0 Page 10-The Michigan Daily-Thursday, November 8, 1990 ll I MEN SWIMMERS HAVE STRONG SIX DRIVE: Wolverines open MICHIGA le defense rour 1, by Ken ugiura Daily Sports Writer Forget the three-peat. The Joy of Six is the focus of the men's swimming team as it prepares to de- fend its fifth straight Big Ten cham- pionship this season. The title defense officially begins tomorrow, as the Wolverines take on Wisconsin at 4 p.m. at Canham Natatorium. With the departure of four-time NCAA champion Brent Lang, the consensus around the league is that Michigan is ready to be dethroned. "They don't feel we can win the Big Ten," individual medleyist Eric Namesnik says of the competition. The Badgers, despite a ninth-place finish in the Big Ten last year, have head coach Jon Urbanchek's full at- tention. "Wisconsin is a really aggressive team this year," the U.S. Swimming Coach of the Year said. "Michigan is going to be challenged to the full- est." It might sound as if Urbanchek is perfecting his cliches, but there actu- ally is a real concern. Last season, Wisconsin head coach Jack Pettinger redshirted his three best swimmers, including 1989 Big Ten 200-yard backstroke champion Jack Young. Pettinger's patience apparently has beenirewarded, as Wisconsin opened with a sweep in a four-way dual meet, including a 150-129 win over Big Ten contender Minnesota. Distance freestyler Jim Sam- marco and sprinter Dale Brown, Wisconsin's other redshirts, team up with the All-American Young to spearhead a potent Badger attack. However, the Michigan cupboard is far from bare- Despite the absence of world record holder Mike Bar- rowman for the semester, Urbanchek can still rely upon the Erics, returnees will have to cany the load. Namesnik and breaststroker Wunder- "All these (Big Ten) teams are lich, as well as butterflyer Brian gunning for us," sophomore butter- Gunn and backstroker Steve flyer and individual medleyist Jim Bigelow. Hume said. "We're kind of confident but at the same time we're not try- According to Urbanchek, those ing to be cocky." Men capti at Big Ter by Ryan Herrington Michigan's optimism of a Big Ten championship in men's rugby was shattered this past weekend in Columbus. The Wolverines lost to Iowa in the semifinals Saturday, but defeated defending champion Minnesota Sunday to capture third place. The weekend started strong for Michigan as it soundly defeated Purdue, 22-6. The game was marked by strong forward and flanker play. Bryan Williamson and John Swis both controlled their positions and helped Mich- igan keep possession of the ball. However, Michigan was unable to sustain its high level of play against Iowa. While staying close during the first half and going into halftime down only two, the Wolverines were out of sync. "We were flat right from the start," Stroman said. "We did okay Women fin N RUGBY duP uire third i tourney. in the first half, but Iowa was just too tough." The Hawkeyes opened the sec-. ond half by scoring 18 unanswered, points and sealed a spot in the championship match. "I think our inexperience really hurt us," co-captain Jon Lichter- man said. "When certain things happened, we were not in the right places to capitalize on them. (Iowa) was very strong. They con- trolled all phases of the game." Sunday's third-place game proved anticlimatic as Minnesota, who lost to Ohio State in thet other semifinal, and Michigan both started many reserves. Brian Howard scored all seven points in the Wolverines' 7-3 victory. For the third straight year, the host team won the Big Ten tour- nament as Ohio State defeated Iowa in the finals. ish third in, urnament very physical tournament, at least eight opposing players had to leave the field due to injury. And while the Subunion squad sus- tained surprisingly few injuries, no one emerged absolutely un- scathed. "I lost a half pint of blood my-- self," Wolf added, referring to her reinjuring her previously broken nose. The season does not end here for some players, however, as K.C. Bemish noted. The tourna- ment was a showcase for players to be picked for the Midwest Select-Side squad and Michigan ' was honored with four selections. ' Juli Liebler and Margo,. Machcn, both U.S. National Team players, were chosen again for the Midwest squad along with two new selections - Bemish and: the rookie surprise Louise Aloe. JOSE JUAREZ/Daily Wolverine Michelle Swix competes in the 1500 meter freestyle last Friday against Oakland University. She placed second in the race, as Michigan eventually won the meet in convincing fashion. Women tankers open conference season l ', by Charlie Wolfe In a town that has been turned topsy-turvy the last few days with Club MTV hysteria and bizarre state elections, one can travel to Canham Natatorium tomorrow to see a few more contestants putting on their best moves in races of a non-politi- cal variety. The Michigan women's swim- ming team, ranked sixth in the na- The Michigan Sports Roundup with host Rob Lanesey Intramural scores and Highlights & Michigan Highlights. I I I -bortion Health Care Cilinic of Ann Arbor 3012 Packard . 971-1970 tion, begins its quest for a fifth con- secutive Big Ten title versus Wis- consin tomorrow. While wary of any given opponent, coach Jim Richard- son believes the Badgers will give Michigan a tough fight. "They're not as strong as we are on paper," admitted Richardson. "But they do long course training like us and have three or four very good swimmers, so the races should be competitive." Richardson remains confident, though, and hopes for results similar to the Wolverines' impressive 142- 92 thrashing of Oakland University last week. The Wolverines will be led by junior Lisa Anderson and impressive first-year swimmer Karen Barnes, who had three victories apiece last week. Sophomore Kathy Diebler and newcomer Kate Girard also hope to repeat their performances from a week ago when they each gathered two first-place finishes. While Richardson believes that the diving ranks may not be as dom- inant as in past years, they can still provide consistently strong perfor- mances. "We have a group of seven that are very solid and can score well for us at any time," he said. With the Wolverines doing more distance training this season, the in- creas6d endurance of the swimmers should give them particular advan- tage in an increasingly competitive conference. Richardson noted that Ohio State, Northwestern, Iowa and Minnesota would offer particularly stiff competition this season. Those four join Michigan in the nation's top 25, placing half the Big Ten there. Midwest to by Charlie Wolfe In a bruising "Battle Royale" where four lone women's rugby teams gathered this past weekend, a little blood as well as sweat and tears were spilled. And only one team could emerge victorious. The Michigan/Ohio/Indiana Subunion Select-Side team, of which eleven Wolverines were a part, was not that team. Min- nesota gained top honors while the Subunion team garnered third. But the squad did not exit Iowa City before making quite an im- pression on its competitors. Ac- tually, they made multiple im- pressions, abrasions, and contu- sions. "People didn't expect us to hit and tackle that hard," Michigan team president Erika Wolf recalled. She added that over the course of a . Tonight Friday 9:05 pm 4:05 pm Birkensock La* "p Sandalsclogs,&shoe for all-weather comfort Repair Service -663-1644 209 N.4th Ave. (By Kerrytown) Mon-Sat 10-6 Cable Channel9. _ . Investment Banking Opportunities at First Boston First Boston, a special bracket investment banking firm headquartered in New York, will be recruiting for its financial analyst program. Positions are available in the Investment Banking De part- ment. All interested students are cordially invited to attend a presentation. Presentation: Interviewing schedule: Monday, November 12,1990 University of Michigan Business School January 22, 1991 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Michigan Room 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Michigan Lobby For further information and inquiries, please feel free to contact: Tohn Peavy r 6 lb I U