Ice hockey
vs. Michigan State
Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m.
Yost Ice Arena
The Michigan Daily_
SPORTS
Thursday, November 8, 1990
Volleyball
vs. Minnesota
Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m.
at Minneapolis, MN
Page 9
SOPHOMORE ICER QUIETLY LEADS CCHA'S TOP LINE
Ouimet centers Blue offense
by Matt Rennie
Daily Hockey Writer
Mark Ouimet has had to deal with doubters all
his life. Now, even the believers sometimes for-
get about him.
Only 5-foot-7, Ouimet has overcome his size
and centers what is arguably the top line in col-
legiate hockey, with linemates Denny Felsner
and David Roberts.
But that's not the way you'll generally hear
it. Usually, it goes something like, "Well,
there's Felsner and Roberts and that other guy,
the center, uh, Ouimet! Yeah, that's it! Ouimet!"
If that were actually the case, the Wolverine
sophomore might be happy because at least peo-
ple remembered to include him.
To be fair, it is not without justification that
Roberts and Felsner receive such accolades. Fel-
sner leads the CCHA in scoring while Roberts is
- third. Nonetheless, somebody has to get them the
puck, and more often than not, that someone is
Ouimet.
The statistics reflect Ouimet's unselfish style
of play. Last year, he finished third on the team
in scoring with 32 of his 47 points coming on
assists. That 2-to-1 assists-to-goals ratio has held
true at every level of hockey he has played.
"That's my job on the line, to pass," Ouimet
said. "I'm not the goal scorer. I've got two goal
scorers on my line; there's no need for me to do
that. When I have the puck, I definitely look to
pass."
Because of his passing style, the spotlight of-
ten eludes the sophomore from Poplar Hill, On-
tario.
"I feel like that (forgotten) all the time,"
Ouimet said. "I might sound bad saying that, but
it feels like I'm just along for the ride sometimes
because they're the ones that always score the
goals. As long as I'm helping the team win, I
think that's the main thing."
Ouimet is definitely doing that, as the
Wolverines sit atop the CCHA with a 6-2 record
entering this weekend's series with Michigan
State. While Ouimet is now at the center of
Michigan coach Red Berenson's gameplan, this
was not always the case.
Early last season, Ouimet's first with the
Maize and Blue, he did not have a prominent role
in the offense, and some doubted if he ever
would. After missing the first four games of the
season with an injury, he felt uncomfortable on
and off the ice.
"The first couple of games, when I was in-
jured I didn't feel part of the team at all," Ouimet
said. "Off the ice, it was difficult. I got mad that
some of the players were talking behind my
back, saying, 'Look at this guy, what's he gonna
do?' Part of what I did on the ice was to show
them that I could play in this league."
Adding to his problems was the fact that
Ouimet was adjusting to his first year away from
home. Much of his life was different from what
he had expected, including his coach.
"I thought as a (former) centerman, (Berenson)
could help me a lot more," Ouimet said. "I guess
it's not his style to sit down anybody and talk to
them one-on-one. I think a coach should maybe
sit down with a player and talk to him a little
more one-on-one and get to know him a little
better. Talk to him individually, instead of as a
team, and he hasn't really done that. He's just
not that style of coach."
Even Berenson would admit that Ouimet has
made most of his progress on his own.
"We taught him a little about playing defense,
but he's a great, creative player," Berenson said.
"I don't like to take credit for creativity. I don't
know if he's learned a lot from me."
At last year's Great Lakes Invitational, every-
thing came together. The Wolverines defended
their title, and the center on the all-tournament
team was none other than Mark Ouimet.
"It all clicked at the GLI," Ouimet said. "I
could feel definitely part of the team. After that,
the rest of the season went really well."
This season, Ouimet is no longer a naive
rookie. As he matures off the ice, he realizes
where he needs to improve his game.
"Defensively, I really have to work on my
game," Ouimet said. "I've made some defensive
mistakes this year. When I came in here, I didn't
know anything about defense."
The desire to improve is a driving force for
Ouimet, and it carries over into the other facets
of his life.
