Tuesday February 15, 2005 sports.michigandaily. com sports@micbigandaily.com SPORTS 4 8A Montoya clutch Don't be too shocked when Horton returns in third By Gabe Edelson Daily Sports Writer Thirty-five saves on 42 shots. An .833 save percentage. Seven goals allowed. These don't appear to be the numbers of one of college hockey's elite goalies, let alone statistics worthy of the sixth overall choice in last summer's NHL Draft. But the hard numbers don't always tell the story. Though Michigan goalie Al Montoya is the owner of the above-mentioned figures from last weekend's road series against Nebraska-Omaha, the junior alternate cap- tain can boast of some impressive results from the two-game set: two wins, zero losses and a combined 16>saves on 17 shots in both third periods. Montoya was outstanding late in both games, but his play was extraordinary on Saturday. The goalie stopped several odd- man rushes and made a couple of acrobatic post-to-post saves, allowing the Wolverines to come back from a 3-1 deficit for the win. But the spectacular has become routine for last season's team MVP. "(Montoya) was huge," sophomore T.J. Hensick said after Saturday's sweep-clinch- ing victory. "(But) that's what we expect of Al. He's a big-time goalie, (he) plays in big- time situations and he proved himself." Michigan coach Red Berenson doesn't fault Montoya entirely for the five Nebras- periods ka-Omaha goals that came in the first peri- ods of the weekend's games - including two on the Mavericks' initial three shots on Saturday. Berenson holds the defense largely responsible for breaking down in front of the netminder. "Al is a victim of his team's play a lot of times," Berenson said. "He can't make a mistake. Every time he makes a mistake, the puck goes in the net and the light goes on. That's a dilemma when you're a goalie. "The hard thing for a goalie is you can't get those goals back. If you're a forward and you make a mistake and they score one, you know that he's trying hard to get it back. But a goalie can't do that" On Friday, two of the Mavericks' goals came on deflections, while another was the result of a short-handed breakaway. In Sat- urday's game, Montoya allowed a rebound goal in traffic and let in another breakaway score. While Montoya would have pre- ferred to stop all the shots he faced, those are the kind of goals that aren't usually blamed on the goalie. And, more importantly, Montoya kept a sense of the moment, stepping up when it mattered most. He stoned the Mavericks' David Phillips on a one-timer from the slot with four minutes left in Saturday's tied game and followed up by clearing the rebound. When Nebraska-Omaha goalie Chris Holt was pulled with a minute MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily Michigan goalie Al Montoya stopped 16 of 17 third-period shot attempts against Nebraska-Omaha during last weekend's sweep of the Mavericks. remaining and Michigan up by one, Mon- toya refused to fold under the pressure of an extra attacker. Senior alternate captain Brandon Rogers's cross-checking penalty with 10 seconds left on the clock left Michi- gan two men short, but the Mavericks were unable to tie the game before the final horn sounded. "If it came down to goalkeeping, I think Al Montoya made the difference when the game was on the line," Berenson said. But Berenson is most satisfied with Montoya's approach to the game. In par- ticular, the coach has been impressed with Montoya's ability to shake off mistakes by hitting the mental "reset" button. "You're going to give up a bad goal or a weak goal once in a while," Berenson said. "It's how you react to it (that matters). And that's the thing I like about Al. He's shown that he doesn't like (giving up goals) any more than we like it, but he puts it behind him and he moves on. And a team plays better in front of a goalie like that." Despite record, Cagers have heart SHARAD MATTU Mattu fast, Mattu furious Now that Michigan point guard Daniel Horton plead- ed guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence yester- day, his legal troubles appear to be coming to a close. He still faces up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine when he is sentenced on March 9, but according to his lawyer, Gerald Evelyn, probation and counseling are much more likely. What does this all mean? Well, now it will bring to the forefront the matter that has been on the minds of everyone with an interest in the Michigan basketball team: Horton's status with the team. When the charges were first brought against Horton on Jan. 25, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker announced that he would suspend Horton "pending further review." Since the suspension began, when asked about Horton's status with the team, Amaker has continually said that nothing has changed. Yesterday, pressed with the same questions, Amaker said that he would have to meet with Athletic Director Bill Martin and other University officials before a deci- sion is made. But then he seemed to slip, saying that "we'll be wel- coming him back at some point." Now, it shouldn't