The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - April 2, 1990 - Page 5 WolvierneTennisPreview i ~Indiana - our No. 3 played Indiana's No. 1. But other aily Spors Wrter than that, we really don't know how we'll do (individually) head to head." With a last place finish in the Big Ten last year, the Oiit o f th e Ce lla rAthiponhenlwaMcignanesis All they can do is improve. At this point, the only way Michigan can test its ichawomn'staenistemthaBgnlamprovyetindividual matchups in the Big Ten is to look at Michigan women's tennis team has only improvement previous match results with common opponents of "There is really no pressure on the team," said No.1 T o p nsh o u ld hthemselves and their future opponents. But even this is singles player Christine Schmeidel. "We can only "We have some common opponents (with other Big improve, which is nice."* aepc1 Ten teams). Wisconsin beat South Florida 6-3. We beat Improving is just what they have been doing so far vflafeliflae fiVfl South Florida by the same score, but then again, we this season. With fifteen non-conference matches behind a rr wJ N W Jls oFoiaSae81 icni ette -, them, the Wolverines head into Big Ten play boasting a hARtt explained. a "Sttto, in looking at coimmn oppnents 12-3 record, already surpassing last year's win total of Riteplmd 'Sinloin tcomnopoet 12-3. Treord, eay surssinglast yer's n to ta oit's very difficult to tell how you'll stack up against one nine. The early success should work to boost teams, school (individually)." onidencey do'vkno howwe'*dgaistsMany of the top Michigan players have been very "I rall dont kow ow w'lldo gaint teseconsistent in their play throughout the first half of the (conference) teams," said coach Bitsy Ritt. "I think we sg are very confident going into these matches; we have a season. At No. 1, Schmeidel has achieved a 14-1 dual good non-conference record, and I think the players are record, and is now ranked 31st nationally. very con-fident that we can do well in the BigaTenrs ar(Christines record) should give her a lot of T Wver in s atrwe cankd wellt the Big Ten" sp iconfidence going into the Big Ten season," Ritt said. The Wolverines are ranked at the number five spot in "But, then again, at No. J she'll face a solid player in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll. They had the same every single match, so she'll have to be ready." slot last year, but it obviously had no impact on their eeJry Stacy Ber, oldin dow te No.2sn play at the Big Ten Tournament, which alone decidesJnirSayBghdngdwthN.2snge play at t hen BigcTes nd Tourn ament.which alonposition, has also com piled a solid record of 11-4. No. the conference standings. '3 Beamon is 12-3 on the season, as is Aland at No. 5. So why should this year's expectations be any Though Beamon has recorded an impressive mark so different? far, her inexperience in facing the competitive field of First, Michigan has gained five new players. Three Big Ten teams might begin to show later. Ritt, of the top five singles spots (Schmeidel at No. 1, frosh however, has confidence in her first-year standout. Kalei Beamon at No. 3, and Lindsay Aland at No. 5) are lq"I think she'll see quickly the intensity of the Big handled by newcomers. Each of the three competifg Ten schedule, but I'm confident that she can handle it," doubles teams include one of these three. Two more Ritt said. "She is an experienced USTA (United States first-year players round out the five. Tennis Association) player, she has been nationally "With the five we've brought in it has completely The strength and the consistency of the singles are Wolverines keep all but two of their players from last the Wolverines' biggest assets. Their troubles this year year, losing only one letterwinner. , /have stemmed mainly from the doubles. The No. 1 Also to be taken into consideration is the improve- team of Schmeidel and Jennifer Lev and the No. 3 team ment of the team's non-conference play over the of Aland and Amy Malik are both at.500 with 5-5 and previous year. By this point last season, Michigan was Junior Stacy Berg demonstrates her backhand stroke during practice at the Track and Tennis Building. Berg 3-3 records, respectively At No. 2 doubles, Berg and only 4-7, after losing their first seven matches. will play an important role in Michigan's quest for improvement in the Big Ten this year competing at both No. Beamon have posted a competitive 8-4 record. The f The squad lost once last year to both Western 2 singles and No. 2 doubles with partner Kalei Beamon. current No. 3 team of Aland and Frederika Adam are 3- Michigan and Eastern Michigan, 5-4 and 6-3 1. respectively. This year, the Wolverines defeated the Yet, the task could be surprisingly easier than the "Indiana is picked to come in first and I think that's "It's not so much that we're having problems with Broncos 7-2 and 6-3, and the Hurons 9-0 and 5-4. rankings would predict. Wisconsin, already five games accurate. I think they're definitely the strongest team in the doubles, it's that the doubles aren't as strong as the The Wolverines also have two tough road trips under into the conference season, has been plagued with the Big Ten," Ritt said, "although some teams have singles. We're doing so well in singles," said sixth year their belt, one in Texas and the other in Florida, giving problems, holding down a record of only 1-4. played them close this year, so they may be beatable." coach Ritt. the squad some experience against national teams Northwestern, too, has had trouble living up to In close matches, it is usually desirable to split the outside its region. expectations, with a 2-2 Big Ten mark. Though wins and losses are generally viewed from a singles matches, winning three of six, and capture two The only losses Michigan has suffered this year team standpoint, success in tennis depends entirely on victories in doubles, creating the five individual wins came from tough Texan squads over spring