Stickers bounce back, clobber James Madison

By <BR>By Waldemar Centeno
Daily Sports Writer  On  September 21st, 2003

Hurricane Isabel couldn't keep the Wolverines from playing this weekend, but the Terps didn't make their stay along the east coast enjoyable. Despite Hurricane Isabel's rampage, the Michigan field hockey team (5-3) found its way to the illustrious confines of College Park, Md., where the Wolverines faced No. 3 Maryland (8-0) and the always hungry James Madison Dukes (2-7). The sixth-ranked Wolverines were uncertain of whether or not they would actually be able to make the trip down to Maryland. Hurricane Isabel was in full force earlier last week, compelling the University of Maryland to cancel classes. The games were delayed, but, after the hurricane died down, Maryland's facility was deemed in good enough condition to continue weekend play. "We lucked out," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "Everything was fine. We got in on time with our flight. Our hotel had power and the field was great. The field was a brand new surface, which is like the one we have at Michigan." Except for changing flight destinations to Baltimore, the Wolverine had no problems due to the hurricane. But the Wolverines had their hands full with the Terps and the Dukes. Maryland broke Michigan's four-game winning streak on Saturday. The Wolverines lost despite great play from senior Stephanie Johnson and junior Jessica Blake. Both girls scored in a 4-2 loss to the Terrapins that continued the team's struggles with highly-ranked squads. "We have some great leadership in players like Stephanie, which means a lot," Pankratz said. "She's a fifth-year senior who carries our defense and is a real field general back there. Anytime you get that person to play great, they carry the load of the team. It's nice to see her playing well." The Wolverines' only three losses of the season have come against the top three teams in the nation: No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Maryland. "We want to play them and that is exactly the design," Pankratz said. "We wanted to play the very good teams so that we can be prepared for the Big Ten and the tournament. The only way to get better is to play the best. It gets you to play at a higher tempo and challenge us to improve. That's what we're doing and I really do think we are in good shape right now." Despite the loss to one of the best teams in the country, the Wolverines bounced back yesterday with a win against James Madison. Seven different Wolverines scored in the 9-1 victory over the Dukes. Senior April Fronzoni tallied the game's first three goals to capture her second hat trick of the season. Blake, Johnson, junior Adrienne Hortillosa and senior Kristi Gannon all contributed to the effort with a goal apiece. Junior Anneke Huntzicker and freshman Mary Fox both scored two goals to cap off Michigan's dominant performance. "It's hard to say who our best players are because we have a lot of great players," Pankratz said. "April Fronzoni in the front is the fastest player in the country. She's a Honda Award nominee, which is the heisman of field hockey. "Kristi Gannon is a senior captain and she has played with the national team for the United States for a couple years as a young player. We got a couple of great players and it's really fun to watch."

Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:34:12 -0500