Page 8-Wednesday, March 21, 1979-The Michigan Daily NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR Freshman Leach bolsters netters By JOHN LIBBE For the last four years, the name of Leach has been firmly imprinted on the minds of Wolverine sports fans. If Michael Leach, a freshman on Brian Eisner's Blue tennis squad has any say in the matter, chances are that the name of Leach will continue to be synonymous with Michigan athletic ac- complishment. Leach, a 6-1 lefthander from Weston, Massachusetts, is currently playing number four singles for the team, one that has a tradition of winning Big Ten championships and is a perennial national power. Leach is undefeated thus far in singles and has won two out of - three doubles matches with his partner, Jud Shaufler. Last year, Leach, in his final year of juniors competition, was ranked 11th nationally in the 18-and-under age group and was also a member of the National Junior Davis Cup team. Eisner has had his eye on Leach for quite some time. "In tennis, players are identified at a very early age," said Eisner. "That's the way it was with Michael. I felt he was one of the finest natural talents in his age-group. He's learn, listen, and work hard. "His groundstrokes are the weakest part of his game," added the coach. "This surface (at the Track-Tennis "In tennis, players are identified at a very early age. That's the way it was with Michael. I felt he was one of the finest natural talents in his age-group. Michael's extremely strong for his size and is extreme- lv quick. He's willing to learn, listen and work hard." - Tennis coach Brian Eisner been consistently ranked nationally in the top 15." WHEN 'TALKING about Leach's ability and his play so far this year, Eisner positively oozes praise. "Michael comes in with a good blend. He's extremely strong for his size, and is extremely quick. He's willing to Freshmen Weekend keynote Speaker WILMA RUDOLPH 429 Friday, March 23 1979 RECEPTION 2:00-4:00 p.m. Nikki Giovanni Lounge- Mosher Jordon Hall 8:00 p.m. Hale Auditorium School of Business Administration Sponsored by: Housing-Special Programs Building) is perfect for making changes, since it's his poorest surface. Already this year, he's made dramatic improvement. He has everything it takes to be successful." In addition to Michigan, Leach con- sidered several schools, including Duke, LSU, Princeton, Wisconsin, and Stanford. It seems that he is quite hap- py with his choice. "I'm having a great time," commented Leach at practice recently. "The tennis team is great, and the coach is super. I've gotdnothing but praise for Brian. He's helped me out with details of my game. I think he's one of, the top three (coaches) in the nation." LEACH, ALONG with Eisner, is also pleased with the progress of his game so far. "Usually in the winter I don't play as well. I really feel good about it. I'm pleased with my game." Leach cited being in better shape as one of the reasons for his improved play. "I'll probably be switching between three and four during the year. The six guys who play are really tight. We've got a lot of depth." Leach plays strictly a serve and volley game, utilizing his biggest weapon - his serve.gWhilebLeach modestly says, "I guess you could say I have a strong serve," Eisner calls it "the best serve in the nation for somebody just out of the juniors." "My nickname is Boom-Boom," said Leach. "I don't think I've ever had a point last longer than three shots." UNLIKE MANY of today's adult and junior tennis stars, who seem to be con- stantly screaming about something during a match, Leach does not con- sider his temper a problem. "In prac- tice I'm pretty hard on myself. In mat- ches, it's business, though." Leach has several things he wants to see accomplished during the upcoming season. "From a team standpoint, taking the Big Ten championship is goal number one. Along with that goes being undefeated. Secondly, (we'd like) to get into the NCAA tournament and pull down a top ten ranking. In- dividually, if I play good tennis, the only thing is to go undefeated in singles. "I'd say my first long-term goal is to get to the semis of the NCAA tour- nament. Sure, I'd like to turn pro. I don't think anyone puts in as much time as I do without entertaining thoughts of turning pro." full court -PRESS. Freshman eligibility. , ... change for better By GEOFF LARCOM A FTER WATCHING DePaul's wild win over UCLA and the magnificent play of the Demons' freshman sensation Mark Aguirre, I thought of how amazing it was that a freshman could step in and play under that type of pressure so well. Stop and think for a minute. It wasn't even until 1973-74 that frosh' phenoms were even allowed to step on the court with the upperclassmen. Before that there were freshman teams, which gave the.irst-year recruits a chance to adjust to the rigors of college ball. Yet coaches around the NCAA began to complain. They, said they could be using some of the kids from the freshmen squads on the varsity right then, so what was the use of holding the player up a year? Thus, the freshman teams were abolished by the NCAA, and freshmen began to dot starting lineups across the country. Two things resulted. First, the basketball public benefitted, getting ad- ditional collegiate years from players like Phil Hubbard and Earvin John- son. Who would dare to think where the Wolverines would have been without Hub in his freshman year? With the Canton, Ohio phenom, they merely went to the NCAA finals against Indiana, you remember. Earvin on JV? The same goes for the magic man. How could you justify a rule that would