Page 10-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, October 2, 1991

Griddes
Victorious Ryder Cup captain
Dave Stockton hopes to continue
his streak with a Griddes victory.
Send your picks to 420 Maynard by
Friday at 5 p.m.
Michigan at Iowa
Michigan State at Indiana
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Minnesota at Illinois
Purdue at Northwestern
Syracuse at Florida State
Oklahoma State at Miami
Arizona at Washington
Oklahoma at Iowa State
Clemson at Georgia
Notre Dame at Stanford
Penn State at Temple
Baylor at Houston
Southern Mississippi at Auburn
Florida at Louisiana State
Maryland at Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech at N.C. State
California at UCLA
Tenn.-Chattanooga at Alabama
William & Mary at N. Carolina
Tiebreaker Score:
Michigan __ Iowa ---

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Iueut

Improved spi kers
set realistic goals

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qy A

by Adam Miller
Daily Sports Writer
It's easy to get excited early in
the season. Especially when a pro-
gram that has been down is sud-
denly chalking up victories at an
alarming rate.
The Michigan volleyball team
has created quite a stir this year.
Following seasons of disappoint-
ment, the Wolverines sprang from
the blocks with an 8-2 pre-confer-
ence record, a second-place showing
at the Rice-Baden Showcase Tour-
nament and a championship at the
Michigan Volleyball Classic.
Heading into the Big Ten sched-
ule, expectations were high. Ex-
citement was further elevated by
the confident talk after the Classic
victory, in which sophomore mid-
dle blocker Michelle Horrigan did
everything but guarantee victories
at Iowa and Minnesota.
Coach Bradley-Doppes also
spoke enthusiastically, saying,
"This is not the past. This is a
brand new Michigan program."
True to expectations, "the new
Michigan" stormed into Iowa City
and thrashed the Hawkeyes in
straight games, 15-7, 15-8, 15-1.
But the Wolverines six-match
winning streak was snapped Sun-
day, as Michigan's high-flying of-
fense was grounded by a potent
Minnesota defense. The Golden
Gophers sent the Maize and Blue
packing, 15-7, 15-13, 15-3.
This is not disaster. This is not
the end of the season. But this is
reality.
Michigan is a greatly improved
team over last year's squad.
Bradley-Doppes has done a master-
ful job of molding the players into
a true force on the court, especially

on offense. The Wolverines' were
leading the Big Ten in hitting effi-
ciency through the non-conference
schedule.
Furthermore, the team no
longer relies on one player to set
the pace. Last year, Michigan's suc-
cess rested squarely on the shoul-
ders of the departed Julia Sturm.
Horrigan has been hot of late, but
should she cool off, there are sev-
eral others who can lead the charge.
Already, Michigan has seen
flashes of greatness from soph-
omore middle blocker Fiona David-
son and junior outside hitter Hay-
ley Lorenzen. The first-year class
has also come along quickly, with
middle blocker Robyn Read and
setter Julie Scherer making signif-
icant contributions.
Of course, one can never forget
the steady contribution of junior
setter Tarnisha Thompson. Already
fourth on Michigan's all-time as-
sist list, Thompson dishes out
nearly nine assists a game, setting
up the Wolverine offense.
So it's obvious there's been sig-
nificant improvement. But you
still probably won't see Michigan
at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, home
of the 1991 NCAA Champi-
onships, this winter. Neither does a
Big Ten crown seem especially
likely. There are several reasons:
Youth. There's only one se-
nior, Autumn Collins, and three
juniors, on this year's team. Even
with an outstanding class of new-
comers, one wonders how well a
young team can perform on the
road against a quality opponent.
The schedule. The Big Ten is
anything but a cakewalk, especially
with this year's addition of Penn
State. The Lady Lions never lost a

WHAT'S
HAPPENING

S:

S
0

RECREATIONAL SPORTS
Intramural Sports Program

Big Ten Player of the Week nominee Hayley Lorenzen opened the
conference season with a strong performance aginst Iowa.

ICE HOCKEY - FALL
Limited to 30 Teams
Entries Taken: Wednesday October 9, 1991
11:00am-4:30pm IMSB
Lottery to Determine League Teams:
6:00pm Wednesday October 9, 1991 IMSB Lobby
ICE HOCKEY OFFICIALS:
Clinic Begins: Wednesday October 9, 1991
7:00pm IMSB
CALL 763-3562 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

match in the Atlantic 10, and were
undefeated last year. Illinois, Ohio
State, and Wisconsin will also
make things rough.
Defense. Not Michigan's, but
the other teams'. The Wolverines
have an explosive offense, but one
that has it's problems. Bradley-
Doppes recently said that the
Wolverines like to play with
"reckless abandon." However, in
losses to DePaul and Minnesota,
the opposition was able, through
strong blockers at the net, to force
the Wolverines to abandon their

reckless abandon. Inability to dic-
tate tempo could spell trouble for
this team which seems to rely on
its offense.
But Bradley-Doppes herself has
not talked of titles, and said before
the season that she'd "love to see"
afifth -place Big Ten finish. Maybe
what was gained at Minnesota was
not great disappointment, but a lit-
tle perspective.
Worst to first? Nah.
A great season for Michigan?
You bet.



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4

RODGERS
Continued from page 9
Matt was growing up.
"Matt's exposure to profes-
sional basketball through his father.
gave him the opportunity to study
great athletes and their ways of
handling pressure," Iowa coach
Hayden Fry said. "Those early ob-
servations have meshed well with
his experience here at Iowa and pro-
duced a young man that plays the
game with great poise and confi-
'dence."
In the second game of his sopho-
more season, Rodgers started a*
quarterback, a position he has held
since. That same year, his father was
fired from the Celtics. Both took
the rollercoaster ride of public sen-
timent that can quickly turn praise
into ridicule. His dad's situation
left Matt with a bitter feeling to-
wards the sporting world.
"I was there when he got the
phone call," Rodgers said. "H
didn't deserve that. I can't even
watch the Celtics anymore. They
used to be my favorite team.
"I think it's crazy. You look at
last year's season; the Celtics, they
won 56 games and they supposedly
had a great year. My father won 52
games without Larry Bird and Den-
nis Johnson."
Rodgers now understands that
sports is a business first. And, it is 4
lesson that he hopes to test in the
NFL.
"Hopefully, I'll have to deal
with that someday," Rodgers said.
"It's always been a dream of mine
to play professional sports. That's
not the main goal; the main goal is
to win football games and every-
thing else falls in place."
As far as his dad is concerned,
things have worked out for the best
Rodgers was hired in July to coach
the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"The pressure to win in Boston
is really big," Matt Rodgers said.
"You don't need that pressure.
Most teams are happy to get to the
playoffs. You can't ask for a better
job than he's got now."
Another bonus of the job is that
Jimmy Rodgers will be closer t
Iowa. He is planning on attending
most of his son's games and Matt
will get a chance to watch his dad in
action as well
But Rodgers' attention has been
focused on adding another story to
reminisce about. This week's Michi-
gan-Iowa game will undoubtedly
have a major impact on who will go
to the Rose Bowl. While Michigan
has been playing the likes of the
Seminoles, the Hawkeyes have beenU

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