The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 10, 2006 - 3B
0 WOMEN'S TENNIS
" Illinois too much for Blue
Garden offers more
than cellar dwellers
By Jamie Josephson
Daily Sports Writer
Yesterday, the Michigan steamroller that
bulldozed over five of its last six opponents
finally ran out of gas.
After the No. 35 Michigan men's tennis team
soundly swept Purdue in West Lafayette on
Saturday, 7-0, the Wolverines traveled to Cham-
paign to take on Big
Ten powerhouse, No. 7 G
Illinois. Despite a hard-
fought effort, Michigan
fell, 6-1.
"T h e sco re w as very lop s d ed, M i
lopsided," Michigan
coach Bruce Berque said. "But if you look care-
fully at what happened (in each match), we were
really within a handful of points for the win."
Michigan (5-2 Big Ten, 11-8 overall) found its
usual spark from its top doubles duo. The No.
11 tandem of junior Brian Hung and sophomore
Matko Maravic improved its record to 15-4 with
an 8-4 pounding of the Fighting Illini's Ruben
Gonzales and Ryan Rowe. The duo's victory
marked its seventh consecutive "W."
"Matko and Brian play with an incredibly
consistent level of intensity from first point to
the last point," Berque said. "They come in with
a gameplan but adjust it quickly based on what
they see. They're very disciplined and skilled."
Despite the impressive performance of Mich-
igan's top pair, Illinois (5-1, 15-5) prevailed in
the other two matches to steal the doubles point
from the Wolverines. Both Michigan pairs at
the No.2 and No.3 slots dropped their contests,
8-6.
In singles, Michigan came out of the gates
with fire in its eyes, winning three of the six first
sets. One such quick starter was freshman Peter
Aarts. The rookie demonstrated his maturity
by battling to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Illinois'
Pramod Dabir, to notch his fifth consecutive
singles win.
"It's a good win for him," Berque said. "He
has really improved. He was struggling earlier
in the year, but he hung in there despite losing
his position in the lineup. Now, he's making a lot
fewer mistakes and making better choices. He's
not beating himself as much:"
But Aarts' win proved to be Michigan's lone
tally on the day. Despite some very close match-
es, the Fighting Illini affirmed its reputation as
one of the Big Ten's strongest programs, with
four players in the national singles rankings.
Nevertheless, Michigan refused to go down
without a fight. Junior Ryan Heller appeared to
be on his way to an upset win over No.60 Rowe
at the No. 3 position. After winning the first set
in tie-breaking fashion, Heller had three match
points to secure the win. But the co-captain was
unable to take Rowe out and came up just short,
6-7(5), 6-4,7-6(3).
At No. 2 singles, Hung also failed to come
out on top in a match point against G.D. Jones,
who stole the victory from the veteran in a third-
set tiebreaker, 5-7,7-6(7), 10-4.
Freshman Andrew Mazlin was serving for
the second set in his match against Gonzales to
put the contest into a third set. But Mazlin buck-
led, losing 6-2,7-5.
"(If we had won some of those points), the
outcome would have been completely differ-
ent," Berque said. "Illinois was clearly the better
team than us, but the difference is very small.
Our guys are not going to lose confidence after
this because they realize that the difference is
just getting a couple points better."
With Illinois being the fourth top-10 team
that Michigan has faced so far, Berque said that
he hopes this strength of schedule will continue
to force his team to improve.
"Our goal is to turn one of these (losses)
around before end of the year," Berque said.
"We were not intimidated by Illinois. We were
ready to play, and the guys felt that they could
win. This was the result of all the competition
we've played earlier in the year."
Yesterday's defeat marked Illinois' 11th con-
secutive win against Michigan. For Berque,
though, a win against Illinois would have been
personally gratifying. Before coming to Michi-
gan, Berque was on the Fighting Illini's coach-
ing staff.
"I tried not to think in those terms," Berque
said. "It shouldn't be about me; it should be
about the team. But I would be lying if I said it
wasn't important to me, personally. I wanted to
feel proud of the team and show that we were
competitive and disciplined. And they have been
showing me that all year. It's nice personally to
get nice compliments about the impressions of
our team. We would obviously have preferred to
have won the match, but we're still on the right
track."
NEW YORK -
bought a ticket to a Knicks game to watch some
basketball.
