University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Loss of a teammate Jefferey Reese 1976-1997

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Same great wins Shelley Skopit New faces graced the varsity hockey lines, and names unfamil- iar to fans adorned maize and blue jerseys. The hockey team won the 1997 NCAA Championship with the irst-year defender Scott help of a dominating seniorclass. Those nine seniors moved rawford takes the puck up f . pe ice and towards an n ' and the flrst - vear P lavers arnved read y to create new laska-Fairbanks oppo- traditions and play a major role on the team, ent. Crawford had four ssists in his first year as a The upperclassmen had to adapt as the team changed ' olverine. f rom an older, experienced group to a younger one. Senior goaltender Marty Turco said, You kind of have to change your whole place on the team. People move up and change roles. Upperclassmen felt that pressure to step up and play in the game; junior right winger Justin Clark said, I can ' t make as many mistakes. It ' s more intense. But anticipation accompanied the stress, as Clark said, It ' s more exciting. We don ' t know what ' s going to happen, who ' s going to step up. In fact, the upperclassmen rose to the challenge; junior center Bobby Hayes said, Each class takes on a bigger role as far as leadership qualities, both on and off the ice. The upperclassmen led by help- ingthefirst-yearplayers in making the difficult transition to playing college hockey. As first-year defenseman Bob Gassoff said, Up- perclassmen can make iteasyordifficult. I think they ' ve gone out of their way to make everybody feel at home. That kind of team support helped unite the championship players and the new players, who also felt the pressure to step into the lineup. Mike VanRyn, a first-year defenseman, said, It ' s tough. There ' s a lot of expectations. And you know we ' re going to make mistakes being a young team. However, as first year defenseman Scott Hoffman said, I think the fresh- men are happy that they ' re getting the opportunity to play. Both the newplayers and the upperclassmen saw that this year presented an open door for each man to contribute to the season. The team looked to the future while building on the past. As first year left winger Bill Trainor said, I grew up watching Michigan play. It ' s exciting being part of the program. By Caroline Walker Shelley Skopit Forward and first-year player Bill Trainor sets up for a pass. Trainer ' s strong penalty killing earned him playing time in 22 games. winger Bill Trainor ; up the ice followed yjuniorwingjustin Clark, frainor had two assists ainstAlaskaFairbankson n. 17. First-year winger Josh Langfeld shoots on goal on a breakaway against Alaska Fairbanks. Langfeld was third on the team with 14 goals and fourth with 27 points. Shelley Skopit Hockey 173

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Tragedy struck the Michigan wrestling program this season as veteran wrestler Jeff Reese suddenly collapsed and died while exercising. - On Dec. 9, 1997 the University felt a loss that stunned the Athletic Department and radiated through the entire student body. Junior Kinesiology student and varsity wrestler, Jeff Reese died after a strenu- ous workout to drop weight with the hopes of qualifying for competi- tion. Reese suffered a heart attack during a rigorous exercise session while trying to qualify 7 for competition in a 150 pound weight class. Reese had been wearing a rubber suit at the time of his death and had suffered serious dehydration. The untimely and unnecessary death of this bright young student was the third death of this type to stun the U.S. collegiate circuit this season. Reese died just weeks after two other student wrestlers, Billy Saylor at Campbell University in North Carolina and Joe Larosa at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse. These three deaths and the severity of the weight loss techniques used in college wrestling brought about NCAA modifications to the present wrestling regulations. The NCAA changes to wrestling programs took place nationwide and banned the use of rubber suits, saunas exceeding 79 degrees, laxatives and other means of dehydration because of their ability to harm the athletes. This was definitely a tragedy, said senior economics major Jeff Miller, but the University handled it well. It shouldn ' t have happened, but Goss and the NCAA responded well. Other students agreed that Michigan ' s response to the unfortunate death was appropriate. I think that the entire Athletic Department was shocked that something like this could happen. Jeff ' s death has definitely made us more of a unit, said senior, German major and co- captain ofthevarsitywrestlingteam, Airron Richardson. Theseniors have to focus, we don ' t have a choice. This tragedy has been a true reflection of the character of our team. It would have been much easier to just let the season slip away. Reese ' s death, though tragic, has paved the way for the much needed modifications to wrestling programs throughout the nation. University Athletic Director Tom Goss reported his feeling about the NCAA changes in regulation to The Michigan Daily. I ' m pleased that they moved as rapidly as they did, said Goss, I was initially concerned that we wouldn ' t get any action from them this semester. Jeff ' s father, Ed Reese commented to the Daily about his reactions to the NCAA changes. It will keep its own check on the wrestlers as far as cutting weight. They ' re in no condition to compete when they are dehydrated. Sadness overwhelmed the University with the death of Reese as students marveled at the extreme measures it took to show the NCAA that the techniques of cutting weight for wrestlers were unacceptable. Hopefully the actions taken by the NCAA will prevent the unnecessary deaths of other athletes at the University and across the nation. By Virginia Hiltz Inside Sports 175