The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 14, 2005 - 3B Sweet revenge: Willis takes title By Pete Sneider Daily Sports Writer FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - It was almost as if his competitors were standing still. That's how fast junior Nick Willis looked as he flew around the eighth and final lap. Willis captured Michigan's second NCAA title of the weekend on Sat- urday with a resounding victory in the mile. His time of 4:00.69 put him a comfortable 20 meters ahead of the runner-up, Indiana's Sean Jefferson, who beat out Willis by .01 seconds two weeks before at the Big Ten Cham- pionships. Senior Nate Brannen ran the 800-meter run shortly after but finished fourth - end- ing his hope of three consecutive 800-meter titles. Michigan was in third-place overall entering the 3,000-meter run, its fourth and final event. But with both runners having already competed earlier in the day, fatigue played a huge factor. Both Wolverines failed to score as Brannen finished in 10th place and Willis surprisingly dropped out with five laps to go. Willis, Brannen and the distance medley relay team of senior Rondell Ruff, sophomore Stann Waithe, junior Andrew Ellerton and Brannen provided Mich- igan with 25 team points at the end of the second day - good enough for ninth place. Arkansas scored 56 points en route to its 40th NCAA track and field championship. Willis's victory in the mile was the first NCAA title of his collegiate career. He came into the race seeded third but easily ran away with the lead in the final lap. The pace was slow, which enabled Willis to sit in last place and gradually make his move - the ideal strategy for the New Zealand native. "I couldn't have asked for a better situation," Willis said. "It was a steady pace, noth- ing ridiculously fast, nothing too slow. There was no jostling around. It was single file so I could stay in the middle of or back of the pack and gradually pick it up." The dynamics of the race positioned Willis favorably for the 3,000 meter race that he would run 90 minutes later. But unlike the mile, the 3,000-meter run was quick, and Willis, who hung toward the back of the field for the first 1,500 meters, was unable to keep up. "It was a pretty solid pace," Willis said. "And then someone made a move, so I made a big move to get around six or seven guys. And after that, I had a lapse in my brain and I didn't know if I could go any further, and, subconsciously, I just stepped off the track." Willis would later regret his move to drop out. "At the time it seemed like a comfortable thing," Willis said. "But it's really not a good thing to do at all. All this training is done for nothing. I just realized that I let the team down and I let myself down." In the 800-meter final, Brannen clocked a 1:47.71 - the third-fastest time in his indoor career. But the congestion that Brannen faced on the straightaways prevented Mey Relay W Forget hoops and F r TONY DING/Daily Junior Nick Willis claimed an NCAA indoor championship in the mile on Saturday, setting the pace with a time of 4:00.69. him from moving up after a blistering 24-second first split. "That's pretty damn fast," Brannen said of the first 200 meters. "At that pace, you really can't move up at all. So at the 400-meter (mark) we were still at a fast pace, so I started to pick it up. But every time I tried to make a move and the pack would drift out. By the time I hit the bend, I would be back in lane No. 1. I tried again at the homestretch, but it was too big of a cluster of guys to get around." Brannen faced the same problems as Willis in the 3,000-meter run but gutted out a 10th place finish. His extra effort earned him the admiration of his coach, Ron War- hurst. "I thought Nate was the champion (of the weekend)," Warhurst said. "He ran in four races, almost placed in the 3,000 - that's pretty incredible for an 800-meter runner." Nos: The Big Ten Conference was well represented at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Wisconsin and Indiana finished third and fifth, respec- tively. The meet also featured some world-class performances by a pair of Southeastern Conference runners. Kerron Clement of Florida set a world record in the 400-meter finals with a time of 44.57, breaking Michael Johnson's 10-year-old record by .06 sec- onds. Arkansas's Wallace Spearmon clocked a time of 20.10 in the final heat of the 200- meter dash, giving him the second-fastest time ever in the event. national championship give ices ith the passing of my final Selection Sunday as a Michi- gan student, it's official that I'll leave the University without ever experiencing Maize and Blue madness. Hurtful? Yes. Depressing? Yes. Com- pletely the opposite of what I expected at the onset of the Big Ten season? Yes.... (Don't hold your breath waiting for that reassur- ing "No" that e usually follows a series of sen- tences structured in this fashion - the Wolver- GENNARO ines prevailed in FILICE one out of-their The SportsMonday last 14 games). Column Following Michigan's sea- son-ending