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8A - Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com


01

Fuzetti slow with
his hair, not his feet

By CAITLIN SMITH
For the Daily
Mauro Fuzetti may be quick on
his feet, but he has little concept of
time.
"Anyone that knows Mauro
knows he takes forever to get
ready," said senior defender Julian
Robles of his friend and teammate.
"We'll be going out and Mauro will
just be sitting there with his hands
fixing his hair for like 20 minutes,
and you can't even notice a differ-
ence. Then he will try on five dif-
ferent T-shirts."
Robles says that the team always
waits on Fuzetti, no matter where
they go, soccer-related or not.
However, with 23 career goals,
it seems as though he is a player
worth waiting for.
Fuzetti, a senior forward for the
Michigan men's soccer team, is
one of the Wolverines' top offen-
sive talents, especially since the
loss of last year's leading scorer,
Peri Marosevic.
Fuzetti currently leads the
Wolverines (1-2-0 Big Ten, 8-3-1
overall) with 19 points, including 8
goals. In just 12 games, Fuzetti has
managed to attempt 47 shots.
When it comes to preparing for
a game, Fuzetti doesn't agree with
his teammates about taking too
much time. He said he has no pre-
game rituals or superstitions. He
simply listens to music and gets in

an early breakfast.
During his last three years at
Michigan, Fuzetti has defined
himself as a top talent. He was
named to the NSCAA/Adidas All-
Great Lakes Region second team
(2008), the All-Big Ten first team
(2008), the All-Big Ten freshman
team (2006), and is the fourth play-
er in program history to record a
hat trick (Sept. 19, 2008), all in the
shadow of Marosevic.
This season, the Wolverines
are 7-0-0 when Fuzetti scores and
1-3-1 when he goes scoreless.
"I feel like I have a little bit of
extra pressure to score, because
when I do we come out with a vic-
tory," Fuzetti said. "Since I am a
forward, it is my job to score, but
also just getting on the ball a lot
and creating opportunities for
others."
Seeing as it is Fuzetti's final
season as a Wolverine, many are
wonderingwhere he'll be this time
next year. Fuzetti hopes to con-
tinue playing soccer for a Major
League Soccer team. If he does, he
will follow in the footsteps of for-
mer Michigan players Marosevic
and Michael Holody, who are both
active players in the MLS.
When asked what he thinks
about a potential job outside of soc-
cer, Fuzetti said, "I really haven't
thought too much about that."
Maybe he just needs some more
time.

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0

Punter Zoltan Mesko averaged 53.8 yards per punt against lowa last Saturday. He punts with lowa's Ryan Donahue inthe offseason.
With Tweets and tips,
Filipovic hel--,ps Mesko

