The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 2, 1995 - 9
* Smith holds court at League
'M' field hockey coach optimistic about future
By Monica Polakov
For the Daily
Yesterday attheMichigan League,
Michigan field hockey coach Patti
Smith gave a speech as part of the
*'From the Coach's Mouth" lecture
series. Smith provided a broad over-
view of the nature of field hockey
worldwide and then spoke specifi-
cally about the Wolverines.
To start, Smith spoke about the
popularity of field hockey in Eu-
rope and showed a tape of the World
Cup, where the United States team
came in third in its pool. She also
escribed some basic elements of
he game.
"Our sport really involves run-
ning for a long length of time, but
also being able to explode and sprint
when the ball is near you," Smith
said.
Field hockey on the Olympic
level, as compared to college has
some important differences. Play-
ers' fitness and expertise are greater
t the Olympic level mainly due to
the experience factor. The average
age of an Olympic team member is
about 32.
The Wolverines faced tough
competition at their own level,
though. Of the six conference teams,
five were ranked in the top 20 dur-
Many other opponents in our
conference have lost five or six players
that they need to replace Losing one
player is an excellent position for next
year.'
- Patti Smith
Michigan field hockey coach
ing the season.
"Every day was a day to com-
pete at the national level," Smith
said. "There were no gimme games.
All of our competition in the Big
Ten is tough."
Regardless, Smith said the fu-
ture of Michigan field hockey is
bright. The team had only one
graduating senior, while most con-
ference schools had many more
losses to graduation. This could give
the Wolverines an advantage over
their competition in years to come.
"It's a very luxurious position to
be in," Smith said. "Many other
opponents in our conference have
lost five or six players that they
need to replace. Losing one player
is an excellent position for next
year."
Additionally, Michigan will
move in to a new facility next fall.
Presently, the Wolverines practice
in the enclosed Oosterbaan
Fieldhouse, located adjacent to
Schembechler Hall.
Although it is convenient to have
an indoor facility, Smith explained
that field hockey is meant to be
played outside.
Due to this factor, Michigan has
decided to build an artificial turf
field located in the Orange Lot,
which is south of Yost Ice Arena
and Schembechler Hall.
"Things could not be better at
Michigan," Smith said. "The sup-
port has been excellent. We'll have
an excellent facility (next season),
and I hope all of you can make it to
some of our games."
Volleyball
on the
road again
By James Goldstein
Daily Sports Writer
When one describes a tourist, the
picture of someone holding a map in
one hand and a camera in the other
generally comes to mind. However,
rarely does a member of a volleyball
team come to mind.
The Michigan men's volleyball
team would beg to differ. In the last
two months, the Wolverines have been
on the road so much that they always
feel like visitors.
Last week's break was a well-
deserved rest from the constant travel,
and it provided a time to relax
Michigan's weary bodies.
But now it is back to the lfs for the
Wolverines, as the team faces Ohio
State and Indiana Saturday in Colum-
bus.
After trips to Illinois, Wisconsin
and Kentucky in the past, Michigan
should be happy to know that after
Saturday's matches it will have four
consecutive home matches in three
weeks. The next time that the Wol-
verines will leave Ann Arbor will be
for the Big Ten Championships held
in Wisconsin, March 24-26.
The mileage this weekend would
have been even greater if the Wolver-
ines had faced Notre Dame in South
Bend Feb. 15. However, the match
was postponed because there was no
B-team game scheduled and a few
Michigan players had midterms be-
fore the break. The match will be
rescheduled for a later date.
Since their match against the Irish
was canceled, the Wolverines began
their break earlier, giving them a
chance to ice their shoulders and to
getaway from volleyball completely.
"After the wear and tear of being
constantly on the road and being on
the court for month after month, last
week gave us a break mentally from
always being on the court," volley-
ball club President Kevin Urban said.
The next road trip will consist of a
team the Wolverines haven't played
this season (the Hoosiers) and a team
that they beat twice already (the Buck-
eyes), once in a conference match and
once in the North-South Tournament.
The results were a three- and two- game
See SPIKERS, page 11
_ MICHIGAN SPORTS INFORMATION
Patti Smith and the Michigan field hockey will play in a new outdoor
facility next season.
JONATHAN LURIE/Daily
Brendan Morrison currently leads the CCHA with 37 assists and is second in the league with 58 total points.
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