The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition -Thursday, September 5,1991- Page 9
Young wrestlers boast
trio of all-Americans
Spikers struggle, but
show improvement
by Josh Dubow
-Daily Sports Writer
Entering the postseason, Michi-
gan wrestling coach Dale Bahr was
hoping for a second-place finish in
the Big Ten and a top 10 finish in the
NCAAs. The Wolverines accom-
plished their first goal, but fell two
spots short of capturing the latter.
On the whole, Bahr was pleased
with his young squad's performance.
"We came into the season with a
*younger team than last year, but we
did a lot better," Bahr said. "We
knew these guys could wrestle, but
we weren't sure if they could show
it this year."
Seven Michigan's wrestlers
qualified for the NCAAs based on
their performances in the Big Tens.
Four Wolverines were conference
finalists: seniors Salem Yaffai (118
pounds) and Fritz Lehrke (190),
*sophomore Joey Gilbert (134), and
first-year wrestler Sean Bormet
(158). The other three qualifiers
were sophomores Phil Tomek
(HWT), Lanny Green (177), and
James Rawls (142).
Another sophomore, Brian
Harper (150), narrowly missed the
NCAAs, placing sixth in the Big
Ten. While Bahr could count on
those eight classes as strengths, the
Wolverine coach was unable to
patch holes at 126 and 167.
The loss of sophomore Jason
Cluff (126) to academics in January
forced rookie Mike Mihalic into the
starting lineup.
"Losing. Jason really hurt us,"
Bahr said. "We didn't want to force
Mihalic into the lineup that early,
=but we had no choice."
Out of the seven qualifiers, three
- Gilbert, Green, and Lehrke -
earned all-American status, with
Gilbert placing third in the nation.
Gilbert's only two postseason
losses came at the hands of Big Ten
and NCAA Champion Tom Brands
of Iowa. The Big Ten final between
these two 134-pounders provided
both intensity and controversy.
At the outset of the match,
Gilbert took Brands down and put
his back to the mat for the first time
in the Hawkeye's career. While
holding Brands down for over 30
seconds, Gilbert appeared to have
pinned the two-time National
Champion, but the referee did not
see it that way.
Brands eventually escaped and
tired out Gilbert for a 24-14 vic-
tory. At the NCAAs, after a close
first period, Brands pulled away for
a 33-19 victory.
"I need to keep more focus and
work in the off-season to get big-
ger," Gilbert said. "My goal is to
win the National Championship,
and I'll need to work hard to achieve
that."
The wrestler with whom Bahr
was most pleased to see succeed was
Green. After moving up from 167
last season, Green fought his way to
all-American status.
"Nobody works harder than
Lanny," Bahr said. "He deserves any
success that comes hisnway, and I
think more will be coming."
Bahr was pleased with the per-
formances of both his seniors.
"I was really happy that Fritz
was an all-American," Bahr said.
"He worked so hard over his career
that it was good to see him re-
warded. I wish that Salem could
have done a little better at NCAAs,
but on the whole, they both had out-
standing careers."
by Albert Lin
Daily Sports Writer
The 1990 season was supposed to
be a new beginning for the Michigan
volleyball team. The hiring of head
coach Peggy Bradley-Doppes sig-
nalled an end to the chaos of the
Joyce Davis era. Bradley-Doppes was
coming off two consecutive NCAA
bids at North Carolina and 1989
ACC Coach-of-the-Year honors.
In addition, James Smoot, who
had 14 years of coaching experience,
was hired to assist Bradley-Doppes,
and sophomore Chris White fol-
lowed Bradley-Doppes to Michigan,
transferring from North Carolina.
But despite all these changes, the
Michigan volleyball team contin-
ued to struggle, finishing with its
worst overall record ever, 6-25,
while going 2-16 in the Big Ten.
The squad started off before
classes began at the Boise State
Tournament. After dropping all
four contests there, the Wolverines
returned home, only to fall to the
Akron Zips. Then it was on to the
Central Michigan Tournament,
where, after losing to Louisville in
the first round, the spikers came
back to defeat New Mexico State in
the consolation match for their first
victory of the year.
Following a non-conference loss
to Eastern Michigan, the Wolver-
ines began the Big Ten season, hop-
ing for a better finish than the pre-
vious two seasons' 1-17 marks.
"Everybody we talk to ... tell(s)
us how much we have improved,"
assistant coach Smoot said before
the start of the conference season.
"It's hard to believe when you are
still losing, but I think that we are
starting to believe that we can beat
some of these (Big Ten) teams."
Michigan kept believing, but the
desired results never came. When
the first half of the conference's
double round-robin schedule fin-
ished Oct. 17, there was still a goose
egg under the 'W' which signified
the Wolverines' Big Ten victories.
