Volleyball
vs. Marquette
Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Keen Arena
*he Michigan Daily
FSPORTS
Friday, September 20, 1991
Field Hockey
vs. Duke
Tomorrow, 10 a.m.
Durham, N.C.
Page 11
WOMEN'S GOLF
Blue faces
tough field
*at Spartan
In vitational
by Dan Linna
The Michigan women's golf
team - on a roll after winning its
opening tournament at home two
weeks ago - heads to East Lansing
this weekend for the MSU Spartan
Onvitational.
Michigan beat out eight other
teams to take the Lady Wolverine
Invitational, with junior Wendy
Bigler sharing the honors for best
individual score.
"I've worked on a couple of
things since the season started and I
feel like I am hitting the ball a lot
better than before," Bigler said.
"It's good to have the first tourna-
nent under our belts. I think we'll
do well going into Michigan State."
The tournament will be played
on the 5,961-yard, par-72 Forest
Acres East golf course. The 18-team
field will include defending tour-
nament champion Penn State and in-
cumbent Big Ten champion Iowa. A
strong Nebraska team will be there
in addition to Northern Illinois,
which is coming off a tournament
Vtictory at Illinois State.
"I'm not sure who would be
considered the favorite," said rookie
Jenny Zimmerman. "If we play our
game I don't know if there is anyone
who can beat us."
That the tournament is held in
Spartan territory gives the team
added incentive. "We have a grudge,
us and the Michigan State girls,"
said senior Erica Zonder. "They've
Oad basically the same team all four
I i
74:. A r .t .
Le Clair
years I've been playing and we
would definitely like to beat them
on their home course."
Michigan State coach Mary Fos-
sum said of the rivalry: "As it is in
every sport between the two
hools, you always like to win. But
it's not the same ntense rvalry as
in football, basketball, or hockey.
But we always want to beat Michi-
gan, and they always want to beat
us."
On an unfortunate note, the team
will have more on its mind than in-
tra-state rivalries when it takes to
the fairways this weekend. Coach
ue LeClair's husband Keith passed
way last Saturday. He was very in-
volved with the Wolverine team
that his wife coached.
"We knew him very well,"
Bigler said. "He was a great golfer
himself and he helped us all out. I
think it'll be hard for Mrs. LeClair
herself and we just want to help
support her at this time."
LeClair will accompany her
- team during the tournament, and
players said her presence will give
an emotional lift to the team.
The tournament will kick off
Saturday at 8:30 A.M. shotgun
style, with 18 groups each starting
at a different hole. Thirty-six holes
will be played on the first day, fol-
lowed by 18 Sunday.
VOLLEYBALL
'M' brings home new rep
by Jeff Williams
Daily Sports Writer
With a 5-1 record this season, the
Michigan Women's Volleyball
team is one victory away from
equalling its victory total from last
season. The Michigan Volleyball
Classic this weekend will provide
the Wolverines with a chance to
pass last year's mark.
Michigan will host Marquette,
Northern Illinois and Georgia State
this weekend at Cliff Keen Arena
for the. Michigan Volleyball Clas-
sic. The Wolverines' action will be-
gin tonight at 7:30 p.m. against
Marquette. Michigan will then play
Georgia State tomorrow at 10 a.m.
and Northern Illinois at 7:30 p.m.
Northern Illinois will pose the
biggest threat to the Wolverines.
"Northern Illinois had a great
year last year, and they have a lot of
great athletes," Michigan coach
Peggy Bradley-Doppes said. "Pete
Wait is a great coach and we're go-
ing to have to work like the dickens
to beat that team.
"Marquette is kind of an up and
down team, but when they find their
niche they're really tough. As long
as we're swinging we're in it; if we
get tentative we're out of it."
Junior Tarnisha Thompson will
lead the Wolverine attack. Thomp-
son is seventh in the Big Ten with
eight assists per game.
"Tarnisha has developed a lot in
the last year," Bradley-Doppes said.
"I'd like to get her to think more in
terms of stats, and bring her average
up to about 10 assists a game."
