they didn't even ask them for their bags," Carr said. "They just walked in right behind us with their bags, and nobody said a word to them. "It was just the players and the coaches." Later, an Ohio State media rela- tions director announced that this check was not out of the ordinary, and had been done for all visiting teams. Well, Michigan looked into that, and when Wisconsin, Penn State and Indiana visited Columbus, they didn't face anything like this when they entered the stadium. Finally, with the entire ordeal over, Carr walked to the field and was approached by a police officer who let him know that the search wasn't ordered by his superiors, but by the Ohio State athletic 6NOTES Bertin falls in college wrestling showcase In the third period of his match with Ohio's Jake Percival, Michigan senior Ryan Bertin knew it would take drastic measures to overcome the 10-4 deficit. Percival and Bertin are ranked second and third in the 157-pound weight class, respectively, and Bertin knew he would have to come out fighting if he wanted a chance at the upset. He escaped Percival's hold and earned a takedown to begin the period, but in the end, it department. "We're talking about how a uni- versity in this conference, how their athletic department chose to try to embarrass us," Carr said. Carr said time and time again yesterday that the Wolverines did not lose the game because of the secu- rity check, and he's absolutely right. Poor tackling and run-blocking took care of that. Besides, the check lasted around 10 minutes, and while it forced the players to be subjected to abuse a little while longer, it hardly rattled them. What makes this entire episode something worth noting is the fact that this security check was ordered by Ohio State's athletic department, and not some Columbus police offi- cer with a little too much power. And then, the Buckeyes weren't even forthright. "What really is interesting is that they would say that with all these other schools it's been the same all year long when it hasn't," Carr said. "There is an issue of credibility here." Credibility and Ohio State? Here we go again. "Athletic department" is awfully vague, but it's hard to believe some useless clerk could have ordered this security check. And if this kind of shadiness can occur with something so insignificant, how can that endless list of NCAA rules be enforced? How could Ohio State's former basketball coach Jim O'Brien be expected to know not to give a recruit a few thousand dollars, even if his family needed the money? And what about the Maurice Clarett saga? Should football coach Jim Tressel be blamed for setting up players with cars and jobs, as Clarett has alleged, when the peo- ple he works with are so desperate to beat their archrival that they send cops with dogs after opposing teams? And on and on it goes. Before the game, Carr and Tres- sel chatted briefly, and the security check came up. "(Tressel) asked me if we got in okay, and how was everything going," Carr said. "I said, 'Well, as a matter of fact, they just had your dogs out there searching our bags, Jim. I don't know what the hell that was all about.' "But he said, 'Well, I didn't know anything about that.' " Carr later added: "I'd have to believe him. But somebody in that department knew." It's hard not to wonder if Ohio State is corrupt from the top to the bottom. Hopefully, none of it is true, and the future of the biggest rivalry in all of college sports will be as good as ever. But there's yet another question Ohio State will have to answer. Sharad Mattu can be reached at smattu@umich.edu was not enough. Percival won the match in an 11-7 decision. Percival amassed his lead by scor- ing three takedowns in the first period, putting him ahead 7-4. In the second period, Percival started on the bottom, but managed to escape Bertin's hold while adding a take- down to go ahead 10-4. Bertin's third-period heroics would not be enough for victory. Last night's match was part of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Marines All-Star Clas- sic at Southern Illinois University. It was one of 10 matches scheduled to showcase the best college wres- tlers in the country. - Jack Herman Harriers stumble at NCAAs By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer After defeating national power Notre Dame to win the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 13, Michigan women's cross country coach Mike McGuire had high hopes for his run- ners at yesterday's NCAA Champion- ship in Terre Haute, Ind. This time around, the No. 4 Wolverines struggled to keep up with the Fighting Irish and finished two spots behind them, placing sixth out of 31 teams. Junior Rebecca Walter led Michigan's finishers, completing the 6,000-meter cir- cuit in 21:11.4, good enough for 35th place. Freshman Alyson Kohlmeier finished 10 seconds behind Walter in 50th place. Wal- ter and Kohlmeier led the way for Michi- gan throughout the season, and McGuire anticipated better finishes for both. "I thought we could beat Providence and Notre Dame," McGuire said. "Over- all, it's been a good year, but today, not everyone had their best races. We got OK- to-solid perfomanecs from (Walter) and (Kohhmeier)." While Walter and Kohlmeier were off of their best pace, Michigan senior Theresa Feldkamp ran her best race of the season. Feldkamp started towards the back of the pack, and gradually worked her way up to the front. In the waning moments of the race, she passed more than a dozen runners on her way to a 68th place finish. Going into the race, Feldkamp was aiming to break into the top-100. "I went out like I was supposed to and kept moving up in the pack," Feldkamp said. "It was hard, with really muddy con- ditions. I didn't have any idea where I was in the pack, and I just kept running." Sophomore Katie Erdman finished 94th for the Wolverines, and junior Arianne Field rounded out Michigan's scorers, finishing 103rd. McGuire and Feldkamp singled out Field as an overachiever. Freshman Lisa Canty came across in 135th place, and senior Andrea Parker, who struggled with illness, finished 236th. Michigan was missing senior Sarah Pizzo, who suffered a fracture of her fourth meta- tarsal earlier in the year. Going into the race, just Walter, Erd- man and Parker had run in an NCAA Championship meet before. But next year, just Parker will have graduated, and the Wolverines will have six runners with NCAA Championship experience. "If you use the standard of being fourth the year before, it's a little disappointing," McGuire said. "However, six of seven run- ners will return next year and four were in their first NCAA meet." Yesterday's performance fell short of expectations, but it does not jade McGuire's view of the whole season. "Overall it was a good season, and we can build on it going into track season," McGuire said. TONY DING/Daily Senior Theresa Feldkamp ran her best race of the season, finishing in 68th place. 0 MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Injuries linger as Michigan closes season By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer As the 2004 season began, the Michi- gan men's cross-country team appeared to be in its best position ever. Senior captain Nate Brannen was in top shape, junior Nick Willis was coming off a trip to the Athens Olympics and the Wolver- ines added freshmen Victor Gras and Mike Woods, two of the NCAA's top recruits. But the season drew to a close w ith a disappointing 26th-place finish out of 30 son in September, the team struggled to replace him. Soon after, Gras and Willis also fell victim to the rigors of training. Sudden- ly the Wolverines were turning to their reserves for the conference, regional and national championships. Brannen remained healthy and led the way for the Wolverines in Terre Haute, finishing the 10,000-meter race in 31:23.4. He placed 17th out of 242, just as he did a year ago in the NCAA Cham- pionship. Yesterday's course was muddy, and prevented Brannen from running the Junior Andrew Bauer was Michigan's fifth finisher at the Great Lakes Regional on November 13th, but he stepped up his performance, finishing second for the Wolverines and 159th overall. Senior Matt Mulvaney finished one second behind Bauer. Michigan's scoring was rounded out by Woods and junior Dan Murray. The pair finished 174th and 180th, respectively. Though Brannen and the Wolverines were disappointed with their perfor- mance, they are ready to move past their struggles and revive their team during track season. "It doesn't affect how I'll run in indoor (track)," Brannen said. "I'm a track run- ner so (cross country) is just training for track. It helps to know that I am fitter and stronger than I have ever been." Warhurst acknowledged that today was just not the Wolverines' day, and they will likely bounce back from their mediocre performance. "It was a long day," Warhurst said. "It was extremely sloppy and extremely muddy, and the course did not suit us. Others just responded better." i m