.12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 13, 2006
Dedication and attitude add
up to high hopes for Hayk
By Jessica Asbill
Daily Sports Writer
By definition, an underdog is the
individual least expected to suc-
ceed. Still, freshman Amber Hay
loves the role.
"My favorite part about running
is winning as the underdog," Hay
wrote in an e-mail.
Hay quit gymnastics and started
running track at age nine, when
her father, who had run track, per-
suaded her to quit gymnastics and
concentrate solely on running. The
Detroit native joined an area summer league and estab-
lished herself as a fierce competitor.
Hay is used to being an underdog, but she's also used
to winning. As a walk-on freshman, she competed on
the Big Ten title-winning distance-medley-relay team
at the meet held in February.
The squad set a new Big Ten Championships meet
record (11:25.50). Hay teamed with senior captain
Katie Erdman, freshman Geena Gall and sophomore
Alyson Kohlmeier.
"No matter the race or the venue, she is more gutsy
and more aggressive than any other freshman I have
ever seen," Erdman said of Hay in an e-mail. "Amber is
exactly the type of girl I want on my team when a pres-
sure situation rolls around. I have never seen her give
less than her absolute best on the track."
Hay possesses some typical underdog attributes. The
biggest of which is that despite being underestimated,
she still has the work ethic and determination to suc-
ceed.
"She is a very hard working young lady both on the
track and in the classroom," Michigan coach James
Henry said. "She takes her sport seriously. She is a true
blue-collar worker."
Hard work is an essential ingredient to an athlete's
success. But Hay not only works hard - she supports
her teammates, or, as she likes to refer to them, "her
family". She is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill
her role on the team.
"(I see myself) as a reliable teammate," Hay wrote in
an e-mail. "One that will give their all to help contrib-
ute to the team's success in anyway possible, (whether)
it's (scoring) points at a meet or carrying the stretching
table and coach's suitcases to the bus."
Like most underdogs, Hay can be misperceived at
first glance. She seems quiet and shy when you first
meet her, but after you get to know her, she is quite
a comedian and enjoys making her friends laugh. Her
joys for life and laughter are part of her character as
a runner and why she respects athletes who overcome
obstacles.
"I love underdog stories, so any athlete that has over-
come challenges, whether it be on the track or in life,
and still succeeds is admirable to me," Hay said in an
e-mail. "For example, Gail Devers overcoming Graves'
disease, a debilitating chronic thyroid disorder, and
still winning (the) 100-meter at the 1992 Olympics."
Although she is just a freshman, at the rate Hay is
progressing, she has the potential to be one of the most
successful runners on the team.
Her coach certainly thinks so.
"Before (Hay) finishes, she is going to be one of the
best athletes we have ever had," Henry said.
"Even though this is just Amber's first year on our
team, she has already proven herself to be one of the
most competitive and most talented girls we have,"
Erdman said in an e-mail. "If she sticks to her current
gameplan, when she finishes up her career at Michigan,
Amber will be a multiple-time All-American. She just
has a mind set and an amazing work ethic that can only
bring her success."
0 MEN'S GYMNASTICS
Friendships reign high over
disappointment for seniors
Junior Tiffany Worthy is one of three players who have regularly filled the designated player position for Michigan this season.
Lack of consistency
puts hole in Blue lineup
By Daniel Levy
Daily Sports Writer
By Colt Rosensweig
Daily Sports Writer
Seniors Luke Bottke, Derek
Croad, Drew DiGiore and Gerry
Signorelli have been involved with
gymnastics for a combined total of
66 years. And now it's over.
Their final season didn't go exact-
ly as they dreamed, with a trip to the
NCAA team finals. But it was still
packed full of memories they will
carry with them wherever they go.
For the first time since 1998, the
Wolverines failed to advance to the
NCAA team finals.
But, for the first time in a long
time, all the Michigan gymnasts
connected with each other to become
a family.
"We're a lot closer than we ever
were," DiGiore said. "It's hard to be
disappointed when you see the team
that (we're leaving) behind. It's not
just always about the accomplish-
ments."
As most teams do, the Wolverines
began the season with high hopes,
finishing third at the Windy City
Invitational in January. The team
seemed to reach its peak with its
Feb. 18 home meet against Minne-
sota.
With a season-high 213.8 total
score, Michigan finally put it all
together. The team had six-of-six
clean pommel horse routines and
won four of the six events.
Bottke said his favorite moment of
the season was the Minnesota meet
at home: "I think that was where we
really started to come together and
realize our potential. I think every-
body gained a lot of confidence
from that."
Even though the postseason did
not end with the Wolverines raising
a championship trophy, there were
still several memorable moments,
including DiGiore's third Big Ten
vault championship in four years.
"I don't think I would change a
thing, besides how we ended," Croad
said. "I've never worked so hard in
my life in the gym. I honestly have
no regrets.
"I cried at the end of the NCAAs
because it wasn't how we wanted to
end it, and I knew it was the end.
