The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

April 6, 2009 - 3B

Sugiyama wins No.100,
ties Blue's singles record

Team earns weekend
sweep with two
dominating matches
By GILAD BERKOWITZ
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 23 Michigan women's
tennis team had plenty of motiva-
tion to beat Penn State and Ohio
State this weekend.
With a win Saturday in Colum-
bus, the Wolverines would regain
second place in the close Big Ten
standings. Furthermore, a win at
Penn State would create a cushion
between Michigan and the trailing
Buckeyes.
But second place wasn't the main
thing on the Wolverines' mind.
"We don't even know what the
standings are," Michigan coach
Ronni Bernstein said. "They had
a really good crowd (at OSU), and
that is what we rose up to, not the
standings."
With all the motivation a team
could need, the Wolverines pulled
through, sweeping the field with
a 5-2 triumph over the Buckeyes
on Friday, and a 7-0 romp against
the Nittany Lions yesterday in
State College. With the command-
ing wins, Michigan has extended
its winning streak over the Buck-
eyes to six matches, and the streak
against Penn State to seven years.
Sophomore Whitney Taney
made a ferocious return to the sin-
gles lineup on Friday, breezing past
her competition at No. 5 singles 6-1,
6-1.
"She played awesome," Bern-
stein said. "She was the first one off
the singles court."
Taney had been absent from the
BIG TENS
From page 1B
across the floor began signaling to
them, pointing their index fingers in
the air.
"There was a turn of feelings for
mebecause Iwasveryupset,"senior
Joe Catrambone said. "To work this
hard and get that close, if we were
to lose by that little, it just rips your
heart out. I think most of us would
take a tie any day."
It was the first time the Big Ten
Championships ended in a tie since
Illinois and Ohio State shared the
title in 1983.
The title is Michigan coach Kurt
Golder's third with the Wolverines
andthe 15th forthe program. Forthe
first time since the 2000 season, the
men's and women's teams both won
Big Ten titles in the same year. The
Wolverines placed 10 of 12 gymnasts
in the event finals, more than any
other team.
And on top of all that, the sopho-
more duoofThomasKelley and Cam-
eron finished first and second in the
all-around competition. Kelley hit all
six of his routines for an 89.35 total.
Cameron posted Michigan's highest
KELLEY
From page 1B
FLYIN' RYAN SOARS: Senior
Ryan McCarthy spent the weeks
between Michigan's final regular-
season meet and the Big Ten Cham-
pionships unsure whether he'd even

make the lineup.
His presence, especially on the
parallel bars in team finals, turned
out to be crucial.
Michigan needed a boost after
two missed sets to open the rota-
tion Friday night. After McCarthy's
clutch routine, the Wolverines
roared back to life, setting the meet
up for its dramatic conclusion.
And though Kelley and Cameron
finished first and second in the all-
around, Michigan coach Kurt Gold-
er chose McCarthy as his unofficial
Newt Loken award winner for best
performance of the night.
"It was questionable whether
we were going to use him or not,
and there was a lot of pressure the
last week," Golder said. "He came
through like atrooper the last week
and he came through real well."
McCarthy made the event finals
in both parallel bars and high bar,
and on Saturday, he felt no pres-
sure. He swept easily through his
high bar routine, finishing in a
third-place tie with Illinois sopho-
more Paul Ruggeri.
The gymnast who was ear-
lier on the bubble for making the
lineup found himself standing on
the podium by the end of the night
with two of his teammates - event
champion senior Joe Catrambone
and Kelley. On an event that was
supposed to be a weakness this
season, the Wolverines took the
top three awards.
"That was agreat feeling,"McCa-

WILL MULLLR/Daily
Senior Chisako Sugiyama could become Michigan's winningest singles player Thursday.

singles lineup since the Mar. 22
match against Iowa due to a "nag-
ging" injury, according to Bern-
stein. With a 12-2 career record
in Big Ten competition, Taney's
return was well-timed.
"As far as (Taney's) ground-
strokes, she's fine," Bernstein said.
Senior captain Lindsey Howard's
father attended Ohio State, and for
her, it gives her "extra incentive" to
compete against Michigan's biggest
rival so she can talk trash to her dad,
Howard wrote on the Captain's Log
on mgoblue.com.
Yesterday, senior Chisako Sugi-
yama recorded a routine 6-2, 6-1
victory that was anything but
ordinary. Sugiyama provided the
scores of the night on floor exercise
and pommel horse, and on Saturday
placed second in floor finals.
As the drama-filled night wound
down, Michigan and Illinois
mounted the podium together,
the Illini wearing bright orange
and carrying the trophy and the
Wolverines decked out in brand-
new Big Ten Champion caps and
T-shirts. Catrambone and fellow
senior Scott Bregman couldn't hold
back their emotions, tears running
down their faces as they posed for
pictures with their teammates.
For the first time in their four
years, the tears were of joy, not sad-
ness and disappointment.After three
seasons of finishing fourth at the Big
Tens when they had a chance to win,
the Wolverines delivered when it
counted.
Four of the six events on Friday
night went according to plan. Michi-
gan started strong on high bar and
floor, and in the third rotation, the
pommel horse squad boosted Michi-
gan from third place into the lead.
Redshirt sophomore and pommel
horse specialist Adam Hamers, who
later finished fifth in event finals, got
the team back on track after a miss to
open the rotation. Three of his team-
rthy said. "Having two other guys
from your team up there to sweep
the high bar, one-two-three, itshows
you're powerful as a team. You've got
to bring the love to Michigan."
SENIORS SAVOR HONORS:
For seniors Phil Goldberg and Joe
Catrambone, their stuck landings
on Saturday night meant just a little
more.
Neither gymnast had won a Big
Ten individual title before, and
Catrambone had never before par-
ticipated in an event final. On Sat-
urday, Goldberg won the rings title
(15.325) and Catrambone became
the high bar champion (15.075)
To Goldberg, who came to Michi-
gan as an unrecruited walk-on, win-
ning rings meant even more than

