'l1R .AF., . .. w ,.
Out in the cold
The Michigan baseball and softball teams did not play their scheduled
games yesterday due to inclement weather. Baseball was to face Toledo
at Fisher Stadium. The No. 5 softball team was to play a doubleheader
against the Rockets at Alumni Field and will make up both games today.
Baseball will play Madonna today at 3 p.m. at Fisher Stadium.
Page 11
Thursday
x .
M' men' F
*r
.volieybali
1T)ily Sports Writer i /
SIt's pretty much a cruise to the -
ush and the national championships -
'rthe Michigan men's volleyball team.
Itt that doesn't mean that the cruise
*on't have any bumps along the way.
SThe Wolverines (6-3 Big Ten, 11-4 ~ ~~I
overall) close out their regular season
his weekend against Michigan State
"morrow and Notre Dame Saturday.
With its seeding for the national chain
pionships determined already, Michi
gan will be playing out its slate and
trying to stay sharp for its biggest com-
petition of the season. The tournament
tatkes place in Madison., April 13-16.
But welcoming the third-ranked
4parsto Cnf N Are ex- Sauray%
actythe Wolverines firtchoiceasan < ' P
easy opponent to finish an up-and-
down campaign ou it
Michigan has seensome of its fierc-
est competition come from its rivals
fromEast Lansing. Michigan State has 13-
taken three out of the five matches -#
between theo teams this year, with - -
the most recent being a threie-set Spar-
tan win in the finals of the Big Ten
Championships two weeks ago. The
dramatic final set went to Michigan
State by a count of 24-22.
So although closing out the season JA
with a couple of cream puffs would be
See OLLEBALL Pag 12 MichIgan freshman Jerod Ward sIammed rumors about his transfer.
Chapioship toLYA weksag.e 2
Golfers head to Marshall
Blue takes on strong field at West Virginian tourney
Ward denies Vitale report
Forward rejects transfer rumors at basketball bust
"t
By Scott Burton
Daily Basketball Writer
As Michigan men's basketball
coach Steve Fisher bid farewell to two
of his star players at last night's Michi-
gan Basketball Bust ceremony, he wel-
comed the return of a player who never
left.
Freshman forward Jerod Ward flatly
denied Dick Vitale's report in
yesterday's USA Today that he was
transferring to Mississippi. Ward said
that he had never talked to Vitale about
such a transfer and had no clue what
sources Vitale based his report upon.
"I'll be back, no question about it,"
Ward said.
Ward, a Mississippi native, was
widely considered one of the top high
school players in the nation two sea-
sons ago. Many assumed he would
play his college ball at Mississippi, and
hence was a surprise recruit for Michi-
gan in 1994.
However, he struggled through a
1994-95 campaign in which he sat out
half the Big Ten season with a knee
injury. He finished with a 6.6 scoring
average, and played in 19 of the Wol-
verines 32 games.
Nonetheless, Ward said that he is
happy at Michigan and was looking
forward to his sophomore season in a
Wolverine uniform.
"A have never given transferring
much consideration," Ward said. "I
have never really questioned my deci-
sion to come to Michigan."
Fisher made no allusion to
Ward's possible transfer during last
night's ceremonies. He did say that
he expected Ward to make vast im-
provement in his game and make an
impact on a young Michigan team
next season.
"Jerod came in with more pres-
sure than anybody and things didn't
happen as fast as we hoped it would,"
Fisher said. "But you're going to
see Jerod come in next year and
make a quantum leap to what he
Miduig.an bastbait
award wimmr
Bill Buntin Most Valuable Player
Ray Jackson and Jimmy King
Thad Garner Leadership Award
Ray Jackson
Wayman Britt Defensive Player
Jimmy King
Steve Grote Hustler Award
Dugan Fife
Rudy Tomjanovich Most Impoved
Player Award
Makhtar Ndiaye and Maceo
Baston
Loy Vaught Rebounding Award
Maceo Baston
Freshman of the Year
Maurice Taylor
brings to Michigan"
Noticeably absent from last
night's ceremony was reserve guard
Bobby Crawford. Fisher acknowl-
edged every Wolverine on scholar-
ship with a brief speech last night
except Crawford. Fisher did not
volunteer any information as to
Crawford's whereabouts.'
Seniors Ray Jackson and Jimmy
King were the primary recipients of
Fisher's attention last night. The final
remnants of the Fab Five were treated
to a video commemoration of their
four-year career, and shared the Bill
Buntin Most Valuable Player Award
for 1995.
