0 Page 8-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Sports - Thursday, September 9, 1993 Michigan softball provid Wolverine hurlers win second straight. by Rachel Bachman Daily Softball Writer Like "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson," it was a nearly impos- sible act to follow. After the Michigan softball team finished the 1992 season with its high- estwinning percentage ever, its first Big Ten title and its first NCAA playoff berth, it appeared there was nothing left to achieve. "Last year is over. Nobody cares that we won the Big Ten last year," head coach Carol Hutchins said at the begin- ning of the season. That was before the 1993 Wolver- ines took the field - a newly refur-' bished Alumni A Field. "This team re- ally came to-r gether," sopho- morepitcher Kelly Kovach said. "Our last month, we re- Hutchins allyturnediton." Afterfinishing with aMichigan soft- ball best 45-11 record, the team won its second straight Big Ten title and earned its second bid in two years to the NCAA tournament. "Winning a back-to-back conference title is Michigan softball's greatest mo- ment," Hutchins said. To their skillful accomplishment, the Wolverines added a little luck when Ann Arbor was chosen as one of the sites for an NCAA regional, giving Michigan a home field advantage. "[Sophomore] LesaArviacalledme and when she found out it was at home, she screamed on the other end 'Yeahhhh,"'centerfielder and team cap- tain Kari Kunnen told the Ann Arbor News. "It's really exciting to have it here," Kovach said. "That will help if we're :s repeat Big Ten title;fall going to pull an upset." The Wolverines, ranked No. 10 in a; 20-team field, hosted No. 20 Bowling Green and No.8 Southwestern Louisi- ana. If Michigan beat both teams, it wouldadvancetotheeight-teamNCAA Softball World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., for a chance to play for the na-! tional title. On its way to the NCAA tourna- ment, the squad broke anumberof team and individual records. The Wolverines won more games than ever before, and equaled their best seasonrecord against the Big Ten.c Senior and 1992 Big Ten Player of theYearPattiBenedictbroketheMichi-1 gan individual season batting average,1 finishing the regular season with a.430 average. Benedict also broke the season records in hits and RBI. k E Kari Kunnen made her mark on the1 performance in NCAAfirst round record books too, breaking the runs scored record and posting the most walks. 'We just said we were going to win and never give up, and we didn't give up.' -Mary Campanas Michigan shortstop Highlights of the 1993 season in- cluded standout pitching and hitting. Senior pitcher Kelly Forbis hurled a perfect game against Santa Clara at the National Invitational Softball Tourna- ment in March. Benedict, Kunnen, and utility play- ers Michelle Silver and Tracy Car all posted batting averages above .300. Despite these powerful perfor- mances, it was not just an individual effort that powered the Wolverines. "This team really came together," Kovach said. "The freshmen had to take on tremendous roles, our seniors just did the job and they both led us to the Big Ten championship." Michigan began its section of the NCAA tournament with an 8-2 victory over Bowling Green. A few hours later, though, the Ragin' Cajuns from South- western Louisiana squeaked past the Wolverines, 6-5. The next day the Cajuns prevailed again, 2-1, and ended Michigan's run for the national title. Shortstop Mary Campana summed up Michigan's pride in the faceQfdisap- pointment. p"Wejustsaidweweregoingtowinand never give up, and we didn't give up." r. t --4 WOMEN'S TENNIS: by Tim Spolar Daily Sports Writer TheMichiganwomen'stennis team enteredlastyearwith the goal ofjoining the elite powers of the Big Ten. However, as a result of a rather ordinary performance at the season- ending conference tournament, Michigan was once again forced to accept its middle-of-the-pack status. "(The tournament) was definitely a disappointment," sophomore co- captain Jaimie Fielding said. After dropping their first match to fourth-place finisher Northwestern, the Wolverines hammered Minne- sota to earn a spot in the fifth-place match against Iowa. Though down 4- 2 after the singles matches, Iowa took full advantage of the pairs matches for a 5-4 victory. Though aloss to Iowain the fifth- placematchsentMichiganhomewell short of its goal in sixth place, the season as a whole could not be con- sideredawash. For thefourth straight year, head coach Bitsy Ritt's team finished above the.500 mark, ending with a7-6recordinthe Big Ten while posting a 12-11 mark overall. MEN'S ENNIS: by Jesse Brouhard Daily Sports Writer Youth searching for cohesion. This aptly describes the adventures of the Michigan men's tennis team through the 1993 season. Junior Dan Brakus, No. 1 singles player and elder statesman on the squad, led a group consisting of all sophomores and juniors into the rig- ors of the Big Ten schedule. As the season came to a conclusion, all the members realized the time had come for the team to register a collectively strong effort. "Wejusthaven'tcome together as a team," said Michigan sophomore Grady Burnett, whoplayedNo.4 singles and No. 2 doubles during the season. The squad did have very tight matches with both Ohio State and Iowa at Iowa City. Both matches, however, ended in defeat by the score of 4-3. "We were in a position to win some of these matches, but just couldn't pull them out," Michigan coach Brian Eisner said. MEN'S GOLF: by Jaeson Rosenfeld Daily Sports Writer Weak play from the four and five positions plagued the Michigan men's golf team all year, and Michigan's sev- enth-place finish in the Big Ten champi- onships proved no different. Michigan's Bob Henighan and James Carson turned in fine perfor- mances but received little help from Michigan's three, four and five players. Throughoutthe season, coachJimCarras grew accustomed to the Wolverines' inconsistency. "Very frankly, this is very close to what I anticipated," Carras said. "We didn't have the balance we needed to be a better team." Michigan's team totalof 1,182leftit seven strokes out of the fifth-place po- sition that Carrashad hoped for heading into the Big Ten season. "The competition level has gotten unbelievably strong," Carras said. 