2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 3, 2005 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY able 3idtritgan uail Athlete of the Week Water poio team By Eileen Hengel For the Daily Repeating is never easy, especially when you're coming off a Big Ten Champion- ship and a third-place national finish. But that's the goal of the Michigan men's club water polo team, and, if early results are any indication, it is well on its way to accomplishing it. Starting the season strong with a 6-2 record, the team heads into the Hoosier Invite at Bloomington and Big Ten Championship in East Lansing in search of a repeat. Losing much of their starting team from last season, the Wolverines rely heavily on not only the performance of the few returning players but also the play of a select group of freshmen. Bringing substantial speed to the team, freshman Matt Burke easily found a starting position on the A team this season. Nevertheless, return- ing members, such as fifth-year senior Ryan Wyatt, senior John Thomas and junior Dan Krudys remain the reason for Michigan success through the beginning of the season. "(Wyatt) has been playing with the team for almost 10 years. He brings a level of experience and skill that is hard to achieve without the time and effort he puts into his game," assistant coach Dan Perout said. The season began before class started with two practices daily. In its first outing at looks to repeat the Spartan Invitational on Sept. 10-12, Michigan played against the Michigan Mas- ters, a team consisting of graduated students throughout Michigan. Michigan narrowly escaped with a 13-12 victory. "Our first tournament was difficult because we were just coming together as a team, and a lot of the success involved in water polo comes from anticipating the cuts and moves of your teammates," Perout said. Michigan faced Michigan State twice throughout the year, first at the Michigan State Invitational, losing 2-10, and second at the Boilermaker Invitational Sept. 16-18, falling 4-5. "In the first game (Michigan State) basically out swam us," Perout said. "In the second game, I really think that we played the best we could have possibly played but sometimes the ball just doesn't fall your way." As the season progressed, the team started coming together while still learning from its losses. "The losses to Michigan State were difficult because they are our biggest rival," junior Glenn Legacki said. "But I think we learned a lot from the game, and we're probably going to have to face them again at Big Tens. Though the losses proved hard on the team, it experienced significant victories over Illinois, 8-6, Miami (Ohio), 16-11, and Purdue, 12-10. "With each tournament, I believe, we become more and more of a team," Perout said. Name: David Betts Hometown: Ypsilanti Team: Daily Touch Football Class: Senior Why: Betts led the Daily to a dominating 70-21 victory of the State News in Lansing on Friday. The News could not contain Betts, who caught four receiving touchdowns and ran a kickoff back for a score. 01 'M' SCHIEDULE Date Event 10/3-4 M Golf at Memphis Intercollegiate 10/3-9 M Tennis at All-American Championships 10/6 Field Hockey at Michigan State 10/7 W Cross Country at Michigan Intercollegiates 10/7 W Soccer vs. Northwestern 10/7 Volleyball vs. Illinois 10/7 Ice Hockey vs. Quinnipiac Location Cordova, Tenn. Tulsa, Okla. East Lansing Rochester Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Time TBA TBA 5 p.m. 4 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 8 p.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 1 p.m. 6 p.m. 7:35 p.m. noon 12:30 p.m. Stickers winless in two games at home 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/8 M Tennis Alumni Match W Swim/Diving Intrasquad Match Football vs. Minnesota Volleyball vs. Purdue Ice Hockey vs. Quinnipiac By David Spielman Daily Sports Writer Maybe it's the worst things in life that come in threes. On Sunday at Ocker Field, the No.13 Michigan field PENN STATE hockey team (6-5) dropped its MHGAN 2 third-straight Big Ten conference game by a score of 3-2 to No. 7 Penn State (11-1). On Friday, Michigan fell to No. 8 Indiana (9-1), allowing three goals before succumbing, 3-1. The game against Penn State was a tale of two halves, as the Wolverines went down 3-0 at halftime and capitalized on strong play in the second half to tally two goals. But the effort was too little, too late, as the clock ran down to zero before Michigan could tie up the match. Still, coach Nancy Cox saw many things in her team's effort in the second half that bode well for the future. "The ball speed got better in the second half and our kids are getting a lot better at finishing," Cox said. "As long as we make improvements on the backfield line, the midfield line and the forward line, we're going to be where we need to be. It's frustrating for all of us because we want noth- ing but success, but we're going to be successful when the time comes for us to be successful." Penn State and Michigan have played each other 27 times in series history, with the Nittany Lions holding an all-time record of 19-8. But Michigan had won six of the last eight meetings between the two programs before Sunday's, so the team was looking to continue its good run. Two minutes into the game, Penn State got on the board with a quick goal and tallied two more before halftime. Michigan's sense of urgency was palpable, which translated into a pair of goals in the sec- ond half by freshman forwards Stephanie Hoyer and Erin Dallas. Junior goalkeeper Beth Riley made nine saves in net and the defense tightened up in the latter part of the game. Michigan kept the pressure on Penn State, and the Nittany Lions defense bent but didn't break. "Penn State's a very good team this year," Cox said. "Right now they're in the top-10 in the nation, but we're going to be there in the end. Our kids just have to keep believing and step- ping up to their roles." Against Indiana, the Wolverines got into another 3-0 hole. In the last moments, Dal- las connected on Michigan's only score of the game. 10/9 W Soccer vs. Wisconsin 10/9 Field Hockey vs. Connecticut Michigan Daily's College Football 40 Michigan Daily's ower ankings 2.Texas (4-0) * There is no slowing Vince Young and the Horns. I mean, honestly, when's the last time Oklahoma beat Texas? wd~ 2. Angels (95-67) " With Bad Vlad and Garret Anderson healthy, the Angels have plenty of power to support their strong pitching. 