Women's Tennis
vs. Western Michigan
Friday, 3 p.m.
Liberty Sports Complex
Si
S
Hockey
vs. Western Michigan
Friday, 7 p.m.
Yost Ice Arena
Michigan halts General's march in Bloomington
Wolverines' performance
silences Assembly crowd
By SCOTT BURTON
Daily Basketball Writer
BLOOMINGTON - Basketball is a lot like physics. There is a reason for
anything and everything that happens.
Take, for instance, Michigan's 65-52 victory over Indiana last night. The
result appears to defy logic. Indiana carried a 50-game home winning streak
into the contest and had a week to prepare for the game. Michigan was coming
off a tough loss to Michigan State and had only one day to prepare for the
historically hard-nosed Hoosiers.
Yet, the Wolverines' victory was no accident. In fact, it's as easy to
comprehend as terminal velocity. It all came down to the fact that Michigan
ignored the Hoosier hysteria and Indiana wasn't Indiana.
Now, granted, ignoring some-
thing doesn't sound like a spectacu-
lar way to defeat a basketball team.
C O urt But for Michigan, its ability to ig-
nore the intimidation of Assembly
Hall and the Hoosiers' home win-
S S ning streak was the key to victory.
After visits to Duke and Illinois,
the Wolverines have had plenty of
practice dealing with tough road crowds. That experience certainly showed last
night. Although the 17,323 fans jumped on any hint of momentum, Michigan
played through crowd bursts with composure.
"I think our schedule helped us maintain our composure down the stretch
* and that keyed us to victory," senior Ray Jackson said.
Indiana never scored more than six points in a row the whole contest.
Michigan had an answer for every Hoosier run, and even turned Assembly Hall
into a scene of near absolute quiet in the second half.
"We thought if we got the upper hand early on and never trailed, the crowd
would never be a factor," freshman Maurice Taylor said. "We didn't let them
do anything exciting, and the crowd never had a chance to get into it."
Of course, it helped Miclhigan's cause that last night's Indiana team bared
no resemblance to Hoosier teams of the past. Things called discipline,
teamwork and intelligence seemed to be lost concepts.
It was scary indeed to see a Bobby Knight team turn the ball over like it was
playing together for the first time, and travel like it was trying to earn frequent-
flyer miles. The Hoosiers committed 17 turnovers in all and allowed Michigan
to thwart any major comeback threat.
Indiana's shooting was equally uncharacteristic. Normally a team that tries
to spread out its scoring and look for high-percentage passes, the Hoosiers
settled for tough shots from stars Brian Evans and Alan Henderson. For the
game, Indiana shot just 37.7 percent.
Not even a Bobby Knight team playing at home can win with such a poor
performance.
And you don't have to be Einstein to understand that.
'M' tennis opens season
against MAC's finest
Blue thwarts Hoosier streak
By RYAN WHITE
Daily Basketball Writer
BLOOMINGTON---Jimmy King
launched the basketball into the air at
the final buzzer and then joined his
teammates in celebrating something
that no team had accomplished since
1991 - a win against Indiana at As-
sembly Hall.
Michigan used a 14-0 first-half
run to pull away from the Hoosiers (3-
3 Big Ten, 11-7 overall) en route to a
65-52 victory last night.
The victory ended the Hoosiers'
50-game home winning streak and
propelled the Wolverines back into
the Big Ten title picture.
Indiana opened the game witha6-0
run and had Michigan (5-2,11-7) down
9-5 when Jimmy King was fouled and
hittwo free throws. On the Wolverines'
next possession, King tied the game at
nine with a layup. Then, after a Ray
Jackson 3-pointer, Maceo Baston scored
six straight points to put the Wolverines
up by 10, 19-9.
"We've always been able to estab-
lish a good lead on good runs in this
gym," senior Ray Jackson said. "We
just haven't been able to maintain
them. We just had to keep our poise."
And the Wolverines did just that
answering each Indiana run with one
of their own. After Indiana cut the
Michigan lead to four at 28-24, the
Wolverines quickly ran it back to 10.
Maurice Taylor and Baston each split
a pair of free throws. Taylor hit a five-
foot jumper, and Fife knocked down
both of his foul shots after being fouled
by the Hoosiers' Charlie Miller.
The key for Michigan on offense
was poise and patience.
"We've done a better job since
we've gotten into the Big Ten of not
being in a hurry to shoot the ball,"
Michigan coach Steve Fisher said.
Michigan maintained the same
poise on defense as on offense -
holding the Hoosiers' leading scorer,
Alan Henderson, to just eight points,
16 under his average.
