10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 16, 2005 'M'loses faith, but hopes to rebound By H. Jose Bosch Daily Sports Writer I see skies of blue and clouds of white. The bright-blessed day, the dark say good night, And I think to myself, what a won- derful world. -Louis Armstrong Aside from Elise Ray's shoulder problems and the troubles with land- ings and dismounts at the beginning of the year, the Michigan women's gym- nastics team had very little to worry about during the 2005 season. But what happened on Friday night in Athens, Ga. was much worse than any injury or technical flaw. The Wol- verines lost confidence in themselves. "(The team) got nervous - they started questioning," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "In our sport, if you start to question your ability to do something, all kinds of bad things are going to happen." For Michigan, the bad things were falls and low scores, and, when the night came to an end, the Wolverines were in a position they were unfamiliar with - the receiving end of a 197.00- 194.875 domination by Georgia. And unlike most other sports, gym- nastics coaches do not have the luxu- ry of a timeout to rally their players or draw up plays. When a gymnast begins to doubt herself going into an event, there isn't much a coach can do to help her. But the Wolverines aren't going to dwell on the past - not with a signifi- cant meet against Michigan State and the Big Ten Championships looming. During Monday's practice, Plocki sat her team down and talked about the Roster change up benefits. freshman Maravic, Netters By Jamie Josephson Daily Sports Writer Coming off a two-game losing streak during its spring break trip to California, the No. 43 Michigan men's tennis team was in need of a quick turnaround. Last weekend, a game of musi- cal chairs was just the recipe Michigan needed to shake things up. And freshman phenom Matko Maravic proved to be the icing on the cake. The rising star made his debut at the No. 1 singles position, one of several lineup changes made by coach Bruce Berque last weekend. Michigan capitalized on its double-header Sun- day at the Varsity Tennis Center, picking up two wins against Butler and Indiana State and improving its record to 9-4 (2-0 Big Ten). After beginning the dual-match season at the No. 4 singles position, Maravic quickly moved his way up to the No. 2 slot and stayed there until Sunday. "We looked at the same stuff that goes into the decisions about the lineup each match," Berque said. "Basically, (the No. 1 position goes to) who we feel is playing the best tennis at the time and at the highest level. It wasn't a question that (Rubin) wasn't doing those things, but Matko has been improving, and we felt he was deserving of that opportunity." Maravic proved to be very comfortable playing at the No. 1 position, giving a flawless performance on Sunday. "I was kind of surprised to get that opportunity, and I was really happy I was able to win in both matches," Maravic said. "It's a privilege to play No. 1." Against Butler, in the first match of the double-header, Maravic dominated his opponent, 6-0, 6-3. But in the Indiana State match, Maravic had a little trouble putting away Anton Tsymbalov. After taking the first set, Maravic suffered, what he viewed to be, several poor calls against him in the second set. After arguing with the umpire, the freshman was given a point penalty. But he was able to regain his composure, and he won the match in a third-set 10-point tiebreaker, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(7). "I was really frustrated, but I knew I had to play a 10- point tie-breaker," Maravic said. "I needed to focus on every point to win." Maravic's ability to bounce back after the penalty did not go unnoticed by Berque, who said that Maravic has developed his mental game to the point where the coaches are confident that he can compete at the top singles position now. "Mentally and emotionally, he's become a very consistent and strong competitor," Berque said. "He would occasionally have a little loss of control with his emotions, but, over the last 10 matches or so, he's been a rock, mentally." Berque also said that, physically, Maravic has demonstrated noticeable improvement in his net and service games while compiling his current 9-4 record. But it is the Croatian native's "no fear" attitude that Berque believes will help Maravic handle the pressure of playing at No. 1. "The first time Matko heard he was playing at No. 1 was right before the singles (on Sunday)," Berque said. "I had a hunch that it wasn't necessary to talk to him (before that). He doesn't care who he's playing. He just loves playing and competing." In addition to moving Maravic up to the No. 1 spot, senior Josef Fischer entered the singles lineup on Sunday against Butler. He had appeared in just three matches before then, but Fischer easily took the match, 6-2, 6-1. "Josef has been coming along a lot," Berque said. "Lately, he's been winning very convincingly, and it's good to know we have him as an option." Even with the lineup changes, Berque said that the team does not place much importance on where each player com- petes in the lineup. "I honestly think the goal for Matko is not to stay at the No. 1 position," Berque said. "It's to get better and help the team win. I try to de-emphasize the lineup with the team, ... We have more important things to worry about." Maravic and the Wolverines will look to continue its two- game win streak against Louisiana State in Baton Rouge on Sunday. The noon match will be the first of five consecutive matches on the road for Michigan. MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily Frosh Katie Ueberman remains optimistic despite the team's performance in Athens, Ga. meet for a few minutes. Her plan was to discuss what happened and then never to bring it up again. "It's a learning experience," Plocki said of the meet. "If we find ourselves in that situation again - if there is a little mistake or the judging isn't as we'd like it - I want to see determina- tion on their faces. And I want to see them digging down, pulling out their Michigan pride and saying to them- selves, 'Darn it, we're not going to let anybody put us down. We're going to show you how good we are.' " For most of the season, every time a gymnast was out on the floor or per- forming her beam routine, she exuded confidence. It was this "reckless aban- don" that helped Michigan become so successful on the floor and beam - it was seventh and third in the nation, respectively. And when a team does so well during the course of the season, it can be easy to take confidence for granted. Now Michigan knows that not every meet can be viewed through rose-colored glasses. "We got a rough meet out of our way and out of our system," freshman Katie Lieberman said. "I think it will help us in a way because we'vebeen so consistent and scoring so well. It just pumps you up to do better and make sure it never happens again." But coach Plocki doesn't believe this loss will hurt the momentum the team had before the meet. "I hope that this experience is going to give us a great deal of motiva- tion," Plocki said. "I hope it will be something that will give us that little kick." The coach also said that all the problems the Wolverines had on Fri- day night were mental, and she doesn't feel the team has to deviate too much from the normal routine in the future. With its worst meet of the year behind them, the Wolverines' season may rest on their ability to regain their confidence and think to themselves, "what a wonderful world." MNOT I . -.Di- sprl- t , - i(- trr-stior IMPROVE.N-I.ElYr, BT.,UJ:, DROPSTO IIFTH Despite shooting eight shots better than yesterday, the Michigan women's golf team dropped one spot - to fifth - on the second day of the UNLV Spring Invitational. The team shot a 308 but was unable to move up on the leader board due to solid performances by Tennessee and Pepperdine. Senior captain Laura Olin played remarkably better, shooting a 73 - eight strokes better than her Monday score. On the day, Olin managed to birdie four holes and had no hole worse than a bogey. With her stellar performance, Olin moved into a tie for 12th place. Junior Amy Schmucker struggled early, shooting a five-over par on the front nine. But she was able to bounce back to finish 7-over par on the day. Schmucker fell 13 spots into a tie for 17th. - Randy Ip + PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily Freshman Matko Maravic won two singles matches at No. 1this past weekend against Butler and Indiana State. AN t I I* I N OPPORTUnITH There's still time! Application deadline EXTEnDED to MARCH 18T" E Freshmen, Sophomores & Juniors: A Internship Opportunity Right on Campus!!! " Full-time positions available for the Fall '05 semester " Sell advertising to local and national businesses * Manage your own account territory " Earn a commission based pay - Flexible hours that work around your class schedule " Management opportunities available Pick up an application today at THE mIHIGAN DAILD J - -= a