Men's Gymnastics
Big Ten Championships
Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.
Crisler Arena
SPORTS
Women's Softball
' vs. Ohio State
Tomorrow, 3 p.m.
Varsity Softball Diamond
The Michigan Daily
Thursday, April 2, 1987
Page 9
Tan irk
By KENNETH B. GOLDBERG
Step aside Sunbelt, here swim the
Wolverines. Michigan's men swimmers have
shaved off their body hair and psyched themselves
up for the NCAA championships, today through
aflhay in Austin, Texas.
Last season Michigan managed just 23 points
and.a 25th place finish at nationals, but garnered
honorable mention All-American status for two
individual performances and one relay. Michigan,
which will send six swimmers who competed in
last year's championship and five first-time
competitors, hopes to crack the top ten, a feat
altnost unheard of for a school from the midwest.
"Traditionally, the schools from the PAC-1O
and Southwestern conferences dominate at
ationals;" said Michigan head coach Jon
Urbanchek. "But we have the talent, depth, and
experience this year to compete with Stanford,
USC, UCLA, Arizona, Texas and the other
perennial powers."
SENIOR freestylers Dave Kerska and Joe
Parker, honorable mention All-Americans last
travel
to
Texas
for
NCAAs
year, are the leaders of what may be the strongest
Michigan squad ever. At the Big Ten
Championships last month, Kerska was named
Co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Year.
"I just can't say enough about Dave (Kerska)
and Joe (Parker)," said Urbanchek. "They not
only are awesome swimmers, but super human
beings. Both are hard-working, very coachable,.
and great leaders on our squad. We'll miss their
abilities and enthusiasm very much next year."
In addition to Kerska and Parker, the
Wolverines sport a bevy of talented swimmers
and divers capable of earning points at the
championships.
Eight other Wolverines will compete in
individual events: Brent Lang (200 Individual
Medley, 200 freestyle, and 100 backstroke), Jan-
Erick Olsen (100 and 200 breaststroke), Marty
Moran (100 and 200 butterfly), Mike Creaser
(100 and 200 backstroke), Mats Nygren (1650
freestyle), Lee Michaud (diving), and Bill Hayes
(diving).
MICHIGAN also sends three relays teams,
each of which is seeded number one in its event
- the 400 medley (Lang, Olsen, Moran, and
Kerska), 400 freestyle (Parker, Lang, Creaser, and
Kerska), and 800 freestyle (Parker, Lang, Bjoern
Warland, and Kerska).
"Our relays have done an excellent job all
year," said Urbanchek. "This is a chance for them
to showcase their talents against the best of the
rest - Florida, Texas, California-Berkley, and
Stanford."
Michigan's tremendous improvement is
largely due to a dedicated and qualified coaching
staff. Since coming to Michigan in 1982,
Urbanchek, a Michigan graduate and former All-
American, has succeeded in winning the first Big
Ten swimming championships (1986 and 1987)
for Michigan since 1960. He was named this
season's Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Diving coach Dick Kimball has spent 28
years at Michigan and was honored as the Big
Ten and NCAA Coach of the Year in 1984.
Parker and Kerska
. 'awesome swimmers'
Goroden seeks help
fo substance abuse
THE SPORTING VIEWS
Mets classier than rest ...
.. the real race is for last
By ADAM SCHEFTER
The Mets are to baseball what
the smurfs are to Gargainel.
You can hate the
Letsgometropolitans for their
players, their antics on and off the
o field, their videos, or even their
fans. Like. Houston Astro relief
pitcher Charlie Kerfeld once said
about the Mets fans, "people in
New York have black teeth, and
their breath smells of beer. And the
mien are even worse!"
But whether your looking at it
through Kerfeld's perspective or the
eyes of any other baseball
afficionado, the Mets are 'the beast
1of the East.' They'll win the
division hands down.
The real battle in this division is
for last place. The race is on and it
should be a dogfight to the bitter
end between the Expos, Pirates, and
Cubs. Here are my picks:
New York - The Mets are
like Bubble Yum. They have a new
and improved flavor. Kevin
1McReynolds was a great acquistion.
H Jte'll be such a hit in New York
That he should be doing Lite Beer
commercials by the middle of June.
The other player they came away
with in the deal with San Diego,
Gene Walter, is a lefthander who
Will add depth and stability to the
bullpen.
There just doesn't seem to be a
true weakness on the ballclub. Even
their minor league teams are stacked
with talent. Despite the fact Dwight
Gooden has entered rehabilitation,
the slack will be taken up by Sid
Fernandez, Bob Ojeda, Ron
Darling, Rick Aguilera and the
likes.
I'll go out on a limb and say
that Rafael Santana will hit for a
higher average than Buddy
Biancalana.
St. Louis - Whitey Herzog
is Gargamel with white hair,
dressed in a number 24 uniform.
There would be nothing that he
would like better than to see his
team swallow the Mets.
In order to do this, his big guns
are going to have to revert back to
the form that made them divisional
champs in 1985.
