When was the last time Michigan scored 60 points in a football game? (For answer see page 2) sie a.nMona 'M' Sports Calendar AP Top 25 Griddes Athletesof the Week Q&A Blame it on Niyo Football Cross Country Soccer 2 2 2 2 3 3 4-5 6 7 r The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday September 28, 1992 Page 1 'Blue M Newfound speed keys Wolverines Frequently in blowouts, the score is not indicative of the game. This was not true in Michigan's 61-7 thrash- ing of Houston Saturday. The Wolverines dominated every aspect of the game from start to finish. Michigan has often beaten teams with its size, strength or depth. "As far as overall talent and size, Michigan is much better than Miami," Houston linebacker Ryan McCoy said. That Hurricane team defeated the Cougars, 40-10, last season en route to a share of the national title. But Saturday there was an- other key ingredient - speed. Josh This sure is a far cry from last Dubow year at this time. After the third game of the season, nobody was mentioning Michigan with the country's elite teams. Florida State had just left Ann Arbor af- ter running past the Wolverines, 51-31. People were saying Mich- igan did not have the speed and quickness to compete with teams like Miami and Florida State. Don't tell that to the Cougars. "When you're watching on film, you don't know how fast they are, how strong they are and how hard they hit," Houston quarterback Jimmy Klingler said. "They really surprised us with that. We were shocked with their speed and quickness." Sound familiar? The Wolverines were saying similar things about the Seminoles a year ago. They said those same things after last year's Rose Bowl loss to Washington. So coach Gary Moeller spent the offseason trying to increase his team's speed. Now Michigan's speed is the envy of its opponents. This places Michigan in a different spot. Last year, the Wolverines were good enough to dominate the Big Ten, but when they left the conference to play top teams, they faltered. They did not have the speed and See SPEED, Page 4 esses with Texas, 61-7 Defense smothers Houston in rout. by Albert Lin Daily Football Writer The Houston Cougars brought their highly-touted run-and-shoot offense to Ann Arbor Saturday searching for consistency, if that is indeed possible to achieve under their system. Houston roared to a 31-13 victory last week over Illinois, and now faced another of the Illini's Big Ten brethren. Which Cougar team would show up - the one that steamrolled Illinois, or the one that struggled much of last season to a 4-7 record? The fireworks started early in Saturday's matchup - just about as early as possible, in fact. But it was- n't Houston's potentially high-pow- ered attack that set them off. Instead, it was a Michigan team that picked apart the Houston defense for nine touchdowns, rolling to a 61-7 vic- tory. "I really don't know how this whole thing unfolded," a beaming coach Gary Moeller said afterwards. "There are so many (big) plays you can go back to." The Wolverines (2-0-1 overall) continued to display their new at- tacking defense, holding the Cougars to 276 total yards and coming up big, especially when it counted. Houston (2-1) converted only three See MICHIGAN, Page 5 0 Celebrating the domination of Houston's offense was the order of day for cornerback Alfie Burch and the rest of the Michigan defense. The Cougars did not convert a third-down attempt until their touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Women golfers awaken to salvage fifth place at invitational by Jaeson Rosenfeld Wolverines' dismal first-round score by six sophomore blazed through the back nine 648 left them well below the top-three finish Good, including her first career hole-i EAST LANSING - It took a pair of hot strokes, and improved the team's overall with a 38, including a 30-foot chip-in for par which the team had hoped for. on the par-3 eighth hole. in-one putters to revive the women's golf team. Shannon McDonald and Jenny Zimmerman * got their putters going in the second round, and helped the Wolverines salvage a fifth- place finish in the Spartan Invitational. Ad- ditional fireworks were provided by senior co-captain Tricia Good, who scored a hole- in-one during the first round. "Considering the conditions, they did a great job," Michigan coach Sue LeClair said. Her team registered a second-day total of 321 on the wind-ridden Forest Akers East * Course. The second-round total bettered the standing from eighth to fifth. Ohio State finished first with a total of 632. Leading the way in the second round was McDonald with a 78. "I putted very well today," said McDonald, who sank a slew of medium range putts and had a total of 33 putts on the day. For the second-straight tournament the freshman led the team in overall scoring with a two-day total of 159. Teammate Zimmerman also got her short game going in the second round