The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 13, 1995 - 13
Blue women hope to silence
Lions' roar in Happy Valley
The Wolverines have had their troubles in the lower weight classes all season, including Brian Aparo (above), who
wrestles in the 134-pound division. The freshman has posted a record of 9-12.
Grapplers duel with Penn State
Wrestlers carry momentum into Sunday's conference meet
By JED ROSENTHAL
Daily Sports Writer
To put it simply, Penn State has
been a-problem for the Michigan wres-
tling team. The Nittany Lions have
taken five in a row from the Wolver-
ines, and six of the last seven meetings
between the two.
Yet when No. 4 Penn State rolls
into Ann Arbor Sunday to face rejuve-
nated No. 20 Michigan, it better be
untamed. Michigan is coming off a
thrilling win in East Lansing Wednes-
day over No. 6 Michigan State. With
the tough Big Ten schedule in full
swing for the Wolverines, Michigan
coach Dale Bahr is confident.
"That win against Michigan State
really bolstered our feeling toward our-
selves," Bahr said.
What might help the Wolverines
more than anything is the possible fa-
tigue affecting Penn State. The Lions
will wrestle in three dual meets in two
days. Penn State travels to Columbus
Saturday to face Ohio State and then to
East Lansing for a showdown with the
Spartans before venturing to CliffKeen
Arena.
"I kind of like our position because
we're the last (meet), and if they are
going to be tired at all, it would be the
last one," Bahr said. "After Michigan
State, they're going to have to turn
around and come down here and wrestle
us, and we match up pretty good with
them. There's definitely going to be
some pressure on them."
The Nittany Lions boast No. 1-
rankedheavyweight,All-American and
defending national champion, Kerry
McCoy. The junior from Middle Is-
land, N.Y. sports an overwhelming 66-
match winning streak.
With three of the last five dual
matches for the Wolverines coming
down to the final match and freshman
heavyweight Airron Richardson, Bahr
is wary.
"He (McCoy) is an outstanding
heavyweight so they have a good closer.
I do not want this to come down to the
last match. We don't want to have to
put our redshirt freshman out there
against McCoy and expect to win,"
Bahr said.
Richardson stunned acrowd of over
2,300 in East Lansing with a pin over
Brian Picklo in the deciding match.
Brandon Howe will have his hands
full with top-ranked junior Sanshiro
Abe from Tokyo at 126 pounds. Abe
holds a 16-2 record.
"Brandon has a tough match. They
have a solid team top to bottom,"Michi-
gan 158-pounder Jeff Catrabone said.
"Our team's chances are good. We're
right up there with everyone in the
country, but we need to get those lower
weights to pull through."
At 142 pounds, Wolverine senior
Mike Ellsworth faces a crucial match
against No. 2 John Hughes, who holds
a 21-2 record. It is arematch of sorts for
Ellsworth, as he lost a lead against
Hughes last season, and then the match,
in sudden death overtime. Having
trouble keeping his weight down this
season, Ellsworth came back after a
brief hiatus to face the Spartans where
he won his match.
"Mikegave us ourfirstwin Wednes-
day. He got the boat rocking for us,"
Catrabone said.
What seems to be a recurring prob-
lem for Michigan is its lower weight
classes. They have continually failed
to produce. In three of the last five dual
meets, the first five weight classes
wrestled for a combined 2-13 record.
"They're definitely favored, but I
think it's going to be a lot closer meet
than that," Bahr said. "What we've got
to do is get five or six matches on them
and get them before our heavyweight,
which I think we can do."
By DAVID ROTHBART
Daily Basketball Writer
The Michigan women's basketball
team invades No. 12 Penn State Sun-
day missing one of its primary weap-
ons - surprise. After the Wolverines
knocked off Big Ten foes Michigan
State and Northwestern last weekend
to end a 21-game conference losing
streak, they will no longer be taken
lightly by opponents.
Lady Lions' senior CarlaColeman,
who has never lost to Michigan, said
the Wolverines are a much stronger
team this season. "Nothing will be easy
(Sunday)," Coleman said.
"They are a young, improving
team," Penn State coach Rene Portland
said. "Now that Michigan has broken
their losing streak, they are even more
dangerous. We have to protect our
house."
The Wolverines (2-2 Big Ten, 7-7
overall) will attempt to end another
streak Sunday. If Penn State (1-2, 9-3)
defeats Northwestern tonight, it will
bring a 19-game home-winning streak
into its match with Michigan.
Coach Trish Roberts is optimistic
about the Wolverines' chances.
