Women's Tennis vs. Toledo Today, 3:00 Track and Tennis Building SPORTS Men's Volleyball vs. Bowling Green Today, 7:00 p.m CCRB The Michigan Daily Wednesday, March 8, 1989 Page 10 Softball team returns 10-5 from sprig trip BY PETER ZELLEN While many Michigan students took a break this past week, the softball team was out in New Mexico for a 15 game spring training trip. "I'm real excited for them," said coach Carol Hutchins. "They all feel good about the trip and we played some great ball." The pre-season polls have the Wolverines ranked 18th. Over the trip, though, they showed that the polls might have underestimated Michigan. During their 10 win, five loss road trip the Wolverines swept a two- game series from 13th-ranked Texas-Arlington, 5-2 and 4-2, as well as beating ninth-ranked Nebraska, 6-5, in a game in which they were down 4-1. Afterwards, however, Michigan was defeated 3-1 by sixth-ranked Arizona and then 8-3 by Oklahoma State, which is third in the nation. "We came back in a lot of those games," claimed Hutchins, who is entering her fifth season. "We could have easily been 12-3 or we could have been 5-10, so it works both ways." DURING THE TRIP the Wolverines were on an offensive tear. As a team they're hitting .275, which Hutchins dubbed as "exceptional." Leading the way has been senior outfielder and captain Beth Qg Mueller. In starting all 15 games, Mueller batted .360 with two home runs and nine runs batted. Also a big factor has been last year's first-year phenom Bonnie Tholl. Last year she was named to the All-Big Ten team at shortstop and begins this season hitting at a .352 clip. One player that Hutchins is extremely high on is senior catcher MaryAnn Daviera. "She only hit .190 but she hit the ball hard," explained Hutchins. "I'll tell you though, she's a great catcher. She's better than Alicia Seegert (an All-American for Michigan in both 1986 and 1987) and could even make me look like a good pitcher." The Wolverines scored 50 runs during the trip. That's not tremendous over 15 games but the real statistic is that the team has left 97 runners on base. A few more key hits and Michigan's offense goes up another level. THE ACTION ON the mound has been excellent, too. Sophomore Andrea Nelson is 8-1 with a 1.19 earned run average and junior Jenny Allard has a 1.71 ERA but posts only a 2-3 record. Allard, however, seems to be taking her hard luck out on her opponents while at bat. She is currently hitting .347 with a team leading 11 ribbies. Hutchins is completely enamored with this year's squad. "This team has a big heart as a group and I think that that's better than having just a bunch of good athletes. That's what will carry us. If a slump occurs then someone will always be there. We will be able to carry ourselves over the season." This team is also one full of experience and leadership with most of the starters being juniors and seniors. The only rookie to crack the lineup has been Bridget Fitzpatrick, who catches, plays third base and is hitting a modest .280. Rookie outfielder Stacey Heames has also gotten playing time but has only two hits in 26 at bats, an .077 average. The first home game of the season isn't until March 29th but the team will stay ready with the Bud Lite Invite in San-Jose, California on March 17-20. Cornerstone CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP (an interdenominational campus fellowship) Students Dedicated to Knowing and Communicating Jesus Christ Weekly Meetings: Thursdays : 7:00 pm 439 Mason Hall John Neff - 747-8831 I Round's injury spoils gymnasts' trip BY JEFF SHERAN The Michigan men's gymnastics team struck gold on their trip to California last week, but also hit an earthquake. The Wolverines (11th-ranked overall, 5th in the Big Ten) scored season highs all week long, on the team and individual levels, but saw Jim Round, their top-scoring all- arounder, break his hand on the parallel bars. Round's injury only increases the instability of the starting lineup, since all-arounders John Mains and Louie Ball have strugglled to recover from nagging injuries of late. "It's going to be real tough to pick up the pieces," said coach Bob Darden. MICHIGAN'S next meet is Saturday at Kent State, but despite Round's injury, Darden has his sights set on the Big Ten Championships March 24. "Our biggest problem now is coming up with a set lineup," Darden said. "(Round's injury) really hurts us, but we'll have Ball and Mains back. At the Big Tens, we'll be able to nail all those teams head on." San Jose hosted Michigan's first meet of the trip on February 24 with Cal-Berkeley and Stanford also competing. Michigan took third place, but turned out a season-high 265.85 while still weary from travel. The team received strong scores from Matt Harrison, who notched a 53.15 all-around, Shawn Martin, and Tony Angelotti. Glenn Hill also contributed the first of many excellent scores on the pommel horse with a 9.5. THE WOLVERINES then journeyed north to Stanford, where they improved their total to 266.95. "This was the best effort competitively for the lineup. Round was out and Ball and Mains didn't q q JESSICA GREENE /Daily The men's gymnastics team recorded their highest overall scores of the season on their recent road trip, thanks to such performances by Glenn Hill, shown here on the pommel horse. The Wolverines lost their top all-arounder, Jim Round, with a season-ending injury. compete all-around. Matt (Harrison) and Ruben (Ceballos, who totaled a collegiate high 53.65 overall) did real well for themselves," Darden said. Glenn Hill again topped all scorers on the pommel horse, with a season-best 9.65. Such consistency is what Darden has been trying to extract from his players all season. "We're trying to pump the