The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com YPOR .)V . o
I n rd g
By ALEX PROSPERI "This year, these kids never
Daily Sports Writer cease to amaze me," Plocki said.
"In terms of taking a bad situa-
Freshman Jackie Kramer land- tion and turning it into the best
ed her dismount after a flawless possible thing that they can. We
balance beam routine and was
shocked.
Kramer had just put together
the bestbeam performance of her
life.
In the Wolverines' 196.675-
196.100 losing effort against No.
18 Missouri (11-6) on Friday,
Kramer was a huge force in the
team's second-highesthome score
of the season. Kramer, whobefore
Friday had yet to win an individ-
ual title, put up career bests on
beam (9.900) and floor exercise
(9.875). Kramer's beam score not
only gave the West Hills, N.Y.,
native her first collegiate individ-
ual title, but also more confidence
than she has had all season.
"It's amazing; I don't even have
words," Kramer said. "I wasn't
even expecting to compete this
season. Just getting a chance to
be in the lineup is amazing."
Said Michigan coach Bev
Plocki: "We have people like
Jackie who exceed anything. Iam
so ecstatic. When that score came
up she was just quivering. She
was so excited and happy."
Friday marked yet another sur-
prisingly solid performance by a
team plagued by injuries.
With three all-around compet-
itors out for the season, it seems
kind of ridiculous that Michigan
(2-2 Big Ten, 10-5 overall) could
still be ranked 11th in the coun-
try.
come into this meet, and not only
are we down all the people that
we've been down, we're without
Nellie Kippley and we're without
Tatjana Thuener-Rego, and we
still continue to have kids step,
into lineups and do the very best
job that they can."
Withoutjuniorall-aroundgym-
nast Kippley, who was suffering
from symptoms of a concussion,
and with sophomore all-around
gymnast Thuener-Rego just per-
forming on the uneven bars and
balance beam because of chronic
back problems, the team outper-
formed all expectations.
The Wolverines scored just
.4 below their season high and
scored above their regional quali-
fying score, the statistic used to
determine postseason seedings.
Sophomore Becky Bernard was
a big reason for the high score.
Competing in the first all-around
of her career, Bernard scored a
39.300, including a career-best
9.900 on floor. Her 9.925 on bars
led to her third beam title of the
season.
Senior Carol McNamara had
season-high scores on vault
(9.850) and floor (9.800).
If Kippley and Thuener-Rego
can be back to full strength come
postseason competition, who
knows how far this injury-ridden
team can go.
And with just one regular-sea-
TOURNAMENT
From page 1B
Yost Ice Arena, Michigan's players
certainly took note.
"It was almost kind of funny,"
sophomore Billy Sauer said. "We
were the No. 2 seed, they were the
No. 3seed,butitreallylooked like we
didn't even exist when we watched
it. Yeah, it's motivating - it kind of
pisses everybody off a little bit."
In addition to the slight by tele-
vision announcers, the Wolverines
experienced the added disappoint-
ment of being shipped off to Denver
rather than skating in Grand Rap-
ids, where they would likely draw a
large crowd.
After Michigan dropped Michi-
gan State in the CCHA semifinals,
jumping slightly ahead of the Spar-
tans in the PairWise rankings, the
Wolverines strangely lost out on a
spot in Grand Rapids - an interest-
ing quirk to the pairing system.
"It's about the system, and that's
the way it works," Michigan coach
Red Berenson said. "I don't fully
understand it, but that's how it
works. We've got to play some-
where. It's how we play, that's the
most important thing. Grand Rapids
has been a good place to play, but
we've lost there, too."
Monday, March 19, 2007 - 3B
Disappointments in hand, the
Wolverines must now prepare to
face a foe that easily disposed of
them in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament last year. In addi-
tion, the Fighting Sioux have been
one of the nation's hottest teams
in recent weeks, having amassed
a six-game unbeaten streak before
losing to Minnesota in overtime in
the WCHA Championship game on
Saturday.
While Berenson and his staff
haven't had much time to digest
North Dakota's game thus far, study
of the Fighting Sioux has already
begun.
"I can't tell you that I've seen
much of them," Berenson said. "But
I will, starting today. We haven't
faced them, we haven't seen them.
I know the kind of season they've
had, and they've played their best
hockey of late."
What Berenson can learn from
the film is the key to whether or not
he can walk away happy from this
year's tournament.
Michigan has qualified for the
NCAA Tournament for a record 17
consecutive seasons, but hasn't had
much success since reaching the
Frozen Four in2003.
"I'm our biggest critic," Berenson
said. "(In the playoffs) we need to
win more."
FOREST CASEY/daily
Sophomore Becky Bernard took second in her first career all-around competition.
son meet left, the Wolverines will and Plocki have clearly made the
look to cap off a difficult-yet-suc- most of a bad situation.
cessful season. "Just all the way around, I
No matter what happens can't ever remember ever being
though, the resilient Wolverines so proud of a team," Plocki said.
