2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 31, 2005 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY Sailor takes on varsity teams in Hawafii ait ORidtn fla Athlete of the Week Name: Emily Brunemann Team: Women's Swimming and Diving Hometown: Crescent Springs, Ill. Class: Freshman Why: In her first collegiate performance, Brunemann won hands down in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Her time of 16:48.41 allowed her to set the NCAA "B" standard. The second- place swimmer finished at 18:04.34. By Eileen Hengel Daily Sports Writer Junior Christina Falcone always knew that she wanted to visit Hawaii some day. She had just always imagined that she would be visiting for longer than. three days. Some would claim visiting Hawaii is a childhood dream, but Falcone's dream is not the visit but rather the reason for the visit. From Nov. 18-20, Falcon, a member of the University's sailing club, will compete in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association's annual Vanguard Single-handed North American Cham- pionships in Honolulu. This will be Falcone's third visit to the Vanguard, which took place in Florida in 2003 and Minnesota in 2004. She placed l1th out of 16 in 2003 and 14th in 2004. In order to qualify for the tournament, Falcone won the Midwest's Single- handed Championship in October at Marquette University in Milwaukee. First stepping on a sailboat at age 10, Falcone began sailing competitively soon thereafter. Not necessarily the most popular of sports for the average 10- year-old, Falcone found in sailing what she had always wanted: an opportunity to compete. Attending eight-week courses at the Bay View Yacht Club in Detroit from eight in the morning until five at night, Falcon admitted her summers since then have consisted of sailing. "Each week we had regatta against the other students at camp," Falcone said. "I learned to love the competition that sailing offered." But Falcone's competition at the Vanguard will be much different from the rivals she faced at Bay View Yacht Club. Falcone will be sailing against varsity teams, particularly those from the East Coast such as Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth, all of which enjoys the perks of varsity status the least of which is coaches. "I will probably be the only person at the Vanguard Regatta without a coach," Falcone said. With only club status at Michigan, the sailing team consists entirely of stu- dents from the University, from the president to the secretary. And with each new year, a new set of students fills in the spots left by the students who graduat- ed. The constant fluctuation causes difficulties in stability that many club teams do not understand. There is no coach to ensure that the team will survive. Practicing three times a week in Dexter, 30 minutes from campus also causes commuting difficulties for the team, not to mention Michigan's winters and the tendency of the lakes to freeze. Much like Falcone, the team consists of members that have been sailing since a young age and for whom the thought of quitting is unthinkable. The atmo- sphere on the team offers members an opportunity to not only sail but also to do so without the pressures of winning. Falcone admits that sailing in the Olympics is not one of her life goals. "I hope to go on sailing for the rest of my life," Falcone said. "But I don't want to sacrifice my sanity for it. Many of the women I will com- pete against (at the Vanguard) have Olympic campaigns, making sailing their life." The race will consist of 15 short, 45-minute races, in a three-day period off the coast of Oahu, specifically, Waikiki Beach. Each competitor will receive a new boat and will put it together on the dock to ensure equality. "Much of my success will depend on the wind," Falcone said. "And considering my size (5-foot-3), if the wind is strong, the race will be more difficult for me. But if the wind stays moderately clam, I have a good opportunity to do very well." I 'M' SCHEDULE Date Event Location 11/1 W Basketball vs. Athletes in Action Ann Arbor 11/3 W Soccer vs. Penn State Ann Arbor Big Ten Tournament 11/3 W Tennis at ITA National Columbus Championships 11/3 M Tennis at ITA National Columbus Championships 11/4 W Soccer if necessary Ann Arbor Big Ten Tournament Semifinals 11/4 Field Hockey at Iowa Iowa City Big Ten Tournament 11/4 Volleyball vs. Minnesota Ann Arbor 11/4 M Soccer at Ohio State Columbus 11/4 Ice Hockey at Notre Dame South Bend 11/4 W Tennis at ITA Indoor Columbus Championships 11/4 M Tennis at ITA Indoor Columbus Championships 11/4 W Tennis at Thunderbird Tempe, Ariz. 11/5 Ice Hockey vs. Notre Dame Ann Arbor 11/5 W Rowing vs. Eastern Michigan Belleville 11/5 W Swim/Diving vs. Georgia Ann Arbor 11/5 M Swim/Diving vs. Georgia Ann Arbor 11/5 M Basketball vs. Grand Valley State Ann Arbor 11/5 Volleyball vs. Iowa Ann Arbor 11/5 W