efficiency of our performances," he said. CAL-BERKELEY hosted Michigan next, in a March 1 meet with UCLA, Stanford, and Washington. Continued highs from Ceballos, who reached his personal best overall with a 53.75, and Glenn Hill, who remained consistent with a 9.55 on the pommel horse, gave Michigan a 267.25 total. Then came Minnesota. Michigan returned to Big Ten competition and dropped sharply in consistency. This was evident in the 261.4 team score. The Wolverines finished behind conference rivals Wisconsin and Michigan State. "It was tough travelling east. We had no time to recharge our batteries," Darden said. Ceballos was the only highlight for the Wolverines at Minnesota, turning out another high of 54.2 overall. "He's been up and down all season. I hope he can stay up," said Darden. In addition, Louie Ball returned to all-around competition with a 52.7. Darden labeled him at "almost full strength." Double fa BY ERIC LEMONT For years, west coast schools have put a damper on Michigan's Rose Bowl hopes. Last week though, it was the Michigan men's tennis team's turn to be rained on in 'sunny' California. The Wolverines lost 8-1 to UCLA and 7-2 to USC last Thursday and Sunday. ult: Netters suffer setbacks In addition to playing outdoors for the first time since September, Michigan was without the services of Malivai Washington. The country's number one collegiate player missed both matches due to muscle spasms in his back. Washington injured his back in earlier competition at the NCAA indoors in Louisville. WITH Washington out, the rest of the squad had to move up a spot in the rotation. The switch did not effect Dan Goldberg. Against number one ranked UCLA, Goldberg provided the Wolverines with their only victory, defeating 5th-ranked Brian Garrow 7-6, 3-6, 6- 4. Goldberg, ranked third in the country, also defeated USC's Byron Black 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. "Dan played unbelievable," said Michigan assistant coach Mark Mays. "Right now, he'll probably move up to number two in the country right behind Malivai. They're deservedly number one and two in the nation." Despite the two losses - which dropped the sixth-ranked Wolverines' record to 3-5 - Mays said the team remains optimistic about the season. "THE KEY is that everybody is still upbeat and eager to play," Mays said, adding that the early part of the season is used as a time to evaluate the play of the team and to make improvements. The season, he said will be used as a stepping-stone to the Big Ten and NCAA championships later this year. For now, Mays feels the team is on the right track as long as we don't get down on ourselves." BY JEFF SHERAN For the Michigan women's tennis team, composed of one junior, three sophomores and five first-year players, the Big Ten can be a tough conference. That's why coach Bitsy Ritt is looking forward to today's match with Toledo. Michigan (0-2 in the Big Ten, 0- 7 overall) has already suffered one- sided defeats to two of the premier conference teams, Northwestern and Wisconsin, this season. Michigan also encountered some over-powering competition when they ventured down south and faced teams such as Mississippi State, which holds a top 25 ranking. AGAINST Toledo, the team is going to play more aggressively. Ritt conceded that, "we were a bit tentative against the southern schools." The players need to be aggressive in their minds, as well. "We can't take them lightly. It's natural to back off from a team like Toledo," Ritt said. Now, finally, Michigan faces a team on its level. Toledo, as Ritt puts it, "is coming at the perfect time. Our confidence level is down, and we need a win badly." The young team has been plagu~d by many injuries thus far, and mugh of the team is still struggling. SOPHOMORE Stacy Berg, an all-Big Ten second team selection last season, is slotted at first singles but has yet to return to form. "Stacy has been losing some close matches. As soon as she can get over the tou, she'll start winning," Ritt explained. Fourth singles player Wendy Stross is nursing an injured should- er, and should move up when fully healthy. Currently, sophomore Anne Schork and first-year player Amy Malik rotate at the second and third singles positions. Michigan looks to better last year's fifth place finish, but Ritt sees that as a difficult task. "Indiana, Northwestern, and Wisconsin are really strong. After that, it's up fcr grabs, but Minnesota is tough, too." Women's golf team q --- ------------ - t -_-- -.- -.-- - - - - - oLh'm& C A R E ER F Presented by the University of Michigc School of Information and Library Stud Thursday, March 9, 1989 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Michigan Union Anderson Roc leavin' for the summer? iestayin'for the summer? NAME_ m ADDRESS_ Print or Type legibly 1" in the space provided.I tees off in the copy as you would! _ I like It to appear. I (ACTUAL SIZE OF AD) I -- I I I pan Diego When you want to work on your golf game in the middle of winter, where do you go to practice? How about San Diego, California? Well, that's just what the women's golf team did over spring break. "We were just getting on the grass," coach Sue LeClair said. "We wanted to prepare for the upcoming tournament in Tampa." The teams first officialmatch is the Summerfield Golf Classic in Florida, March 24-25. sullIu I I CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INFORMATION PROFESSION Explore the possibilities s 1 i PHONE Mail or bring in person to: Student Publications Bld 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Make in-town checks navable tn t Li A iaatVO Np. g. The team scrimmaged against the San Diego Academy, which trains women to play professional golf. The weather during the wekima I