The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 15A
E WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
It's a long fall from
33 feet up, so why
not adjust and go?
STEVEN TAI/Daily
Freshman Erin Dallos has started every game this year and is second on the team in points with 18. She scored two crucial goals In last weekend's Big Ten Tournament.
Frosh0 s ao t e lue' best
By Colt Rosensweig
Daily Sports Writer
Most freshmen don't exhibit the poise and expertise
of seasoned veterans. However, Erin Dallas is not a
typical freshman.
Instead of warming the bench like many rookies,
Dallas has played a big role in the Michigan field hock-
ey team's success this year. The forward has started
every game, scoring eight regular-season goals, and,
with 18 regular-season points, is second only to team
leader Katie Morris, who has 25.
"Coming out as a freshman, I figured there would
already be people higher and better at the position than
I am," Dallas said. "I expected the team to be able to
be the Big Ten champs, but I didn't expect to be where
I am on the team. I didn't expect to be playing as much
as I am or even starting."
Dallas, a former soccer player, took up field hockey
in seventh grade as something fun to do with her sister.
She then played on the U.S. Under-16 team, participat-
ed twice in the USA/Canada Challenge and competed
in the AAU Junior Olympics. She is currently a mem-
ber of the 2006 U.S. Under-21 team.
All that work before college has enabled her to make
a smooth transition to Michigan.
"It didn't take me that long to make the adjustment
to college field hockey," Dallas said. "During the sum-
mers, I was playing at the same level. The biggest
adjustment I had to make was getting used to the team
and their style of play."
Dallas's overall game has improved through-
out the season, especially her ability to read
opposing defenders.
She envisioned herself as a key player in a Michi-
gan Big Ten Tournament championship someday but
not until at least her junior or senior year. Her time
came earlier than expected, and, like almost any player
would be, she was nervous before the tournament. But
as with any good athlete, all the butterflies disappeared
once the game had started.
Cool under pressure, Dallas scored the first
goal of the tournament for Michigan, tying Iowa
just two minutes before halftime. After her goal,
Michigan never trailed again.
Dallas maintained a professional even-keel even
after her heroics.
"(We just wanted to) keep up the good work," Dal-
las said of the team's mentality at halftime. "We were
just talking about doing what we've been doing. I think
it (gave us more momentum) because it showed (the
Hawkeyes) that we were with them. We all knew we
could win, we just needed to get the drive to go."
Dallas's second and final goal of the tournament
was just as vital as her first. She scored the first goal in
Michigan's 3-0 win against Indiana on Sunday in the
championship game.
"I'd never been in that situation before," Dallas said.
"In high school, we never went to the championships.
It's a big thing to be on a championship team."
Dallas will have big shoes to fill in the future, such
as those of senior team captain and tournament MVP
Lori Hillman and former Michigan forward April
Fronzoni, who graduated in 2003.
"I actually made a goal to try and tie (Fronzoni's)
amount of goals in a season," Dallas said.
Dallas has set the bar high for herself. Fronzoni
led the Wolverines with 20 goals in her senior sea-
son and twice won the Honda Award, given annu-
ally to the best field hockey player in the nation.
She also holds the Michigan all-time career record
for goals with 68.
If Dallas's Michigan career mirrors her stellar fresh-
man season, Fronzoni could soon have some company
in the annals of Michigan field hockey history.
By Nate Sandals
Daily Sports Writer
It's hard to imagine anyone jump-
ing from a height of 33 feet by choice.
But that's exactly what sophomore
diver Elyse Lee does during practice
every Tuesday and Thursday.
The Albion native never dove
off a 10-meter platform before she
came to Michigan last year, and Lee
admits that she is still scared walk-
ing out to the edge.
"It's a long fall - one mistake
can cost you a lot," Lee said.
Lee would much rather be diving
off the one-meter springboard, her
specialty. She has finished first in the
one-meter event in each of the Wol-
verines' three meets this season.
Her strong early showing is a pos-
itive sign that she is ready to build
upon an impressive freshman cam-
paign. Last year, at NCAA Zone C
Diving Championships, she came in
the top-20 in all three events (one-
meter and three-meter springboard
as well as 10-meter platform).
This year, Lee hopes to make the
finals in at least one diving event at
the Big Ten Championships and also
qualify to compete in the NCAA
National Championship meet.
