The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 27, 2006 - 3B
*BIG TENS
Continued from page 11B
scores higher than 9.0 for their vaults,
culminating with senior Drew DiGiore's
unofficial Newt Loken award-winning
two-and-a-half twisting vault (9.55).
But then missed dismounts began to
plague Michigan on the parallel bars.
None of the six competitors scored
in the 9.0 range, and four either came
off the apparatus or fell on their dis-
mounts, sinking Michigan back into
fourth place.
On the high bar and floor exercise,
the Wolverines kicked it back into gear.
Senior Gerry Signorelli, anchoring the
high bar team, hit his signature release,
the Kolman, for the first time in com-
petition since the Pacific Coast Clas-
sic in late February. His score of 925
matched freshman Joe Catrambone,
who competed through a painful torn
labrum. They finished eighth and sev-
enth, respectively, in high bar finals.
"It's game time, and I know there
are no second chances," said Signorelli,
" who finished sixth in the all-around
competition. "This is where it counts
.... (The Kolman has) been a prob-
lem for the past month. I seem to have
worked it out. It's a relief, definitely."
The Wolverines hit their routines
on the floor exercise, but according
to Golder, the judging was exces-
sively harsh. After freshman Scott
Bregman's solid set, Golder expected
to see a 9.3 score out of a possible 9.7.
Instead, the Iowa-chosen judge put up
a 9.1, and the Michigan-chosen judge
showed an 8.6.
"I was really pissed when the Michi-
gan judge on (Bregman's) routine that
(he) really nailed ... was five-tenths
lower than the Iowa judge," Golder
said. "I was so pissed I could have got-
ten unsportsmanlike conduct. I swore
at him. That's just crap, because you
know (with) the other teams' judges,
they're on the high side all the time.
They're sure as heck not going five
tenths below on their own team:'
Despite the judging issues, Michi-
gan was in second place going into
the pommel horse. But even four clean
sets on the apparatus weren't enough
to keep the team in second. The Wol-
verines dropped to fourth in the final
standings, behind Big Ten champions
Ohio State (215.625), Illinois (214.80)
and Iowa (213.75).
"Horse was OK," Golder said. "We
had four hit routines, so I wasn't disap-
pointed with horse that much. We did get
our four hits, and that's what you need.
But (parallel) bars was an opportunity
to score at least three points higher."
Those three points would have
boosted Michigan into third, matching
last season's finish with Laury, who is
redshirting this year, and Andre Her-
nandez. Golder said he believes that
if the team had Laury and Hernandez
Friday in Iowa, the Wolverines likely
could have finished second.
Michigan did achieve a first-place
finish on the weekend with DiGiore's
performance on the vault in event
finals. The penultimate competitor,
DiGiore executed his vault perfectly
and stuck the landing. Even before the
score was posted, the Michigan bench
and fan section exploded in cheers
and celebration. The senior's score of
9.637 locked up his third Big Ten vault
championship in his four-year Michi-
gan career.
"I definitely pictured it happening
exactly like that," DiGiore said. "Just
landing, sticking and screaming my
head off."
The forward-looking team will have
one more chance to put it all together
at the biggest meet of the season, the
NCAA Championships in Oklahoma
from April 6 to 8. Michigan will learn
its rotation order and session number
on Wednesday.
Fairy tales do come true in March Madness
've probably seen "Hoosiers" 25 times, "Rocky" and
"Rudy" 10 times each, and just a few weeks ago I saw
"Miracle" for the first time.
Less than an hour after the credits
had rolled, it was back on, and I
couldn't resist.
Not once when these movies have
been on have I not been sucked in
and not had goosebumps at some
point while watching.
But, in the end, it's just a movie,
and I always eventually wonderv
what it would have been like to
have seen the improbable upset asS SHARAD
it was actually happening. It has to MATTU
be better than having it recreated by Th
people who won't hesitate to fudge e SportsMonda y
the details if it amps up the drama, Column
right?
Thanks to the George Mason Patriots, which defeated
top-seeded Connecticut to advance to the Final Four in a
tournament that many felt they didn't even belong, in the
first place, I now know the answer is "Yes."
It's silly to say this just hours after Denham Brown's
game-winning 3-point attempt bounced off the rim, but
right now I can't imagine ever watching another game
that will leave me as ridiculously giddy as this game. In
fact, the more and more I dwell on the game, the more
incredible it becomes.
George Mason already had an amazing run, beating
two of last year's Final Four teams in Michigan State and
defending champion North Carolina and fellow mid-major
Wichita State. But throughout the game, it was clear that
even the players knew that beating Connecticut would
dwarf their previous accomplishments.
Throughout the second half, as the Patriots walked to
the bench for every timeout, you could see them smil-
ing, proud that they were ahead at that point, even though
it might not last. Then, when Brown hit a miraculous
reverse lay-up to tie the game at the end of regulation, the
dream had to be over. George Mason had to be too deflat-
ed to play another five minutes, and Connecticut would
be too elated. But that wasn't the case.
And Connecticut, which could ultimately send eight
or nine players to the NBA, didn't even play poorly. In
fact, they hadn't played that well since the regular season.
George Mason was just better.
As anyone who has been watching could tell you, this
year's NCAA Tournament has been absolutely incredible.
In the last four days, nine out of the 12 games went down
to the wire. From start to finish, the NCAA Tournament
is the most riveting event in sports.
And can you imagine what it will be like this week at
George Mason, a small commuter school in suburban Vir-
ginia? Many people likely knew nothing about the school, and
now for a full week, it will be impossible not to hear about
it. They've got to be just straight-up partying nonstop until
Saturday's game.
March Madness has always been awesome, but this year
has completely surpassed anything before it. As far as I'm
concerned, the only way it could be better is if Michigan
was in it.
Next year, right?
- Sharad Mattu tried very hard not to bring up the Michigan
basketball team. He can be reached at smattu@umich.edu.
George Mason fans celebrate after the Patroits defeated the No.1seed
Connecticut to advance to the Final Four.
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