arte idtanBaUG SPORFS www.michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu Injury haunts meet for Blue By Mustafizur Choudhury Daily Sports Writer It was a weekend of triumphs and disappointments for the Michigan women's track and field team at the inaugural NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Columbus. While four athletes earned a trip to the NCAA Championships, an untimely injury forced four others to watch from the sidelines. A hamstring injury suffered by sophomore Sierra Hauser- Price in the 100-meter dash caused the 4x100-meter relay team to miss the finals of the event. Also, according to NCAA Regional regulations, the other members of the squad were expected to report to the officials at the line before the start of the race. When those athletes unknowing- ly failed to do so, they were disqualified from all events for the remainder of the day. Because this was the first time the Wolverines competed in the new Mideast Regional, the coaches were also unaware of the rule. This was a major setback for the sprinters, who had done very well up to that point. The penalty prevented juniors Carly Knazze and Vera Simms from-participating in the finals of the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles, respectively. "This was the first time that rule was applied in my 24 years of coaching," Michigan coach James Henry said. "I didn't do my homework and I take full responsibility for it. I MONDAY JUNE 2, 2003 It's OK Detroit: There IS life after Carlisle . TONY DING/Daily Freshman Rebecca Walter was one of four Wolverines to qualify for the NCAA Championships in two weeks. feel terrible for Carly and Vera, who worked so hard to get to that point." On a brighter note, seniors April Phillips and Melissa See NCAA, Page 12 'crew finishes fourth at NCAA KYLE O'NEILL The Daily Janitor A message to all Detroit Pistons fans: Your team is fine. It is in better hands than it was when it left New Jersey dejected. Joe Dumars knows what he is doing. I'm reassuring you. This is life, and sometimes life likes to mix things up for no reason. The dismissal of Rick Carlisle will not bring an end to the world nor to the Palace of Auburn Hills. For some reason, I don't think many of you are actually believing me now. In fact, you're probably wondering whether to continue read- ing or go back to constructing a life- size memorial of the 2002 NBA Coach of the Year. Well, you're prob- ably not going that far, but I'm pretty sure the majority of you have been reminiscing of the good ole days of last month and not discussing the future of this team. Essentially, this decision came down to the fact that the Pistons are now ateam eight wins away from a title, assuming they get back to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. Could Rick Carlisle have got- ten those wins in future years? Prob- ably. But this is a time when winning now is more important than winning later. Former Philadelphia coach Larry Brown will most likely be the Pistons' head coach as early as today, and if there is any coach out there who can get those wins faster than Carlisle, it's Brown. Now that I've said Dumars made the right move, I probably need to back up this statement with some- thing other than janitorial gibberish. So to you, the reader, here are my reasons why you, a fan of Detroit sports, should be more concerned with the Red Wings than with those who reside at Two Championship Drive. 1. Brown has been to the NBA Finals, Carlisle has not. For that mat- ter, Brown's teams have not been anything great, but they exceeded expectations like the Pistons of the past two years. This Detroit team is the most talented team that Brown has ever inherited. 2. Brown endured losing Allen Iverson for 20 games in 2001-02, yet the 'Sixers still man- aged to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference. Not many coaches would have survived losing a star player of that caliber - especially when, without Iverson, the team's fate fell into the hands of an aging Dikembe Mutombo. 3. The Los Angeles Clippers have reached the playoffs twice since 1980. Their coach in those two playoff seasons: Two-year coach Larry Brown. Need I say more? 4. Derrick Coleman was a dominant force against the Pistons in the playoffs. One could only imagine what he could do with Ben Wallace - or Darko Milicic for that matter. 5. It is unlikely that Brown will feel any pressure. Seriously. He was able to make his relationship with A.I. work, and translated it into wins. It's safe to say he can handle media, fans or players chanting "Carlisle forever, Brown never," when he arrives in Auburn Hills. 6. Though Iverson did a lot of the work, the for- mer Tar Heel made him into a star. Expect the same for whatever comes out of this year's No. 2 pick. 7. I don't really have any more good reasons, only because Carlisle was that good of a coach and a per- son from what I could tell. When it comes down to it, the Pistons just See O'NEILL, Page 12 By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Writer The 10th-ranked Michigan women's rowing team was unable to come away from the weekend with an NCAA title. However, the Wolver- ines exceeded expectations when they finished fourth overall with.51 points, at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis. The first varsity eight posted a time of 6:28.58 in the Grand Final, and fin- ished second behind Harvard, who clinched first place in the team cham- pionships with the win. It was the best performance by a Michigan varsity eight in the history of the seven-year program. "[The first varsity eight] came in third at regionals and really rebounded "Don't let your ahead of ARBE RS ESTABLISHED 1939 NEW LOCATION 304 1 2 S. STATE ST. 2ND FLOOR ANN ARBOR, Ml 48104 668 9329 wWW .DASCOLABARBERS.COM BY APPOINTMENT well," Michigan coach Mark Rothstein said. "Going from third at regionals to second at nationals is really impres- sive. I think losing at regionals was really good for the varsity eight. It gave them some perspective. They could have fallen apart, but they didn't. They regrouped and raced really well all weekend." But the Wolverines couldn't have placed fourth with just one boat racing well. Michigan displayed strong show- ings with its other boats to help round out the weekend. The second varsity eight placed third in the Petite Final - a consolation for boats that don't make the Grand Final - and ninth overall with a time of 6:40.32. The first varsity four came away with a time of 7:24.83, good for third place. "Cn^i-cy'into te .-),P''''d'va felt+ like we could do well," Rothstein said. "We wanted to get all of our boats into the finals. We ended up getting two of the three into the finals, but we tried not to put too many expectations on the rowers. The most impressive was the varsity eight, but the four did really well, too. I think it was our best regatta of the year. All of the boats performed really well." Michigan's fourth place finish is the team's third top five finish in three years. The team has a handful of seniors, but Rothstein was adamant Michigan would return to the top again next year. "The team this year put our program at a good point," Rothstein said. "We have a lot of returning rowers. The sen- iors have left a good legacy for next ASPEN jSNOWMASS Ready to have the most exciting winter of your life?! Take a semester off! Come work for Aspen Skiing Company Get a FREE season pass! Visit our website www.jobswithaltitude.com for all the fun job possibilities! Equal Opportunity Employer