At least, that's what I thought at the time.
OK, maybe I did want to see that weird-look-
ing ceiling at Madison Square Garden (it's pretty
cool, by the way), but I was mostly interested in the
48 minutes of hardwood action.
Ironically, I found myself paying Ag
even more attention to the non-bas-
ketball aspects of Friday night's New
York-Indiana contest.
Maybe it had something to do with
the fact that the venue was so dif-
ferent - and more intimate - than
the familiar confines of the Palace of
Auburn Hills. No flame-filled pre-
game introductions here. No cham- GA
pionship-caliber play either, for that EDE]
matter.
Alas, the Knicks are cellar-dwellers, The Spor'
a team with a record (22-54) among Colt
the NBA's worst. If it wasn't for the
squad's recent hot streak (meaning consecutive
wins), New York could easily be sitting dead last in
the league standings. So it's understandable if team
executives feel the need to compensate for poor on-
court results with more diversionary entertainment.
Whatever the reason, there's something for
everyone at a Knicks game. Where else could you
see Ron Raines, of "Guiding Light" fame, belt out
an overdone, vibrato-filled, fist-pump-accentuated
national anthem? I must admit, I'd never heard of
Raines - I'm not much of a soap opera guy - but
plenty of fans seemed to appreciate the effort. (I'm
not sure if that says something about Ron Raines or
Knicks fans).
Want a particularly useless promotional giveaway,
like my brand new Continental Airlines luggage tag?
Go to a Knicks game.
Want to see kids, in overalls and blindingly color-
ful afro wigs, execute complicated choreography?
Go to a Knicks game.
Want to see a first-rate dance team? Go to a
Knicks game - the Knicks City Dancers put the
Pistons' Automotion to shame.
But that's not all. You can check out Anointed S
and the Knicks Breakers if beat-boxing and break-
dancing is your thing (as it is, apparently, for the
Knicks' Channing Frye, Malik Rose and Quentin
Richardson, the Pacers' Eddie Gill, and even a
couple assistant coaches, all of whom paid more
attention to the hip-hop antics than to the strate-
gies being discussed during a timeout in the fourth
quarter of a close game). If you're in more of a retro
mood, watch the City Kids groove to New Kids on
the Block's "The Right Stuff."
Want to hear what a really old-school buzzer
sounds like? Go to a Knicks game.
Want to find out how a team makes a sales pitch
to free agent Shawn Kemp and his multitude of
illegitimate children? Go to a Knicks game - Lud-
acris's "Pimpin' All Over the World" got airtime
during the pre-game shootaround.
Want to see a pro basketball player who looks
more like a ball boy? Go to a Knicks game and keep
an eye on Nate Robinson, if you can find him.
Want to see Fat Joe sitting courtside? Me, neither.
Even the ticket-package advertisements scattered
throughout the arena concourses provide a laugh.
A witty one reads: "Knicks fans know that (Eddy)
Curry is a key ingredient." So key, in
fact, that he was worth giving up the
potential top pick in this June's draft,
heart problems and all.
Another sign proclaims, "Knicks fans
know what hustle can get you." What, a
trip to the lottery? A frustrated fan base?
Somebody please fill me in.
And let's not forget the crowd. It's
no secret that New Yorkers know their
hoops. They're pretty famous for being
sarcastic, too. So when Knicks guard
Steve Francis took an ill-advised shot
on the home team's first possession, I
cracked a smile when the guy sitting next
to me quipped, "Boy, that took the crowd
ABE
'SON
ts~londiay
umn
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Netters bounce back v
By Scott Bell
Daily Sports Editor
Following a tough road loss to Iowa, the Mich-
igan women's tennis team looked at a return trip
to Ann Arbor to get it back on track in the Big
Ten race.
After two wins in as many days over the week-
end, the Wolverines accomplished just that.
"I think we made a big jump this past week,"
Michigan coach Bitsy
Ritt said through the ath- E '
letic department. "We MiGN 5
were very disappointed
with our performance at
Iowa, and I thought we MiHA
responded well in prac-
tice this week. We did a great job in these two
dual matches, and the goal is to be better next
weekend in Columbus:"
No. 36 Michigan (5-2 Big Ten, 11-6 Overall)
followed its win against No. 43 Purdue on Sat-
urday with an equally impressive 6-1 victory
against Illinois (1-5, 6-11) yesterday.