Lee admits her two goals are no
easy task, but she is working hard in
practice to improve upon her freshman
performance. Her focus is on becom-
ing more consistent with her dives and
adding new dives to her repertoire.
Lee learned the body awareness
necessary to be a competitive diver
in a different sporting realm. She
excelled in gymnastics until seventh
grade when a family friend - who
just happened to be the coach of the
local swim team - introduced her
to a diving coach.
Lee already had the flips and
twists down from her experience
as a gymnast, but elements of the
switch from the mat to the pool were
challenging.
"With gymnastics, everything
is feet first," Lee said. "Learning
to dive in onto your head into the
water was an interesting transition
to make. It felt very unnatural."
Based upon her performance, it's
clear that Lee has overcome the ini-
tial awkwardness of landing head-
first. Lee's ability has made her a
leader by example for the other div-
ers on the Michigan women's swim-
ming and diving team.
"We (the divers) have our own
little bond," Lee said. "We train
together every day, and we are
always together."
According to Lee, having a strong
support group is integral to feeling
comfortable diving. Whenever a diver
on the team is learning a new dive
from the 10-meter platform, a buddy
goes to the top of the tower with them
to give them more confidence.
Diving coach Chris Bergere also
works hard to keep the practice
atmosphere comfortable. Lee has
never heard him raise his voice.
When a diver hesitates before div-
ing (known as a "balk" in the div-
ing world), Bergere calmly utters his
favorite line, "adjust and go".
Lee is currently working on learn-
ing more 10-meter dives before the
Wolverines head to College Station,
Texas next weekend for the Texas
A&M Invitational - the first meet
of the season with a 10-meter plat-
form diving event.
Lee expects her performance in
Texas to give a good indication of
how close she is to accomplishing
her goals for this season.
Of course, if things don't go as
planned in Texas, Lee won't give up.
She'll just "adjust and go."
Dinosaur
helps
steady
youth
By Kimberly Chou
For the Daily
Anyone who still believes that say-
ing about old dogs being unable to
learn new tricks obviously hasn't had
an eye on the Michigan men's tennis
team. With the young team looking to
better last year's third-place finish in
the Big Ten, junior Ryan Heller has run
with the team's focus of improvement
and greater consistency.
Though he's just in his third-year,
Heller is one of the dinosaurs on the
eight-man team.
"We have no seniors - I'm feeling
kind of old, even as a junior," Heller
said, with a laugh.
The 2005 team graduated four
seniors and returned three juniors -
Heller, Brian Hung and Steve Peretz
- and one sophomore, Matko Mara-
vic. This summer, knowing the team
would welcome four freshmen into the
fold, Heller went to an annual leader-
ship conference - the Michigan Sym-
posium for Student Athletes.
"It helped prepare for this year,
especially with all the young guys,"
Heller said.
Starting out surprisingly strong,
the relatively elder statesman has led
these youngsters by example. Heller
advanced to the main draw of the ITA
All-America Championships in early
October, making his first appearance
in the singles bracket.
"I think I had one good tournament
where I was happy with my results
- the ITA (National Indoor Champi-
onships)," Heller said.
He won three straight qualifiers on
his way to the ITAs, losing in the first
round but going home from the tour-
nament with an overall 4-2 record. He
acknowledged that there were a few
poor matches mixed between better
ones during preseason, but this fall
has been encouraging for Heller.
"Last year, I didn't have a good
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Ryan Helter is one of three juniors on this year's tennis squad that has no seniors.
What:
Who:
When:
Time:
Where:
I think," Heller said. "My volleys have
really come along and I've been working
on consistency off the baseline. I'm con-
fident in my game, (and the coaches) are
always telling me what I need to work
on, helping me with my confidence."
Berque agrees: "Ryan's improved in
a couple of key areas that might seem
like they're small areas of his game,
but I think they have the potential to
really translate into a lot more wins
for him this year."
self in position to win matches."
Previously troubled with consis-
tency and mistakes on short balls and
volleys, Heller should be able to rack
up more wins this coming spring, Ber-
que said.
Heller might have been able to win
another couple of matches this week-
end at the Big Ten Singles Champion-
ships, but because only 25 matches
can be counted per season, both he
and teammate Maravic chose to forgo
emmntinain Fct I nnn fter the
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