Page 6-The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- September 28,1992 Women runners slide past field Wolverines crunch MSU, CMU in East Lansing Despite drawing three Indiana defenders, Fiona Davidson prevails, spiking past all of them. VOLLEYBALL Continued from page 1 Davidson and Smith shot at gaping holes in the Hoosier defense. Hayley Lorenzen collected the final two kills of the match, as Michigan pre- vailed, 15-7. "In the first two games, our blocking was just not there, and once our blocking game got on schedule, everything else just fell into place," sophomore Aimee Smith said. "We also communicated much better in the final three sets," Collias said. Collias, who finished with a game-high 18 kills, also led the Wolverines with four service aces and 15 digs. "Before, we were jittery and were not talking like we do when we are playing well," she said. "It has to do with not being tentative about our playing." After mauling Michigan State in three games the previous evening, Purdue could not find the solution to Michigan's potent front line as the Wolverines swept the Boilermakers, 15-11, 15-9, 15-7. Purdue took an early 5-1 lead in passed before the teams broke the 2- 1 score. Purdue advanced to an 8-7 lead, but the Boilers mustered only one more point the rest of the way, while Michigan's power up front took control. "Tarnisha is getting better with being deceptive with the block, and Michelle (Horrigan) and Joanna (Collias) are as good of outside hit- ters as anywhere," Giovanazzi said. "Tarnisha enables our front then to be more effective with the kill." The third set was marred by a series of Purdue defensive blunders, as Michigan serves riddled the Boilermakers. Michigan tips and kills fell untouched to the floor as of- ten as Wolverine front-liners thwarted Purdue attempts at scoring. Michigan took match point on a Purdue line violation, 15-7. "We are just trying to take it one game at a time," said senior setter Tarnisha Thompson, who is 45 as- sists away from setting Michigan's career assist record. "One of Michigan's distinct ad- vantages this year will be their ag- gressive style of play," Purdue head coach Carol Dewey said. by Rich Mitvalsky Daily Sports Writer Paced by remarkable contribu- tions from a young but talented rookie class, in combination with outstanding performances from some veteran Wolverine runners, Michigan's women's cross country team polished off the field in a trian- gular meet in East Lansing over the weekend. The Wolverines finished with 26 points, just ahead of Michigan State and Central Michigan, who scored 30 and 79 points, respectively. Wol- verine all-American senior Amy Buchholz led all finishers in 17 min- utes and 32 seconds, more than 18 seconds ahead of second place. "I was most encouraged by Amy's performance because she opened up a lead, and kept the ham- mer down the whole way," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "She now has that attitude that she can go out and dominate other runners." Buchholz was backed by a host of Wolverine runners who finished in the top ten. Senior all-American Molly McClimon, who is recovering from surgery, snared fourth in 17:58, one second ahead of junior Chris Szabo. Standout sophomore Kelly Chard finished eighth in 18:17, while rookies Molly Lori and Amy Parker placed ninth and tenth, re- spectively. Sophomore Jessica Kluge rounded out the Michigan contin- gent, grabbing 13th. "I was also pleased with Molly's (McClimon) performance, since she is just coming off her injury," McGuire said. "Ordinarily I try not to run our runners more than four meets in a row, but in her case we are just trying to get her more expe- rience and get the rust off of her. Each time she competes, she im- proves." In East Lansing, the Wolverines were able to provide some of the younger runners with some race ex- perience, holding a few top Mich- igan runners out of the weekend lineup. "With the depth on our team, we tried to give some of our young peo- Men harriers splash ple the opportunity to get in the heat of the battle," McGuire said. "We wanted to see how they would per- form. There are only so many things you can simulate in a practice envi- ronment." While the experienced Wol- verines have continually turned in top performances this season, the team has been encouraged by the ef- forts of the rookie class as well. Katy Hollbacher, Lori, and Parker remain among Michigan's most competitive runners, a pleasant development for the Wolverines. All three entered this season fresh from high school all-state cross country performances, and should contribute significantly to Michigan's success this year. Another noteworthy frosh, Amy Barber, suffered an injury at camp earlier this season, and has yet to compete. Hollbacher, who has consistently placed well in her meets, is excited about her season thus far. "This team is especially support- ive of each other," she said. "I didn't really know what to expect, but my times have improved. Our class