Tennis at Thunderbird Tempe, Ariz. Invitational 11/5 W Tennis Columbus at ITA National Indoor Championships 11/5 M Tennis Columbus 11/5 Wrestling at EMU Open Ypsilanti 11/5 Field Hockey if necassary Iowa City Big Ten Tournament Semifinals 11/6 W Soccer if necessary Ann Arbor Big Ten Tournament Championship 11/6 W Basketball vs. Ohio Legends Ann Arbor 11/6 W Tennis Columbus at ITA National Indoor Championships 11/6 M Tennis Columbus 11/6 Field Hockey (if necassary) Iowa City Big Ten Tournament Championship 11/6 W Tennis at Thunderbird Tempe, Ariz Invitational Time 7 p.m. TBA TBA TBA Golf sees season end 1n North Carolina By Max Kardon Daily Sports Writer For most people, the thought of a bed of soft, rolling Bermuda grass may con- jure an image of peaceful rest. A golfer approaching a ball nestled in the grass's treacherous cradle may envision the peril- ous landscape of a waking nightmare. And for the Michigan women's golf team, the lush North Carolina course this weekend will not produce many photoge- nic memories. Battling a strong national field at the Landfall Tradition, the Wolverines spent the weekend in Wilmington, N.C. on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Pines-Ocean course at the Country Club of Landfall. Hoping to cap a disappointing fall leg of its season with a strong finish, Michigan was plagued by inconsistency. Although the team led the field for a brief period in the first round, a late collapse in that round triggered a continued fall. An 11th- place finish in a field of 12 ensured that the Wolverines would enter an extended break from competitive play with a bitter taste in their mouths. "I would say we had a little advantage at the start of day one," senior captain Amy Schmucker said. "It was cold and windy, the type of rough conditions we are used to practicing in. A few rough holes ruined the possibility of a strong score." Schmucker - consistently the Wol- verines' most solid performer - was cruising to put Michigan ina secure posi- tion during Friday's round. But her round was tarnished by the water surrounding Landfall's par-three 17th island green. The aquatic barrier proved effective, claiming two of Schmucker's approach shots and guaranteeing a water soaked triple-bogey to bloat her round's final total to an unsightly 82. Schmucker stayed out of the water to finish the tournament with consecutive 2-over par 74's, but the first- round blemish was impossible to hide despite a fifth straight finish in the top-20 individual golfers. "As much talent as this team has, you couldn't tell from the scores we have posted this fall," Schmucker said. " It's frustrating to play like this in the fall season, but now we have the time for conditioning that will help us refocus on showing our capability during the spring sea- son." Another hole had a similarly devastat- ing effect on the Wolverines' tournament hopes during the second round. A rare quadruple bogey helped the team post a total of 11 strokes over par on Landfall's 16th during Saturday's localized team- wide collapse that included to drop the team further on the leaderboard. "It was definitely a tough week- end," coach Kathy Teichert said. "Lots of double bogeys always spell TBA 1:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:35 p.m. TBA TBA TBA 7:35 p.m. TBA 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 6p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA 1:30 p.m. TBA 2 p.m. TBA TBA 1:30 p.m. TBA JASON COOPER/Daily Captain Amy Schmucker cruised through round one, but crashed in later rounds. O F H E S E V< V:. :*<,' , S.:.Y v S .4'.. .. Joi D~L/ r £t >x v +'4 , v V < 4,' '.. 4A' i% OF$THESE EVEKTS'AS trouble. We had strong starts, but the girls kept hitting a wall on the back nine. When you're up against a tough field of teams playing in good condi- tions like this, you have to play well consistently, and we just didn't." Michigan's 952-stroke team total was 75 strokes behind the tournament-cham- pion Purdue squad. "We all wanted to end the fall season well," junior Ali Stinson said. "Now it's best to put away our clubs for a while, take a break and come back ready to work hard." I q Merrill Lynch SHARE OUR PASSION MERRILL LYNCH PRESENTATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN juniors are invited to attend: Wednesday, November 2, 2005 5:00-6:00 pm Davis Hall, Room D1279 Whether you look at us in terms of people, culture, products or our virtually limitless possibilities, Merrill Lynch defines "exceptional" in every sense of the word. It's a source of pride for all of us who work here. And a source of exceptional careers for those eager to share in our passion for doing great things. Attend our presentation. And let's explore the possibilities together. I Summer opportunities: Accounting & Finance EXCEPTIONALWITHOUT EXCEPTION ml.com/careers/americas Merrill Lynch is an equal opportunity employer. m I