The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Sports - Thursday, September 9, 1993- Page 11

SPIRIT
Continued from page 1
Juwan Howard proclaiming at Media
Day that year, when he was all of 18
years old, that "We're on a mission."
Everyonejustsmiledandnodded. Little
did we know. The "kid" knew what he
was talking about. Months later, there
we were after a victory over Cincinnati
at the Final Four, dancing in the streets
in Minneapolis - celebrating the fact
thatfive freshmen had just gone out and
proved everyone wrong. Forget Duke,
and consider it mission accomplished.
" The Second Chance: No tears. No
regrets. It was a great run. They will
never get anywhere near the amount of
credit they deserve. Lost somewhere
amid the black socks and sinister smiles
and "lazy" play was an unbelievable
show of fortitude and concentration.
Never again will there be a group like
this one - so loved and so hated by so
many. Some will call the UCLA game
"luck." Fine, then. I will simply cling to
the win over Kentucky, another one
which they miraculously rescued from
the fire, and I will cherish it-81-78 in
overtime - as the high-point of my
Michigan career. Itwas one for the ages.
" The Catch: Tucked away neatly in
the middle of my four years here is that
magical catch in the corner of the
endzone. Desmond Howard, our
Heisman winner,jumped,stretchedand
then landed. And we all waited for a
split-second. Did he hold on to it? Did
he ever.
*The Penalty: The Catch wasjustice
served, in my deludedopinion. Payback
for the two Rocket Ismail kickoff re-
tuns in the steady, cold rain my fresh-
man year. And payback for The Penalty,
the one that wasn't called, on the last-
second two-point conversion my sopho-
more year againstMichigan State. Over
ahundredthousahd fans watchedEddie
Brown trip Howard in the endzone -
thesameendzonewhere Howard would
later make The Catch - but the refer-
ees, unthinkably, weren't able to see the
same thing. Or didn't have the guts to
throw the flag. Regardless, there went
the game: MSU28, U-M 27. And there
went our No. 1 ranking along with all
our national title hopes.
" Revenge: My last Michigan foot-
ballgamewasavictory,though.Notjust
any old win, either. A Rose Bowl vic-
tory.Afterfourseasonsofunprecedented
success - we did win four Big Ten
titles while I was here - all I could
think of asI sat there before the game in
Pasadena was how every triumph
seemed to be followed all too close by
disappointment. This time we went out
on a good note.
There were others, certainly. Bo's
retirement, the hockey playoffs two
years ago, the overtime win over Duke
atCrislerin'89. But the greatestmemory
is more of an intangible. A "certain
intangible," as Ufer would say. "Some
call it the Michigan spirit."
Truer words have never been spo-
ken.
On a campus as diverse and frac-
9 tured as this one, there is maybejustone
common denominator. Everything, ba-
sically, that helps create that "certain
intangible."
That Michigan spirit
Which is why we went to say
"Goodbye." And "Hello," really. Be-
cause, as Iam now beginning to realize,
this Michigan thing isn't over by any
means. Yost andUfer are still with us. In

spirit. It lasts alifetime.
But college only lasts a handful of
years. We come and, before we know it,
we are going. Names on a page.
I will take many memories with me
when I leave in a few weeks. But some-
thing that Jimmy King, a good basket-
ball player anda fellow alumnus some-
day, said during the Final Four this year
will stick.
"Life's a big game," he said, ex-
9 plaining thebeyond-their-years wisdom
that the Fab Five brought with them to
Michigan. "You do your tricks. Every-
body wants to succeed. That's what it's
about."
Well, this is my last trick.
It is time to move on.
Time to reminisce. And time, fi-
nally, to rest.

TOURNAMENT 'M' field hockey recovers from noor start


Continued from page 6
"It's something as faras proving itto
ourselves," Howard said. "We don't
care about what people say."
In fact, all but Michigan's opening
tournament game, an 84-53 runaway
against Coastal Carolina, were decided
in dramatic, end-of-the-game fashion.
The quarterfinal contestin Seattle, a77-
72 win overTemple, wasn'tsealed until
late in the game when Rose found King
for a streaking alley-oop slam. In fact,
Michigan trailed for much of the con-
test.
It was at this point in the tournament
that the Wolverines appeared to be wilt-
ing under intense media pressure. They
had drooped around press conferences,
and appeared far from the easy-going
bunch that had graced the court for the
past two years.
Nevertheless, Wolverine coach
Steve Fisher tried to break the tension at
a pre-game press conference. Asked
how his "undisciplined" team would
handle Temple's trapping defense,
Fisher had this explanation.
"(The players) are going to have to
pass it seven-and-a-half times before
they shoot," he said. "And Webber here
is going to have to keep track and swing
his arms in a circular motion when the
amount is reached."
You can't blame him for trying.
In the Sweet 16, Michigan fended
off a pesky George Washington squad,
72-64. While the Wolverines started
with a 15-2 burst to begin the game, a
lapse midway through allowed the
Colonials to sneak back in. In fact,
George Washington led, 53-50, with
just eight minutes left in the game.
Ironically, strong free throw shoot-
ing finally sealed it for Michigan. The
Wolverines made 8-13 free throws, and
grabbed two offensive boards off free
throw misses in the final minutes to pull
away from the Colonials.
Then there was the second-round
game in Tucson, the first of Michigan's
overtime contests in the tournament, an
86-84 victory over UCLA.
The Wolverines trailed by as much
as 19 points during the contest, and
were down, 52-39, at halftime. A 17-2
second-half run, capped by successive
Rose triples brought Michigan back,
though the Wolverines almost blew it at
the end of regulation.
With the score knotted at 77, Bruin
Tyus Edney stole the inbounds pass and