"In the Big Ten, any team can beat
any other team on any given night,"
Roberts said. "Last year, teams looked
at us as an automatic win."
Last season, Michigan was an auto-
matic win. The Wolverines were 0-18
in the conference. The Lions, however,
bolted past their opponents, sharing the
conference crown with Purdue, and
reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA
Tournament.
Penn State's road has been rockier
this year. Opponents have knocked out
theLions, literally. Guards KatinaMack
and Tina Nicholson have both suffered
severe concussions in recent contests.
Mack, Penn State's Naismith
Award candidate and leading scorer
the last two years, may redshirt this
season formedical reasons. Nicholson,
averaging 8.5 assists, will start Sun-
day.
Sophomore forward Angie Potthoff
has picked up some of the scoring
slack, pouring in 18.5 points in addi-
tion to her 10.9 rebounds a game, and
6-foot-2 center Missy Masley has also
averaged a double-double. However,
Potthoff is battling bronchitis, and su-
per-swatter Kim Calhoun, who led the
Big Ten in blocks last season, is nurs-
ing a sprained foot.
The Lions have been so depleted by
injuries, they have recruited four male
Penn State students to practice with
them. The injuries have left the Lions
scrambling to fill holes in its lineup,
and their young backups have not come
through. Penn State's road losses to
Ohio State and Minnesota matched its
Big Ten loss total for all of last season.
The Wolverines want to add their
names to the list of teams who have
upset the Lions. Roberts' Michigan
teams have never beaten a ranked op-
See HOOPS, Page 14
The Michigan women's basketball team will have a tougher time Sunday
against Penn State than it did with Michigan State last weekend. The
Wolverines head to University Park to play the Lady Lions.
* 'M' spikers must contend with big
rivals, injuries in weekend contests
By JAMES GOLDSTEIN
Daily Sports writer
"Be prepared to play Jan. 13," the
Michigan State men's volleyball team
said after its close defeat to Michigan
on Dec. 3.
Whether this was said to motivate
the Spartans or to remind the Wolver-
ines they had another match on Jan. 13,.
Michigan has absorbed its state rival's
comments without any palpitations.
Tonight's rematch against the Spar-
tans in East Lansing at 7 p.m is just the
first of two conference matches this
weekend. Tomorrow at 4 p.m, Michi-
gan will face Ohio State, also in East
Lansing.
On a day where everything is sup-
posed to go wrong (remember it is
Friday the 13th), the Wolverines (2-0)
will have to overcome any bit of rusti-
ness from not playing in over a month
in order to beat their conference oppo-
nents.
Michigan comes into these matches,
however, with a little more than just a
lack of game action. Injuries are also a
factor this weekend. The first hit of the
young season is a bum shoulder to
Ernesto Rodriguez. the top outside hit-
ter for the Wolverines.
Rodriguez, who is one of the team
leaders in kills, hurthis shoulderearlier
in the week and is doubtful for both
upcoming matches. Michigan will shift
players around to replace the sopho-
more. Outside hitter Kevin Urban, who
regularly plays the swing hitter posi-
tion, will rotate to Rodriguez's spot.
That's just the beginning of the
walking wounded for the Wolverines.
Sophomore Brad Yeager is suffering
from tendinitis in his knee. The good
news for Michigan is that his injury is
not serious, and he will test it out prior
to game time to see if he can play.
If Yeager does not participate this
weekend, freshman SureshPotharij will
fill the vacancy at the middle position.
The Wolverines feel confident, even
with the loss of Rodriguez and the
possibility of Yeager's absence, but
they know that everyone has to con-
tribute to remain undefeated.
"The pressure is on us to perform,"
senior captain Stan Lee said. "We
proved in the preseason that we are the
team to beat.
"We thrive under pressure."
While Michigan has had subtrac-
tions recently, the Spartans have made
a key addition. They have improved
their lineup with a new outside hitter,
who also passes very well. Michigan
State, already an explosive team, will
be even harder for the Wolverines to
beat.
With the first match between the
two rivals resulting in an intense five-
set victory for Michigan, the Wolver-
ines realize that things will not get easier.
"They have increased their depth a
little more, and our depth was reduced
a little bit," Urban said. "So it should
just make it even a closer match."
Though Michigan knows what to
expect from Michigan State, it is not
too sure how to prepare for Ohio State.
As for the Buckeyes, the most signifi-
cantfactoris that their bestsettergradu-
ated last year. The Wolverines are just
waiting to see how Ohio State has
coped with its loss.
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