Page 12-The Michigan Daily- Friday, November 6, 1992 Tankers go south to face tough foes by Seth King Daily Sports Writer Building on a successful debut against Big Ten foes last week, the Michigan women's swim team takes its show to the road this weekend. Though the Wolverines are challenging two excellent non- conference opponents, North Carolina and Tennessee, they are hoping for an encore performance. First, the team will swim in a dual meet in Knoxville, TN, versus the Volunteers on Friday. Then the team journeys to Chapel Hill, NC, to compete against the Tar Heels on Saturday. According to Michigan coach Jim Richardson, this will be an intense weekend of competition. "It's going to be a real challenge for us," Richardson said. "Both of these teams have good swimmers and a lot of tradition. You can usual- ly find them in the NCAA top ten. "Both of these schools have outstanding freshman classes of swimmers. For our developing swimmers, this will be a good experience for them to race against Tennessee and North Carolina." Adding to this challenge, the Wolverines will not be competing in the diving categories at this weekend's duals. The divers are currently conditioning for future meets. This leaves them down 32 points before the competitions begin. With the team already facing this point deficit, Richardson has established alternative goals for the weekend. "It's tough to go in down 32 points against these two teams," Richardson explained. "We're just hoping to win some swimming events and make progress in our racing. We had a good week last week, and we're hoping to build on that." Richardson believes this year's team is strong in many different events, especially distance races. He concedes the Wolverines are weaker in sprints. "We are strong in the backstroke and the breaststroke," he said. "We should do well in the middle distance and distance freestyle events. Anything else will be icing. After all, you have to make hay where the sun shines." Friday's meet against Tennessee will be a homecoming of sorts for senior swimmer Mindy Gehrs, who lives in Oak Ridge, TN. No. 6 Michigan faces No. 2 Lakers at Soo by Andy Stabile Daily Hockey Writer When we last saw our heroes in Sault Ste. Marie... Well. They were not looking very heroic. This weekend the Michigan hockey team travels north to face the defending national champion Lake Superior State Lakers. When the teams met in the Upper Peninsula for last season's series, the Wolverines lost Friday night's game in overtime, 3-2, before getting pummeled, 10-0, on Saturday. In fact, the Wolverines have struggled at the Norris Center since sweeping Lake Superior in 1988, the Lakers' first national championship season. That series may have put the Wolverines on the CCHA map to stay, but the Lakers held a grudge. Michigan's current crop of se- niors won only a single game in Sault Ste. Marie during their stay at Michigan, that coming on an over- time goal by Pat Neaton during the '90-'91 season. As if that was not enough for Michigan coach Red Berenson, the Wolverines are coming off of a dis- appointing series against Western Michigan and cannot afford a four- game winless streak. "We know it's a big test." Berenson said. "We've got to re- bound from last week and even re- bound from last season when we played Lake Superior. We've had some good games against them, but then we've probably had our worst game ever against them as well. So we're going up there to get back on track and hopefully we'll have a good weekend." The worst game ever. Last sea- son's 10-0 drubbing was more than a loss, it was an embarrassment. But it is also motivation to play well this weekend. "(Berenson) doesn't need to re- mind us," captain David Harlock said. "Everybody pretty much re- members that. It's something that pretty much sticks out in your mind. We certainly don't need any motiva- tion. "I really haven't enjoyed an aw- ful lot of success up at Lake Supe- rior, and it's our last hurrah, so to speak. We definitely want to go out on a good note." This season Michigan will face a younger Laker squad. The Lakers lost goalie Darrin Madeley, de- fenseman Mark Astley, and forward Sandy Moger to graduation; all were All-CCHA selections, while Made- ley was a Hobey Baker finalist. Sophomore Blaine Lacher replaces Madeley, and the Wolverines are de- termined to test him early. "They have some pretty big shoes to fill," Harlock said. "They lost Madeley last year, and their goalies are definitely unproven. So that's something we're definitely going to look toward exploiting. We're going to have to take advantage of their in- experience." After playing without the services of defensemen Chris Tamer and Pat Neaton in last Saturday's game, the Wolverines will miss defenseman Aaron Ward this weekend. Ward fractured his kneecap and is expected to miss two weeks. Dan Stiver, who was injured in a game against Ferris State, will also miss this weekend's series. "We've had trouble getting our entire team together, it seems, for more than a game," Berenson said. "We're not one hundred percent, but I think we're in better shape than we were last week. Hopefully Stiver will be ready for Miami." 6 Patrick Neaton puts a shot on goal last year against Lake Superior State. The Wolverines are looking to avenge last years 10-0 loss at the hands of the Lakers as they travel to Sault Ste. Marie for a two-game series. Men's by Vivek Jayarama tennis to play for Rolex in The Michigan men's tennis team hopes to end their fall season with a bang. The team finishes the season this weekend as six members of the squad travel to Madison to compete in the Rolex Sectional Champi- onships. Play starts today and con- tinues through Monday. The tournament, held at the campus of the University of Wiscon- sin, is a qualifier for the Rolex In- door Championships, held Feb. 4-7 at the University of Minnesota. This tournament constitutes the third leg of the prestigious ITA Collegiate Grand Slam. However, the Wolverines must make it through some stiff competi- tion in Madison if they hold any hopes of advancing to the Twin Cities. The tournament in Madison fea- tures both a singles and doubles draw. In all, 96 players from 27 schools will take part in the singles