10A - Thursday, February 15, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Shootouts: Second-ranked Irish hand M' first loss point counterpoint yea or nay? 4 By CHRIS MESZAROS Daily Sports Writer With one upset win already under its belt, the Michigan wom- en's tennis team sought to capture its second against a potent No. 2 Notre Dame team. A win over the Fighting Irish would add luster to an already great start by the Wol- verines. Unfortunately, Notre Dame was simply too much, overpowering No. 23 Michigan in a 6-1 rout in South Bend. "As a team, we played our hearts out," Michigan coach Amanda Augustus said. "We competed really well, but in the end, we just fell short." The afternoon started on a sour note as Michigan lost all three double matches and failed to claim the doubles point for the fourth straight match. But, unlike its previous matches, the team was unable to rally from an early defi- cit to take the match. Notre Dame kept the pressure on the Wolverines. The Fighting Irish won the first match in singlks play to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Sophomore Chisako Sugiya- ma's impressive win at No. 2 sin- gles over No. 31 Colleen Riley was Michigan's lone win (6-4, 6-3). "I was definitely prepared for the challenge of my opponent and was able to play a very strong match," Sugiyama said. Sugiyama's triumph extended her winning streak to seven in a row and was the biggest of her career in terms of rankings. Despite apparent troubles in doubles play, Augustus said that as the team moves into the heart of the season, its performance will improve. "To be successful in doubles, you need to be able to know the chem- istry, communication and playing styles of other players and learn to play to each other's strengths," Augustus said. "These take time, and we're not terribly concerned because we have been very close in doubles." She was pleased by her team's performance despite the loss, cit- ing a number of close matches that were decided by a few favorable breaks for the Irish. She was espe- cially impressed by the way her team hit the ball and the toughness it showed when facing adversity. Junior Allie Shafner's comeback attempt (6-1, 7-6) fell short for Michigan, but it certainly showed the Wolverines' resolve. "Notre Dame is a very tough team that plays exceptionally hard at home and really played well today," Augustus said. Nevertheless, the loss is a sting to Michigan, who had hoped to begin the season 4-0 with wins over two ranked teams. Instead, Michigan fell to 3-1 on the sea- son, while Notre Dame moved to 6-i. The Wolverines will have to regroup and regain their confi- dence after a defeat in which just one player won her match. "We're defiantly upset by the loss," Sugiyama said. "It certainly hurts, but we now know how top teams play and that we need to play harder." That desire will certainly help the Wolverines down the stretch, as they will look to exact revenge against the Irish, perhaps in the NCAA Tournament. "It's good to have this (loss) early so it fuels the fire for perhaps a rematch down the road," Augus- tus said. "It will help to motivate us in the future." The Wolverines will look to rebound on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn., against Tennessee. Ihate ties. You hate ties. How could anyone like a tie? You spend sixty minutes watching a hock- ey game, your heart soaring as your team succeeds and break- - ing as the opponent bounces right back. Before you know it, 'r the score is even, and you head to overtime. Excitement floods the arena, and you spend five minutes on the edge of your x seat, waiting for that moment: AMBER a goal, a decision. COLVIN But nothing happens. The five minutes quickly fly by, and at the end of the night, the scoreboard boasts two identical numbers for each side. Fans file out of the arena just feeling awkward. Are you happy? Are you sad? You can't really be either. This happens all the time in college hockey. There's a tie practically every weekend some- where in the league. We've got to get rid of these ties, and there's just one plausible way to do it: shootouts. Settle down, all you hockey traditionalists who are leaping for my throat. Consider it for a moment. Shootouts are exciting. Fans gobble them up. And if there's any fan base in the country that needs to be rewarded right now, it's hockey fans. They support this struggling sport day in and day out while the rest of the sporting world laughs in their faces. Players and coaches may not like shootouts.Yes, it does settle a game's outcome on an individual basis. I know hockey is, probably more than any other major sport in America, all about the team. I love that about hockey. But the team had 65 min- utes to work this out together. Besides, I don't hear many people complaining whentheir team's game-winninggoal comes from a penalty shot. I'm not proposing we have a shootout decide whogoestotheFrozenFour. That'snotfair. Shoot- outs should only be allowed in the regular season, not when postseason hopes are on the line. We're lucky enough to have a perfect shootout model to follow. The NHL has been using shoot- outs ever since the lockout ended in 2005. I'd like to see that same format in the NCAA. Five minutes of four-on-four overtime (changed from the current five-on-five overtime), followed by a shootout. Three skaters shoot for each team first, and if that doesn't present an outcome, go to a sudden-death shootout using the entire roster (except goalies) before repeatingshooters. Imagine Yost Ice Arena during a shootout. That old barn would be rocking. Imagine watching guys like T.J. Hensick, Andrew Cogliano and Jack Johnson head down the ice one by one for Michigan. Imagine erupting in "The Victors" after every Michigan goal (or save, for that matter). If that doesn't excite you, check your pulse. We need forward thinking with hockey. The game can't stay frozen like the surface it's played on. So get with the times and get with the shoot- out. Yes, shootouts are exciting. Yes, shootouts guarantee games don't end in a tie. Yes, the National Hockey League uses shootouts. But, no, college hockey shouldn't move to a shootout system. There are many reasons for my opinion, but the most a. important one is this: shoot- outs aren't hockey. NATE Hockey is a tean sport; SADAS each player is part of a unit. Each skater has a responsibil- ity to his team at both ends of the ice - offense and defense. A shootout is an individual competition, pit- ting a shooter against a goalie. This inherently takes away from hockey's essence. Where's the defense? Half the game just disappears. If shootouts are so great, why isn't the entire game just a shootout? I'll tell you why: because a shootout is not a sport, it's an offensive skills showcase. Letting a shootout decide a hockey game is like having a home-run derby decide a base- ball game, or letting a game of one-on-one to five with each team's best player determine the winner of a basketball game. Yes, these scenarios would be extremely entertaining, but they are in no way related to the games they decide. Why? Because team sports shouldn't be decided by individual games. But ties are so boring, you say. I couldn't agree more, so I came up with a few possible tweaks to the current overtime system that would result in fewer ties. First, make the overtime four-on-four. This would create more space on the ice, allow tal- ented players to be creative and increase scor- ing chances. The NHL adopted this rule in 1999 with great success. Just imagine T.J. Hensick, Kevin Porter, Jack Johnson and Matt Hunwick on the ice against four-man units from teams like Minnesota, New Hampshire and Boston University. Now that would be entertaining. Not good enough? Still too many ties? Let's try this: add five minutes. With a 10-minute overtime, teams would have a better opportu- nity to establish momentum. If there had been five more minutes against Michigan State last Saturday, there's no doubt in my mind the game would have ended in the Wolverines' favor. Perhaps the biggest problem with the current NHL system is the problem the NCAA must avoid when and if it changes its overtime for- mat: By the time you get to the shootout, you're already guaranteed one point. This waters down the game by rewarding teams for playing to tie. The great thing about sports is that you're supposed to play to win. Well, not in the NHL, apparently. Shootouts are entertainment. Hockey is a sport. If you want to be entertained, go to the circus and leave hockey alone. 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