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The Michigan Daily Friday, y , ,
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Women looking for
last-minute solution
by Rachel Bachman
Daily Basketball Writer
It's the amount of time it takes to
brush and floss your teeth.
For the Michigan women's bas-
ketball team, it's also the length of
time in which a team can lose a
game.
"It's been in the last five minutes
of the game that we seem to be los-
ing," Michigan coach Trish Roberts
said.
After last-minute losses to Michi-
gan State and Wisconsin earlier this
week, Roberts has identified and
begun to combat the recurring
problem.
"I don't know if it's panic or not
being in pressure situations before,
but (losing in the last minutes) is
something we've gone over in prac-
tice," Roberts said.
The Wolverines will be tested on
their late-game and whole-game
staying power when they take on
two top 25-ranked Big Ten teams
this weekend.
Still looking for its first Big Ten
victory of the season, Michigan will
tip off at 7:30 tonight in Columbus
against eighth-ranked Ohio State.
Leading the way offensively for
the Buckeyes is freshman guard Ka-
tie Smith, who is averaging over 20
points per game. Tied for the title of
top freshman scorer in the nation,
her numerous highlights this year in-
clude scoring 35 points against
Virginia.
"She doesn't look like a basket-
ball player - doesn't look like she
has the quickness - but she's very
deceptive," Roberts said.
Although OSU boasts a strong
freshman class, with Adrienne
Johnson and Lisa Negri following
Smith's lead, the team still depends
on its seniors to hold the team to-
gether.
Buckeye coach Nancy Darsch at-
tributes the team's high ranking thus
far to "a combination of new talent
and very strong leadership."
Sunday will bring another con-
ference contest when Michigan trav-
els to State College to take on Penn
State. Ranked third in the Big Ten
and seventh overall, the Nittany
Lions would not seem a likely oppo-
nent for the Wolverines to beat.
Penn State's only loss, however,
was at the hands of Indiana.
"(That loss) is encouraging to us,
because we played Indiana very
closely without senior forward Nikki
Beaudry," Roberts said. "Of the two
games, if I had to pick one we had a
better chance of winning, it would
be Penn State."
Upset-hungry
Illinois tries its
luck vs. Blue
by Ryan Herrington
Daily Basketball Writer
In a conference which has more
than half of its teams among the na-
tion's top 25, it might be difficult to
define any team as a sleeper. Yet un-
ranked Illinois - which comes to
Crisler Arena tomorrow night to
face No. 5 Michigan - might just
fit that label.
"We expect this team to get bet-
ter as we go along, and they're
showing it right now," Illinois coach
Lou Henson said. "If we can con-
tinue that, we've got a chance to do
pretty well in the league."
The Fighting Illini (3-1 Big Ten,
10-5 overall) seem to be peaking as
they arrive in Ann Arbor to face the
Wolverines (3-1, 14-2). After drop-
ping its final three non-conference
games before its Big Ten opener,
Illinois has taken three of its first
four conference contests.
The Illini's lone Big Ten blemish
was last Saturday against No. 2
Indiana - a game in which they
were ahead late in the second half
before losing, 83-79.
"The three games have been very
good," Henson said. "It's just a
shame that we had a defensive
breakdown in the second half
against Indiana."
Illinois is led by veterans Andy
Kaufman and Deon Thomas. The 6-
foot-6 Kaufman, who sat out last
season due to academic difficulties,
has come back to lead the Illini in
scoring in his senior year, averaging
19.2 points per game.
The Illini's force in the middle is
Thomas. The 6-foot-9 junior is aver-
aging 18.6 points and is an intimi-
dating defensive threat.
Against the Hoosiers, the center
scored 23 points and grabbed nine
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Michigan will try to stave off the pesky Illini tomorrow at Crisler Arena.
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Freshman Jamie LingI;Rym
by Tim Rardin
Daily Hockey Writer
If at first you don't succeed, try a
new location.
Confused? Just ask the Notre
Dame hockey team.
In their first meeting with
Michigan the Irish lost in convincing
fashion, 6-1, at Yost Ice Arena.
Notre Dame coach Ric Schafer
then took his team to The Palace of
Auburn Hills for a second matchup
with the Wolverines, thinking that a
neutral site might be the key to
victory.
Wrong again. Michigan 5, Notre
Dame 1.
