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- - .1 THE GREAT WALL RESTAURANT LO' Specializing in Szechuan, Hunan, and Cantn~s " Dinners and Lunches - Carry-outs Best New Restaurant--1988 1 0 U i I II