Monday, June 2, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily com1
Gall's half-mile leads Blue in NCAAs
.
By ACE ANBENDER
For the Daily
Spearheaded by junior Geena
Gall's victory in the 800-meter
run, the Michigan women's track
and field team finished fourth
in the NCAA Mideast Regional
Championships in Fayetteville,
Ark. Over the weekend, four Wol-
verines qualified for the NCAA
Outdoor Championships, includ-
ing Gall, who set a personal best in
the 800-meter run (2:03.64).
"Her performance stood out,"
Michigan coach James Henry said.
"She competed very well, and she
showed that she is one of the top
half-milers in the country."
Michigan also had strong per-
formances by junior co-captain
Tiffany Ofili and senior co-cap-
tain Nicole Edwards on Saturday.
Ofili finished second in the 100-
meter hurdles (12.83 seconds), and
Edwards took third in the 1500-
meter run (4:18.78). By finishing
in the top five in their respec-
tive events, both qualified for the
NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Junior Casey Taylor also quali-
fied for nationals. Taylor finished
second in the long jump Friday,
leaping a personal best 21 feet,
one-and-half inches. Gall, Ofili,
Edwards and Taylor will join
junior co-captain Bettie Wade,
who had previously qualified
in the heptathlon, at the NCAA
Championships.
The team's strong performance
came despite competing in unfa-
miliar conditions, as the Arkan-
sas heat proved to be as tough an
obstacle for the Wolverines as
their regional opponents.
"This was the first meet that we
had all year in which it was hot
and humid," Henry said. "All year
back in the Midwest, or wherever
we competed, the weather has
been cool and windy. So the first
day I thought we handled it well,
but overall the kids were just phys-
ically tired."
See TRACK, Page 16
-0
Tiffany Ofili qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships by finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles this weekend.
Bright future in store for 'M'
Michigan's first varsity eight boat was the only boat the Wolverines senf to she
NCAA Championships this year. Michigan finished 11th out of 16 teams.
iog.
"I'm really pleased with how we
preformed," said Rothstein.
Redshirt junior Karen Colwell
said that, although only eight mem-
bers made the cross-country trip,
many more were there in spirit.
"We missed our team while we
were out there," she said. "It kind of
made us realize how much the rest
of the team helped us get there by
pushing throughoutthe season."
All of the members participating
in the tournament have eligibility
remaining, setting the stage for a
strong showing next season. Mak-
ing it to this year's tournament was
a promising sign for the future.
"We haven't been to the national
championship in a couple of years,"
Colwell said. "I think we're head-
ing in the right direction."
Colwell is indicative of the prom-
ise for next season; she has been
earmarked for the U.S. National
team. In addition to continuing
to train current rowers, the Wol-
verines will gain three promising
recruits who competed with the
Junior National team.
If Michigan can build on this
year's progress, next season should
be exciting according to Colwell.
"We definitely wanted more, and
I think we're hungry for more for
next year," she said.
By JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
It wasn't how senior Nate Reck-
nagel wanted to end his career.
In the sixth inning of the
Michigan base-
ball team's first NOTEBOOK
regional game,
Kentucky's Ryan Wilkes slammed
into Recknagel's outstretched arm,
dislodging the Wolverine first base-
man's elbow.
Wilkes had bunted down the
third-base line, and despite the col-
lision, Recknagel made a catch from
pitcher Eric Katzman to record the
out.
Recknagel held up the ball for the
umpire and quickly retreated to the
locker room, where a doctor told
him he partially dislocated his left
elbow.
If the Wolverines had reached
the College World Series, Recknagel
may have been readyto play.
"A lot of guys were pretty psyched
up to get there, so that I could get
back in the lineup again," Recknagel
said.
Recknagel was a second-team
All-American and the Big Ten Play-
er of the Year. In early May, he broke
the Michigan record for most home
runs in season, finishing with 23.
The Wolverines could have used
his power this weekend, especially
in a tight 4-3 loss to Arizona. Sopho-
more Alan Oaks replaced him at the
plate against the Wildcats and went
0-4.
But Recknagel was forced to
watch his team from the dugout
with his left arm ina sling.
"To sit back and watch them lose
two straight games, it's hard for me
to handle," Recknagel said. "Every-
thing we do is as a team. We lose as a
team and win as ateam."
Draft bound?: While Michigan's
seniors know their careers in Ann
Arbor came to a close yesterday,
there are a few juniors whose future
is up in the air.
The 2008 Major League Baseball
draft will be held on June 5 and 6,
and two Michigan juniors are likely
to be picked.
Zach Putnam was selected in the
38th round of the 2005 draft by the
Detroit Tigers but decided to attend
Michigan and improve his draft
See NOTEBOOK, Page 16
Recknagel watches from
bench after elbow injury
By KATE TRUESDELL
Daily Staff Writer
Small numbers didn't deter
the Michigan rowing team from
making a solid showing at its first
NCAA championship appearance
since 2005.
The team delivered a respect-
able showing this weekend in Gold
River, Calif., where the first varsity
eight boat took fifth place in the
petite final. The 10th-ranked Wol-
verines edged out Princeton with a
time of 6:43.91 in the eventto finish
11th overall out of 16.
After placing fourth in the pre-
liminaryround, Michigan advanced
to the repechage, where it lost out
on a second-place finish by just
0.33 seconds to Washington State.
The Wolverines' third-place finish
advanced them to the semifinals
where they placed sixth. That qual-
ified them for the petite final, which
took place yesterday morning.
Lacking depth, Michigan sent
just its first varsity eight boat.
Despite this, Michigan coach Mark
Rothstein, who said he didn't have
expectations entering the event,
was satisfied with the team's show-
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