3 a 8A - Wednesday, February 21, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Blue in dire straits By H. JOSE BOSCH Daily Sports Editor The Michigan men's basketball team may have been pleased with its "signa- ture win" over the weekend. But with- Michigan out a victory tonight, the Wolverines' auto- at Illinois graph will likely fade Matchup: into obscurity. Michigan 18-9; Michigan travels Illinois 19-9 to Champaign for a 9 p.m. tip off this eve- When: ning against Illinois Tonight, 9 p.m. in another do-or-die Where: scenario. Assembly Hall The Wolverines may be without its TV/Radio: captainLesterAbram. ESPNU His status is uncertain after he was arrested Monday morning for driving with a suspended license. Michigan has been in must-win mode to keep its fragile Tournament hopes alive. Since theirJan. 31 loss to Iowa, the Wolverines are 2-1, dropping the lone road game of the stretch to Michigan State. Tonight is Michigan's last chance to notch a quality win away from Crisler Arena this season. "We have to get one on the road," junior Ron Coleman said. "We know how tough it is in the Big Ten on the road, and we have to go down to Illinois with the mindset that we're on a mission and that we have to go down there and try to get something done." Even though the Wolverines have been tame away from Crisler all year (1-5 Big Ten, 2-7 overall), this evening's game won't be as intimidating as previ- ous road contests. Michigan has already faced the Illini this season, defeating them on Jan. 3,71-61, in Ann Arbor. To add injury to insult, the Illini have had an entire week of distractions, highlighted by last Monday's car acci- dent involving players Jamar Smith and No prom, no problem for frosh EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Senior Courtney Sims scored 13 points off the bench in Michigan's 58-55 win over Indiana. Brian Carlwell. "We always consider different Both will miss the game, but Carlwell options," Amaker said. "We're always may return for the Big Ten tournament. looking to see what advantage we can Smith, on the other hand, mutually have for ourselves. We're not sure about agreed with Illinois coach Bruce Weber Wednesday, but we're certainly goingto to sit out the rest of the season. As of look at everything that we feel can pos- yesterday, he'll face charges for driv- sibly help us." ing under the influence and leaving the The change sparked the Wolver- scene of an accident stemming from the ines and Sims, who scored 13 points incident. and pulled down five rebounds off the Illinois also has had to deal with the bench. firestorm following the announcement Even though Sims isn't used to a that its longtime mascot, Chief Illini- reserve role, the Boston native didn't wek, will be retired due to pressure from seem opposed to the idea. the NCAA. Tonight will be his last per- "I'll do whatever it takes to win," formance. Sims said. "I don't think anybody would But the Illini have won six of their last say they want to come off the bench. If eight and, despite all the off-the-court you're competitive, you want to play.... problems, are still in the race for an at- But whatever it takes to win, it doesn't large tournamentbid. matter. If it means (the team) gets a "Illinois is that much better now just spark like in the last game ... then that's like I think we're better now than when what it takes." we played them (in January)," sopho- A win would put the Wolverines one more Jerret Smith said. "We're going game over .500 in Big Ten play and one into their environment knowing that win closer to tournamentconsideration. they've gotten better, and we know we If Michigan can continue winning its have to get better to compete." own personal tournament - a series of Michigan's biggest question head- win-or-go-home games - it will have ing into the game is the starting lineup. another big signature. Against Indiana, coach Tommy Amaker That of a NCAA Tournament-bound replaced Coleman and senior Courtney team. Sims with Smith and freshman Ekpe NOTE: Tonight's game will be broad- Udoh. But Michigan coach Tommy cast on ESPNU, which is only available Amaker was mum on the subject. to Direct-TV owners. By KEVIN WRIGHT Daily Sports Editor Take a look at who's leaving Michigan's sec- ondary, and you'll understand why freshman safety Artis Chambers chose to pass on one final semester of high school. EARLY RyanMundyandWil- lis Barringer won't strap ENTRANCE on the winged helmet in A sneak peak 2007, leaving the oppor- at the four tunity for Chambers to early-enrollees come in and make an for Michigan immediate difference. PART 2 OF 4 And that's why he's already on campus. "I knew we were losing two safeties this year, and I wanted to make an early impact on the team this year," Chambers said. "I came here early to get bigger and stronger and help the team next fall." Rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Chambers joined fullback Vince Helmuth, quarterback Ryan Mallett and junior college transfer linebacker Austin Panter as early enrollees in Ann Arbor for the winter semes- ter. Chambers's arrival allows him to par- ticipate in winter workouts and eventually in spring practices. After hearing about the safe- ty's decision, one of his high school assistant coaches, Bob