surprise any- one when (notice that I didn't even bother to say "if") Horton returns to the team. He wouldn't be the first student-athlete to get a second chance in Ann Arbor, and he won't be the last. That said, I can't think of a time .when the correct course of action is less clear than it is now with Horton. Does it really make sense to suspend a player when charges are brought against him - when he is supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty" - and then have the suspension end when he pleads guilty? Of course not. But then, there never seems to be any rhyme or reason with these cases involving athletes. So let's answer two questions: (1) How important is Horton to the team? and (2) how important are the upcoming games? The answer to the first question is easy. Horton is Michigan's best player and clear-cut on-court lead- er. To understand his importance to the team, simply look at the last six games the Wolverines have played without him (all losses). For the first four games, the team was as lost and as hopeless as any team I can remember watching. Then, against Illinois and Michigan State last week, Amaker had no choice but to slow the pace down and literally guide the team through every possession. The answer to the second ques- tion is a little trickier. When Amaker suspended Horton, Michigan still appeared to be in the hunt for a tournament bid, so Amaker should be commended for not letting that interfere with his decision. And now that the rest of this season's games have little meaning, I expect him to remain suspended. But next year, Amaker will need Horton as much as Hor- ton may need Michigan. While this season's struggles are under- standable, the fact remains that patience has to be close to running out. Michigan is going to miss out on the NCAA Tournament again, which would make next year "the year" for the third consecutive year. Amaker is being scrutinized more closely now than ever before, and that will only intensify next season. So there you go. I'm expecting to hear the typical "this is Horton's first brush with the law, he has paid the price and he has learned from his mistakes" comments in the future. If you somehow miss these comments, just stick around Ann Arbor. It's only a matter of time before you'll get another ~cla~&nce thear it. Sharad Mattu's next column O lbfor another three weeks, but in the meantime he'll be blog- ging like crazy. He's not allowed to mention the web address here, so if you want it, contact him at smattu @umich.edu. MATT VENEGONI ON WOMEN'S HooPs Imagine you've had 15 papers in the past two months and you didn't pass 14 of them. You wouldn't feel too great; your confidence would be a bit shaken. That has been the situation for the Michigan women's basketball team. over the past two months. The Wolver- ines have fought hard night in and night out, yet they've won just once in fifteen games since Dec. 11. But one thing can be said about Michigan's troubles - the Wolverines have given their best effort every time they have taken the court. "We have told our kids that we want them to play hard all the way through (0:00), and they are doing it," Michi- gan coach Cheryl Burnett said after her team's 76-55 loss to then No. 14 Minnesota on Feb. 6. Said sophomore Kelly Helvey: "We're just trying to play hard. We know that we're down, but we're not going to be out. That's one thing about our team, we are never going to quit." Going into the season, Michigan knew that the year would be difficult. With seven freshmen accounting for 70 percent of the roster, the Wolverines skipped the intro- ductory courses and moved right to the 400-level courses on the court. "I said really early in the year that we have to accept the fact that we are young and never use it as an excuse," Bur- nett said after her team's 76-61 loss to No. 23 Penn State on Feb. 3. "Our team is what it is, and we are expecting our young players to play like veterans, and we're coach- ing that way." Although they will not make excuses, the Wolverines have a brutal schedule, taking on some of the toughest teams in the country every week. Michigan plays Big Ten bottom-dwellers Northwestern, Indiana and Wisconsin just once and must face four top-25 ranked Big Ten teams twice. According to the RPI rankings, Michigan has the 27th toughest schedule in the nation - the type of sched- ule onlyepIeysd.by.4iev nation's top squads. Hawaii and Northwestern are the only two teams with tougher sched- ules than the Wolverines that have records under .500. M [ine .with youth ,%l emcompettion Turnovers, especially, have hampered the Wolverines, but the team is still trying throughout its games. Despite trail- ing by huge margins in the second half of some games, Michigan has found a way to trim leads to single digits in most contests. The Penn State game epitomized the season for the Wolverines. Michigan battled the Lady Lions through- out the first half, shutting down Penn State's best player, Tanisha Wright, and took a 28-25 lead at halftime. But when the second frame started, Michigan surrendered 51 second-half points, and Penn