Hockey vs. Illinois-Chicago Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Yost Ice Arena SPORTS Men's and Women's Gymnastics vs. Illinois Saturday, 7 p.m. Keen Arena Jackson cools BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK off after illinois by Ken Davidoff Daily Basketball Writer After providing a spark in his first game back from a separated shoulder Saturday night, Michigan forward Ray Jackson didn't make as much of an impact Tuesday night against Ohio State. Jackson played 13 minutes, only three more than his previous appearance and contributed two points after Saturday's eight. Still, Jackson's return to the starting lineup is inevitable. "I always feel that I'm ready to start," Jackson said, "but I'm content for right now." Coach Steve Fisher has continually made it clear that even if Jackson shines as a sixth man and Rob Pelinka and James Voskuil excel as starters, Jackson will indeed return to the starting lineup. SIMPSON, EH?: Ohio State frosh Greg Simpson made his first collegiate start Tuesday night. He had mixed results; he scored 10 points and led the Buckeyes with four assists, but the ruthless Crisler Arena crowd would not let him forget the airball attempt he took early in the contest. If things had gone differently a year ago, though, Simpson might have been receiving the applause of the Crisler faithful. "Anytime you're two-time player of the year in the state of Ohio, you're something special," Fisher said. "He's lightning-quick and is a very good Big Ten player. He's gonna get nothing but better as time goes on. "We were like many. We recruited him. We thought we had a great chance to get him, but he opted for the Buckeyes," he continued. Simpson is but one of six first-year players on the young Ohio State squad. BY THE NUMBERS: Tuesday marked the first time this season that the Wolverines were outshot by their opponents and still managed to pull off a victory. Michigan shot at a .410 clip, while the Buckeyes held a .418 percentage. Michigan now holds a 1-1 record in these situations.1- The Wolverines blocked six Buckeye shots, running their season total to 115. They are on a pace for over 200 for the season; that would break the current school. mark of 182 set last season. NICE GOING, ROB: Sure, to the uneducated bas= ketball fan, Pelinka had a pretty good night. He scored a career-high 16 points on national television, and he hit six clutch free throws in the last minutes to help seal the Wolverines' victory. But he wound up going six-for-seven from the char- ity stripe, ending his perfect Big Ten season. Pelinka, who had been 12-for-12 in free throws in conference play, is now 18-for-19 in the Big Ten and 23-for-32 for the season. YOU SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY? END OF THE LINE, PLEASE: An astounding six Michigan players will be celebrating birthdays in the next month, Michael Talley turns 23 on Jan. 29, Jalen Rose turns 20 on Jan. 30, Juwan Howard turns 20 on Feb. 7, Jimmy King turns 20 on Feb. 9, Dugan Fife turns 10 on Feb. 12 and James Voskuil turns 23 on Feb. 22. CELEBRITY ROW: Well-known personalities from' around the world continued to flock towards Crisler' Arena with reckless abandon. ESPN's Mike Patrick re- turned only two weeks since his last visit, but this time he brought former Indiana Pacer Clark Kellogg instead of fan favorite Dick Vitale. Michigan football coaching legend and recent' College Football Hall of Fame inductee B b Schembechler was spotted in the tunnel leading to the lockerroom. University President James Duderstadt sat in his usual center-court location, and sightings of Michigan State basketball coach Jud Heathcote were, reported. Heathcote fervently denied rumors that he was being considered for the presidency of Yale University: ~a. fomer Treit~iers ad cu:':4"Ne Yrk: Chris Webber ties up Rickey Dudley Tuesday night on his way to a 20-point, 14-rebound performance. The Wolverines return to action Sunday against Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Men's tennis team headed for Spartan Invite by Dave Schwartz Ah yes, late January. A great time to think about Big Ten basketball, the Super Bowl, spring break and tennis. Tennis in the dead of winter? Typically, tennis is played in warm, sunny places like Australia, where the Australian Open is going on right now. But back up in the Northern Hemisphere, frozen tundra regions such as Michigan have indoor tennis to replicate the warmth of summer. The weather inside should be a balmy 72 degrees this weekend when the Michigan men's tennis team travels to East Lansing for the Spartan Invitational, its