4 Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 30, 1989 ------------ N -----------0 U *cH r., -r--------- ~AEE .. r543 54i3 N --4 rrrr ..r:r w:r ,wr ,r.:.. , ' , iE EN N 1 'M' NETTERS WANT TO IMPROVE ON #17 RANKING Men chase 2nd NCAA crown BY ANDREW GOTTESMAN Having two of the top three players in the country, a rookie phenom and a couple of seasoned veterans is a mix every team looks for. For Michigan's men's tennis team, this mix could help bring a national championship to Ann Arbor. Last year's third place NCAA finish after winning the Big Ten meet pushed the Wolverines into serious contender status for this year's meet. "After last year's great finish, I feel the players really have the confidence needed to make a run at the national title," coach Brian Eisner said. "The Big Ten's and the NCAA's are really our goals this year. Everything else. is pretty preliminary." The Wolverines, ranked 11th in the Volvo Tennis/Collegiate pre- season polls have, however, begun the season on a somewhat disappointing note. They have gone 3-7 and dropped to No. 17 nationally in their seven pre-conference matches. "We've played a vigorous schedule so far," senior Dan Goldberg said of the 10 matches, all of which were against top-20 teams. Eisner is not fazed by the early performance. "We have really started to be plagued by injuries," he said. First singles player Malivai Washington recently returned from a three-week absence due to a knee injury. Washington, a sophomore, is ranked No. 1 in collegiate tennis and has already won two of the three legs of the college Grand Slam. Another key injury recently befell first-year hotshot and third-singles player Dave Kass. Against Arkansas he aggravated a year-old shoulder injury. With any luck, he'll be back for the Big Ten schedule, which begins April 8. Kass, the team's only true first-year player, won the state high school tennis championship in Florida and Ohio. Senior Mike Pizzutello did not even make the last road trip to West Virginia because of a foot injury. "When we're playing those level teams, you can't afford to play two players short," Eisner said. "We just want to get everybody well." And if this happens, Michigan will certainly be a team to watch. In addition to Washington, Michigan has another All-American in No. 2 singles player Goldberg. The 1988 Big Ten Player-of-the-Year, Goldberg currently holds the number three spot in national rankings. "I think if we come out of (Big Tens) with a win, we'll be a real threat at NCAA's," he said. The historically weak Big Tens, however, will be a much more hotly contested crown this year. "Right now, you've got three (Big Ten) teams that are ranked ahead of us," senior captain Chip McColl said. "The Big Ten is an up and coming conference," Eisner said. McColl feels Michigan can overcome its early problems in time for the late-season meets. "It's important that we don't look at the 3-7 record we have now," he said. "Our goal is to win the NCAA championships, without a doubt." Michigan women seek net gain in BY JEFF SHERAN Last seasonl coached the Micl tennis team to a fif finish, well ahead o standing the team st ago. The team, hov possesses any senic unable to replac standout and co-Bi the-Year Tina Basle Compounding t difficulties this se persistent injuries t Stross and Jennifer 0-7 start seemedt problems. Somehow, thc managed to put M position for the r season. Three of N have been to the to the Big Ten: Indiar and Wisconsin. Two of the lo avenged in rematch Michigan and We And one victory, a, Ohio State, came a conference opponen Now, with the teams out of the confidence of a stro victory, Michigan cc the rest of its conf all of which will be "Finally we're i season. We're pl similar caliber and shot at being seeder the Big Ten Cham said. "Consideringv been through, m,, place would be a season.- conference standings Michigan's upcoming matches Ritare as follows: Elizabeth RIowa: This April 1st matchup higan women's features perhaps the only Big Ten th place Big Ten team more beleaguered by injuries f the tenth place than Michigan. Four of Iowa's top uffered two years players are out of action, which wever, no longer gives the Wolverines an edge. ors, and has been -Minnesota: A victory over Iowa e first singles would give the Wolverines some g Ten Player-of- much-needed momentum for their matchup with the Golden Gophers the Wolverines' the next day. Minnesota is the ason have been strongest team left on Michigan's o starters Wendy schedule, and stands in the way of Lev. The team's Michigan improving to fourth in the to confirm their conference. -Michigan State: The rivalry )ugh, Ritt has between these two teams and the ichigan in good familiarity amongstthe sopposing emainder of the players