Prior to this season, what was the
last major league baseball team to
win 100 games and not make the
playoffs?
(Answer, page 2)
Inside SPORTSMonday
'M' Sports Calendar 2
AP Top 25 2
Griddes! 2
Q&A 3
The R.H. Factor 3
Football 4-5
Field Hockey 6
Major League Baseball 6
Hoops Tickets- 6
NFL roundup 7
M'
defense grounds Hawkeyes'
attack
Blue triumphs in '93
Big Ten opener, 24-7
By ANDY DE KORTE
DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER
Summer drives down Michigan
expressways invariably encounter
construction. And as travelers make
their way through the delays, road
signs bearing stick figure expressions
change from a frown to an expres-
sionless face to the long-awaited
smiley face as the end of the construc-
tion nears.
Like a trip to the Upper Peninsula,
the Wolverines (1-0 Big Tbn, 3-1
overall) started down a long road with-
out too many smiles after losing to
Notre Dame. But following the Wol-
verines' 24-7 victory over Iowa (0-2,
2-2) Saturday, Michigan coach Gary
Moeller thought his team's play no
longer deserved frowns.
But by no means did he feel they
were near the end of construction.
"Obviously, our defense was im-
proved. We'll continue to work on
that, but I think we did a good job
getting more (players) to the ball,"
Moeller said. "Offensively, we self-
destructed. I don't think we blocked
as well as we should have. We can't
self-destruct, which we did with pen-
alties. I don't feel good about our
team right now. We're a better offen-
sive team than that."
Before the offense self-destructed,
it did manage to wreak havoc on theI
Hawkeye defense. The way the Iowa
offense played, a 14-0 advantage by
the end of the first quarter represented
an unassailable lead.
Running back Tyrone Wheatley
started the Wolverine scoring with
6:24 left in the first quartet with a
five-yardrush. His day'sworkdidnot
start with the touchdown scamper-
seven previous rushes for 29 yards set
up the score on the drive.
On the ensuing kickoff, Iowa gave
Michigan an early chance to get a
stranglehold on the game. Returner
Sedrick Shaw fumbled the ball charg-
ing into a wall of Wolverine defend-
ers at the 25-yard line.
Unfortunately for the Michigan
faithful, the penalties soon started to
accumulate. Instead of first down on
the Iowa 13, a holding call made it
second down and eight. A freak back-
wards pass by Todd Collins, that was
ruled a lateral, bounced safely out of
bounds and resulted in a 16-yard loss.
A poor punt gave the Hawkeyes
the ball back right where they lost it
-- their own 25. Although Hayden
Fry's team came back with an im-
pressive drive going 55 yards, that
possession led to the second Wolver-
ine touchdown.
Michigan defensive tackle Jason
Horn blocked Todd Romano's 47-
yard field goal attempt. Collins found
Wheatley with a dump pass, which
the tailback proceeded to take 48 yards
for a touchdown and the 14-point
lead.
The next 5:08 belonged to the
Iowa. The only scoring drive the
Hawkeyes mounted started at the 23-
See IOWA, Page 4
Taillback Tyrone Wheatley led the Michigan offensive charge, gaining 202 all-purpose yards (113 rushing, 60 receiving, 29 kickoff returns)
Wolverines defeated Iowa, 24-7, in Saturday's Big Ten opener.
MICHELLE GUY/Daily
as the No. 9
With victory over old rivals to begin Big Ten campaign, Wolverines nose their way to improvement
An odor hung over Michigan Stadium
Saturday as the Wolverines defeated
Iowa, 24-7. Did you smell it?
It surfaced at the
beginning of the
game, when
Michigan took a
Hawkeye punt, drove
down the field in 12
plays, and scored a
touchdown on a five-
yard run by Tyrone ADAM
Wheatley. MILLER
The smell was Miller's
sweet then, and it Crossing
intensified as
Wolverine Steve King recovered Sedrick
Shaw's fumble of the ensuing kickoff at the
Hawkeye 25.
But - mark my nose - the next five
plays dissipated the aroma. At about the
time of Todd Collins' mistaken lateral that
dropped the Wolverines back 12 yards from
their original line of scrimmage and forced
them to punt, I lost it.
Yet, five minutes later, there it was
again, as Collins connected with Wheatley
for a 48-yard scoring strike and a 14-0
Michigan lead.
This pattern continued throughout the
game, and I found it quite disturbing. At
times, the Wolverines seemed to be playing
great, and things smelled like, a ... uh, they
smelled pleasant. The offensive line,
suspect for much of the early season,
routinely opened holes for Tyrone
Wheatley, Ricky Powers and Ch6 Foster to
run through.
Maybe not gargantuan holes, but holes
nonetheless. Compared to Michigan's first
game against Washington State, when the
only successful Wolverine runs were
around the ends, this looked, and smelled,
pretty good.
Particularly impressive was that first
score from Wheatley. He ran through the
right side of the line, and went in
untouched.
Collins, too, seemed to have more time
to throw. With the return of receiver
Derrick Alexander, and enough time for
Collins, the Michigan deep passing game
was reestablished. At one point, after a
holding call in the backfield, Michigan
faced a 2nd-and-23, and Collins found
Alexander over the middle for 29 yards and
a first down.