break. Indiana represents the Wolverines' last opponent individual performances, and how those performances needed for the team victory. One factor that could deter the Wolverines is the before the Big Ten Championship tournament, and will match up with others. A team must win five individual "Actually, I think our doubles are improving, and I opponents they must face over the next few weeks. definitely pose the biggest challenge of the season. Last events, out of a combined six singles and three doubles would expect them to be competitive," concluded Ritt. Michigan will go up against Wisconsin and Northwest- year, the Hoosiers were the conference champions, matches, in order to capture a team victory. "I would think in many matches in the Big Ten we ern, seeded number two and four respectively in the claiming both the Big Ten Player of the Year (Kelly would be able to win two out of three matches and preseason poll. Mulvihill) and Big Ten Freshman of the Year "We have had some of our players play Big Ten that's what you want to do." "In terms of the schedule we really play the strongest (Stephanie Reece). This season, they remain undefeated opponents in tournaments," Ritt said. "For example, Right now, the Big Ten race is wide open. Armed teams first, with the exception of Indiana," Ritt said. in play so far. Despite their strengths, Indiana may still Stacy Berg at No. 2 has beaten the No. 2 player from with their consistency and improvement, the Wolverine "So we're going to have to play our best tennis early." be fallible. Iowa. Kalei (Beamon) has played the No. 1 player from squad is looking for a place to jump in. .{COU Big Ten race not based i on non-league success Remaining 1989-90 Schedule Current Record: 12-3 (0-0 Big Ten) (excluding this weekend's matches) I f - Ia I DATE OPPONENT w V Y " y by Douglas Donaldson Daily Sports Writer t Remember those giant chocolate bunnies you used to get for Easter? Wasn't it always a disappoint- ment to bite into one, only to dis- cover that it was hollow? It was frustrating, because there was no way to tell, from just looking at it, what was on the inside. Believe it or not, this is the same feeling many coaches experience every season. If the inside of the * bunny is compared to a team's per- formance within its own conference, the outer shell would most certainly be its non-conference record. There's just no easy way to project a team's conference play, which usually are the games that matter most, from merely looking at its non-conference results. Although the Michigan women's tennis team has compiled an impres- *live 12-3 record this year against non-conference opponents, it does hot guarantee a stellar season for coach Bitsy Ritt's team. What then, can we predict about the rest of the season? As you may have guessed, not a "hole" lot. According to Ritt, "the most important numbers for us now are 0- 0. Some of-the other schools are two and three games into the Big Ten season, but we're just getting .underway. It's like starting over." Ritt is pleased with the way the team is playing, but sees two areas as focal points for improvement. 4"We're still trying to improve our doubles play. We'll play well for a while, but then at times we look very mediocre. We'd like to perform consistently each time out. "We also want to -be more aggressive in singles, so we can go Michigan defeated the Illini last season 6-3, and should have little trouble duplicating that feat this year against one of the lower-division teams in the conference. 5. Purdue 1989 Big Ten finish: 6th The Wolverines and Boilermakers split a pair of matches last season, with Michigan winning 7-2 in the regular season, but losing 8-1 at the Big Ten Championships. 6. Michigan State 1989 Big Ten finish: 5th All the numbers and all the rankings go out the window whenever the Blue and Green square off, so there's no telling what will happen when these two friendly rivals meet in East Lansing on April 18. But for the record, the Wolverines did narrowly defeat the Spartans last year, by the score of 5- 4. 7. Ohio State 1989 Big Ten finish: 9th Although the Buckeyes are one of the weaker teams in the conference, Michigan split the two matches between them last season. It was a loss to OSU in last year's Big Tens that led to the Wolverines' 10th place finish. Michigan will certainly be aiming to make up for that disappointment this time around. 8. Indiana 1989 Big Ten finish: 1st Arguably the best tennis program in the conference, the Indiana squad claimed four out of the six spots on the 1989 All-Big Ten first team- singles. Hypothetically, this means that Indiana's No. 4 seed could defeat tt~ AT 1-4--o.n---" April April April April April April April April April May 7 8 12 14 15 18 21 22 27-29 9-17 WISCONSIN, 11:00 am NORTHWESTERN, 10:00 am NOTRE DAME, 2:00 pm Illinois Purdue Michigan State OHIO STATE, 11:00 am INDIANA, 9:00 am Big Ten Championships NCAA Championships CAPS = Home Matches O A ki- -s1t-';a nlfI!4fna m l ;N1v JOSE JUAREZ/Daily No. 4 singles player Amy Malik prepares to return a serve at practice in the Track and Tennis Building. Malik currently holds a non-conference record of 8-6. ;y1i .. .. .. .. .. . Anna....... ' ~a F VIIIII P ~ I!J ::":~ IIt fV E":A"HMEOW 7f'k.. a Ada m............ >{{:':$ 0 :-iv { A t :':ny1": ":CA >Ct "::";;:':i:::: ay... A..a d.S..'.W...........L Malik$0 BxkftkWI W ....$..hm ..dt ......$8D.:....s..NY.... Sear JR ..o4AbrM Norzntk FR ~iflraoi.M ? COON Eizabth Mitsy Ii I from last year's dual matches are given, as well as each school's finish after the 1989 Big Ten Championships. Schools are listed in the order in which the Wolverines will face them. 1. Wisconsin 1989 Big Ten finish: 2nd One of the strongest teams in the 2. Northwestern 1989 Big Ten finish: 3rd Also among the conference elite, the Wildcats are similar to Wisconsin, in that they also handed Michigan a 9-0 loss last season. What's so special about these teams with animal mascots? 3. Notre Dame I I