Page 8-Tuesday, February 21, 1978-The Michigan Daily
A STAR IS BORN:
Currier carries
By BILLY NEFF
'JIf there was a song about her it
would be Debby Boone's 'You Light Up
My Life' because she lights up my
program," said women's basketball
coach Gloria Soluk in reference to her
starting center Abby Currier, a fresh-
man from Lake City, Michigan.
Not only is she one of the shining
lightsin an otherwise dim 7-12 season,
but she leads the team in scoring (17.3
points per game), rebounding and field
goal percentage.
"PROBABLY THE greatest compli-
ment I could give to Abby, is that to find
one nice thing to say about her is hard,
since there are so many nice things to
say. She is one of the finest athletes and
one of the finest people I have ever
coached,"continued Soluk.
"I've never coached a girl with the
humility and the ability that Abby has.
She is going to be the catalyst of the
futire, an indication of the kind of girls
that are going to come here; she has
won my respect and the respect of her
teammates," concluded the enter-
prising, first year mentor.
Lnd she has also impressed many op-
ponents. Karen Langeland, Michigan
St te's women's coach, mentioned
b4efly her only fear of the Michigan
women's cage quintet. "Abby Currier is
quite a player and we will have to pay
special attention to her." Even though
the Spartans did, the standout fresh-
man posted 24 points, over half the
Wolverines' total in an 80-47 defeat.
CURRIER WILL eclipse all of the
women's scoring and rebounding
records at Michigan for one season and
is the second leading freshman scorer
on campus (behind Mike McGee). She
feels her coach has helped her tremen-
dously.
"She's willing to spend as much time
with you as you want. She's a very good
coach; she's very patient, which she
has had to be with me this year," said
Currier.
However, the modest freshman does
not see herself quite in the same light
that her leade does. "I have to im-
prove, quit fouling and get in shape. I
don't move my legs on defense and I'm
overweight. I still have a long ways to
go," emphasized the mature, but rather
introverted freshman.
IN FACT, her modesty manifests it-
self very clearly in her own personal
goals from before the season. "I just
wanted to make the team and be able to
play. I'm glad I came here since I
might not be able to play elsewhere."
Well, she probably is wrong about
that as her accomplishments this year
and in high school play prove. Currier
led her high school team to a 24-0 record
and a state championshir
w'hile popping in 26 points
snatching 15 rebounds eacl
HER PREP COA(
McGiness, is an avid far
'She's a great person, sh
kind. You don't come acr
cagers
pin class D,
p in a s mwho also served as Abby's track coach
a game and in high school. By the way, Currier
houting d threw the discuss farther than any
n LAbby's other female in the state last year along
e's one of a' with shotputting her way to second in
ross athletes the state.
Presently, Currier is excelling for a
subpar team but one she really enjoys.
"It's a nice group of kids and it's really
fun. We're young and learning. We just
have to try and win, do what we're
taught to do," commented the 5' 11"
physical education major.
Her future lies possibly in coaching
basketball or being a physical
education teacher, but she really isn't
sure. "Who knows what they want to do
the rest of their life?" said the affable
center.
Currier sees women's basketball on.
the rise. "It is improving and will con-
tinue to improve. Not that many people
are interested in women's basketball. A
lot of people don't even know if there's a
team. But I believe, if someone comes
once, they might come again," she con-
cluded.
er But games like the Louisville game
put women's basketball in its proper
at are very perspective, according to Currier. "It
kind of showed where women's basket-
id she doesn't ball ranked - not too much." But she
She'd rather believes "as women are taught things,
d McGiness, they'll really start to improve."
Women tankers win
third Big Ten crown
By BOB WARD
The Big Ten championship title was claimed by the Michigan womens
swim team for the third straight year last weekend at Champaign, Illinois.
The tankers took first place, scoring 1299 points, a full 700 points ahead of
second- place Wiseonsin. The Badgers, defeated by Michigan earlier this
year, racked up a score of 598, while Indiana took third place with 391 points.
Michigan's score was the highest ever in the eight-year history of the
meet, and the win tied Michigan State's record of three championship titles.
MSU placed a low seventh in this year's meet.
"Our key was in the depth," said Michigan's coach Stu Isaac, 'to place a
lot of people in the top eight. All 25 people we took scored (placed in the top
16)." This insured points from every swimmer.
