The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 17, 2005 - 9A Selsky, Pflum lead 'M' revival By Lindsey Ungar Daily Sports Writer Offense and defense can't stand alone in any sport. But especially in volleyball, the two are inevitably intertwined. It's often the transition between the two that propels a team to victory. That's where sophomore libero Stesha Selsky comes in, using her defensive prowess to make way for Michigan's outside hitters suchas junior Danielle Pfium. "(Stesha) gives us opportunities to do what we need to do to put the ball away," Pflum said. "If we didn't have her defense, we wouldn't have that transition to go into (offense). Her impact is huge. And no one really sees that, except people on the court." r sfs.As a freshman, Se.sky was a defensive specialist for the Wolverines before taking over for injured senior Sarah Allen late in the season. k > K;Now, Selsky is called on in each rotation to serve, receive, pass and play -- - °- ---- - defense from the back row. '. "She's amazing," Pflum said. "It's like having an angel over your t shoulder. She's over my rigtht shoulder all the time. I never have any hesitations with letting a ball go that's between us because I'm always like, 'Stesha! Stesha!' ... I'd hate to have her on any other side but mine." Making the change from defensive specialist to libero wasn't easy >E<5 for Selsky, who's had to work a lot on her passing and focus, playing a six rotations instead of three. But lately, she seems to have everything " together, recording double-digit digs in 16 consecutive matches. She needs only 16 more digs to move into 10th place in all-time digs for K Michigan. a~k "Stesha is the heart and soul of our defense," coach Mark Rosen said. JUSTIN BASS/Daily "Systematically, we try and channel balls toward her. And she makes Libero Stesha Selsky's outstanding play has benefited the Wolverines since her move from defense. your whole defense run. She's very good at it; there's no question she's Seniors reflect on successfu fnal season an elite-level libero who's making a great impact on our team." Selsky's strong play from the back row has allowed Michigan's offense to take control of recent games, especially in sweeps over Michigan State and Indiana. Pflum is just one of the attackers that has benefited from Selsky's digs. At Michigan State, Pflum had 14 kills and just three errors in 37 swings. "Dani's always up and ready to hit the ball, especially on transition digs," Selsky said. "Digs aren't really going to be perfect; they're basi- cally just to get it off the floor. The setter has to set it to someone - and most of the time it's going to be her." Pflum's also getting the moniker as Michigan's clutch player. Against Michigan State, she had four kills in Michigan's last five points, and against Indiana, she terminated seven balls in the third game. "She will win the game for you when you need her to," Selsky said. "It's like, 'Set the ball to Dani, and she'll put it away.' She's a phenom- enal outside hitter." Both Selsky and Pflum have been integral parts of Michigan's late push to make the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines won three straight matches against Iowa, Michigan State and Indiana. Michigan (7-9 Big Ten, 13-12 overall) needs to win two of its next four matches to clinch a spot in the Tournament, and it faces two tough road tests against No. 15 Wisconsin on Friday and Northwestern on Saturday. The Wolverines pulled out a huge upset earlier in the season over the Badgers, knocking off the then-No. 7 ranked team. The Wolverines will undoubtedly look to Selsky and Pflum to help them make the final transition from an average team to a legitimate NCAA Tournament squad "We're playing our best volleyball now, which is what we've always talked about - not playing our best volleyball in September or Octo- ber, but more in November and December, so then we could go far in the NCAA Tournament," Pflum said. I By Colt Rosensweig Daily Sports Writer Though the Michigan field hockey team didn't accom- plish its ultimate goal of winning a national championship this year, everyone involved can look back proudly on a wonderful season. "Coming into (your senior season), it's your last year and you want to put into this team everything that you have," senior forward Katie Morris said. "You don't want to have any regrets. I think we walked away on Sunday sad that it was over, but really proud of how far we've come." The Wolverines began the season with three straight losses, then reeled off five wins before losing to Ohio State. After that 6-1 drubbing by the Buckeyes, the team showed the resilience that would be its trademark all season, gutting out a hard-won 4-3 victory against Kent State. "We had a couple players who were out (due to injury) and not available for the team (for the Kent State match), and the other members of the team had to look around, really look hard at themselves," coach Nancy Cox said. "I think by looking hard at themselves at that point in the season, they realized that they could do it. It doesn't matter who is on the field - the leadership is always somewhere within the fabric of the team." The team went 10-4 after beating Kent State and went on to win the Big Ten Tournament championship. Through- out the year, the Wolverines never gave up on a game. They went to penalty strokes for the first time in program history to beat Connecticut and took three other games into overtime. The Wolverines won two of those three games, including an NCAA playoff victory over Boston University. "We had to persevere a lot as a team, and we went through a lot as a team," senior defender Lori Hillman said. "It brought us so much closer together, and by the end of the season we fought for every game we played with one another." Often the leadership came from the seniors, like tri-captains Lauren MacMillan, Hillman and Morris. Along with the other upperclassmen, they created a positive environment in which the freshmen could be both comfortable and productive. "I felt like I developed as a player-teacher up there on the forward line," Morris said. "I really took my role seriously - that we had to execute certain plays right." Cox used the story of freshman Erin Dallas, who led the team in scoring with 13 goals and 31 points, as a prime exam- ple of both the talent of the freshmen and the importance of the senior leadership. "Erin Dallas is empowered by those around her," Cox said. "As a freshman, you're overwhelmed academically and ath- letically. There are players who are better than you, and if (the seniors) don't create a culture wherein younger people can step into the program, then we've failed. That empowerment of Erin Dallas happened through senior leadership." The team's undisputed leader was Hillman, who notched a team-high 13 assists and provided a role model for all the younger players to look up to. "Lori Hillman for sure (was one of the MVPs)," Morris said. "Our whole backfield centered around her, and she dis- tributes really well. She brought (a great presence) every day to practice and to the team. I can't applaud her enough." Hillman and Morris can look back on a rich store of Michi- gan memories, from the fun and bonding of team road trips to winning their first Big Ten Championship as juniors in 2004. "That was a goal that we had set, and it just felt so great," Morris said. "I think both Big Ten titles are memories that I'll take with me wherever I go." Though they'll always have the memories, the seniors are finding that being finished with their collegiate careers is a dif- ficult experience. "The hardest thing about having played your last game is that you will never ever be able to represent the block 'M' like you have on that athletic field," Hillman said. "You'll always be a Michigan Wolverine, and you'll always have the experiences, but you'll never be able to step on the field like that again." Players like Hillman and Morris will be impossible to replace. But the younger players they mentored will undoubt- edly carry on their legacy of dedication and determination. "You never replace (players like that) because they all leave their unique stamp on the program," Cox said. "I think when we look to the future, we have great leadership coming in through the next class. Now it's time for these younger players to step up. They know the right way to do it (because of this year's seniors)." EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAM IAN/Daily Senior tri-captain Lori Hillman paced Michigan with 13 assists this season while acting as the field hockey team's most visible leader. MEN'S SWIMMING &DIVING SO GAMEDAY'S GOING TO LANSING THIS SATURDAY. LAME. JUST LAME. APPARENTLY, THE GREATEST RIVALRY IN SPORTS ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR LEE CORSO. To be with the best, Savulich came to Ann Arbor By Anne Uible Daily Sports Writer Michigan swimmer Bobby Savu- lich picked the right school to attend if he wants to become the best. In a swimming program filled with Big Ten Champions, NCAA Champions and Olympians, his competition is closeby. "I get to train with the best swim- mers in the nation every day," Savulich said. "I want to get to their level, so there's no better people to train with. To be the best, you have to train with the best." Growing up in Edison, N.J., Savu- lich began swimming when he was five years old, following his older brother and sister's leads. After sev- eral years of swimming recreation- ally, Savulich decided to get serious and join a club team. "I dropped some serious time when I was in eighth grade," Savulich said. "That's when I knew that I wanted to keep swimming beyond high school, and I realized that I had to put some more effort into what I was doing." Savulich's older brother, George - who currently swims for the College of New Jersey - was a major influence in pushing Bobby to excel in swimming while he was in high school. "My brother set a good example for me," Savulich said. "He was always making sure I was at practice on time and staying on top of everything." Savulich heeded the advice of his older brother and developed his work ethic in the pool. By his sophomore year, he had emerged as one of the nation's elite high school swimmers. But Savulich wanted to go beyond just conquering the high school scene. The next step was the Olympic trials. He tried for a year and a half to qualify in the 200-yard freestyle. "I thought about qualifying every day straight until I did it," Savulich said. "I knew I wouldn't make the actual Olympic team, but I knew that just making the tri- als would feel like the equivalent." After 10 attempts at swimming the 200-yard freestyle in 2003, Savulich finally qualified. "It was a major accomplishment for me," Savulich said. "It's named the fastest meet in the world, and that couldn't be more true." Though Savulich didn't qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he did catch the eye of Wolverines coach Bob Bowman, who knew that Michigan was the right place for the promising swimmer. By the time graduation rolled around, Michigan was Savulich's obvi- ous choice. "The team really made my decision to come here," Savulich said. "Their bond was something I wanted to be a part of. I felt like this would be the best place for me to be." The team atmosphere wasn't the only reason Savulich decided to attend Michigan. He also knew that he could thrive under Bowman. "Coach Bowman has developed some of the best swimmers in the world," Savulich said. "I thought he could help me improve to another level." Now, just two meets into the season, Savulich has proven to be a significant addition to the Wolverines. In his first collegiate race against Eastern Michi- gan, Savulich earned a victory in the 200-yard freestyle. Two weeks ago, Savulich came second in the 50-yard freestyle against Georgia. "Bobby proves himself in his races," senior co-captain Peter Vanderkaay said. "For a freshman to come and do what he's already done this season is impressive. I think the other freshmen look up to him, so he's a huge asset for the team. You can't have enough guys like Bobby." AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY November 2005 Professionalism. It sets us apart. School of Information master's students accept internships that closely supplement their in-class instruction. In Ann Arbor. In other states. For that matter, on other continents, too. The valuable training SI students receive in their chosen career area gives them valuable experience - the kind that employers look for when hiring gradates in the information professions. Be part of it. Connect with SL 1 4Mi('I1c, Friends, Before S: BS, Computer Engineering At BI: Information Economics, Management and Policy After SI: Systems Analyst! Business Integrator, Eli Ully and Company We are looking forward to a "REBOUND" year, and we need you!! As we begin another basketball season, I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for all of your past support and to ask that you once again this year make CRISLER ARENA A MAJOR HOME COURT ADVANTAGE FOR OUR TEAM. We are very proud that each year the Maize Rage and our basketball fans have helped to make Crisler a loud, intimidating plaCe for opponents to play-and more importantly, a place where our players feed off the tremendous support and energy from our fans. We especially appreciate your loyalty during a very trying season last year. Now, we are excited and energized for a new season. Our players have been working hard, and we are very EXCITED, ENTHUSIASTIC and HOPEFUL for a terrific season-and we need you on our team. We open with a home game against Central Michigan at Crisler Arena TOMORROW at 7:00p.m., and we hope to see you there. i I act trtt fi% t-finlla t^ t c.uniicho edurfiutacm Pi pm v nA a anti fhr B~n an Jqdikth 1 hithe b