loss to Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tourney on Thursday, it truly became open season on bitching, moaning and general cam- pus-wide distress over the fact that the Wolverines' dancing shoes will spend a seventh straight year in the closet. I'll admit that following Michigan's final loss, I took part in the lambasting of what my friend calls "Tommy's Point- A-Minute Team" (apologies to Fielding Yost and his legendary 1901-05 gridiron squads). I was upset. Upset that I'd have to watch another Selection Sunday with completely calmed nerves. Upset that during the opening round of the tourna- ment, Ann Arbor would be overrun with thoughts of what could have been and not what could be. And upset that the lone significance of March in Ann Arbor would be that the month possesses a day in which the temperature rises above North Face temperatures (I hope). But for me, Thursday's displeasure lasted just a touch over 24 hours. During my final weekend as a student in the comfy confines of Yost Ice Arena, the basketball team's woes quickly became an afterthought in my newly optimistic mind. And I'd advise that you all follow suit. The Michigan hockey team never receives the credit it deserves. Out- side of the 6,637 fanatics (Mich- igan's best overall fan base) that pack into Yost every home game, there are few Maize and Blue enthu- siasts who live and die for hockey the same way they do for football and basketball. For a University that prides itself on being "the leaders and best," this is very odd. Because although many times its achieve- ments go vastly underappreciated, year-in and year-out the hockey team contends for the national title. BASEBALL Continued from page 1B into a groove. I just kept it going all day and all afternoon." The Wolverines got off to a hot start when they defeated New York Tech in the first game of the tournament, 14-9. Senior first baseman Kyle Bohm spearheaded the offensive attack with two home runs and five RBI's. His grand slam in the third, with nobody out, put the Wolverines ahead for good. Michigan's toughest competition was the doubleheader against Lamar on Sat- urday. Michigan starter, senior Michael Penn allowed four earned runs on nine hits in five innings. Penn left the game down 5-0. But the Wolverines wouldn't lie down for the Cardinals. After scratching out two runs in the sixth inning, Roblin started the eighth inning with a two out triple. Junior shortstop Chris Getz drove him home with a single and then scored on a Bohm double to left. Freshman right fielder Doug Pickens drove Bohm in with a single and then later scored on a throwing error to tie the game at six. Michigan senior pitcher Drew Taylor couldn't hold the tie in the eighth. After giving up a walk and then balking, Taylor gave up a two out single to senior second baseman Jeremy Gray to give Lamar the lead for good. But, according to Maloney, the Wolver- ns a look And this year's team is no different. In fact, this year's installment may be the best squad since 1998, when the Wolverines won their second national championship in three years. Michigan took the CCHA regular-season crown this year with a 23-3-2 conference mark - its best record since the 1993-94 campaign. And having just swept Notre Dame last weekend in the first round of the CCHA Tournament, the fourth- ranked Wolverines (28-7-2) share an identical record, and the nation's highest total of wins, with top-ranked Colorado College. Michigan will enter the Super 6 riding a nine-game winning streak, during which it has averaged 5.66 goals per game. As the Wolverines head into the Joe (and eventually on to the NCAA Tour- nament), this team has the makings of something special. While the team boasts some immensely talented under- classmen, the most telling sign that this team is ready to make a run at the title is its unparalleled experience. The team boasts 10 seniors and gives significant playing time to eight. If Michigan wins the CCHA Tourna- ment, it will almost assuredly earn a No. 1 seed in the Grand Rapids region of the 16-team NCAA Tournament. But regardless of how the Wolverines fare this weekend, they'll be dancing in late March. "It's not the right dance, though." Yeah, I know what you're saying. I would be lying if I claimed that I enjoy the NCAA hockey tournament as much as its basketball brother. But the fact remains that Michigan is playing in the former, not the latter. There's no point to sit around and mope about the beleaguered Crisler crew - that ghastly season is over. So go ahead and inherit a few likable teams in basketball's field of 65 as yours (personally, I've become a die- hard fan of UAB and its "fastest 40 minutes in basketball") and move on with your life. But don't let discontentment from a bad basketball season force the Icers to fly under the Ann Arbor radar all the way to a national title. The Frozen Four takes place in Columbus on April 7-9, a few days after the NCAA Basketball tournament final. And with the NHL lockout, you better believe that this season's Frozen