WOMEN'S TENNIS: The Wolverines thrash Ohio State in Columbus, 6-1, for their third straight Big Ten victory. PAGE 2B THE SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN: Sharad Mattu looks back on some rough years for Michigan athletics and hopes for better things to come. PAGE 3B FOOTBALL: Check out the football team's projected two-deep depth chart. PAGE 6B SPcRTS April 17, 2006 lB ilhe fErwigan Bade MICHIGAN 5, S M'-Nine * triumphs " n stelar weekend By David Murray Daily Sports Writer r s eep Leads give Blue room to breathe By Chris Herring Daily Sports Writer They won early. They won late. They won in dramatic fashion. They won by the smallest of deficits. The box score doesn't record adjec- tives or adverbs. But, it does record wins and losses, and that's the only statistic that matters to the Michigan baseball team. Four wins in a four-game series against its most hated rival, Ohio State, are impressive enough. But when those four wins come with the Buckeyes atop the Big Ten, and when the Wolverines haven't swept Ohio State in a four-game series in almost 20 years, "Hail to the Victors" is sung with much more enthusiasm. "This gives us a huge lift and puts us right in the thick of things," Michi- gan coach Rich Maloney said. "It cer- tainly sends a message throughout the rest of the league that we are a team to contend with." The Wolverines (8-4, 20-12) didn't show any signs of overconfidence in the fourth game after defeating the Buckeyes (6-6, 20-11) in the first three contests of the weekend. Michigan put three runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning and added two insurance runs in the eighth frame to fend off an Ohio State two-run charge in the ninth and secure the 5-4 win. "We grew up a lot this week," redshirt freshman pitcher Ben Jenzen said. "We just came out here and kicked the tar out of Ohio State, and that is always fun." Junior right-hander Andrew Hess was shaky out of the gate, allowing a run and loading the bases with just one out in the first. Then, Hess handcuffed the next two Buckeye batters, forcing both to pop up. The Wolverines' hitters carried their pitcher's momentum into the bot- tom of the inning. The first five bat- ters reached base and contributed to a three-run frame that gave Michigan a lead it never relinquished. See BUCKEYES, page 5B "Take the Lead" is a new movie that is still playing in theaters, and it seems like many Michigan players have not only seen it, but have tried their hardest to heed the film title's command. In Michigan's last five losses, it was painfully apparent that the Wolverines had problems trying to come from behind. Out of the 47 innings played in those losses, Michigan trailed in 35 of them. The team ended up playing from behind in those games largely due to the poor defensive play, especially against Northwestern. Michigan coach Rich Maloney was surprised at the team's lackluster effort in the field following the North- western series. "I just don't understand how we could play so poorly, after having so many weeks and so many games of playing so well defensively," Maloney said follow- ing the 3-1 series loss to the Wildcats. The pitching also struggled a few weeks ago. The team couldn't escape the first inning of games without allowing a run. At one point, Maloney even started freshman Adam Abraham - the team's closer at the time - in an attempt to prevent opponents from having big first innings. But instead of allowing the Buckeyes to pull ahead and continue the trend, the Wolverines decided to take the driver's seat this weekend. Michigan drew first blood in three of the four games against the Buckeyes, and never trailed for more than half an inning. The Wolverines led for a total of 26 of 33 total innings in the series. The pitchers didn't seem to mind hav- ing leads to work with. "It's much easier pitching ahead," senior Paul Hammond said. "Early on in the season, when we scored, it came late. To come out like we have, especial- ly this series, and establish our offense right away, that helps the pitching staff See LEADS, page 5B Is Tommy Amaker really the right guy? st a few weeks ago, Seton Hall fired coach Louis Orr, who replaced Tommy Amaker when he left for Michigan. In the five years since Amaker changed schools, the two coaches produced very similar records. Orr: 80-69. Amaker: 86-71. But another statistic reveals a clear - and important - contrast. Amaker has yet to take Michigan to an NCAA Tournament, even though he just saw his first recruiting class graduate. Orr's teams have danced two of the past three years. JACK It's nice to know that HERMAN a 9,700 student, privateOT Catholic university in New Jersey expects more out of its basketball program than a 39,000 student public school like Michigan. But let's just say