2B - January 26, 2009

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

'M' ice dancers take
home U.S. senior title

Stu
firs

Junior Leah Robertson and the Michigan water polo squad are an exciting team with a growing fan base.
Why go to waterpolo.

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dent pairs finish with a passion-filled interpreta-
. tion of "Samson and Delilah" that
st and second in lit up Quicken Loans Arena.
Cleveland Long-time friends off of the
ice, Davis and White have had a
strong presence in the senior ice-
By KATIE FIELD dance field ever since their debut
Daily Sports Writer three seasons ago.
In their 12th year skating
University students skat- together, Davis and White said
he top tiers of the podium their long partnership is a major
United States Figure Skat- factor in their success. A coaching
ampionships in Cleveland switch in 2005 to Igor Shpilband
irday afternoon. - who now has coached 12 of the
somores Meryl Davis and past 16 U.S. ice-dance champions
White won ice-dance gold - has fueled their progression in
ir first U.S. senior title, and the sport.
an Emily Samuelson and Although their elaborate cos-
nore Evan Bates glided into tumes don't include a block "M,"
ond-place ice dance slot. the four skaters aren't shy about
sandWhite,whorepresent the colors that they support. At
's Arctic Figure Skating the 2008 U.S. Championships,
nd the Detroit Figure Skat- where Davis and White finished
ub, respectively, secured second, White held up a Michi-
ictory with a 99.82 point gan sweatshirt in the kiss-and-
once performance Satur- cry room as the pair awaited their
hey finished the competi- marks. Davis pointed to.the yel-
th total of 201.68 points. low letters emblazoned on the
came to nationals really shirt and cheered.
epared," White said. "We "I definitely feel like wherever
ible to do well out there I go, I represent the university,"
t hold back, so we're really Bates said. "We're in Cleveland
right now, and almost every sin-
five-time defendingcham- gle day I was wearing a Michigan
'anith Belbin and Ben Agos- T-shirt or something. There are
nt from the Championships so many Ohio State fans here that
Agosto's lingering back are giving me a hard time. (Samu-
Davis and White's path to elson) and I did a promo that they
ium was a little clearer. But played on the Jumbotron that was
r still earned their title. all about how we go to Michigan.
s and White won the origi- We said, 'Go Blue,' and the fans
nce on Thursday with the started booing us."
inspired performance On campus, Davis and White
y Feet," opening up a com- live relatively normal college
ng eight-point lead on the lives. Davis is a member of Delta
n Saturday, the pair came Delta Delta sorority. White, who
I extended their advantage previously helped coach the

Michigan women's synchronized
skating team, enjoys living in an
off-campus apartment with fel-
low skaters. At Nationals, White
stood atop the podium with his
roommate and friend, Bates, next
to him on the second tier.
"It's pretty funny, honestly,"
Bates said. "We're doing press
conferences together and we're
laughing through the whole
thing. We had to be separated.
He's one of my best friends, so it's
really cool to be going through
this experience and to share it
with somebody who you're good
buddies with."
In only their second senior
ice-dance season, the Ann Arbor
Figure Skating Club's Samuel-
son and Bates are relatively new
,to the sport's highest level. But
with a solid 181.64-point finish
this weekend, the pair is another
step closer to making a name for
themselves.
."It's surreal to be here because
this is the place that they were
last year," Samuelson said of
Davis and White. "You look up
to the people who were here last
year and you think, 'Oh my gosh,
they're such good skaters.' Now
that we are the silver medalists
of the United States, we see that
we deserve to be here at this level
and that we're great skaters."
Both pairs learned that they
made the U.S. World team Sun-
day morning. Belbin and Agosto,
who received the third spot, will
join them in Los Angeles as what
is undoubtedly the strongest
U.S. World dance team in recent
memory. There they will focus
on securing the U.S. spots for the
2010 Olympics.