4. Georgia (4-0) 4. Houston (89-73) DJ. Shockley waited four years " Thisteam isfull of clutch performers behind David Greene to become the - even Brad Ausmus is getting in on Bulldog's QB. The way he is playing the big hitting - and has the best 1-2- it looks like four years too late. 3 punch in baseball. t 1 i 6. Atlanta (90-72) * Andruw Jones better hope the kids can keep it up with the pressure on. Whatever curse is on the Braves, its not going to end this year. giU 1 * 8. Tennessee (3-1) " Those Clausen boys sure know how to win, regardless of the fact that they throw like girls ... with broken arms. '5-r. I-Wr 8. San Diego (82-80) * Despite their pathetic record, the Padres can't be taken lightly in a short series. This is a talented team with quite a lot to prove. FILE PHOTO Michigan goalie Beth Riley's nine saves against Penn State were not enough to stave off a 3-2 loss. But even though this weekend didn't go its way "But it wasn't bad in the sense that we got a on the scoreboards, the team still has a positive heck of a lot better. And that's what it's all about attitude the rest of the year. when you have a very youthful team. We're "The weekend was bad because we lost," Cox going to be where we need to be when the time said. comes." 10. Wisconsin(5-0) " We want to be the first ones to call the Badger's return to the top 10. If they don't make it: you heard this from the State News. ZA ------ % mu 10. Detroit (71-91) *From Pidge Light to Craig Monroe stealing a belt before the season, the Tigers have blessed us with a season of memories. Thank you. Blue continues to roll during fall season By Kevin Wright Daily Sports Writer Sophomore Samantha Findlay hasn't missed a step from her breakout freshman year. In the first inning of the Michigan softball team's game against Canisius yesterday, Findlay took a 2-0 fastball and drove it over the leftfield fence, EASTERN MICH. 0 scoring senior Tiffany Haas and giving the Wolverines an early 2-0 lead. Michigan never relinquished its lead in the laid-back atmosphere of the fall season as it cruised to a 6-0 win and then defeated East- ern Michigan 1-0 in its second game during the Michigan Softball Fall Invitational at Alumni Field. "We're just looking to get better," Michi- gan coach Carol Hutchins said. "We were trying to give everyone some experience out there and get the freshman out there." Behind a solid performance from junior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson and freshman Stacy Delaney, the Wolverines stymied the Grif- fins' offense, allowing just two hits and no runs. Wilson started the game for the Wolver- ines, sitting the Canisius hitters in order in the first inning. The junior mixed her pitch location and sneed and kept the Griffins off- lead again in the fourth inning when she hit a hard groundball that Canisius's second baseman couldn't glove on the backhand attempt. Junior Rebekah Milian hustled around second base and never hesitated when rounding third to score. The Wolverines carried the momentum of their Canisius victory into the final game of the invitational as Michigan faced off against cross-town rival Eastern Michigan. Locked in a scoreless battle, the Wolver- ines threatened to break the game open in the fifth and sixth innings. With runners on first and second and one out in the fifth inning, freshman Teddi Ewing grounded out to shortstop followed by a Milian groundout to third. Then, in the sixth inning, Haas led off the Wolverines' attack with a line drive to centerfield. After a Findlay popup to second base, Giampaolo took the first pitch that she saw and ripped it through the middle of the infield. But with the bases loaded and two outs, senior Stephanie Bercaw popped up down the first baseline to end the Michigan threat. "We didn't look like we were very aggres- sive," Hutchins said. "We didn't look like we were very tough at the plate. I don't think that we were very consistent at all." Entering the seventh inning still dead- locked, the Wolverines once again looked to take the lead and the victory as Findlay came to the plate with runners on second PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL Cadillac breaks down but Bucs still beat Lions TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew it was only a matter of time before opponents started stacking the line of scrim- mage in hopes of slowing down Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. The Detroit Lions were successful at it yesterday, but contain- ing the rookie also left them vulnerable to other playmakers in an improved offense that's helped the resurgent Bucs to their first 4-0 start since 1997. With Williams slowed by a sore hamstring, Joey Galloway and Michael Pittman took up the slack and Tampa Bay's defense stopped a march deep in their territory to hang on for a 17-13 victory. "We have all kinds of weapons," Pittman said. "Cadillac started off great the first three games. He was hurt today and really wasn't 100 percent, but we still went out there and played." Galloway scored on an 80-yard reception and Brian Griese also threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Pittman, a starter the last three seasons whose role in the offense has diminished since the arrival of Williams. "I need to make the most of it when I can," said Pittman, who had six receptions for 96 yards and ran five times for a team-high 30 yards. The Lions had trouble moving the ball on offense all day, but Joey Harrington led a drive from his own 7 to the Tampa Bay 11 in the last five minutes. Detroit (1-2) thought it would escape with a victory when Har- rington found Marcus Pollard in the right corner of the end zone, but the tight end's sliding catch was reversed by instant replay. Harrington found Mike Williams on the opposite side of the end zone on the next play, but the rookie came down out of bounds. The 9 MIKE HULSEBUS/ Daily Michigan first baseman Samantha Findlay belted a two-run homer early In Mich- igan's 6-0 win over Canisius.