2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 6, 2006 Freshmen get'eye-opener,'finish third Athlete of the Week - By Anne Uble Daily Sports Writer The No. 7 Michigan men's swimming and diving team knew that its chances of winning the Big Ten Championships last weekend were slim to none, but that didn't stop it from setting high expectations and keeping its eye on the prize. And after placing a lackluster third at the meet, the Wolverines left Bloomington dissatisfied and feeling the aches and pains of the growing process. "It's always a disappointment not to win," Michigan coach Bob Bowman said. "I think we could have done a little better, but we weren't the favorites. We performed; not at our best, but we performed." The host, No. 11 Indiana, claimed the conference title at the Counsilman-Bill- ingsley Aquatic Center with 760.5 points, its first since,1985. No. 9 Minnesota was runner-up with 652 points. Bowman indi- cated that both teams had an advantage over Michigan with their impressive depth and number of high-scoring divers. "Indiana deserved the win," Bowman said. "And Minnesota, while deeper than us, got more out of their freshmen than we were able to get. Our freshmen needed to step up for this meet, and I don't think they really performed at the level where we needed them to." Prior to the championships, Bowman placed high expectations on his 10 fresh- men. They were expected to carry the bulk of the meet and the dream of a confer- ence title. Unfortunately, with a sub-par performance - just three claimed top-lO performances in individual events - the Wolverines were forced to realize that they were in the midst of some growing pains. "I think (the meet) was an eye opener for (the freshmen)," senior co-captain Peter Vanderkaay said. "It's hard to walk into the Big Ten Championships for the first time and do well. I think the meet will be part of their learning process." The freshmen may have faltered, but the upperclassmen exhibited their resilience with seven first-place-individual finishes. Vanderkaay led the team with three indi- vidual titles over the three-day-long meet. On day one, the senior garnered the 500- yard freestyle title - his fourth consecu- tive - with a pool-record time of 4:13.02. Vanderkaay and Indiana's Sergiy Fesenko pulled away from the pack early, and, by lap 10 in the 20-lap event, the swimmers had a solid three-second lead on the rest of their competitors. With only three laps to go, Vanderkaay made a move and hit the wall with two body lengths between them. Vanderkaay went on to take the 200-yard freestyle in the second day with senior co-captain Chris DeJong close behind in second place. With his final win in the 1,650-yard freestyle - his third consecutive title in the event - Vanderkaay became the first Big Ten swimmer to win all three events at the meet since Iowa's Artur Wojdat in 1990. Vanderkaay's impressive performance earned him his third Big Ten Swimmer of the Year Award. "I think winning the award was such an honor for him," Bowman said. "It was a testa- ment to his work ethic and his drive to win." The oldest Vanderkaay brother may have walked away the most decorated, but his younger brother, sophomore Alex Vanderkaay, had the breakout perfor- mance of the team. After finishing a close second to Min- nesota's Adam Mitchell in the 200-yard individual medley on the first day, Alex mentally prepared himself to beat the defending Big Ten champion the next day in the 400-yard individual medley. "I'm a little stronger in the 400-yard individual medley than the 200;' Alex said. "So I felt pretty confident going up Name: Matko Maravic Hometown: Zagreb, Croatia Team: Tennis Class: Sophomore Why: The No. 95 singles player pulled off a major upset of the nation's No. 7 player, Pepperdine's Scott Doerner, 7-5, 7-6(8). It was his second win over a top-15 opponent in the last two weeks. Peter Vanderkaay captured his third Big Ten Swimmer of the Year award. against Mitchell for the second time." At the start of the race, Alex and Mitch- ell pulled away from the pack and kept within hundredths of a second of each other throughout the entire event. With just four laps of freestyle remaining, Alex knew he had to make a