2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 18, 2005
CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY
Kayakers escape cold in NCRB
By Kevin Wright
Daily Sports Writer
There's nothing more exciting than maneuvering
through rapids, going off a 10-foot waterfall and then
winding up in the North Campus Recreational Build-
ing pool.
That is the kayak club's situation every year as the
harsh temperatures of the rivers during the winter
force them to practice their trick moves and techniques
inside. Every Wednesday night, a few members sprin-
kle into the NCRB pool and enjoy the 70-degree water
temperature and controlled environment.
Even though club members are confined to the pool
during the winter, their desire to kayak such rivers as
the White Nile in Egypt and numerous others world-
wide keeps them coming back to the tranquil waters of
the NCRB to stay sharp until the spring and summer
roll around again.
During the fall and spring, the kayak club goes on
various river trips in different states. It has over 200
members, including 30 Michigan students, some alum-
ni and a large number of Michigan residents. Anytime
a few members organize a trip, they send out an e-mail.
Anyone else interested only needs to reply in the affir-
mative for the club to travel.
As graduate student and club member Brian Toth
found out on his first kayak trip, anything can happen
on trips.
"My dad and I kayaked the whole Huron River, and,
on the third day, we flipped over and we had to rescue
my dad's stuff," Toth said. "It was really fun."
As individuals, the club members can also partici-
pate in competitions like the Ohio Pile Falls. There,
kayakers maneuver through whitewater rapids and then
perform tricks off a 20-foot waterfall. Other whitewa-
ter tournaments use a "hole" - a whirlpool in the river.
Then the participants try to stay in it as long as possible
while performing a variety of tricks, such as cartwheels
and back-deck and offside rolls. In these tournaments,
different age and boat categories separate participants.
"Competitions are a small thing here right now,"
senior Jack Conroy said. "It takes about 10 years before
you get the professional level. It's an issue that many of
us face. Do we want to become kayak bums living out
of the back of a van? We go to the University of Michi-
gan, and we have to consider that."
While the club is funded by the University, the mem-
bers still pay most of the expenses for trips. As for com-
petitions, the University pays for any of the entrance
fees or tournament expenses, but the members who
compete pay for travel and food.
In order to attract students, the club brings kayaks
out to Festifall and, usually receives a great deal of
interest. But as the year goes on, interest falters, main-
ly because of the location of the club's meeting at the
NCRB. Also, many new members leave the club after
learning the basic safety standards and techniques.
For first-time kayakers, the club members show
them how to get into the kayak and "wet exit" from the
kayak when it is flipped over and they are under water.
New members also learn the basic paddle strokes -
the forward and backward stroke. After that, the new
members can learn different tricks and rolls for use in
either competitions or a river.
In the spring, the club takes many of the new mem-
bers and at least 12 experienced club kayakers to the
Huron River. If the new members make it through
the trip and are still interested, the club takes them to
Pennsylvania to paddle more difficult rivers.
"I enjoy taking the new folks from the pool and
going to the river," club member Jim Malinowski said.
"After an hour into the paddle, they realize that the
skills they developed in the pool actually work. It's
nice to see them grow in their sport and achievement."
With the dangerous nature of the kayaking, the club
members always value safety as their No. 1 priority.
Before paddling, Conroy tries to scout any river that
is new to him in order to determine the location of
the rapids and waterfalls. In addition, he never kayaks
whitewater rapids without a helmet. Also, Malinowski
always kayaks with a group in case he ever needs help.
Many times, a person who knows the river will go
ahead of the group and then, at a particularly tricky
spot, wait for the group to go through to make sure no
one has any trouble.
While aware of the health risks of kayaking, club
members still enjoy the serenity of nature and the
adrenaline rush of navigating rapids and waterfalls.
"Kayaking keeps you in shape," Toth said. "I love
water and being in the pool. It's a good thing to do
instead of playing on your computer. On the rivers,
you can see things that you've never seen before
because it's a totally different perspective. It's so
much better than being in a car. You can sneak up on
deer and stuff like that."
Athlete of the Week
Name: Lindsey Bruck Team: Gymnastics
Hometown: Marietta, N.Y. Class: Sophomore
Why: Bruck led the Wolverines to a wire-to-wire win
over two ranked teams at Ohio State while capturing the
all-around title with a score of 39.125. She also took the
individual title on the balance beam with a score of 9.850.
Bruck has won four titles on the balance beam and was
named to the NCAA All-American first team last year.
