01
Page 6 -The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - March 16, 1992
Cellar dwellers
Women's basketballfinishes last in Big Ten
by Tim Spolar
Daily Basketball Writer
At the midpoint of the Michigan women's
basketball season, coaches and players alike
likened their up and down year to that of a
roller coaster.
However, as the season wore on, a more
accurate analogy might be that of skiing the
Swiss Alps: forever winding downward with
frightening dropoffs intermittently strewn
throughout the slopes.
In what amounted to a fitting end to a frus-
trating season, the Wolverines (3-15 Big Ten,
7-21 overall) concluded their year with a 89-59
drubbing at the hands of Purdue.
The loss was far from a surprise. Michigan
has defeated only one top 25 opponent all sea-
son - Western Kentucky, during the
Washington Husky Classic over winter break
- while Purdue , the twelfth-ranked team in
the nation, is primed for an NCAA tournament
appearance. While the Wolverines closed their
season with five straight losses, the
Boilermakers (14-4, 22-6) polished off their
last six Big Ten opponents.
Also working in Purdue's favor was
Michigan's 1-7 conference road record enter-
ing the contest and the Boilermakers' convinc-
ing 85-68 victory at Crisler to open the Big
Ten season Jan. 10.
With the two teams headed in opposite di-
rections, it didn't take long for the*
Boilermakers to jump out on the Wolverines:
and determine the outcome of the game.
Purdue, which has one of the top defenses in
the league, harassed Michigan into 23 first-half
turnovers.
"They're a great defensive team," Michigan
head coach Bud VanDeWege said. "Their de-
fense dictated exactly where the game went."
Purdue led wire to wire, jumping out to a
18-10 lead midway through the first half. Like.
the tournament-bound team they are, the"
Boilermakers continued to pound the
Wolverines, giving them no chance to get back
into the game. After taking a 46-27 advantage
into the lockerroom at the half, Purdue,
stretched its lead to 26 in the first five minutes
of the second stanza and did not look back. -
0
In a repeat of Thursday's loss at Illinois, the
home squad benefited from a massive differen-
tial in free throw attempts. The Boilermakers
went to the stripe 37 times, where they made
good on 30 of their tries, while the Wolverines
were a paltry 6 of 12.
Wolverine forward/center Trish Andrew
overcame subpar performances against Penn
State and Illinois in her previous two games to
pace Michigan with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior Char Durand looks to penetrate against Minnesota earlier this season. Durand and the Wolverines dropped their last game of
the season to Purdue, 89-59. Michigan ends its season last in the Big Ten with a 3-15 record.
Spikers start on road to recovery at Buffalo
by Dan Linna
Daily Sports Writer
Bowing out in the semifinals to
Buffalo may not have been the com-
plete recovery the Michigan men's
volleyball club was looking for
Saturday.
However, the Wolverines were
pleased with their strong effort and
didn't look anything like the team
that finished sixth at the Big Ten
Championships one week ago.
"It was definitely an improve-
ment over last weekend," sophomore
Justin MacLaurin said. "We'd like to
have won but we lost to a very good
team."
Michigan got off to a quick start
in the 16-team tournament by win-
ning its first six pool games; three
each against Buffalo State and
Rochester Institute of Technology.
The Wolverines' third and final
pool opponent was a highly regarded
Delaware team.
Michigan came out flat and
dropped its first game before coming
back to win the second. The third
match was close as the Blue Hens
edged the Wolverines, 17-16.
"We knew Delaware was a strong
team but we may have been too ca-
sual after starting out 6-0," Michigan
coach Tom Johengen said.
Michigan's 7-2 pool record
earned the team the No. 3 seed at the
beginning of the eight team playoff.
However, a rule stipulating that
teams from the same pool not face
each other in round one placed the
Wolverines in the same bracket with
No. 1 seed Buffalo rather than No. 2
seed Delaware.
Michigan won its first-round
match vs. Indiana (Penn.) in two
games to advance to the semifinals
where the change in seeding pitted
the Wolverines with Buffalo.
The Rhinos charged past the
Wolverines, 15-12, 15-10, while
Delaware took advantage of a weak
No. 4 seed to also advance to the
finals.
"We just made too many mis-
takes against a good team,"
Johengen said. Johengen felt the
change in seeding made a difference
as it took away Michigan's No. 3
seed advantage of not having to play
the No. 1 seed until the finals.
"If we would have played
Delaware again I'm fairly certain we
would have beaten them and ad-
vanced to the finals," Johengen said.
Although Michigan was missing
outside hitter Chris Peirce, the return
of sophomore Scot Lauer helped off-
set the loss.
Johengen was also pleased with
the play of co-captain Rico Latham,
who teamed up with middle hitter
Mike McCune several times to pro-
vide the bulk of Michigan's offense.
"Rico played great 'D', set great,
and ran down every ball," Johengen
said. "Mike had a really good day as
a result."
The Wolverines paid particular
attention to the facilities at Buffalo
as they will be the site for the
Collegiate Club Nationals in April.
The temperature inside was un-
usually low which made it difficult
for players going in and out of
games to stay warm.
