4
Women's Soccer
vs. Oakland University
Today, 5:30 p.m.
Mitchell Field
SPORTS
Thursday, September 22, 1988
Field Hockey
vs. Kent State
Saturday, 10 a.m.
Tartan Turf
The MichiganDaily
Page 12
Taylor-Made
Quarterback gains rave
reviews in starting role
*1Y ADAM SCHEFTElI
Like the first time you get beat
ub by the school bully while all
your classmates watch, quarterback
Michael Taylor had no where to run
or hide. In front of a national
television audience and a crowd of
over 106,000 people, Taylor was
thoroughly embarrassed.
With Michigan holding the ball
deep in Ohio State territory, threat-
-ning to put away the Buckeyes,
Taylor faked a handoff up the middle.
,The defense went for the fake and
Taylor rolled right with the ball
hidden behind his back.
k'What his eyes saw had to be an
optical illusion. Derrick Walker, the
Michigan tight end, was stationed
five yards away in the end zone with
ttat a defender in sight. Taylor
cocked his arm back for the easy toss
and released. The ball didn't reach
Walker, but the play certainly
reached Taylor.
"THAT'S THE worst memory
I've ever had," said Taylor. "After I
missed, I looked at it again on film
and said, 'How could I miss that?' I
said to myself, if I ever get a guy so
,wide open in the end zone, I'm
going to take my time and get it in
the vicinity of where he's able to
make the catch."
This past weekend against
Miami, the No. 1 team in the coun-
try, Taylor did just that and more.
H-e hit tight end Jeff Brown in the
back of the end zone for one
touchdown. He nailed John Kolesar
in the corner of the end zone for
another. Finally, he connected with
Chris Calloway on a perfectly timed
route for his third touchdown pass of
the game.
Even more impressive than the
touchdown throws, was the gutsy
overall performance the Lincoln
leights, Ohio native turned in.
:Repeatedly, Taylor scrambled a-
-round, avoiding the, swirling Hur-
ricane defense, turning potential
losses into gains.
In doing so, Taylor took some
hits that would have made Jack
Tatum envious. The kamikaze
running attempts drew admiration
from another rugged fellow.
"HE'S A man," said Michigan
head coach Bo Schembechler. "He
was going hard for first downs and
he did the competitive thing. He
lowered his shoulder and went for it.
He's probably a little stiff and sore,
but we'll get him loosened up."
Though those shots didn't knock
him out of the game, his leg cramps
did. Taylor lost so much body fluid
that his weight dropped from 194
pounds at the start of the game to
183 at the end. With the humidity
and the heat on the field, Taylor was
forced to leave the game once in the
second quarter and again at the end of
the game when the pain became too
unbearable.
It appears now that it's going to
be tough for anyone to get Taylor
out of there. After battling for the
starting quarterback job this past
spring and summer, Taylor edged out
five competitors, including the
incumbent, Demetrius Brown.
"Mikeis throwing the ball more
than 100 percent better than he did a
year ago," said assistant coach Gary
Moeller. "He's developed some con-
fidence and believe me, he's made
vast improvement."
WHAT HAS really made a
difference, however, is Taylor's
intelligence on the field. The
Academic High School All-Amer-
ican, according to coach Moeller,
"understands football as well as any
kid I've ever been around."
Taylor's intelligence comes from
being dedicated to watching op-
posing team's game films, working
hard in practice, and looking at the
tendencies of defenses. He knows he
doesn't have the strongest arm in the
world, but then again, Larry Bird
isn't the most gifted basketball
player either.
"I can throw the ball long if I
want to," said Taylor." "But what's
the easier throw, the one you have to
zip in between linebackers, or the
one where you have to pick out the
open guy? It's all in the decisions
you make. Now, I know I can hit
every pass I throw."
Some critics had said that the 6-0
foot, redshirt junior wouldn't be able
to have any success through the air.
But not any longer.
"Bo always told me there's
nothing wrong with my arm
strength and never to listen to the
people who criticized me for not
being a great passer," said Taylor.
"He told me I had the arm and the
physical tools. The only thing I
lacked is confidence."
Now, Taylor has that too and he's
ready to make people remember him
once again.
JOHN MUNSON/Daily
Michael Taylor escapes the grasp of a Miami defender. Taylor has impressed coaches and fans
in his two starts this season.
U.S.
gymnasts miss bronze amid
.4
controversy; Russia takes gold
Seoul, South Korea (AP)- The
Soviet women's gymnastics team
reclaimed the gold yielded to
Romania in the boycotted 1984 Los
Angeles Games, but the Romanians,
with Daniela Silivas gaining two
perfect scores, stayed close until the
end before settling for silver.
East Germany took the bronze
with 390.875 points, just .300 ahead
of the United States. The margin
was less than the .500 penalty
against the Americans during
Monday's compulsory exercises
because an alternate stood on the
parallel bar platform during a
routine.
"We got ripped," said Mike Jacki,
executive director of the U.S
Gymnastics Federation. "We will
sleep well tonight because we know
we were the third best team out
there. I hope the East Germans can
sleep."
U.S COACH Bela Karolyi ac-
cused Ellen Berger, the East German
official who called Monday's
penalty, of trying to disrupt the
Americans and trying to influence
the judges.
"She was moving around our kids
and putting pressure on the judges,
making the pressure felt. She is a
cheater, she is unethical,"_Karolyi
said.
Mrs. Berger was unfazed, saying
only that "a rule is a rule."
During the competition, Elena
Shushunova added three perfect 10s
to the one she had in the
compulsories and matched the total
of four by Silivas. Brandy Johnson
and Phoebe Mills earned 9.9s for the
Americans.
Tennis
Tim Mayotte and Robert Seguso
completed a clean sweep of
American first-round men's singles
winners Wednesday in the reborn
Olympic tennis competition, but
both complained that the tennis
format did not foster team spirit.
"I think it would be better if it
had the Davis Cup format,"
Mayotte, the No. 2 seed, said after
opening his quest for a gold medal
with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over
Korea's Song Dong-Wook. "I think
it would bring out more patriotism
and nationalism."
Mayotte said the emphasis on
oriented. It's great to have tennis
back in the Olympics but it doesn't
feel special on the court, and it
should," Seguso said.
"I may have to play Brad Gilbert
in the third round and I don't think I
should have to meet another.
American. It means we can only get
a maximum of two medals in the
event," he added.
Gilbert, the fifth seed, launched
A
Seoul ____
individual, rather than team, success
weakened the attraction.
Seguso, favorite for the gold
medal in the men's doubles and a
late addition to the singles draw, was
even more critical of the way the
first Olympic tennis tournament
since 1924 is being conducted.
"I don't like the way it's run,"
Seguso said after his 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
first-round success over Nduka
Odizor of Nigeria.
"IT SHOULD be more team
America's medal bid Tuesday with a
straight sets victory over Michael
Tauson of Denmark.
Contacted by the Associated
Press. Thomas Hallberg, director of
men's tennis for the International
Tennis Federation, said all aspects of
the Olympics tournament would be
reviewed afterwards.
Boxing
The spirits of U.S Olympic
See Seoul, Page 13
a