16 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 8, 2004 Even surgery can't slow Gandoiph By Eric Ambinder Daily Sports Writer When Michigan volleyball senior Jenni- fer Gandolph returned to Ann Arbor after last year's winter break, her nagging right shoulder injury had worsened. Surgery, Michigan coach Mark Rosen and doctors believed, was the best available option for one of the Wolverines' best FRIDAY players. Easte hg Gandolph - one of iigan the Big Ten's most pow- Tale: 730 Pm. erful outside hitters - dominated the court for three years because of CliffKeenArena her arm's flexibility and range of motion, which are the ingredients for difficult-to-return attacks. Doctors believed sur- gery would compromise that strength. Instead, it may have made her a better player. Gandolph tore the labrum in her right shoulder from excessive use. The labrum is cartilage that acts as a shock absorber for the bones in the shoul- der and cushions the impact as the bones grind together. As an outside hitter, Gandolph routinely uses the labrum when she crushes a powerful kill. The labrum-tear is a mysterious ailment because there is no easy way to fix it. One method, Tommy John surgery, is often used by professional baseball players. Pitchers rarely regain full strength of their throwing motion and often are forced into retirement, but Gandolph isn't worried at all. She hasn't had any problems, other than the minor, expected side effects. Some of those side effects have been beneficial. "(Gandolph) came in and kind of had one shot and that was hard," said Rosen about the begin- ning of Gandolph's Michigan career. "Everything she did was hard. She hit the ball as hard as she could and was pretty successful at that as she was growing up. So, as the level (of volleyball) got higher, she had to learn more of the ins and outs of the positions and be a more savvy player. And really what her strengths are now, after the surgery, she really can't hit as hard anymore, but she is a much smarter player." Rosen said that Gandolph has been forced to learn more of the intricacies of the outside-hitter position, one that largely determines the rhythm and flow of the team. "(Outside hitters) are going to get balls in good situations, and you are also going to get balls in garbage situations," Rosen said. "So as an outside hitter, you have to make the best out of it. You have to always center the play. They have to be very intelligent with the choices they make. Everybody in the gym knows the ball will Friendly competition is name of the game By Jake Rosenwasser Daily Sports Writer The competition is just as stiff at the top of the Michigan men's golf team as it is on top of the PGA these days. This past week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Vijay Singh finally passed a slumping Tiger Woods to claim the No. 1 ranking amongst the ..... big boys. In Ann Arbor, Christian Vozza and T)IS N Kevin Dore should con- Michig tend for the top spot on Fames I Michigan all year. Both Place: R1 are hoping to avoid a col Tiger-like drought. Aw "They have a com- petitive rivalry," Michi- gan coach Andrew Sapp said. "They spent the majority of the spring season at No. 1 and No. 2 last year, and there is no reason why they shouldn't be at the top again this season." Vozza, a junior, and Dore, a sophomore, both made their mark last season as underclassmen. The two led the Wolverines in scoring average last season and finished as the top two Wolverines in Michi- gan's last five tournaments in the spring. Both went out with a bang in the Big Ten Conference Cham- pionships last season when Dore fired a career-best, three-under- par 68, and Vozza shot a one-under 70 to spur the team into a seventh- place finish. "The two of them practice together," Sapp said. "They simu- late competitions in practice and are getting ready for this weekend and the rest of the season." Sapp is excited about having his top two golfers back, but he is equally enthusiastic about the two Wolverine newcomers, freshmen Tim Schaetzel and Brian Otten- weller. "Tim ranked very high in the junior events he's played in recently," Sapp said of Schaetzel, I i i i WFEKEND to Arbor~ a native of Georgia, where people love their golf. Ottenweller is more of a local product. The Grand Rapids native was a four-year varsity letter win- ner at Grand Rapids Catholic Central. With Michigan's two top golfers return- ing, and two newcomers poised to make an impact, Sapp has high expectations for his team. "We have a really great chance to build on all we did last sea- son," Sapp said. "We want to get a team title, and I think we have a few players who have a very good chance to win individual titles." The Wolverines will compete for the first time this season on Saturday and Sunday when they host the Michigan Radrick Farms Invitational at Radrick Farms Golf Course in Ann Arbor. Fourteen teams, including Missouri, Purdue and Wisconsin, will battle it out for first place. Vozza and Dore will lead the Wolverines into the contest, and Sapp can only hope they play more like the steady Singh and less like the tumultuous Tiger. JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily Senior Jennifer Gandolph overcame a shoulder injury and brought her game to a new level. eventually get to them, and they have to make good choices." Rosen likened the outside hitter to that of a pitcher who can't just dominate with one pow- erful pitch - the player must be able to show variety of ball movement and speed. And if the pitcher struggles, the team is apt to struggle as well. And Gandolph, like a pitcher, must be able to handle the spotlight. "I like being able to change a game," Gan- dolph said. "I'm going to change it - good or bad. That's just what my role is, but I like having that role. I like people focusing on me, and like I beating them, knowing that they are focusing on me. It's fun that way." Rosen said that Gandolph was the impetus for the weekend's record-setting performance against Manhattan in the Manhattan College Invitational, in which Michigan set a school record .525 hitting percentage. Gandolph appeared in top form, notching 12 kills and an individual hitting percentage of .611. She was named to the All-Tournament Team. By the end of the season, Gandolph is expect- ed to add two additional school records to her resume. She recently broke the all-time attempts record during last weekend's tournament and needs just 17 digs and 113 kills to break the school marks of 1,131 and 1,384, respectively, in those categories. If she remains healthy - which her doctors and coaches expect - Rosen thinks this season can be her best. "As she gets back to where she can bring the heat, she also now has this whole other side of the game that she has had to develop," Rosen said. "I think in some ways (the surgery) has made her a better player." 9 0 FOREST CASEY/Daily Junior Christian Vozza (above) will battle sophomore Kevin Dore for title of No. 1. this season for the Wolverines. I THE BIGGEST BACK TO SCHOOL P ST 1000U SALE 0+ I zy : :