Four will be more hyped than ever by hockey heads and ESPN execs alike. Get past the failures of Tommy's Point-A-Minute Team and start giving the Icers the time of day. Gennaro Filice can be reached at gfilice@umich.edu. ines' scrappy play was a positive; all six runs scored were with two outs. Overall, Michigan scored 12 runs with two outs. "We're battlers," Maloney said. "Kind of like a blue collar work ethic. A-never- say-die attitude. That attitude can take you a long way. Two-out hits are always a key to a championship team." Michigan came back strong in game two of the doubleheader behind the pitch- ing of senior Jim Brauer. Brauer pitched seven innings, giving up five hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out nine. "I felt really good," Brauer said. "I had a lot of confidence early. It just carried throughout the game. And with the kind of run support I had, it just made my job that much easier." Led by Bohm and Getz, the Wolver- ines scored four times in the third inning and three times in both the fifth and sixth innings. Michigan was able to capitalize on the five errors committed by the Car- dinals' defense. Defensively Michigan was solid but needs to work on a few things. "I think we have to continually make sure we take care of the ball," Maloney said. "Making sure we understand the value of keeping the double play in order and hitting the cut-off man - the impor- tance of not going for a play if we don't have it. But in general I think the guys are doing a very good job considering we've only been outside a few times." By Ian Robinson Daily Sports Writer FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - As senior Theresa Feld- kamp handed the baton to fellow senior Lindsey Gallo in the last exchange of the Distance Medley Relay at the NCAA National Indoor Championships, the Wolverines trailed leader North Carolina by more than 30 meters. Over the next 1,600 meters, Gallo and runners from Vil- lanova and Stanford slowly brought the field closer to the leaders. Entering the last lap, Gallo was in fourth place, behind runners from North Carolina, Stanford and Vil- lanova. On the final turn she kicked into a higher gear, passed three runners, and helped Michigan earn its fourth indoor national championship with a time of 11:08.24. "(Winning a national championship) was my No. 1 goal coming into school," Gallo said. The victory in the DMR provided the Wolverines with 10 of their 16 overall points en route to a 13th-place fin- ish, 33 points behind the champions from the Tennessee. "As long as we kept Gallo close, we'd have a chance once she was within 15 meters," Michigan coach James Henry said. Freshman Nicole Edwards started the race for Michi- gan in the 1,200-meter leg. After staying in the middle of the field for much of her section, her finishing burst put Michigan in second place at the first hand-off. "I felt like it was hard to lead off because I just didn't want to mess anything up for the team," Edwards said. "I just wanted to put the team in the best position I could." Edwards was one of two freshmen to win a national championship over the weekend. "I am fortunate that I could be on a great team," Edwards said. After the opening 1,200-meters, Edwards handed the baton to senior Sierra Hauser-Price. Although North Car- olina had already built a substantial lead over the field, Hauser-Price was not worried about the deficit and main- tained Michigan's second-place position. "I was just trying to run the fastest I could and make sure that no one from behind catches me," Hauser-Price said. After competing on the women's basketball team for three seasons, Hauser-Price never had the opportunity to compete in the indoor track season. She was in awe of winning a national championship in her only NCAA indoor meet. "I can't put it into words," Hauser-Price said. "It's something that blew out all of my expectations." In the 800-meter leg, North Carolina built a lead of more than six seconds and Feldkamp did not appear to gain any ground on the leaders. She was more concerned about Villanova and Stanford than North Carolina. "I handed off (tied) with Villanova, and Gallo said that she preferred that because she wouldn't have to lead the chase pack," Feldkamp said. "I feel that if she would have led the chase pack, she wouldn't have had the kick in the end." Last year, Feldkamp competed on the Michigan DMR team that was disappointed with a seventh-place finish. This year's squad knew it had a chance to win but did not expect it. "It's awesome because one girl is a freshman and three of us are seniors, so it was a great way to end our season," Feldkamp said. Gallo focused on staying with the Villanova and Stan- ford anchors. "The two anchors from Stanford and Villanova are two of the best runners," Gallo said. "I knew that if I tucked in behind them, they would carry me up to the (UNC runner)." Gallo stayed with Stanford and Villanova until the last turn, when she passed them. On Saturday evening, Gallo competed in the mile-run as the No. 1 qualifier. At