Bergeron, sat down with Cham- bers to remind him of the pros and cons of leav- ing high school early. And though Chambers would miss out on senior prom, basketball and track, he had already made up his mind. "He was fully aware of those situations and accepted them fully, knowing that this was, in the long run, the best thing for him," Bergeron said. "That takes a lot of introspection for a high school senior to see the long term instead of the short term." With Barringer's graduation and Mundy's departure, Chambers will be in competition with fifth-year senior safety Brandent Engle- mon, sophomore safety Stevie Brown and senior cornerback Charles Stewart to start alongside returningsafety Jamar Adams. There is widespread speculation that Stew- art may switch positions from cornerback to safety after losing his starting position last season. Both Brown and Stewart have more time in the program, but Bergeron sees Cham- bers's early enrollment as a chance to for the 6-foot-2 safety to learn the defensive schemes and adjust to the physical demands of college football. Bergeron first saw Chambers's potential during the safety's sophomore year of high school, when Chambers became the leader of the defense on a team that went to the state championship. During the recruiting process, Chambers received offers from Indiana and Purdue. He also fielded interest from other Big Ten schools, including Ohio State and Wisconsin. Purdue coach Joe Tiller even went as far as to label Chambers "the one that got away." Unfortunately for Tiller, the getting away part was the exact reason Chambers left the state of Indiana. "I had a little bit of interest in Purdue, but I just wanted to be a little farther away from home," Chambers said. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native also received a little direction from Bergeron. Bergeron kicked for the Wolverines in the early 1980s and let Chambers know exactly what was in store for him when he joined the Michigan program. "He said they always expect you to do your best," Chambers said. "Theydon'ttellyouwhat to do; you just have to be ready to do it on your own." But the jump from high school to college has been more drastic than Chambers imagined. The Fort Wayne Snider High School stand- out has spent most of his time on campuswork- ing out with the team, studying film and, most important, finding his classes. "The first couple of weeks were real tough for me," Chambers said. "I didn't know where anything was, and I didn't really know what to expect coming from high school, all the differ- ent classes and stuff. Now, I'm just finally get- ting used to everything and the schedules and things like that." But for Bergeron, these first few months are the just the start of a great college career for Chambers. "First of all, he will get a degree from Michi- gan, which you can never go wrong with," Bergeron said. "He will bea contributor to the football program whether it's on the field or off the field because he's a high character indi- vidual." For senior captain, a little less means more 'RESTI' Churella is the third of a kind for Grapplers By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer Fifteen minutes into the regu- lar season, the Michigan men's gymnastics team needed a hero. It was halfway through the first rotation of parallel bars at the Windy City Invitational, and the Wolverines' highest score was an 8.65. The specters of the past year - when a talented team never quite put it all together - loomed ahead. Enter senior co-captain Andrew Elkind. With his teammates cheering him on, Elkind hit his routine for a score of 9.5 - and the unde- feated Wolverines haven't looked back since. Michigan's 2007 season has been one of redemption, exor- cising demons and proving the critics wrong. And nobody epito- mizes that journey better than Elkind. Last year, he was something of an enigma, a superb performer in practice whose success didn't translate in competition. One of the hardest workers on the team, he didn't struggle from lack of effort - it may even have been from trying too hard. As a young gymnast, Elkind would often ask his coaches if he'd done everything perfectly in his workout, or if there was any- thingextra he could do. His work ethic hasn't changed much since then. "He's a real perfectionist, which is good, but sometimes you just have to let your body go," said sophomore Joe Catrambone, who has known Elkind since they were kids, and later teammates, in New Jersey. "You just gotta let it happen. (Before this year), he would try maybe a little too hard sometimes. And if one skill was off, then the whole routine might go wrong." Before the start of the 2007 season, Elkind was named cap- tain of the team, along with fifth-year senior Justin Laury. Finally, everything began to fall into place. After scoring a 9.9 on parallel bars during a practice intrasquad, Elkind destroyed the previous record on the apparatus with a 9.8 in a home meet against Iowa. Against two-time defending national champion Oklahoma, he posted big scores on all four of his events - pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars and high bar. But his favorite moment of the season was beating No. 2 Penn State on the road, where the Nittany Lions hadn't lost in two