Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 7, 1989

CAGERS FAIL TO WIN A CONFERENCE GAME ON THE ROAD
Road weary 'M' suffers freeze

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BY ADAM BENSON
Most students were happy to get away from
school last week, but the Michigan women's
basketball team would have probably preferred to
spend their vacation in dreary cold, nearly-arctic
Ann Arbor.
Last weekend, the Wolverines received a chilly
reception from conference rivals Illinois and
Purdue, losing both games.
Few people gave Michigan a chance against
the Boilermakers, who were ranked in the top
twenty most of this season. But Michigan nearly
upset Purdue at their last meeting, and the
Boilermakers suffered a key injury when senior
guard Anne Kvachkoff injured her knee, ending
her career. Without Kvachkoff, the Boilmakers
starting lineup consisted strictly of first-year
players and sophomores.
But they were still stronger than the more
experienced Wolverines, scoring a 69-55 victory.
P UR D U E'S MaChelle Joesph, the top
newcomer in the Big Ten this season, was one of
four Boilermakers in double figures, scoring 16
points. Following Joesph in the scoring column
were Joy Holmes and Rhonda Mateen, who each
contributed 14 each to the Purdue tally.
Michigan's shooting was horrendous, as the

team shot 36 percent from the field. Wolverine
guard Tempie Brown scored 21 points and added 9
rebounds to provide most of Michigan's offense.
Forward Joan Rieger had 12 points and Char
Durand had eight for the Wolverines.
"Our shooting percentage really hurt us," said
Michigan coach Bud VanDeWege. "We were in
the game at the half, if we had put in some
missed free throws and some easy shots under-
neath, this might have been a different story."
Michigan may have been more competitive
with Purdue if they had the services of forward
Tanya Powell. VanDeWege sat Powell through
the Purdue game because she was late for a team
function over the weekend.
POWELL HAD starred for the Wolverines in
the previous game against Illinois, where she
scored 18 points in the Wolverines 64-60 loss.
VanDeWege hoped that his squad could handle
the Illini, a team they had defeated at home earlier
this year. The game started close, with the two
teams tied at 18 with 5:30 to go in the first half.
Then Illinois broke open a 14-4 run, which
helped propel them to a 32-22 lead at halftime.
The Illini maintained that lead through much
of the second half, with the margin getting as
large as 11. But Michigan slowly worked it back,

as Carol Szeczhowski's 15-foot jumper gave
Michigan a 53-51 lead with 4:16 left.
The game reamined close. Brown's three-
pointer with 33 seconds left made the score 61-
60, Illinois. It appeared that Brown would
continue her heroics on the defensive end as she
moved in for a steal, but she was instead whistled
for a controversial fifth foul.
"It was an interception," VanDeWege said.
"They just called a foul on it."
BUT THE game was not over yet. Illini
forward Dee Dee Deeken made the first free
throw, but a violation on the next shot nullified
the basket, giving the ball back to Michigan.
VanDeWege planned to set up Powell under-
neath for an easy basket that would send the
game into overtime. However, the Illini were
able to force a steal which many observers
thought should have resulted in an over-the-back
call against the Illini. Instead, the officals called a
foul on Wolverine senior Mary Rosowski in her
final Big Ten road game. Illinois' Sarah Sharpe
hit both free throws, giving her 18 points for the
evening, to seal the win for the Illini.
"You can't just blame it on those two calls,
but certainly in a tight game, they were critical
situations where we needed a call and really didn't
get it," VanDeWege said.

r .,. ,,:.p" ,:: :: :\..r.n\.., Student section would cure
.T \..' Crisler Arena cheering blues
prtn ew h prIre s thesp vr..n

JOHN WEISE/Daily

Michigan senior Mary Rosowski , here shooting against Ohio State,
will look to better Michigan's 4-12 conference record in her final two
appearances at Crisler Arena.
_ Read Jim Poniewozik Every

BY MARK KATZ
When I was home for spring break,
I had the chance to attend a
Georgetown-Villanova college bas-
ketball game at the Capital Centre in
Landover, Maryland. A friend of
mine invited me to experience Big
East basketball.
Being a Maryland Terrapin fan all
my life, I went to the game as a
purely impartial spectator. However,
this impartiality lasted all of 20
seconds, from the time I entered the
Cap Centre until I took my seat.
It wasn't because of the team; the
Hoyas were playing a mediocre game
at best. It wasn't because of the level
of comnetition- I felt that I had seen

just as much talent watching Mich-
igan in the Big Ten. It was because
of the fans. The enthusiasm, unity,
and animation the Georgetown
students transferred to their basketball
team was also transferred to me.
I WAS suddenly overwhelmed.
Imagine trying to grasp the concept
that a home team's fans can actually
have an impact on a college
basketball game. That's hard to
conceive of after spending an entire
season watching the Michigan
Wolverines at Crisler Arena, or is it
Crisler Movie Theater? I always get
confused.
I finally had to ask a Georgetown
student what the secret formula was
for such an involved, excited crowd.
He leaned over and whispered to me,
as if afraid to let the secret go public,
"The student section."
Wait, now don't panic. It's okay if
you're not familiar with the term.
Neither are the basketball ticket ad-
ministrators here at Michigan.
Allow me to define it for you. A
student section is that section of the
basketball arena, usually confined to
the seats behind one of the baskets,
which is occupied solely by the
home team's fellow students. No
alumni, no interested neighbors and
friends, just regular, everyday
students, all together.

