14 - The Michigan Daily-- Friday, April 8, 1994 Netters face streaking Penn State By JOSH KAPLAN DAILY SPORTS WRITER The 2-1 Big Ten record the Michi- gan men's tennis team has compiled is more impressive than it may seem. After two victories against three of the toughest teams in the confer- ence, the Wolverines continue their homestand Sunday against Penn State 1 p.m. at the Liberty Sports Complex. The Nittany Lions (2-2 Big Ten, 8-2 overall) come in riding a seven- meet winning streak, including two 7-0 victories to go along with a trio of 6-1 triumphs. They have not fallen since dropping a4-3 decision to Iowa March 13. Michigan coach Brian Eisner, however, doesn't seem concerned about who his team faces. "I never look at teams," Eisner said. "We look at individual matchups. It doesn't make a difference what team we're playing. We have to play at a certain level." Penn State will provide some tough individual matchups for the Wolverines, especially with its No. I player, Ivan Spinner. Spinner, an All-Big Ten selec- tion last season as a sophomore, has built an 8-1 record this spring. In order to improve that mark, he will have to go through Michigan's top gun, senior Dan Brakus. Eisner feels his team has improved significantly since losing to Minne- sota last weekend. "We had a chance to win that meet, (but) we couldn't turn a match when we had to," Eisner said. "We came back against Iowa and did a much better job (of winning), and we did a much, much better job against Michigan State." Every member of the squad con- tributed to the thumping of the Spar- tans with convincing performances. The lone setback came in the fourth slot, wherejunior Grady Burnett could not fight off a spell of tendonitis, losing 6-4, 1-6, 3-6. The team will need similar indi- vidual excellence to top Penn State. The Nittany Lions have played well from top to bottom, with each of their players posting individual records better than .500. Sophomore Doug Schoenly currently possesses a perfect 7-0 record. With both teams playing so well, the meet may be decided by determi- nation alone. "Mentally tough, that's what you have to be," Eisner said. "There's not that much difference between a lot of different players. It's a matterof com- ing out and wanting it, wanting to go after it." SO FTBALL Continued from page 12 Offense remains one of Northwestern's strong points. Catcher Kelly Green's .479 average leads the squad, while nine others are batting above .300. "Their average does show they're doing well, but we're going to have our same approach," Tholl said. "Ba- sically, when we enter every contest we try to play our game ... executing our pitching and our offense." Senior shortstop Mary Campana knows better than any other Wolverine just how essential a potent offensive gun is. In her last 19 at-bats, she has six hits, including back-to-back doubles. Last weekend's split proved the Wolverines have the confidence they need to continue their quest for an over-.500 record this season. "The team is playing with confi- dence right now," Tholl said. "Even in the games we lost, we hit the ball well. We didn't score the runs but we're making good contact. If any- thing, we need to concentrate on (hit- ting), and the positive things we do right- which is mostly everything." Women's rugby hosts Broncos,Fighting llhn 0 By LAUREN ROSENFIELD FOR THE DAILY Rugby fans will get to see experi- enced and novice teams at their best this weekend as the Michigan women's rugby team takes on Illinois and Western Michigan. While the Wolverines are ranked second in the Midwest, the Fighting Illini are a close third, and Western is a brand-new team. Michigan will play Western first tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. and Illinois second at 1:30 p.m. at Mitchell Field. A fourth team, Michigan State, will also be visiting but will not face the Wolverines. The Wolverines are confident about their chances for success to- morrow. "Illinois is a pretty worthy oppo- nent," Michigan rugby coach Katie Page said. "We beat them at nationals last year, but it was a challenging game." Michigan will mainly focus on enhancing its already strong offen- sive line. At the same time, it wants to pull together and become a cohesive group. "We're really good offensively," Page said. "But recently we've been working on our defensive line. We want to emphasize team unity. "The point is not to have certain 'star' players, because that's not how the game is played. We don't want several girls running the field." Another important part of prepa- ration for the matches will be simply getting the essentials down. "We're still working on basic game fundamentals, nothing too fancy," Page said. The older players make up the forward line, which is traditionally the team's most valuable asset. How- ever, the defensive contingent con- sists of new players who are slowly surfacing as a promising group of women. "We have a lot of rookies who are extremely talented," Page said. "At each game, we have been continually impressed with their performance." The new players will be respon- sible for taking over the team in the future and are already demonstrating an ability to do so. "Some of our core players have been injured in the past, and the rook- ies have kind of taken over the reins," Page said. "We are relying on these players to keep the team going. So far, they have been extremely dedicated." This weekend's events will have no substantial effect on the rugby team's standings, because the national tournament does not take place until the fall. The matches offer opportuni- ties for practice and competition. "Since Western is a new team, we want to let them see how the game is played," Page said. "Of course we'd like to beat them, but we're going to show them how to play the game." I CaChinese Cuisine Introducing New Menu Items: Sze Chuan Soft Shell Crab, Beef Chow Fun Giant Green Mussels with Black Bean Sauce, Seafood Pan Fried Noodles (Cantonese Style), Mandarin Pork Chop (Marinated pork chop served with tomato and lettuce), Kung Pao Squid & more Stop by and see a Jostens representative to select from a complete line of gold rings. Also order your cap and gown and personalized graduation announcements. 317 SOUTH STATE (at North University) Ann Arbor, MI= book & supply K~ qdU9( L1~ Open 7 days a week 11am-10pm 1201 S. University * 668-2445 I I H' R II I IIIIIII IIIF, I I I 4730 N. 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