Hockey
vs. Bowling Green
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Yost Ice Arena

SPORTS

Football
vs. Purdue
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Michigan Stadium


The Michigan Daily.

Wednesday, November 1, 1989

Page 10

I -~

pn views 4the sp rting vews - ;the sporting vi rwfs
Stickers proud despite
lack of fan support
by David Schechter
Daily Sports Contributor
Shoulder jams and the traffic jams.
-In Ann Arbor, on any given football Saturday, M-14, the highway
"leading into the city, is almost as cramped as the hundred thousand-plus
fans shoehorned into Michigan Stadium. Unfortunately, the Wolverine
field hockey team doesn't have the same problem.
Crowds don't swell the same way at Tartan Field. Fingers and toes are
enough to take an attendance count.
vJunior midfielder Josee Charvet says, "It's nice when friends and family
come to watch. But so many people are missing out on some exciting
action." For this group a palm full of bystanders constitutes an audience.
College athletes dedicate hours of physical time on the field during the
day. Some part of every hour remains dedicated to thinking about their job
ron the field. They are the hired help of their coach and the university. Both
expect the highest performance from all their employees.
Field hockey coach Patti Smith, a veteran to this collegiate sport,
tunderstands it all.
"We know that we're taking a back seat to publicity and exposure. I'm
hoping it will improve," she said. "It comes with the territory
unfortunately, and hopefully that territory will change."
The field hockey team is still waiting for payday. Punching in their
cards just as often, and just as long as any Michigan team, recognition for
the stickers remains light years in the distance.
BO'S BOYS invade the grid iron each week with the burden of
supplying the University with its Saturday supply of pride. Every week
the field hockey team sets out to accomplish a similar mission. But few
notice.
Consumed in this effort for almost four months, the team makes needed,
and often difficult sacrifices. They surrender their social lives for the better
part of six weekend road trips. Free hours are spent on studies. Friendships
often become difficult to maintain.
But for all the hardships, the team realizes there are just as many
benefits, such as scholarships. The promise of a free education at Michigan
provides an opportunity otherwise unavailable to many.
Coach Smith sees other perks as well: "They play the game because
they love the game. The recognition they receive from teammates, from
the coaching staff and me is all they're looking for. I think they sense
inside some real pride. They can feel good about the way they've played
and the way the team's played this season."
Next weekend, the season, and several careers will find their final
chapters written. The ink will dry, and the books will close. There will be
no national television coverage, or screaming fans to witness it.
But as the world will not notice, the team will not care. Over the season
and previous years they've come to recognize and respect themselves for
who they are and what they do. And that's all the recognition the need.
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Catch him if you can
Purdue's Letnich switched from QB to punt returner

by Matt Youmans
The Purdue Exponent
It's not too often that a major college quarterback
converts to a punt returner in midseason, but Purdue's
Steve Letnich is the exception. And by his own
admission, he's no normal quarterback - he likes to
hit.
"I love the physical part of the game," Letnich said.
"One of the greatest thrills in football for me is running
and being able to hit somebody when I run. It's
something that my dad really pressed upon me doing
when I was little. He said, 'deliver the blow.'
It has been well documented that Letnich, a junior,
transferred from the Air Force Academy after the 1987
season and that he has the reputation for running the
football. However, what most don't know is that the
Valparaiso, Indiana native also likes to pass.
Letnich started at quarterback for Purdue's first four
games this season, throwing for 638 yards. His
weakness, however, was that he only completed 42.7% ;
of his passes and was intercepted 5 times, three of .etn ich
which came in one game.
Purdue coach Fred Akers felt the team needed a spark after a 1-3 start and
named redshirt freshman Jeff Lesniewicz the starter for the second Big Ten
game against Illinois. That would have, in all likelihood, left Letnich on the
sidelines.
With senior flanker Calvin Williams hobbled by a bad ankle, Akers
looked for someone to take Williams place in returning punts. And Letnich
wanted to be on the field.
"I'd rather be playing quarterback, but I want Purdue to win far more than
I want Steve Letnich to be playing quarterback," Letnich said. "The coaches
feel like it's in the best interest of the team to go with the younger kids

right now, and I'll support them with whatever they
want.
"They just asked me to do it and of course I'm
willing to do anything for the team. I was excited about
it. I want to get on all the special teams if I can and
contribute to the team."
It was a tough transition for Letnich, who had never
returned punts before, but it was one he made look easy.
He took two punts back against Illinois for 15 and 14
yards, respectively.
"Watching that ball come down at you and eleven
crazy guys running after you I was very nervous,"
Letnich said. "I had two good returns against Illinois,
but I'm far from good at it.
"I'm not going to make many people miss out there.
I'm just going to try to run north and south and get
what I can."

