Michigan distance runner Kevin Sullivan missed qualifying for ' the finals of the 1,500 meters e. at the World championships. See page 14 for details. SPORTS Wednesday . I Michigan football *picked third. By Chris Farah Daily Sports Editor According to the old Schoolhouse Rock animated series, three is a magic number. Michigan football fans better hope so. In a preseason poll, the media attend- ing last Tuesday's Big Ten football kick- off luncheon chose Penn State to finish first in the conference, followed by Ohio State in second - and Michigan in third. Although the poll may seem ominous to Michigan faithful, the Wolverines themselves aren't worried. "Preseason rankings - we don't even look at them, really," Michigan offensive tackle Jon Jansen said. "Everybody knows where we're at, but preseason doesn't really mean anything to us. "If we're still at the same spot at the end of the season, that's what we're con- cerned about." The Nittany Lions received 88 first- place votes for 346 points on their way to the No. I spot, while Ohio State gar- *nered 257 points with 35 first-place votes for second. Michigan managed 181 points and 20 first-place votes at third place. The media only voted on the top three finishers in the conference. Aside from the teams, the media also cast its ballots on players. Wisconsin's Ron Dayne and Ohio State's Andy Katzenmoyer - both sophomores - were chosen the preseason Big Ten * players of the year. As Wisconsin's top running back, Dayne was honored as preseason offen- sive player of the year, while Katzenmoyer earned the distinction for See FOOTBALL, Page 14 U.S. NATIONAL SUMMER SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS Seven tankers qualify for U.S. teams By Sharat Ra~u Daily Sports Editor The United States national swimming team might want to consider moving to Ann Arbor. The change in location would cut down on a lot of unnecessary travel. Seven current, former and future Michigan swimmers qualified for two different U.S. national teams at the Philips 66 Summer National Swimming Championships. "They all swam pretty good at the meet," U.S. Swimming communications director Charlie Snyder said. Former Michigan men's swimmer Tom Dolan highlights- the field of seven qualifiers. Dolan, a gold medal winner at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, swam the fastest 400-meter individual medley time in the world this year. His 4:17.13 in the preliminaries on July 26 automatically qualified Dolan for the U.S. 1998 World championships team. But the week didn't go exactly according to plan for Dolan, particularly in the 400 IM finals. "At the 100-meter mark, he flip-turned, and acid from his stomach went up into his esophagus, causing him to have an asthma attack," Snyder said. "He was fine after he got out of the pool and could cough to clear his throat, but he went from first to eighth place." Despite finishing 11 seconds behind the winner, Dolan recovered only two days later to capture first place in the 200-meter individual medley finals - this time overcom- ing leg cramps during the race. His 2:01.18 was the fastest 200 IM time recorded in the world this year. "He swam a pretty good race and won by 1.7 seconds" Snyder said. "But after the asthma attack, he decided not to participate in the 200-meter backstroke. The 1998 World championships will be held in Perth, Australia, from Jan. 12-18 and is considered the most com- petitive meet in the world behind the Olympics. Joining Dolan on the U.S. squad will be current Wolverines John Piersma and Tom Malchow. The team will also be led by Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek. Malchow, a silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics, did not have to overcome physical problems, but still had a memo- rable meet. "Tom swam one of the better meets of his career," Snyder said. "He swam on the infamous 'power-out night.'" See SWIMMERS, Page 14r- Although only victorious in a relay event, Michigan swimmer John Piersma pointed the way to success at the U.S. championships, joining six Wolverines in qualifying for national teams. Leading the way. World championship qualifiers Swimmer Event Tom Dolan 400 IM 2001IM Tom Malchow 200 butterfly. 400 free John Piersma 400 free Club Wolverine 800 free relay (Mark Leonard, Trevor Runberg, John Reich, Piersma) Time - 4:17.13 2:01.18 1:58.37 3:53.98 3:50.49 7:30.71 World University Games qualifiers Swimmer Event Chris Rumley 400 free Scott Werner .200 breast Jennie Eberwein 100 free 400 free relay Ann Kampfe 200IM 400 IM Time' 3:56.32 2:17.38 56.93 unavailable 2:18.19 4:54.43 _ . 6 Former icers return Michigan' Premier the best multi-tap time to . By Mark Snyder hockey fans, tie to Daily Spurts Editur At approximately 6 p.m., a feeling jP ei EIce in the summer? The possibili- of familiarity wafted from the rafters martial arts NEW TAP BEERS: ties are enough to excite even an of the old building. It was like days training? * Breckenridge average hockey fan. Yet, in Michigan past at Yost. About 200 die-hard fans coach Red Berenson's hockey world, turned out for the event, which had Strawberry Wheat the thought has been a far cry from the feel of an actual game - includ- reality. ing line charts and a public address " H.C. Berger Mountian Until now. announcer. Last Friday, under the guise of a Former Michigan standouts Brian Kolsch last-minute pick-up game, some of Wiseman, Steve Shields (1994 grad- Summer special call ANN ARO the finest athletes ever to don the uates) and Mike Knuble (from the today * Stoney Creek Vanilla Porter maize and blue circled the ice at Yost 1995 class) skated circles around the Ice Arena, reviving memories long nets in the first alumni game for the (1 3)994-0400 dormant in the minds of Michigan See ALUMNI, Page 15 338 S. State f 996-9191 f http://www.Ashleys.com