The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 19, 1992 - Page 5
IOWA FALLS IN FIVE; MINNESOTA STOPS BLUE
Spikers split Big Ten tussles
JOHN KAVALIAUSKAS/Daily
The Michigan women's cross country team won the Michigan
Intercollegiate yesterday at the U-M golf course.
arri ers unite for
49-point
by Rich Mitvalsky
Daily Sports Writer
'Not exactly ideal running cond
tions.'
That seemed to be the consens
at the Michigan Golf Course Sunda
morning during the Michigan Inte
regional cross country meet. Th
Wolverine women harriers bested th
elements, and the field for that ma
ter, in capturing the team title, 34
83 over the second-place finishe
Michigan State.
In doing so, the ninth-rank
Wolverines managed to place nin
runners in the top 17 places. Seni
all-American Molly McClimo
claimed team honors with a fourt
place finish overall, crossing the li
in 18 minutes, 19 seconds. Just b
hind McClimon, Courtney Babco
finished in 18:21, while Karen Ha
vey, Kelly Chard, and Molly Lo
also placed in the top ten.
Light rain fell throughout the d
ration of the race. Coupled with
degree weather and a slight wind, th
conditions resulted in times th
were not as fast as previous outing
"Well, it's consistent for ever
one out there, and you might be
little more conservative in your ta
tics," Michigan coach Mi
McGuire said after the race. "T
wind is a factor, and it's cold an
you definitely have to pay more a
tention to the details like warmin
up."7
Kansas junior Julia Saul place
first, and recorded the only time u
der 18 minutes - 17:59. Runne
victory
finished just ahead of McClimon.
"Individually, I was really
i- pleased. This was the hardest course
we have run this season," Mc-
us Climon said: "We weren't really
ay concentrating on times as much as
r- we wanted to work together on plac-
he ing as a group."
he After last week, some Wolverines
it- attributed slower times to fatigue, as
4- well as the inclimate conditions.
r, "We're still in a pretty intensive
part of our training, and this is the
ed sixth and final week of that,"
ne McGuire said. "Now we'll start to
or back off with Big Tens coming up. I
on thought Molly, Lori, and Mc-
h- Climon, had good races today, and
ne Kelly Chard ran a very fine race."
e- Chard, who has now completely
ck recovered from a hip injury, was
r- elated with her race.
ri "I was totally excited, because
my races weren't going that well,"
Chard said. "My parents came up for
35_ this one, and I was really excited,
35 and I heard them on the course. I do
at better on hilly courses, too, and my
s. hip feels better."
From the beginning, Michi-
yy- gan's experience on inclined terrains
a proved an advantage, as several
c- Wolverines bolted to the front of the
ke pack at the gun.
he With Big Tens approaching,
nd thoughts are shifting to Champaign,
it- where the Wolverines look to con-
ng tend for the conference title.
"Other years we knew we could
ed do really well, but never win," Mc-
n- Climon said. "We are really fired up
rs for it."
by Rich Mitvalsky
Daily Sports Writer
Looking to recover from a pair of
losses last weekend, the Michigan
women's volleyball team tangled
with conference rivals Iowa and
Minnesota at Cliff Keen Arena. The
recovery was partial, however, as the
Wolverines split the matches, defeat-
ing the Hawkeyes Friday evening in
five games, while dropping a four-
game match against the Gophers
Saturday.
The key to both matches was
momentum. Against the Hawkeyes,
both teams reeled off points and
games in strings. Joanna Collias
broke a 3-3 deadlock in the first
game against Iowa when she
smashed the ball off a Hawkeye de-
fender's unexpecting arms and careen-
ing out of play.
An additional Collias kill, cou-
pled with an Aimee Smith service
ace and several Hayley Lorenzen
kills drove the Wolverines to a 13-7
advantage. The Hawkeyes, however,
elevated their level of play near the
end of the first game. The improve-
ments proved costly to Michigan in
the second.
"We knew we had to pick things
up, and we weren't playing at our
level at all," Lorenzen admitted.
The Hawkeyes, inspired by their
performance late in the first game,
never trailed in the second, and
looked equally strong in the third.
Leading by scores of 5-1 and 14-2
in the second, Hawkeye hitters
Tiffany Meligan and Courtney Gillis
bombarded the Wolverine defense
with several kills, while several
Wolverine shots fell into the net.
The Hawks continued their domi-
nance in the third game, 15-11.
"I thought our level of play was
quite low, and they played very con-
sistent tenacious volleyball," Michi-
gan coach Greg Giovanazzi said.
