The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 11, 2005 - 3B
Berque's return to
illinois marked by
loss to fonner team
By Randy Ip
Daily Sports Writer
A day after Michigan beat Purdue 6-1, it was in great position to knock
off No. 2 Illinois (6-0 Big Ten, 16-3 overall) at the Varsity Tennis Center
yesterday. There was a little more on the line for Michigan coach Bruce Ber-
que. Berque spent five seasons as the Fighting Illini's associate head coach.
Unfortunately, Michigan (5-2, 12-8) was unable to overcome Illinois in a 6-1
defeat.
"It was strange seeing the school colors, the van and (head coach) Craig
(Tiley) because I was there just a few years ago." Berque said. "When I was
at Illinois, we loved going on the road and beating up on the opposing team.
It's weird being on the losing side of things. But they have a great program,
and I'm really glad that I was a part of it. I'm really excited that we have an
opportunity here at Michigan to produce something similar."
Riding a home win against Purdue a day earlier, the Wolverines faced stiff-
er competition from Illinois and knew they had a tough challenge ahead.
In doubles competition, Michigan sophomore Ryan Heller paired with
senior Josef Fischer, but the duo came up just short against Illinois's No.
2 doubles team, 8-6. That match clinched the doubles point for the Illini;
Michigan seniors David Anving and Vinny Gossain lost their match at No. 3
doubles earlier in the day. But that didn't stop freshman Matko Maravic and
sophomore Brain Hung from topping the No. 1 doubles tandem of Illinois
with an 8-6 victory.
The Wolverines had an uphill battle after losing the doubles point.
Michigan was faced with a strong singles lineup from Illinois, which fea-
tures three players in the top-50, including fifth-ranked Ryler DeHeart,
who sports a record of 21-1 in Big Ten singles competition. Illinois won
the first two singles matches with No. 42 Kevin Anderson beating Heller
and No. 33 G.D. Jones ousting Maravic in straight sets. Josef Fischer put
Michigan on the board with the team's only point of the day, winning at
No. 5 singles, but in the end Illinois was too much for Michigan. With
Michael Rubin out with a wrist injury, Hung stepped up to face DeHeart
in a No. 1 singles battle. Hung played well, but DeHeart gave Illinois the
W,' winning 7-5, 6-3.
Even though the overall matchup was already lost, the last two matches
of the day were the most competitive ones. Playing at No. 6 singles, Anving
dropped the first set to Illinois's Ryan Rowe 6-3 but battled back in the second
set to win in a tiebreaker, 8-6. The match came down to a super-tiebreaker
with Anving losing 10-6. At No. 4 singles, Steve Peretz was Michigan's last
chance, and like Anving, Peretz split the first two sets, bringing the match
to a super-tiebreaker. But, Peretz couldn't pull out the victory in the super-
tiebreaker, losing 10-5.
Despite losing the decision to Illinois, Michigan played hard throughout,
which is all a coach could ever ask for.
"I'm very proud of the way we competed," Berque said. "I'm proud of
(our) consistency in terms of the way we compete in each match. This team
has a lot of pride, and they showed that again today. The match was already
decided, 4-1, and they decided not to roll over. They showed a lot of heart."
Despite playing without two of its key players, Michigan pulled into sec-
After four years,
memories live on
ALEXANUR uIAOS/uDauiy
Michigan Senior Josef Fischer had the sole victory for Michigan against Illinois.
ond place in the Big Ten standings a day earlier after denying lowly Purdue
(3-11, 0-5) its first Big Ten dual match win. This match was important for the
Wolverines since they have not beaten the Boilmakers since 2001.
"It's a big win for us, especially since we were short-handed," Berque said.
"We already lost Michael (Rubin) for the season, and we were without Ryan
(Heller) today because he had a family commitment. We really stressed to the
team that they were going to have to pull together since we only had six guys.
There was little margin for error, and a couple of our guys really stepped up
today."