"Michigan played really well de-
fensively," Indiana coach Bob Knight
said. "Not just here and there, but they
played well throughout the course of
the game."
The Wolverines forced Indiana into
shooting just 37 percent from the floor
and outrebounded the Hoosiers, 44-27.
Fisher hadn't put much emphasis
on the Hoosiers' home winning streak,
but his players were more than happy
to have been the ones to end it.
"The streak meant a lot to us,"
said Michigan guard Dugan Fife,
who scored nine points. "We also
wanted to beat Indiana and put
Michigan State behind us. So it was
three victories for us."
MICHIGAN (65)
F FT REB
MIN Mn-A U-A OT A F PYfS
Jackson 31 3-13 5.8 2-6 0 3 13
Taylor 34 4-12 3-6 3-6 1 1 11
Ndiaye 24 2-3 0-1 1-5 0 2 4
Fife 29 1-2 6-6 0.1 2 4 9
King 37 4-10 2-2 3-6 5 2 10
Concan 15 2-3 0-1 2-4 0 0 5
Baston 21 6-7 1-2 4-6 0 4 13
Mitchell 9 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 200 22-51 17-26 1844 810 65
FQ%. .431. FT%: .654. Three-point goals: 4-8,
.500 (Jackson 2-4, Conian 1-1, Fife 1-2, Mitchell
0-1). Blocks: 4 (Baston 2, Mitchell, Ndiaye).
Turnovers: 17 (Jackson 6. King 4, Taylor 3, Fife 2,
Baston, Ndiaye). Steals: 5 (Conlan, Fife, Mitchell,
Ndiaye, Taylor) Technical Fouls: none.
INDIANA (52)
FO FT REB
MIN M-A M-A OT A F PS
Evans 40 5-14 3-3 2-4 1 1 16
Henderson 38 4-15 0-2 2-6 2 5 8
Patterson 19 6-8 1-3 2-3 0 3 13
Reed 31 2-9 3-4 1-1 3 4 8
Hart 20 1-3 0-0 0-3 2 3 3
Lindeman 17 1-2 0-0 0.1 0 2 2
Hermon 8 0.0 0-0 0-0 2 2 0
Knight 15 0-1 0-0 0-3 2 0 0
Miller 10 1-1 0-0 0-2 1 1 2
Paul 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0
Eggers 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0
Totals 200 2053 7-2 10-27 1321 52
FG%: .377. FT%: .583. Three-point goals: 5-13,
.385 (Evans 3-5, Hart 1-3. Reed 1-4). Blocks: 4
(Evans 2, Henderson, Lndeman).Tunover: 17
(Evans 5, Hermon 5, Lindeman 2, Reed 2,
Henderson, Knight, Patterson). Steals: 4 (Hart.
Henderson, Lindeman, Miller) Technical Fouls:
none.
Michigan ........ 34 31 - 65
Indianay......2626-52
At: Assembly Hall; A: 17,323
2
i
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
Michigan freshman Maurice Taylor was one of four Wolverines who scored in
double digits during Michigan's 65-52 romp over Indiana.
U
By MATTHEW STEINHAUSER
For the Daily
This season, the Michigan
women's tennis team wields all the
weapons necessary to terrorize the
Big Ten, and despite a subpar history
in conference play, coach Bitsy Ritt
has the 1994-95 squad primed to ex-
cel.
Heading into her 11th year at the
helm of the Wolverines, Ritt is com-
ing off of a record-setting season.
Last year, her team became the first
squad in school history to finish as
high as 25th in the nation and second
in the Big Ten. The Wolverines fin-
ished with an overall record of 17-7
and posted a 9-1 mark in the confer-
ence. To top it all off, Ritt was named
both Big Ten and Midwest Region
Coach of the Year.
This season, Ritt is concentrating
on raising the status of Michigan ten-
nis even further.
* "(We want) to win the Big Ten
and to qualify for the NCAA tourna-
ment," Ritt said. "Our goal is to have
the best player at each position in the
Big Ten, and I think that is realistic."
To help achieve these lofty goals,
Michigan returns all ofthe starters from
last year's roster. Leading the way are
seniors Liz Cyganiak, Jaimie Fielding
and Simone Lacher. In three years, the
o has won a combined 296 matches.
After outstanding freshmen cam-
paigns last season, Sarah Cyganiak
and Bojana Jankovic return this sea-
son as two of the top players in the Big
Ten. Last season, both women made
the all-conference team, and Cyganiak
was selected as both the Big Ten and
Midwest Region Rookie of the Year.
"I think we all expect to do our best
and take the BigTen... and endupin the
top 15 or the top 12 (in the country),"
Cyganiak said. "This is our year."