"He's very intense in whatever he does,"
Ouimet's teammate Patrick Neaton said. "He hits
the books hard, but he has a lighter side, too."
Ouimet is enrolled in the School of Physical
Education and would like to teach Phys. Ed. one
day, but his immediate career plans involve three
letters: NHL.
"I got a little ray of hope this summer in the
draft," Ouimet said. "You only get one shot, and
I'm going to give it my all."
When the Washington Capitals unveiled their
fifth-round selection last June, Ouimet came one
step closer to his dream.
Although he promises to complete his educa-
tion before moving to the pro ranks, you can bet
that the people in the Capitals' front office will
remember Mark Ouimet.
Even if no one in Michigan does.
JOSE JUAREZ/Daily
Michigan s9phomore Mark Ouimet will play an integral role for the
Wolverines as he centers their top offensive line against the Spartans
tomorrow.
Women netters seek improved
doubles play in weeken
by Becky Weiss
Though the women's tennis team
has yet to begin its regular season,
tomorrow's Intercollegiate Tennis
Coach's Association Tournament
should be a good indicator of future
Big Ten standings.
"This is a much stronger tourna-
ment than last week's (state tourna-
ment)," Michigan coach Elizabeth
Ritt said. "This will be a good op-
portunity to see players from all re-
gional teams and see how we com-
pare with them."
One singles entrant and one dou-
bles team are automatically accepted
to the tournament if the coach is a
member of the association. The re-
maining positions are filled on the
basis of records, and a team can have
as many as six singles and three
doubles entrants.
As a result of No. 1 singles
player Christine Schmeidel's injury,
the Wolverines will be entering five
singles players instead of six. All
players enter the same draw in this
individual 26 team tournament and
the top three Michigan singles
entrants will be junior Lindsay
Aland, senior captain Stacy Berg,
and sophomore Kalei Beamon.
The only Wolverine doubles team
currently entered is the combination
of Berg and Beamon. The associa-
tion is still unsure whether it will
allow Schmeidel's doubles partner
Kim Pratt to enter the tournament in
Madison with a different partner.
The fact still remains that the
d tourney
Wolverines are under-represented in
doubles. Captain Stacy Berg feels,
"Sometimes people put more effort
into singles than doubles, and I
think we have to start putting more
effort into doubles."
Ritt has also noticed the differ-
ence between the Wolverines' per-
formance in singles as compared to
doubles. "I think we have to be
more aggressive (during doubles
play) and focus in on the basics,"j
Ritt said. "We just didn't play the
big points well (in the state tour-
nament)."
Ritt is still optimistic for tomor-
row's tournament. "I think we did
well at singles in last weekend's
tournament, so I feel people are
ready to compete," she added.
ILLINOIS
Continued from page 1
post-season play this season, and
will be unable to play outside the
continental United States during
1991.
Illinois will also be unable to
have paid visits by recruits, or off-
campus recruiting by coaches during
1991; off-campus recruiting will
restart in 1992, but only one assis-
tant coach will be able to help the
head coach, instead of the customary
two assistants.
Scholarships, which may nor-
mally total six per season, will be
reduced to two for each of the next
two seasons.
On the bright side, Thomas, who
was redshirted last year because of
the inquiry, retained his eligibility,
and Illinois' television exposure was
not eliminated.
The University announced it will
freeze the basketball coaches'
salaries, suspend assistant coach
Jimmy Collins, and implement rules
education programs.
Besides the repetitive nature of
the offense, the NCAA found that
"significant violations occurred...
and the university's men's basketball
program obtained both recruiting and
competitive advantages."
The Committee found Illinois
(Collins) guilty of making too many
visits to a prospective student-ath-
lete's high school, and other unap-
proved encounters. The players, their
families, and some high school
coaches received illegal game tickets
as well.
The investigation also uncovered
that "three student-athletes in the
men's basketball program purchased
automobiles from a dealership oper-
ated by a representative of the uni-
versity's athletic interests through
special credit arrangements to finance
the purchases because of their status
as university basketball players."
The Illini deny most of the
claims.
U U
MICHIGAN HOCKEY
- LEADERS AND BEST!
