Page 10-The Michigan Daily-Thursday, October 11, 1990
WHITE FOLLOWS COACH TO CREATE...
A Homecoming at Michigan
I
by.HI RR+h u fo -
Daily Sports Writer.
Home is where the heart is.
Except for Michigan volleyball player Chris
White. For White, home is also where coach
Peggy Bradley-Doppes is.
When first-year head coach Bradley-Doppes
arrived in Ann Arbor from the University of
North Carolina this fall, she brought more than a
stellar reputation. She swept sophomore middle
blocker White away from Chapel Hill faster then
former Michigan coach Joyce Davis left town.
That was one of the best moves she has made
as the Michigan coach. The only way for a coach
to rebuild a program is to begin with players
who will work hard. In White, Bradley-Doppes
picked the right one.
"Chris's discipline makes her the competitor
that she is," Bradley-Doppes said. "She will be
the first to admit that she may not be the
quickest or the best jumper on the team, so she
has to be disciplined, without exception.
"Chris is a smart athlete who realizes her
weaknesses, and is disciplined, so her strengths
come through."
White grew up in Chicago, but spent her
senior year in high school at Rochester (MI.)
Adams. She quickly piled up a plethora of big-
time awards: Member of All-State Dream Team,
and 1987 AAU All-America.
Just as impressive is White's habit of
winning volleyball games. In 1987, her AAU
team won a national championship. Adams
reached the state semi-finals in 1989, White's
one and only year in Michigan. Such a resume
has rarely been submitted by a Michigan
volleyball player.
And that is the main reason that she
originally spurned the home team for the warm
confines of a winning program.
"I was considering Michigan, but I just didn't
like the program last year," White said. "I just
wanted to go away from home."
And win.
The Tar Heels, led by Bradley-Doppes, had
won three straight conference championships,
through White's senior year. The Wolverines
only won a combined four Big Ten games in
White's last two years of high school.
But after a solid freshman season - in which
White started for the ACC champion Tar Heels
- things changed. Bradley-Doppes accepted an
offer to become the volleyball coach at
Michigan, and White was right on her heels.
"She got the job and told me that I should be
here too. I wanted to come back with her. I
wanted to be able to come home," White said.
"The (UNC) volleyball program was great, and I
miss it, but I'm happy to be here."
NCAA rules state that a
f3 player must sit out a year upon
transferring to another school
unless the original school
consents to allow a player to
leave. North Carolina did in
The adjustment to Ann
Arborthas been extremely
'~hfite smooth. White is well
acclimated to the difficult
academic life at Michigan because of the year she
spent at rigorous North Carolina.
But the action on the volleyball court has
been an alarm clock on White's dream season in
Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels were 16-0 in the
ACC last year, while Michigan is currently 1-13.
"We are so anxious to learn and to win. We
just don't know how to vent our frustrations,"
White said. "What we need to do is turn that
around to something positive."
On the volleyball stairway, the same step that
has been a step up for the Michigan program, is
a step down for Bradley-Doppes and White. The
Michigan players are slowly adapting to a new
commitment to success which was nonexistent
in the past.
"She stresses different things about the game.
It's an entirely different way of coaching," White
said.
Bradley-Doppes and White know each other
well, which provides a smoother link between
the new coaching staff and the players.
"They (the players) have been asking me more
questions than I've been asking them," White
said. "It helps the team when I can provide
feedback When she tries to get something across,
she can look at me to help."
On the young Wolverine squad, White has
been forced to assume a different role than she did
last year - that of experienced leader. She is the
only player on the team who knows what it takes
to win on the collegiate level.
"Chris has seen that if you are disciplined
with the fundamentals, it will pay off," Bradley-
Doppes said. "She was baptized into high-power
volleyball, where only the fruits of labor will
pay off."
As the Wolverines look to translate their vast
improvement into wins, White tires of the
team's perpetual stance of "wait 'till next year."
