12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 15, 2005

0 MEN'S TENNIS
Blue's Mazlin ends season
on high note at Big Tens


By David Murray
For the Daily
And then there was one.
Just one of Michigan's men's tennis players could
handle the onslaught at the Big Ten singles Champi-
onships' talented field over the weekend. Freshman
Andrew Mazlin was the lone Wolverine to make it to
Monday - where he fell just short in the consolation
semifinals of the season-ending tournament.
Mazlin, the 14th seed in the 64-man draw, was down
early in the tournament, dropping his first-round match 7-5,
6-3. But the freshman showed the experience of a fifth-year
senior, gutting out wins in his next four matches.
Still, Mazlin's run ended in the consolation semifinals.
His four-match win streak stopped at the hands of Penn
State's Michael James. After dropping his first set to James,
6-3, Mazlin won the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(5). But
in the third set, Mazlin ran out of gas, losing it 6-0.
"(Yesterday's) match was tough," Mazlin said. "I was a
little sore from the day before, when I played three matches.
I started off a little slow, but I came back and won the sec-
ond set, and then the kid played a good third set. I didn't
play that smart in the third set."
Coach Bruce Berque was pleased with the freshman's
ability to bounce back after he suffered such a disappoint-
ing loss in his first match.
"He showed some toughness, especially yesterday,"
Berque said. "He competed very well. He was one of the
brighter spots for us this weekend."
In the first match after his early loss, Mazlin took out

his anger on Iowa's Zach Frisch, disposing of him easily,
6-2,6-1.
"After you win the first one, then you get your confidence
back," Mazlin said. "Every match I won, I gained more
confidence."
Mazlin's improved confidence beamed in his first match
on Sunday. The youngster persevered through two tiebreak-
ers to overcome Purdue's Jarred Leibner, 7-6(4), 7-6(5). In
his second Sunday match, Mazlin lost his first set 4-6, only
to rally to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-4, ousting North-
western's Alexey Evstratenkov from the tournament. Maz-
lin finished his day undefeated, sending Bradley Hunter
back to State College with a 6-4, 6-4 loss. With the win
over Hunter, Mazlin earned a spot yesterday's consolation
semifinals.
"He won three matches in one day, and that's not easy,"
Berque said. "It's hard enough to play two matches in one
day. It's very unusual to play three in one day."
Junior Brian Hung, the fifth seed in the tournament, won
in straight sets in the first and second round, only to lose
in the round of 16 to 10th-seeded Dennis Mertens of Ohio
State, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
"We got a lot out of the tournament, and I think that this
made clear to some of the players where they fall short and
what they have to work on," Berque said. "We did have a
few good performances. But it became clear to us that if we
want to take another step forward this year with our pro-
gram, that we still have some work to do individually to
improve our games."
The Wolverines will return to the courts in January for
the Miami Invitational.

OLE FASHION FUN
With Michigan's game of the
year this week, Daily Sports
thought it would be appropriate
to give, you the reader, some
fun facts about the rivalry.
" In the last 50 meetings, each
team has 24 wins and two ties.
" Michigan features 11 players
from the Buckeye state, includ-
ing starters Willis Barringer and
Prescott Burgess and contribu-
tors Pierre Woods, Mario Man-
ningham and Brandon Harrison.
" Lloyd Carr has a 6-4 record
against Ohio State as a head
coach, but it will be the 21st
time in his professional career
facing the Buckeyes.
* Ohio State enters the game
ranked in the top-10 for the sev-
enth time, but Michigan has a 4-2
record in these contests.
* The rivalry has featured nine
Heisman Trophy winners, The
latest: Charles Woodson


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MEMORIES
Continued from page 11
"The moment for me when I began
to understand the intensity of this
rivalry first-hand, I'll say was my
sophomore year when I was first able
to play, and Jason got hurt and I had
to fill in," Tabb said. "That was actu-
ally the first time in my life when I've
ever had to step in and play, and I was
completely nervous."
Besides knowing the passion
needed for the contest, the seniors
also know that anything can happen
- even before the game starts, like
last year.
While entering into the Horseshoe
last year, the Michigan team was
greeted by dogs that were checking
bags. After the game, Carr expressed
his displeasure about the incident,
mentioning that it was "disrespectful."
Carr mentioned it Monday but did
not comment much, just saying that
there is a difference between games-
manship and respect. But no matter
what happens, Carr understands the
importance of the next chapter in this
rivalry.
"I think for the guys that are going
into it for the last time or (guys for
whom it's) the first time they're going
to play in this game, there are a lot of
things that they don't know yet and
they're going to find out in a hurry,"
Carr said. "I think, obviously, there
is a sense of urgency about this week
that's very special, that perhaps is
different."
HERBERT
Continued from page 11
on third down, only it's way louder and
actually, you know, cool. Plus, as long as
the bottle is sealed, both the bottle and
the coins are legal items to bring into the
Big House.
The Claw: Keep doing the claw. It
looks sweet and is a huge improvement.
It's one of the few things that makes the
Michigan students stand out from other
student sections around the country.
Wear Blue: Clearly, the first two-
thirds of this column was about wearing
blue to the game, but I just wanted to-
reiterate. Get out your blue T-shirts - or
more likely, blue sweatshirts - and head
to the game hyped.

S!

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- Ian Herbert can be reached
at iherbert@umich.edu.
SKRBA
Continued from page 11
this level requires when she arrived
on campus. After spending the sum-
mer playing on the international
level, Skrba was already used to the
speed of college basketball and the
skills necessary to be a defensive
force on the post.
"It was an advantage (playing on
the Junior National Team) because I
got some extra experience and I got
to play with some great people and I
really learned a lot," Skrba said.
As for Burnett, she never doubted
Skrba's ability on the court, and she's
proud that one of her players was able
to gain invaluable playing experience
during the offseason. With the regular
season just a few days away, Skrba is
already part of the team's post-player
rotation off the bench and her game-
to-game improvement should only
increase the likelihood of her working
her way into the starting rotation.
"There is no question that Skrba
has already played against the best in
the world and that gives her a vision
that other players do not have," Bur-
nett said. "She understands what the

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