bracket. On the doubles side, 32 teams are slated for action. The tournament is single elim- ination with the two finalists in the singles draw advancing to the championships in Minnesota. For doubles, only the champion will advance. Michigan will field five players in singles - senior Dan Brakus, sophomores Adam Wager and Chris Wyatt and freshmen John Costanzo and Peter Pustzai. Of these five, Brakus has the best shot of advanc- ing; he is seeded fourth among the 96 players. He has played and won some tough matches over the fall season. "Brakus has been playing well," said sophomore Grady Burnett. "He has a legitimate shot to win the flight, and make an impact at the tournament in Minnesota." In doubles, the Wolverines will send the duo of Burnett and Costanzo. This will mark the first time that the two will be playing to- gether in match competition. "Our doubles has been a point of emphasis," said Burnett. "We've been working hard at it, we're mix- ing up players trying to see which combinations work best." Michigan fields one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten, with their active roster being dominated by sophomores and freshmen. Therefore, the fall season has had mixed results. Despite the ups and downs, the netters have shown promise, and the experience of match play is especially helpful for the younger players. Stickers hope to hold streak in final games- by Sharon Lundy Daily Sports Writer Going into the final weekend, the Michigan field hockey team is ready to shoot for a season-ending five- game win streak. Already on a 3-0 run, the Wolverines' confidence is high as they get ready to meet Mich- igan State tonight, and Iowa Sunday, on the familiar turf of Oosterbaan Field House. Michigan (9-7 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) met the Spartans very early in the season, and emerged with a 5-0 victory. The consensus with both teams is that the game this weekend will be more evenly matched. "Their team has really improved over the course of the season," Michigan coach Patti Smith said. "They have beaten Northwestern twice, and played Penn State to a 2-1 loss. "Overall, (the Spartans) are very hungry. We have to be aware that they play hard as a team and keep our intensity level up." Michigan State coach Martha Ludwig explained why the outcome of this game could be different than the first one. "We were a very young team and we were making a lot of inexperi- enced mistakes," Ludwig said. "There were many open spaces throughout the game, and we weren't filling the gaps. "Now, we've beaten three ranked teams and Northwestern twice. The (Michigan - Michigan State) ri- valry also gives our players more incentive to do well, and since we're not playing at hone they have a 'Let's go out and show them how it's done' attitude, just like they did at Northwestern." But the Wolverines have come a long way in the last few games, and are confident that with home crowd support they can pull off the vic- tory. "Our confidence is built back up," goalkeeper Rachael Geisthardt said. "We've been having clean shots on goal and we've been strong both offensively and defensively. I think we're going to come out on top." Forward Jen Lupinski agreed with her teammate. "We've been able to look to each other for passes," Lupinski said. "We also know how the ball trav- els on our turf which will give us the advantage." For Sunday's matchup against Iowa, the No. 2 team in the nation, Michigan is hoping for a victory that will balance out its 7-1 loss earlier this season. "Being at home and having the opportunity to beat the No. 2 team puts a lot of steam under our jets," Smith said. "We are at home, and still on that high from beating (Boston College, Kent State, and University of the Pacific) last weekend." Iowa coach Beth Beglin recog- nizes that this game will be more difficult for her team than its last meeting with the Wolverines. "Anytime you play a team on its home field it's much harder than on your own field," Beglin said. "And it is an adjustment for us to get used to the lighting, noise and the nar- rower field (at Oosterbaan). (Mich- igan) had a tough week last week and is going to come out ready to play." The Wolverine players are con- vinced they can avenge the Iowa loss. "Everyone will come out very fired up to give everything they have left in them," Lupinski said. "Our emotional level will be very high." "Because it is our last game, our seniors will be very psyched," 4 Geisthardt Geisthardt added. "It's also Parents Weekend for us, so our parents will be there to give us even more sup- port. Our team really needed those wins (last weekend) and now we'll really be ready to play." Coach Smith said she is happy with the way things have been going for Michigan during last weekend's games and in practices. "We have to play to our ability and not let their aggressiveness take us out of our game," Smith said. "We know that we can do it." wO FAST FREE DELIVERY 663-3333" Located next to Colonial Lanes Plaza on S. Industrial Sun.- Wed. 11 AM - 2:30AM Thurs.- Sat. 11AM - 3:30AM ~DINNER SPECIAL $1.00 OFF 1 ANY COUPON1 5:00PM - 8:00AM MON - FRI 1 --- ----......-----...... - THE SLAM 1 20" 1 ITEM PIZZA & 4 POPS 1 $10.82 + tax 1 1 .- . FALL MADNESS I 14" 1 ITEM PIZZA I THE RESURRECTION b yj O amO The lifea thugs I $4.57 + tax - -- - - -- -- -- - I a, L SPECIAL HOCKEY TICKET SALE Tickets for the Friday, December 4 Michigan vs. Michigan State Game Cn nn calf hPainnina Mnnrlav Nnvmhr Q of JoZZ Feat Lester Young in thidraml with music Directed by Kate Mendeloff With: MATCHUPS Continued from page 10 SECONDARY: Injuries have been a problem in the Michigan secondary. Cornerback Alfie Burch is out for the season, and Cole Wallace is out with a pinched nervein his arm. Ty Law and Dwayne Ware have stepped up into starting roles. Senior strong safety Greg Gill leads Northwestern with three inter- ceptions. He also has 97 tackles this season. Advantage: Michigan SPECIAL TEAMS: Michigan sput- tered in this area against Purdue. Two muffed kickoff returns forced the of- fense to start with poor field position. Pete Elezovic and Chris Stapleton still hold down the starting kicking spots. Gissendaner is the eonference's r0" 1 I1 11 ®