Michigan almost came away with a clean sweep against Purdue. Anving
lost the only match for the Wolverines at No. 4 singles 6-4, 6-2. The key
matchup of the day for Michigan was No. 119 Maravic going up against No.
77 Paul Rose. The match was close from start to finish but Maravic was able
to pull away with the upset, winning 6-4, 7-6(7).
That's it.
After devoting a great chunk
of my life over the past four
years to covering Michigan sports,
my journalism career has come to a
close. I can no
longer afford
to mooch off
my parents
while receiving
a salary that
an Indonesian
sweatshop BOB RUNT
worker would The SportsMonday
balk at. While Column
some people in
my position may attempt to continue
writing professionally, I have decided
not to. As much as I have loved work-
ing at the Daily, I just don't have the
passion for writing to make a career
out of it.
The funny thing is that I came to
Michigan because I didn't want to do
journalism. I had applied to a bunch
of journalism schools my senior year
of high school, but I later decided to
come to Ann Arbor because I was
unclear about what I wanted to do
with my life. I wanted to come to a
place that had a vast array of oppor-
tunities I could take advantage of.
But then came my first Sunday in
Ann Arbor. I had been invited to the
Daily's first sports staff meeting of
the year by Detroit Free Press base-
ball writer John Lowe - who helps
the Daily during his free time and
who I had met about six months prior
under sheer happenstance - and I
figured I had nothing to lose. While
I didn't want to make a career out of
writing, I still liked it and wanted to
get involved on campus.
Eight weeks and three week-
end road trips later, I had covered
Michigan's first ever national cham-
pionship in a women's sport. Four
years later, I had covered events in 10
different states and in every Big Ten
city except one. Oh yeah, and I also
became a level-C campus celebrity by
running pictures of myself perform-
ing obscene stunts.
Throughout my time here, I con-
sistently asked myself whether the
30-plus-hour work weeks were worth
it. After all, I was a college student.
But there was one thing that rang in
my mind: I just couldn't see myself
working anywhere else.
Now that it's over, I have no
regrets - even as I sit here with
three weeks until I graduate and
absolutely no concrete post-gradua-
tion plans. The experience of work-
ing with great people (and providing
five minutes of entertainment to
students trying to stay awake during
their statistics lecture) has been sec-
ond to none. So while the most vivid
memories of some students' careers
may be headlined with random
hook-ups at Rick's, mine consist of
some of the following:
" Standing on the field in Pasadena
this year to see one of the greatest
Rose Bowls ever finish in dramatic
conclusion.
e Writing a joke column about
Texas playing in the Rose Bowl
that led to 180 hate e-mails and an
appearance on ESPN Radio in Aus-
tin in the process.
" Paying my own way to travel 15
hours in a car to Oklahoma City to
cover the Women's College World
Series.
" Sitting in the press box at Yost
Ice Arena as the Michigan ice
hockey team used its home crowd
advantage to will itself to the Fro-
zen Four.
" Capturing the excitement of a
hoard of Brazilian soccer fans on the
Diag after their home country had
just taken home the World Cup.
" Having a couple people recognize
me from "On the Road with Bob
Hunt" at nearly every party I've been
to over the last four months, receiv-
ing responses such as "Are you the
guy who rode a bull?" "I thought you
were taller" and "Are you the guy
from the Daily? You're a douche!"
- Riding my bike every day to
hockey practice my sophomore year
so I could chat with Red Berenson,
even though he would never actually
learn my name.
" Heading down to the field at
Notre Dame Stadium only to have
Muhammad Ali pop into the elevator,
start shadow boxing me and perform
magic tricks.
" Missing almost an entire week
of school so that I could hang out in
New York and watch the Michigan
men's basketball team take home the
NIT title at Madison Square Garden.
- Walking out of a burrito place in
West Lafayette at 3:30 a.m. to find a
girl waiting outside to lick my face
so that she could appear in the Daily
that next Monday.
" Pacing down High Street in
Columbus in a Steve Breaston jersey
by myself while bystanders mooned
me and called out to throw me in
the street.