move. "Going into the final 100 yards, I felt pretty strong," Alex said. "But I didn't real- ize the race was that close" Alex hit the wall .05 seconds ahead of Mitchell and earned his first Big Ten indi- vidual title of his career. "When I looked up at the scoreboard and saw that I won, I was thrilled," Alex said. "I didn't really go into the race planning on winning, so getting the title was pretty exciting. It's still sinking in for me." Peter said that he was extremely proud of his brother. "I was ecstatic when I saw that he won," Vanderkaay said. "He swam a great race. It was close the whole way through, and he brought it home in the last part of the race. It was pretty special to have him win' that event." Other titles were won by senior co-cap- tain Davis Tarwater in the 200-yard butter- fly and DeJong in the 200-yard backstroke. The wins for both swimmers marked their third consecutive victories in the events. "Our captains did what we hoped they would;' Bowman said. "They led by example." Even though the Wolverines didn't perform at the level they hoped for, the team has three weeks remaining to train and make improvements for the NCAA Championships in Atlanta. M' Schedule Date Event Location Time 3/9 M Tennis @ Texas Austin 7 p.m. 3/9- M Basketball @ Big Ten Tour- Indianapolis 2:30 p.m. 3/12 nament 3/10 M Swimming/Diving @ NCAA Columbus 11 a.m. Zone C Diving Championships W Swimming/Diving @ NCAA Columbus 11 a.m. Zone C Diving Championships Baseball vs. Louisiana Tech . Waco, Texas 3 pm. Ice Hockey vs. Ferris State Ann Arbor 7:35 p.m. 3/10- M Track/Field @ NCAA Indoor Fayetteville, Ark. 12 p.m. 3/11 Championships W Track/Field @ NCAA Indoor Fayetteville, Ark. 12 p.m. Championships 3/11 W Tennis @ Marquette Milwaukee, Wis. 11 a.m. M Tennis @ Texas A&M College Station, 2 p.m. Texas Baseball @ Baylor Waco, Texas 6 p.m. M Gymnastics vs. Ohio State Ann Arbor 7 p.m. W Gymnastics vs. Georgia Ann Arbor 7:35 p.m. Ice Hockey vs. Ferris State Ann Arbor 7:35 p.m. 3/11- W Golf @ SunTrust Lady Gator Gainesville, Fla. 3/12 Invitational 3/12 Baseball vs. Pacific Waco, Texas 12 p.m. 3/12 Ice Hockey vs. Ferris State (if Ann Arbor TBA necessary) *Bold Indicates home event 6 6 M MEN'S TENNIS Maravic upset not enough for Netters By Lisa Gentile For the Daily Sophomore Matko Maravic felt good fac- ing the seventh-ranked tennis player in the nation on March 2 in Malibu, Calif. He felt even better when he beat him in two sets, 7-5 and 7-6. Maravic's win extended his three match-winning streak, removing him further from his early-sea- son struggles. "I was just very consistent throughout the whole match;" Maravic said. "It was outdoors, which is a better match for me than playing indoors; I felt great." But, despite Maravic's win at No. 1 sin- gles and junior Ryan Heller and freshman Andrew Mazlin's defeat over Ivor Lovrak and Pedro Rico in No. 2 doubles, the No. 36 Wolverines (6-4) were unable to cap- turc a win over No. 2 Pepperdine. In the team's first outdoor match of the dual season, Heller and Mazlin played through a long set that ended in a 9-8 (5) win, preventing a doubles sweep by Pep- perdine. Michigan coach Bruce Berque said he was happy with the effort. "I was very pleased (with how the team played,)" Berque said. "I told the team afterwards that I was definitely proud of the way they competed. With each match, I'm feeling more confident in our team, and I feel like we're establishing our identity." The team fought through every match, coming close but never able to fully clinch the win. Junior co-captain Heller, at No. 3 singles, came back from a 3-6 loss in the first set to win 6-3 in the second. He forced a tie-breaking third set that ended in a 7-5 loss to the Waves' Lovrak. "I just showed that I wasn't going to quit," Heller said. "I think that was good for my own confidence as well as show- ing everybody that not only myself, but the University of Michigan won't go lightly." Regardless of the loss, the team con- tinued to move up in the rankings and improve. Beginning the season ranked in the SOs, the team has moved into the No. 36 spot, and Berque projects the Wolver- ines to continue their ascent. "I definitely feel like we're progress- ing." Berque said. "I