"I'm as much responsible (for the losses) as
anyone," she said. "This is a much bigger
challenge than last year. Here I have more res-
ponsibility, and more opportunity to contribute.
"We have amazing resources, and the best
coaches in the country, so it's time we use them.
Making excuses and saying we're immature and
inexperienced is just a cop-out. It has been a
given that the future would show great
improvement in the volleyball program - but
we thought it would just be automatic. It's up to
us to change it ourselves."
Chris White's heart is now firmly in Ann
Arbor. As far as the Michigan volleyball team,
she hopes that a little heartbreak now will create
true love in the future.
MICHIGANSPORTS
Baseball team to
face alumni greats...
by Eric Sklar
Daily Sports Writer
For most people, the only baseball games that are played in October are
the League Championships and the World jeries. However, on Sunday
afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at Ray Fisher Stadium, the Michigan baseball tea
will face a squad of Wolverine alumni.
The alumni team's roster will consist mostly of players who have had
professional baseball experience. Current major league pitchers Jim Abbott
(California Angels) and Steve Ontiveros (Philadelphia Phillies) are
scheduled to play in the game, as well as former major leaguers Larry
Sorensen and Steve Howe.
"Our primary intent was to try to ask all of the guys in professional
baseball to play," said current Michigan coach Bill Freehan, who played
major league baseball for the Detroit Tigers.
However, Freehan has run into a small problem. Former Wolverine
standouts Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo, and Hal Morris comprise three-four
of the Cincinnati Reds' starting infield and obviously will not be able to
play this weekend as the Reds are busy in postseason play.
"It should be fun," said Freehan, who will also be playing on the
alumni team. "I'm hoping that the guys who come back have fun."
Pitching coach/recruiting coordinator Ace Adams explains that one of
the purposes of the game is "to enhance the relationships with alumni.
We'd like to get more alumni involved in our program.
"We want former players to feel at home here."
The current Wolverine team will split the pitching duties between
Russell Brock, Jason Pfaff, Dennis Konuszewski, Jeff Tanderys, and Tod
Marion. Adams said that while the primary purpose of the exhibition g
is not to evaluate his staff, he will take the opportunity to do so during the
contest.
"It won't be a major evaluation of skill, " agreed Freehan. "Playing the
intersquad games are more meaningful to me."
And even though the game will not be marked in the record books, the
players and coaches still take the competition seriously.
"We want to win," Adams said.
The game will serve as a fundraiser for the baseball program, with
tickets costing $5.00 each.
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ELVIS
Continued from page 9
ball catchers in non-vocal ways.
Every Tuesday and Thursday night
from 6:00-7:30, Grbac would meet
with his primary receivers -
Desmond Howard, Derrick Alex-
ander, and Yale VanDyne - as well
as three backups. He'd toss ball after
ball to them. Sometimes they'd
practice on artificial turf. Other
times grass. Situations were discus-
sed. Practiced. Strides were made.
Of course, Howard and Grbac did
not have to introduce themselves to
each other. They'd played together,
both football and basketball, at St.
Joseph High School. The experience
paid off as Howard has proven to be
Grbac's favorite receiver, totalling
330 reception yards and five touch-
downs. "You just have a knack of
where he's going to be," Grbac said.
The improvement has come in
more than just throwing the ball.
"He's really matured over the
year," offensive lineman Tom
Dohring said. "He's a real leader -
very boisterous in the huddle for a
young guy. He's not afraid to say
anything to a person like me, who's
been there five years."
The Willoughby Hills, Ohio
native's performance last week
against Wisconsin was impeccable,
completing 15-of-20 passes for 154
yards, throwing for three touchdowns
and no interceptions. The perform-
ance made him the current career
leader in completion percentage at
Michigan with 62.6 percedt,
surpassing Jim Harbaugh's 62.4.
That places him on the top of the
heap. A-1.
Do we dare call him The King?
Nah. Elvis will do just fine.
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