IDA - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 30, 1995
Saban's Spartansjet
a bowl bid after
Associated Press
EAST LANSING - Better late than never was the view
of Michigan State Wednesday as it accepted a bid to play in
the Independence Bowl.
Coach Nick Saban said the bid fulfilled a goal he had set
for his first season at Michigan State.
"It was our goal for this team and our expectation that we
could have a winning season and try to reestablish the
winning tradition at Michigan State," he said.
"We felt if we did that we could have a chance to go. We
played well enough at the end ofthe year that I think this team
deserves to go to a bowl game."
Independence Bowl officials have not yet selected Michi-
gan State's opponent from the Southeastern Conference, but
it is expected to be Louisiana State or Arkansas.
The game will be played on Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m. EST in
Shreveport, La.
The bkwl's selec- Big Ten Bowl Games
tion process has been
hung up since the THURSDAY, DEC. 28
Michigan vs. Texas-Texas A&M toser
weekend. Bowl offi- Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Texas, 8 p.m.
cials wanted to wait FRIDAY, DEC, 29
until the Peach and Iowa vs. Washington
Carquest bowls made Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas, 2:30 p.m.
their choices. But their Michigan State vs. Louisiana State
Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La.,
picks were being de- 5:30 p.m.
layed until the NCAA MONDAY, JAN. 1
ruled on a probation Penn State vs. SEC third
appeal by Alabama. Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla., 11 a.m.
Saba sai thede-Ohio State vs. Tennessee
Saban said the de- Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla., 1 p.m.
lay did not diminish Northwestern vs. Southern California
either the team's abil- Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif., 5 p.m.
ity to prepare for the
game or its delight at being invited.
Heavy preparations will not begin until about Dec. 16
anyway, he said. And the delay was due to uncertainty over
Michigan State's opponent, not over whether to invite the
Spartans, he said.
"They've stayed in very close touch with us and been very
reassuring to us all along," he said.
Saban said his team is looking forward to its first appear-
ance in the Independence Bowl.
"They feel good about being rewarded for their accom-
plishments for having a winning season and the challenge in
having a very good Southeastern Conference opponent," he
said.
Athletic Director Merritt Norvell said Michigan State was
pleased to accept the offer.
"This is a just reward for a team that worked very hard to
improve all season long under coach Nick Saban and his
staff," he said.
"I think it says something very positive when you go to a
bowl game in the first year of your program."
The appearance will be Michigan State's second bowl
game in the last three years and its eighth in the last 12 years.
Michigan State finished the 1995 regular season at 6-4-1.
Wrestlers Rawls, Young
reach finals at last meet
Experience was a factor when the Michigan wrestling
team faced stiff competition at the Northern Open Colle-
giate Wrestling Tournament in Madison last weekend.
Notebook
Senior Wolverines Jesse Rawls Jr.
and Jake Young were each runners-up
and the team's highest finishers. The
veterans were injured early in the sea-
son and are in the process of returning
to top form.
In the championship match at 177
pounds, Rawls fell to Northwestern's
Rohan Gardner, 3-2. Young was de-
feated 5-3 by Eric Siebert of Illinois,
who captured the 150-pound title.
Lanny Green was also impressive at
The Michigan
men's swimming E'.-v,. .
team will face off
this weekend
against some of ,
the country's top
teams, including
Texas and
Tennessee.
WALKER VANDYKE/Dailyr
Men'11 swiming hea to Texas
By Susan Dann
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's swimming and
diving team is planning on having a
really long weekend. The Wolverines
head to the Longhorn state to compete
in the long-course Texas Invitational in
Austin.
The invitational will see defending
national champion and current No. I
Michigan pitted against some of its clos-
est competition. Included in the weekend's
lineup are Texas, who finished third at
last year's NCAAs, and Tennessee -
along with various club teams and indi-
vidual competitors.
The meet is geared toward preparing
swimmers for the Olympic trials in
March.