has. really bonded together, and I am im-, pressed with how well we are doing as a whole." Unlike previous seasons, the in- juries have remained at a minimuim. Outside of minor ailments, the Wolverines approach their upcoming meets in healthy fashion. This week? end, Michigan travels to the Notre, Dame Invitational, for what Mc- Guire figures to be a dress rehearsal for the Big Ten Championships later in October. "The courses will be similar in that they both are very flat courses," he said. "Notre Dame is a much im proved team, and South Dakota State is perennially a top Division II team: There will definitely be some tough races at Notre Dame." j # to victory at t Thompson the first set before Michigan col- lected 13 out of the next 18 points. Sparked by a four-point service stay by Collias, who again led in digs with 12, and a series of front-line kills, Michigan rallied from a 5-6 early deficit to a 9-6 advantage. Michigan grabbed the first game on a Davidson kill, 15-11. Purdue engaged the Wolverines in a closely-matched contest for most of the second set, as 14 points by Tonya Broad The drizzly Saturday morning was perfect for the Michigan men's cross country team to mop up in its triangular meet with Michigan State and Ohio State. The Wolverines did not have to worry about coach Ron Warhurst's joking remark, "If they don't win they may end up walking home." The team rode home in comfort after easily beating the Spartans and the Buckeyes. Michigan State, which offered stiff competition last year, is suffering from heavy graduation losses. Leading the way for the Wol- verines was senior Matt Smith, Awho blew away the rest of the com- petition. First-year runners Theo Molla and Scott MacDonald both re- corded their first collegiate starts. "It went better than I expected," MacDonald said. "I ended up in second place on our team. The. ground was wet and soft, but the, course was pretty flat so the pace was fast." Though a fair amount of. nervousness would be expected for both Molla and MacDonald, the, pressure wasn't that great. "I really wasn't nervous,f" MacDonald said. "I'm only a freshman so there's no pressure. I'm not expected to perform as much." With one official victory under their belts, the Wolverines will try to' build on this and learn more from every race in preparation for the Big Ten Championships. The squad heads to South Bend next weekend for the Notre Dame Invitational and returns home to host the Michigan Intersectional Invita: tional October 17. a- U MEIJER. KRAFT NBA SHOWDOWN! SPORTING VIEWS by Ken Davidoff Daily Sports Writer If you, the sports fan, were to look back at this past weekend's sports happenings, Gary Carter's announce- ment that he would retire at the end of this season would probably rank somewhere in between the high school football scores and that fishing guy on ESPN landing a big one. This is justifiable. After all, the legendary catcher's career has clearly been on the downswing since he helped lead the New York Mets to their World Series victory in 1986. ' But now is the time to pay tribute to Mr. Carter's accomplishments. There's no need to look at the num- bers - they're good enough by anyone's standards to gain entry into the Hall of Fame. It was 'The Kid's' enthusiasm, love of the game, and flair for the dra- matic that made him truly memorable. My younger brother decided to adopt Carter as his favorite player in the early 1980s. The Montreal Expos became his life, and my family vacationed to Quebec for the sole purpose of seeing Gary in action. A great player has quiet end . Ironically, he hit two home runs late in the second game of a doubleheader; we had already departed for our hotel room. The trade of Carter to the Mets was one of the hap- piest events of my brother's life. He could now get to see his idol much more often, as we resided in New Jersey. Carter's first game with the Mets was one of his best; his homer in the bottom of the 10th inning: made his club a winner in his New York debut. After his All-Star performance in the Mets' cham-' pionship season, Carter's service became remarkably' unnotable. He had an embarrassing two-month drought in his quest for his 300th career home run in 1988, and the next year - his last with the Mets - was difficult to watch as he deteriorated before our very eyes. Carter's last three years have been somewhat dis- tinguished, if unpublicized. He has played for con- tenders and has lent his wisdom and experience to his younger teammates. It is odd to see the man who once attracted the spotlight have such a quiet exit. fTV I Isiah Thomas THE PISTONS VS. THE NETS e&40 Chuck Daly FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 7:30 PM AT CRISLER ARENA TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW STUDENT TICKETS ONLY $5.50 (LIMITED NUMBER AVAILABLE) AT THE MICHIGAN UNION TICKET OFFICE 7i2_TT TC U I -® FAST STUFF . only al 330 S. State 761-7615 i RUNNIN FIT Ann Arbor's Complete Running & Fitness Store 200 E. Washington 769-5016 0 I