Men's Indoor Track Women's Indoor Track Michigan Relays Red Simmons Invitational Tomorrow, 12 noon Today, 5 p.m. Track and Tennis Building Track and Tennis Building The Michigan Daily Friday, y , , .. 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 See CAGERS, Page 10 linoisaMichia Michigan will try to stave off the pesky Illini tomorrow at Crisler Arena. Icers bring broom to complete sm veep terms of talen few weapons. of ND S t, the Irish do possess a 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. Rc~~b~rt n.- S F CUsWn bin~ 9,S ......... Katfm n 66 S. F Jm s.~kj,68r. De~~n Thoms.............Hw.d, 9 ~Thnni Clemos.6-O~r~ 0 AM. ~s~ -~S 'M' grapples in Cliff Keen Dual S I 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 . i 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. I U U Big Winter Book Sale Satu 1/ rday, Jan 0 am-4 pm !2 pric . 23 71 11 Sunday, Jan. u 1-4:30 pm and 'XRAK-.,A.__ r.,... n