feel like we're doing a good job competitively and also in the last couple of weeks we've done a good job of focusing in practice ... and trying to get as good as we can. We're making significant strides." The team will head out on the road again for a long weekend at Texas on Thursday and Texas A&M on Saturday. BIG TENS Continued from page 1B and earn a provisional qualifying time. Kohlmeier, freshman Amber Hay, freshman Geena Gall and Erd- man made up the record-setting team. After losing the lead with two laps to go, Edwards pulled back in front of Illinois's Cassie Hunt in the final 60 meters to win the mile-run title. Edwards, who picked up 10 points with the win, along with Erdman, Hay, Gall, Kohlmeier and Webster, was named to the All-Big Ten first- team. Freshmen Bettie Wade and Tiffany Ofili, seniors Stephanie Linz and Jen- nifer Williams and Walter all were named to the second team for their contributions over the weekend. Wade placed second in the pen- tathlon, and while Ofili finished second in the 60-meter hurdles at the championship meet. Linz and Wil- liams both cleared 5-10 in the high jump and tied for second place. Despite the great finish at the con- ference meet, Henry isn't necessarily thinking about a team national title. "Not only did we place in an out- standing fashion at the meet, but it was out of the ordinary that our times were outstanding too," Henry said. "Our team now sees that it can perform well under championship- meet conditions. We're not going (to nationals) expecting a team cham- pionship, but we are going there expecting to do well and do well as a team." J\ 1 NOTES 3 APR-IANIS TOLE CE T-SHIRT PRINTERY A2'S FINEST & FASTEST PRINTED & EMBROIDERED TEES, SWEATS, CAPS, TEAM SHIRTS, SHORTS U --UM PO#SACCEPTED- --CALL FOR OUR LOW PRICE QUOTE 5-DAY TURNAROUND 1002 PONTIAC TR. TEL. 994-1367 adrianstshirts.com Schmucker wins Rio Verde, 'M' runner-up Senior Amy Schmucker won her second collegiate title as the Michi- gan women's golf team finished sec- ond at the Rio Verde Collegiate in Arizona. The team finished with a three-round total of 907, 12 strokes behind Northwestern. Schmucker used an even-par 71 final round and two-under par 69 in the second round to propel her to three-round total of 215 and a three- stroke victory. Her first career title was at the 2005 Central District Classic when she shot a then-career best 54-hole total of 216. Water Polo strong in conference play * **~ ., .......t OURDIF R N E Born into a Hindu family, named after a Muslim and schooled by Catholic nuns, Aman Motwane's diverse religious experiences will transform your perspective on life. Keynote: AMAN MOTWANE author of the influential best-seller The Power of Wisdom Wednesday, March 8, 7:00pm hors d'oeuvres at 6:30 Michigan League Vandenburg Room 911 N. University Ann Arbor, MI The No. 15 Michigan rebounded from three losses at the Gaucho Invitational Feb. 25-26 to finish the break with seven straight victories. Junior Shana Welch led the Wol- verine offense with five hat tricks. Michigan finished the break with 6- 0 mark in CWPA conference play dur- ing a weekend trip to Pennsylvania. Before its weekend swing in the Keystone State, the water polo team competed in Colorado and California. In an 11-8 victory at Colorado State on March 1, Welch notched another hat trick. In the two-day Gaucho Invita- tional in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Feb. 25-26, the Wolverines beat Brown and lost to No. 4 Hawaii, No. 13 UC-Irvine and then-No. 15 UC-San Diego. 6 Netters fight back to win in Las Vegas * $100 back!. The No. 26 Michigan women's tennis team beat No. 44 UNLV 4-3 on March 3. Both sophomore Allie Shafner and senior Debra Streifler picked up three-set singles victories after losing the first set. Lindsay Howard collected the team's other singles victory with a straight-set win at No. 6 singles. The Wolverines swept doubles competition to collect the fourth point. The duo of Streifler and Kara Delicata collected their first victory as a duo. 6 Receive $100 back through Kaplan's Rebate when you enroll in a Kaplan course in March. Duff shines in Puerto Rico The Michigan men's golf team I , I i'llsommammomor AdMUSIRWROMMMMINEk I 11 I