" Determining that asking Mary
Sue Coleman to pick games based
on point spreads was a ludicrous
idea and yet choosing to go through
with it anyway (not surprisingly, she
said no).
" Running out of an East Lansing
apartment so I could partake in a riot
only to find myself running from tear
gas and falling into the Red Cedar
River.
- Seeing young freshmen enter the
building for the first time, watching
them develop the same love for a
decrepit old building that I had done
a couple years earlier and knowing
that where they will be in just a short
period of time will only make me
smile.
Wherever my life takes me five,
10, 20 years from now, I will always
have these moments. So, to those who
made these experiences possible (I'd
love to mention you all, but I don't
want to leave anyone out), and to
those who found my work entertain-
ing, I know that I'll never be able to
repay you.
Bob Hunt would like to apologize to
Gennaro Filice, who let him take this
column after hearing that he would not
write a sappy piece. Bob was planning
on doing so, but that was until he actu-
ally started writing. He can be reached
at bobhunt@umich.edu
the tournament in 15th place. The
Wolverines will host the 2005 Big Ten
Tournament April 22-24.
0 WOMEN'S ROWING
BlueNbattles back, beats Brown big
By Sara Livingston
Daily Sports Writer
COLUMBUS - With just 750 meters to go,
the first varisty eight of the No. 3 Michigan
women's rowing team was three seats behind
No. 4 Brown and at risk of ending its undefeated
season. Yet, with the voice of senior coxswain
Tara Medina resonating in the rowers' ears, the
Wolverines pulled dead even with the Bears as
they reached the final stretch of the race. With
the yelling of "Let's Go Blue" from family and
friends echoing off of the calm lake, Michigan
grasped its second wind and pulled away from
Brown, crossing the finish line 5.9 seconds
before the Bears and keeping its winning streak
intact.
"Tara reminded us to put a lot of trust in our
race plan and to remember that we have visual-
ized this before," senior Sarah Trowbridge said.
"We knew that these crews are going to push us
though, and we have to bring everything we got.
When we were behind she just told us to calm
'M' tops IllI
By Chastity L. Rolling team abou
Daily Sports Writer maintainin
down, relax and make sure that we are techni-
cally as good as we can be."
The key for the Wolverines was to maintain
their focus that had led the varisty eight boat to
victory against No. 8 Michigan State earlier that
day. No matter what the situation was, the row-
ers knew they had to stick to their race plan and
stay on pace.
"We just stuck to the plan," Medina said. "I
just talked to them about previous times when
we were down and were able to come back. I
made sure they stayed confident and; when we
are behind, we just focus on ourselves and what
we are going to do to come back and win."
The second varsity eight boat bettered its per-
formance from last weekend's race against Ohio
State despite finished the weekend 1-1, losing to
Brown after beating the Spartans by a full boats
length and clocking in at 6:39.0. The Wolverines
led Michigan State throughout the entire race,
constantly increasing their lead. But against
Brown, it was the exact opposite. The Bears led
from the start, never giving the Wolverines an
opportunity to catch up to their rigorous pace.
"I think we had a really great day," Michigan
coach Mark Rothstein said. "(The second varsity
eight) was able to win in the race against Michi-
gan State, and that was a great morning race for
us. While we lost to Brown, I felt that we rowed
well, and I think that our second varsity eight
is improving and, by the end of the year, will
be fast."
The team's goal in between regattas is always
to train harder and increase its speeds because
it knows the other crews are doing the same
thing. It is also important that they work hard to
maintain a competitive edge. Next weekend, the
Wolverines will face Iowa, Minnesota and Wis-
consin, three crews that Michigan knows will
only get faster as the season progresses.
"I think, right now, we just need to keep train-
ing," Rothstein said. "We have to keep increas-
ing our volumes, and week to week we can make
a lot of gains. We just need to keep training, and
I think, if we do that, we will be in great shape
for the rest of the season."
I
I
ini to salvage weekend
' 1
JL.