have kept Earvin off the Jenison floor last year? Ask Jud Heathcote where he'd have been without Earvin Johnson last season. Certainly not fighting for the NCAA crown, nor the Big Ten for that matter. Yet Hubbard and Johnson are exceptional. Both Johnny Orr and Bill Frieder will tell you that each year there are only about ten players of that caliber, that can step right in and turn your program around the way Hub and Magic did. The rest of the freshmen come in labeled as "good prospects" with their chances of stafking varying according to how quickly they can adjust and how hard they work in practice. No guarantees were given for Michigan's freshman crew this year, forward Thad Garner, center John Garris, and guard Keith Smith. While none had the ability to step right in and dominate like Hubbard did, Orr didn't rule out the possibility that each might make a significant contribution. He knew what these kids were up against in their first year. Due to the freshman rule, college coaches must now ask their freshmen to do in six weeks what used to be accomplished in a year. Add to that the sudden glare of the media, along with school pressures, and you've got quite an ad- justment on your hands. Smith handled himself well this year. After beginning very slowly, the catlike playmaker made a big contribution during the Wolverines' Texas swing, and was later the Wolverines' high point man against Northwestern at Crisler. And although Smith's game showed some obvious flaws over the season, his improvement was evident. Most frosh benefit Garner also showed progress, plthough he seemed to level off once the season got well underway. The freshman from Hammond, Indiana was Orr's baby in the pre-season. Orr couldn't get over Garner's unusual aggressiveness, along with the frosh's take-charge attitude. Garner even started the first few games of the season, before Alan Hardy took over. Garris was the major disappointment. His first year of college ball must have come as quite a shock. He suffered through two different coaches during his senior year in high school, and was never really pushed in prac- tice or in the games. When the time came to work hard day in and day out, Garris just wasn't ready. The result was the least amount of playing time of anyone on the team. Might a year of freshman ball have helped these three more than being thrust into the varsity situation? With Garris, the obvious answer is yes. The natural ability was there, the necessary effort just wasn't. Garner and Smith, on the other hand, ,were forced to respond to some pressure situations, and they'll be that much better next year for it. I think of sophomores Marty Bodnar and Paul Heuerman's contribution this year. Both made 'great improvement after very quiet freshman cam- paigns. If Garner and Smith can follow suit next year, the freshman rule will have been justified once again. PURD UE-INDIANA FINAL: Big Ten owns NIT Daily Photo by CYRENA CHANG MICHIGAN'S MICHAEL LEACH displays his form as he drives through a back- hand. The talented 6-1 freshman from Weston, Massachusetts is currently the number four singles player on the Wolverines. Last year Leach was ranked 11th nationally in the 18-and-under division and was also a member of the National Junior Davis Cup team. I C ~ BELL'S AFICIONADOS// S. STATE AND PACKARD 995-0232 FREE DELIVERY DAILY after 4:30 Sun-Wed open til 1 am Thursday til 2 Fri-Sat til 3 am NEW YORK (AP) - The name is Na- tional Invitation Tournament, and the last four games still are held at Madison.Square Garden in the heart of New York, but tonight's title game for college basketball's oldest postseason championship really is just a regular mom and apple pie civil war. The Big Ten Conference has this season's bragging rights as the No.' 1 college basketball area, with seven teams in the Top 20 at one time or another, Michigan State in the NCAA Final Four and three teams reaching the semifinals of the 42nd NIT. So who outside the state of Indiana cares that Purdue and Indiana meet at 9 p.m. EST for the NIT title? Don't be left out of your 1980 MICHIGANENSIAN Yearbook!. Nearly 15,000 showed up for Monday night's semifinal doubleheader that saw Purdue, 27-7, beat Alabama 87-68 and Indiana, 21-12, defeat Big Ten rival Ohio State 64-55. A similar turnout is expected tonight when the Boiler- makers and Hoosiers meet for the third time this season, each team having won once. The Big Ten doesn't have a bigger booster than Hoosiers' Coach Bobby Knight. "Since 1939, every team in the Big Ten, except Northwestern and Min- nesota, have made the Final Four," he said yesterday. "I did a survey three years ago, and the Big Ten had 48 players in the pros, the PAC-8, now PAC-10, had 25, and the Atlantic Coast' Conference, 15. I don't think there's any question that some of the 24 teams in the NIT are better than some of the 40 in the NCAA. "We have to play Purdue in the finals, but if I had any control over it,, we'd be playing Rose Poly." The focus of the game should be on whether Knight's swarming defense can stop Joe Barry Carroll, Purdue's 7; foot-i center. "There'll be five guys on Joe Barry at times - like bees on a honeycomb," said Purdue Coach Lee Rose. "He might as well warm up on the Indiana side because they're going to be around him all night." Carroll, who Rose says has not spoken to newsmen in three years at Purdue, scored 42 points on 16-of-19 shooting against. Alabama. "He's not necessarily shy," said Rose. "He wants his ball-playing to do his talking for him." Rose said his biggest worry is not how Indiana would handle Carroll, but the