Walk-on freshman
Leslie Weisz a soldier,
athlete and scholar
By ZAK PYZIK Honor Society, a four-year letter-
Daily Sports Writer man in soccer and lettered in bas-
-- - -- ketball. Her work ethic has helped
Leslie Weisz awakes at 7:00 her bring a special personality to
a.m. sharp. Three days a week, the field.
she participates in grueling physi- "She is a really good team-
cal training courses and finishes mate," Koppinger said. "She is
the day with either cadet bond- really inspiring. When we get to
ing, leadership laboratories or her practice, she is always there run-
required three to five University- ning. Whenever I'm having a bad
authorized credits. day, she'd be the one to come and
Leslie Weisz is an Air Force get me out of it. Leslie is there for
ROTC cadet. everything that she can be there
Weisz has practice all week, for."
too. The Michigan native walked On the field, teammates rave
on to a varsity team to get involved about how she takes criticism dur-
in the University's elite athletic ing key moments and still listens
program and travel across coun- to her coach.
try. She is led by a coach who pre- "It isn't difficult to coach Leslie
viously headed the USA Women's at all," Michigan head coach Greg
soccer program. Ryan said. "If you try to correct
Leslie Weisz is on the Michigan her, she will not take it personally
women's soccer team. or get upset. That's an important
For the freshmen cadet, mid- quality."
fielder and engineering student, Having played just 114 minutes
the list goes on. She is involved this season, Weisz is still finding
in Circle K, a community service her role with the Wolverines. But
group on campus, and she intends she already has a start under her
to be an active member of Sigma belt against Marquette on Aug.
Kappa, the sorority to which she 30.
has pledged. Michigan leaves today for its
Such an agenda seems like an matchup against Purdue, sched-
unmanageable task for anyone, uled for Thursday. Weisz was on
especially a freshman. But not for the list to travel, but she won't
Weisz. participate due to an ROTC com-
"I try a lot, it's no doubt," Weisz mitment.
said. "It's probably one of the "She works really hard, and
hardest things. To do my work, she's definitely a good player,"
and to keep everything in line and Koppinger said. "She is very posi-
to manage my time is for sure the tive all of the time, and she has to
hardest thing." be. We always see her studying,
Said sophomore midfielder but yet she is always positive."
Kara Koppinger: "We never see For this weekend, Weisz has
her struggling. The only time is prioritized her anticipated Air
when Lene, our assistant coach is Force career over her athletic
running her head off at practice." endeavors.
Weisz is used to having a lot However, she will be back in
on her plate. In high school, she cleats on Monday evening to prac-
was the President of the National tice with her teammates.
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By ANDY REID Or offers recruiting advice:
Daily Sports Editor "University of Iowa is looking
to scholarship a punter from the
It's pretty safe to say that noth- class of 2010. Send them your
ing Filip Filipovic Tweets about video."
will ever become a trending topic. But Filipovic, 31, does more
While hordes of Twitter users than scribble 140-character mes-
gossip about hazy celebrity rumors sages about the one of the most
or chuckle at yet another ridicu- nuanced positions in football. He
lous Tweet from Chad Ochocin- coaches at least 30 college punt-
co, Filipovic, under the handle ers, including Mesko, Iowa's Ryan
"TheKickingCoach," drops friend- Donahue and Michigan State's
ly reminders to the high school Aaron Bates. All in all, he said
and college punters and kickers eight current Big Ten kickers have
that follow him. benefited from his expertise.
"Punters: Football should Filipovic's relationship with
never be any closer to your body Mesko started about two years
than 'handshake' distance. When- ago.
ever punting or doing drills, keep "I have some family outside
it away," he Tweeted five days of Ann Arbor," Filipovic said in
before one of his disciples, Zoltan a phone interview last night. "I
Mesko, averaged 53.8 yards per watched Zoltan punt before, and
punt against Iowa and earned Big I just contacted him, and asked
Ten Special Teams Player of the him if he wanted any help with
Week honors. punt and his mechanics. We met
The former Dallas Cowboys up once, and he enjoyed working
punter occasionally gets more with me, so we kept up."
technical on his Twitter, too: "To The two talk at least once a
execute an end over end rugby week during the season, and Fili-
punt, drop the ball straight up and povic said they meet about once a
down, point the toe, and swing month. In the offseason, Mesko
your foot through bottom 3rd of has more time to practice and
the ball." often sees Filipovic for kicking

sessions.
Filipovic, who signed with
the Cowboys after the 2002 NFL
Draft, said a punter as experi-
enced as Mesko gains more from
one-on-one practices than group
sessions. But when the coach
hosts large kicking camps for
high schoolers, the college kickers
come to practice together - and
things can get competitive.
At Filipovic's camps, Mesko
and his Big Ten counterparts kick
against each other in contests,
which are filmed, so each punter
can review them later. The punt-
ers' get-togethers are a welcome
change to college practices, which
can sometimes be a lonely affair.
"I mean, a lot of kickers and
punters, you're off on your own in
practice and stuff like that," said
Donahue, who is averaging more
than 41 yards per punt at Iowa
this season. "It's nice to be able to
measure up to whoever your com-
petition is. So in the offseason,
you try to work out with as many
punters as you can."
Added Mesko: "Why we work
togetherisbecause- I don'tknow.
Kickers and punters get made fun
of a lot by the rest of the team. So