The swimmers set several Big Ten records. Freshwoman Lisa Matheson
took two individual records, in the 200-yard butterfly and the 1650-yard
freestyle, while Linda Kendall, also a freshwoman, set a record in the 100-
yard butterfly.
Freshwoman Jody Ford claimed a Big Ten record in the 400 yard in-
dividual medley, while Sue Collins and Karen Rydland plunged in to take
titles in the 50 yard butterfly and 200 yard breaststroke, respectively.
Three relay teams, the 800-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, and 400-
yard medley set conference records. To top that off, every one of the relay
teams set a Michigan varsity record as well.
Julie Bachman, freshwomanmdiver. placed first on the one meter board,
defeating Olympic Gold medalist Jenny -handler,who dove for Ohio State.
Bachman also defeated Big Ten defending cliampion Barbara Wienstein,
who placed eleventh in the meet.
All five divers placed in the top eight in what Isaac claoms is ". . . the
best diving conference in the country."
Abby Ciurri
like that very often; th
coachable."
"She's very unselfish an
like to boost herself up.;
take the back seat," sail
PISTONS' CHANCES DIM IN NBA
k
AFROTC OPEN HOUSE
7:00 PM WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY
NORTH HALL (BY Dental School)
" Find out about Pilot Slots/Scholarships and post college jobs.
* Meet students in the program
If you have two years of school remaining, Air Force ROTC may
Satisfy your needs
Y
Playoff serambi
I
i.r.r .r.
w .ter. .'err Sri
764-2405
-,
GTC
Gateway to a great way of life.
Fr
By SCOTT M. LEWIS
As the pro basketball season enters
its home stretch, all but four teams still
entertain hopes of an NBA champion-
ship.
For some clubs, like the Detroit
Pistons, these hopes reflect nothing but
unwarranted optimism. For many,
however, succeeding in the playoffs is
more than wishful thinking.
The next six weeks will separate the
contenders from the also-rans. The first
two-thirds of the season serve only to'
eliminate the truly inept teams from
playoff consideration. From this point
on, playoff aspirants must win con-
sistently if they plan to be playing
basketball in May.
THE SYSTEM for determining who
participates in post-season play is less
complicated than the NFL's
mathematical absurdity, but only
slightly. Here's how it works:
In each conference, the two teams
with the best records automatically
qualify and are exempt from first-
round action. The four teams with the
next best records also qualify, and are
ranked and paired according to their
winning percentage. The teams with
the most wins do not necessarily have
to be the two divisional champions.
A look at the playoff race as of
yesterday morning may clarify this
mess.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct. GB
Seattle .........
Los Angeles......
Milwaukee ........
30
30
30
Chicago..........30 29 .508 17
Golden State........28 30 .483 18%/
Detroit ............ 26 31 .456 20
If the season were to end right now,
the playoff match-ups would be: Atlan-
ta-Cleveland (winner plays San An-
tonia) ; Washington-New York
(Philadelphia); Milwaukee-Denver
(Phoenix); and Seattle-Los Angeles
(Portland).
As one can deduce from the confer-
ence standings, only two teams, Por-
tland and Philadelphia, have clinched a
playoff berth. Phoenix, San Antonio,
and Denver also seem to be headed for
post-season competition.
ASIDE FROM these five
powerhouses, the remaining seven
positions are wide open and probably
won't be decided until the final day of
the regular season.
In the East, Cleveland, Washington,
and New York are vying for the third
spot and a home court advantage in the
26 .536
27 .526
29 .508
15%/
16
17
e begins
first round. The Cavaliers, led by reju-
venated Elmore Smith, are the
strongest of the three, as the Bullets are
plagued by injuries and the Knicks by
sporadic play.
The sixth and final position will
probably be claimed by the veteran
Boston Celtics. Although Atlanta and
New Orleans currently sit ahead of the
Celts, both have shown signs of folding.
New Orleans appears to be definitely
through for the year, since Pete Mara-
vich's sprained knee will keep him out
for at least two more weeks.
AS FOR THE Houston Rockets, they
were knocked out along with star for-
ward Rudy Tomjanovich, compliments
of the now-notorious Kermit Washing-
ton.
The playoff battle in the Western Con-
ference also involves all but two teams,
and is shaping up to be a real dogfight.