the beginning of race, Gallo slipped to the back of the pack and stayed there until after the first quarter. Then, she passed six runners before the half-mile mark. On the final lap, Gallo was in third place, trailing the leaders from Duke and Nebraska by 10 meters. Moving down the backstretch, Gallo lost distance on the leaders and could not recover. She finished the race with a time of 4:41.52 - 3.29 seconds behind the winner, Anne Shadle of Nebraska. Her third-place finish added six points to the team's point total. Gallo ran the anchor leg of the DMR the night before, TONY DING/Daily Senior Sierra Hauser-Price ran the 400-meter leg for the national champion distance medley relay team. while the runners from Duke and Nebraska did not. "We made a decision to have (Gallo) run the relay and open mile hoping for two wins, and we came up a little short," associate head coach Mike McGuire said. Although she did not win the mile, Gallo had no regrets about her meet. "I would not trade it for anything because the DMR is what we came here to do and the mile was secondary," Gallo said. Two other Wolverines that competed in the champion- ships were junior Stephanie Linz in the high jump and freshman Alyson Kohlmeier in the mile-run. Linz placed 14th in the high jump after clearing the bar at 1.72 meters. In the mile Kohlmeier finished in 15th place but failed to qualify for the finals. TRACK Continued from page 1B coach Ron Warhurst said. "Arkansas is in the middle of a fight for a national championship, but so are we. You can't impede or move left or right when a guy is coming on you. You can't come off the turn drifting to lane four. You just can't do that." Brannen would have preferred a clear- cut Michigan win but had no qualms about the controversial ending. "I was definitely upset about how things turned out," Brannen said. "If I'm going to lose, I don't mind los- ing fair. To win it because a team got disqualified is pretty crappy, but if they're going to take the win by cheat- ing, we have a legit reason for taking it from them." The race that ended in a photo finish never came into focus until the end. Rondell Ruff kicked off the relay with the 1,200-meter leg and was running in third place until he was tripped up while coming around the last bend. Ruff regained his balance, but, his split of 2:56.3 left Michigan in fifth place entering the first exchange. "Someone clipped my heel," Ruff said. "For a second, I thought I was going to take a dive, but I pulled it together." Sophomore Stann Waithe held his position following the handoff before turning on the jets in the final 100 meters. His 400-meter split of 45.8 was fast enough to put the Wolverines in sec- ond place entering the 800-meter leg. "There were four guys in front of me, and I knew I couldn't get it all from fifth," Waithe said. "(The split) could have been faster, but it was the smartest race I could have run at the time." But the exchange to Andrew Ellerton was not a smooth one, and the junior started the third leg in fifth place. "There was a lot of traffic - a lot of bumping and elbows thrown (at the exchange)," Ellerton said. "Even the race was a pretty tight because we weren't running too fast." Ellerton made up ground in the final two laps, moving the Wolverines into third place behind UCLA and Arkan- sas. His split of 1:49.8 put Brannen 10 meters behind the leaders entering the last leg. But UCLA's Jon Rankin and Ahmed exploded off the final handoff, creating a 30-meter margin over the rest of the field. Brannen opted to stay off the fast pace despite the large gap. "I knew they got out pretty fast, so I tried to run my own race thinking they would come back to me at some point," Brannen said. "They took a bit longer than I thought, and I really didn't catch them until a lap to go." Brannen eventually caught up to the pair with 200 meters remaining. He passed Rankin entering the final bend and began his sprint to the finish - just off the heels of Ahmed - before he was cut off at the finish line. It was the second consecutive national title in the DMR for the Wol- verines. Brannen and Ellerton were a part of last year's championship relay team as well. For Waithe and Ruff, the victory was a first-time achievement. "I wish we could have gotten our victory lap," Ruff said. "But it took me four years to get here, so it's pretty sweet." Waithe, who was supposed to run the relay last year, echoed similar sen- timents. "It feels great," Waithe said. "I was looking forward to this since last year because I was supposed to be on it but I got hurt. We didn't get to celebrate though, which is a big part of every- thing." The DMR victory put Michigan in a tie for tenth place heading into Sat- urday. Place an ad in The Michigan Daily's Summer Sublet Section and get cash for your house or apartment this spring/summer. Early Bird Rate: $35 for ads placed on or before March 17th, 2005. Standard Rate: $45 for ads placed after March 17th, 2oo5. Final Deadline: March 24th, 2oo5. 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