14A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 15, 2005

Broderick ready to
be 'one to watch'

0 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Peterson's status to
be determined soon

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By Bryan Hamilton
For The Daily
What does it take to be one to
watch? Certainly there has to be
something that stands out above the
rest. Is it a person's work ethic? Is
it their passionate pursuit of a goal?
Or is it the way others are in awe at
their talent? Could it be a combina-
tion of the three?
Recently, Golf World Magazine
recognized these characteristics in
a Michigan women's golfer, Bri-
anna Broderick. In its Annual Col-
lege Preview Report, the magazine
tabbed Broderick as one of the "Top
50 Females to Watch" for the upcom-
ing year. It's an honor she shares
with only one other Big Ten player,
Purdue's Myrte Eikenaar.
"I don't really (think it will add
any pressure)," Broderick said. "I
think, if anything, it will push me
to practice harder and becone a
better player."
When it comes to being self-moti-
vated and pushing herself, Broderick,
a junior, has never had a problem.
"Brianna has the complete pack-
age," Michigan coach Kathy Tei-
chert said. "She is one of the hardest
workers we have ever had through
our program here. She is constantly
asking me and other players to go
out and play with her outside of our
practice rounds."

A Kansas City native, Broder-
ick was introduced to the game by
her father, a PGA teaching profes-
sional. Though this may seem like
a classic case of a father pushing
his daughter in the sport he loves
best, Brianna was never pressured
to play golf. In fact, she played sev-
eral other sports before picking up
the game in eighth grade.
The lack of outside pressures to
perform is something that may have
led Broderick to keep a level head
and stay balanced in her life. That's
something that certainly helped her
decide to come to Michigan. With so
many elite high school golfers in the
country choosing to go to southern
schools where the weather is more
conducive to playing golf, Broder-
ick took salvage in the cold winter
months of Ann Arbor.
"By coming to a school with long
winters, it gives me a chance to also
focus on my academics here," she
said. "That way, golf is not a con-
stant, year-round activity. I feel if
I would have gone to a southern
school, I would have gotten burnt out
from all the golf."
From the looks of Brianna's
resume here, it seems she has made
the right choice. While working hard
to get her degree in movement sci-
ence, Brianna's golf has not suffered.
Last year, she was ranked first on her
team in scoring average with a 75.50.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma
coach Bob Stoops said he'll decide later
this week whether suspended tailback
Adrian Peterson will start Saturday
against UCLA.
"We'll see. At this point, we antici-
pate him playing," Stoops said Tuesday.
"Start or not depends on how we feel
practice is going, what we feel we need
to do. Depending on what further hap-
pens from here, we'll see."
Peterson, who rushed for 220 yards
and three touchdowns in Oklahoma's
31-15 win against Tulsa on Saturday, was
suspended from practice on Monday and
Tuesday after missing classes. He was
allowed to participate in team meetings
and other activities, but is not allowed to
speak to reporters.
Peterson's suspension was a result of
a new Oklahoma athletic department
policy on class attendance implemented
this year. Under the policy, obtained
by The Associated Press, athletes who
accumulate four unexcused absences are
suspended from practice for two days.
For each subsequent absence, athletes
are suspended for the next scheduled
competition.
Athletes also can lose other privi-
leges, including complimentary game
admissions and athletic awards, and be
excluded from competing in postseason
play. Coaches can institute other atten-
dance guidelines, provided athletes are
notified in writing at the beginning of
the academic year.

Athletic director Joe Castiglione said
the new approach was one of the uni-
versity's strategies to improve academic
performance and retention and make
sure athletes are progressing toward their
degrees.
"This is just one element of a number
of things that we are doing," Castiglione
said.
Stoops endorses that policy.
"In the end, they're here to go to school,
and it should be our job as administrators
or as coaches that if they're not, we can't
put you on the field," Stoops said.
No. 21 Oklahoma announced the sus-
pension in a statement sent to a limited
number of news organizations following
the Sooners' closed practice Monday
night.
"I probably shouldn't have said (Mon-
day), but everyone finds out anyway,"
Stoops said. "In fairness to him, it prob-
ably doesn't need to be me coming out
and saying that. In the end, that's the situ-
ation, and it's better than all the rumors
being around about it."
Peterson's suspension came nine days
after the team's starting quarterback, 20-
year-old Rhett Bomar, was cited for pos-
session of alcohol by a minor.
"We're doing things discipline-wise,
and everything else like we always
have," Stoops said. "That doesn't mean
it's right or good, and it's fair to criticize
me because some teams accept it better
than others and listen or are disciplined
better than others."

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JAOUN GUUPER/Daily
Brianna Broderick was named one of the "Top 50 Females to Watch" by Golf World.

She received All-Big Ten First Team
honors while helping the Wolverines
finish second in the Big Ten Champi-
onships, their highest mark ever.
"Brianna is someone who feeds
off of success and constantly pushes
herself to next level," Teichert said.
"She is someone who always stays
hungry."
With a work ethic and talent for
the game, it's tough not to wonder
what is in store next for Michigan's
golf prodigy.
"I really think she could have a

shot at playing professional golf,"
Teichert said. "I think it's some-
thing she's had in the back of her
mind as a passion, whether she
admits it or not."
Whatever Broderick decides to do
- from pursing a career in sports
medicine, taking the leap to profes-
sional golf or maybe just leading
the Wolverines to a first-place fin-
ish at the Big Ten Championships
this year - Brianna is certainly
one to watch.


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