Their overall record was a dismal 1-
16.
"The consistency is a problem,
but we have three people (Michelle
Horrigan, Kristen Lang, Heather
Wells) out for the season (because
of injury)," Bradley-Doppes said.
"Thus, the inconsistency will be
there. We are only one or two
starters away from being good, but
we have one or two starters out, so
that makes it frustrating."
It was time for Michigan to take
a break, so the squad travelled to
Marquette, Mich., to play a series of
matches. Much to their delight, the
Wolverines came home with three
victories, sweeping Oakland and
host Northern Michigan, while go-
ing an extra set to top Michigan
Tech.
"This was a good lift," Bradley-
Doppes said. "It was supposed to be
a weekend off, so to make the long
trip and to play well is great."
Another non-conference match, a
loss to Western Michigan, pre-
cluded the second half of the Big
Ten schedule.
The Wolverines dropped three in
a row to fall to an 0-12 conference
mark. But then came the break
Michigan needed.
Sixteenth-ranked Illinois arrived
in Ann Arbor on the tail end of a
road trip. The Illini had swept their
first two opponents, but on the
night of Nov. 3, it was Illinois' turn
to be broomed. The Wolverines pre-
vailed, 15-13, 15-13, 15-10.
"We played intensely the whole
match, instead of in spurts like
usual," first-year hitter Fiona
Davidson said. "We kept to the
gameplan and outhustled them."
Three matches later, Michigan
faced traditional rival Michigan
State. Four sets later, the Wolver-
ines had their second conference vic-
'Everybody we talk to
... tell(s) us how much
we have improved.
It's hard to believe
when you are still
losing, but I think that
we are starting to
believe that we can
beat some of these
(Big Ten) teams'
, .
'b
fp
'
4
}!
%
V
i
,
Although the record did not reflect it, things began looking up for the
Michigan volleyball team last season, beginning with an improved
attitude and ending in a highly-touted recruiting class.
Recruits salvage painful season for women's track
by Jeff Williams
Daily Sports Writer
The. Michigan women's track
team did not experience much suc-
*cess last year. Both the indoor and
outdoor seasons were characterized
by injuries and poor performances.
The Wolverines lost the services
of a number of their athletes to in-
juries. During most of the year,
Michigan competed with only about
half of its scholarship athletes. The
Wolverines placed fourth at the Big
Ten Indoor Championships.
"We had a disastrous indoor sea-
son," coach James Henry said. "The
number of injuries we had really
hurt us. Outsiders will say we don't
have much here, but we had a very
good team before all these unfortu-
nate things happened to us."
Among the injured was sopho-
more Molly McClimon. In her
first year McClimon garnered all-
American honors as a distance run-
ner. A knee injury ended her indoor
season, and she did not compete at
all in the outdoor season.
"Losing (McClimon) was a big
loss," Henry said. "She could have
won the mile at the Big Tens and
probably would have placed in the
half-mile."
Despite the team's problems, one
of the Wolverines was able to com-
*pete, and do well. Junior Julie Vic-
tor was the most consistent and suc-
cessful performer for Michigan.
Victor finished second in the shot
put and third in the discus at the
Stanford Invitational. Victor was
the only Wolverine to qualify for
the NCAA Championship.
The most successful part of the
year for Michigan was the recruit-
ing season. The Wolverines made a
number of additions who promise to
contribute right away.
Dorchelle Webster, a transfer
from Florida-Gainsville, leads this
year's recruiting class. Webster
comes in with an impressive set of
credentials. She was an NCAA run-
ner-up in the 400 intermediate hur-
dles and was also a member of the
NCAA championship mile relay
team. Florida is ranked in the top
three nationally, and Webster's ex-
perience at that level should help
the Wolverines.
"She'll come in as a veteran right
away," Henry said. "She's used to
winning nationals as a team and an
individual. Her attitude is that the
Big Ten season is a warm up for the
NCAAs. That kind of attitude will
help us a lot'."
Michigan's other recruits in-
clude Rhonda Meyers, from
Elkhorn, Neb. Meyers throws in the
shot put and discus will place her in
the top three on the team. Theresa
Hall, from Byron, Mich., will also
compete in the shot and discus.
-James Smoot,'
Asst. volleyball coach:
tory of the year, 15-11, 15-8, 10-15
15-3.
Three more losses ended the
Michigan season. Injuries played a
role in the disappointing year, but
those injuries gave experience to the
large group of first-year Wolver-
ines. Particularly impressive were
hitters Davidson, Marita McCahill;
and Andrea Lucadum.