WHY AREN'T you familiar
with this phenomenon? Simple. The
Michigan doesn't have it.
Crisler Arena, a sports complex
located right on campus and home
turf to a student body of 35,000, does
not achieve even close to the same
home team fan impact as the Capital
Centre, an arena half an hour away
from the Georgetown campus and
attended by not even half of GU's
5,000 students. Again, the reason is
simple. We do not have a student
section.
We have more students at most of
our Big Ten games than Georgetown
has at its college. Yet, we still
cannot achieve the level of spirit,
noise, and overall impact that Hoya
students provide for their team in an
arena with a 40 percent larger
capacity than Crisler.
Crazy Dave, the blue-and-yellow
painted student who runs up and
down the aisles with a Michigan
flag, cannot be expected to arouse
sufficient enthusiasm. And neither
can an energetic group of cheerleaders
or a talented pep band, when
Michigan students are spread out
among comparatively sedate alumni
and other fans.
The Michigan students, the
Michigan basketball team, and, hey,
even Bill Frieder, deserve better.

A STUDENT section wouldn't
infringe on anyone's privilege to
occupy a good seat. Also, it would
eliminate the ineffective seniority
student seating plan, in which
students' seats are "drafted" higher in
the lottery depending on the number
of years the students have had season
tickets. And then seniors and juniors
with two to three years of season
tickets behind them are still displaced
because of alumni seating privileges.
Ideally, a student section would
allow for general admission, in
which students more excited and
committed to the game could arrive
earlier and be rewarded with better
seats, with the most dedicated fans
right down on the floor to lead in
rousing the crowd.
My last suggestion also occurred to
me during that memorable Big East
game. Georgetown -has their Hoya
mascot leading cheers; why don't we
have our own Willy the Wolverine
causing some commotion?
This final idea is just some food
for thought, but the necessity of a
student section must be acknowl-
edged and acted upon by the Uni-
versity's basketball ticket authorities.
Why withhold such good fan support
from such a good ball club? And, for
that matter, why not try to make a
good ball club better?

Flo Jo wins Sullivan Award
as best 1988 amateur athlete

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -
Florence Griffith Joyner, who set
two world records and won three
Olympic gold medals, yesterday was
named the Sullivan Award winner
for 1988 as the nation's top amateur
athlete. Griffith Joyner, 29, of Los
Angeles, joins her sister-in-law
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, on the list of
Sullivan winners. Joyner-Kersee was
the 1986 winner.
The 59th recipient of the award,
which an athlete can receive only
once, is the 35th track and field
athlete, the ninth female and the
22nd Californian to get the
recognition.
"Every award means a lot, but
this award is the most prestigious.
It's like the Oscar of acting for me.
It's the highest award you can
achieve for your accomplishment."
said Flo Jo, who received her award
in the same city where she set her
first world record in the Olympic
trials last year.
"JUST TO be nominated is
rewarding because there's such a
strong field. All the 10 finalists were
chosen from a lot of other great
athletes."
The voting process includes past
winners, the news media, the U.S.
Olympic Committee executive board
and members of the Amateur
Athletic Union board.
Griffith Joyner, who announced
her retirement from competition last
month to cash in on the many
financial opportunities that have
flowed her way since the Olympics,
was named The Associated Press

both events.
She also helped the U.S. earn
Olympic gold medals in the 400-
meter relay and ran on the 600-meter
relay team that set an American
record while claiming a silver medal.
Her speed, combined with her
long, often hand-painted fingernails,
flashy rings, charming personality,
and overall attractiveness made her a
natural for magazine covers and
international prominence that has
been converted into lucrative com-
mercial opportunities.
FLO JO dolls will be on the
market in April, and she's made
several television appearances. She's
also written children's books and is
working toward an acting career,
"Since the Olympics I have been
traveling a lot and haven't had time
to train," she said in announcing her
decision to end her track career.
Nine other 1988 Olympians, who
between them collected 23 medals,
were among the Sullivan finalists.
The AAU, which has presented the
award since 1930 in recognition of
past president and co-founder James
E. Sullivan, does not announce a
runner-up or release any of the
voting totals.
Pistons win, 129-112
AUBURN HILLS - Isiah
Thomas scored 15 of his 20 points
in the final 7:12 last night and Rick
Mahorn set season highs with 19
points and 19 rebounds to lead the
Detroit Pistons n at the Denver

But Thomas dominated the rest of
the game. He sank a three-pointer,
then hit three straight jump shots to
push the Piston lead to 112-99 with
4:40 left.
After Dennis Rodman scored on a
pass from Thomas, Denver snapped
a scoreless streak of 3:35 when
Davis hit a three-point basket.
Thomas retaliated with three more
short jumpers to spark a 13-7 run
that made it 127-109 with 19
seconds remaining.
Joe Dumars scored 25 points to
lead seven Pistons in double figures.
Alex English topped Denver with
27 points. Dan Schayes had 21
points and 13 rebounds and Davis
finished with 16 points.
The Pistons outrebounded Denver
57-37.


College
Basketball Poll
Record
1. Arizona 24-3
2. Oklahoma 26-4
3. Georgetown 23-4
4. Illinois 25-4
5. Syracuse 25-6
6. Indiana 24-6
7. Duke 22-6
8. Michigan 23-6
9. North Carolina 24-7
10. Missouri 24-7


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