Sophomore Michelle Horrigan
has also been a steady player for the
Wolverines. Horrigan was nomi-
nated for Big Ten Player of the
Week last week; she leads the Big
Ten in killing efficiency 'at .390 and
is number two in kills with 4.2 a
game.
The Wolverines are also getting
good numbers from sophomore
Fiona Davidson. Davidson is secopd
to Horrigan with a .369 kill average,
which measures the amount of win-
ners a team hits.
"She's become a great offensive
player," Bradley-Doppes said.
"Once she becomes more confident
there will be no stopping her."
The Wolverines' new recruits,
Robyn Reed and Julie Scherer,are
also making contributions. Reed has
seen significant playing time and can
cover all three up-front positions.
"Scherer is really pushing Tar-
nisha," Bradley-Doppes said.
"Tarnisha is the starter but Scherer
is keeping her sharp."
The Wolverines are leading the
Big Ten in hitting efficiency at .265
and are ranked second in service aces
per game with 2.19 a game. The
Wolverines' success thus far is due
in part to the experience gained in
last year's 6-25 season.
"At this time last year we
couldn't even do the drills we're do-
ing in practice this year," Bradley-
Doppes said. "The entire program
has really come along. We've done a
lot of recruiting and we've really
trained hard."
After this weekend's tourna-
ment, the Wolverines will open the
Big Ten season at Iowa Sept. 27.
The Wolverines hope to surpass their victory total of last year when
they host the University of Michigan Volleyball Classic this weekend.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Runners gear up forX
Big Ten competition
FIELD HOCKEY
Stickers head south
to find higher rank
by Jason Gomberg
Daily Sports Writer
Rookie cross country runner
Jim Finlayson says he's ready for
Big Ten competition. He'd better
be, because he and the rest of
Michigan's runners will be facing
it slightly sooner than expected.
A scheduling conflict with a
golf tournament, concerning the
use of the Michigan State links
that moonlight as the cross coun-
try course, forced the Spartans to
switch the day of the MSU Invita-
tional from Saturday to today. The
Wolverines, already with an 18-41
trouncing of Central Michigan un-
der their belts, take to the eight-
kilometer course along with MSU,
Anderson College and Macomb
Community College.
Against Central Michigan two
weeks ago, the Wolverines were
paced by senior tri-captain Dan
Oden, who set a course record by
covering the four-mile distance in
an even 20 minutes. Finlayson fin-
ished second in 20:06.
However, MSU is expected to
put up a tougher fight. The Spar-
tans are top contenders for the con-
ference crown along with Michi-
gan, which returns seven of nine
runners from last year's Big Ten
runners-up.
Michigan coach Ron Warhurst
explained that although defending
conference champion Wisconsin
and Illinois won't attend the MSU
meet due to the scheduling change,
the competition still offers the
team an interesting challenge.
"Friday will be good because
we can race head-to-head with each
guy," Warhurst said. "We can see
who we will match up against
down the road. I said to the run-
ners, 'Just look at it like it's your
academics. Last week's a quiz, this
Oden
week's an hourly."'
Newcomer Finlayson invites
the challenge.
"Maybe it's too early to say,"
he said, "but individually I'm not
worried. I don't know what to ex-
pect from these guys. I'll just be
trying to help the team win. That's
why I came to Michigan - for the
competition."
Other runners expected to place
for the Wolverines include senior
tri-captains Tony Cana, a top-ten
finisher in the 1990 Big Ten meet;
Matt Smith; and last year's Big
Ten Newcomer of the Year, Shawn
McKay.
by Tim Spolar
Daily Sports Writer
Nothing is easier than falling off
a ladder. Climbing one is a different
story.
The Michigan field hockey team,
ranked No. 14 in the nation, faces an
uphill trek this weekend with
games at No.12 Duke and No.7
Virginia.
The Wolverines (3-1) are coming
off a 1-0 Monday night victory over
Central Michigan, and the impor-
tance of this weekend is readily ap-
parent to the team. Road victories
over opponents of such high caliber
could easily enable Michigan to
climb a few rungs in the standings.