An underdog with bite
Let me get this straight.
Michigan is an underdog.
The team with the
nation's lead- - -l
ing scorer, T.J.
Hensick, is an
underdog.
The team
that has 11 NHL
Draft picks -
including Jack
Johnson and his AMBER
goalie-slaying COLVIN
slapshot - is an
underdog.
The team A Touch of
playing its best Dutch
hockey of the
season, the team that came ridicu-
lously close to beating No. 1 Notre
Dame this weekend, is an under-
dog.
How is that possible?
Well, look at the NCAA Region-
al the Wolverines are headed for.
First, there's No. 1 overall seed
Minnesota. You'll remember the
Golden Gophers from their 8-2
FUTURE
From page 1B
Asked if Washington State
coach Tony Bennett, who was
named The Sporting News Coach
of the Year was a possibility, Mar-
tin confirmed he is. Bennett led the
Cougars to a 25-win season and an
NCAA Tournament appearance
that ended with a second-round
loss to Vanderbilt.
But Bennett intrigues Martin
SOFTBALL
From page 2B
to attack the inside part of the plate,
leaving seven runners in scoring
position. With baserunning blun-
ders and an uncharacteristic 11 hits
off senior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson,
nothing was going right for the Wol-
verines, who lost 5-2.
"Against Penn State, I just felt
we didn't play well in very many
categories at all," Hutchins said.
"We chased their pitches. We had
no discipline at the plate and we
squandered a lot of opportunities.
Lorilyn did not have her 'A' game by
any means."
The 11 hits off Wilson was the
mosta Michigan pitcher has allowed
in 45 games. In the past three years,
the Wolverines are 1-4 against the
Nittany Lions.
"The key is that we don't let it be
anything more than a setback and
that we come off practice this week
with a little bit better approach
going into next weekend, because
clearly we are still a softball team
that's not where we want to be,
Hutchins said.
Despite going 3-2, there is a sense
of optimism coming out the week-
end.
Adding to Michigan's consisten-
cy at the top of the order, freshmen
Molly Bausher and Angela Findlay
have started to come out at the bot-
tom of the order with Findlay bat-
ting a team-leading 8-for-15 for the
Classic.
Playing against Arizona and
watching the remaining tourna-
ment games, the Wolverines have
found out where they sit among the
nation's best.
"I believe after watching these
teams out here, we're atop-10 team,"
Hutchins said. "But to actually win
the game (against Arizona) and get
what we want to get, we need to get
a little finer on the edges."
thrashing of Michigan in the Col-
lege Hockey Showcase Thanksgiv-
ing weekend.
Then there's No. 3 seed North
Dakota. The Wolverines' most
recent encounter with the Fight-
ing Sioux was a punishing 5-1 loss
that sent themhome from the 2006
NCAA Tournament after one game
with their tail between their legs.
And lastbut, OK yes, least is Air
Force, a friendly No. 4 seed from
the humble Atlantic Hockey con-
ference. This team might not be as
daunting as Minnesota and North
Dakota, but it does have Eric Ehn
- the guy three points behind
Hensick atop the nation's scoring
list.
So when it was announced yes-
terday that the Wolverines are
going to the seventh circle of Hell
- I mean, the NCAA West Region-
al in Denver -it wasn't too surpris-
ing that they were a bit overlooked
by the ESPN commentators dis-
cussingthe contenders.
OK, maybe they weren't really
for other reasons as well.
"That name has come up, partic-
ularly since he was in the Midwest
and grew up in the Midwest," Mar-
tin said. "We need somebody that's
got regional ties to the Midwest. If
not the head coach, the assistants."
Martin said he was only look-
ing at current head coaches and
assistant coaches, eliminating the
possibility of candidates like ESPN
commentators Rick Majerus or
Steve Lavin.
The athletic director also con-
mentioned at all.
But if anything, the Wolverines
got a laugh out of it ("I don't think
they know we're in the Tourna-
ment," Michigan coach Red Beren-
son joked) and some motivation.
And with North Dakota as their
first opponent, they're going to
need it.
The Fighting Sioux is the hot-
test squad in college hockey right
now. Their 22-13-5 overall record
is deceiving, thanks to a miserable
start to the season. But now many
pick them as a favorite to win a
national title.
So now Michigan can take its
underdog motivation and stick it to
all the people who doubted (or just
forgot about) them.
"I don't think we got much
respect there in the ESPN analy-
sis," Hensick said. "We know we're
the underdog. We know Minnesota
and North Dakota are the favorites.
We're going to go out there with
that mentality."
And here is something else to
firmed he would be interested in
current Butler coach Todd Lick-
liter and Xavier coach Sean Mill-
er. Miller's Musketeers almost
knocked off No. 1 seed Ohio State
in the second round of the Tourna-
mentbefore losingin overtime, and
Lickliter has Butler in the Sweet
Sixteen after defeating Maryland
on Saturday.