T here wasn't much reasono
to be outdoors yesterday,
but I left my drafty house
in search of warmer pastures inside
Canham Natatorium.
No, I didn't just go there to bask
in the radiated heat of an empty
poolhouse. The Michigan women's
water polo team was taking on four-
time defending
national cham-
pion UCLA.
I've only been
to a couple water.
polo matches in
my life, and I'm
far from being a
an expert on the NATE
sport. SANDALS
But after yes-
terday, I think I'll be watching a lot
more.
It's not an easy sport to describe.
It best resembles soccer because
there are two teams trying to get a
ball into a goal.
There's an element of basket-
ball, too. On offense, the teams
tend to cycle the ball around the
perimeter, looking for an open
shot or a lane to pass inside. Bas-
ketball would be even more like
water polo if the lane was a pool
and post players were allowed to
grab, yank, dunk and tackle each
other. You or I would drown in 100
seconds, no question.
Even with those basic compari-
sons, there was a lot about the sport
I didn't understand.
Whistles were blown seemingly
SPARTANS
From page 1B
it's Michigan State or who it is."
The Wolverines bavera heen sly
about watching the staodings. Tie
teamnoticed when two toomr oinahead
of them, Alaska and Miaomoi, both
failed to notch two points idlay.
But that didn't distract the rOl-
verInes come Saturday night. They
played with an intensity that the
Yost crowd could only yearn for last
week against the Falcons, putting
together a quick three-goal lea. It
was the second three-goal period
Michigan compiled against the
Spartans this weekend after closing

at random.
Players hopped in and out of the
water while the game seemed to be
flowing.
'The referees wore all-white uni-
forms.
Despite roy ignorance, I really
enjoyed watLching, and I think the
other students who were there felt
the same.
Water po> is primed to be a great
spectator sport at Michigan.
it's a fast-paced game with a
great mix of power and finesse.
Michigan coach Matt Anderson
wasn't pulling my leg when he told
me it owas the quickest and most
physical women's varsity sport in
Ann Arbor.
You're right on top of the action
inside Canham, which can get loud
when it's full. (Imagine'a warmer
Yost with water instead of ice and
no glass separating fans from the
bench.)
And here's the kicker: Michigan
is good.
lirehe Wolverines aren't just good
by East Coast standards, they're
good by national standards. In
a sport dominated by schools in
Southern California, Michigan is
becoming a significant contender.
Not bad for a school that has only
had a varsity team since 2001.
Last season, the Wolverines
made the NCA fTournament and
finisl-edo! sixth.
1ichiga entered this week-
end, the season-opening Michigan
Kick-Off, with a preseason No. 10
them out ith th r e lamp-lighters
in Friday's final frame at Joe Louis
Arena.
" thorsoglt we started well, really
well," 'ereoso1n said. "We knew it
was imporetant to get a good start, to
set the tone for the game."
Michigan eventually outshot
Michigan State by 30 shots Saturday,
51-21, but two Spartran goals within a
25-second span in the second period
made the game a one-score contest.
ohen, halfway through the third,
Sunroes sealed the victory with a
wrist shot from just inside the right
blue line past freshman goalie Drew
PIlirisano's glove,
The Wolverines' blistering start
meant very little, and the narrow

ranking. But that number is prob-
ably going to go up.
The Wolverines started the sea-
son Saturday with an 8-6 loss to No.
5 California. Next, they shut out
Colorado State (unlike soccer, you
don't see many shutouts in water
polo, I'm told). And yesterdaymorn-
ing, they upset No. 7 San Jose State.
Then came the matchup with
the Bruins, Michigan's fourth
game in two days. It was UCLA's
third.
I've already mentioned they're
four-time defending national
champions. I haven't told you the
last time they lost a match was
in 2007 or that they shellacked
Michigan 16-0 a year ago or that
they returned fifteen players from
last season, including three All-
Americans.
Michigan jumped out to a 2-0
lead and trailed just 3-2 at half-
time. It wasn't a surprise to see
UCLA pull away with a 10-4 win,
but it was exciting to see Michigan
hang tough with a high-caliber
team.
Michigan'sgoals are clears repeat
as Eastern Champions, return to
the NCAAfTournament and achieve
a top-five ranking.
Now the Wolverines are on the
road until early March. When they
get back, I suggest you go to Can-
ham and check out the sport and
team for yourself.
- Sandals can be reached
at nsandals oumich.edu.
lead significantly ratcheted up the
game's energy.
"The intensity, the hitting, the
hard work today from both teams -
I definitely think that the intensity
level was definitely way up there,"
sophomore forward Matt Rust said.
And anything short of that high
intensity might have allowed the
Spartans to complete their come-
back - and make Michigan's match-
up with Notre Dame next weekend
less significant.
"You've got to win these games if
we're goingto make up some ground
in the standings, so they were big
games," Berenson said. "The week-
end overall is a good weekend for
us."