'M' SCHEDULE
Date Event
0
6
6
1/19
M Basketball at Indiana
1/20 W Basketball at Minnesota
1/21
1/21
1/21
M Swim/Diving vs. Northwestern
Ice Hockey at Ohio State
W Gymnastics vs. Penn State
1/22 W Track/Field
at Red Simmons Invitational
1/22 W Tennis vs. Vanderbilt
1/22 M Basketball vs. Wisconsin
1/22 M Swim/Diving vs. Indiana
1/22 W Swim/Diving at Northwestern
1/22 M Gymnastics vs. Oklahoma
1/22 M Swim/Diving at California
1/22 Ice Hockey at Ohio State
1/22 M Track/Field
at Red Simmons Invitational
1/23 W Basketball vs. Indiana
1/23 Wrestling
at Cliff Keen/NWCA National
Location
Bloomington
Minneapolis
Ann Arbor
Columbus
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Evanston
Ann Arbor
Berkeley, Calif.
Columbus
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Cleveland, Ohio
Duals
Time
8 p.m.
7 p.m.
6 p.m.
7:05 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
9 a.m.
11 a.m.
12:17 p.m.
1 a.m.
2 p.m.
9 p.m.
4 p.m.
7:05 p.m.
TBA
2 p.m.
TBA
0
Youthful
tankers
re spond
as hoped
By Dan Ketchel
Daily Sports Writer
Step up. It may be a cliche, but ath-
letes are often asked to do just that
- to fight, work, compete and push
themselves harder for their team. When
there is a gaping hole in the lineup, an
athlete has to step up and take on that
role, no questions asked.
The No. 13 Michigan women's
swimming and diving squad has
embodied this quality all season long.
When the season began in October,
coach Jim Richardson knew that his
younger swimmers were going to have
to step up into the roles left vacant by
seven graduated seniors. Richardson
knew then that by January, his team
would be taking shape if his under-
classmen met the task. With just two
meets remaining until the Wolverines
head to the Big Ten Championships,
there is no doubt who the contributors
are on this team.
Michigan competed against both
Notre Dame and Illinois over the
weekend at the Notre Dame Invitation-
al. They were only in official competi-
tion against Illinois, winning 204-163,
because of an upcoming dual meet at
home against Notre Dame.
Including her two victories over
the weekend, sophomore Kaitlyn
Brady has taken first in her previ-
ous four races of both the 200-yard
backstroke and the 50-yard freestyle.
Sophomore Susan Gilliam blew away
the competition in the last three
long-adistance freestyle races she
Moos, Churella hurt Penn State
TOM MASO GOMEZ/Daily
Sophomore Kaitlyn Brady won two events in Michigan's 204-163 win over Illinois.
swam, and freshman Justine Mueller
won her last four 200-yard individual
medleys.
Three underclassmen have success-
fully stepped up and helped carry their
team this past weekend and throughout
the season.
"Overall, for the team, I think we
were pretty beat up this weekend,"
Richardson said. "We had just come
off of our three hardest weeks of train-
ing both in the water and dry land, and
I think it had a pretty significant effect
on performances. But I think that
was to be expected; because of that, I
thought we raced very well."
In South Bend this weekend, Brady
added to her success by taking the 100-
yard backstroke, while Mueller also
clinched the top spot in the 400-yard
individual medley.
The three swimmers also had a sig-
nificant presence on the Wolverines'
relay teams. The team composed of
Brady, junior Abby Seskevics, senior
Tracy Egnatuk and sophomore Lind-
sey Smith took first in the 200-yard
freestyle relay. Other top finishes
came from the 400-yard freestyle
relay team of Brady, Mueller, Ses-
kevics and Smith, and the 800-yard
freestyle relay team of Smith, senior
Amy McCullough, Mueller and Gil-
liam - both of which took first.
Leading the way for Michigan in
diving was another underclassmen,
freshman Elyse Lee. Lee was the top
finisher for the Wolverines and placed-
second overall in both the one-meter
and three-meter dives.
Michigan had yet another preview
of the No. 21 Notre Dame squad, rac-
ing against it in exhibition as it did
during its winter training trip in St.
Lucia. The Wolverines will finally get
a chance to race for points against the
Irish on Jan. 28 in their home facility,
Canham Natatorium.
"I know Notre Dame pretty well,"
Richardson said. "But both of these
teams are so competitive. They epito-
mize the Michigan-Notre Dame tra-
dition. I don't care if it's tidlly winks
- you don't want to lose to Notre
Dame."
Meanwhile, Michigan continues its
dominance in dual meets against the
Big Ten with the win over the Illini.
The Wolverines will look to end their
conference schedule with a win over
No. 23 Northwestern in Evanston this
Saturday.