you, like Bill Martin, can look past Amaker's poor coaching (see the Indiana game), poor teaching (see Courtney Sims) and poor recruiting (see the past two years). You'll be left with the one thing Amaker (purportedly) does well: presenting a clean face for the program. But is Amaker really the patron saint of basket- ball people typically make him out to be? Take a look at Amaker's team - or as I like to call it, P.T. Amaker's circus - before a game. You might notice a number of different things, including, but not limited to: " His players wearing differently styled warm-ups. " Some of the most disorganized lay-up lines around. - Brent Petway, who will be a captain next year, stretching apart from the rest of the team. These things may not seem important. But when you think of the troubles Amaker-coached teams have had down the stretch (of a game, of a season, etc.), it makes sense to believe that a little extra discipline could go a long way. I definitely can't imagine something like this happening on Bobby Knight's watch. Let's move to the big things, starting with academics. Whereas Orr took a proactive approach - he once suspended a player seven games for academic reasons - Amaker has played the waiting game. Petway missed the first half of the season after being ruled academically ineligible. Amaker needs to make sure things like this don't happen. Look at the NIT Championship game in Madi- son Square Garden. The Wolverines embarrassed themselves at least twice. On national TV, no less. Amaker raved like a lunatic after a goaltending no-call. Petway committed a hard intentional foul, one that many coaches would have justified as a See HERMAN, page 2B ALEX DZIADOSZ/Daily Mike Schmidt (24) and A.J. Scheldt (35) celebrate during Michigan's sweep of Ohio State this weekend. N FOOTBALL Fans get early look at ' M in spring practice By Matt Singer Daily Sports Editor On a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon, 15,000 or so Michigan fans poured into the few sections of the Big House that aren't under con- struction to watch the Wolverines' final spring practice. But if they expected to see their favorite Michigan stars in action, they left disappointed. Starters like Chad Henne, Steve Breaston, Mike Hart and Leon Hall participated in drills, but sat out the 15-minute, full-contact scrimmage that concluded practice. Still, the backups provided some drama to finish off the event. Quarterback Jason Forci- er marched the Wolverines down the field in the final two minutes to set up running back Alijah Bradley's one-yard touchdown plunge. The offense tried a two-point conversion, but defensive back Chris Richards stepped up to deflect a pass intended for Carl Tabb in the end zone, setting off a celebration among his defensive mates. many new coaching faces making their debuts in spring practice, players have had to adjust to new schemes and new personalities. "Everybody's getting used to everybody," defensive lineman Alan Branch said. "We've had a lot of new coaches come in. It took me a while to actually learn all their names. I finally found out Szabo's name after the third, fourth practice. (The new coaches are) getting to know our character, we're getting to know their character." The coaches weren't the only newcomers to take center stage for the Wolverines. Incoming freshman running back Carlos Brown - who graduated high school early to practice with the Wolverines in the spring - had one of the few notable individual performances of the after- noon. In a full-squad, non-contact drill, Brown took off on a draw and raced 60 yards untouched for a crowd-pleasing touchdown. Later on, with regulars Hart and Kevin Grady sitting out of full-contact drills, Brown's strong running continued to raise eyebrows. Brown Hitting woes continue in split By Daniel Levy Daily Sports Writer MADISON - Top of the seventh inning. A scoreless tie. Iowa shortstop Stacy May dug her spikes into the batter's box to take her hacks at Michi- gan ace Jennie Ritter. - Ping. Home run. That one swing was all it took for Iowa to upset No. 12 Michigan (6-2 Big Ten, 27-11 overall) on Saturday. Hawkeye hurler Brit- tany Weil allowed just one hit and struck out six to shut out the Wolverines at Pearl Field. Yesterday, Michigan's scheduled doublehead- er against Wisconsin was cancelled less than three innings into the first game due to inclem- ent weather. "(Weil) really did pitch well," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "We didn't do a good enough job of making her pitch to us. We hit her pitches." Michigan had a chance to extend the game - or possibly win it - in the bottom of the seventh. First baseman Samantha Findlay reached first base after being hit by a pitch, and catcher Becky Marx's sacrifice advanced Find- lay to second. M I