2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 10, 2005 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY Frisbee: the ultimate obsession By Robert Kaitz For the Daily Last weekend, the football team wasn't the only Michigan squad that took care of business. The men's ultimate Frisbee club team hosted the Best of the Midwest Tournament on Oct. 1 and 2 and dominated the 12- team field. With the team split into three different squads, two made it to the finals. Ricky Eikstadt has coached the team since 1998, and he said he is amazed with the progress the squad has made since it started. "We have a lot more ability to recruit, with much more athleticism to choose from," Eikstadt said. The coach credits the University's support as one of the reasons ulti- mate is such a hot sport, singling out Jan Wells of the Rec Department for her backing. Given three fields with lights and the use of Oosterbaan Field House during the winter, the team has greatly expanded in recent years. The players' enthusiasm reflects that of the coaching staff. "I'm too ridiculously addicted to the sport," first-year assistant coach Jason Barnes said. "I just can't stay away from it for very long." Seniors Colin McIntyre and Ryan Purcell similarly praise the game. "Ultimate attracts top-level athletes from many different backgrounds with its blend of talent, skill and finesse," Purcell said. McIntyre, a high school tennis star who only started playing ultimate as a freshman, notes that "everyone comes in on an even basis." The support and optimism that the upperclassmen present plays a huge role in the immediate attraction that younger players have to the sport. Sophomore Pat Senatore fell in love with ultimate when he tried out last year. "The team is just full of nice guys who would do anything for anybody else," Senatore said. This distinct pride and affection sold Senatore's friend and housemate, Matt Raubinger, on trying out for the team this year. After casually toss- ing around the frisbee with Senatore, Raubinger decided to try out. Raub- inger is extremely appreciative of the support he receives from returning players. "The older guys are great at explaining rules and strategies," Raubinger said. Despite losing a strong class of graduating seniors from last year, hopes are very high for this season. Younger contributors like Senatore hope they can step up and take a greater role on the field. There is even more excitement because the team knows it should be competitive nationally. The camaraderie surrounding the team is apparent, but it also extends to players on the other teams, as well. During every tournament, the play- ers from the home school host a massive party for all the other teams. Forgetting any squabbles that might have occurred over the course of the day, the teams get together for a night of fun. The players are looking forward to taking trips across the country. They will travel to tournaments in North Carolina, Georgia and Oregon. With over 200 students trying out for the team, it is clear that the sport is quickly catching on in Ann Arbor. It's hard to walk around campus without seeing a group of students tossing around a disc. With such opti- mism surrounding the season, the players would love to have even more support from the student body. They are always ready to have a great time, both on the field and off it. ae Wtrtfhgan 19adu Athlete of the Week Name: Melissa Dobbyn Team: Women's Soccer Hometown: Livonia Class: Sophomore Why: The forward led Michigan to a 3-2 victory over Big Ten- foe Northwestern at home on Friday. She scored once and dished two assists, including one to Judy Coffman for the game-winner with just minutes left. 'M' SCHEDULE S Date Event 10/10-11 M Golf at Alister MacKenzie Invita' 10/12 M Soccer vs. Western Michigan tic n 10/14 10/14 10/14 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/16 10/16 10/16 10/16 10/16-18 Volleyball.at Penn State Ice Hockey vs. Boston College W Soccer at Illinois M Cross Country at Pre-Nationals ] W Cross Country at Pre-Nationals I Football vs. Penn State Volleyball at Ohio State M Soccer at Michigan State W Soccer at Iowa Field Hockey at Northwestern Ice Hockey vs. Merrimack W Golf F at Lady Razorback Invitational Location Fairfax, Calif. nal Kalamazoo State College Ann Arbor Champaign Terre-Haute, Ind. Terre-Haute, Ind. Ann Arbor Columbus East Lansing Iowa City Evanston Ann Arbor Fayetteville, Ark. Time TBA 4 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:35 p.m. 8 p.m. noon 1:20 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. TBA Intrasquad prepares freshmen By Max Kardon Daily Sports Writer A little intrasquad rivalry is harmless. Saturday morning, women's swimming coach Jim Richardson orchestrated the mayhem of a team divided, enlisting his captains to draft allies