"This weekend could prove a
lot," forward Katie Vignevic said.
"If we play well, it could be a big
payoff for all we've been working
on since last winter. It is also a
chance to prove our abilities to the
nation against two very good teams
on their home turf."
Despite the situation's seeming
disadvantages, the Wolverines, look
forward to the challenge.
"We need to concentrate on our
own play and not worry about the
opponents," coach Patti Smith said.
"We have superior team speed, and
with firm passing, we will be able
to push the pace and intensity of the
game to our advantage."
"Quick passing and use of our
team speed should really give us an
advantage," Vignevic agreed.
"We've got to stay one step ahead of
them (Duke and Virginia) at all
times. We need to get the ball to our
forwards, like Kristin Shaiper, who
are really fast."
Smith noted that individual de-
fense and shooting accuracy, among
other basic skills, have been stressed
in practice throughout the week. De-
spite their superior ability, condi-
tioning, and experience, the Wolver-
ines could convert on only one of
their scoring opportunities in Mon-
day's game against CMU.
"Capitalizing on our penalty:
corners will be critical to our suc-
cess this weekend," Vignevic noted.
"Those (unconverted corners) hurt
us against Central."
For the Wolverines to succeed
this weekend, and through the rest
of the season, they must recognize
the importance of team play and gel
as a unit.
"We have no 'individuals,"'Vi-
gnevic said. "Playing together as a
team and using our team strengths
to exploit opponents' weaknesses is.
one of our main objectives for the
season. We will really excel if we
can function as a coherent unit."
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Young team also travels to MSU
by Sharon Lundy
'After a near perfect score
against Central Michigan for its
first victory of the season, the
Michigan women's cross country
team will compete in the Michigan
State Invitational today.
Michigan State, Central Michi-
gan, Western Michigan, and Ma-
comb Community College will
join the Wolverines at the event.
Because the race will be on a fairly
flat golf course, coach Sue Foster is
looking for some very' fast times
and perhaps even some personal
records to be set.
"I think right now we are the
strongest team in the state," she
said.
Rookie Karen Harvey, who ran
for the junior Canadian team, and
sophomore Chris Szabo should
lead the Wolverines. Foster is not
fazed by Harvey's youth.
"She has had a lot of cross coun-
try experience, and is definitely go-
ing to be in our top three all year
long," she said. "And Chris has
made a big improvement from last
year so she should be right up
there."
ner last year, will be redshirted due
to a knee injury.
Kelly Chard, another rookie,
suffered a slight injury but will
compete. "She strained a calf mus-
cle this past week, but she did part
'We don't have a super-experienced team,
but the people who do have the experience
will help the ones who don't'
- Sue Foster
Women's cross country coach
The Wolverines will be with-
out two all-Big Ten competitors.
Junior Amy Buchholz was named
all-Big Ten last year and just
missed making all-American hon-
ors. She will be missing the race
today but she will be back for the
next meet. Molly McClimon, an
all-American and all-Big Ten run-
of the workout on Wednesday and
should be ready to go," Foster said.
"We don't have a super-expen-
enced team, but the people who do
have the experience will help the
ones who don't," Foster said. "But
we are mainly working on strength
training and keeping everyone
healthy and uninjured."
The Largest Selection
of Michigan
Sportswear
Anywhere.
No. Books.
Student hockey
tickets on sale today
from staff reports
Student hockey season tickets
will be on sale Friday from 10 a.m.
to 8 p.m. in the basement of the
Union. The tickets will be sold on
a first-come, first-serve basis for
$50 per season package.
Also available are mini-season
packages, which allow the fan to
pick six home games to attend for
Women's soccer wins
8th match in arow
from Staff Reports
The Michigan women's soccer
club is off to a successful start. It
entered yesterday's game against
Oakland University with a perfect
7-0 record to protect. And protect it
did.
The club was victorious over
Oakland, stunning the home team, 7-
0. Lisa Ashton opened up the scor-
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