Page 8-Wednesday, November , 1978-The Michigan Daily HEALTHY TEAM ATTITUDE RESTORED Big Ten Standings Conference All W L T W L T Purdue......4 0 0 6 1 0 MICHIGAN .. 3 1 0 6 1 0 Ohio State .... 3 1 0 4 2 1 Michigan St... 3 1 0 4 3 0 Wisconsin .... 2 2 1 4 2 1 Indiana ......22 0 3 4 0 Minnesota .... 2 2 0 3 4 0 Illinois........0 3 2 1 5 2 Iowa .........1 3 0 1 6 0 Northwestern 0 5 1 0 7 1 Harriers rely on combined effort We Make You Feel Better right answerUM Stlists For details write: at iON at the U N IO N Wha Is A Clam o Cont estChet, Dave 1212Avenuefmersand Harold (7hFloor) New York, New York 10036 Nov.lt&2d I - - m - - -m - m m------mm l Cottage INN1 (good only with this coupon) 1 Carry-Out and FREE Delivery 1 FREE-2 LARGE PEPSIS with any medium or large pizza I (good Monday through Thursday)1 WE FEATURE: * 12", 14", 16" PIZZAS-10 items including1 Zucchini & Eggplant. " COTTAGE INN'S Very Own SICILIAN DEEP DISH PIZZA 1 " SANDWICHES, SUBS, PIZZA SUB, COTTAGE INN DELUXE1 Expertly prepared ITALIAN DINNERS: Spaghetti, Lasagna, Cannelloni, Manicotti, Combination 546 PACKARD at HILLL-665-60051 MONDAY-SATURDAY 4-2 am; SUNDAY 4-1 am .~i - - m -------------- - - - inmm==== - By DIANE SILVER While in most sports the team members must work together to achieve victory, cross country is one of the few team sports that relies on the individual effort of each runner for success. But Michigan's cross country team combines individual excellence with a team effort to make the most out of its top seven run- ners. The harriers don't have one individual superstar. The only problem that creates, according to coach Ron Warhurst, is that the team doesn't get as much credit or recognition. But one standout on a team doesn't necessarily pave the way to a winning season. "We've got seven guys that are right there. Most of the top five usually place right on top," said Dan Heikkinen. The super seven harriers are Gerry Donakowski, Steve Elliott, Dave Lewis, Gary Paren- teau, Doug Sweazey, Bill Weidenbach and Heikkinen. "There's no one guy that's taken over. I think it's made us a stronger team," said Elliott. "Whenever there's a team unity it makes the year go by that much better." Instead of the entire team's hopes riding on the per- formance of one superstar, Warhurst can rely on the depth of his squad. This way if someone is having a bad day there are still others to back him up. "It's not a common thing to find a team like this," said Elliott. "It's a complete turnaround from last year." "There was no one close to Bill (Donakowski) last year. He was on another level from the other guys, so it broke them all up," said Elliott. "Last year Billy was so far out it was difficult for the team to work together," said Warhurst. "This year they're all staying up there. They're always grouped together in training. "They're a lot friendlier on the track and off," said Warhurst. "This helps create the best atmosphere. It also provides for good group therapy." "At workouts they yell at each other to keep going. If one guy lays back they'll go back and run with him and push him to go faster," said Warhurst. A runner has to be prepared mentally as well as physically to put out a top rate performance. The at- titude surrounding this year's harriers is most con- ducive to achieving the best possible performance for each individual. "I've seen better performances out of the guys this year than they've ever done before," said Elliott, a three-year veteran. Although competition usually helps push an athlete to his limit, an overly competitive group can end up being cut-throat to the point of interfering with progress. "No one's really bickering and there's not any backstabbing like last year," said Heikkinen. "You're not really worried about competing against everyone else, so you can work on improving your own performance." In the harriers' case a non-pressure situation may be the key to winning the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington this Saturday. Last year the Wolverines were favored to win, but finished fourth to Wisconsin, Ohio State and Illinois. "It will be easier this year, because we're the un- derdogs for a change," said Warhurst. "There's no pressure about being favored to win. We've got nothing to lose. In the Big Ten Championships the top five runners on each team count toward the final score. As a result, having five, six or seven strong runners can really pay off. "You can go one, two, three and four and still end up losing," said Warhurst. "You're only as strong as your fifth man. "In a close situation the sixth or seventh man can be important, 'too," said Warhurst. "They act as displacers, forcing the other teams' fifth men to be placed lower." Although Wisconsin is favored to win the conferen- ce again, Warhurst believes they can be beaten if they make any mistakes. "Their only weakness is their fifth man. We're going to have to'have six or seven super performances to win. We have to be right there to take advantage of any mistakes." MITKOVMOTIVA TED: Blue booter chases after life long goal I V) t TOUCH* FOOTBALL OFFICIALS NEEDED By DAN PERRIN Stefan Mitkov once had a dream. Like most of his young Slavic friends, Mitkov