After a solid recruiting class, in-
cluding two players from Califor-
nia, Michigan's 1991 season should
be a drastic improvement over the
last several years. This year's team
will play with the knowledge that
Bradley-Doppes will be leaving af-
ter the season. She was named Asso-
ciate 'AthleticsDirector for:
Women's Athletics in the spring
and will assume her duties in that
capacity full time Dec. 1.
Bradley-Doppes hopes to leave
her successor with a program that
has finally turned the corner.
Senior Barquist leads way as 'M' men hit stride
by Chris Carr
Daily Sports Writer
The return of senior Brad Bar-
quist, avoiding injuries, and in-
creased depth in the field events led
to marked improvement for the
Michigan men's track team this sea-
son.
After a ninth-place finish at the
Big Ten Indoor meet and a sixth
place finish at the outdoor meet last
season, the Wolverines improved to
fourth place at the indoor meet in
late February.
"Considering our performance
last year, I am fairly pleased with
what we have accomplished this sea-
son," Michigan coach Jack Harvey
said.
Michigan finished in 12th place
at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field
Championships in Indianapolis in
early March. Four Wolverines re-
ceived all-American honors at the
meet. Senior Brad Barquist, who was
redshirted last season and a two-
time all-American in the 3,000 me-
ters, earned a spot for the third time
on the team with a fifth-place finish
in the 5,000 meters.
Senior Neal Newman claimed a
spot on the team in the 800 meters.
Newman also set a Big Ten confer-
ence indoor record by posting a time
of 1:47.86 in the semifinal heat. Ju-
nior Brad Darr and sophomore Dan
Reddan rounded out the all-Ameri-
can honors for the Wolverines. Darr
finished fourth in the pole vault,
and Reddan placed third in the high
jump in his first national meet.
"I tried not to think about it be-
ing the NCAAs," Reddan said
shortly after the meet. "For me, it
was just another meet. It was a mat-
ter of getting hot and building my
confidence early, and I did that by
clearing the first three heights on
my first attempt."
In the running events, the
Wolverines were able to avoid in-
juries which plagued them last sea-
son. Junior Jerry Douglas emerged
as a force in the 110 meter high hur-
dles, placing first at the Crimson
Classic and later at the Kansas Re-
lays. Newman anchored the middle
distance runners with some strong
performances in the 800 meters
while also running a leg on the 4 x
400 meter relay team.
The distance corps was anchored
by Barquist, who qualified for the
NCAA Outdoor Track & Field
Championships in Eugene, Ore.,
with a fourth place finish at the
Penn Relays in the 10,000 meters,
posting a time of 28:58.4. Senior
Jeff Barnett also qualified for the
NCAA outdoor meet, placing fifth
at the Penn Relays in the 3,000 me-
ter steeplechase, covering the dis-
tance in 8:47.6. Frosh Shawn
Mackay looks to fill the void left
by Barquist's departure next season.
The field events became a strong
source of points for the Wolverines.
With two pole vaulters able to
clear 17 feet consistently in sopho-
more Toby Van Pelt and Darr and
two high jumpers able to clear seven
feet consistently in senior Brad
Holwerda and Reddan, Michigan
was near the top at every meet in the
two events. Senior Alex Sarafian
(javelin) and junior Mike Hennessey
(shot put and discus) rounded out
the depth for the Wolverines in the
field events.
MICHIGAN
. ii
0
..."_.
V
G 7 - "
v®
v r
.1 ,., i.
Special Rates for
Group & Birthday
Parties
Open 7 Days All Year
Miniature Golf (best course around!)
Video Games * Pinball e Skeeball
Food & Snacks Galore From Ice
Cream To Nachos. No matter If Its
Golf or a Game, Fun Is The Name
2675 Washtenaw, Ypsilanti
(t-//2 miles east of US. 23)
434-2838
i
CYCLE CELLAR
Authorized dealer for:
jBRIDGES OBE Bancf
The Athlete's Business Suit
OUR SPECIALITY-Whether you're a bodybuilder
or simply in good shape, WE CAN FIT YOU with
largest selection of athlete's suits and sport coats
in Southern Michigan, including the new "competi-
tive 10 & 12" for the extreme muscular build.
Sizes to 54 X-Long.
SPECIAL GROUP OF _ 1Q
hi mAM ..BA.
10% OFF U of M DESIGN
1 T-SHIRTS
-- -- MANY COLORS AND STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM EXP. 10/59 j
ogq.-y LDL
CgIv CVCa.B
MNI7bU GA -r
Racing, Triathlon, Touring, Recreation, & All-Terrain
*FELCH N
*Clothing, parts, and accessories
*Full repair services-all brands
*Custom frames-built on premises
* Frame repair, braze ons and repainting
STATE COUPON