Letnich added two new positions against Michigan State last weekend,
lining up at flanker and also on kickoff returns.
"They're working me at a lot of different positions because it's good to
have somebody that knows everything," he said. "We've got to start
winning and whatever it takes, I'll help out. I'll give it all 100 percent."
Akers said of Letnich, "I think the more people you can involve, the
better off you are. He's done a good job for us. He never has been a wide
receiver but he can catch the ball.
"He also still trains at quarterback because he knows he can be in the
ballgame at anytime at quarterback," Akers said.


Standings
TEAM (OVERALL)
Lake Superior (5-1-0)
Ohio State (4-1-1)
Michigan State (4-2-0)
Michigan (3-2-1)
WesternMichigan (5-1-0)
Bowling Green (3-3-0)
Ferris State (1-4-1)
Miami (2-3-1)
UIC (0-6-0)

CHA Scorecard

w
5
4
4
3
3
2
1
0
0

L
1
1
2
2
1
2
4
3
6

T.
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0

Pts.
10
9
8
6
4
3
I
0

Scoring
NAME
Kip Miller, MSU
Dwayne Norris, MSU
Derek Higdon, OSU
Eddie Choi, OSU
Don Oliver, OSU
Paul Polillo, WMU
Jim Dowd, LSSU
Pat Murray, MSU
Nelson Emerson, BGSU

Goaltending
P NAME

G
6
6
6
6
4
6
6
4

G
8
7
5
5
4
3
3
3
2

A
7
6
6
6
7
8
8
8
9


15
13
11
11
11
11
11
11

Mike Gilmore, MSU
Mike Power, WMU
Brandon Reed, LSSU
Damn Madeley, LSSU
Jason Muzzatti, MSU
Warren Sharples, UM
Vito Mazzoli, MIA
Mike Bales, Ohio St.
Marc Felicio, FSU
Gary Mangino, UIC
Rob Laurie, WMU
Paul Connell, BGSU
Mark Michaud, MIA
Milke Williams, FSU
Dave DePinto, UIC

O .IC& BE,
2 2 1.50
2 4 2.00
3 7 2.55
3 8 2.69
4 11 2.71
6 162.76
2 5 3.01
6 22 3.62
3 11 4.55
3 8 4.93
2 11 5.53
3 17 5.67
3 14 6.14
5 24 6.55
5 33 7.56

.895
.929
.891
.897
.878
.908
.914
.898
.888
.840
.820
.838
.868
.803
.822

Friday's results
Lake Superior 4, Michigan 3
Ohio St. 7, Ferris St. 4
Western Michigan 4, Bowling Green 1
Michigan St. 6, UIC
Miami (OH) 5, Alabama-Huntsville 4

Saturday's results
Lake Superior 4, Michigan 1
Ohio State 2, Ferris St. 2 (OT)
Bowling Green 9, Western Michigan 7
Michigan St. 14, UIC 1
Miami (OH) S, Alabam-Huntsvile 4

Higdon

FREE TUTORING
available in all lower-level Math, Science,
and Engineering Courses
UGLi

Room 307
East Lounge
Dining Room
Mezzanine

M, T, W, Th
BURSLEY
M, W
SOUTH QUAD
M, W
DOW BUILDING
T, Th

7-11 pm
8-10 pm
8-10 pm
7-11 pm

A service of the following Honor Societies:
Tau Beta Pi Eta Kappa Nu
Alpha Pi Mu Pi Tau Sigma
Sponsored in part by MSA, UMEC, and LSA-SG
I UAC -MUSKET I


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