years. "That's something people say can't be done, that (happens) once in a blue moon," Elkind said. "Everyone knew they were putting up their best, they were going to get the home-crowd advantage, and even with a rough meet and coming from behind, we stole it away from them. It made the eight-hour bus ride home a lot easier." Elkind has learned to deal with the pressure of competition and even thrive on it. Instead of forcing success, he's just letting it happen. "He cares about himself, but he also puts the team ahead of himself," Catrambone said. "He knows when to step up when we need him in a meet now. 4e knows what to tell us to get peo- ple motivated in the gym or in a meet." And this year, his team has his back. With so many Wolverines tal- ented in different areas, no one has to shoulder the burden of carrying the entire team through tough times. "I think he's just learning how to compete now," Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. "Even though as a junior gymnast he had a lot of meets ... it just seems that being at this level of inten- sity, when dual meets are on the line and you're in champion- ships, every time you go you gain something from it. Fortunately, it's coming through for him in his senior year, and it's contributing a lot to make this a special year for us." By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN Daily Sports Writer Usually, blood and wrestling don't mix. If blood gets on the mat during a meet, the match is stopped and the mess is cleaned up. But for the Michigan wrestling team this season, it's been the blood that has been sweeping opponents off the floor. No need to worry about safe- ty, though this blood isn't red. In fact, one might think junior Josh Churella's blood is maize and blue, considering he's the fourth member of his family to wrestle for the Wol- verines. Thisseason,theNorthvillenative has risen to the nation's No. 2 rank- ing in the 149-pound weight class (as of Feb. 6), accumulating a 22-3 record thus far. "Growing up, wrestling was always there," said Churella, whose father and two brothers wrestled at Michigan. "It was always something we had in our blood." Only Minnesota's Dustin Schlat- ter lies in his path to the nation's top spot in his weight class. Schlatter narrowly beat Churella 2-1 in Janu- ary in a match that came down to Schlatter's riding time advantage. Without his brother Ryan as a teammate for his first time at Mich- igan, Churella has stepped up as a team captain, racking up 32 dual- meet points, including three falls, one technical fall and five major decisions. And while natural wres- tling talent is certainly something he relies upon, Churella's fierce intensity separates him most on the mat, whether it's at a practice or a dual meet. "(His success) just goes back to his preparation," Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "I think just the way he approaches his practice, he really has a deep desire to be a national champion, and that's what drives him every day." The drive to win is always present in Churella. In a recent loss, Churel- la stormed off the mat angry that he couldn't contribute to the team's upsetvictory over Ohio State. "I don't like to lose, period," Churella said. "Some people, they lose, and they kind of shake it off. But I'm never going to be in a good mood if I lose, because I'm striving to be the best." It is this attitude - not family pressure - that has driven the red- shirt junior to the top. Despite his family's involve- ment in wrestling, he didn't begin the sport himself until the seventh grade. "(My father) just didn't believe in starting (me) real early because it's really common for college wrestlers to start early when they're five years old and stuff like that," Churella said. "But he just didn't believe in it. He thought it'd burn you out and that he could teach all the necessi- ties to wrestling ifhe started late." Withhisinner fireburningstrong, Churella is quickly approaching the century win mark for his career (88). The milestone would place him among the school's elite wrestlers and alongside his father (132 wins) and brother Ryan (117 wins). But the All-American is more focused on the goal he's had since middle school which is now within reach - an NCAA Championship. "If he stays focused on what he wants to get done this year, and then taking it one match at a time at the nationals, I don't see himhaving any problems," McFarland said. A CHECK OUT MICHIGANDAILY.COM TONIGHT FOR LIVE BASKETBALL GAME UPDATES FROM CHAMPAIGN. Need Science Studei Give Opinion about Wel EARN $60 M' finishes tourney with a bang The Michigan women'sgolf team The Maize and Blue headed was the Wolverines' fourth top-five used a strong final round yesterday into day two of the tournament in performance this year. to catapult it to a fifth-place show- 10th place, but vaulted into conten- Michigan was lead by senior Bri- ing at the Central District Classic in tion in the 14-team field thanks to anna Broderick, who finished in a Sedona, Ariz. a season-best team score of 294. It tie for 15th place in the individual portion of the tournament. Her Immigration Seminar final round 72 played a huge role in the Wolverines' low team score. 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