The Michigan Daily--Thursday, February 15, 1979-Page 11

ROOKIE COACH FALK SEES HOPE:


Michigan hosts not-so-wild 'Cats

By JAMIE TURNER
The Tame-cats.
It's been a long time since the folks
in Evanston have had anything to cheer
about concerning Northwestern
athletic's. For these 'Cats have been
tame an awful long time.
t Northwestern has becom a college
associated with academic brilliance
combined with athletic incompetence, a
stigma which first year basketball coach
Rich Falk finds hard to remove. Falk is
the man to whom athletic director
John Pont entrusted the task of
resurrecting a nearly moribund
program. And, even though the Wild-
cats are 1-11 in the Big Ten entering
tonight's contest against Michigan at
Crisler Arena at 8 p.m., Falk still
speaks confidently of a resurgente for
his squad.
"Every (team) realizes that
wherever they go they'll have a tough
game," said Falk. "I'd like to think that
even though we're on the bottom of the
league people know that we can be
tough.
"The school knows what I need to im-
prove-the very best players available.
I know they won't change their
academic standards and let anyone in,
but they know that I need good

players." Falk continued, "If we can
bring three to four more good players
then we'll see how we play in the
league. Then it will be up to mie as a
coach."
Falk's situation isn't helped any by
the many colleges that view for the
Chicago basketball fan. The Purple and
White have become poor sisters to
DePaul, Loyola 'and with the
professional Chicago Bulls, making it
very difficult to lure fans to drafty
McGaw Hall.
"The administration has been
positive," added Falk, "and we've
played one of :the best schedules in the
nation. With the Big Ten and games
against Arizona, North Carolina and
Notre Dame, the fans have been pretty
supportive."
And even though Northwesternis still
losing, Falk professes little unhap-
piness with the .season. "The only
disappointment we've had were the
times that we've lost the close games.
We would like to end the season on a
high note, winning more games than we
lose, maybe moving up to seventh
place."
One of those close games was
Michigan's 53-51 last second win over
the Wildcats in January. It took Alan

Hardy's shot at 'the buzzer to avoid
overtime for the Wolverines, and it
marked the end to a disasterous three
game losing streak that Michigan's
hopes for a Big Ten title.
In that contest the Wolverines were
outrebounded 46-28 by the much taller,
if also much slower, Wildcat front line.
Michigan will again have to battle hard
on the boards against the likes of seven
foot center Brian Jung, 6-10 Mike Cam-
pbell and 6-9 Bob Klass. "We're a big
team and if we can get the lead, then

we're tough," said Falk. "But if you're
big, you're not always very quick,
that's our liability and sometimes
we're blown out."
Michigan, on the other hand, has' tur-
ned into the - Cardiac Kids, making
habit-forming a tendency to pull off last
second wins, Hardy's jump shot in
Evanston. began the trend -and
Michigan has used the same punch line
against Michigan State, Illinois -and
finally Indiana last Saturday. In fact
(hold on to your hats), Johnny Orr'still
hasn't given up hopes of finishing near
the top spot in the Big Ten.
"We really feel if we win the rest of
our games we'll go somewhere," said
Orr yesterday. "We could even fi ish
first or second.
"If all the home teams win
(tonight's) games things would be just
super, SUPER!" Orr added.
"The biggest thing is to convince the
kids that they can still be right back in-
to it," added assistant Bill Frieder: "A
million things can still happen."
WOLVERINE VALES: Marty $od-
nar was able to shoot during yester-
day's practice and may see action
against the Wildcats . . . This is the
100th meeting between Northwestern
and Michigan, with the Wolverines
holding a 58-41 advantage ... Michigan
has won 17 of the last 18 meetings . ..
the last Northwestern victory was a 199-
87 triumph over the.then topranked177
Wolverines.

