The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Thursday, November 9, 2006 - $A
Blue looks to roll on
plains of Bowling Green
By ANTHONY OLIVEIRA
Daily Sports Writer
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's goal for
the state of Michigan to lead the nation
impressed Arianne Field.
The fifth-year senior captain thinks
the Michigan women's cross country
team can do the same.
"I want (the University of) Michigan
to stand out as a National Champion,"
Field said.
The NCAA Great Lakes Regionals are
like a primary election.
This Saturday, many teams will com-
pete to represent the Great Lakes region
at Nov. 20's NCAA Championships. Days
before the race, teams are finalizing
their strategies to claim the two auto-
matic qualifying spots.
The third-ranked Wolverines are
adopting a different approach.
As the incumbent champions going
into Bowling Green, Michigan has decid-
ed to take it easy. After a dominating
first-place performance at the Big Ten
Championships two weeks ago, Field
feels Big Ten coach of the year Mike
McGuire is giving the team a "mental
break."
"There's probably a little bit less pres-
sure (at Regionals)," McGuire said. "And
actually, it might not even be that. With
the fact that Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa
are not in our region, the teams that we'll
pick up in their place might not be collec-
tively as strong as the three we won't be
seeing. So itprobably runs itself on paper,
it might be a little bit easier as a meet."
But that doesn't mean the Wolver-
ines plan on letting up. No. 5 Wisconsin
is looking to avenge its 39-point loss at
Big Tens. And although Notre Dame
isn't as strong as it has been in the past,
the Fighting Irish will challenge Mich-
igan's run at a third consecutive NCAA
Regional title.
The road to Nationals doesn't get any
easier. McGuire has scratched Jenny
Morgan and graduate student Katie
Gwyther from the lineup. Gwyther
- who placed 12th in last year's NCAA
National Championship while running
for Quinnipiac - and Morgan won't
compete due to injury and illness.
"It definitely chips away at our depth,
which is one of our trademarks of our
success," McGuire said.
Even without Gwyther and Morgan,
the Wolverines will still field the lineup
that ran at the Big Ten Championship
since the remaining races allow just
seven competitors. And with fewer run-
ners, the margin of error gets slimmer.
"It's definitely unnerving to have peo-
ple injured and not be able to contribute
as you thought they were at the begin-
ning of the season," Field said. "The fact
is that we have such depth. The seven
girls that are going to run aren't the ones
at the beginning of the season because
everyone's really important."
With other teams setting up race
plans to qualify, McGuire expects a con-
servative starting pace. McGuire hopes
to couple redshirt junior Erin Webster
and junior Alyson Kohlmeier in the front
pack and have his runners play the field
as the race evolves.
"The main thing is to get a good solid
effort in," McGuire said. "You want to
get your athletes out of there healthy."
After running in the hills at Bloom-
ington two weeks ago, the Wolverines
won't face as punishing a course this
weekend.
"The only thing we'll deal with down
(in Bowling Green) would be wind since
it's so close to I-75," McGuire said. "But
basically, we're running a track meet on
grass. It's as flat as can be."
Without much pressure and without
much hype, all Michigan wants to do is
win.
"We definitely would like to defend
our title and defend Regionals," Kohl-
meier said. "I think winning the week
before Nationals gives us confidence,
and we'll just go into Nationals with a
better mindset."
To help build that better attitude,
members of Michigan's track and field
team will make the one-hour trip to set
up camp and rally the girls.
"There's nothing like hearing people
as you're running say 'Go Blue,' " Field
said.
Senior Arianne Field and the Wolverines will hope to build off of their dominating first-place finish at the Big
Ten Championships two weeks ago. On Saturday, Michigan travels to Bowling Green to run in the Great Lakes
Regional in hopes of carrying its momentum to NCAA Championships.
Students
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Under radar,Rivas reaches record
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t's hard to blame Garrett Rivas
forbeing confident, given the
record-breaking career he's
had.
"I don't think there's a kick out
there that I can't hit," Rivas said.
"That's my
mindset .|. --.
when I am
thrown
into those
situations. -
... (Michi-
gan coach
Lloyd Carr)
is looking STEPHANIE
at me and
saying 'Can
you hit Wright on Target
this?' And
I'm always
saying yes, because I always want
the shot."
