12 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 1, 1994 'M' rugby looks to send Nomads' packing By RAVI GOPAL DAILY SPORTS WRITER The Michigan men's rugby team will get a chance to see how they stack up against talent from "rugby coun- try" when they take on the Toronto Nomads tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Mitchell Field. The Nomads, a club team, are part of the Tranzac (Transplanted Austra- lians and New Zealanders) Sports Club of Toronto. The team sports a cast of experienced rugby players, since rugby enjoys wide-spread popu- larity in both New Zealand and Austrailia. In addition, rugby is gaining popu- larity in Canada. The combination of the Nomads' personnel and their lo- cation make them a top-notch pro- gram, according to Michigan's Achal Kapoor. "They're a solid team," Kapoor said. "We try to make them a feature on our schedule." Michigan Rugby Club President Tom Warburton said that in order to compete with the Nomads, the Wol- verines must control the tempo. Warburton emphasized that his squad must adapt to the Nomads' ball-con- trol offense. "They're a good possession team, and the only way to beat a team like thatis to beatthem attheirown game," Warburton said. The Wolverine youngsters must also step up if they are to compete with Toronto. Many freshmen and sophomore players on the collegiate squad played competitive rugby for the first time only two weeks ago at the St. Patrick's Day Invitational in Washington, D.C. The squad, which will play Toronto's Club B team, looks to have a tough battle on its hands. "(The freshmen and sophomores) definitely have to play if they want to compete with the Club B team," said Warburton. Michigan compensates for its lack of experience with an advantage in quickness, due to its youth. Warburton noted that speed and mobility are the Wolverines' strong points, and stated that these traits should make for "a close game." Michigan could be shorthanded for the weekend matchup. Warburton has a sprained ankle, and his status is questionable. Mark Nemec, a leader on the Wolverines' club team, is out of town. FIRINGS Continued from page 1 just isn't enough. I feel our program as a whole is in a downward spiral, and we need to stem the tide." In the past year, basketball players Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Chris Fields were arrested for stealing beer from a local convenience store. Berenson was arrested forpublic urina- tion and driving while under the influ- ence of alcohol. The Drug Enforcement Agency also ran across basketball player Jalen Rose during an investigation of a known drug dealer. "I understand why Joe would want this change," Berenson said. "I feel like I let my team down, let my school down. It was a classic mistake." All coaches at Michigan are actu- ally employed on a year-by-year basis. The University is not technically firing the coaches; itjust will notre-hire them. Roberson also mentioned the in- ability of the two teams to capture national championships in the recent past as further cause for his decision. "This coming fall will be the first one for this department under my lead- ership," Roberson said. "I want a clean slate, a new beginning. Michigan needs coaches who can bring national cham- pionships to Ann Arbor. "The scandals off the field are unacceptable. If we were winning national championships, we could look past them. But we're not." Fisher, who was relaxing at his cottage in Marquette when notified of the decision by the Daily, said he was utterly shocked. The coach led the basketball team to its only national title in 1989. "I just cannot believe Joe would make such a move," Fisher said. "I mean, gee whiz. The off-court prob- lems have been an embarrassment for the University, for sure. But we have built a solid program. I have been com- pletely dedicated to Michigan, and I will continue to be so regardless." Fisher led Michigan to three Final Four appearances in five NCAA tour- naments. This season the Wolverines finished second in the Big Ten and advanced to the round of eight in the NCAAs. Fisher leaves Michigan as the leading active coach in NCAA tournament winning percentage. Fisher's players were divided on the issue. "I think he had it coming," point guard Dugan Fife said. "Frankly, I'm glad. He always had those beady eyes on the bench. It kind of freaked me out." "The guy got a bum deal. Really, he did," center Juwan Howard said. "He didn't mean to tell (former Wol- verine Chris) Webber to call timeout. It just slipped out at the wrong time." Fisher is rumored to be headed to the Los Angeles Lakers as an assis- tant to head coach Magic Johnson. Webber, currently a Golden State Warrior, also expressed an interest in having Fisher behind his bench. "I've played for Fish. I know how his mind works," Webber said in a teleconference yesterday. "He's a mastermind. He's made for the NBA." Berenson returned to Michigan in 1984 after earning All-American hon- ors as a Wolverine in 1962. He led the program back to respectability, culmi- nating with two NCAA semifinal ap- pearances (1992, 1993) and a CCHA tournament championship (1994). Although new coaches are not ex- pected to be announced for several weeks, the frontrunner to replace Berenson is former Los Angeles King Wayne Gretzky, who retired yesterday. " EVAN PETRIE/Daily "Say it ain't so, Joe!" former head coach Steve Fisher must have thought, as he received word that Athletic Director Joe Roberson had given him the axe. MAGIC WOK 613-615 E. 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"It is way too early to tell, but this tournament will give a good indication of what we are up against." Although Sunday consists of the normal one round of 18 holes, Saturday's play features an increased 36 holes. "It is hard to hold up under 36 holes in one round," Teichert said. "We were successful in doing it at Wisconsin in the fall, so it shouldn't be too big of a problem here." "Our goal is to improve our course averages, both team and individual." MEN Continued from page 11 played in Ann Arbor - the Badgers again finished first (along with Ohio State), beating the Wolverines by more than 30. "They're very strong," said Klum. "They have to be looked at as poten- tial Big Ten champs. Northwestern and Illinois are here, too, and they're both pretty good, although Illinois is an unknown quantity." The rest of the field includes Illi- nois State, Northern Illinois, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Xavier and Youngstown State, along with Ar- kansas and host Southern Methodist. Michigan starts the spring season in hopes of building on their encour- aging fall season performance. In the '92 season, the club played in 11 tournaments and managed to finish 'The play of the freshmen has been a real pleasant surprise.' - Ed Kium Assistant golf coach among the top five teams in only one event. However, despite low tempera- tures and a high number of freshmen, the Wolverines have two such fin- ishes already - and the season isn't even half over yet. Because of the Wolverines' im- proving cold weather play, no one could blame them for singing let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. DAILY SPORTS We're all that. , .* 0) 0) ~ (Ah~,e 6o MTIme a11ev~s) 0) -d Co p1~ ~ $o~a~ r~oBA~fllrs~ ~ a~m~ Ifi p~m~ ~4~A~A V _______________________ .= .. -. ,._ , qkT~HAIR & . NAIL i weave SALON braid relaxers haircuts' spiral perms full nail service wave nouveau custom hairstyling 312 Thompson St. (near corner of Liberty) 995-5733 . - . .. .. . .. I - I - .. 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