THE LINEUPS

NORTHWESTERN

-MICHIGAN

Rich Falk

Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
MICHIGAN FORWARD Alan Hardy slams a dynamite dunk over Northwestern's
Mike Campbell. The Wildcats invade Ann Arbor tonight for the 100th meeting
between the two schools.I

Mike Campbell
Pete Boesen
Brian Jung
Jerry Marifke
Brian Gibson

(6-10).......... F
(6-8).......... F
(7-0)........ C
(6-4).......... G
(6-4).......... G

..........(6-5)
.. ... (6-6)
..........(6-7)
..........(6-3)
..........(6-0)

Mike McGee
Alan Hardy
Phil Hubbard
Tom Staton
Keith Smith


WOMEN FALL, 91-55

JUNIOR CENTER FINDS SCORING NICHE
Lerg: stead icer in stormy ear

Titans crush Gagers'

By DAN PERRIN
Dan Lerg is a realist. At this point in
the season, he isn't bothered by any
critical comments on the Michigan
hockey team.
The junior center, originally a walk-
on, knows that the Blue icers have lost
13 of their last 14 games. He knows they
have won just eight of 24 contests this
season and are buried in the basement
of the WCHA. And he'realizes his team
is all but mathematically eliminated
from the league playoffs.
Yet, while things look pretty grim for
the Michigan pucksters as a team, life
is looking up for Lerg.
AFTER SITTING out all but three
games before Christmas break with a
knee injury, Lerg has made a trium-
phant return. The Southfield native has
picked up at least one point in 10 of the
12 games played since the first of the
year. An eight-point series (four goals,
four assists) against Notre Dame last
month highlighted the streak and ear-
ned him WCHA Player-of-the-week
honors.
Most players would be happy with4
those statistics, but not Lerg. Even with
24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in only
17 games, the 5-9, 170-pound Wolverine
partially blames himself for Michigan's
problems this season.
"You can't look back and fault other
people," said Lerg. "You have to look
at yourself and look at what you did. I
always feel I can do better."

COACH DAN Farrell is sure Lerg can
do better, too, but he's quick to point out
that it's difficult for a player to be
productive when he's injured for two
months.
"His statistics this year don't reflect
the offensive player he is," noted
Farrell. "He would've had an outstan-
ding year if he hadn't been injured." ,
No doubt, what Farrell says is true.
With a healthy Dan Lerg, Michigan
skated to an unblemished 3-0 record. In
fact, Lerg scored the winning goal in a
4-3 overtime victory at Bowling Green
in the second game of the season.
Without the potent puckster, the
Maize and Blue icers dropped 10 of their
next 12 contests and tumbled into the
second division of the WCHA, well on
the road to mediocrity.
BY THE TIME the Detroit Catholic
Central graduate rejoined the team for
the Great Lakes Tournament in late
December, Michigan was already
below .500 (5-9 in the conference) and
had lost highly-touted freshman Terry
Cullen for the season. When league play
resumed in January, rookie Murray
Eaves, the team's leading scorer at the
time, injured his knee and was also lost
for the season.
Farrell put the situation in perspec-.
tive. "The return of Lerg has given us
some offense. Unfortunately, what we
gained there, we lost in Eaves."'I
Consequently, although Lerg is
scoring consistently, the Wolverines'

chances for post-season action are ex-
tremely slim, which doesn't make the
high-powered veteran too happy.
"I'M PRETTY pleased with my play,
but it just doesn't help when the team
doesn't make the playoffs," said Lerg.
"That's what you play for all year.
Anything can happen in the playoffs."'
In typical Lerg-like fashion, the
philosophical forward refused to praise
himself when asked about his
sophomore season, a year when the
icers also failed to make the playoffs.
While many of the seasoned veterans on
the team were playing sub-par hockey,

Lerg took it upon himself to bear his
share of the burden, notching 21 goals
and 28 assists for 49 points.
"I was pleased to an extent with my
play (last season)," said Lerg. "But I
still wondered why I wasn't scoring in
certain situations.
"IF I HAD scored against Tech when
we lost in overtime, maybe the team
would've made the playoffs," Lerg con-
tinued. "I asked myself, 'Why aren't I
helping the team?' "
As for what's left of the current
season, Lerg insists the Blue icers are
not planningto hang up their skates yet.
"It's a major disappointment not
making the playoffs,, but we can still
play the spoiler's role," said Lerg. "We
might as well spoil it for someone else
rather than roll over and play dead.
"The guys on the team work too hard
and have too much guts to just give
up," added the BGS major. "We're
going into each game expecting to win.
The team keeps trying; they always
come out and give 100 per cent."

Special to The Daily
DETROIT - The women's basketball
team was clobbered by the University
of Detroit Titans, 91-55, in a game
played last night in Calihan Hall.
The Wolverines simply could not keep
up with the speedy Titans, who shot 50
per cent from the field, while Michigan
shot a weak 29 per cent.
"They were so fast, they were so
quick, they killed us," said student
manager Pat Muthart.