Last year Willie McGee's
batting average dropped 97 points,
Jack Clark's 44 points, and Vince
Coleman's 35. This just won't cut
it trying to chase a team of the
Mets caliber.
The pitching will provide
nourishment for Herzog and his
crew. The staff, one of the best
around, includes John Tudor (13-7,
2.92 ERA), Danny Cox (12-13,
2.90), and Greg Mathews (11-8,
3.65). Backing them up in the pen
is Todd Worrell and his league-
leading 36 saves.
St. Louis will be a threat,
especially with the addition of Tony
Pena, but it just doesn't look like
it's in the Cards.
Philadelphia- The Phillies
were the only team to have a
winning record against the Mets
last year and with the addition of
Met-killer Mike Easler (.316, 11
HR, 39 RBI's lifetime against the
Mets) and that catcher from Detroit
with the bad back, the Phillies
won't be hardpressed to duplicate
that feat. If only they could play as
well against the rest of the league.
One reason for these inconsistent
results is the starting pitching.
Pitchers like Shane Rawley, Don
Carman and Steve Bedrosian are
like cheap toys off the K-Mart shelf
that always seem to break.
Third baseman/outfielder Chris
James, brother of Craig James, the
former SMU running back now
with the Patriots, is a blue-chipper
waiting in the wings for Mike
Schmidt's position. In the
meantime he may as well go on
football recruiting trips for his
brother's alma mater, because
Schmidt is showing no effects of
his old age, playing like a 25 year
old in his prime.
Chicago- Getting Andre
Dawson for $600,000 a year and
giving up nothing in return is like
your friend giving you a two-for-
one Big Mac coupon for free. What
a find! He should fit in well with
Gary Matthews, Keith Moreland,
and Rafael Palmeiro, the other
power hitters in the lineup.
Dawson's golden arm will help to
compensate for their iron gloves.
The Cubs starters remain the
key. They need Rick Sutcliffe,
Steve Trout, Dennis Eckersley, and
Scott Sanderson to have big years if
they harbor any thoughts of
contending. Getting Harray Caray
back in the booth as soon as
poosible would be a big boost.
Pittsburgh- The Pirates are a
young and inexperienced club who
will improve under the tutelage and
guidance of manager Jimmy
Leyland. They should improve just
enough to avoid the cellar.
First basemn Sid Bream (16
home runs, 77 RBI's), second
sacker Johnny Ray (.301, 78
RBI's), and outfielder Mike Diaz
(12 HR's in 209 at bats) provide a
good nucleus. Besides, any team
that gets rid of Sixto Lezcano,
Steve Kemp, and Lee Mazzilli is
bound to improve a little.
Montreal- In letting Andre
Dawson and possibly Tim Raines
slip away, they have been those
benevolent friends to give away
those Big Mac coupons. You just
don't do that sort of thing. Jeff
Reardon's loss will hurt them in
tight games.
Managements penny-pinching
attitude is going to cause a lot of
famine among some good players
(Hubie Brooks, Andres Galarraga,
and Floyd Youmans) who are going
to be starving for some wins as the
season progresses.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)
- Dwight Gooden, the talented but
troubled New York Mets pitcher,
agreed yesterday to undergo
treatment for a "drug use problem"
rather than be suspended by
Commisioner Peter Ueberroth.
The 1985 National League Cy
Young award winner probably
would have started on Tuesday
when the World Series champions
opened the season against
Pittsburgh.
Mets General Manager Frank
Cashen said Gooden voluntarily
took a drug test earlier this week
and it gave "some indication of past
usage, but the extent is uncertain."
Edwin Durso, baseball's
secretary-treasurer and executive
vice president, said Cashen called
Ueberroth on Monday and told him
"there was a clear indication of a
drug problem."
"The commissioner made it
perfectly clear to the Mets that,
consistent with past policy, he was
prepared to take severe disciplinary
action against Dwight Gooden if
the player did not seek an
appropriate remedy," Durso said.
Ueberroth, in a statement from
Chandler, Ariz., said: "Our policy
is simple. If a player is willing to
help himself, he gets one chance. If
he is unwilling to cooperate or a
problem occurs a second time, then
we will take the penalty route."
Gooden agreed to treatment
following a 1 1/2-hour meeteing
yesterday morning with Cashen and
Joe McIlvaine, the club vice
president of baseball operations.
Cards acquire Pena
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St.
Louis Cardinals yesterday traded
outfielder Andy Van Slyke and
catcher Mike Lavalliere to the
Pittsburgh Pirates for catcher Tony
Pena.
The Cardinals also gave up
minor league pitcher Mike Dunne
in the deal.
Pena, a four-time All-Star,
batted .288 with 10 home runs and
52 runs batted in last season. In
801 major league games, Pena, 29,
has a lifetime .286 batting average
with 63 home runs and 340 RBI.
Van Slyke, 26, had his finest
major league season with the
Cardinals in 1986 when he hit .270
with 13 homers.
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Associated Press
Keith Hernandez will try to help the New York Mets win back-to-back National League East titles.
The School of Education of The University of Michigan
will recognize
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for excellence and academic achievement
and will honor
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