Furthermore, the defense showed
improvement - that catchword of the early
season - as well. Defensive tackle and co-
captain Buster Stanley had a great day, with
10 total tackles (seven solo), including three
tackles for a loss and two sacks. He also
forced a fumble and recovered the ball.
Strong safety Shonte Peoples had a sack
and an interception. Fellow hard hitter and
cornerback Alfie Burch broke up a pass
with authority, leveling Ryan Terry and
sending the pigskin flying.
The postgame interviews reflected this
situation, as coaches and players alike
complimented the Wolverine effort.
"We're on the right track now,"
Wheatley said.
"We certainly want to congratulate
Michigan here today," Iowa coach Hayden
Fry said. " They're an extremely good
offensive and defensive football team."
Improving, yes. But extremely good?
The Wolverines' performance, while better
than in earlier games, was not all sweetness.
Often, it was quite sour.
For instance, on three occasions that
Michigan had the ball deep in Hawkeye
territory in the first half, the best the
Wolverines could do was kick a field goal.
In addition to the sequence mentioned
above are these two drives from late in the
second quarter:
U With 10:45 remaining until halftime,
Michigan took the Iowa kickoff on its own
39. Eleven plays later, the Wolverines had
driven to the Hawkeye eight, where they
had first-and-goal. Two penalties, a sack,
and a couple of short passes later, and
Michigan had lost 13 yards and was facing
~fourth-and-goal from the 21. A field goal?
Nope, wide left.
Then, four Hawkeye plays later,
Stanley recovered a fumble on the Iowa 15
with just over a minute remaining until
halftime. Four plays gained zero yards, and
Pete Elezovic made the field goal this time.
The situation didn't improve in the
second half. Michigan took the opening
kickoff, but punted four plays later, and
never reached the level of performance it
displayed at the game's onset.
Yet, before we condemn them too
harshly, remember that the Wolverines did
win. They held Iowa, a traditional nemesis,
to seven points, and even kept the
Hawkeyes out of the end zone on their last
desparation drive at the game's conclusion.
So the odor for the day wasn't entirely
sour. I'd say that, overall, it was pretty
sweet.
I just can't decide if it smelled like
flowers ...
Or tangerines.
"Spikers sweep Hawkeyes,
fall to Golden Gophers
Coaching for a Championship
By J.L. ROSTAM-ABADI
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
You win some and you lose some.
The Michigan women's volley-
ball team (1-3 Big Ten, 5-7 overall)
proved this age-old cliche true this
past weekend. The Wolverines de-
feated Iowa at Iowa City in three
games Friday night,15-9, 15-11,15-
12, before falling to Minnesota Satur-
day night, 15-2, 15-8, 15-11.
Saturday, the Golden Gophers (2-
2 , 10-5) wasted no time in taking
control of the contest.
"They jumped all over us the first
game," Michigan coach Greg
Giovanazzi said. "Minnesota is a
very good team."
Minnesota's Katrian DeDecker, a
freshman from Belgium, dominated
the Gophers' offensive prowl, deliv-
ering 24 of their 56 kills, and boasting
a .372 attack percentage.
the trip, but was unable to play her
usual left outside hitter position.
Defensively, the Gophers were led
by Gretchen Dahl, who had 12 digs.
Sue Jackson handled the setting re-
sponsibilities, ending the night with
42 assists.
Across the net were Michigan's
JoAnna Collias and Shannon
Brownlee who led the Wolverines
with 12 and 15 digs, respectively.
"(Setter Erin) McGovern came in
about halfway through the second
game, which is when the match turned
around, and I think she had a lot to do
with that," Giovanazzi said. "She did
a good job of getting our middle hit-
ters involved -- Shannon Brownlee
and Suzy O'Donnell."
Sophomores O'Donnell and
Brownlee combined for 20 of
Michigan's 38 kills.
"The only really bright spots (Sat-
By BOB ABRAMSON
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
f you asked new Michigan
women's soccer coach Linda
Hamilton how to get to South
University Ave. in Ann Arbor, a
look of confusion would probably
spring up across her face.
"I never know where I am going
in Ann Arbor," Hamilton
exclaimed. "The girls on the soccer
team all laugh at me because I get
excited when I recognize something
like, 'Hey, that's Touchdown Cafe,
I've seen that before."'
Forgive her complete lack of
direction. Michigan is like a foreign
country to this coach. Coming from
the deep south of Atlanta, she
knows about two roads in Michigan
- the freeways that take her back
and forth between her home in
Farmington Hills and the confines
Hamilton leads resurgence of
women's soccer club
became a starting sweeper on the
1991 U.S. women's national team,
which would go on to become the
first American team to ever win a
World Cup. This will be Hamilton's
seventh year as a starter on the
team.
Pick a big game in the last seven
years of women's soccer and
Hamilton's name would probably
be mentioned in the conversation.
In college, she was the 1988
ACC Player of the Year and a four-
time All-American. She played
three years at North Carolina State
and eventually transferred to North
Carolina, where she would go on to
claim a national title.
"She had an incredible season
that year. She hung in there and
helped us win a national
championship," North Carolina and
U.S. women's national team coach
m