By Mark Giannotto
Daily Sports Writer
Redshirt sophomore Mark Moos has
been hampered with a sore neck due to
the grind of the wrestling season.
Redshirt freshman Josh Churella has
been slowed by a high ankle sprain suf-
fered during early season workouts.
But neither has allowed their injuries to
slow them down on the mat.
Moos and Churella picked up impres-
sive wins on Friday at Crisler Arena as
No. 4 Michigan defeated No. 15 Penn
State 31-9 in its first Big Ten dual meet
of the season.
Michigan (1-0 Big Ten, 6-1 overall)
gave up a forfeit in the 125-pound weight
class to start the match. Moos has moved
up a weight class to the 133-pound divi-
sion for the remainder of the season
because he was unable to make weight at
125. Sophomore Jim Shutich - who com-
peted at 133 pounds at the Buffalo Open
- is expected to fill in at 125 pounds, but
must take four weeks to drop in weight
class, according to NCAA rules.
Moos did not allow the early Michigan
deficit to faze him. He came out aggres-
sive against Penn State's Bryan Heller
and picked up a takedown in the open-
ing minute. With one minute remaining
in the first period, Moos fell hard on his
neck and appeared to aggravate his nag-
ging injury. Luckily for Moos and the
Wolverines, the fall was not as serious as
it first appeared to be, and he continued
to wrestle.
With two second-period reversals,
Moos took a commanding 8-3 lead going
into the third period. From there, Heller
started to come back and picked up four
points as the third period progressed.
With 15 seconds remaining, it appeared
that Heller had a one-point escape that
would have tied up the match: But the
referee ruled that Moos had not yet lost
control of Heller, and Moos picked up a
narrow 8-7 minor decision win.
"I just kept on concentrating on not
giving up those last points," Moos said.
"I just kept thinking about winning the
match."
Churella has also been able to ignore
his injury troubles once he steppped on
the mat. Since his return from injury in
late December, Churella has showed no
lingering effects in compiling a perfect
6-0 record.
Against Penn State (0-1, 4-3), Churella
faced his toughest match to date. Churel-
la, who is ranked No. 8 by Amateur
Wrestling News, wrestled No. 13 Dewitt
Driscoll. Churella was very sluggish at
the start of the match, and, going into the
third period, the score was tied 2-2.
"In the first couple periods, I wasn't
moving my feet, and I just wasn't attack-
ing," Churella said.
At the start of the third period,
Churella came alive and turned Driscoll
to his back for a three-point near fall.
Churella continued to put the pressure
on Driscoll and compiled over a minute
of riding time in the period. With the
near fall Churella took a 5-2 lead that he
would not relinquish.
"I knew I had to dig deep in that third
period," Churella said. "I just kept work-
ing hard on top, and I finally got that (near
fall), and it just opened up the match."
With the momentum created by Moos's
and Churella's close wins, the Wolver-
ines went on to win six of the next seven
weight classes. Co-captain Ryan Churella
and 2004 All-American Greg Wagner
both pinned their respective opponents.
"I thought up and down the lineup we
wrestled (consistently) and we wrestled
tough," Michigan coach Joe McFarland
said. "I think (the wrestlers) are feeding
off the leaders on this team, and I like
seeing that."
The upset of the night happened in
the 197-pound weight class as unranked
Michigan wrestler Willie Breyer picked
up a decisive 5-2 victory over No. 12 Phil-
lip Davis of Penn State. Breyer scored two
takedowns during the match and was able
to control Davis while in the top position.
It was the second week in a row that Brey-
er beat a ranked opponent.
"Willie is wrestling well, and he's
staying in great position throughout his
matches," McFarland said. "That win
was huge for him and the team."
The win over the Nittany Lions gave
the Wolverines their sixth consecu-
tive dual meet victory after starting the
season with a loss to Lehigh. With this
weekend's decisive victory over a quality
opponent, it appears Michigan has used
the momentum from its nonconference
portion of its schedule to propel it to Big
Ten success.
"I can definitely see improvement in
everyone's wrestling," senior co-captain
Ryan Bertin said. "We have real good
team chemistry right now"
The Wolverines hope to keep their
momentum going when they travel to
Cleveland next weekend to compete in
the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals.
Sophomore Josh Churella's win at 141 pounds improved his record this year to 7-0.
Ii I
REC
SPORTS
INTRAMURALS
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Department of Recreational Sports
Intramural Sports Program
wwwJre6CS3or35iC dU
734-763-3562
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ournament Dates:
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Entry Deadline:
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anager's
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