highlight of the road trip by tying
the all-time singles record, snatch-
ing her 100th victory donning the
maize and blue.
Sugiyama will certainly not need
to look far for extra motivation this
coming weekend. At the Varsity
Tennis CenteronThursday, Sugiya-
ma will attempt to break the singles
victory record in a non-conference
test with Texas A&M. On Saturday,
the Wolverines willhonor their two
seniors, Sugiyama and Howard,
before a match against Purdue.
"They have been through a
lot here," Bernstein said refer-
ring to her two seniors. "They are
good representatives of Michigan
tennis."
mates - junior co-captain David
Chan, Cameron and fifth-year senior
Paul Woodward - followed with
scores in the 15-point range.
As Michigan moved to the still
rings, it also moved directly in front
of the team's huge fan section, full
of family, gymnastics alumni and
friends. Senior Ralph Rosso stuck
his dismount and immediately began
gesturing to the cheering section to
reach new noisy heights. Senior co-
captain Phil Goldberg screamed as
he landed his double layout, thump-
ing the block M on his chest.
After a tough vault rotation,
Michigan hung onto the lead by 2.35
points. The Wolverines' momentum
seemed to dissipate on parallel bars
as the Illini hit set after set on rings.
But after the correction on Camer-
on's routine, the Wolverines' perfor-
mance on the last event proved to be
just enough.
Michigan finished the night exact-
ly where it wanted to - atop the Big
Ten podium.
"All of it feels great," Golder said.
"To get back after nine years and go
one-two in the all-around is a coach's
dream. That's what I've worked so
hard for the past nine years, to get
back to that level again."
last year's All-America honor.
"I knew I was going to win,"
Goldberg said. "(Standing on the
podium) was just exciting. Being
taller than everybody is something I
don't get to experience that much."
Catrambone's championship was
the last of the night. After he stuck
his triple backfiip dismount, the
Wolverines enveloped him in hugs.
The senior was one of the last
people to leave Crisler Arena after
the final night of competition,
soaking in one of the most memo-
rable weekends of his career.
"The smile that went ear-to-ear
was priceless," Kelley said. "I'm so
proud of him.
"He's waited four years for this
moment, and it's finally come."

Senior Andrew Mazlin and sophomore Chris Madden helped Michigan to a win over No. 51 Penn State on Saturday /
M' wis ag ainst Penn
State, loses to Buckeyes

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adden salvages always-vocal Madden decided to
switch jersey colors from white to
in against top blue without explaining why.
Whatever the reason, the jersey
o State freshman switch helped the Lotus, Calif.,
native bounce back, winning the
in te am loss second set to force a third frame.
Madden outlasted Buchanan in a
By MARK BURNS 17-15 third-set 10-point tie break-
Daily Sports Writer er to win the match, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0
(15).
No. 47 Michigan men's "(Buchanan) had a very good
team's match had been forehand, and he was solid from
d. There was no way the the baseline," Madden said. "So I
rines could come back had to continue to step up and be
t No. 5 Ohio State yesterday very consistent.
Varsity Tennis Center. "Once I got an attacking ball,
the Wolverines' last player I had to try to attack and get him
afternoon was playing as if moving towards his backhand
s competing for a Big Ten side."
pionship. Madden's win was the only one
definitely recognize when for the squad.
our hits the scoreboard," The Wolverines dropped the
more Chris Madden said, other five singles matches in their
ng to the match victories 6-1 loss to Ohio State (6-0 Big Ten,
d for a team win. "But once 23-1 overall).
appens, I've never gone to But Michigan coach Bruce Ber-
oint where I'm thinking, que wasn't too upset that the Wol-
iatch is over.' I still want to verines lost to the best team in the
y match." Big Ten thus far this season.
Iden was in the midst of "I think we're physically capa-
ighest contest of the season ble of winning matches against
t Buckeye freshman Chase Ohio State, but we're not as sea-
nan, one of the nation's top soned, we're not as polished and
chool recruits last year. we're not as consistent as they
r dropping the first set, the are," Berque said.

"It's not that they hit better
shots than us, it's just they do it
over and over and over again and
we don't yet."
While Michigan wasn't the
best team on the court yesterday,
Saturday proved to be a different
story against No. 51 Penn State
(2-3, 9-9).
Led by Madden and senior
Andrew Mazlin's win (9-8) at the
No. 2 doubles position, Michigan
grabbed five of the six singles
matches and the doubles point to
end up on the winning side of a
6-1 score.
"We knew we had to win that
match," Mazlin said. "Our coach-
es talked about just having every-
one bring their most competitive
effort in singles and doubles, all
nine matches, and they felt we did
that."
While Michigan (2-4, 8-13)
obviously wanted to win both
matches this weekend, Berque's
team was satisfied with the week-
end result: grabbing a split before
heading on the road for its next
two matches against Michigan
State and Purdue.
"In regards to where our level
is - I feel like we're starting to
become the team I thought we
were going tobe at the beginning
of the season," Berque said.

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