Michigan's normally high-scoring
Abby Currier and. Diane Dietz were
both held to only eight points. Brenda
Venhuizen also contributed eight poifits
while Jill Smith added-six to the cagers'
effort.
Meanwhile, Detroit's Nancy Labach
poured in 22 points, and her Detroit
teammates Coretta Daniels and Cheyl
Williams scored 16 and 14 points
respectively.

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Dan Lerg

.WOMEN HOST BIG TEN MEET
Tankers after fourth straight title

Yaz, Bosox
at odds
BOSTON (AP)-Carl Yastrzemski,
the Boston Red Sox 39-year-old slugger,
threatened last night to sit out the 1979
season unless his demands are met for
a new contract.
"If I don't get the figure I want, I will
sit' out the entire 1979 season," Yastr-
zemski said.
Yastrzemski was more than a little
unhappy after a meeting with Bosox
General Manager Haywood Sullivan.
Yaz, who signed a two-year contract
last spring,swants to renegotiate on the
basis of teammate Jim Rice's seven-
year pact worth about $5 million.
SCORES

University of Michigan
Dept. of Recreational Sports
Intramurals

t" f
t
f F

By MARK FISCHER
This weekend marks the ninth annual Big Ten women's
swimming and diving championship. Host Michigan would
like to make the meet its fourth straight championship, a feat
unprecedented in Big Ten history.
According to coach Stu Isaac, "We're the odds on
favorite. We should place three people in the top six in vir-
tually every stroke, and with this kind of depth I don't think
they can beat us." M
Although the Wolverines suffered two losses in as many
days last weekend against North Carolina and N.C. State,
Isaac was encouraged as a whole. "It was a real good ex-
perience. We lost some close races, but we also beat some top
people-which is why we go down there," he said.
Carolina losses aside, the women have beaten every Big
Ten team they've faced this season, including Indiana,
Michigan's strongest conference opponent.
"They (the Hoosiers) have challenged us in many races,
and if it wasn't for the fact that they're a little thin in some
places, they'd really give us a run for the title," commented
Isaac.
"They'll give us a lot of good races, but I think they're a
year away from giving us a battle," the Wolverine coach ad-
ded.
Though Michigan is favored to win the meet and Indiana

is expected to take second, the remaining spots are up for
grals. As Isaac noted, "The meet will be closer and more
hotly contested than ever."
Many of the individual events promise to be close,
especially the 100 and 200 meter freestyles, the 200 meter but-
terfly, and the diving events.
The freestyles will feature standouts Sue Cripe and Paula
Hummel of Wisconsin, record holder Cindy'Anderson from
Minnesota, Wendy Lee from Indiana, and Michigan's Kim
Olson and Katy McCully, who have won nine individual Big
Ten titles over the past three years.
The 200 butterfly willrmatch Indiana's star freshwoman,
Cathy Pomeroy, with Michigan's Linda Kendall and Monica
Scheff.
Michigan's Julie Bachman and Barb Weinstein, whom
Isaac calls, "the best one-two punch in the country," will face
some stiff competition from Ohio State diver Kary Schmitter,
a defending national champion.
The title meet, which is the oldest regular Big Ten cham-
pionship of all the conference's women's sports, will start
this morning at 11:00. More prelims follow Friday and Satur-
day mornings, and finals start at 7:00 each night.

Cross Country Ski Meet
* FEBRUARY 18th (Sunday)
* FULLER ROAD FIELD
" NOVICE RACE-1:30 p.m.-2.5 miles or 4 kilometers
* ADVANCED R4CE-2:15 p.m.--5 miles or 8 kilometers
* Open to Students & User Pass Holders
* REGISTER: Intramural Sports Bldg.
(606 E. Hoover) or at the Race
For Information-Jan Welts-763-'1313

Men's college basketball
North Carolina 85, William & Mary 60
DePaul 85, Ball State 76
Texas 102, Baylor 83
Arkansas 71, SMU 55
Georgetown 69, Stonehill 59
Women's college basketball
Detroit 91, MICHIGAN 55
NBA
Detroit 111, Denver 107
Indiana 106, New York 97
NHIL
N.Y. Rangers 5, Boston I
Los Angeles 3, Detroit 2
Buffalo 2, N.Y. Islanders I

I

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11