Other names floating around
include Southern Illinois coach
Chris Lowery, UNLV coach Lon
Kruger, West Virginia coach John
chew on: In the last Michigan-
North Dakota matchup, the Wol-
verine goaltending situation was
beyond shaky. Careerbackup Noah
Ruden was starting back then in
place of an unconfident Billy Sauer.
But now Sauer is mature and
strong. He's certainly worlds away
from his performance between
in the pipes against Minnesota in
November.
In front of him, the blue line is
playing its tightestdefense yet. And
don't forget Michigan's 4.22 goals
per game, the best in the NCAA.
That offense is just sick.
So the Wolverines will pack up
all their talent - and their some-
what peculiar little-guy status
- and ship it to Denver.
The altitude and intensity will
be high, but don't let your hopes
for the team get too low. Because
whether other people realize it or
not, this team has a chance.
- Colvin can be reached at
ambermco@umich.edu.
Beilein and former Stanford and
Golden State Warriors coach Mike
Montgomery.
According to ESPN's Andy Katz,.
Martin has hired a consultant
to work on the infrastructure at
Crisler Arena. But Martin also told
Katz that "if a coach makes a major
issue out of not having a practice
facility yet, then they're probably
not the right coach for Michigan."
- Michael Eisenstein
contributed to this report.
TANKERS
From page 1B
medley relay, 200-yard freestyle
relay and 400-yard medley relay.
"To think that our team of fresh-
men and sophomores beat (existing
school records), that's a really good
step forward for our team," said
sophomore Bobby Savulich, who
swam in two of the three relays. "It
was definitely a big surprise, but I
think we deserved it."
Freshman Chris Brady was a
member of all three record-break-
ing relays, while Spann, Savulich,
Patton and sophomore Evan Ryser
competed in two of the three.
"It was definitely the fastest
NCAA meet yet, and I think that's
IRISH
From page 1B
beyond commendable. The soph-
omore made 35 saves one night
after :stopping a penalty shot in
Michigan's 5-2 semifinal win over
Michigan State.
But it was the type of game
Notre Dame (21-4-3 CCHA, 31-6-
3 overall), a team that gave up just
three goals in its last five games,
has played all season, and Michi-
gan (18-9-1, 26-13-1), the nation's
top offensive team, has rarely seen:
a palpitating, low-scoring affair in
which a single bounce marks the
difference between a win and a
loss.
"It was pretty tightly contest-
ed," Michigan senior captain Matt
Hunwick said. "It comes down to
little mistakes, little plays, and
they ended up making them at the
end of the game."
Said Michigan coach Red
Berenson: "It's a tough goal to give
up. (Sauer) normally would handle
that rebound easily. He gave us a
chance in the game. He played
hard and he played well. We just
couldn't get that goal back for
a trend," Vanderkaay said. "A lot of
people were surprised how fast it
was this year, because a lot of peo-
ple predicted it not to be that fast,
but pool records, meet records and
NCAA records were falling left and
right."
Next season, when the Wolver-
ines will finally have senior swim-
mers on the team, they hope to pick
up where they left off - an expecta-
tion that will surely mean that they
aren't the underclassmenunderdogs
anymore.
"Everyone knows that we're not
graduating anyone and we're still
hungry," Savulich said. "Next year,
it's going to be a whole different
story with the same team, plus more
freshmen superstars. We're going to
come back and fight."
him."
Scoring the game-winner
relieved some of Paige's lingering
pain from a broken nose suffered
in Notre Dame's semifinal win
Friday afternoon. The senior had
a large cut across the bridge of his
nose and bruises around both eyes
but was all smiles in the post-game
press conference.
"I feel a lot better than I look,"
Paige said.
On a night when the bounces
rarely went their way, the Wolver-
ines benefited from a good carom
to score the game's first goal with
just five seconds remaining in the
first period.
Kevin Porter's top-shelf tally
came off one of the rare rebounds
Brown allowed all game.
It was Porter's third goal of the
weekend.
But scoring just one goal clearly
ate away at Michigan's normally
high-powered offense.
"We had chances, and we just
didn't burythem," senior alternate
captain T.J. Hensick said.
Michigan will begin its postsea-
son play this Saturday against No.
6 North Dakota in the first round
of the NCAA Tournament.
I
The University of Michigan Department oft
Communication Studies, the Howard R. Marsh Centerfor
the Study of Journalistic Performance, and the College
of Literature, Science, and the Arts presents a public
ecture and reception
The Media at War -
Covering Iraq and Afghanistan
Mark McDonald
The 2005-06, 2006-07 Howard R. Marsh Visiting
Professor in Journaism
Thursday, March 22, 2007
5:00 p.m. Reception
6:00 p.m. Lecture
Alumni Center, Founders Room
200 Fletcher Street
For more information call Roberta Saing at 734-76n0423
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