New Student Edition 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 9E WVEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Harriers win fourth-straight conference title in Minnesota For the fourth straight time, the Michigan women's cross country team can call itself the best of the Big Ten. The Wolverines used five of its runners finishing in the top-14 to help them easily put away its competition. "We prepared well for this week and the girls ran a good race out there," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "I think Aly (Kohlmeier) was a little disappointed not winning it all, but she ran strong and a lot of our girls had some of their better showings this season." Kohlmeier was the top-finishing Wolverine, crossing the line at 21:02.74, good for second place in the conference tournament, which was held in Minnesota. "We run in waves out there to help pace our girls," McGuire said. "The girls in our front did a real solid job." The 3rd-ranked Wolverines went on to win their regional and qualify for the NCAA Championships, where they finished in sixth place overall. - This article, in different form by Bryan Hamilton, originally ran Oct.31, 2005. ICE H OCKEY Icers dropped by North Dakota in first round of the NCAA Tournament An up-and-down season that saw the Michigan hockey team go from No. 1 in the nation to a possible NCAA Tournament snub finally came to an end at the hands of North Dakota. The Sioux, playing in front of their home crowd, defeated the Wolverines 5-1. "They buried their chances, and we didn't," Michigan captain Andrew Ebbett said. "We had our opportunities. It just wasn't meant to be." Michigan only had two less shots than the favored Sioux, who had 35 to the Wolverines' 33. The key in the game may have been North Dakota's home ice advan- tage, which it earned by having a more consistent regular season. "We had to come out and understand that there'd be a great home ice environment," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. - This article, in differentform by Mark Giannotto, originally ran Mar. 27, 2005. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS Disappointing fourth at Big Ten's a product of balance beam miscues For the first time in eight years, the Michigan women's gymnastics team wasn't standing atop of the podium at the Big Ten Championships. "I know this is not the meet that we wanted;' Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "No one is pleased with our performance tonight." The No. 7-ranked and heavily favored Wolverines finished in fourth place, with No. 22 Minnesota claiming the top spot. The reason for the poor performance was simple: poor balance beam performances. "If I only knew what the explanation was," Plocki said. "Beam is beam, and there is no explanation for that. That has never happened to us before when we have had our first four kids miss. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.' But it wasn't all bad for the Wolverines. Michigan recorded 13 top- five finishes in individual events. Junior Lindsey Bruck won the all- around championships in dominating fashion, and Michigan took home individual championships on three apparatuses. - This article, in differentform by Sara Livingston, originally ran Mar.27, 2006. WOMEN'S TENNS Longtime coach Ritt steps down to take spot with athletic department Bitsy Ritt, the Michigan women tennis team's coach for 22 years, stepped down at the end of last season to take a job with the athletic department. Ritt did not step into her new post until June 1, nearly four months after she announced that she would be stepping down, but executive associate athletic director Michael Ste- venson and others in the department decided that the time was right to announce their choice. "We spent almost a year in the search for this position," Stevenson said. Stevenson said more than 130 candidates applied for the job, which became vacant more than two years ago when Megan Mccallister moved from the athletic department to marketing. In the interim, Stevenson filled the role of moni- toring all non-revenue sports (varsity sports except for foot- ball, hockey and men's basketball). Following Ritt taking her job with the department this summer, the team announced that assistant Amanda Augus- tus would take over as the team's coach next season. "We are thrilled to have Amanda lead our women's tennis program," athletic director Bill Martin said of Augustus. "Her collegiate and professional playing credentials clear- ly prove her knowledge of the game. We look forward to Amanda taking what is already an accomplished program to new heights." Last season, the women's tennis team qualified for its fifth straight NCAA Tournament, losing in the second round to No. 2 Notre Dame. - This article, in different form by Nate Sandals, originally ran Feb. 2, 2006. FIELD OCKE Stickers claim second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title The fourth-seeded Michigan field hockey team was far from a lock for the NCAA Tournament. But instead of sweating out the selection process, it took its destiny in its own hands, winning it's second-straight Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines capped off a brilliant weekend with a 3-0 win over second-seeded Indiana in the finals. "It's a huge victory for the program," Michigan coach Nancy Cox said. "This could be the beginning of something really special. Our kids have overcome tremendous adversity this fall. Each day they come to practice and work as hard as they can and keep improving. They've embraced what we've asked them to do." The team made another run in the NCAA Tournament until it fell to Old Dominion in the tournament's quarterfinals. - This article, in differentform by Colt Rosensweig, originally ran Nov. 7, 2005. Bad times for'M'? M any of us were Michigan fans before we were students, and, hopefully, all of us will bleed Maize and Blue 2 when we ° leave. But while we're here, it's different. For many reasons,the SHARAD wins lift us higher and MATTU the losses sink us lower when we're students. And the truth is, the last few years have been a disappointment. We just need to make sure that those in charge understand the trouble that Michigan athletics are in. First, a quick refresher: Since 2001, the football team hasn't made it out of September without a loss and has gone 1-4 against Ohio State, 1-3 against Notre Dame and 1-4 in bowl games. Not even two Rose Bowls can offset that. And that only scratches the sur- face of last season, when the Wol- verines finished with five losses and about as many coaching changes. While it's unlikely we'll have to get used to losing to Minnesota and Wisconsin, the Wolverines can't MARIO Continued from Page 4E "I said to myself, 'You know, this isn't fair. This is not fair,' " Carr admit- ted afterwards about Penn State's two-point conversion. Carr's sentiment was understandable because the team has had its fair share of bad luck this season - from losing Hart to injury just before the Notre Dame game to giving up a 61-yard run to Minnesota when the Gophers were trying to run out the clock. But against undefeated Penn State, the breaks went Michigan's way. Place kicker Garrett Rivas connected on two field goals on Saturday, including a 47 yarder that put Michigan ahead 21-18 with less than four minutes left. In all, the two teams scored 39 points in the final quarter - a quarter that saw the lead change hands four times. This time, the Wolverines left Michigan Stadium just one game behind the confer- ence leaders - although six teams are tied atop the Big Ten with just one confer- ence loss. "We still have a chance to compete for the Big Ten championship," said LaMarr Woodley, who led the Wol- verines with four tackles for loss and one sack. "We're still in the race; we just have to finish off strong." - This article originally ran Nov. 18, 2005. Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr looks dejected at the Wolverines 23 - 20 loss against Minnesota. be considered among the elite until they beat the Buckeyes and Fight- ing Irish. Last season, both teams marched into Michigan Stadium and gutted out victories. So break- ing the losing streaks on the road this coming fall will be about as easy as tackling Ted Ginn, Jr. So why has Michigan struggled in its biggest games? I think it's because when the Wolverines take the field, they lack the swagger that all the othertop teams have. Playing for Michigan seems to be aburden, and they seem to be overcoached. I know very little about football coaching,but "letting the players play" is definitely not the Michigan way. Can you imagine Vince Young on Michigan, scrambling out of the improved since their freshman pocket for a 70-yard touchdown run, year? If Brent Petway learned just and, as he returns to the sideline, one post move, how could he be hears from Carr, "Tyler Ecker was stopped? Are top recruits even con- open in the flat?" sidering us anymore? As for thebasketball team, we've The difference between the learned that it's notthat easy to build a Rose Bowl and the Alamo Bowl, successful program without cheating. the NCAAs and NIT, can be very Two years ago, we believed the small. Thankfully, I'll have two NIT championship was the turning games to think back to: the football point. It wasn't. This year, we know team's win over Ohio State to go making the NIT finals meant noth- to the Rose Bowl in 2003 and the ing. Without Daniel Horton, Gra- comeback overtime win over Michi- ham Brown and Chris Hunter, even gan State the following year. Hope- the most optimistic fan has to take a fully, everyone will have games like wait-and-see approach. that to remember when they leave. These Wolverines have too many problems to count. Why haven't - This column, in different Dion Harris and Courtney Sims form, originally ran Apr. 17, 2006.