Five teams hover around .500, and are
so equal in terms of personnel and per-
formance that it is impossible to predict
which three will qualify for the playof-
fs.
SPECIALISTS SPARKLE:
Tumblers fall short
Student Newspaper at The University of Michigan
----------- WRITE YOUR AD HERE! -----------
i Ii
------------.CLIPAND MAIL TODAY!------------ U
USE THIS HANDY CHART TO QUICKLY ARRIVE AT AD COST
WORDS 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days addi.
0-10 1.15 '2.30 3.05 3.80 4.55 5.30 .75
11-15 1.40 2.80 3.70 4.60 5.50 6.40 .90 Please indicate
16-20 1.65 3.30 4.35 5.40 6.45 7.50 1.05 wherethis ad
21-25 1.90 3.80 5.00 6.20 7.40 8.60 1.20 i "orun"
26-30 2.15 4.30 5.65 7.00 8.35 9.70 1.35 for sale
31-35 2.40 4.80 6.30 7.80 9.30 10.80 1.50 help wanted
roommates
36-40 2.65 5.30 6.95 8.60 10.25 11.90 1.65 personal
41-45 2.90 5.80 7.60 9.40 11.20 13.00 1.80 etc.
46-50 3.15 6.30 8.25 10.20 12.15 14.10 1.95
Seven words per line. Each group of characters counts as one word.
Hyphenated words over 5 characters count as two words-This includes telephone numbers.
,E A- . _ - r L .... a ... 19..iJ. Yds_ TheMLJ.Ianelrnf.
Philadelphia .....
San Antonia......
Cleveland .........
Washington ......
New York .........
Atlanta..........
40
35
29
29
29
26
16
21
27
27
28
31
.714
.625
.518
.518
.509
.456
5
11
11
11 /2
141/
New Orleans ......
Houston ...........
Boston.........
26
22
20
32
35
33
.448
.386
.377
1
1
1
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct.
Portland ...........45 10 .818
Phoenix ............ 37 19 .661
Denver ............ 37 21 .638
15
181/
18%/
GB
81/
91/
By DIANE SILVER,
Performing in a meet against the
defending NCAA gymnastics cham-
pions is never an easy tak. But when
one of a team's four all-arounders
sustains injuries mid-way through the
competition, some teams might give up
hope all together.
Although the Michigan tumblers had
every reason to despair when Chris Van
Mierlo hurt his shoulder during his ring
routine, they kept plugging away, with
the spirit they have held all season. The
tumblers posted a respectable score of
401.92 (203.4 in optionals) to Indiana
State's 425.25 (213.85).
ECHO LAKE-A Pvt. Coed Camp
in the N.Y. Adirondacks
Outstanding Summer Employment Opportunities
High level positons as: Wategfront Director, Unit Heads, Girl's Athletic
Director, Tennis Staff, Arts & Crafts, General Counselors
Interview Dates:
Thurs. February 23 and Tues. February 28
Call Mrs. Cooper (SAB Rm. 3200) at 763-4117 for appointment
Interviews are also available for future dates
it.All Ladies Admitted FREE
TONIGHT at
SECOND hCHANCE
Appearing through Saturday:
"It was an encouraging performan-
ce," said Michigan coach Newt Loken.
"The guys gained 12 points on com-
pulsories over last , weekend's com-
petition at Iowa."
First and second place honors on
pommel horse went to Michigan's
Brian Carey and Hal Dardick, scoring a
9.3 and 9.05 respectively in the optional
competition. "Carey did a great job,"
said Loken. "That was one of the best
routines of his life."
Outstanding performances were also
turned in by Michigan's Gordon
Higman and Darrell Yee on rings.
Higman's 8.85 was good for first place
while Yee followed with an 8.75, tying
for second place with Indiana State's
Don Osborn.
Other Michigan high scorers were
Carl Badger on vault, John Corritore on
parallel bars, and Bob Creek on high
bar, each earning the top combined
compulsory and optional totatls in their
event.
The Wolverines couldn't bend the
Sycamores in the all-around com-
petition as Don Osborn and Mike Booth
captured first and second places with
combined scores of 108.15 and 103.25.
Michigan's Nigel Rothwell placed third
with 99.95.
fl
I iti i f