'There's a lot of parity in the Big Ten." WOMEN'S GOLF: by Jaeson Rosenfeld Daily Sports Writer The women's golf team was lucky to escape an auto accident the day be- fore the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City relatively unharmed.Unfortunately for the Wolverines, injuries to senior Wendy Bigler and sophomore Jenny Zimmerman probably cost the Wolver- ines a chance to finish in the top half of the Big Ten. The players were injured when the team van driven by coach Sue LeClair struck a passenger car and flipped while making a left turn. Wolverines Shannon McDonald, Tricia Good, MauraHawkinsandTeganMcCorkel were all treated and released from the Iowa University Hospital. "I give the team a lot of credit for competing in the tournament,"LeClair said. "They couldhave said on Thurs- daynightthatthey couldn'tplay.They were determined to compete." The Wolverines were forced to field a team of four instead of six and thus were required to count all four rounds instead of dropping the high- est two rounds from the team score. The result wasa 10th placed finish for Michigan. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: By Jeremy Strachan Daily Sports Writer TheMichiganmen'svolleyballteam finished its season with possibly its best team effort all yearin a loss toMaryland at'TheMen's Club Volleyball Nationals in Austin, Texas in April. The Maryland game was one of the few highlights for the Wolverines this season. The team lost five starters from the 1992 season and several people quit the team early this year.'These internal problems along with injuries made it a bumpy ride for the young teamandfirst- year coach Pam Griffin. "We knew coming into the season that it would be a rebuilding year," Griffin said. "But I think we made progress from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." The Wolverines, hoping for a top- half finish, placed eighth out of 11 teams at the Big Ten tournament this year. "The Big Ten tournament had to be the biggest disappointment in my two years ofplaying here," said starter and Defensive Player of the YearMike Rubin. 0d l- FILE PHOTO Michigan pitcher Chris Newton tosses one against Eastern Michigan at Fisher Stadium. M' baseball ends year on up note 4. by Antoine Pitts Daily Baseball Writer It began to look like another long year for the Michigan baseball team. It seemed like a continuation of the 1992 season when the Wolverines posted their first losing record in 21 years. Michiganbegan the 1993 season the same way it ended 1992 - losing. I U University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM FUN!! ENJOYMENT!! EXERCISE!! COMPETITION!! RECREATION!! PARTICIPATE IN INTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE 1993-94 YEAR. Fall Term Activities Soccer Basketball Slow-Pitch Softball Tennis (Sgls & Dbls) Tennis (Team) Ice Hockey Track & Field Golf (Team best ball) 3-on-3 Basketball Wrestling Cross Country Pre-Season Basketball Flag Football (Sign-ups begin Thursday September 9) Winter Term Activities A MIHGNTRADITION SINCE 1915 Opening the season with the first 22 games on the road, facing some of the nation's best competition, the Wolver- ines struggled. A6-24 start, including 0-9 intheBig Ten (a school record), almost assured that the Wolverines would surpass last year's school-record 32 losses. Things turned around, though, for the Wolverines, beginning with two doubleheaders on the third weekend of the Big Ten season. Scott Tnmerman and Nate Holdren returned from inju- ries to help take three of four from Penn State. Confidence stayed with Michigan the rest of the season as the Wolverines won 20 of their last 27 games to finish 25-30. Michigan won 13 of the last 19 conference games, including a split with eventual conference champion Ohio State and a sweep of Northwestern, to finish 13-14. 'We got healthier, our pitching got better, and we got Nate Holdren back," coach Bill Freehan said of the Michigan turn around. 'We were playing really good com- petition at the beginning of the season," Timmermansaid."We werealwaysright there in the game,.we just didn't know how to win." Freshman first baseman Scott Weaver led the Wolverines at the plate in batting average (.378), slugging per- centage (.622), doubles (11), and RBIs (42). Matt Copp took the home run title with seven, and Holdren had five, de- spite missing the first half with a knee injury. On the mound, Eric Heintschel and Heath Murray notched five wins apiece and Todd Marion recorded 8 saves. Marion ended his career as Michigan's all-time saves leader. "It's something that I never thought I'd get when I came here," Marion said. "It's probably something I'll appreciate later down the road when I haven'tbeen playing for a couple of years." Marion was the last player from the pre-probation days of Michigan base- ball and sees the Wolverines building on this year's effort. "The program's in the right direc- tion. Hopefully this will carry over to next season." 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