UPCOMING GAMES AT YOST ICE ARENA
A 9% 0190
Iowa can clinch
conference tie
by Adam Miller
Daily Sports Writer
So you thought the Big Ten race
was over? Right now, Iowa is in the
driver's seat to Pasadena, but, de-
pending on the results of Saturday's
games, the Run for the Roses could
* get interesting again. Then again...
Ohio State at Iowa
...it could not. After putting on
an offensive clinic at Illinois last
week, the Hawkeyes return home to
Mr. (QB Matt) Rodgers' Neighbor-
hood. A victory guarantees them a
tie for the Big Ten crown and virtu-
ally assures them their first trip to
the Rose Bowl since 1986. Mus-
tache or not, Hayden Fry has his
troops playing like champions. The
Buckeye Scoring Machine, which
has averaged 47 points over the last
three games, could make itself a con-
tender again with a victory. You
know this one's big. It replaced the
Michigan-Illinois game on ABC.
Michigan State at Minnesota
One of the teams rooting hard for
Ohio State this week is Minnesota.
With only one conference loss and a.
home game against the Hawkeyes in
the final week, the Gophers could
spend January 1 in California. Spar-
tan quarterback Dan Enos, who got
no relief on the streets of East Lans-
ing last Sunday, won't find much in
Minneapolis, either. Taking a page
out of State's playbook, Minnesota
has revitalized its defense with a
stunt 4-3 set. It has been erratic,
though, and State may walk away
with its John Hancock Bowl plans
intact.
Purdue at Northwestern and
Wisconsin at Indiana
What to say when the bottom
four schools in the Big Ten square
off? Not much. Their combined
record is 8-21-0 and all are having
"disappointing" years. Going into
the season, Purdue thought its of-
fense would be better, Indiana and
Northwestern were counting on
strong defenses and Wisconsin was
high on new head coach Barry Al-
varez.
Nov. 9 "
Nov. 23 t
Nov. 24 "h
Dec. 8l"
Dec. 14 "
Dec. 15 "
BRIARWOOD
ON BOARDWALK
M" vs. Michigan State
M" vs. Ohio State
m" vs. Ohio State
M" vs: W. Michigan
M" vs. Lake Superior
M" vs. Lake Superior
- Sold Out
- Toys for Tots
- Poster Night
- Banner Night/Toys
- Toys for Tots
- Christmas at Yost
for Tots
Lunch Buffet and Beverage for $3.99
Monday-Friday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Briarwood Ponderosa on Boardwalk
BRIARWOOD
N DE L K
ON BOARDWALK
Theta Xi Fraternity
Proudly Congratulates The 72 New
Members of Sigma Colony at the
University of Michigan:
Steven F. Ford, Steve Afek, Don Cady, Chae An, David Lee Osborn, Tony Piazza,
Brad Pinne, Sean Bormet, James E. Dood, Steve Burkett, E. Benjamin Alliker,
Paul Chi, Jeff Gourdji, Fred Stibor, Douglas Croland, Jeff Cooperstein, John
Brady, Cibangir Ergun, Steve Fabian, Mark Cooley, H Ehrenberg, Scott
Adams, Joe be Ranjit Singh, Jeff Hrycko, Eric Slutz , Mike Goldsmith
Andy Goodman, Samir Chowh ury, Ray Gruesbeck, Mike Warner, Jehaa
Hamdan, Bill Richardson, Dan Robbins, Brian Harper, Ethan A. Heinz, Jeff
Maccagnone, Jason Hirsch, Craig McPhee, Gary Schneider, Bill Mercer, Mike
CALL 764-0247 FOR HOCKEY TICKET INFORMATION
$800,000 SELL OUT
A $800,000 inventory of quality name brand
and designer clothing will be sold at
SAVINGS OF UP TO 70%!!!
Sportcoats - Suits - Slacks - Tux. Dept.-New & Used - Sweaters
Leather Coats Neckwear - Blouses - Outerwear - Gift Items
Belts & Suspenders - Socks & Underwear
Also many more items drastically reducedlll
Doors open Thursday, Nov. 8 at 9 a.m. sharp!!