"Our team is making some changes
offensively, so we have tried to work
some new systems, and I think that
caused some of the frustration for us
tonight."
Giovanazzi and the Wolverines
altered their game plan in the fourth
and fifth games, which proved to be
a crucial decision. In an emotional
fourth game, kills by Fiona David-
son, Michelle Horrigan, and Chris
White, and a service ace by Wolver-
ine assist record-holder Tarnisha
Thompson secured the second Wol-
verine victory of the night.
Starting with a Horrigan kill on
the first point, the Wolverines built
a 5-2 game five lead by hitting to
serving to us, and it's just a ball,
and just to relax.'"
- Iowa coach Linda Schoenstadt
said: "I was very pleased with our
team's play. If Michigan hadn't
made a great coaching change by go-
ing after the high ball inthe middle,
. we may have had them. We were un-
able to shut that down."
Against the Gophers, the Wolver-
r 77 ines opened in similar fashion, tak-
ing the first game, 15-13. Again,
Horrigan and Colliasprovided most
of Michigan's power hitting up
front, with several kills in the mid-
dle of the game.
As they did against Iowa, how-
ever, the Wolverines, who held a 14-
8 lead, allowed the foe to squeeze
their way back into the game before
sewing it up. A tip by Gopher Jean
Schintz fell into the net, giving
A Michigan the first game.
The momentum of the match
closely parallelled the previous
evening's, and Michigan seemed
y7 '?helpless to prevent it.
The Wolverines pounced on the
Gophers early, and opened a 3-0 lead.
A series of Minnesota side-outs fol-
lowed shortly thereafter, tying the
score at six. The Gophers remained
particularly effective up front, block-
ing multiple Wolverine kill at-
y ~tempts, and held off Michigan for
the remainder of the game, 15-9.
Minnesota blasted the Wolverines
in the third and fourth games, as
Michigan serving woes continued.
Down 8-3 in the third, the
Wolverines missed two opportuni-
ties to close the gap as successive
serves fell short of their mark and
into the net. Minnesota's Heidi 01-
hausen served the Gophers to a 14-3
lead, then finished the game, 15-5.
In the fourth, the outcome was
never in question, as the Gophers
opened with 13 consecutive points
en route to a 15-3 victory.
MOLLY STEVENS/Daily
h an Indiana blocker earlier this "It seems that losing games is
having a big effect upon us, and it
seems to change the atmosphere of
the game for us," Giovanazzi said
it took to beat Iowa tonight." about the shifts in momentum each
"I don't even know if I should evening.
say what I said in that huddle," said
Horrigan, who played with stitches "I'm a little concerned because at
above one eye, refering to the team's the beginning of the season we were
added motivation in the fourth and -jst the opposite, in that we would
fifth games. get down a game, then come back
"I said we should relax and play with a little fire in us. Yes, I am
like we do in practice," Lorenzen concerned, and we'll just see what
added. "I thought, 'It's just a person this week in practice brings us."
Smith leads Blue
runners to victory
Sophomore Aimee Smith spikes throug
season.
the center of the court, rather than at-i
tempting to throttle the defense with
deadly accurate shots. The basic style
of offense fit the Wolverines, and
stymied the Hawkeyes, and led to a
15-11 Michigan win.;
"The setting and hitting suddenly
came together," G iovanazzi said.
"That's simply what happens when
you run easier plays, and that's what
F COURT{
L LPRESS
Pistons'
saga
visits Crisler
by Ryan Herrington
Daily Basketball Writer
When we last left the set of
"As the Piston Churns" (ATPC)
- a group of basketball players,
coaches and executives lost in the
mythical land known as the NBA
- we saw turmoil and disarray
surrounding members of the cast.
The characters of Chuck Daly and
Jack McCloskey both resigned in
last season's finale, and one of its
leading men, Dennis Rodman, was
uncertain as to his future with the
program.
All these crazy soap opera sub-
plots left Friday's season premiere
a much anticipatedrevent.Would
the character who replaced Daly,
former cast member Ron
Rothstein, be able to step into the
void left by this popular figure and
help the show continue its past
success? And...'
Would new character Terry
Mills, a former member of the
not-too-successful program, "New
Jersey's Hope" find peace and
serenity in his new home? (We
already know he found prosperity.
Ten million dollars will do a lot
to make a cast member happy.)
And ...
Would the leading man,
Rodman, return to the fold and
continue his tenure with the
program or would his character be
written out of the script, gone to
Oklahoma to work for his own
construction company? And
finall.v
returned in a cameo appearance as
the new coach of the Pistons'
opposition. The conflict was
readily apparent. Old versus new.