wanted to compete in the Olym- pics on his native country's national soccer team.I Born and raised in Bulgaria, an Iron Curtain country under Communist con- trol, Mitkov made his way up the ladder of age group soccer teams with hun- dreds of other youngsters. "SOCCER IS like a religion in Bulgaria," Mitkov pointed out. "Everyone plays it." Mitkov had hopes for a shot at a spot on Bulgaria's national team. Instead, TONIGHT at 8 p.m. BLOOD WE-DDING FEDERICO GARCIA-LORCA University Showcase Productions NOVEMBER 1-4 TRUEBLODD THEATRE 8PM Tickets $2 at PEP Office in the Michigan League 764-0450 he was inducted into the army, thus en- ding his chances for the team. While there was an Army soccer team, Mitkov did not play much and was glad to end the frustration two years later when he left the military. MITKOV, now a 30-year-old junior at Michigan and a member of the U-M Undergraduate Soccer Club, has another dream. The short but solid Bulgarian envisions a varsity soccer team playing in front of a capacity crowd at Michigan Stadium. And who is the head coach stalking the sidelines? None other than Mitkov himself. Sounds impossible, you say? Maybe so, but that won't stop a man as dedicated to his sport as Mitkov. He has fought adversity before and he'll fight it again. As a young man just a few months out of the Army in 1969, Mitkov decided it was time to break away from the com- munist grip the Russians held on his country. After acquiring a visa to Yugoslavia, the bearded foreigner jumped trains and caught a ride to the Yugoslavian-Italian border. FOLLOWING eight months of floating from one Italian refugee camp to another, the 21-year-old "man without a country" was granted a tem- porary visa to the United States. Life continued to look down on the new immigrant and Mitkov became more and more depressed. It was while working as a janitor in Chicago in 1971 that the determined, young man finally got a break. A call from a friend in Ypsilanti brought Mitkov to this area. He soon discovered neighboring Ann Arbor, and decided to make his permanent home here. HIS DECISION to enter Michigan three years ago was based on a very important belief. As he puts it, "I came here so I could have a choice of how I wanted to make my living." Mitkov continues to believe he has the ability to play soccer on the professional level despite failing to iake the NASL team, the Detroit Ex- press, in a tryout last year. "The tryout was a farce," explained the physical education major. "It was a promotion-type thing.". "I KNOW I'm better than most of the second and third division players they (pro teams) get from England," con- tinued Mitkov. "I just wasn't given the chance to prove it."' Currently playing at the "libero" position (a rover between the defense,- halfbacks and forwards) on the un- dergrad club, Mitkov enjoys playing on the team and is well-liked by his team- mates. "Stefan is the kind of guy who was .a settling influence on players who nor- mally don't settle down," noted club coach Steve Olsen. "He can stop the ball in the nmiddle of a frenzy (running game), give the team time to regroup and then send out a perfect leading pass. Mitkov and the rest of the undergrad soccer club take their 8-4-1 record into tonight's intrastate contest against Michigan State. According to Olsen, the squad is fired up to avenge last year's 4- 3 defeat in overtime. Game time is 8:00 at Ferry Field. I1 . . contact: I D Sandy Sanders 763-1313 or stop by the Intramural Sports Building ept. of Recreational Sports Stefan Mitkov Leach honored CHICAGO (AP) - Rick Leach, Michigan's senior quarterback, has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week on offense by The Associated Press. Thus far, Leach has set the Big Ten record in touchdown passes with 37, and a Michigan completion record with a career total of 209, nine more than Don Moorhead's previous record. IiRilIJE PICKS. The Shah of Iran is up in arms. Denouncing his many detractors at home, he cried, "First they terrorize my streets, then they bring my oil in- dustry to a standstill. "But this latest action is too much. These radical Mullahs have somehow confiscated my Gridde Picks, which I mail each week to 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. OF ES IrRx>$H #:: M A M:: " " : :2s^: . ice}${:\ r * "I want theworld to know that next to petroleum, nothing excites me more than a small, two-item pizza from Pizza ddb's. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. MICHIGAN at Iowa (pick score) Michigan State at Illinois Indiana at Minnesota Northwestern at Purdue Ohio State at Wisconsin Baylor at Texas Tech Oklahoma at Colorado Maryland at Penn State Miami (Florida) at Tulane Navy vs. Notre Dame (at Cleve.) USC at Stanford Texas A&M at Southern Methodist Virginia at West Virginia Air Force at Army Ole Miss at Louisiana State Louisville at Wichita State Rutgers at Massachusetts New Mexico at Utah Citadel at William and Mary DAILY LIBELS at Janesville Police Dept. / MAGIC A TERRIFYING LOVE STORY JOSEPH E.LEVINE PRESENTS MGIC ANTHONY HOPKINS ANN-MARGRET BURGESS MEREDITH ED LAUTER EXECUTIVE PRODUCER C.O.ERICKSON MUSIC BYJERRY GOLDSMITH SCREENPLAY BY WILLIAM GOLDMAN, OPENwm.