The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
March 24, 2008 - 3B
Miller finds success at the Joe
BY MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
AND ANDY REID
Daily Sports Writers
Joe Louis Arena: Home of the
Detroit Red Wings.
And now, Michigan junior Tim
Miller.
Miller has scored all four of his
goals this season at the Joe. Two of
those, along with NOTEBOOK
a pair of assists,
came during the
CCHA playoffs this weekend in a
performance that earned Miller
Most Valuable Player honors for
the tournament.
"I always enjoy playing at Joe
Louis," Miller said. "I don't know
what it is, whether it's the atmo-
sphere or the ice, but every time I
come here I feel like I'm on top of
my game."
After struggling to find the back
of the net most of the season, Mill-
er scored the game-winning goal
against Northern Michigan in the
semifinal round, and assisted on
the championship winner against
Miami (Ohio).
With a shaky one-goal lead
halfway through the third period
against the RedHawks, Miller
drew out the championship-win-
ning play before a faceoff deep in
Miami territory.
He lined upwithforwardsDanny
Fardig and Brandon Naurato with a
plan in mind.
"Right before we went out there,
I told them I was going to the net
(off the faceoff)," Miller said. "Far-
dig and Naurato switched spots.
so Naurato could tap it in. (Miami
forward Nathan) Davis was giving
me between his legs, so I tapped it
through. It went through perfectly,
and I slid it back door to Naurato
and he buried it."
Fardig appreciated the element
of surprise.
"It was a great play by Timmy
Miller - nobody expected it," Far-
dig added. "Right place at the right
time. Perfect."
Maybe even more astonishing is
how well Miller transitioned from
replacing freshman Max Pacioretty
as a first-line left winger Friday to
centering the fourth line Saturday.
"It's really difficult," Miller said.
"Especially when we have a couple
of power plays in a row or our line
is matching with (RedHawk for-
ward Ryan) Jones's line, which
goes out a lot. We have to sit on the
bench for maybe five, six minutes,
but you have to keep your head in it
and stay focused."
And while the defensive for-
ward's offensive firepower this
weekend surprised many, the scor-
ing from what Michigan coach
Red Berenson called "unexpected
sources" is part of a recent team
trend.
Naurato and freshman Carl
Hagelin stepped up in the quar-
terfinal series against Nebraska-
Omaha, each with a pair of scores.
"You never know who might
emerge and who might take that
extra step, but good for Tim,"
Berenson said.
CCHA IN THE NCAAS: The Wol-
verines weren't the only conference
team that celebrated a tournament
berth yesterday morning. Miami,
Michigan State and Notre Dame
were all given at-large bids dur-
ing yesterday's selection show on
ESPN2.
The RedHawks, who boast one
of the nation's most potent offens-
es, grabbed the No. 2 overall seed.
They drew Air Force, an automatic
bid from the Atlantic Hockey Asso-
ciation, in the Northeast bracket.
Both Michigan State and Notre
Dame will find the road to the
Frozen Four a little rougher than
Michigan or Miami will.
In the West Regional, the Spar-
tans, Colorado College and New
Hampshire all are ranked in the
top 9 of the Pairwise, the standings
the tournament selection commit-
tee uses to order the teams.
And to make things even tough-
er, the Tigers are hosting the
regional at their home rink in Colo-
Senior's career
ends on high note
Junior Tim Miller tallied two goals and two
CCHA Tournament MVP.
rado Springs, Colo. The first-round
matchups feature Michigan State
against Colorado College and Notre
Dame against New Hampshire.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: For
the first time all year, the spotlight
wasn't on Chad Kolarik and Kevin
Porter. The senior forwards didn't
garner All-Tournament team hon-
ors, leaving room for Miller, North-
ern Michigan's Matt Siddall and
2008 NCAA Tournament
Road to the Frozen Four
reps: e-terveitne
RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
assists this weekend and was named the
Miami's Ryan Jones.