"This meet is really a pre-Olympic
trial competition," coach Jon Urbanchek
said. "We're swimming Olympic dis-
tances (as opposed to collegiate short-
course distances), so it's not like a col-
legiate meet, but more like a prepara-
tion meet, a stepping stone toward the
Olympic trials."
The meet marks what Urbanchek
considers to be the end of the prepara-
tion part of the season.
"The team is getting into more of a
competition-type program," he said.
The Texas Invitational will provide
the Wolverines with the opportunity to
see how successful the training period
was, and what needs to be improved
before heading to Colorado Springs for
an intensive training program.
"We all realize it's not quite time to
swim our fastest yet," freshman Tom
Malchow said. "(This meet) will give
us a good chance to get back into com-
petition."
The Wolverines hope that
Urbanchek's off-season training strat-
egy will have the swimmers prepared
for the expected high-caliber foes in
Austin.
"Urbanchek knows what to do, when
to do it, and how to put it together so
when big meets come around, you'll be
in the optimum shape you can be in,"
junior John Piersma said.
Training in the water and
weightlifting, as well as adry-land regi-
men, combine in Urbanchek's regimen
of preseason training. This, however, is
just the beginning of the Wolverines'
long road to their competitive mode.
"He was trying to get abase workload
down and to get us into shape, build
endurance, build speed and, on top of
that, build confidence and excitement
levels," Piersma said.
The meet will bring together not only
some of the top programs in the nation,
but with them, the top swimmers.
"A lot of the top schools in the coun-
try have Olympic contenders, so (this
meet) is a good opportunity for all of us
to see where we are before the holi-
days," Urbanchek said.
Facing off against Olympic contend-
ers this weekend shouldn't prove to be
an unusual task for the Wolverines..
"We race each other everyday, which
really simulates competition," Piersma
said. "But when we get to race against
the competition, we know we've raced
against some of the best in the world at
practice."
With the focus of this meet on indi-
vidual preparations for the Olympic
trials, the Wolverines haven't lost sight
of the advantages of being a member of
a team.
"Even though it's more of an indi-
vidual meet, we are going down (to
Texas) as the University of Michigan,"
Malchow said. "Anytime we swim to-
gether under the University of Michi-
gan name, we are still a team and trying
to represent Michigan."
177 for Michigan, as he won the third-place match in
overtime, 4-2, over Joe Mahoney of Wisconsin.
The format of this meet was similar to all of the Wolver-
ines' previous competitions in that no team standings were
kept. These open meets served as preparation for the first
team competition Dec. 1-2 in Las Vegas.
--by Jennifer Hodulik
women's swimming:
The Michigan women's swimming team remains No. I
after beating Iowa and Penn State in a double dual meet.
The upperclassmen have carried the team and chipped in
a number of inspired performances.
Senior co-captain Beth Jackson swept the backstroke
events, winning the 100-meter backstroke in 57.39 sec
onds, and the 200 back in 2:03.12. The other co-captain,
Megan Gillam, added her fastest performance of the sea-
son in the 50 freestyle, winning the event in 23.60. In
addition, the Dearborn native took the 100 freestyle. in
52.14.
When Michigan hosted Iowa and Penn State, Jim
Richardson coached in his 100th dual meet. His career
record at Michigan in 83-17, for an .830 winning percent-
age. In the Big Ten, Richardson is 56-5 (.918).
-by Marc Lightdale
Men's swimming:
Thanksgiving break marked the end of the Michigan
men's swimming and diving team's conditioning season:
September, October and November saw the Wolverines
begin the long, hard road to the Olympic trials and the
NCAA Championships.
"We are now getting into more of a competition-type
training program," coach Jon Urbanchek said. "It will be
a tough month coming up for Michigan swimming."
The Wolverines head to Austin this weekend, facing
some of the nation's best swim clubs. Michigan will not
attend the Eastern Michigan Invitational, scheduled for
Saturday in Ypsilanti.
-by Susan Darn
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