on the way to a 79 and a two-day total of 164. The on the par-five 16th hole. "I'm happy with the way I chipped and putted," Zimmerman said after a round with only 29 putts. "Last week I couldn't get any- thing up and down, this week I did." The second round also included an 81 by senior Wendy Bigler and an 83 by Good. "Wendy didn't play as well as I know she can," LeClair said. "But even though she didn't hit the ball well, she managed an 81." Though the Wolverines did surge ahead of Purdue, Illinois State and Bowling Green in the second round, their two-day total of "We really needed more rounds under 80 the first day," LeClair said. For the second straight week, the Wolverines came out of the gates slow and had to play catch-up. LeClair cited the rainy weather and the late start as factors "that lowered team morale" on the first day, but noted that all teams were faced with the same conditions. "The kids just need to get used to shoot- ing low scores," LeClair said. "They need to learn how to win." First-day highlights included a 78 by "I hit the ball good. I saw it bounce, and I thought it rolled past," Good said. The ball actually rolled over a ridge and into the hole, and the ace helped bolster her score and her confidence as her 161 total was second on the team. "I was happy with my play this weekend," Goad said. "I got my confidence back. I'm putting a lot better." The Wolverines will next weekend to play State's Scarlet Course. travel to Columbus 54 holes on Ohio 'M' spikers bounce Indiana, Purdue Stickers sweep rivals in first Big Ten series by Rich Mitvalsky and Scott Burton Daily Sports Writers Encouraged by aggressive front- line play, Michigan's women's vol- leyball team defeated Indiana and Purdue in home matches this week- end. The Wolverines displayed both resilience and dominance , as they returned from a two-game deficit against the Hoosiers, and swept the Boilermakers in three consecutive games to capture their opening con- * ference contests. Indiana opened the first set with six unanswered points, and jumped to a 9-3 lead. Although the Wol- verines recovered from multiple service errors, evening the score at 13, Indiana recaptured momentum when Hoosier standout Jill Kerk- hoff's ace gave the Hoosiers a 14-13 lead. Indiana then claimed the first game when Michigan junior JoAnna Collias' spike careened into the net. While Michigan kept close to points so we wouldn't have to come from behind." "I told them to look in the mirror and remember who they are," Michigan first-year coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "I think you could see in the last three games that our skill, strength, and speed were supe- rior." Unlike the first two sets, the Wolverines jumped out to a 5-1 lead, and never relinquished command. Behind two consecutive kills by Horrigan, Michigan took an 11-4 lead, and subsequently captured the next four points. An additional Horrigan kill gave the Wolverines. the third set. Michigan carried the momentum of the third set into the fourth, as Fiona Davidson set the pace for the Wolverines. Davidson, a junior, opened the game with two early kills, putting the Wolverines up, 3-1. Michigan went on to win the fourth game, 15-6. by Brett Johnson Rivalries are the essence of sports, and when a team plays an archrival, it is always an exciting weekend. However, .when a team encounters its two biggest rivals on the same weekend, it becomes even more important. This is what hap- pened to the Michigan field hockey team this weekend. The Wolverines traveled to Columbus to take on Ohio State and Michigan State in their first Big Ten test. Michigan coach Patti Smith said prior to the weekend series that the Big Ten season was a new start and that the execution had to be faster, stronger and quicker. The team earned straight A's as they swept the weekend set, defeating the Spartans, 4-0, and the Buckeyes, 2-1. With the sweep, Michigan improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. In the first game Saturday, the Wolverines scored twice in the first period and twice in the second en goal of the season. The defense also was impressive as Michigan backup goalie Rachael Geisthardt only had to make one save in the first half. The second period was much of the same as Thomas scored her sec- ond goal of the game, her team- leading seventh on the season. The scoring was rounded out by a Shay Perry goal. Regular starting keeper Nicole Hoover played the second half and made four saves to com- plete the shutout. Sunday, the Wolverines faced Ohio State and the 15th-ranked Buckeyes were trying to win their fifth matchup of the season. Michigan got off to a quick start when Keely Libby put the ball past all-American candidate Sue Wilson with 23:40 left in the first half. The Wolverines added the game-winner early in the second stanza when freshman Aaleya Koreishi beat Wilson off a Thomas pass. .:I