Foreshadowing a potentially large
contribution this season, freshman Sora
Moon was impressive earlier this year
in the Milwaukee Classic. Moon over-
came a sprained ankle she suffered be-
fore the tournament and posted a 6-1
record to win the consolation round.
"(There) were not many expecta-
tions," Moon said. "I was very sur-
prised and happy (with the perfor-
mance)."
Standing in the way of the Wol-
verines' quest for a Big Ten title is the
traditional favorite, Indiana. The Hoo-
siers have earned their yearly recog-
nition as the natural choice to win the
powerful Big Ten by claiming the last
eight titles.
Before beginning the strenuous and
difficult road to a conference champi-
onship, Michigan must face last year's
top two teams in the Mid American
Conference. Western Michigan visits
the Wolverines' home courts Friday,
and Miami (Ohio) arrives at the Liberty
Sports Complex Saturday.
With only two weeks of practice
under their belts, Michigan is seeking
much needed early season experience
against the MAC's finest teams to build
the foundation for its season.
"(It is) an opportunity ... to try to
rotate players into the lineup and get
a look at a few new doubles combina-
tions," Ritt said. "In essence, (this
weekend is) a tune up for the Big Ten
season."
BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
By DAVID ROTHBART
Daily Basketball Writer
The Michigan women's basketball team has its work cut out for itself this
weekend. First, the Wolverines must travel to Minnesota Friday to try and steal
a win in the unfriendly confines of the Sports Pavilion. Michigan has not won
at Minnesota since it eked out a 67-65 victory during the 1991-92 season.
The Minnesota men's team plays its home games at Williams Arena, but
the women's team favors the smaller Sports Pavilion, where the crowd noise
rises to deafening proportions.
"It gets loud," Michigan coach Trish Roberts said. "(Their fans) go crazy.
It definitely gives them a boost."
Roberts said the atmosphere at the Sports Pavilion reminds her of Penn
State's Recreation Hall, which may be a bad omen for Michigan. The
Wolverines travelled to University Park Jan. 15 and were destroyed, 92-44, by
the Lady Lions.
This season, the Golden Gophers have proven to be inconsistent. Minne-
sota rallied to wins over Big Ten powers Purdue and Penn State but dropped
a game to conference doormat Illinois.
"They're a team capable of playing some very good basketball," Roberts
said. "They've beaten some impressive teams. We just have to go in there and
come out strong."
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: This week in practice, the Wolverines have
worked on coming out hungry at the beginning of games. In last weekend's
pair of losses, lackluster starts gave Michigan early deficits of 17-2 against
Illinois and 27-8 against Ohio State.
Roberts is urging her squad to start playing hard when it emerges from the
lockerroom before the game, not just when it comes out for the second half.She
wants the team to dictate the tempo of the game from the opening tip.
In practice, the Wolverines play a game called "Cut-throat", where one
team can keep possession of the ball as long as they keep scoring. Sometimes
a scrimmage team finds itself playing defense for minutes at a stretch. Roberts
said the drill gets the players more intense.
"We've out-played teams in the second half," Roberts said. "We can't wait
(until) we're down to start hustling."
HOME SWEET HOME: Friday's matchup against Minnesota will be a homecom-
Women's basketball
to face rowdy crowd
ing for Michigan freshman Tiffany Willard, anative ofPlymouth, Minn. Willard,
who has provided valuable minutes for Michigan off the bench this season, was
recruited heavily by theGophers. However, Minnesota, with threestarting seniors,
could notpromise Willard nearly as much
playing time this season as the younger
Wolverines could.
INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore guard
Mekisha Ross continues to recover
from a stress fracture. She is expected
to return at the end of February.
Freshman center Pollyanna Johns
tore her anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL) in December and underwent
surgery last Friday. She will miss the
rest of the season. Guard Jennifer
Kiefer is also out with an ACL injury
and has missed the entire season.
"It's discouraging," Roberts said.
"We had, and still have, high hopes for
this young ballclub. Mekisha was play-
ing well, and she went down. Pollyanna
gave us height and intimidation, and
we lost her. We're struggling."
Michigan has gone with a seven- Roberts
player rotation the last few weeks, start-
ing Silver Shellman and Catherine
DiGiacinto at forward, Amy Johnson and Akisha Franklin at guard and
Jennifer Brzezinski at center, with Willard and Molly Murray coming off
the bench.
i
__ _
RICHARD D. ALEXANDER
Theodore H. Hubbell Distinguished
University Professor of Evolutionary Biology
and Director and Curator of Insects.
Museum of Zoology
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