our special fraternity has to stick
together."
The rivalry between the Big _
Ten's punters ends there, though.
Although it may add a little
extra motivation to punt against
someone you practiced with over
the summer, when the punters get
in the game, it's more of an intro-
verted skill.
But that doesn't mean Mesko
and Donahue ignored each other
last Saturday, when the Wolver-
ines traveled to Iowa City.
"We joked around and stuff
before the game," Donahue said
after the game. "And he kicked
the crap out of the ball today, so
it was fun."
Filipovic said that kind of inter-
action was common for punters
and kickers in the college game.
But if Mesko moves on to the next
level, he may want to bone up on
his trash-talking, as well as his
punting skills.
"I guess it doesn't get really
competitive between kickers until
the NFL," Filipovic said. "It's
probably a real friendly compe-
tition for him now. It's not until
the NFL when guys get a little
meaner."

New strength coach has
Wolverines slimming down

By JOE STAPLETON
Daily Sports Writer
When redshirt junior forward
Anthony Wright woke up each
summer morning and realized
the first thing he
had to do that day NOTEBOOK
was run, it's safe
to assume that he didn't exactly
spring out of bed.'
Luckily, redshirt sophomore
guard Laval Lucas-Perry was
there to make sure he did.
"That's just part of being a
leader, waking up for those runs
at 6:00 or 6:30," Wright said.
Lucas-Perry and Wright made
sure one woke the other for all of
those workouts, and the results
showed at the Michigan Media
Day yesterday, where the two
were noticeably slimmer and
leaner than the year before.
And they weren't the only
ones. Sophomore Zack Novak
has slimmed down significantly
as well.
"Their bodies have changed,"
coach John Beilein said. "They're
leaner, they seem like they're
quicker, I just like what I've seen
from them so far."
New strength and conditioning
coach Jon Sanderson, who came
to Michigan after spending the
last three years at Clemson, had
a significant hand in bringing the
players' weights down to where
they wanted by shedding fat and
adding lean muscle.
"We're trying to make them
stronger and more explosive than
before," Sanderson said. "All of
the agility training we do is to
make their move ore efficiently

on the court."
Lucas-Perry said the new
strength coach has clearly made
a difference.
"We do more lower body and
core strength which helps us be
more agile," Lucas-Perry said.
TOUGH ROAD TO START: Last
year, Michigan's nonconference
schedule included games against
Duke, Connecticut and UCLA.
Wins against UCLA and Duke
early in the year played a huge
role in ensuring the Wolver-
ines earned an NCAA Tourna-
ment berth for the first time in 11
years.
Thin year, the nonconference
schedule doesn't get much easier.
Michigan will travel to Orlan-
do to play in the Old Spice Classic,
with amacchop against Creighton
in the first round. Six of the eight
teams in the tournament played
postseason ball last year and four
of them made it to the NCAA
Tournament.
After that, Michigan takes
on Boston College as part of the
ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and on
Dec. 19, the Wolverines will face
perhaps their biggest test: travel-
ing to Lawrence, Kan., to play the
Jayhawks.
"'Wait a minute, you're going SAID ALsALAH/t
to Kansas to play and they're Sophomore Zack Novak is one ofa few Wolverines to slim down in the offseason.
coming back on a Saturday night last year on us, and that was an Beilein said Cronin has be
for our students?' " said Beilein, extra addition." looking good in practice.
referencing the team's game three INJURY REPORT: Redshirt "He ran a 5:53 mile today," B
days later at home against Coppin freshman Ben Cronin, who missed lein said. "For a 7-foot-1 guy,
State. "We've got to do this, and all of last year after undergoing runs pretty darn well."
this is the year to do it." hip surgery, is practicing again Freshman Jordan Morgan, w
Beilein isn't worried about the with the team. underwent knee surgery in ea
schedule hurting his team. "I'm excited to get back going July, is expected back in pract
"May it backfire?" he said. "I and excited to help the team how- "within the next two week
don't think Connecticut backfired ever I can," Cronin saidr according to Pieilein.

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