Michigan has lost just two home matches all
year, both against teams ranked in the top 15.
All weekend long, there was no sign of the
play that cost the Wolverines down the stretch
in last weekend's loss to Iowa. Unlike against the
Hawkeyes, where Michigan dropped a 2-0 lead
and lost its final five matches, the Wolverines
stayed focused throughout this entire weekend.
"I'm very happy with the way we played (Satur-
day) and (yesterday)," Ritt said through the athletic
department. "I thought we did an excellent job of
staying focused throughout each match at every
position. Both Purdue and Illinois played well,
and we did a good job of stepping up and playing
our weapons and really coming through."
As well as the Varsity Tennis Center treated
the team, freshman Chisako Sugiyama seemed
to be in a rush to leave. She made short work
of her opponents in all four of her victories, fail-
ing to drop a set in either meet. Sugiyama put an
exclamation point on the homestand with a 6-1,
6-1 victory over Illinois' Emily Wang at No. 5
singles.
Her two singles wins boosted her team-high
dual record to 6-1 in singles play.
"We knew that Chisako was going to do well,
and we have a lot of confidence in her," Ritt
said through the athletic department. "She did a
good job (Saturday) and even a better job (yes-
terday)."
vith sweep,
But the solid play within the team didn't
just stop with newcomer Sugiyama. Vet-
erans Elizabeth Exon (junior) and Debra
Streifler (senior) capped off perfect 4-for-4
weekends of their own with multiple wins
on Sunday.
Streifler and her partner, No. 1 singles player
Kara Delicata, clinched another doubles point
for the team. The duo's 8-6 win against the Illini
team of Macall Harkins and Wang got Michigan
off on the right foot for the sixth time in seven
matches and extended Delicata and Streifler's
conference record to 7-0 at the No. 1 doubles
position.
Ritt said she was very pleased with the Maize
and Blue's lineup over the weekend.
"I think the doubles combinations are strong
right now, and we're playing well throughout
the singles lineup," she said through the athletic
department. "This is a very competitive lineup,
yet we still have some options. The lineup that
we played this weekend was very effective:"
The afternoon before Michigan's triumph
over Illinois, the Wolverines topped Purdue (3-
2, 8-7) thanks in part to four straight-set wins
at singles to compliment the team's doubles
point.
out of it."
Later on, when New York forward Qyntel Woods
missed a 360-degree dunk attempt on a breakaway,
he was showered with merciless boos.
Knicks fans are even hard on each other. When a
woman was having trouble making a lay-up to win a
trip to Toronto during a timeout, my friendly neigh-
bor asked, "How about Cleveland?"
Evidently, the organization trusts the crowd
enough to give it the responsibility of picking the
dance team's routine once a game. I'm convinced,
of course, that the fans' demands for Destiny Child's
"Temptation" over a more reserved number, had
nothing to do with the dancers' wild hip gyrations.
I must admit, the crowd was far from perfect. I
saw people sitting in $240 seats fight over a free
T-shirt. A more serious altercation broke out in the
game's closing minutes. A couple guys in the upper
deck proudly waved a Russian flag, despite the fact
that there wasn't a single Russian player, coach or
trainer on either team. And when former Wolverine
Maurice Taylor literally tackled the Pacers' Jer-
maine O'Neal and got whistled for a much-deserved
foul, somebody in front of me couldn't believe it.
Well, at least Knicks fans have character.
Oh, yeah, there was a game, too. Among the
highlights were benchwarmer and international
journeyman Ime Udoka's Knicks debut and Michi-
gan alum Jamal Crawford's game-winning shot
with half a second left to give New York a rare
victory.
In the end, though, my Madison Square Garden
experience was about a lot more than just basketball.
The overwhelming entertainment barrage has even
motivated me to raise profound and troubling ques-
tions over the past few days.
For example, where can I catch reruns of "Guid-
ing Light"? Anyone?
- Gabe Edelson can be reached
at gedelson@umich.edu.
NCAAS
Continued from page 11B
(Michigan coach Kurt Golder said),
'Shhhh, I told (the judge) you were all
ready to go.' The guy was right behind
him. It was crazy.