Saturday, the Irish (4-13-1
CCHA, 6-15-1 overall) will give it
another try against the Wolverines
(12-4-2, 16-4-3), looking for that
elusive triumph in the confines of
Joyce Fieldhouse.
"We're excited about playing at
home," Schafer said. "We'll have
the advantage with a familiar ice
rink. We're gonna give it our best
shot."
Indeed, if ever the Irish hope to
beat the third-ranked Wolverines, it
will be at Notre Dame. And even
then, their best shot may not be
enough.
"We're gonna need solid efforts
from every player," Schafer said.
"We just have to play at a faster pace
than we usually do."
Still, Michigan coach Red
Berenson knows his team can't
afford to let down against the clearly
overmatched Irish.
"They're capable of beating
anyone on any given night,"
Berenson said, adhering rather
impressively to the guidelines of
coaching etiquette. "They're better
than when we played them last.
We'll have to maintain consistency."
As grossly generic as that quote
may seem, it is terribly accurate,
considering Michigan's 6-4 loss on
the road to Illinois-Chicago, a team
currently in eighth place in the
CCHA with a 5-10-1 record, just
two weeks ago.
"That loss to UIC gives us hope
that they can be beaten by teams at a
lesser talent level," Schafer said.
Though Notre Dame obviously
pales in comparison to Michigan in
and senior Curtis Janicke pace Notre
Dame in scoring, with 25 points
apiece in league play.
Such ability has helped keep the
Irish in a lot of games. Five of their
15 losses have been decided by a
single goal, including a
heartbreaking 6-5 defeat in overtime
at the hands of Lake Superior earlier
this season.
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'M' grapples in Cliff Keen Dual
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by Michael Rosenberg
Daily Sports Writer
Cliff Keen coached in Ann Arbor
for 43 years. Cliff Keen Arena is lo-
cated in Ann Arbor. So naturally,
this weekend's Cliff Keen National
Team Duals will be held in Lin-
coln, Neb.
Last year, the meet was held in
Ann Arbor, but the venue was
changed this year in order to capture
the huge media market that is
Lincoln.
Michigan, currently ranked 12th
in the country, will be the eighth
seed in Lincoln. Should the
Wolverines beat 19th-ranked North
Carolina State in the opener, they
will almost certainly wrestle top-
ranked Iowa, which is matched up
against Central Oklahoma in the
first round.
The Hawkeyes, who have won 19
straight Big Ten titles, boast several
wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in
each of their respective weight
classes.
"Iowa's going to be real tough,"
said junior Sean Bormet, ranked third
in the country at 158 pounds. "I
don't want to say we can't beat
them, but we'll need a few guys to
wrestle at their best in order to have
a chance."
Bormet, who lost last week to
Penn State's Josh Robbins, has been
trying to heal his bad back, which
has kept him from practicing regu-
larly.
"I've seen a chiropractor four
times this week," Bormet said. "My
back hurt (my performance) last
week, and my goal is to be com-
pletely healthy by the Big Tens (in
March.)"
Although each of Michigan's
wrestlers will have a tough time in
Lincoln, none has as tough a draw as
heavyweight Steve King (No. 7 in
the nation). King, will have to wres-
tle North Carolina State's Sylvester
Terkay in the first match.
The immense (6-foot-6, 275 lbs)
Terkay is ranked second in the
country. Last year, he made it to the
NCAA finals, registering pins in
every single match before losing by
decision.
"He's a huge guy," King said. "I
.
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have to stay in his face, and not let
him use the long-reaching double,
which is his favorite move. I have to
stay with him as best I can, but if an
opportunity for a pin is there, I'm
going to go for it."
If King beats Terkay, he'll prob-
ably wrestle Iowa's John Oosten-
dorp, who not only has a great name
but is ranked No. 1 in the country.
"Oostendorp is a really important
match for me, because it's the only
time all year that I'll see him, and it
will help determine seedings for Big
Tens," King said.
Michigan coach Dale Bahr com-
mented on Iowa's overall ability.
"I think Iowa and Penn State will
battle it out for the Big Ten and pos-
sibly the national championship,"
Bahr said.
Penn State is seeded second in the
tournament. Other seeded teams in-
clude Arizona State, Iowa State, Ne-
braska, Northern Iowa, and Ohio
State.
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