Netters grab pair of home upsets MEN'S/WOMEN'S TENNIS 4B 4 e IK Herman: NHL needs an NBA facelift SM COLUMN 2B THE MICHIGAN DAILY Monday, January 29,2007 michigandaily.com 6 Michigan coach Tommy Amaker looks down-and-out during a 76-61 defeat at the hands of Indiana. It was the Wolverines' second-straight road loss and fifth of the season. MICHIGAN 61, INDIANA 76 NOT AGAIN 'M' gets historic, victory By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer It couldn't have been scripted any better. With asellout crowd rockingthe cozy con- fines of Cliff Keen Arena, the No. 1 Michigan men's gymnastics team pulled off one OKLAHOMA 218 of the biggest wins MICHIGAN 221.6 in the program's 50-plus-year history, beating two-time defending national champion Oklahoma by a decisive 3.6-point margin. "After the first two events, I was think- ing to myself, 'This is going to come down to the wire. It's going to be within a couple of tenths,' " Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. "(After vault), I started feeling confident, but you gotta close the door strong. You have to put all the nails in the coffin. And between (parallel) bars and high bar, we did that." Freshman Mel Santander led off parallel bars with a 9.3, and none of his subsequent teammates posted below a 9.0. Meanwhile, the Sooners notched just one score above 9.0 on the high bar. The Wolverines sealed the deal with six hit routines on high bar. The standing-room- only crowd of nearly 2,000 people sent up a deafening roar. Laughter mingled with the cheers as senior co-captain Andrew Elkind celebrated his 9.35 routine with a merry, cir- cuitous dance. The noise peaked as senior co-captain Justin Laury and sophomore Joe Catrambone finished the night by tying for the event title with identical 9.45 scores. "I've never experienced anything like this," Catrambone said. "They said this is the most (Cliff Keen) has ever been packed. You hear everyone cheering, (the team) hitting routines, having the crowd stand up - it's just an amazing feeling." Laury was similarly cheerful after his team's tremendous performance. "It feels great," said Laury, who won the pommelhorse competition with a record 9.25 score. "There are no words to describe it. It's almost overwhelming. ... We just proved to (our critics) that we're still a No.1 team." The No. 3 Sooners swaggered into the arena on Saturday, confident they could knock off the top-ranked Wolverines. The defending national champions had not lost since Jan. 22, 2005. Facing other No. 1teams, they had emerged victorious three straight times since 2004. And Oklahoma's total score of 218.0 would have been enough for a win against most other teams. But not against this No.1 team. In front of the maize-clad throng, Michi- gan broke its record for overall teamscore for the second week in a row, posting a spectacu- lar 221.6 to vanquish its arch rival. "I think the highlightcwasjust that we keep See SOONERS, Page 3B Road woes ,,.continue for *..Wolverines ByDANIEL BROMWICH Daily Sports Editor BLOOMINGTON - The Michigan men's basketball team came late and left early on Saturday. The Wolverines were late getting into the game, facing a double-digit deficit before the game was even three minutes old. Thly were continuous- ly late on their defensive rotations, freeing Indiana shooters for open 3-point looks. With Michigan trailing big early, senior Brent Pet- way tried to jump-start his team with a blocked shot. Alas, Petway's attempt was tardy as well, and the McDonough, Ga., native was whistled for goaltend- ing. And three Wolverine seniors - Petway, Court- ney Sims and Lester Abram - fouled out against the Hoosiers, leaving before the 76-61 loss was official. The fourth Michigan See CAGERS, Page 3B Lineup should be shuffled BLOOMINGTON - J tt wasn't surprising that Indiana jumped out to an 11- 0 leadon Saturday. The Hoosiers came off a tough road loss against Illinois, and the best cure for the com- mon road loss is a home game the very next contest. KJOSE What's surprising B was the utter shock etched on the faces of the Michigan men's bas- The Bosch ketball team. The roster Watch says four seniors are starting, but it's hard to spot them with the See BOSCH, Page 3B ZACH MEISNER/Daily Senior Courtney Sims and the Wolverines couldn't get over the hump in Bloomington, stretching their winless streak there to12 years. * cers alright' * with By IAN ROBINSON Daily Sports Writer Senior Tim Cook is a huge Elton John fan. Well, at least that's all he wants to hear after Saturday FERRIS STATE 2 games at MICHIGAN 6 Yost Ice Arena. The Michigan hockey team has a tradition to listening to Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fight- ing" and singing "The Victors" in the locker room following each home sweep. That's exactly what the Maize and Blue did this weekend after dis- patching Ferris State 9-4 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday to complete its second weekend home sweep in five chances this season. Saturday nights haven't been all right at home for the 11th-ranked Wolverines this season. They have lost Saturday night contests to a pair WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Blue comes back for win TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daly The Michigan hockey team made life miserable for Ferris State goalie Mitch O'Keefe, scoring nine goals on Friday and six goals on Saturday. The sweep put the Wolverines in third place and just one point back of second-place Miami in the CCHA standings. of unranked teams (Northern Mich- me aside and said, 'Let's make sure Jack, kill" when he took the ice. igan and Northeastern) that kept that everybody knows that we The Ann Arbor native tallied Elton John on the shelf, expect to win these games,' " Cook eight points on the weekend, includ- Michigan (14-6-0 CCHA, 19-9-0 said. "We're not happy, we're satis- ing his first career hat trick on Fri- overall) turned in the type of per- fied." day and first career short-handed formance Saturday that many have The Wolverines, especially goals (two). Three of his fivetallies come to expect. But it has been its sophomore Jack Johnson, simply were the product of his menacing inability to demonstrate this domi- overpowered the Bulldogs over the slapshot." nance, even against some of the weekend. "It's great to see the puck go in CCHA's bottom feeders, that makes The ferocity of Johnson's shot and (for him)," Berenson said. "Our the wins over Ferris State (4-14-2, 7- his physical play inspired the student defense can be dangerous, and obvi- 18-3) noteworthy. section, which had one of its loudest ously Jack can be." "(Senior Matt Hunwick) pulled games of the season, to cheer "Kill, See BULLDOGS, Page 38 By CHRIS HERRING Daily Sports Writer For much of the last month, players onthe Michigan wom- en's - - - - - bas- INDIANA 63 ketball MICHIGAN 65 team have preached the importance of getting ahead in the early stages of games. And in nearly all of those games, the Wolverines have failed to practice what they preach. Yesterday's game against Indiana was a perfect example of this occurrence as well. But unlike those other times, Michigan didn't just find its way back into the game, it also rallied to beat the Hoosiers, 65-63, at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines came back from a 17-point deficit, tying a programrecord with 12 triples in the process. Michigan's depth played a key role in the victory. Indi- ana dressed just eight players - one of whom had to leave the game with an injury. On the other hand, the Wol- verines used 12 players. "They only had the eight players," Michigan coach CherylBurnettsaid. "Wewere hoping that we could wear them down a bit and get them back on their heels by making some great choices offensive- ly. We hit some big shots." Her last statement couldn't have been more true. The Wolverines caught fire after halftime, hitting 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. Due to Indiana's short bench, the Hoosiers (2-7 Big Ten, 13-9 overall) were forced to play a compact zone at times, often giving Michigan (2-7, 9-13) open looks from the outside. "It definitely helped that they were sagging off of us a little bit," said sophomore Carly Benson, who knocked down three 3-pointers of her own. "Being wide open gives you a lot of confidence." Indiana coach Felisha Legette-Jack said her team's gameplan was to allow the Wolverines space to take See HOOSIERS, Page 3B