But I also was satisfied. I've never
been so satisfied with myself after
anything, because I really went in
and worked my ass off."
The seniors have left an indelible
mark on a young team that will con-
tinue its quest for a national cham-
pionship next year, showing their
teammates how to succeed in all
types of situations.
Next year's squad can replay these
moments in their minds:
eDiGiore coming out of the stands
to compete in vault qualifiers after
he thought his career was over.
*Bottke, often unable to practice
due to injury, still nailing his rou-
tines in the championships.
-Signorelli providing consistent
excellence in the all-around compe-
titions, week after week.
"Croad unfailingly present with
words of advice or encouragement
and, in DiGiore's words, "busting
out these huge vaults" when he was
called upon.
"I feel like ... it's the four great-
est years of your life," Signorelli
said. "Not everybody gets an oppor-
tunity to do this. If we could leave
something for (the rest of the team),
I hope we helped them appreciate
where they are and (to) enjoy it."
The seniors will have to find new
passions to fill the void gymnastics
will leave.
After scheduling everything
around the sport for the majority
of their lives, getting used to being
"retired" may take some time.
Nonetheless, the departing gym-
nasts are eager to explore new pos-
sibilities that will open up for them
now that their careers are over.
"I love gymnastics, and I love
competing," Bottke said. "That's
what I'm going to miss the most by
far. Competing, wearing the block
'M' and everything that goes along
with that. ... For me, I've been wel-
coming the change.
"We've all been in it so long;
we don't really know life without
gymnastics. I'm excited for what-
ever that entails and having an extra
three hours every day."
Even though the team failed to
exceed the expectations it set at the
beginning of the season, the seniors
can leave proud of their accomplish-
ments.
"It's always nice to walk away
with a championship, but that's hard
to do," DiGiore said. "The stuff you
can control is more important, and
I think that a lot of time too much
focus is put on winning a champi-
onship. ... I think if you just take a
snapshot of the team now and (last
year), it's completely different, and
you can't be disappointed with that.
"We did a lot of good things this
year. Maybe not statistically, but a
lot of good things."
Pick a card, any card.
At this point, it seems like Michigan softball coach
Carol Hutchins has resorted to grabbing names out of
a hat to fill the designated player position for the 12th-
ranked Wolverines.
First, it was junior Tiffany Worthy. Then, freshman
Allison Kidman got her chance to prove herself. Next
up was sophomore Angie Danis.
But that was just the beginning. Starting March 4,
Kidman saw action in 6-of-7 games, only to find herself
back on the bench for six of the following seven games.
Worthy picked up the slack for most of that stretch, start-
ing in five games - four as the designated player.
Kidman got the call last Friday and Saturday in wins
against Indiana. But then Hutchins switched to Danis
for last Sunday's doubleheader split with Purdue.
So what is Hutchins waiting for?
"(The position) is open, and it's up for grabs,"
Hutchins said. "Whoever takes it will get it, but no one
has stepped up and been a consistent hitter."
Danis leads the trio with a less-than-spectacular .182
average. Worthy has a .154 average and is tops among
the three players with 11 RBI, but she has seen much
more action (she has more at-bats than Danis and Kid-
man combined). Kidman has the best on-base percent-
age (.364). She has drawn six walks and been hit five
times compared to Worthy's two walks and one hit-by-
pitch and Danis's two walks.
"They all can hit the ball," Hutchins said. "But the key is
to be able to do it in a game and to do it for average. Right
now, every one of them doesn't hit much over .200, and it
hurts us in the long run not having a (designated player)."
The competition among teammates hasn't been much
of a distraction for Worthy, Kidman and Danis. There
are no intra-team rivalries. The players understand
what Hutchins is looking for and what it will take to
win the everyday job.
"(Hutchins) is trying to figure out somebody who is
going to be consistent," Worthy said. "None of us have
been very consistent. She is just trying to get a (desig-
nated player) to do a (designated player's) job."
Part of the designated player's challenge is not play-
ing defense. Instead of being involved the entire game,
designated players have the tough task of getting ready
for one at-bat every few innings after a long stretch of
doing nothing but sitting.
But the players don't view that as a problem. Playing
or not, they're always a part of the game.
"You have to have your head in the game all the
time," Kidman said. "What we really focus on here is
five seconds in and five seconds out, so we're constant-
ly thinking about being in the game, the next move, the
next at-bat and staying in the present rather than the
future or the past."
One possible wrinkle to Michigan's designated player
battle could be the health of Lauren Talbot, who has fought
nagging injuries all season long. Hutchins has looked for
ways to get Talbot at-bats as the sophomore gets back into
game-shape. Talbot has a .154 average in just 13 at-bats.
But for now, it looks like a two-person battle between
Worthy and Danis.
"I've been very pleased," Hutchins said. "I think
(Danis) has given us some good at-bats, and Worthy
has certainly had some good at-bats as of late. Those
will be the two candidates this weekend."
"
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