I "(I was) stretching in the van on
the way (back to the arena from the
team hotel), doing splits between the
two passenger seats. And then I got
here and had to warm up by myself.
... I just knew it, as soon as I got here.
. All (Thursday) night, all I could think
about was how we could have made
things different, teamwise, and a little
bit of personal stuff. ... Before I even
went, I knew (I would hit it), so it was
amazing."
The senior made the most of his
second chance. He executed a per-
fect two-and-a-half twisting vault
and stuck the landing flawlessly. The
Michigan fan section, stationed right
at the end of the vault runway, explod-
ed into joyous cheers. DiGiore earned
a 9.7 score, the highest vault score of
the night, and moved on to event finals
on Saturday.
Unfortunately the Cinderella magic
did not extend to the entire Michigan
team. For the first time since 1998,
the Wolverines failed to qualify for
team finals. In Thursday night's eve-
ning session, Michigan finished fourth
behind eventual champion Oklahoma,
Illinois and California.
Once again, the pommel horse
proved to be the Wolverines' downfall.
Only freshman Ralph Rosso (8.45),
. who advanced to individual event
qualifiers on Friday night, scored
above an 8.0. The total score for the
event was 31.05, which spelled doom
for the Wolverines' hopes of advanc-
ing to team finals.
Michigan also did not score as high
as usual on its two best events, the
floor exercise and vault.
"Floor and vault are where we really
shine, and where I think we did a pret-
ty darn good job, we just didn't get the
scores that we should have," Golder
said. "That wouldn't have made up the
whole difference for us to qualify. The
problems that we had on parallel bars
and on high bar with missed routines,
I wouldn't blame on what happened on
floor an hour (before).
"(California) made a lot of mistakes
on pommel horse and opened the door
finish eighth.
Even though they wished more of
their teammates could have quali-
fied to event finals, the best friends
were glad to share their final com-
petition.
"We were laughing together this
morning, (thinking), 'What are the
odds that it would be both of us (in our
final competition)?"' Bottke said. "I
know in previous years we've kind of
given each other a hard time, because
in the championship meets either he
would have a really good meet or I
would have a really good meet. It
never seemed like we could both be
there in (the) finals at the same time.
... It's great to go out this way.
"I wish we would have had more
guys (in event finals), but if it could
only be one other person here, it's cool
that it (was) Drew."
U U
THE FOURTH ANNUAL
NANCY CANTOR DISTINGUISHED LECTURESHIP ON
I
NTELLECTUA t rw
DISTINGUI$4I
LECTURER
Frank Wu, Dean
Wayne State University Law School
Author of Yelow: Race in America
Beyond Black and White
Toward a Diverse Democracy:
Affirmative Action and Higher Education
Panel discussion with:
John Logie, former Mayor of Grand Rapids
Linda Parker, Director, Michigan Department
of Civil Rights
Marina Whitman, Professor ofBusiness
Administration and Public Policy, U-M
APRIL I2, 2006
10 AM
RACKHAM
AUDITORIUM
14NIVERSfIIYOF MICHIGAN
GERALD R. FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is pleased to announce a new
undergraduate public policy course, to be taught in the Fall 2006 semester by
Paul N. Courant, Professor of Public Policy and Economics and past Provost of
the University of Michigan -
Public Policy 201: Systematic Thinking About Problems of the Day
| i
. Open to all undergraduate students
" Pre-reqs: Economics 101 and any other introductory social science course
" 4 credit class, sophomore level, class number - 28438
* Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:30pm 1120 Weill Hall (Joan and Sanford Weill Hall,
the new home of the Ford School, located at the corner of Hill and State.)
YE.r
Many Michigan alumni and friends were affected by recent hurricanes,
and thousands are still without adequate housing and funds to rebuild.
That's why we're partnering with Habitat for Humanity to construct
The Little Big House for an evacuee family now living in Dallas, Texas.
You can help! Here's how:
THE LITTLE
BIG HOUSE
[Hurricane Relief Project]
N Make a donation! We're raising $150,000 to cover the costs of The Little Big House
project and donating is easy. Simply visit www.umalumni.com/litttebighouse for
more information.
* Build part of The Little Big House right on campus! Join us in Ann Arbor for
camaraderie and fun on May 17-21, 2006, as we build frames and wall sets for The