14 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 6, 2002

Rowers upset at Big
Tens, finish second

By Albert Kim
Daily Sports Writer
It was a bittersweet race for the
No. 3 Michigan women's crew team
Saturday in East Lansing, as the
-" Wolverines finished second for the
first time in Big Ten Championship
history. Unfortunately for Michigan,
it was not the history it was hoping
to make, considering it had won the
first two championships. The
Wolverines battled, and the first var-
sity eight boat raised its rowing to a
new level, but it wasn't enough to
pull out the victory in the final race
of the day.
"The whole team is disappointed
in the standings, but we're happy
with the racing," senior Christina
Meyer said. "Start to finish, we had
a really great race, and I think we
may have had our best race of the
year."

The second varsity eight of
Michigan finished second in the
next to last race, setting the stage
for one of the most exciting races of
the year. Ohio State got an early
lead, and although Michigan pulled
even in the latter stages, the Buck-
eyes won by three seats, clinching
the Big Ten title.
Aiding the Buckeyes' win was a
fast start that gave them a six foot
cushion over the Wolverines. Michi-
gan, known for its slow starts, was
never able to recover. It is something
that the team will work on in the
weeks before the NCAA Regionals.
"In the past, we haven't been a fast
starting crew, and it's almost as if we
expect that now," junior coxswain
Helen Dalis said.
The first varsity four also played a
large part in Michigan's second place
finish, ending in third place in its
grande final. The second varsity

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The women's crew team failed to win the Big Ten for the first time in three years.
Ohio State clinched the title with a three-seat victory in the first varsity eight race.
four, first novice eight and second has been able to stick together and
novice eight also contributed points. continue to establish itself as one of
Overall, it was a gutsy team effort the premier squads in the nation.
after a year of trials and tribulations. With the championship season upon
"Its been a challenging year, but I them, the rowers are ready for the
think it makes us stronger," Dalis challenge.
said. "This year everyone has risen "Championship season is a lot
to the occasion." more fun, and the races really mean
Michigan will look to get faster something now," Meyer said. "We
and stronger in the next two weeks in just have to keep doing what we've
preparation for regionals. Even after been doing because it seems to be
losing key rowers last year, the team right."
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HARRIS
Continued from Page 13
to academics. When recruiting her son
to Michigan, Amaker talked about
academics first and basketball sec-
ond, the way she thinks it should be.
Harris' mother consistently contacts
McDowell to check on her son's aca-
demics because she expects a coach
to monitor how the players score in
the classroom.
Harris also apparently learned
something from the Ed Martin scan-
dal. According to McDowell, the
decision was kept within this small
group because Harris did not want
people involved in the decision that
did not have his best interests in
mind. Harris said he committed to
Michigan so early to avoid those
people and the hassles of recruiting.
Judging by the way he has
impressed prep magazines and col-
lege coaches alike, his commitment
saved him a big headache. Harris,
who averaged 22 points a game, 4.5
rebounds and four assists last season
as a junior at Redford, is ranked as
one of the top 20 players in his class
by prep publications Hoop Scoop
(No. 5), Prep Spotlight (No. 12) and
School Sports (No. 20).
He is also a leading candidate for
next year's Mr. Basketball for the
state of Michigan after being the
only non-senior to be named to the
Detroit Free Press' All-State Dream
Team. According to Harris, becom-
ing a Michigan man has given him
extra motivation to win the award.
"The last four Mr. Basketball's
have gone to Michigan State," Har-
ris noted. "I want to change that."
McDowell thinks if Redford had a
more open offense, Harris could
score 30 or 35 points a game. Harris
models his game after Kobe Bryant
and takes pride in getting all of his
teammates involved in the game. He
can distribute the basketball so well
that Harris and his coach think he
could play point guard in the future.
In fact, McDowell said that Harris
can actually be too unselfish at
times. McDowell also wants Harris
to play better defense, be more con-
sistent, get in the weight room and
be more vocal during his senior year.
Said McDowell: "He has got to
become a better defender and has
got to play harder on a consistent
basis and rebound more... He was a
better defensive player his first two
years, and he can be a tremendous
defensive player. He is quick, long
and understands the system. He
could be as good as anybody."
McDowell also said Harris has a
tendency to play down to the compe-
tition, but Harris' biggest problem is
his lanky frame. The 6-foot-4 guard
is currently 190 pounds but he
should be much bigger next fall after
going through McDowell's weight-
lifting program over the summer.
McDowell will do his best to help
Harris reach his potential during his
senior season but it could be a diffi-
cult task.
"The scary thing about (Harris) is
that to reach his potential is scary,"
McDowell said. "Most kids can
reach their potential quickly, but
(Harris) has so much potential, that
he hasn't reached it yet. The sky is
the limit."