The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 16, 1995 - 9 *Women's tennis to face Kentucky in Lexington 'M' tankers look to capture Big Ten title By Sarah DeMar Daily Sports Writer With four straight wins, the Michi- gan women's tennis team is making quite a racket. After victories over Western gMichigan, Miami (Ohio) and Iowa, the Wolverines hosted Minnesota last weekend and beat the Gophers, 8-1. Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt said that winning such a lopsided game was a major boost of confidence because Minnesota was competitive with two other nationally ranked teams, . "Beating Minnesota was espe- cially good for us," Ritt said. "We discovered that we could really raise ur level of play when we had to." Michigan needs to raise its intensity Sunday when it travels to Lexington, Ky. The No.22 Wolverines are looking for revenge against No.12 Kentucky. "(The Wildcats) will definitely be challenging," Sarah Cyganiak said. "Last year they only won, 6-3, so I think we stand a good chance of beat- ing them." * Just a sophomore, Cyganiak has been holding her own against her op- ponents. She currently sports a flaw- less record in the No. 1 singles slot. "I expect a lot from myself on singles," Cyganiak said. "We all ex- pect a lot from each other." Simone Lacher is the only Wolver- ine who is out of action this weekend. " I thinkwe stand a good chance of beating them.'' - Sarah Cyganiak Michigan tennis player The senior sprained her shoulder in two places a month ago and was told it would take six weeks to heal. However, Lacher has already begun serving and hitting overheads in practice. Although Kentucky is not a Big Ten school, the contest is still impor- tant for Michigan. "We try to get scheduled with really good teams," Ritt said. "It's important to play the Kentuckys so that we can gain the experience of playing against those kinds of teams. We want to qualify for NCAAs this year." With Lexington located only an hour away from senior Jamie Fielding's hometown, the Louisville resident is expecting her own cheering section. "It's great to be going home," Fielding said. "My parents will be coming along with a lot of friends from home, too. I also have a friend, Courtney Allen, who plays for Ken- tucky." By Rebecca Moatz Daily Sports writer As the Michigan women's swim- ming and diving team begins, its quest for a ninth consecutive Big Ten title, the squad is in an enviable position - it's the top ranked par- ticipant at the Big Ten Champion- ships. The No. 2 Wolverines' biggest challenge in the meet figures to come from No. 10 Northwestern. The Big Ten Championships is a three-day meet that begins today at the Indiana Natatorium. This venue is not new to Michigan. The Wol- verines traveled to Indianapolis two weeks ago and beat the Hoosiers, 136-87. That meet proved to be a trial run for Michigan as the freshmen were given a chance to test the facility in preparation for this weekend. "When they made (that) meet ... they wanted to give the people who had never swam at Indianapolis be- fore the chance to look at the facil- ity and almost imagine what it would be like when they go there to swim in Big Tens," senior co-captain Alecia Humphrey said. "It's a very big natatorium with a lot of space for seating, it can be overwhelming, and it just (gave) us every little advantage we could get for the meet." And Michigan will need that ad- vantage. Though the Wolverines shouldn't have trouble with the com- petition this weekend, Michigan must deal with its biggest nemesis - the clock. While the other teams are out vying for top finishes in the confer- ence, the Wolverines are trying to meet at least seven more NCAA qualifying times. With the NCAA Championship meet exactly one month away and only two more op- portunities to qualify for the meet, the Wolverines are racing against time. "The only thing we can control is how well we prepare today, to- morrow and the next day," Michi- gan coach Jim Richardson said. "If we do all of those things really well, then we'll swim as fast as we're supposed to swim. Our destiny is partially in our hands and the things that we have control over, we need to do a good job of controlling." Michigan needs to qualify as many swimmers as possible, as the race for the national title may come down to the Wolverines and No. 1 Stanford. The teams met earlier this season with the Cardinal winning by two points. With a large squad participating in the meet, Michigan will have a better chance of obtain- ing the title. The Michigan women's swimming and diving team strives for its ninth consecutive Big Ten championship today in Indianapolis. RODRIGUEZ Continued from page 8 Big Ten honors and'was named to the All-National Tournament team as a freshman. He was a major fac- tor in Michigan's jump from eighth to second place in the Big Ten. Rodriguez's family has had an ndeniable impact on his volleyball areer. He started playing volleyball at age 10 and has been around the sport his entire life - by virtue of his two older sisters. His oldest sister, Lisa, was an out- side hitter and played on Duke's var- sity team. Another older sister, Beatriz, was a setter for Penn's var- sity squad. I "Both of my sisters have influ- enced me a lot," Rodriguez said. "Maybe my oldest sister a little more, but only because I play her position. But since I am now beginning to set, I'm trying to be as good a setter as my other sister, which is weird." Rodriguez says that the differ- ences in playing styles in Puerto Rico and the continental United States may be the reason why people think he gets overly emotional on the court. "The perspective of the game is a lot different," Rodriguez said. "We take it a lot more personally than here. "I look at the game for enjoy- ment, and (Americans) look like they are doing it more for a business or more like a job."1 The enjoyment factor is one Rodriguez always emphasizes. "(Volleyball) is what I have the most fun doing," Rodriguez said. "It's when I am the most like my- self. I just feed off my emotions." Just about the only thing sepa- rating Rodman and Rodriguez, are championships. Rodriguez hopes to get his first this season. "We're gonna win the Big Tens. We're gonna do the best we can in the nationals," Rodriguez said. I look at the game for enjoyment, and (Americans) look like they are doing it more for a business or more like a job." - Ernesto Rodriguez Michigan volleyball player "There's a lot of work to do, but I'm pretty sure that we're the best team in the region." Given the opportunity, Rodriguez, like Rodman, will al- ways make sure that people know what he thinks of his team's, or his own, self-confidence. BASKETBALL Continued from page 8 Northwestern enters tomorrow's matchup coming off an 89-77 non- conference victory over Northern Illi- nois, Tuesday. The Wildcats are led by guard Maureen Holohan. The senior, who garnered honorable mention All- Big Ten honors last season, is averag- ing 14.8 points per game and is seventh in the conference in rebounds (8.4). Northwestern's record stands at 6-7, and it is in seventh place in the Big Ten following a 86-62 loss to Penn State. Iowa is having an uncharacteristi- cally poor season. The perennial con- ference contenders are in ninth place in the Big Ten and in the midst of a three- game losing streak. Tiffany Gooden, the only freshman to rank among the league's top twenty scorers, leads Iowa with an average of 14.8 points per contest. Fellow fresh- man Tangela Smith leads the Big Ten in blocked shots, averaging over three per game. I ry i