"It's hard for me to think that this
book is coming to a close," Fisher said.
"But the chapter the Fab Five wrote
will live forever in Michigan lore."
Jackson, the Wolverines leader in
points and assists this season, also won
the Thad Garner Leadership Award.
"It gives me no bigger pleasure
than to watch someone develop as a
person and player," Fisher said. "And
no one did that better than Ray."
For the third-straight year, King
was presented with the Wayman Britt
Defensive Player Award. Britt, who
helped Michigan win the Big Ten title
in 1974, was the honored guest of the
ceremony and personally presented
King with the award.
"I'm always going to be a Michi-
gan man," King said. "I came here a
little boy and I'm leaving here a man.
That's all I can ask for."
Junior guard Dugan Fife was
also a repeat award winner. He gar-
nered the Steve Grote Hustler
Award for the second-consecutive
season.
Other Wolverines honored included
freshman forward Maceo Baston and
sophomore center Makhtar Ndiaye
with the Rudy Tomjanovich Most Im-
proved Award, Baston with the Loy
Vaught Rebounding Award and for-
ward Maurice Taylor with the Fresh-
man of the Year Award.
m
j y James Goldstein
Daily sports writer
While the professionals are tuning
up for the world-famous Masters in
Augusta, Ga., the Michigan men's golf
team is gearing up for tomorrow's
Marshall Invitational in Huntington,
W.Va.
What's the connection?
Aside from the obvious differ-
ence of professional versus colle-
giate athletics, both associations are
working on the most important yet
most frustrating facet of golf - put-
ting.
"For myself, (the part of my game
that needs work) is putting," senior
captain Bill Lyle said. "Talking to
the other players, it seems that every-
body talks about putting (as a weak
point). Overall, (what we need work
on) is around the greens because
Marshall is a short course with really
fast greens. The putter is going to be
That funny looking golf club
seems to be the nemesis to even the
best golfers in the world. Take Tom
Watson for example. Watson, who
is one of the top PGA players, has
been kicking himself for constantly
missing short putts in the top tour-
naments. If it weren't for his
iishitting the ball on the green in
crucial situations, he could have
plenty more tournament victories
in his career.
The same can be said about the
Wolverines. In the first two tourna-
tlents of the spring season, Michigan
hasn't finished anywhere near where
it wants. One of the biggest reasons for
*the Wolverines' poor play has been
their putting.
Heading into this weekend's
three-round, par-71. tournament,
Michigan is looking to eliminate
many strokes from its game. Con-
sidering the tough competition the
Wolverines have faced this spring,
they will need to improve more
than just their putting.
"I think we are a better team this
gear," Michigan coach Jim Carras
sraid. "But the all-around level of
play at the collegiate ranks has im-
Koved so much that to win, we
need our top three players - Chris
Anderson made his debut of the sea-
son, tallying a career-low 75 in the
second round.
The Wolverines might as well have
stayed in Dallas last weekend with the
other tournament competitors. Michi-
gan could have taken the same flight
with the other schools to West Virginia
because practically all of the teams
from the Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate are
participating in tomorrow's tourna-
ment.
"That will be an extremely impor-
tant competitive field with the likes of
Ohio State, Wisconsin and Kent State
and many other of the top teams in our
region," Carras said.
The Buckeyes captured the team
competition of last weekend's tourna-
ment. Other top schools from this
weekend's 18 team field include
Marshall, Miami (OH), Illinois, To-
ledo and Michigan State.
All of the schools who participated
will have to re-adjust their game to the
shorter golf course at the Guyan Golf
and Country Club. Shortfinesse shots
will be more frequent than long, pow-
erful ones.
"The course is not long at all,"
Lyle said. "It's a lot of wedges, nine
and eight irons."
1994-95 Titan Hockey All-AmerIcans
First Team East First Team West
Blair Allison Maine Goalie Charles Thuss Miami Goalie
Chris Imes Maine Defense Kelly Perrault Bowling Green Defense
Brian Mueller Clarkson Defense Brian Rafalski Wisconsin Defense
Greg Bullock UMass-Lowell Forward Brian Bonin Minnesota Forward
Mike Grier Boston Forward Brian Holzinger Bowling Green Forward
Martin St. Louis Vermont Forward Brendan Morrison Michigan Forward
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