The Michigan softball team won many
individual awards despite struggling as a
,eam in the postseason.
Wage 14.
SPORTS
Monday 13
June 14, 1999
Not-so-cruel
summer or
sorts ans
ow that the calendar has
N changed to June and the
weather has gone from warm
to "hot as hell," there is a void in the
life of a
Michigan sports
fan.
ootball? Fall
practice starts in
two months and
M i c h i g a n 's
potential start-
ing quarterback, T
Drew Henson, is Berka
playing third Teeing
base in the New Off
York Yankees'
it system.
0ithout a quarterback, there is no
football.
Basketball? Although Ed Martin
seems intent on keeping the basket-
ball program on its heels, there real-
ly isn't anything going on.
Hockey? It's 90 degrees outside,
not exactly the conditions necessary
for a sport played on ice (although it
doesn't stop the NHL).
So what's a Michigan sports fait to
? Besides watching Major League
seball - which seems to have 20
games on television a day - there's
really not much to get excited about.
Or so it seems.
There are plenty of sports to fol-
low or do in the summer besides girl
(or guy) watching. Most involve a
cold beer and a pair of sunglasses,
but then again, most great things in
life do.
SOLF: Yes, old men love this
sport. Yes, its extremely boring to
watch golf on TV But it is extreme-
ly hard and quite frustrating, like the
nerdy kid in class who grunts while
raising his hand.
While it may be hard, it is also
pretty cool. You get to knock the hell
out of a little white ball, drive
around in a sporty golf cart, and
enjoy the picturesque scenery of the
golf course.
ut if the frustration of regular
f makes you want to curse every
time you see a Tiger Woods com-
mercial, then go play sonic putt-putt.
Its easy to play and the balls are
multi-colored.
And the putt-putt world champi-
ons reside in Ypsilanti, so you might
find financial profit from obtaining
autographs of these 11-year old
I~rd beaters.
*ut probably not.
IM SOFTBALL: On the surface, its
pretty similar to golf. You try to
knock the hell out of a white ball
See BERKA, Page 15
'M' knights athletes of year
National champions Katie McGregor and Justin Toman etched in history
By Raphael Goodstein a
Daily Sparts Writer
Katie McGregor and Justin Toma
followed in the footsteps of Michiga
legends like Glen Rice and Charli
Woodson by complementing
national title with the Michigan aff
]etc of the year award.
McGregor became Michigan's fir
individual cross country champio
when she won the 1998 NCAA crop
country title.
Toman, a sophomore, helped th
Michigan men's gymnastics teat
capture its first national title in 2
years by winning the individual pa
allel bars championship, placin
third in the high-bar, and finishin
fifth place on the high bar.
Both athletes are nominees for th
Big Ten Conference
athlete of the year
awards, which are
named after Jesse
Owens and Suzy'
in
in
es
a
h-
st
in
ss
te
m
THE LIST OF LEGENDS
Past Michigan men of the year Past Michigan women of the year
J. Toman G. Rice K. McGregor A. Colloton
C. Woodson J. Abbott S. Griffin M. Fischbach
B. Morrison J. Harbaugh K. Holmes A. Seegert
T. Dolan M. Hammerstein A. Kampfe C. Schmidt
G, Borgess B. Larkin B. Wymer S. Schroeder
C. Webber S. Humphries M. McClimon M. Mactaggart
D. Howard A. Carter L. Hooiveld S. Frederick-
M. Barrowman B. Woolfolk M. Gehrs Foster
B. Lang L. Anderson
Favor. T
Toman becomes
the first gymnast to
be Michigan athlete
of the year.
"He was the leader in
everything lie did," team
mate Lalo Haro said.
"He was very committed
to the team, he was a leader
the whole year."
Toman is the 17th recipient,
of the 18th annual award. In
1996, swimmer Tom Dolan
added to his already full mantel
by repeating as Michigan ath-
lete of the year. That same yeas
Dolan won the gold medal in th
Olympics.
"He (Toman) was always one
of the last people to leave
practice," Haro said. "He was
a very important piece of the
team."
Toman is -one of five
Achiv 0
9 gymnasts tha
r- World Univi
ig United States
ig de Mallorca,
the WUG titl
he "On the flo
low co-captai
"People really
dence and itr
Toman v
Michigan and
and internatio
DAN unNAE a spo
r
Ic
s
t will compete in 1999 year with awards outside of the gym
ersity Games for the as well. He was awarded the acade-
. ie will travel to Palma mic all-Big Ten Conference honor,
Spain to compete for and Michigan Athletic Academic
e July 3-7. Achievement accolades.
or he really led us," fel- "I expect more of the same thing
in Randy D'Amura said. next year since he's gotten all
y looked up to his confi- of the exposure at
'ubbed off." Michigan for being one
xill represent both of the top athletes,"
I the Big Ten in national D'Amura said.
nal competition. He has Toman also
ot on the United States br ought home his,
National Team and will second Big Ten title"
'epresent the U.S. inter- in the parallel bars
nationally for the year. and set a Wolverine,
He was also the sole record by bringing home
U.S. competitor at the four All-Arnerican awards
n e rn at i o n al inmoneseason.
ivitational it Mexico. "He was a leader the whole
Toman finished with year," Haro said.
a bronze medal McGregor was also a
on the still leader in almost everything
rings she did. She took home all
America honors in cross-
Country, indoor and outdoor
track and field. McGregor also.
: "He set led the Wolverines to consecu
the example for tive Big Ten indoor track and
everyone else," Haro
said. "He always went a
little beyond everyone
olse and everyone else
'ould follow. He was
'utstanding all year."
Toman finished the
field championships and an outdoor
track and field championships.
She has also been nominated for
NCAA woman of the year and the
Honda Broderick Cup, the award
given to the nation's top female ath-
lete.
McGregor is Michigan's most dec-
orated distance runner, and had an
impressive post-season performance
this year, including the 5,000 meter
Big Ten title.
In her four years at
Michigan, McGregor fin-
ished as a three-time
NCAA champion, eight-
time NCAA All-American-
and three-time Big Ten
Conference champion.
McGregor still holds the
NCAA idoor champi-
onship record in the
distance medley
relay. She owns
the Michigan
record for All-
American hon-
ors in track with
six.
McGregor is
the 16th woman
FILE PHOTO to take home
the award in its
18th year of exis-
tence.
As another year in
Michigan athletics
passes, two have
assured thetr places in
maize and blue histo-
ry. These two student-
athletes are truly she
leaders and best.
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