.WO1tEtIAL Weaver named Player of the Week Michigan junior outfielder Scott Weaver was named Big Ten Player of the Week yesterday after hitting .631, collecting 12 hits and reaching base 19 times in the Wolverines' last six games. Weaver has hit safely in 11 straight Big Ten games and has four game-winning hits on the season. The Academic AllAmerican candidate has at least one hit in 77 of his last 100 games. His batting average for the last 25 games is .486. Page 21 Tuesday April 18, 1995 Michigan faces a tough slide into the Big Ten Championships By John Lmoli Daily Baseball Writer While most Michigan students pack up and leave for the summer, the baseball team heats up. For the Boys of Summer, the season lasts long into May, culminating with the Big Ten tournament May 18-21. And for the Wolverines (6-8 Big Ten, 15-21 overall), the rest of the season will be an uphill battle. Michigan has only three more weekends of Big Ten action to get itself back into the race for the conference crown. Wolverine coach Bill Freehan's ballclub is currently in last place in the Big Ten. But before dueling within the Big Ten, the Wolverines have non-conference opponents to deal with. Today Michigan faces Central Michigan 3 p.m. at Fisher Stadium, The Wolverines are hoping to rebound against the Chippewas after a weekend split with Michi- gan State. "The game will mean a lot because any in-state game is big," Michigan infielder Kelly Dransfelt said. "All the P other universities in-state want to beat us because we're Michigan, so we have to be ready." Sunday, Michigan will host a twinbill with Sienna Heights. April 29-30, the team travels to Minneapolis for a four- game set with Minnesota. May 2 the Wolverines tangle with Notre Dame at Old Kent Park in Grand Rapids. "We wish we could play them up here," Dransfelt said. "But it doesn't matter where we play them. We're ready for a big game against Notre Dame no matter where we play." May 6-7, Indiana invades Fisher for two doubleheaders. May 9-10, Olympia Arenas will host the first ever Great Lakes Invitational for baseball. The four-game tournament will take place at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Michigan State faces Dayton 3 p.m., May 9 and the Wolverines take on Detroit at 7 p.m. The next day, the consolation game is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the championship contest is set to start at 7 p.m. Before each day's match-ups, two area high school squads will get a chance to play in the major league ballpark. "It going to be great," Dransfelt said. "Any time you play in a big league park, it's a thrill. "Plus, we get to play Michigan State again, and this time we'll hopefully beat them." May 13-14, Michigan travels to Columbus for its final conference challenge with Ohio State. The Big Ten Championships will take place on cam- pus sights. All 10 conference teams will participate with seeding determined by final league standings. Last year, Michigan nearly won the Big Ten playoff title. They beat then 23rd-ranked Ohio State in the first game of a doubleheader, forcing the title to come down to the final game. The Wolverines fell in the second match-up however, evening their season record to 29-29. DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily First baseman Chad Chapman eats dust while diving to catch a bunt Saturday against Michigan State. Softball "takes on C entra By Dan McKenzie Daily Softball writer The Michigan softball team will be putting its pursuit of the Big Ten crown on hold for awhile. Tomorrow, the Wolverines play Mid-American Conference member Central Michi- gan. Following that, the Wolverines have a 10-day break for final exams. Despite the fact that tomorrow's doubleheader doesn't affect the con- ference standings, Michigan still con- siders this to be an important series. "All games mean a lot," sopho- more Tracy Taylor said. "It may not mean anything title-wise, but it still means something. A loss to them is just like a loss to anyone else." The Chippewas are not a team to be taken lightly. They are the defend- ing MAC champions, and last year, / they split their games with Michigan, upping their all-time series lead to 24- 18. "Central has always been known for having a really good team," senior Kelly Kovach said. This year's Central Michigan squad appears to be sticking to that tradition. Earlier in the season, the 1 Chippewas managed to get past the current 1I th-rankedteam,SouthCaro- The large number of players from Michigan on both teams makes the rivalry intense. "The intrastate rivalry is pretty good," Kovach said. "These games are always huge." The Wolverines have had a strong season so far. They are currently ranked ninth nationally with a 33-7 overall