*/ ~m.

by Brett Johnson
Daily Sports Writer
After a season of up and down per-
formances, the Michigan field hockey
team put everything together at the end
of the year, winning five of its last six
games.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines,
that was not enough toearn them a post-
season berth. The team finished with a
10-8 overall record, but could only
manage a 3-7 mark in the Big Ten.
The team charged into September
with a trip to Philadelphia. It scored
majorvictoriesagainstnationally-ranked
opponentssuchas
Villanova and
Rutgers.
Using its
"street smarts,"
the team quelled
any lingering
doubts about its
chronic scoring
problem with a 3-
0 victory against
Thomas V anova.
The Wolver-
ines returned to Ann Arbor ready for
classes and competition, knocking down
Ohio State and a grossly unfit Central
Michigan squad. Butafterawin against
Miami on Sep. 29, Michigan would not
see the victory column for another
month.
The Wolverines lost six in a row -
five on the road - including two to
then-No. 3 Penn State and one to No.2
Iowa. Although the Wolverines nearly
nipped the Lady Lions in a home loss,
Michigan was no match for either Penn
State or the Hawkeyes during a week-
end series at Iowa City. The Wolverines
may have hit the low point of their
season after being crushed in back-to-
back games, 6-1 and 7-1 respectively.
At this point in the season the team
lacked focus, committing many mental
errors. Akey loss to Ohio State and two
to Northwestern dashed any hopes of
post-season play for the Wolverines.
Before November began, the Wol-
verines were granted a week to re-
group. They refocused and came back,
gathering victories against smaller
sub-par programs - barring Boston
College.
Finally, Michigan was able to get
back in the win column when it came
home to face the University of the Pa-
cific. The Wolverines top two scorers,
junior forward Kalli Hose and senior
forward Katie Thomas came up big.
Hose recorded a hat trick and Thomas
scored one goal and assisted on two
others. Senior wing Katie Vignevic
earned the honor of Big Ten Player of
the Week for her efforts.
After wins against Kent State and
Boston College, the Wolverines came
into the final weekend needing to win
one game to insure a winning record.
Michigan faced the challenges of Iowa
in-state rival Michigan State.
In what was probably its best outing
of the season, Michigan was able to
shutout the Spartans for a 3-0 victory.
Although it was a great team effort, the
team's future leaders came alive.
Freshman forward Jen Lupinski
had an outstanding game, scoring two
goals and adding one assist. Head
coach Patti Smith said after the game
that Lupinski's play was one key to
the victory.
"Jen played great," Smith said. "She
was an inspiration to the team. She
played well and hard all game."
The season ended with a game
against Iowa, reminiscent of the pre-

vious year's overtime defeat.The Wol-
verines, especially freshman goalie
Rachael Geisthardt, dug down deep.
Geisthardt made some spectacular
saves in the 2-0 loss to the No. 2
Hawkeyes.
Lupinski was pleased with the final
weekend's results.
"The weekend was a perfect ending
toourseason," Lupinski said. "We gave
all the effort we should, and it showed."
Although the team did not see post-
season action, it finished fourth in the
conference, tied with perennial power-
house Northwestern.
Michigan will have to have players

SHARON MUSHER/Daky
Freshman forward Jennifer Lupinski carries the ball last season in Oosterbaan Field House. Lupinski had an
outstanding first year as a Wolverine. She posted two goals and an assist in a 3-0 shutout against Michigan State.

step up in order to replace three key
losses to graduation: Thomas, forward
Katie Vignevic and defender Marybeth
Bird.
Next year, the squad returns with an
experienced batch of upperclass play-
ers and determined sophomores. Smith
said that many of the future sophomores
will be driven by their limited taste of
game action.
"The freshman are hungry for play-
time. They will push everyone to work
harder," Smith said.
Key among those players will be
defender Lelli Hose, midfielder Kalli
Hose, rookie of the year nominee Jen
Lupinski and sophomore forward Gia
"Pet" Biagi. Redshirt senior and captain
Keely Libby rounds out the leading
returnees.
Even though the off-season has been
marred by injury - both Biagi and
Lupinski underwent surgery - the
squad holds high hopes for next year's
season.
"The conference is up for grabs,"
Smith said.
The Wolverines will face tough non-
conference opponents during pre-sea-
son play.
The team will travel to the eastern
seabord and play some top programs.
During the four-day excursion, the team
will face arematch with Boston College
and battle Northeastern and Springfield
for the first time.
"I can'tdescribe it, Ijusthaveagreat
feeling about next season," Smith said.

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King
nearly scored at the buzzer. Only a last-
second steal by King saved the Wolver-
ines from an early exit.
In overtime, it was King again to the
rescue. With the game tied at 84, and
less than five seconds left, Rose drove
and pulled up for a jumper left of the
lane. His shot caromed off the iron and
King put it back for the victory.
There was much dispute, especially
from UCLA coach Jim Harrick, who
insisted he "had to know" whether the
shot hit the rim, but officials eventually
decideditdid.Theshotstood, andMichi-
gan was off to the Sweet 16.
So maybe you shouldn'tjust look at
the tournament as a moment. Think of
the whole package.

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