10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 Senior excels under pressure By Colt Rosensweig Daily Sports Writer Whenever the Michigan men's gymnastics team needs a big routine, senior Gerry Signorelli is the man it looks to. And far more often than not, Signorelli comes through for the Wolverines, calmly hitting every skill as if there was no pressure at all. "Guys expect me to step up, to hit when they need it," Signo- relli said. "I've got the whole team behind me, so (the pres- sure) is not that bad when you know they are all pulling for you. Besides that, it helps me out, because I know it's serious. They need me to hit." This year's team may not measure up to the 1999 National Champions in talent just yet, but in Signorelli's opinion, it has some of thebest intangibles of any team he's been on. "It's not the most talented team I've ever been on here at Michigan," Signorelli said. "I came in when some really good guys were competing for Michigan. As far as attitude, (this team is) one of the best ever." Signorelli's performance this year will be a key to Michi- gan's success. Like the rest of the team, Michigan coach Kurt Golder is confident that the senior will put up big numbers when crunch-time comes. "I'm pretty sure he's going to be capable of getting some big scores by the end of the year," Golder said. "If things go the way I think they will for him, he'll be getting us what I call championship-type scores. If everybody gets scores like that, we'll win the championship." Signorelli is not just a clutch performer. He's a team leader that sets a good example for all his teammates, especially the eight freshmen. The senior hasn't missed a single repetition in a workout assignment in his four years as a Wolverine. He also knows how to simultaneously enjoy competition and perform at a very high level. "When I notice (the freshmen) dealing with some things that they're not used to, I try and give them a heads up of what's going on," Signorelli said. "I try to enjoy myself and work hard, so that they see that that's a part of (gymnastics) - going out and hav- ing a good time because you get to compete for Michigan." As a youngster, Signorelli had his own heroes, whose foot- steps he now follows. At home in Colorado Springs, Colo., he practiced at the Olympic Training Center, where he observed Olympic gymnasts Brett McClure and Jason Gatson firsthand. And during his freshman year, Signorelli was teammates with several of the members Wolverines' most recent NCAA cham- pionship team. Both Signorelli and Golder said they believe Michigan will finish the season as one of the top six teams, giving the Wol- verines a shot at matching the 1999 champions. "I feel like we have a chance," Signorelli said. "We have a good history of being in the top six all the time, so we could definitely win a championship. By midseason, hopefully we can become one unit. For myself, I want to be solid as a rock when the championship meets come around, so (the team) can count on me to hit." In addition to getting a shot at the national title, another one of Signorelli's main goals for the season is to fully enjoy his last year of competition. "I've changed a lot, as everybody does when they go through college," Signorelli said. "I've opened my eyes more now than when I was a freshman to how lucky we are to compete for a university like this. It has also humbled me a lot to see what amazing people have been here, and I just wish I could do something even close to what they've done. "I think I enjoy life a lot more, too. I was pretty happy before I came to (Michigan), and now I don't even know what I can't be thankful for." EUGENE ROBERTSON/Daily Senior Gerry Signorelil has stepped Into a leadership role this season. EDELSON Continued from page 9 to find out more about Ukrainian figure skater Ruslan Goncharov (who's never won an international competition) or Liechtenstein's Marco Buechel, an alpine skier who finished two spots behind Miller's disappointing fifth-place time in the men's downhill event on Sunday. A Winter Olympic-record 416 broadcast hours will be aired on a laundry list of networks: NBC Uni- versal, NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC HD, Universal HD, BET, VH1 and the Playboy Channel (OK, maybe not those last three). Yesterday, I was watching women's luge qualifying when NBC reporter Bob Neumeier presented an enlight- ening expose on the lead-weighted bodysuits lugers wear to help them gain momentum on the ice chute. American Courtney Zablocki, a front- runner in the women's singles event, even modeled the outfit, which added 25 pounds to her original 135-pound frame, for the NBC cameras. Make sure to include lead-loaded spandex right after flying tomatoes and speed- ing white sausages on the list of unex- pected contributors to the complete Olympic TV-watching experience. But believe it or not, there's still one question I don't have an adequate answer for: What do some of these announcers do during the four years between each Winter Games? Do Len Berman and Chad Salmela travel the world to cover every biathlon competition, or do they brush up on their terminology and research the athletes in the weeks leading up to the Olympics? The four-man bobsled announcing team features Neumeier, Bob Papa, Carol Lewis and John Morgan. Papa is better known as the radio play-by-play man for the NFL's New York Giants and Neumeier has his own radio show, but I'm not so sure about Lewis and Morgan. Will they go into hibernation until 2010 after Torino's events are over? If they do, at least they're keep- ing busy for the time being (They also cover skeleton in Torino). Honestly though, I love having so much information at my fingertips. After all, my friends know me as the guy who has kept track of every NBA player during the past 10 years. I can't get enough of this stuff. But I'm still concerned about TV viewers' long-term health. If the infor- mation seems to be too overwhelming after just three days, imagine what it might feel like after 13 more. Well, it's time for me to go. Pete Fenson and the U.S. curling team are inaction on CNBC. By the way, did you know that Fenson owns Dave's Pizza, a two-res- taurant chain in Minnesota? You can watch a video of Fenson talking about his business on - you guessed it - his NBCOlympics.com profile page. We believe everyone's more successful in a flexible environment. We want you to succeed. That's why we've created an environment that's conducive to personal and professional growth and success. At Ernst Youngwe're offering an opportunity to learn from some of the best talent in the industry. So visit us on campus, or on the Web at eycorn/us/careers- Whatever's best for you. We're flexible. - Gabe Edelson can be reached at gedelson@umich.edu. BLUE CREW Continued from page 9 Though officials and visitors may not have appreciated Blue Crew's boister- ous manner, Michigan's starting wres- tlers loved the liveliness it created. "They're funny" redshirt junior Mark Moos said. "And it gets you going when everyone is going crazy for you during your match." That's exactly the type of result McFarland hoped for when he first envisioned a student section. He wanted to create a true home-advan- tage. In his eyes, enthusiastic students have the ability to ignite the entire crowd and get everyone involved. "We've got one of the top programs in the country, and we've got some great matchups," McFarland said. "The more students we can attract from campus, the better we're going to be." Redshirt junior Rob Sulaver shares his coach's vision and has taken a leading role in creating the Blue Crew. He's intent to help the team succeed in any way possible. "The Blue Crew is all about the ath- lete out on the mat," he said. "It's about getting people excited about wrestling." Sulaver expressed his hope to trans- form Cliff Keen Arena into an electri- fying venue opposing teams dread. To accomplish this, he urged all students to come out to support the team and cheer with the Blue Crew. The Crew will be back in action on Feb. 17 when No. 1 Minnesota comes to town. McFarland has ordered t-shirts for the section and is excited about the matchup. Tickets are available at the Michigan Ticket Office "We're going to need a really loud crowd there if we want to use it to our advantage," he said. Though Blue Crew is only taking its first steps, its presence has already made a difference. Just ask the Wildcats. COLD ENOUGH FOR YOU? *I S 0 I I