record. However, Michigan recently stumbled over an unexpected obstacle when it lost senior leftfielder, Lesa Arvia. Arvia fractured her right fibula 17against Penn State and will be out for the rest of the season. Taylor, who up until this point had mainly been used in pinch running situations, has re- placed her. Arvia had the best batting average on the team against Big Ten confer- ence opponents, hitting just under ;.500, and her .358 overall average was second only to freshman Sara Griffin's .425. Coincidentally, one of her best performances last season came against the Chippewas, when she- went four-for-seven in their doubleheader. "Obviously, we're losing a big glove out in left and she (carries) a big bat," Taylor said. "It's a loss." However, the Wolverines have been able to overcome the loss of Arvia up to this point. Since she left On the other end of the court Cyganiak sisters rise separately to tennis stardom By Michelle Lee Thompson Daily sports writer About 20 minutes into the first set, Liz Cyganiak was down 1-4. She wasn't in the groove of her game yet - she just couldn't reach every ball.. Cyganiak is a strong baseliner, more apt to wear her challenger down than tear her down. But on this day, she was getting licked by the younger woman on the other side of the net, three years her junior. Her opponent was hitting winners with quick, hard strokes. She knew her opponent's style perfectly - but not from playing her in previous tournaments. In fact, the two had never met before in tournament play. Now they were facing each other, in New York, in the finals of the 1994 U.S. Amateur Championships, and Cyganiak thought of all the times she had hit with this girl - her younger sister - before. In fact, she had been hitting with her sister since she was 10 and Sarah was 7, when they started taking tennis lessons at their country club in Mequon, Wis. But the two had never met in tournament play until this match in New York, and Liz Cyganiak was falling prey to her younger sister's fast shots and skilled net play. "You were destroying me," Liz says to her sister as the two cool down after practice at Liberty Sports Complex. "I was down 4-1. I looked at the ref and just started laughing - in a matter of minutes, you were just killing me." "No mercy," Sarah replies. "That's how competitive I am - I their older brother and sister, who played tennis during their high school years. Jon and Elizabeth Cyganiak remember their daughters' tennis beginnings with pragmatism. "I didn't want to bundle them up and take them skiing, so I thought 'What can we do?', and they started tennis indoors," Elizabeth says. "We figured if they enjoyed it, they would stick to it, and they did. We never had to force them to go to practice." After picking up the basics and hitting With each other in their free time, the sisters both advanced quickly into what tennis gurus know as "the circuit," an endless barrage of summer tournaments. "When they started playing and they started tournaments, it was kind of obvious ... it just sort of let itself happen," Elizabeth says. The sisters began in challenge ladders and moved into unsanctioned tournaments where they made a name for themselves, not only in Wisconsin, but neighboring states as well. "That got to be fun, when you came out of nowhere and people ask you to come to tournaments," their mother remembers. Liz was invited to her first sanctioned tournament, in Cherry Hill, N.J., when she was 11. See SISTERS, page 22 Groceries Sarah Cyganiak think I'm one of the most competitive persons I know." Her spirit of competition, combined with some hard work and dedication, is what brought Sarah Cyganiak to Michigan last winter. The younger Cyganiak elected early graduation from Milwaukee's University School in January, 1994. A week later, she was a Wolverine, joining her sister in the ranks of the Michigan squad. ..0s The two began playing tennis in separate lesson groups I11 years ago, at the urging of their parents and iz Cyganiak Color Printing Color Printing Color Printing Color Printing Big savings on color printing for all clubs, businesses, and organizations. e :n s All Keg Beer o Wine o Liquor iwJunk Food SUMMER Camp Sabra POSITIONS AVAILABLE Teach skills in areas such as horseback riding, sailing, waterskiing, arts & crafts, landsports, etc!! 1995 SCHEDULE: JUNE 1Ith through AUGUST 13th June I1 June 17 staff training June 18 July 14 session I July 17 August 13 session 11 FOR INFORMATION CALL ALLEN 741-0283 "A flawless thriller."* From the bestselling author of Ragtime and Billy Bathgate sestseller E# L.t DOCTOROW . o g t i t u i e s S h o.- . . .@- .0 p r o c e s NewYork City, 1871. 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