2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 31, 2005 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY In sync skaters look for perfection Athlete of the Week Name: Nate Brannen Team: Men's Track Hometown: Cambridge, Ontario Class: Senior Why: Brannen placed fifth overall in the mile at the Boston Indoor games on Saturday, racing against some of the best runners in the world. His time of 3:55.11 set a new Michigan mile record and was just .11 seconds shy of the national collegiate indoor mark. 0 By Colt Rosensweig For the Daily A normal day for senior Brynn Dery - a member of the synchronized figure skating team - begins at 5 a.m., when the average student is still hours from waking up. A carpool picks her up and has her at the rink by 5:30 a.m. After an off-ice warmup, she practices skating in perfect unison with the rest of her teammates until about 7:30 a.m. Then comes a full day of classes, and, if it is Thursday, another similar practice in the evening that could last until midnight. For members of the synchronized skating team, skating is the top priority in life. "In January, you submit your life to skating," Dery said. In the past month, the collegiate team competed twice and traveled both weekends. Competitions are extremely intense - because all the skaters must move in perfect unison, there is far less room for error than in individual competition. Performances are judged on their difficulty, theme, expression, synchronization and on the required ele- ments of the routine. Because of the way events are scored, team chem- istry is very important in synchronized skating. "All the skating abilities are blended," sophomore Sarah Bradbury said. "I love the team atmosphere. It's nice to know you're not alone." Dery, who is also president of the synchronized skating club, said the teams are getting along very well and are more social than in past years. According to Dery, synchronized figure skating enjoys its highest level of popularity in the state of Michigan but does not garner the attention it deserves at the university. Though the first synchronized figure skating team was founded in Ann Arbor in 1954, the university did not have a team until 1995. Since then, the program has usually been one of the top six teams in the nation. In 1999, the team won the National College Championship. Michigan now fields two synchro teams. The col- legiate team competes against other college teams. The senior team competes against both college- and club-based teams, as well as in international competi- tions. In addition to competitions, the collegiate team occasionally performs during hockey intermissions at Yost Ice Arena. "More people are aware of us since we started skat- ing during the hockey games," Dery said. Last season, the collegiate team won the Mid- western sectional championship. The senior team skated in Prague and placed seventh in the Prague Cup. Both competed at the National Championships in San Diego. "Neither team was satisfied with (its) performance at nationals last year," Dery said. This season, the skaters intend to meet and exceed their own high standards as competition intensifies. "We're working on speed and difficulty, getting rid of sloppiness and being creative," Bradbury said. On Jan. 24, the collegiate team placed fourth at the Bronco Challenge Cup, an intercollegiate competition held in Kalamazoo. The senior team leaves on Tuesday to compete for the French Cup in Rouen, France. After that, both teams will head to Boston, for the National Championships on Feb. 23, where they will try to improve on last year's sixth-place finish. 'M' SCHEDULE Date Event 2/2 M Basketball vs. Minnesota I 2/3 2/4 2/4-5 2/4-5 2/4 2/4 2/4-5 2/5 2/5 2/5 2/5 2/5-6 W Basketball vs. Penn State W Tennis at South Carolina W Track/Field at Meyo Classic M Gymnastics at Winter Cup Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State Water Polo at UC San Diego M Track/Field at Meyo Invitational M Tennis vs. Ball State W Tennis vs. Maryland M Basketball at Ohio State Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State Water Polo at Triton Invite Location Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Columbia, S.C. South Bend Las Vegas Ann Arbor San Diego South Bend Ann Arbor Columbia, S.C. Columbus Detroit San Diego Kalamazoo Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Time 8 p.m. 7 p.m. TBA 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 7:35 p.m. 9 p.m. 5 p.m. 12 p.m. 12 p.m. 12:17 p.m. 7:30 p.m. TBA 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. *I New doubles paing leads M' to victory 2/6 W Gymnastics at Michigan Classic 2/6 Wrestling vs. Illinois 2/6 W Basketball vs. Minnesota By Daniel Levy Daily Sports Writer With Michigan and Alabama splitting the first two doubles matches, the team doubles point hinged on the Wolverines' new pairing of senior co-captain Leanne Rutherford and freshman Allie Shafner against Alabama's Melissa Minor