"It's nothing critical because ev-
eryone is under the same circum-
stances," Johengen said.
0
FAMILY
Continued from page 1
we just wanted to keep it that
way."
The picture is now complete.
Both James and Jesse Rawls Jr. are
Wolverines, carrying on the proud
tradition begun by their father
some 23 years ago.
The elder Rawls takes great
pride in his two sons, who are only
two of five Rawls children, and in
the relationship they have with
each other.
"They are very different as in-
dividuals. James is not as aggres-
sive as Jesse, and he doesn't show a
lot of emotion. James has every-
thing set in place, lined up," Jesse
Sr. said. "Both are very supportive
of each other and very strong in
their own ways. We're very proud
of them. They really need to be
with each other, and that was the
best move we ever made - having
them go to the same school."
The two brothers express simi-
lar sentiments about each other.
"We have a very tight relation-
ship," James said. "We help each
other. Things that I don't have, he
has. I think he gives some of his ag-
gressiveness to me, and I give him
some of my control and disci-
pline."
"We have a real good relation-
ship," Jesse said. "When I was
young, whatever he was doing, I
wanted to do it. I always tried to
keep up with him. At college, he's
really helped me adjust as far as
classes and the wrestling."
With that closeness has come a
friendly competitiveness between
the two.
"We were always pretty com-
petitive," James said. "We both
tried to do better than the other,
but if he lost, I wouldn't rub it in.
And if I lost, he wouldn't either."
The strength of their relation-
ship probably has a lot to do with
the influence of Jesse Sr., and the
closeness of his relationships with
his sons.
"He always taught us to believe
in ourselves, to set goals and strive
for them, and to just be ourselves,"
James said. "I see a positive black
role model in my father."
"He just taught me the little
things, how to win when things are
going tough," Jesse said. "He's
been more than a father, he's been
like a coach to me."
Both James and Jesse have cer-
tainly found great success in apply-
ing some of those principles on the
mat.
James, after a very successful
high school career, has compiled a
65-31-3 record at 142 pounds in his
three seasons as a Wolverine, in-
cluding a 31-9 record this season.
James also qualified for the
NCAA tournament last season af-
ter finishing fifth in the Big Ten.
Jesse has made similar strides in
his first year, after recording an
equally impressive high school
record. He has started all year for
Michigan at 167 pounds, just like
his father, and has amassed 22 wins
and only 10 losses.
Michigan coach Dale Bahr
couldn't be more pleased to have
the two brothers on his team.
"When you think of what you
want in people you work with day
in and day out, I think being re-
sponsible, being consistent and giv-
ing your best effort all the time are
the things you want. James and
Jesse both epitomize those things,"
Bahr said. "They've really been
neat kids to have on the team.
They're a class act."
Bahr, too, has witnessed the
bond the brothers have and the ad-
vantage that their strong relation-
ship has given them on the mat.
"They are very close. I know
when we were recruiting Jesse last
year, James was looking forward to
having his brother on the team.
"Anytime you're in tense situa-
tions, it's nice to have someone to
talk to that really understands you.
By having their relationship, I
think it really helps them to face
some of the pressure together and
also, if one of them gets a big vic-
tory, to celebrate together," Bahr
said.
Although both James and Jesse
were disappointed in their perfor-
mances at the Big Ten
Championships last weekend
(neither qualified for the
NCAAs), plenty of time remains
for them to make their respective
marks.
"We're going to be the first
family to have three Big Ten cham-
pions," Jesse Sr. said, with pride re-
sounding from his voice.
Somehow, with the way every-
thing else has come together for
the Rawls family, you just can't
help but believe him.
DOUG KANTEFVDaiIy
Wolverine gymnast Jim Round flips his way to a 9.4 on the parallel bars in
Michigan's second-place finish at the Michigan Invitational Saturday.
GYMNASTICS
Continued from page 1
point lead.
The Wolverines continued to ex-
cel with one of their best perfor-
mances of the season on the parallel
bars. Round paced Michigan with a
second-place 9.4 performance. Seth
Rubin followed with a strong routine
that notched him a 9.35.
"Just a tremendous effort on the
parallel bars," Darden said. "(It was)
one of our best days. We didn't have
any personal bests, but we were
solid across the board."
Michigan finished its perfor-
mance with another big performance
on the high bar. Rookie Rich Dopp
stuck his landing for a 9.65 score.
The final scores showed Kent
State, Syracuse, Gymquest of
Toronto and Western Michigan trail-
ing Penn State and Michigan.
Because of the 13th-ranked
Orangemen's disappointing finish,
the 14th-ranked Wolverines should
pass them in the national polls.
The all-around competition was
won by Penn State's Carton with a
57.4 score. Matt Landress of Kent
State and Mike Inglis of Gymquest,
who finished fifth at the World
Championships last September, fol-
lowed.
"That shows you how competi-
tive this meet was," Darden said.
"Inglis is a great performer but still
wasn't the best out there."
Next Saturday, the Wolverines
face another tough contest when
they host Michigan State, which de-
feated Penn State Friday night. In
order to win, Michigan will have to
continue the improvement that has
lifted them 11.4 points from a 267-
point season-opening performance
against Minnesota.
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