8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 1, 2005 'Problem with losing' fuels Porter for new season By Kimberly Chou For the Daily Jeff Porter already has the ring picked out. "I went to Jostens.com and print- ed off a couple of ring ideas for how I want my ring to look," said the junior high-hurdler. All he has to do now is win an NCAA Track and Field Champion- ship title. "(Choosing the ring), it's a little incentive," Porter said. Exploding onto the Big Ten track scene early freshman year, Porter suffered a disappointing sophomore season. He took the title for 60- meter hurdles at the indoor confer- ence championships and won Big Ten Freshmen of the Year honors in 2004 but came up two places short of the title last winter. And the run- ner-up in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Big Ten Outdoor Cham- pionships found himself in eighth place in the same event at the end of his sophomore season. "Basically, I had one of those sophomore slumps," Porter said. "It was basically growing pains. I came in freshman year, and I did every- thing through talent, just raw talent. And last year I was trying to redo some things." Those struggles were rough for Por- ter, who came to Michigan as the No. 1 high school hurdler in the country. "I envisioned after sophomore year, I'd have been No. 1 or 2 in the country and ranked in the world," Porter said. The Wolverines' sprint and hurdle coach Fred LaPlante said talented incoming freshmen Adam Harris and Rob Fiorillo, as well as return- ing sophomore Rich Lacroix, should provide competition for Porter. "(Adam) is a very good hurdler, but he's still the young buck," Porter said. "I'm still the old man around here. ... I can still run stuff around here." Porter regards his on-track rela- tionships with the rookie hurdlers as encouraging, friendly competi- tion. Having other similarly talented hurdlers working out alongside him should encourage Porter, as well as lessen the previous pressure on him to perform. "Now we have a hurdling crew," Porter said. "Now I have somebody to work with, somebody to push me. ... It's kind of hard running against yourself in practice and then trying to turn it on in a meet." Though an injured Harris may not be running in this weekend's Maize and Blue Intrasquad Meet, Porter will get his first chance to either compete with - or against - Fiorillo. "It'll be interesting to see how he rebounds back," LaPlante said. "(Porter) has freshmen hot on his heels." Both LaPlante and Porter hope the return of former NFL running back Raider Tyrone Wheatley as a hurdle coach will ease that transi- tion. Known at Michigan for his four years on the gridiron, Wheatley was also an NCAA All-American and Big Ten high hurdle champion. "Tyrone is a big help," Porter said. "He brings experience. ... He brings some things that we might not have thought of. Fred (LaPlante) and I, we see a problem. We understand there's a problem. Tyrone brings a different aspect to solving the problem." Resolving Porter's troubles this year should get him a little closer to that ring. "I'm just looking to repeat my (Indoor) Big Ten title," Porter said. "I want to win Nationals. I want to win Outdoor Big Tens - I want to win nationals out there. I want to win everything. I have a very big problem with losing, so we're gonna turn that around." FILE PHOTO. Jeff Porter hopes this season will be more like his freshman campaign, when he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. So phomore No. 1stunner By Wei Kung For the Daily Imagine staring down the nation's top-ranked wrestler, who also happens to be the defending national champion. At the same time, try having to drown out 4,800 screaming fans all hoping that you falter. This was the scene in Stillwater, Okla., at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 21 for 149-pound Michigan sophomore Eric Tannenbaum, who was gearing up to face Oklahoma State's Zack Esposi- to. Just eight months earlier, Esposito defeated the overwhelmed freshman in the 2005 NCAA national semifinals on his way to becoming the champion. This time, Tannenbaum - now a more experienced sophomore - was determined to exact revenge on the senior Esposito, who had a career record of 93-8 at the time. "I went into the match with a nothing-to-lose atti- tude," Tannenbaum said. The third-ranked Tannenbaum started off slug- gishly, falling behind and allowing Esposito to score the first two points of the match. Tannenbum finally took command-andreeld doff three consecu- tive points. The momentum shift and Tannenbaum's tight grip on the lead was too much for the Cow- boys' wrestler to overcome, and Tannenbaum came away with a shocking upset and his first win of the season. Growing up in Naperville, Ill., Tannenbaum picked up the sport of wrestling at a young age, often working out with a family friend in a local wrestling club. In high school, Tannenbaum compiled a record of 176-1 and won the state championship three out of four years. When the time came to make a decision about college, the four-year honor roll student saw Michi- gan as a logical choice. "Michigan offered a great combination of an excellent wrestling tradition and strong academics," Tannenbaum said. Tannenbaum made an immediate impact on the Wolverines. He posted a 36-5 record in his first season, won the Big Ten Championships in the 149- pound division and finished fourth in the nation while also being named an All-American. Tannenbaum's rock-solid mental toughness helped him. "I think it's my stubbornness that gives me that refuse-to-lose attitude and mental toughness," the sophomore said. Tannenbaum's coaches have quickly taken notice of how special he is as an athlete. "He's just tough," Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "He has the confidence and dedication to fight through any situation he is presented." A Pre-Med student, Tannenbaum was also named to the NWCA All-Academic and Academic All-Big Ten Conference teams last year, and he's found a wayto extend his smarts to the mats. "He is one of the most cerebral and smart wres- tlers I've come across," McFarland said. After the Wolverines' second-place finish at last year's national championship meet, Tannenbaum and his teammates set lofty goals for the team this season. Individually, the tough-minded Tannenbaum will settle for nothing less than a national cham- pionship. When asked about his anticipation for a possible grudge match with Esposito in the champi- onship, Tannenbaum shook it off. "I take any kind of win I get," Tannenbaum said. Eric Tannenbaum has been a force for the Wolverines ever since he came to Ann Arbor last year. NEED A GIRLFRIEND? JOIN THE DAILY. 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