always creates an Michigan's losses unpredictable matchup. )p three teams in -Notre Dame: Although not a Big na, Northwestern Ten opponent, the Irish do compete with Michigan for recruits, making sses were later this sole remaining away match a es against Eastern very important one. stern Michigan. -Purdue: The Boilermakers are an 7-2 lambasting of extremely erratic team which can against a favored surprise Michigan, who won both t. contests last season. Purdue lost to clearly superior Western Michigan, which gives way, and the Michigan an apparent edge. ng Big Ten road -Illinois: Marked by consistency, an concentrate on the Illini have great depth in singles erence schedule, and doubles, but lack a true played at home. superstar. Defeating Illinois would n control of our inspire Michigan as it heads into the aying teams of Big Tens one week later. we have a clear Ritt sees Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, d fifth going into and Michigan State as the most pionships," Ritt important matches to win, because, hat the team has as she explains, "We know we can aintaining fifth beat those teams." very successful We'll find out beginning Wom ' fJESSICA GREENE/Daily Women's first singles player Stacy Berg is trying to lead the Wolverines to their second straight successful season. Berg finished 24-5 last season; 11-3 in the Big Ten. Berg adds stardom -a -a Saturday. to Michigan team BY MARK KATZ When Michigan tennis star Stacy Berg came out of high school two years ago, she basically had her choice of colleges. After spending five years, from age 11 to age 16, consistently in the top 50 players nationally in her age group, she was a much heralded recruit. So why Michigan? "I felt that at another school, like Wisconsin (a top 20 school currently ranked second in the Big Ten), I'd just be another one of the girls," Berg explained. "I felt like here, I could really contribute to the team." Berg, a sophomore in the middle of her second season with Michigan, is the No. 1 seeded singles and doubles player on the team. She has led the Wolverines to wins in four of their past six matches with consistent performances and leadership. But success in the world of tennis is no novel concept for the native Chicagoan. For Berg, the road to collegiate tennis began early in life. "I started playing when I was five just a little kid with my parents, because my whole family has always played tennis. I started taking lessons when I was nine, and I played my first tournament when I was 10." The young tennis proteg6 began hitting the road at age 11, playing first local and then national tournaments. "I was nationally ranked from the time when I was 11 until 18. The first year in every age group I tended to be ranked around 50 (Junior tennis rankings are grouped in two year blocks starting from 12-and-under and going through age 18). The second year I was usually somewhere in the 30's." Berg said her tennis skills improved consistently during her junior tennis career, except for a two-year static period at the end of her high school career. "My play kept my rankings consistent when I was 11 to 16, but I think a lot of people do a little worse when they're a junior and senior in high school just because they become interested in other things. I was one of those people." Her rank fell to around 100 during her senior year of high school. However, her arrival at Michigan boosted her level of competition higher than ever before. "I think in the one year I've been at college, I've improved more than I did all four years in high school." Berg credits this sudden improvement to intensified practice and the team-oriented approach to college tennis. "When you're practicing for yourself, it is just for yourself," she said. "It's a different kind of respons- ibility. When you're going through junior tennis, you're paying your coach money, so he has to be positive about whatever you do. If I didn't feel like playing, there was not much he could say to me. "But here, it's like you owe the school something. I have to be (at practice) trying my hardest every lay. I owe it to the school, to my team- mates, and to my coach, so I work a lot harder here than I ever did when I was younger." The sophomore leader hopes to funnel this enthusiastic effort toward overall improvement in the team, a relatively young squad composed of only one junior, Berg and three other sophomores, and four first-year players. "Everyone already has improved so much; it's incredible. But we still do have a lot of improvement to do." Although she doesn't realistically see the team eclipsing last year's finish of fifth in the Big Ten, Berg looks optimistically towards the fut- ure. "I think starting next year we will be right at the top