Women's Basketball
vs. Minnesota
Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m.
Crisler Arena
SPORTS
Men's Swimming and Diving
vs. Michigan State
Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Canham Natatorium
Ask *
VThe Michigan Daily
Thursday, January 23, 1992
Page 5
1
xTh~
" FU LL CO UR T
-PRESS ---
1
Blue cagers must
lern from -losses
by Tim Spolar
Daily Basketball Writer
°1MADISON -- The Michigan women's basketball team finds itself
mired in last place in the Big Ten, winless after four conference games.
Needless to say, the Wolverines have not had much to write home about.
After an exceptional showing in the Seattle Times-Husky Classic,
where the Wolverines upset one top 20 team and came within five points of
beating another, emotions and expectations were running high entering
conference play.
However, after a pair of disappointing home losses to Purdue and
Illinois in its first Big Ten weekend, it was readily- apparent that the team's
confidence was shaken. The key to returning to winning form would be
merely to forget these aberrations and play with heart for forty minutes.
By doing so, next weekend's games would be a showcase for Michigan's
move to the conference's upper division.
But now 'next weekend's games' have become last weekend's games, and
the greatness has not returned. Perhaps the Wolverines didn't forget
enough of their first Big Ten weekend. Or maybe they forgot too much.
Both Northwestern and Wisconsin routed the Wolverines last weekend.
The Wildcats executed a full-court press to near perfection, while the
Badgers used an up-tempo attack and veteran players to drub Michigan. The
Northwestern game was so ugly that Michigan coach Bud VanDeWege
called it an "embarrassment."
"There was no excuse for that at all," VanDeWege said. "It was just a
complete loss of poise, a complete lack of mental readiness on
(Michigan's) part."d
One of the Wolverines' biggest problems so far has been poor shooting.
After losing to Illinois, the frustration which stems from missing shots
one normally makes was evident on the faces and in the words of
Michigan's players and coaches.
"We didn't take many bad shots," VanDeWege said. "We took shots
that we normally look for, but they just wouldn't fall for us today."
"My shooting was off today," said Trish Andrew, Michigan's leading
scorer. "The bad thing was that I let it frustrate me and let it affect the
rest of my game."~
a.Unfortunately, that often happens in the game of basketball. Even the
game's top players need confidence to excel. Shooting is often the aspect of
the game most directly affected by confidence, but it is definitely not the
only one. When one's shooting goes south, everything else usually follows
suit.
This is what the team meant by forgetting the bad performances against
Purdue and Illinois. Putting an unlucky game out of its mind would be the
first ingredient in burying Michigan's cold touch.
What the team showed last weekend, though, is that the first few games
might not have merely been results of bad luck. The Wolverines have
played poorly since their great triumph in Washington, but they know they
can repeat that performance.
With Minnesota, the only team picked to finish behind the Wolverines
in the preseason Big Ten coaches' poll, and Iowa coming to Crisler this
weekend, it is time for the Wolverines to remember their first four confer-
ence games. Forget about how great they were nearly a month ago. Get an-
gry at the poor showings in 1992. Start getting better in each contest like
they did in the Husky Classic instead of regressing through the Big Ten sea-
son. It's time for Michigan to show its true colors.
Wolverine Char Durand drives around an'opponent last season. Durand and the Wolverines hope to increase their
level of intensity for the remainder of their schedule. Michigan faces Northwestern and Minnesota this weekend.
BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Starting slots open as women
cagers head into 'home series
Spikers
spli~t
weekend
series
by Dan Linna
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's volleyball
team salvaged the weekend by
thrashing Wisconsin Saturday after
falling to Michigan State Friday.
Michigan vented its frustrations
on the Badgers and ran away with
the match, 15-4, 15-3, 7-15 and 15-7.
Senior Mike McCune led Michi-
gan with 12 kills and senior co-cap-
tain Keith Baar had nine to help the
team post a 41 percent kill average.
The Wolverines also collected 50
digs in the victory.