The defensemen honored were
Michigan's Mark Mitera and Red-
Hawk Alec Martinez, who scored
the game-tying tally in the semi-
finals against Notre Dame with
3.4 seconds left in regulation and
Saturday's lone goal against the
Wolverines.
Miami's Jeff Zatkoff was named
the All-Tournament goalie.
Mueller sets
personal best at
NCAA tournament
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writer
COLUMBUS - Senior Justine
Mueller loves to play catch-up.
But in her final 200-yard
breaststroke
race as a Wol- NOTEBOOK
verine, it
wasn't necessary.
Typically a late charger,
Mueller exploded off the start-
ing blocks in the consolation
final at the NCAA Champion-
ships on Saturday and took an
early lead in the first length.
Seeded fifth in the heat,
Mueller defied all expectations.
She never let up, and hit the wall
first with a personal best time
(2:10.64).
"My 200 breaststroke never
fails me," Mueller said. "I always
do better as the meet goes on ...
it was a lot of fun to post my best
time."
The senior captain missed
the Michigan record by 0.27
seconds, but picked up her third
honorable-mention All-Ameri-
can honor of the Championships
and the eighth of her career.
After successful freshman
and sophomore NCAA Cham-
pionships, Mueller fell short
during her junior year, escaping
honorable mention honors for
the only time in her collegiate
career.
Last season's missed oppor-
tunities fueled Mueller's hun-
ger during this year's race. Her
determination was obvious even
from the stands as she propelled
forcefully through every stroke.
"It was justice," Michigan
coach Jim Richardson said. "She
never quit. She never stopped
trying. She kept working to get
better again."
RELAY REMODELED: At the
last minute, Richardson took a
big chance.
Before the championship
lineups were set, Richardson
thought the Wolverines had a
shot in the 800-yard freestyle
relay.
While swimmers can qualify
for the NCAA Championships
in multiple events, they're lim-
ited to competing in seven races.
Relay performances count for
twice as many points as individ-
ual events, so a strong showing
could boost the Wolverines in
the team standings.
Richardson saw the poten-
tial for more points and pulled
fifth-year senior Melissa Jae-
ger, junior Hannah Smith and
sophomore Margaret Kelly
from individual events. The trio
joined junior Emily Brunemann
in the relay.
"That's what it takes some-
times - to give it up for the
team," Richardson said. "I think
that epitomizes the kind of peo-
ple we have on the team - it's
team first."
The relay team delivered with
a 14th-place finish and battled
with conference foe Northwest-
ern, trading leads with each
exchange. The Wildcats pulled
ahead in the final lengths and
edged Michigan in the consola-
tion final, but the Wolverines
earned the points they needed.
"We thought we had a chance
of placing," Jaeger said. "It was
a risk that we took and (we) ful-
filled it. It couldn't have turned
out any better."
The honorable mention All-
American finish earned the
Wolverines six points. The extra
points were essential, as the
Wolverines' edged loth-place
Indiana in the final team stand-
ings by just two points.
NOT JUST FOR OLYMPICS:
The No. 1 Ohio State synchro-
nized swimming team provided
the entertainment for the open-
ing ceremonies of day three of
the finals.
The Buckeyes ushered in the
final night of competition as
they floated and flipped in the
diving well set to soft music.
The entire McCorkle Aquatic
Pavilion rose to its feet to catch
a better glimpse of the nation's
best synchronized swimmers.
"They were so great," Jaeger
said. "They set the mood for the
night. It was a great way to end
the Championships."
1. North Dakota Pepsi Center, Denver 1 icia
1. N orth Dakota April 10-12, 2008
4. Princeton 4. Niagara
3. Denver MIDW EST EAST 3. Cla rkson
2. Wisconsin 2. St. Cloud State
2. Boston College 2. Colorado College
3. Minnesota 3. Michigan St.
4. Air Force NORTHEAST WEST 4. Notre Dame
1. Miami (Ohio) 1. New Hampshire
Maravic comes
up big for Blue
Senior's knowledge
proves valuable in
win over Wisconsin
By MACKENZIE MELVIN
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 14 Michigan men's ten-
nis team's only senior showcased
his experience on Friday in Michi-
gan's 5-2 win over Wisconsin.