NOTES
t believing in yourself,
g confidence and being
The No. 38 Michigan women's tennis
team's two-match winning streak was
upset by Purdue's 6-1 win on Saturday.
Despite the loss at Purdue, Michigan
came back strong with a close win against
host Illinois.
Yesterday, the Wolverines and the
Fighting Illini were tied at three.
The tie-breaking point was on the
Wolverines' doubles partners soph-
omore Elizabeth Exon and junior
Debra Streifler. Both teams needed
the point from the third doubles
match, but the Wolverines (4-3 Big
Ten, 9-9 overall) snatched it. The
8-6 victory over the Fighting Illini
gave the team the win, 4-3.
"It came down to the last wire,"
Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt said.
"But (Saturday), after the loss to
Purdue, I had a long talk with the
tough at crunch time."
This critical situation came soon-
er than expected for Exon and Strei-
fler, as their teammates counted
on them for a win. Though the duo
has won seven of their its games
this season, the anticipation of this
match was intense.
"It was one of those moments that
you live for," Exon said. "It was
exciting and easy to be nervous, but
Streifler and I stayed focused."
Said Streifler: "We had to play for
the moment, but, at the same time,
we had to play for the team."
Playing against the Fighting Illi-
ni in her home state of Illinois was
"nerve-wracking" for Streifler.
"They are really in-your-face,"
Strifler said. "They are a very good
team, and we lost to them last year. I
didn't want it to happen again."
During this critical time, Streifler
reflected on the team meeting fol-
lowing the Purdue match.
"(The talk) really made me think
about my confidence and how I need
to play with more guts," Streifler
said. "I knew I needed to put it all
out there today, and I did."
Exon said that they walked away
encouraged after the team meeting, and
the results showed immediately.
Senior Leanne Rutherford and
freshman Allie Shafner won their
doubles match with a 6-1, 6-2 score.
Streifler won with a score of 6-3, 6-
1, and junior Nina Yaftali contrib-
uted with a 6-4, 6-3 win. Doubles
partners Michelle DaCosta and
sophomore Kara Delicata added an
easy win in the first doubles match,
but Illinois won the second one.
Both teams depended on the point
from the third doubles match, but
the Wolverines got it.
"Each athlete has an individual role
to carry out," Ritt said. "(Yesterday), the
match depended on doubles, but it doesn't
always come down to that. The most
important thing is that the teams uses
their strength and stay confident in their
game."
Next week, Michigan will match-
up against Ohio State, in Ann Arbor
for its last home match of the sea-
son. Though this will be a typical
match-up, there will be something
unusual about this weekend's match
- it will be held outdoors.
"I've been here for four years, and
this will be my third time playing
outdoors in my collegiate career,"
DaCosta said.
Michigan will honor its seniors
before the match begins.
Freshman leads Blue Cagers name four
to victory from behind captains for 2005-06
Freshman Isabelle Gendreau led
the Michigan women's golf team to a
stirring come-from-behind effort yes-
terday at the Lady Boilermaker Invita-
tional. Gendreau notched a career best
two-under 70 to help the Wolverines
to a first-place tie with TCU. Michi-
gan was in fifth place before yester-
day's final round and found itself nine
shots behind the leader after 36 holes.
But its brilliant collective play led to a
final round 292.
Gendreau finished l1th overall, the
best of any of the Wolverines. Junior
Amy Schmucker placed 13th, and
sophomore Brianna Broderick ended
Future seniors Graham Brown,
Sherrod Harrell, Chris Hunter and
Lester Abram were named captains
for the 2005-06 season. Never before
in the 89-year history of Michigan
basketball has the team selected four
captains for a single season.
At the 44th annual U-M Basket-
ball Awards Celebration last Sat-
urday, Dion Harris was named the
2004-05 Bill Bunton Most Valu-
able Player. Michigan senior Ryan
Shinska was named the It's Great
To Be A Michigan Wolverine Fan
Award.
Have unwanted
stuff?
Moving Y
Out?