The Michigan Daily -- michigandailycom
Patiently, Bowman comes
back from an ankle injury
Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 11A
By DAN FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan volleyball player Megan
Bowman visited three schools before
coming to Ann Arbor. But when she got
here, she felt like "everything just fit."
Now, the puzzle has an extra piece the
senior doesn't want - an ankle injury.
"There's nothing worse than having
to miss out on any part of year, espe-
cially your senior year," said Rosen,
who missed most of his senior year
while playing volleyball for Cal State-
Northridge. "I certainly feel for her.
... It's really frustrating as a senior
because it's your last go around. When
you envision your senior year, and
everybody does, that's not what you
envision."
Bowman suffered her injury in prac-
tice about two weeks ago. She has yet
to return to the lineup, and the team
has gone 1-3 since.
"It kind of stinks, watching from the
side," Bowman said. "Just in the Big
Ten, it's the last time I'll be able to do
it. I'm just watching my senior year go
by, so that kind of stinks."
Tuesday was Bowman's first day
back at practice.
Bowman was hard on herself about
her performance, only saying "I've had
better."
"As an athlete, they expect that 'Hey,
I'm back. I should be right where I left
off,' " Rosen said. "I don't think it's very
realistic. ... It's not going to come the
very first day, especially when she's try-
ing to accelerate the process. She's prob-
ably not 100-percent ready to go back in,
but I think she wants to graduate herself
back in as quickly as possible."
Rosen wasn't the only one impressed
with Bowman's practice.
"I thought she would be sort of taking
it easy because it was her first practice
back," fifth-year senior Erin Penn said.
"She was calling for the ball and telling
Stesha (Selsky) to set her. She was mak-
ing some really good digs when were
doing a digging drill. She was ready to
go, and she played really well."
Bowman is familiar with injuries, but
not with sitting out because of them.
When she had shoulder surgery before
both her freshman and junior years, she
did not miss any playing time.
Rosen isn't sure if Bowman will play
this weekend at Illinois and North-
western. Even though he liked how
she practiced Tuesday, there is no way
to tell if she would be ready to play
because of potential swelling.
But he did say that if she is ready
to play he might use her in a differ-
ent capacity than the full-time middle
blocker role she has played all season.
She could play on the right side, where
she wouldn't have to move as much,
play in a limited blocking role, or go in
for a left side and play middle blocker,
while Lyndsay Miller moves to the
outside.
Although Michigan beat the Illini
and Wildcats earlier this season, the
teamsboth sitone game ahead of eighth
place Michigan (3-7 Big Ten, 16-7 over-
all) in the Big Ten standings. Winning
both games this weekend would go a
long waytoward moving into the top six
of the conference. At least six Big Ten
teams have made the NCAA tourna-
ment in each of the last nine years.
Megan Bowman has struggled with an ankle injury this season. The senior has begun her comeback returning to
practice this week. She hopes to help Michigan reach the NCAA tournament with a strong end to the season.
SENIORS
From page 9A
feelings we had all year. We're not
going to let that affect us on Sun-
day."
Cox isn't worried about Senior
Day's effect on her team. Though
she knows the pregame ceremonies
will be very emotional, she is con-
fident that Michigan will be able to
focus completely on winning the
game.
And of all the players, she has the
most trust in the seniors.
"To quote a famous sports psy-
chologist who works in our depart-
ment, Greg Harden: 'It's the team,
the team, the team. And the team
always comes before the individ-
ual,' " Cox said. "I think, of all the
young women I've coached here at
Michigan, these four get it."
BOSCH
From page 8A
One of the greatest players of all
time, chatting it up with a collec-
tion of Little Leaguers.
Unfortunately, Clemente
couldn't continue his humanitarian
efforts beyond his playing career.
On Dec. 31, 1972, while flying
relief supplies from Puerto Rico to
earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua,
Clemente's plane crashed just off
the Puerto Rico's coast.
Clemente's contribution to base-
ball can be seen today. The Detroit
Tigers alone have 10 Latino players
on their active playoff roster. It's
not because he was the first Latino
Major Leaguer. It's because he
was the first Latino superstar. His
accomplishments provided thou-
sands of young Latino ballplayers a
hero to look up to.
Stars like Albert Pujols, Pedro
Martinez and Detroit's own Ivan
Rodriguez may not have become
the superstars they are today
without Clemente's success. And
not only did he inspire many MLB
stars, but he was my hero as I
played baseball through my senior
year of high school.
Now that I've traded in a bat and
ball for a pen and notepad, Clem-
ente's legacy no longer pushes me
to become the next Pudge. (I came
to grips with that reality a while
ago.) But his legacy as a humani-
tarian has and will always inspire
me to be a better person.
So as I celebrate my Tigers'
appearance in the World Series, I
want to step aside and congratulate
this year's recipient of the Roberto
Clemente Award, New York Met
Carlos Delgado (himself a Puerto
Rican).
Delgado fills the shoes of a
great man with his foundation,
Extra Bases, which is "a non-profit
Puerto Rico-based charity that
assist under privileged and deserv-
ing children," according to MLB's
website.
While I may never have the
means to start my own charity,
I hope to do Roberto Clemente's
memory justice. And maybe one
day, just like my hero, I can be a
positive influence for abudding
Latino journalist.
- Bosch can be reached
at hectobos@umich.edu.
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