first compe- tition in 1993. Although this isn't an official team competition, it offers Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten an oppor- competition starts," he said. Up until the third round, players can lose once and still remain in the tournament, moving into the conso- lation bracket. After the third round, though, a player is out of the tour- nament once he loses. Because of the format of the tournament, the lower seeds from a particular team might have an opportunity to play against some of the higher seeds. This should benefit Michigan, a team which needs some valuable experience. Michigan rolls in with a very young squad after losing seven let- terwinners from last year, including three seniors. John Costanzo, Geoff Prentice and Peter Pustai are three talented freshmen who will be competing this weekend. The other Wolverines competing are sophomores Adam Wagner and Grady Burnett, along with junior Dan Brakus. Eisner was a bit concerned earlier this year when some of the Wolver- ines were sick, but is hopeful that his team is over the flu bug and will come out with a strong performance in East Lansing. "This weekend will be a good in- dicator of where the guys are," said Brakus, who will probably be seeded second or third in the Spartan Invi- tational. "It's early in the season." Individual performances this weekend will set the tone for how well the team performs this year in the Big Ten. Tournaments such as this are played to prepare the teams for dual-meet competition, which is just around the corner. Michigan is hoping to improve on last year's 6-16 record (6-7 Big Ten). The Wolverines will compete in the Rolex National Indoor Intercol- legiate Championships in Min- neapolis next week before returning home for their first team competition Feb. 10 against Eastern Michigan. I: 11" Place ou~r * Vatevrtr&s IAd f he' " Cfa&Wrecs ioday' " * Deadie :Fervarcj8 Pctoi :Fcbrvc"r 1 " ~Cost : $5.00 &1764-0557 for more' f Women netters tune up vs.instate foes by Andrew Levy Daily Sports Writer As the Michigan women's tennis team prepares for a preseason tune- up tournament today through Sunday in Ypsilanti, players and coaches agree on the team's chances. "I think the whole team is excited," senior Kalei Beamon said. "We've been in practice for so long, I think we're ready to play some matches." "Well, the outlook is pretty good," assistant coach Wendy Gilles said. "We've been pretty dominant in the state of Michigan these past couple of years." The State of Michigan Tournament pits the Wolverines against instate-rivals Michigan State, Western Michigan, and tournament -host Eastern Michigan. In the tournament, players compete against one another individually, rather than in a team format. Both the singles and doubles divisions will be divided into two draws, with 16 players each. "It's possible that our players will meet up in the semifinals and finals - that's what we're hoping for," Gilles said. "Actually, our team is really young. We have three freshmen, three sophomores, one junior, and one senior, and they're all really close in their level of play. This will help us a lot to see where each person is." Beamon, who is gearing up for her final season as a Wolverine, said she too hopes to do well, but her expectations for the tournament are not as high because of the team's long layoff. "We've been so long without playing matches," Beamon said. "But I've practiced really well this -read them Daily DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS a, 4 .4, INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM FREE THROW SHOOTING CONTEST (Team and Individual) Entry Deadline: Wednesday 2/3 4:30 p.m. IMSB Main Office Contest Date: Thursday 2/4 For Additional Information Contact IMSB 763-3562 Eisner tunity to showcase their top individ- uals in singles play. The tournament features 64 Big Ten players, all of whom will be battling Saturday and Sunday in hopes of advancing to the semifinals and championship rounds Monday. Michigan coach Brian Eisner feels confident going into this tournament. "(The tournament) gives a good look at where you are before team Beamon Though this is a tune-up, Gilles said that doesn't make this tournament any less significant. "It's very important that we do well," Gilles said. "This will give us an indication of how we'll do the rest of the season. I V. Im mI Syracuse University Division of International Programs Abroad 119 Euclid Avenue Syracuse, New York 13244-4170 315-443-3471 or 1-800-235-3472 Difference ABROAD A World SYRAC of USE Programs in Africa. Australia. Czech Republic, England, I