for the annual Maize and Blue scrimmage. The intrasquad scrimmage exposed the talented freshman class to the format of a collegiate dual-meet, with slight modifications. The races were conducted at accelerated intervals, and the atmosphere surrounding the pool was distinctive from standard competition. After a long week of practice, the Wolverines were ready to let loose before a well-deserved rest. Intimate knowledge of their opponents equipped the swimmers with devastating ammunition for a war of words as the team was pitted against each other. With lines drawn and colors assigned, courtesy took a backseat to team spirit. The competitors' chorus of taunting cheers disrupt- ed and disoriented the enemy swimmers - creating a buffer zone for the real battle in the pool. Insightful taunting left no competitor's ego unbruised. A confidence-shaking rhyme initiated by senior Elsa Larson was a favorite weapon for the Blue team. "U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi! You're ugly! You're ugly! You're ugly!" These venomous words are only a selection from the volley ofverbal sparring that characterized the dialogue across the pool. The choice language that laced the chants was subdued for the family audience that populated the stands at Canham Natatorium. This consideration forced the players to conduct an age-appropriate ver- bal battle, punctuated by peels of laughter. "The Blue team was very animated," Richardson said. "Larson put together a squad of high energy, vocal competitors, but the Maize swimmers let their performance in the pool speak for them." The Maize team, led and selected by senior cap- tain Lindsey Smith, was by no means a pacifist group. Their 99-87 victory was a reflection of an unrestrained will to win. 2005 DIVISION SERIES American League New York Yankees (2) vs. Los Angeles Angels (2) Game: Date: Results/Time: Gm1 NYY @ LAA Oct. 4 NYY 4 LAA 2 Gm 2 NYY @ LAA Oct. 5 LAA 5 NYY 5 Gm 3 LAA @ NYY Oct. 7 LAA 11 NYY 7 Gm 4 LAA @ NYY Oct. 9 NYY 3 LAA 2 Gm 5 NYY @ LAA Oct. 10 8 p.m. Boston Red Sox (0) vs. Chicago White Sox (3) Game: Gm 1 Gm 2 Gm 3 BOS @ CWS BOS @ CWS CWS @ BOS Date: Oct. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 7 Results: CWS 14 CWS 5 CWS 5 BOS 2 BOS 4 BOS 3 American League Championship Series starting Oct 11 New York Yankees or Los Angeles Angels pending game 5 results at hicago White Sox National League San Diego Padres (0) vs. St. Louis CardinalsI Elsa Larson led the Blue team in theintrasquad swimming meet on Saturday. (3) "Lindsey may not seem aggressive," Richard- son continued. "She's quiet and reserved, but she swims very loud. We've got an interesting mix of personalities on the team. Everybody brings a dif- ferent approach to the competition but they blend together well.". That blend was disrupted for a brief and entertain- ing time as the Maize and Blue camps each laid claim to aquatic superiority. Junior Kaitlyn Brady may have been the Blue team's greatest casualty, suffering the wrath of a Maize operative in retribution for her merciless taunting. The ambush punctuated the Maize victory, an event Brady was hard-pressed to forget. "I can't believe they threw me in the pool with all my clothes on!" Brady said. "The Blue team knew that there were certain lines that could not be crossed, but Maize took it way too far. I want a recount." Senior Maize spokeswoman Abby Seskevics dis- missed Brady's claims, underplaying the severity of the amphibious assault. "Brady's always trying to add fuel to the fire," Ses- kevics said. "Pure propaganda. She was only wearing her swimsuit and a towel, so it's clearly a huge exag- geration. I think the chlorine went to her head." Seskevics and Brady became comrades once more when the smoke had cleared. Peacefully reunited, the Wolverines feel prepared to combat the threat of the Golden Bears of California when they begin the intercollegiate season on Oct. 27th. Positioned above the fray, Richardson was pleased by what he saw. "I think we're going to have great year," Rich- ardson said. "We got a chance to have some fun today, and gave the freshman their first taste of the dual-meet format and team cheers. I like the way the freshmen are coming along, but we're probably going to have to wait until winter to witness our team's true capability." Game: Gm 1 Gm 2 Gm 3 SD @ STL SD @ STL STL @ SD Houston Astros (3) Date: Oct. 4 Oct. 6 Oct. 8 vs. Date: Oct. 5 Oct. 6 Oct. 8 Oct. 9 Results: STL 8 STL 6 STL 7 SD 5 SD 2 SD 4 Atlanta Braves (1) Game: Gm 1 Gm 2 Gm 3 Gm 4 HOU @ ATL HOU @ ATL ATL @ HOU ATL @ HOU Results: HOUl10 ATL 7 HOU 7 HOU 7 ATL 5 HOU 1 ATL 3 ATL 6 National League Championship Series starting Oct. 12 Houston at St. Louis Cardinals 0 Burke hits walk off home run in 18th inning to oust Braves HOUSTON (AP) - Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros gave a whole new mean- ing to the word "longevity." The 43-year-old Rocket came out of the bullpen to rescue the Astros and Chris Burke ended the longest postseason game in base- ball history with a home run in the 18th inning, lifting Houston over the Atlanta Braves 7-6 yesterday and into the NL cham- pionship series. The Braves took a five-run lead into the eighth, and were poised to send this first- round series back to Atlanta for a decisive Game 5 tonight. Instead; Lance Berkman hit a grand slam in the eighth and Brad Aus- mus tied Game 4 with a two-out homer in the ninth barely beyond Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones' outstretched glove. Then, at 6-6, the Braves and Astros began the real endurance test that wound up last- ing 5 hours, 50 minutes. The previous longest postseason game also occurred in Houston - the New York Mets clinched the 1986 NLCS with a 16-inning win at the Astrodome. With Clemens pitching three innings in his first relief appearance since 1984 - and this time atoning for a poor start in Game 2 - the Astros advanced to play the St. Louis Cardi- nals in the NLCS starting Wednesday night at Busch Stadium. It will be the first NLCS rematch since Pittsburgh and Atlanta played in 1991-92. Last October, the Cardinals beat Clemens in Game 7, denying the Astros their first World Series appearance. And it was another early October exit for the Braves, who have won an unprecedented 14 straight division titles but have just one World Series crown to show for it. The Astros eliminated Atlanta last year. The Braves wasted an early grand slam by Adam LaRoche. Berkman's shot made this the first postseason game ever with two slams. Burke entered the game in the 10th inning as a pinch-runner. He came up with one out in the 18th against rookie Joey Devine, and launched a drive over the left-field wall. Burke was mobbed by his teammates at the plate after only the sixth series-ending home run in history, and the first since Aaron Boone sent the Yankees over Boston in the 11th inning of Game 7 in the 2003 ALCS. Batting just before Burke, Clemens took a mighty swing and missed against Devine before striking out. Clemens has never hit a home run in the majors. Clemens first entered the game as a pinch- hitter in the bottom of the 15th, and had a sacrifice bunt after a leadoff walk by Craig Biggio. But after another walk, Morgan Ens- berg grounded into an inning-ending double play. "I'm sure proud of the guys," Clemens said. "It's been a lot of work for us. How 'bout the kid?" "I'm just glad I could do my part," Burke said. "It was draining, mentally draining." "It was kind of a microcosm of our sea- son," Burke said. "Started out slow, finished strong." The Astros started off 15-30 before rally- ing to claim the wild-card spot, though they finished 11 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central. About three hours before the game final- ly ended, Ausmus hit his unlikely homer off Kyle Farnsworth. In the eighth, Farnsworth - the latest in a long line of Atlanta reliev- ers to fail in the postseason - gave up the grand slam to Berkman after replacing Tim Hudson. Ausmus, with just three homers in 134 reg- ular-season games, hit a ball that ricocheted off a column in left-center field - just above the yellow line signifying a home run. Had it hit about a foot more to the left, the ball would have still been in play and Ausmus held to a double. The Astros thought they had another homer to win it in the 10th, but Luke Scott's drive down the leftfield line curled just left of the pole. The crowd was already in a frenzy before realizing the ball had been called foul - TV replays confirmed that it was. Scott grounded out on the next pitch. Atlanta led 6-1 when Hudson, the Game 1 loser pitching on three days' rest, allowed the first two hitters to reach in the eighth and was pulled. Biggio reached on a fielder's choice grounder, and Scott walked before Berk- man's grand slam, an opposite-field shot into the seats in left. Farnsworth managed to preserve the lead then, getting Morgan Ensberg on a called third strike before Mike Lamb's flyball that right fielder Jeff Francoeur caught on the warning track. He didn't have the same success against No. 8 hitter Ausmus an inning later. LaRoche hit a grand slam in the third off Astros starter Brandon Backe, who loaded the bases after walking two batters and hit- ting another. Jones added a sacrifice fly to put the Braves up 5-0 in the fifth. Brian McCann, the rookie catcher whose three-run homer off Clemens was the big blow in Game 2, put the Braves up 6-1 when he led off the eighth with a homer. McCann grounded out leading off the 17th in a rematch against the future Hall of Famer. *1 .::: ..<:: h: d?:ikctt'..u:,:.3.:;..;a":.':;i;; :Y .;:,<>:v8>vtt s : HkY.: '. t?; ,: