I I 10 omp"MA The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com DAILY SPORTS BREAKS DOWN THE WEEKEND THAT WAS 2B - Monday, November 13, 2006 SAID AND HEARD I think the biggest Michigan- Ohio State game that I've ever been in is the next one." - Football coach LLOYD CARR, answer- ing whether Nov. 18 will be the biggest Michigan-Ohio State game ever. POT R-1AS L Hard to believe it ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Nicole Edwards WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Edwards won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional by 10 seconds (20:50.91). The redshirt sopho- more led Michigan to a third-place finish. By not finishing as one of the top two teams, Michigan will have to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. 'M' posts big weekend o.1Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan. As I came closer and closer to typingthat phrase, it became more and more difficult to believe. We've had all seasonto prepare for it, but I can't say I'm actually ready. No.1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan. There was the 1950 Snow Bowl, in which' Michigan won 9-3 withoutI gaining a sin- gle first down thanks to a ter- rible blizzard JACK that forced the teams to punt HERMAN a combined 45 times. There was the 1969 Upset, in which the underdog Wolverines broke a 22-game Buckeye winning streak with a 24-12 victory. There was the 1973 Tie, in which Michigan and Ohio State both entered and left the game undefeated after a 10-10 game. But next Saturday, we could wit- ness whatwill go down as The Game in a rivalry so heated, every game is dubbed simply The Game. No.1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan. You can take your Woodys and Bos, your Griffins and Harmons, your Georges and Woodsons and all the great games of the past. I'll take my Tressels and Carrs, my Smiths and Hennes and my Ginns and Manninghams. And, oh yeah: No.1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan. I've seen my alma mater Verona High School capture a state football championship over hated neighbor Cedar Grove in a rematch one week after losing to iton Thanksgiving. I've seen the Stanley-Cup bound New York Rangers topple the despised New Jersey Devils in a seven-game series with three double-overtime games. I've seen my beloved Mets fall to the Yankees in a once-in-a-lifetime Subway (World) Series. You can add, multiply or try what- ever mathematical trickery you'd like on those rivalries. What you won't get is anythingnearthe magnitude of what's coming, as I write this, ina mere six days, 15 hours, 32 minutes and 55 seconds. No.1 Ohio Statevs. No.2 Michigan. Two of the most storied college football teams, involved annually in the most storied college football rivalry, will play in a game that some people have already penciled in on their Game of the Century ballots. It's won't be the first timetheteams meetundefeated. Or the first time a Big Ten title and, potentially, a Nation- al Championship have been on the line. But it's never ever been like this. No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan. Come Saturday, you'll forget about your finance exam, your history paper and possibly even a family member's birthday (that is, if you haven't already). Class of 2006, sorry you missed it. Classes of 2007-09, this certainly makes up for last year. Class of 2010, be thankful for some great timing. No.1Ohio State vs. No.2 Michigan. For one week, we can come togeth- er as one campus and set aside any Election Day differences. Belt out The Victors in the Diag. Don your maize and blue. High-five your classmates. Have fun. Get excit- ed. Smile. Cherish this week in Ann Arbor, because you may never be part of another one like it. Remember all the details, big and small, so that you can tell your children all about a game summed up in a few words. No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan. - Herman can be reached at jaherman@umich.edu. By ANDY REID getting on track. Daily Sports Writer Against Indiana, Selsky set 43 of -- - the Wolverines' 60 total kills. The Sometimes the most underap- Wolverines won in three games, preciated position of any sport is 30-20, 30-21 and 30-28 at Univer- the most important. In football, sity Gym in Bloomington. the running back wouldn't be a "Basically, I am the person star if it weren't for his lineman. who controls the offense," Selsky In volleyball, the outside hit- said. "If the setter plays well, that ters wouldn't have their kills if usually means the team will play it weren't for the setter, and few well." are better setters than Michigan Michigan (7-9 Big Ten, 20- junior Stesha Selsky. 9 overall) got off to a hot start Selsky showcased her talents against the Hoosiers, controlling this weekend as the Wolverines the first two games of the match. swept No. 14 Purdue Friday and With a chance to sweep the Indiana Saturday on the road. match, the Wolverines had trouble It's the setter's job to provide through most of the third game. attackers with an opportunity to "In a conference like the Big notch a kill. Many tend to overlook Ten, it's really strong to play the setter's duties, but without a steady for three straight games," good setter, the outside hitters may Selsky said. "You have to be able to have no chance to awe the crowd pull yourself out of it and win even with dazzling spikes over the net. if it isn't pretty." Selsky is in control of which In its third game against Indi- plays get called and when. If there ana, Michigan struggled. Selsky is a particularly aggressive block- said the Wolverines must help one er on the other side of the net, she another at those times and urge needs to keep the ball away from each other to keep going after it her. She also needs to know where and swinging. attackers like her to put the ball. The strategy worked perfectly, Since each team brings a new and the Wolverines came back to gameplan and lineup to each close out the final game - and take match, Selsky needs to adapt and the match - against Indiana (1-15, get a feel for each game early, or 10-18). the offense will have a tough time At Purdue (9-6, 19-7) the night before, Selsky was a crucial part of the win, tallying 44 assists in the sweep of the Boilermakers (30-26, 30-28 30-28). The win, coupled with last week's victory over No. 13 Minnesota, marked just the third time in program's history the volleyball team has beaten back-to-back ranked opponents. After struggling earlier in the Big Ten season, Michigan has gained momentum coming down the final stretch of the regular season, winning three games in a row. "We knew we would play bet- ter at the end of the season," Sel- sky said. "A lot of teams had it together in the beginning, but we needed to learn to play as a team. We're beginning to play to our potential." Selsky's play-calling skills will be needed this weekend as the Wolverines face off against No. 23 Ohio State and No. 3 Penn State in Cliff Keen Arena. With the last two home games this year against ranked teams, Selsky is not about to let the added pressure get to her. "Being a setter isn't as much pressure as you would think," Sel- sky said. "You have to remember that it's just volleyball and it's just for fun." Blue battles for positions By DAVID MURRAY Daily Sports Writer Imagine if Mike Hart raced Kevin Grady at the beginning of the season for the starting tailback spot. Think about if Lester Abram played Ron Coleman in a game of one-on-one to see who gets the nod at forward for the next game. Nowstop dreaming, because this is what the wrestling team does to determine its starting lineup - 20 wrestlers, 10 spots,winner of a two- out-of-three series takes the spot. The Maize and Blue Intrasquad pits the top two wrestlers from each weightclass against each other. The first matches are wrestled in the practice room, while the following matches are wrestled at the Intra- squad meet to crown the starters. This year's Maize and Blue Intra- squad included two highly com- petitive matches, as four returning starters wrestled for two spots. The meet provided proper introduc- tion for two true freshmen, who notched the most impressive wins of the night. The most highly anticipated bout of the night occurred at184 pounds. The match pitted two previous NCAA qualifiers, roommates fifth- year senior Nick Roy and redshirt sophomore Tyrel Todd. An NCAA qualifier in 2005, Roy lost his starting position to Todd last year after Roy was injured. The first period was tight and extremely defensive, with neither wrestler mustering a good enough shot to score a takedown. In the second frame, Todd chose the bot- tom position, where he escaped from Roy's grasp for a one-point score. Midway through the period, Todd scored two points on a single- leg takedown. In the third frame Roy chose to start down, where he was unable to escape Todd's strong hold. With the extra point for rid- ing time, Todd held onto his start- ing position ina 4-0 victory. "It's really hard wrestling a teammate," Todd said. "Nick stays in really good position, he stays really low. I knew I had to push the pace really hard on him to wear him down and make him tired. So that was my plan going into the match - wear him down and try and cre- ate angles." The other match between previ- ous starters was in the 125-pound weight class. Sophomore and NCAA qualifier Michael Watts took on fifth-year senior Mark Moos, who was an NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds. Mooswas the aggressor from the start, notching two takedowns in the firstperiod and jumpingoutto a 4-2 advantage. In the second frame, Moos started at the bottom posi- tion, where he escaped for the only point of the period. Watts staged a comeback in the third frame, when he took the fifth-year senior down with just 20 seconds remaining, to get within one point of the lead at 7-6. But after the takedown, Moos didn't budge from the bottom posi- tion, and the time fell to zero. Moos took Watts' starting position from a year ago. The two most convincing wins of the night came at the hands of true freshmen - 133-pounder Chris Diehl and heavyweight Matt Guhn. Diehl won a 14-4 major decision, * by dominating fellow freshman Mike Sears. Diehl had control of the bout from the first frame, tak- 4 ing Sears down twice. Diehl scored five more takedowns during the final two periods and added a point for 3:23 in ridingtime for the major decision. * "I've beenwatching(Chris)Diehl wrestle for some time, and I know what he's capable of doing," head coach Joe McFarland said. "He is everything that I like in a wrestler because he has great intensity. He's in great condition, he's always in your face, and he's always looking to score." In the quickest match of the night, Guhn pinned redshirt junior Omar Maktabi just 59 seconds into the contest. The freshman tripped Maktabi to his back in the opening seconds and pinned him. The quick fall earned Guhnthe chance to start at heavyweight. "I've been told that I can be on the podium as a true freshman," Guhn said. "There is no reason not to be. So, I've set (my expectations) pretty high, and we'll see what we can do." The Wolverines will now shift focus to a difficult matchup with Lehigh on Thursday. "I think our guys are looking forward to getting into some dual- meet competition," McFarland said. "Tonight was nice because we were able to get into our home arena and in front of a crowd, but unfortu- nately it was still against ourselves. I think our guys are anxious about getting going and seeing some fresh faces across from them on the mat." I -.dopowwmlmwab- The Yaffe Center 2006-2007 Speaker Series Persuasive Communication: MICHIGAN Yaffe Center What's Breaking Through Today? ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS for Persuasive Communication Student Housing Inter-Cooperative Council _ Student Owned Democratically Run Since 1937 4 & 8 Month Fall/Winter Contracts $475/mo. 2 & 4 Month Spring/Summer $200-425/mo. Call 734-662-4414 Save the Dates November 30 - Jeff Hicks December 7 Joseph Jaffe President Crispin Porter + Bogusky President of Jaffe LLC Brand-building in This Cluttered Life After the 30-Second Spot 21st Century Media Environment Admission is free for U-M students, faculty and staff for the November 30 and December 7 events; $25.00 for those not affiliated with the University. Limited number of seats available. -"Please call John Hogan of the Ann Arbor Ad Club at 734.780.8113 to reserve a seat. I www iccucoop :