Although the Wolverines were
burried in the first two games
against MSU, 15-7 and 15-5, they
made a comeback in the third game
to take a 13-7 lead. However,
Michigan State battled back to take
the game - and the match - 17-16.
"We were a little nervous in
game one," Michigan coach Tom Jo-
hengen said. "We made a lot of mis-
takes. We were trying too hard.
Michigan State had a great effort
and they were very consistent."
McCune and junior Chris Pierce
led the team with eight kills each as
the Wolverines posted a sub-par 28
percent kill average.
"We didn't block well, and this
allowed them to score more easily
than they should have," Johengen
said.
One of the bright spots for the
Wolverines was the play of sopho-
more Justin MacLaurin who was ef-
fective in both matches and made no
hitting errors during the weekend.
"(MacLaurin) gives us the pos-
sibility for a new hitter in the fu-
ture," Johengen said. "He has the
highest vertical leap on the team and
should be able to hit over anyone in
the league."
.The Wolverines agreed that even
though the weekend didn't produce
the two victories the team was
looking for, they learned a valuable
lesson.
"We got into a rut against MSU
and people were trying to pull us
out on their own," sophomore Tony
Poshek said. "We learned that we
need to play entirely as a team."
by Ryan Herrington
and Tim Spolar
Daily Basketball Writers
MADISON - After last weekend's lopsided de-
feats at Northwestern and Wisconsin, losing by
scores of 83-57 and 93-66 respectively, Michigan
coach Bud VanDeWege made it clear that the
Wolverines' individual levels of intensity have not
been high enough to get the job done in the Big Ten.
The inconsistent nature of the team thus far has put
four of the five starting positions up for grabs.
"People who step forward are going to get a
chance to play," VanDeWege said. "We just need to
find people who are going to play well. If I need to
sub a lot to get it, I'm going to do it. (Center) Trish
(Andrew)'is your given and after that I'm willing to
look at anybody and anything."
Among the Wolverines who have begun to excel is
sophomore forward Rhonda Jokisch. Her play last
Sunday against the Badgers was her best performance
of the season. Jokisch scored eight points and pulled
down six rebounds in limited court time. She has also
turned heads in practice, most notably VanDeWege's.
"She's much improved," he said. "I'm really
pleased she's coming along so well."
GROUNDED IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE: As if
Michigan's dismal weekend on the road could have
gotten any grayer, the Wolverines faced flight delays
during their return to Ann Arbor. After taking off on
their scheduled flight following Sunday's game in
Madison, their plane had to circle back and land when
its landing gear would not retract.
Michigan was forced to switch flights and take an
indirect route through Minneapolis before landing at
Detroit .Metro at 12:45 a.m., a little more than five
hours later than the team's original arrival time.
RECEIVING NO CHARITY: Michigan didn't
make life any easier for itself against the Badgers and
Wildcats. The Wolverines managed to go to the free
throw line only 12 times Friday against
Northwestern, as the Wildcats were charged with 10
fouls the entire night. Against the Badgers, the
numbers improved somewhat as Michigan went to the
line 21 times.
Even when the Wolverines made it to the charity
stripe they encountered problems. Michigan shot 21-
33 for the two games, resulting in a 63 percent clip.
The poor-shooting bug even bit reliable Nikki
Beaudry, who went into the weekend leading the Big
Ten in free throw percentage. Beaudry went three for
eight for the weekend, a far cry from her 84 percent
season average.
Woe runners hope
to maintain momentum
HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Evans avoids 'goat' label in victory
by Bernadette Ramsey
Coming off an excellent per-
formance in Bloomington last
weekend, the Wolverines are gearing
up for their home opener. The
women's track team will take on
SKent State and Toledo in a trian-
Wgular meet Saturday at the Track and
Tennis Building beginning at 12
noon.
Riding high after beating defend-
ing champion Indiana on the
Hoosiers' home track, Michigan
hopes to continue its momentum.
"Toledo and Kent State are both
good teams and this should be an ex-
citing meet," Michigan coach James
*Henry said. "The team is really en-
thusiastic right now and looking
forward to this meet."
