SportsTuesday - September 5, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 3B
Freshmen eager to join the crowd
ven though Michigan has rolled
over such opponents as Vanderbilt,
Northern Illinois and Miami (Ohio)
in recent years, it's tough not to get excited
about the first game at the Big House.
But perhaps no one gets more hyped for
the home opener than the freshmen - who
attend their first
football game before
even taking a class at
Michigan.
So I set out Sat- r
urday morning to
capture the excite-
ment of those eager
first years, like Jason
Reisfeld and Mas-
simo Degaudenzi, z JACK
who arrived about 90 HERMAN
minutes early "ust The SportsTuesday
to sit in the stadium C'oluman
and absorb the atmo-
sphere'" according to Reisfeld.
The introduction to Michigan football
came early in the day for some - even
before they walked past the hordes of peo-
ple on State Street.
A screaming fan outside East Quad woke
up Danielle Thompson at 7 a.m.
"Everyone seems really excited;'
Thompson said.
Including all the freshmen I met.
There were lifelong fans who'd been
to plenty of games, lifelong fans who'd
been to no games, non-fans who'd been to
many games, non-fans who'd never been
to game, and so on. There were those who
hate football and just wanted to see the
band. There were those sitting, waiting
for their friends to arrive. And there were
even those ready to meet some new ones.
("Are you No. 28?" one freshman asked
as I approached, eagerly anticipating her
seatmate. Nope, sorry, just an annoying
Daily columnist here to pester you with
questions.)
No matter who I talked to, the response
tended to be the same: They adored the
atmosphere of Ann Arbor on gameday,
showed surprise at the size of the stadium
and could barely wait for the game to start.
"Everybody from all corners of Campus
condensing in one spot," Massachusetts's
Chai Pocknett said. "I've been to (New
England) Patriots games, but it just doesn't
even compare to this."
"I don't think I've been around this many
people at once in my entire life" said Mich-
igan native Sarah Berner, unable to contain
the smile on her face. "I was sort of afraid
of the size (of the school), and I love it so
far. I'm super excited about the band."
Athlete of the Week
Name: Katie Bruzdzinski Team: Volleyball
Hometown: Naperville, Ii1. Class: Junior
Why: Bruzdzinski notched 18 kills in Friday's sweep over No.
20 San Diego on her way to UC-Irvine Nike Invitational MVP
honors. With 44 total kills for the weekend, the junior captain's
standout performance helped Michigan take home the tourna-
ment and remain undefeated.
'M' Schedule
Date Event Location Time
9/6 Field Hockey vs. Kent State Ann Arbor 3:00 p.m.
9/8 Volleyball vs. Marquette Ann Arbor 11:00a.m.
9/8 W Soccer @ Dayton Dayton, Ohio 2:00 p.m.
9/8 Field Hockey vs. Richmond Norfolk, Va. 6:00 p.m.
9/8 Volleyball vs. Virginia Ann Arbor 7:30 p.m.
9/8 M Soccer vs. Butler Ann Arbor 7:30 p.m.
9/9 W CrossCountry @lndianaopen Bloomington, Ind. 11:00a.m.
9/9 Football vs. Central Michigan Ann Arbor 12:00
p.m.
9/9 Volleyball vs. Pacific Ann Arbor 3:30 p.m.
9/9 M Golf @ Central Regional Sugar Grove, Ill. TBD
Preview
9/10 Field Hockey @ Old Dominion Norfolk, Va. 2:00 p.m.
9/10 W Soccer @ Kentucky Lexington, Ky. 2:00 p.m.
Freshmen look forward to four years of cheering on Michigan victories at the
"It's absolutely amazing. It's incredible,"
said Alex Montgomery, a lifelong fan from
Michigan who had never been to a game.
"It's surreal; it's unbelievable," said
David Schwimmer, who is from Florida
but has been a fan "since birth" thanks to
his father, an alum. "I didn't realize what
100,000 people look like. It's kind of over-
whelming."
A number of the freshmen I spoke to had
attended games in the past, but said those
experiences didn't quite meet Saturday's
standards.
"I've been excited; I couldn't wait for
this;' said Angela Lee, of Grosse Pointe,
who vaguely remembered going to a game
about 10 years ago. "It's a lot bigger than I
remember."
"It's the first game where I'm a stu-
dent; it's a different feeling" said Rachel
Rarus, who went to Michigan's most recent
appearance at both the Alamo Bowl and the
Rose Bowl, thanks to parents who love an
excuse to travel. "Sitting in the student sec-
tion, with the student T-shirt, you feel more
into it."
I talked to converts (including one big
Miami fan) and even some who became
Michigan fans against all odds, like Stepha-
nie Leeb, an Oakland County native who
grew up in a family of Ohio State diehards.
She knows the rivalry well (she did a
school project on it last year). Unfortunate-
ly, a little too well recently.
"Lately they've been ribbing me a bit,"
said Leeb, another Michigan fan nostalgic
for the John Cooper days.
Optimism emanated from the freshmen,
whether it be about the view ("Every seat
is pretty good," Drew Orvietto said a row
from the top) or the Wolverines' chances.
"We'll be back in a bowl game, prefera-
bly one with roses" Alex Montgomery said.
My advice to freshmen: Cherish these
moments well.
Because before you know it, it will be
Nov. 21, 2009, the Buckeyes will be on the
field, and you'll have just 60 minutes left
until these magical Saturdays will be over.
- Herman wishes to apologize
to all the non-freshmen he bothered
before Saturday's game. He can be
reached at jaherman@umich.edu.
L NOTES
Ulble opens with win
as Blue commands
The four-time defending Big Ten
champion Michigan women's cross-
country team kicked off its season
Friday. The Wolverines dominated
the 5,000-meter, non-scoring, two-
team Wolverine Open at Hudson Mills
Metropark in Dexter on Friday.
Junior Elisabeth Uible nabbed her first
collegiate victory and 11 Michiganrunners
finished in the top 12, including three that
competedunattached.The lonenon-Mich-
igan athlete in the top 12 was second-place
finisher Kalli Williams, who transferred
from Michigan to Eastern Michigan after
the last cross-country season.
Uible (18:06) passed Williams in the
final meters for the win.
Three Wolverines made their collegiate
debuts at Hudson Mills. Jenny Morgan
crossed the line in 18:13 for third, Eileen
Cruetz (18:33) finished fourth and JoAnne
Gabl (19:26) came in ninth.
The team will train this week and
gear up for next Saturday's Blooming-
ton Open in Bloomington.
Warhurst's crew
impresses at season-
opening meet
In its first event of the season, the
Michigan men's cross country team
dominated the Michigan Open.
Led by redshirt freshman Bran-
don Fellows, the Wolverines swept
the top three spots and seven of
the top 10, including two Michigan
runners who competed unattached.
Fellows covered the 10,000-
meter course at Hudson Mills
Metropark in Dexter in 32:14. Red-
shirt freshman Sean McNamara
crossed the line four seconds later
to take second, with junior Seth
Thibodeau close behind in third
(32:20).
Competing unattached, two
Michigan freshmen excelled in
their first collegiate action. Ciaran
O'Lionaird finished seventh (33:03),
and Mike Dobmeier finished 16th
in 34 minutes flat.
The Wolverines have two weeks
of training before their next event
- the Spartan Invitation in East
Lansing on Sept. 15.
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