Michigan (3-0 Big Ten, 12-2
overall) fought through several
tight matches in the victory at
the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann
Arbor, but senior Matko Maravic's
singles competition was the most
dramatic.
The match lasted longer than any
of the other singles matches, and
with everyone watching, Maravic
put on a show.
"That's vintage Matko," Michi-
gan coach Bruce Berque said. "He
just finds a way to win. He's one
of the smartest players I've ever
coached and he can always adjust."
Maravic's tennis intelligence
shined during his singles victory.
The three-set match seemed more
like a chess game, with each player
waiting for his opponent to make a
mistake.
At a key moment during the
first set, Maravic and Wisconsin's
Moritz Baumann exchanged long
hits until Maravic drew his oppo-
nent towards the net with a volley.
Then Maravic sent him scrambling
with a deep shot Baumann had no
chance of reaching.
But Baumann was not as eas-
ily fooled later in the contest. Both
players showed great patience and
skill as the long match tested their
endurance - both had to change
into dry shirts after sweating
through their first ones. Maravic
eventually made enough big plays
in the final set to capture the vic-
tory -6-4,5-7,6-2.
Junior Peter Aarts also per-
formed at a high level in singles
play, beating Wisconsin's Felibe
Bellido in two sets.
With his victory, Aarts achieved
his first career 20-win singles sea-
son. Despite the sweep, Bellido was
a feisty competitor. He openly pro-
tested the umpire's calls through-
out the entire match and had to
forfeit a set point after hitting the
ball into another court's area out of
frustration.
But Bellido was not the only
player to disagree with an umpire.
Michigan freshman Jason Jung
slammed his racket to the ground
after a questionable out-of-bounds
call in the third set of his singles
match. The crowd broke into a cho-
rus of boos and Berque adamantly
protested the call. But the umpire
didn't budge and Jung lost the
match shortly after.
The day was not a total loss for
Jung, though. He and his doubles
partner, sophomore Mike Sroc-
zynski, showed great chemistry in
their 8-5 victory. Their constant
chatter duringthe match was a fac-
tor in the win.
That communication was miss-
ing in their last match together
against Michigan State on March
12, a defeat that didn't sit well with
the players or coaches.
"They played as if they were
expecting their opponents to give
it to them," Berque said. "We had
a good talk afterwards and today
they came out with a ton of energy
and were very good."
Jung and Sroczynski's renewed
focus was just one of the positives
from Michigan's victory. The Wol-
verines claimed their sixth consec-
utive win overall and fifth straight
win over Wisconsin (1-1 Big Ten,
9-7).
"I couldn't be a whole lot more
proud of the team than I was (Fri-
day)," Berque said. "There were a
lot of close matches that could have
gone either way but Ithink our guys
really fought hard on every court
and played with a lot of energy."
The Wolverines look to bring
that same energy against Penn
State today, when they go for their
seventh straight victory.
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program are cross-campus transfers from LSA.
To learn more about great professional
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graduates, be sure to attend the
CAREER OPTIONS
FOR MICHIGAN PHARMD
GRADUATES
Wednesday, March 26, 2008; 6-8 p.m.
Room 1544, C.C. Little Building
(On North University between Church and
Fletcher Streets, across from the
Exhibit Museum of Natural History)
Format:
0 Current students discuss their choice of
pharmacy and their experiences in one of
America's best pharmacy schools.
9 Michigan College of Pharmacy alumni,
representing a variety of practice paths, discuss
their work and the diversity of rewarding career
paths open to U-M College of Pharmacy
graduates.
Pizza and soda will be served
For more information, contact:
Assistant Dean Valener L. Perry
Telephone: 734-764-5550
E-mail: vlperry@umich.edu
Also be sure to visit the College of Pharmacy
Web site at: www.umich.edu/-pharmacy.
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