6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 26, 2005
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slips in poor conditions
By Max Kardon
Daily Sports Writer
It's easy to blame rain for a poor showing
on the golf course. It is always distracting
to play a full round seeking constant shelter
from an umbrella. But in tournament play,
the Michigan women's golf team knows a wet
course maintains an even playing field. This
weekend, the Wolverines headed south to
compete in the Lady Northern Invitational in
Bloomington. Michigan won the tournament
on its home turf last year, but couldn't defend
its title at Indiana. Michigan took sixth place
in a field of 12 after placing sixth as defending
champions the previous week at the Fossum
Invite in East Lansing
"It's a disappointing start," Michigan coach
Kathy Teichert. "We have the same caliber of
talent as last year, but we haven't been able to
come together to score as a team yet. We've
had some bright spots, but we all need to
shine together."
In the 36-hole format, six Wolverines com-
peted, but only the top four combined scores
were posted against the field.
"We keep posting three good scores," Tei-
chert said. "But the fourth remains elusive. We
just need one more, and we'll be in great shape.
We need to work on our endurance in order to
stay sharp for 36 straight holes. Improving the
short game remains ever-important."
Senior Amy Schmucker led Michigan
with an individual ninth-place finish, posting
scores of 73, 74 and 74 for a three round total
of 221. Junior Ali Stinson was the second best
Wolverine, finishing 19th with a combined
score of 226.
Purdue held a firm lead after two rounds,
with five Boilermakers in the top ten to help
secure a 15-stroke lead over the closest com-
petitor. The Boilermakers forged through
Sunday's rain with their lead intact and the
tournament in hand, finishing 20 strokes
ahead of second-place Michigan State.
Michigan was in a good position at the start
- holding third place after the first round
- but fell into trouble as its performance
began to drag during the next eighteen holes.
The hot and muggy weather took its toll on
the Wolverines. Michigan combined for 312
strokes in the second round - 16 strokes
worse than the 296 they had recorded earlier
in the day. The disappointing turn of events
dropped the team from third to seventh, put-
ting them in a hole that they could not escape
during Sunday's rain-soaked third round.
The rain lasted all day at increasing inter-
vals. At one point, course play was suspended
for a full 15 minutes. Puddles collecting on
greens caused protracted squeegee timeouts,
and players were forced to wait it out on the
tee boxes, umbrellas in hand.
"The rain got heavier as the round pro-
gressed, especially during the last six holes,"
Stinson said. "It became difficult to maintain
concentration. The stops and starts can really
knock off your rhythm."
Sophomore Lindsay Davis did not allow
the lengthy pauses to phase her. She chipped
in for birdie on a par 3 fourth hole after wait-
ing 30 minutes for an Indiana maintenance
crew to squeegee an unplayable green.
Top Michigan scorer Schmucker was unde-
terred by the inclement conditions, fortified
by a healthy attitude toward the disagreeable
weather and the fortune of playing with field-
leading Samantha Ridgedale of Illinois State.
"Everybody's in the same boat when it's
raining," Schmucker said. "You have to
stay patient because some shots will get
away from you. If that happens, you have
to focus on getting up and down. Playing
with somebody who's having a great day
tends to elevate your own game, so it was
a real pleasure to play with the golfer in
the lead."
*
Senior Amy Schmucker led the Wolverines last weekend with a four over 220 finish
Hoosiers snap streak as
Keynote Speaker
- .Edward Gramlich
Interim Provost at U-M and the
Richard A. Musgrave Professor at the
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy;
Former Federal Reserve Board Governor
.. Panelists
"" Henry Aaron
Senior Fellow Economic Studies, the
Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair at the
Brookings Institution
__ Olivia Mitchell
Director of the Boetner Center for Pension and
Retirement Research at the Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania
Robert Willis
Professor of Economics, and Director of the
Health and Retirement Survey at the Institute
for Social Research, University of Michigan
As the Debate on Social Security
reform goes forward the focus on
private accounts remains at its
forefront. We invite you to join
the discussion.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Founders Room
at the Alumni Center
200 Fletcher Avenue, Ann Arbor
Sponsored by
THE GERALD P FORD
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
and the
NATIONAL POVERTY CENTER
at the University of Michigan
Blue falls in
By John Geise
For the Daily
All good things must come to an end. The
Michigan women's volleyball team learned
that the hard way this weekend, ending their
seven-game winning steak with a five game
loss to Indiana in Bloomington on Saturday
night (30-27, 22-30, 30-18, 27-30, 12-15).
The Wolverines (1-1 Big Ten, 7-4 overall)
looked poised to win the match at the start of
the fourth stanza. They were up two games to
one and had just dominated the third game.
Michigan kept the fourth game close at the
start, fighting to an 8-8 tie. But Indiana (1-1,
7-6) went on a 5-0 run from which the Wolver-
ines never recovered. Several Michigan rallies
fell short, and the Hoosiers maintained the lead
for the remainder of the game, topping the Wol-
verines 30-27.
"We should have controlled game four,"
Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "Every time
it seemed like we were going to come back and
take control, we made a mistake."
Despite the mistakes, Michigan still looked
like they might bounce back in the final game.
But, up 9-7 after a 0-5 start, the Wolverines'
comeback lost steam, and Indiana closed out
the match on an 8-3 run.
"We played inconsistent all night," senior
Megan Knoebel said. "We just doomed our-
selves in the end."
At the beginning of the match, Michigan
tight match
looked poised to continue its recent hot streak.
But Indiana fought back. The Hoosiers tied the
first game and took two brief leads. With the
Hoosiers up 27-26, Indiana senior Rachel Ger-
ling committed consecutive attack errors, and
Michigan closed out the game 30-27.
The second frame started just like the first.
Michigan took a 5-2 lead before Indiana came
storming back. But this game quickly got out
of hand, and the Wolverines dropped the frame
30-22 despite a late surge.
The third game was Michigan's best of the
night. After being tied 10-10, the Wolverines
closed the game on a 20-8 run, highlighted by
eight of sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski's match-
high 22 kills - including six straight to close
out the game.
"Indiana played much better defense than
we did for pretty much the whole game"
Rosen said. "The third game was the one
exception."
Though the team is upset with the loss and
the end of its streak, Michigan has to move
on. The Wolverines' fifth and sixth consecu-
tive road games are looming as they travel to
Iowa on Friday night and play No. 5 Minne-
sota on Saturday night.
"I never really think of the season in
streaks," Rosen said. "We've got to take it
one game at a time. We have had a long road
stretch, but that's what we were given. We lost
one point in the Big Ten tonight, but we have
to move on and look to our next game."
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TREVOR CAMPBELL/ Daily
Senior Megan Knoebel powers a spike for the Wolverines.
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