and Natalie McElveen. Shafner was seeing her first action of the season, and the tandem had trouble adjusting to each other's style of play, falling behind, 4-1. But then, as if someone flicked on a switch, the two found their rhythm and rolled off wins in four consecutive games before Alabama righted the ship and kept the match on serve. Leading 7-6 but needing to break the Crimson Tide's serve to win, Rutherford and Shafner picked up their game by play- ing smart tennis, and Rutherford exem- plified this type of play on match point. Noticing that her opponent was cheating towards the middle to cut off her return, Rutherford guided the ball down the line for a perfect winner to give the Wolver- ines the team doubles point. "The doubles point is huge," coach Bitsy Ritt said. "Our No. 3 doubles was a new combination, and they were very tough under pressure. Leanne provided a calming influence and excellent leader- ship for Allie." The Wolverines stormed in front early in their 5-2 win over the No. 32 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor. After earn- ing the hotly contested team doubles point, No. 20 Michigan carried the momentum into singles play, winning three quick matches to seal the win before Alabama had a chance to breathe. Sophomore Kara Delicata started the barrage at No. 3 singles, overpowering Melissa Day 6-0, 6-2. At No. 5 singles, junior Nina Yaftali was too consistent for Alabama's Andrea Brenes, and Yaftali cruised to a 6-3, 6-1, win. Rutherford sealed the team victory at No. 4 singles. Proving to be a thorn in the Crimson Tide's side once again, she methodically marched past Minor, 6-3, 6-0. With the win already in hand, Shafner showed her heart and desire in her three- set victory at No. 6 singles. Playing in her first match of the season, Shafner undoubt- edly wanted to prove she belonged, as she outlasted Alabama's Maria Muller, 6-4, 2-6,7-5. "Allie was very impressive," Ritt said. "She was challenged, and she came through. She was just awesome." Michigan senior co-captain Michelle DaCosta showed tremendous heart despite losing. Facing the No. 8 singles player in Blue runners just half seconds from NCAA qualifying marks ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily Allie Shafner teamed with Leanne Rutherford to lead Michigan over Alabama. BRANNEN Continued from page 1B While the Wolverines had a strong showing, there was a similar theme for them throughout the meet - four runners missed an NCAA provi- sional qualifying time by less than half a second. Junior Andrew Ellerton came from behind to win the 800-meter race, outkicking Pennsylvania's Courtney Jaworski by .23 seconds. Ellerton's time of 1:49.75 was five seconds faster than his time last week at Red Simmons but .25 short of the NCAA provisional qualify- ing mark. After missing the major- ity of the cross country season due to injury, the junior didn't expect such a fast time. "I just figured (a time of) 1:52," Ellerton said. "I didn't really have a lot of background for the event, but, overall, it went really well." Sophomore Jeff Porter dominat- the country, Alabama junior Robin Ste- phenson, DaCosta fought back to force a third-set tiebreaker before falling, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 1-0(6). Earlier in the day, DaCosta teamed up with Delicata to upset Ashley Bentley and Stephenson - the No. 12 doubles team in the country - in impressive and business like fashion, 8-4. "That was a very big win for us," Ritt said. "Kara and Michelle had lost to them two previous times. To take care of them so easily set a great tone for the match." Michigan's pairing of sophomore Eliz- abeth Exon and Yaftali fell to Day and Muller, 9-7, at No. 2 doubles. And Exon lost to Bentley, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 2 singles to round out the singles play. The Wolverines' 5-2 victory over Ala- bama marked their first win over a ranked opponent this season and improved their record to 2-2. Michigan will go on the road to face South Carolina on Friday. ed the 55-meter hurdle field with a time of 7.43 in the final heat. He ran .01 faster in the preliminary heat the day before, which was just .04 ticks away from a NCAA provi- sional mark. Senior Tom Greenless also fell * short of an NCAA provisional- qualifying time by less than one second. Greenless boasted a time of 8:05.23 en route to a seventh- place finish. The theme of less than one sec- ond continued for sophomore Stan Waithe, whose time of 47.29 in the 400-meters was just .04 seconds away from the NCAA mark. Inside the track, senior Kevin Peterman continued his winning ways in the pole vault. His height of 15-11 3/4 was good enough to give him his second consecutive victory of the season. The Wolverines will compete next weekend at the Meyo Invita- tional in South Bend. WAr Tq DECIDE ON4 TE MICHIGAN ATmLuTk flP I dmbh SCREENING 0 IUI~UEmhEEEEuEE~IIuuu uU IEEEEl E~E~EEEEIEE KNE EKEI U UK l U IlKu_.