ARIEL BOND/Daily
Senior Christine Nichols helped propel Michigan past Ohio State in the 200-yard medley relay Friday.
Smit and Kell spark win
over Buckeyes indualmeet


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No. 22 Michigan
enjoys coaches'
performance
during victory
By FELIX CARREON
Daily Sports Writer
The thought of standing 10
meters above ground on a flimsy
board would be horrific for most.
But for Michigan diving
coaches Chris Bergere and Dick
Campbell, it provided fuel for the
intermission entertainment.
During a break in the Wolver-
ines' dual meet against Ohio State
on Friday, the two showcased
their diving skills in a short per-
formance. Dressed in pajamas,
the duo did a variety of flips.
The most impressive was a back-
flip where Campbell leapt into
Bergere's arms and the two dove
off the five-meter board at Can-
ham Natatorium.
While the No. 22 Michigan
women's swimming and diving
team enjoyed the performance,
it was hardly laughing as it com-
peted againstconference foe Ohio
State.
The Wolverines beat the Buck-
eyes 169.5-129.5 to record their
first conference win of the season.
Michigan (1-3 Big Ten, 2-6
overall) had no trouble finding

motivation for the dual meet. The
team is still recovering from a
rigorous training camp in Puerto
Rico that left many swimmers
drained in meets and practices.
"It's like I told them before
the meet - I don't care if it is tid-
dlywinks or 47-man squamish,"
Michigan coach Jimr Richardson
said. "Whatever it is, it's Michi-
gan and Ohio State, and everyone
is going to pick it up a notch."
Michigan started the meet
strong with a victory in the 200-
yard medley relay. Seniors Han-
nah Smith and Christine Nichols,
freshmanCaitlin Dauw and junior
Margaret Kelly went stroke-for-
stroke against Ohio State before
Dauw pulled away in the butterfly
leg. The team finished three sec-
onds ahead of the Buckeyes (0-2,
4-3).
Both teams battled in the
beginning, before the Wolverines
won eight of the last nine events.
The Wolverines were led by
junior Leigh Cole, who earned
victories and swam season-best
times in both the 50- and 100-
yard freestyle. -
"We were ready to do that,"
Cole said. "We watched the other
teams this year, and we really
wanted to get out there and beat
Ohio State. It's such a rivalry,
Michigan and Ohio State, so it
was exciting."
Kelly kept up her consistent
level of success by touching the

wall first in the 500-yard free-
style and 200-yard individual
medley. She has been the work-
horse for the young Wolverines
all year, leading Michigan with
10 wins. She has even attempted
to cover the lack of depth in the
breaststroke by swimming the
100-yard breaststroke several
times this season.
Smith captured event titles
in the 100-yard backstroke
(55.28) and 200-yard backstroke
(1:58.66).
Kelly and Smith were part of
the victorious 400-yard freestyle
relay (3:26.56) that outpaced the
Buckeyes by four seconds. The
freestyle relays have been a high-
light for the Wolverines all season
and have earned NCAA consider-
ation times in all three events.
Michigan also dominated the
one-meter diving event, taking
four of the top five spots. Junior
Stephanie O'Callaghan placed
first andredshirtfreshmenRachel
Ropeik finished third in platform
diving (265.35) as Michigan's top
performer in the event.
The meet put the Wolverines in
good position with just two meets
left before the Big Ten Champion-
ships from Feb. 19-21.
"When it comes down to our
final meet, I think we will be
ready," Cole said. "We're going to
have some fast swimmers there.
We aren't rested yet, and we
haven't been all season."

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