State shot 50 percent from the field. The Lady Lions led by as many as 22 points, but Michigan continued to work and trimmed the lead to eight. Instead of packing the game in, Michigan forced turnovers and tried to keep Penn State on its heels. But just as the season has gone, Michigan fell behind by too much and could not pull out a win. "We're right at the edge," forward Ta'Shia Walker said after the Penn State loss. "We just need to find that niche to win. If we can break that little barrier, we will be fine." The silver lining.alhestraggles for Michigan is that it can only get better. Going back to her tenure at Southwest Missouri State, Burnett has a track record of turning arou d:r td-the recruiting class for next year is supposed to be one of the best in the Big Ten. The seven freshmen and sophomore Helvey have seen the lowest of the low. With their experience they should be able to bounce back quicker, and soon they'll have Michigan at the top of the Big Ten stand- ings instead of the bottom. Wil REC SPOTD NTnAMUt Table taken onli The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports Intramural Sports Program WWW recsports.UmiCh.edu K0 REC SPORTS INTRAMURAL A s 734-763-3562 Entry Deadline; Wed, 02/16 4:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $9.00 - doubles team $5.00 individcal Tournament Dat Sat; 02/19 Sports Coliseum 47, " Ji Entry Deadline: Wed, 02/16 4:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $35,00 per team Manager's Meeting: MANDATORY Thurs 02/17 6:00 PM i&A A titi SME S SWIMMING AND DIVING Frosh Gr By Anne Ulbie Daily Sports Writer Freshman backstroker Dane Gren- da has some big shoes to fill. Even though Grenda is still rela- tively new to the Michigan men's swimming and diving team, coach Bob Bowman has already predict- ed that he will become the team's best backstroker after junior Chris DeJong graduates next year. But with the expectations mounting, Grenda has been extremely successful under the pressure. "He's come in and improved more than anyone on the team from a per- formance standpoint," Bowman said. "He has set very high standards and expects a lot from himself at practice every day." The Delaware native has already dropped four seconds in his best event, the 200-yard backstroke - a time cut that is usually achieved only after a long taper or during a shave meet. "I never would have imagined that I'd be this far along at this point in the season," Grenda said. "It will be exciting to see not only what I can do, but what the rest of the freshmen can do at the (Big Ten) Championships." While Grenda's transition from high school to collegiate swimming may seem like it has been easy, he explained that it has been a difficult process to undergo. "I'm not used to waking up at 5:30 in the morning to come to practice," Grenda said. "We didn't do that -4 'enda adjusts to'U' TennisS&D fIPA L.UIng Tournament Dates: takn ,inat, 02/19-Sun., 02/20 taken onine IM Building Pre-Season Volleyball Ia: $37.95I One Month Unlimited Tanning I ' (734) 996-3-G LO ' I Couoo" m"t "resente""at"time "f""c". * Offe*s*v"i"6"e"f"' Level One only. One coupon er customer in high school. I also never lifted weights or did dry land workouts. So this has been a pretty big step for me. But it seems to be working out for the best." Grenda attended Salesianum High School in Hockessin, Del., and led his swimming team to the Delaware State Championship last year after winning two individual events - the 200-yard individual medley and 100- yard backstroke. One of Grenda's reasons for swimming in college was the fact that his older brother, Tyler, was on Notre Dame's swimming team, and Tyler convinced him it was a great experience. But when Grenda signed on with Michigan, he didn't even know who would coach him. He had been recruit- ed by the retired Jon Urbanchek, and it was uncertain who the successor would be for the following year. "I knew that (Urbanchek) was going to go," Grenda said. "But I didn't real- ize that (Bowman) was in the run- ning. I had a lot of confidence that Jon and the athletic department wouldn't make a bad decision." Although Grenda's relationship with Bowman is one of mutual respect, the two have intense personalities that tend to clash once in a while. "I love swimming for Bowman," Grenda said. "But sometimes he gets mad and yells at me, and there are some points when I just want yell back at him. But I think that just makes me want to swim faster and work harder." Senior captain Michael Galin- do has been impressed with the freshman's work ethic and desire to achieve his goals. "Grenda is a funny kid," Galin- do said. "He'll have one of the best practices of his life and then just get I I Entries due: Man, 02/21 4:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $30,00 per team Meet Date: T ues, 02/22: Indoor Track Building ; x Entries taken:f M*n, 02121 ONLY 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM M Building Entry Foe: $88.00 per team Mapa er's Meting: MANDATORY Wed, 02/23- 6:00 PM 11M Building fto line Play begins: Mon, 03/07. M Building. Wed., Feb 16th 7 pm IN I 1 I I