Henry feels he is getting just
what he needs from the team right
now.
"We have a good mix of older
members and newcomers who are
coming through with solid perf or-
mances," Henry said. "I could go on
for a long time praising this team."~
* This mixture of quality gives the
Wolverines plenty of depth. Henry
may have to rely on that depth if, key
team members remain unhealthy.
Susy Thweatt, a hurdler and
sprinter, pulled up lame during the
200-meter hurdles at Indiana. She
has been plagued with a recurring
quadriceps injury this season. Also,
Courtney Babcock missed the Indi-
ana meet due to injury.
* "Babcock's injury was very dis-
appointing considering her superb
One bright spot was Amy
Bannister, who was able to compete;
last week without being bothered
by a previous hip injury.
"Hopefully, everyone will be
ready to go, but at this point it is
too soon to tell," Henry said. "This
weekend should be a good indicator
of where we really are and what ar-
eas we may still be weak in. Kent
State and Toledo have more depth
than our previous competition and Henry
should provide better matchups."
Runners to face tough
weekend competition
by Bruce Inosencio
Daily Sports Writer
The men's track team runs up
against tough competition this
Saturday as it faces Penn State, Ohio
State, and Michigan State.
Coach Jack Harvey is looking for
his team to improve after a
disappointing loss to Indiana last
weekend. "It will be a tough meet,
but we should do better than we did
against Indiana," Harvey said. "We
did better in our intrasquad meet
two weeks ago than what we did
against Indiana."
Although,Harvey felt that last
weekend was not a true display of
his team's abilities he remains
optimistic. "Michigan State and
Ohio State are both strong in the
sprints and hurdles, but I feel we
can hang in there and battle it out."
distances, while MSU boasts Rick
Gledhill in the mile and FreJ Kyles
in the 55-meter sprint. Penn State
looks to finish well in the shot put,
the 3,000 and mile runs, and the pole
vault, long jump and triple jump
events.
The Wolverines are looking for
strong performances from All-
Americans Brad Darr (pole vault)
and Dan Reddan (high jump). In the
mile run, Michigan's Chris Childs
and Joe McKown are candidates for
victory, both entering the meet with
a 4:15. In the 3,000 Dan Oden and
Jim Finlayson are running near an
8:30 pace, giving each of them an
opportunity to cross the line first.
Saturday's meet gets under way
at noon beginning with field events.
Preliminaries for hurdles and
sprints start at 12:30, followed by
by Rod Loewenthal
Daily Hockey Writer
Michigan defenseman Doug
Evans almost ended up the team
goat in the Wolverines' overtime
triumph Saturday night. With both
teams scoreless 11:25 into the third
period, Evans was called for a two-
minute minor after drilling Mark
Zdan into the boards almost a full
second after the referee's whistle
had stopped play.
The penalty left the Wolverines
with a 5-on-3 disadvantage and
allowed UIC to score on the power
play 16 seconds later. Fortunately
for Evans, the Wolverines were able
to score the equalizer to send the
game into overtime. In the jubilant
locker room following the game,
Evans was clearly the happiest guy
in the room.
"I didn't hear the whistle blow,
I swear," Evans said. "If I Said I
heard that whistle I'd never play a
period of Michigan hockey again."
OLD MAN AND THE KNEE:
Michigan right wing Dan Stiver
was forced to sit out of Saturday's
game after straining ligaments in
his knee during Friday's second pe-
riod. The junior may return within a
week, but remains questionable for
the upcoming series with Ohio
S tate.
A FISK IN THE C R OWD:
Watching from the balcony Friday
night was none other than baseball
legend and Chicago White Sox
catcher. Carlton Fisk. Fisk was in
Iattendance with his daughter Car-
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youthful lead, and they have made
noticeable contributions. While
rookie goalkeeper John Hille-
brandt is the anchor of a renewed
UIC defense, fellow frosh Zdan is
spearheading the offensive charge.
Friday night Zdan scored his team-
leading 11th goal.g For the season,
Zdan is second on the team in points
with 19.
I