The changing of the guard. (Will
Sam like Rebecca as much as
Diane?)
Both he and Rothstein were ad-
mirable in their opening acts.
Daly promised to return for other
guest appearances whenever the
writers feel it necessary for the
Pistons and Nets to clash. (Daly's
next visit is scheduled for Feb.
10.)
As for Rothstein ... he knows
he has a lot to work on to keep
the Pistons' ratings high. It may
just be a coincidence but when he
left the show in 1988 for a
program on another network,
ATPC became the top series in
the land for two consecutive
seasons. After leaving that other
program, "Miami (Glen) Rice, " it
too has steadily climbed to
become one of the better shows on
the air. Rothstein must only shrug
his shoulders and grin until he can
prove he is up to the challenge as
the Pistons' new head coach.
The debut of Mr. Mills also
brought about much drama and ex-
citement. As the story progressed,
it was revealed that Mills had
played college basketball in the
very same building the Pistons
were playing that night. In
college, Mills helped lead his team
to the NCAA championship a few
years back. The juxtaposition of
Mills' figure and the NCAA
the second quarter. That was when
the mysterious Rodman returned,
entering Crisler Arena to the
applause of most of the eight
thousand in attendance. Rodman
sat in the stands, watching the cast
he has been a part of for the last
six seasons as it tried to perform
without him. With three minutes
left in the quarter, fellow cast
member Isiah Thomas rolled the
ball to him in the stands and
waved to him as if to say, "Come
back. We need you." Rodman did
not find the gesture amusing and
only added to the mystery of
whether he will return or not.
'"e most dramatic scene with
Rodman however, occurred at half-
time when he had a secret meeting
with his former mentor Daly.
While the viewers did not get to
see or hear what actually went on
in the meeting, Daly did reveal
something after the game when he
said, "I would like to see him play
again in the NBA, but I don't
know if it'll be real soon. I hope
Mills
by Antoine Pitts
Rain, mud, and cold temperatures
could not stop the Michigan men's
cross country team from winning
Sunday morning, but Tennessee
nearly did. The Wolverines won the
Michigan Interregional with 70
points, just ahead of the Volunteers
who had 74 points.
Construction and light rain made
the U-M golf course, where the meet
was held, very muddy in some spots.
A temperature of 35 degrees made
conditions even worse for the
runners.
"Everybody runs in it," said
watch yourself.' Then I picked it up
and he stayed with me until I broke
him."
At this point in the race, Matt
was able to open up a five- to ten-
second lead that he never
relinquished.
"State's our rival and we always
like to play those mind games with
them but Dave's a good guy," said
Smith. "He'll be toughat Big
Ten's."
Michigan didn't have much to be
happy about early in the race. Scott
MacDonald and Matt Smith were the
after our conversation it will be."
Rodman does seem to be vital
to the success of the series.
Without his 18.7 rebounds per
game and his constant enthusiasm,
ATPC might fall into the same
problem many other shows have
faced - mediocrity. This can be
seen in the fact that the Pistons
lost to the Nets 115-87 while New
Jersey did not start three of its
regulars, including Derrick
Coleman.
And with most other soaps that
become mediocre, there is no
room for further decline. Whether
Rodman comes back or not may
determine if ATPC is extended for
another season or canceled.
'It was our home course; muddy. I love mud
and I love hills. The last race at Notre Dame I
screwed around and was involved in a tactical
race that I lost at the end.'
- Matt Smith
Michigan men's cross country runner
Michigan coach Ron Warhurst.
"Some guys respond to cold weather.
Some guys don't."
The top finisher, Michigan's
Matt Smith, did not let the
conditions bother him. His time of
24 minutes and 54 seconds was 12
seconds faster than second-place
finisher Dave Smith of Michigan
State.
"It was our home course; muddy.
I love mud and I love hills," said
Matt Smith. "The last race at Notre
Dame I screwed around -and was
involved in a tactical race that I lost
at the end. I told Ron (Warhurst) I
wanted to go a mile and a half into
the race and just go."
only two Michigan runners near the
lead. Meanwnile, Tennessee kept the
heat on with three runners in the top
10.
Strong finishes by Theo Molla,
Michigan's No. 3 runner in fifteenth
place (25:49), and Ian Forsyth,
Michigan's No. 4 runner in six-
teenth place (25:50), helped Mich-
igan hold off Tennessee. MacDonald
was Michigan's No. 2 runner in
thirteenth place with a time of
25:46.
"At two miles, I was ready to go
home," Warhurst said, "but the guys
kept driving and pulling and finished
real strong in the last mile and a
half. I was really pleased that we
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