of the Big Ten." 1 1, i:i File Photo Senior Chip McColl practices his groundstrokes during warmups at the Track and Tennis Building. McColl hopes his leadership can pay off at the NCAA meet in May. Captain McColl steadies 'M' ship BY ERIC LEMONT Chip McColl, captain of the men's tennis team, may not have the best win-loss record, but he has a track record of competitiveness. McColl is also not the most talented player, but he has a talent for bringing out the best in his teammates. How does a player with average skills lead one of the top teams in the country possessing some of the nation's top players? By example. "Chip plays with a tremendous amount of spirit, a tremendous amount of fight and the other players pick up on that," said coach Brian Eisner. "Whether he's winning or losing is not even the issue." McColl, who posted a 17-7 record last year as the team's number six singles player and a 1-4 record so far this season on the number three doubles team, agrees that competitiveness is his strongest suit. "I'm not the best player athlete in the world, I don't have the best skills. There are people out there with much better skills. But if someone is going to beat me I just want to make sure that they earn it, that they work for it. And, yes, I will compete to no end out there. That's something I take pride in," he said. This ferocity was most clearly evidenced at last year's NCAA championships. In a semifinal against second ranked Louisiana State with the two teams tied 4-4, McColl was involved in the final doubles match that would decide the winner. After the two teams see-sawed back and forth, LSU finally emerged victorious. Although losing "the most emotional match" he has ever played in, McColl learned that the Wolverines can compete with any team in the country. This realization has led to McColl's goal of a national championship for this season. "I came into this year just set on winning the NCAA's. Set on it. And I still am like that," McColl said. "Now, (after the LSU match) I see that the teams that we're playing are good but no better than we are. I've made that clear and I hope that everyone believes it now or will believe it by the time we get there." If Eisner is right, the team is listening to what McColl has to say. "I've found that, through the years, players usually choose someone for a captain that thev feel nmfortble talkino n. A nlaver that realIv croe- 2n Chin 1989 m Andrew Adler Ray Ashare Dan Goldberg John Karzen David Kass Chip McColl David Pierce Michael Pizzutallo Jean Roussel Srinivas Twmmala :.s s 94 a ~ xt:itf en's t sr. Jr. SSr. Fr. Sr. so, Sr, sr. , Jr." - - -w Holliswood, NY Bloomfield Hills, MI Avon, CT Glencoc, Columbus, OH Glncoe,IL Troy, MI Eastchster, NY Paris, France East Lansing, MI t C kMI ennis roster i MNiv a asigwon .warv,;ree , z 1989 women's tennis roster Frederika Adam Fr. Albany, CA Stacy Berg So, River Forest, IL Caroline Copan Fr. Ann Arbor, MI Chris Hunt Fr, Southfield,MI. Jennifer Lev Fr, CedarhurstNY Ary Malik Fr. Brookfield, WI Cathy Smidt Jr. Dix Hills, NY Anna Schork.o...nnA rbor,,MI. Wendy SCross So. Ann Arbor, MI 4 Kass streaks to success at full speed BY ANDREW GOTTESMAN Some people like to live at a leisurely pace, to relax and take it easy. Others like to speed things up a bit. And then there is Dave Kass, "the best freshman in college tennis in the United States this year," according to coach Brian Eisner. Kass (23-4) already holds the third- singles position on the Michigan men's tennis team and a Rolex Indoor Singles Championship. "Everything I like to do, I do in extremes," Kass, a Columbus na- ti;e coal"Irinn't An n e in a Kass also raced to the top three of each age group he has played in. He won the Florida state championship before choosing Michigan over UCLA because it is closer to home. "I didn't go pro before college so I could work on mental and physical things," Kass said. After coming to college - and finally slowing down for a while in the process - Kass has been forced to step out of the limelight once again. At many schools, Kass' No. 20 national ranking, the highest this year for a first-year player, would certainly earn him a second, if not first, singles position. But with Mnivn; ahinetnrn th NTn 1 now he's No. 1 in the country," McColl said. "If Dave just goes, down there every day and puts his mind to it, he can really take off." 4 As for his future, Kass says, "I'd like to win the NCAA's. That's the most prestigious thing in college. "Eventually, I'd like to be in the: top 10 (in the world)," he said. Right now, however, Kass must overcome a shoulder injury he sustained last summer. After under-: going rehabilitation for the rest of: the year, Kass began playing again. Than it nnnrl t mn w moe rnon