More oftenthan not, Rivas nails it.
Now he has the record to prove it.
Almost forgotten in Saturday's
near-collapse against Ball State was
Rivas breaking Michigan's all-time
scoring record. His 23-yard field
goal in the fourth quarter gave him
339 career noints. bestine former
tailback Anthony Thomas's tally by
three.
For his efforts, Rivas received
his first - and long overdue - Big
Ten Special Teams Player of the
Week award.
By the end of the season, the
two-time Groza Award semifinal-
ist should hold all-time Michigan
records for field goals attempted
and field goals made.
But does Rivas have your
respect?
The student section hasn't
been kind to Rivas during his four
years inAnn Arbor. Soon after the
Tampa, Fla., native won the job,
many students started crossing
their fingers and holdingthem in
the air whenever he would take the
field.
Then the anti-Rivas Facebook
groups popped up. As of yesterday,
there were five groups bashing
Rivas for being fat, missing kicks
and just plain sucking.
All that for the second most
accurate kicker in Michigan foot-
ball history.
Even though Rivas received a
hearty ovation duringthe Senior
Day festivities, he still doesn't get
the respect he deserves from the
Maize and Blue faithful.
With two games left in his final
season, it's time to change that.
Rivas certainly has his coach's
respect. Carr has always been quick
to stand up for his oft-maligned
kicker. After Rivas shanked a 22-
yard field goal attempt against
Minnesota, Carr pointed out how
hard it is to make kicks from the
hash marks in college football.
Carr also trusted Rivas enough
to let him kickoff full time this year
for the first time in his career. Rivas
had kicked off for Michigan before,
but never as the starter.
Though he earned the job when
nagging muscle spasms sidelined
Ross Ryan, Rivas relishes the
chance to contribute more.
As usual, Carr praised the way
Rivas has stepped up.
"He's having a great year, and
he's doing a greatjob on our kick-
offs," Carr said. "There's no ques-
tion that because of the experience
he's had, he feels comfortable.
There's no situation he hasn't
faced."
That includes drilling game-
winning kicks, in addition to the
occasional how-did-he-miss-that
moment.
Carr's admiration not enough for
you? By all accounts, Rivas's expe-
rience and expertise have earned
him his teammates' respect, too.
"I feel like I'm not one of those
kickers that's the little goofy guy
off to the side," Rivas said. "I don't
want that to be somethingI'm
labeled as."
Rivas has done his best to defy
the lonely kicker stereotype.
Instead of isolating himself at prac-
tice, Rivas spends the time he's not
working out watching the rest of
the team.
Last season, he took it a step fur-
ther. At every practice, he made it a
point to learn something new about
another position.
Rivas found the offensive line's
workouts most interesting, but if
he had to pick a position other than
kicker, he'd choose wide receiver,
hands down.
As Rivas put it, "I've got to be
able to do something where I can
score."
In addition to learning a few
offensive plays and the basics of the
defensive scheme, Rivas also par-
ticipated in his teammates' training
regimen this offseason.
The notoriously pudgy kicker
wasn't necessarily required to get
in shape, but he knew he needed a
change after he ballooned to 225
pounds last year - a bit too heavy
for Rivas, who is listed as 5-foot-9
(on a good day).
So he ran and lifted and changed
his diet just like the rest of his
teammates. In the process, he
dropped 15 pounds.
It's hard not to respect that.
Rivas certainly isn't perfect. At
this point in his career, his biggest
weakness is probably leg strength.
Rivas missed the only SO-plus- yard
field goal he attempted as a Wol-
verine.
Even Carr's respect has its lim-
its. Against Iowa, Carr opted to
keep the offense on the field at the
end of the first half instead of send-
ing Rivas outto attempt another
50-yarder - even though Rivas lob-
bied for it.
"He asked me, 'Can you make
it?' and I said 'Yeah,' and the very
next thing out of his mouth was 'All
right, well, we're running this play,'
" Rivas said. "I'm thinking, 'What
do I do on that one? I don't know
what that is."'
Rivas might not have record-set-
ting range, but he doesn't need it to
prove his worth.
He has plenty of records to his
name already.
I
DAILY SPORTS.
WHERE BLUE AND RED ARE JUST COLORS ON THE FLAG.
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