p ~,s t7ije irligu OLt Women's basketball seeds announced The 10th-seeded Michigan women's basketball team will face No. 7 seed Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at approximately 6 p.m. Friday in Indianapolis. The winner of the four-day tournament at Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse earns an automatic bidto the NCAA tournament. The Wolverines (1-15 Big Ten, 7-19 overall) have already fallen to the Wildcats (8-8, 17-9) twice this season, most recently Feb. 16 by a score of 90-79. See more pre-tournament coverage later this week in Daily Sports. 11 Tuesday February 27, 1996 .4 Women gynmasts snag 2nd lace in By Kevin Kasiborski Daily Sports Writer The only potential problem with a record-breaking performance is that it is often hard to match in the next con- test. 0 This Sunday, a week and a day after their most impressive outing of the sea- son, the Michigan women's gymnas- tics team could manage only 193.2 points and a second-place finish in the Masters Classic at Nebraska. Host Nebraska won the meet, scoring 193.800 points to Michigan's 193.200. Washington was third with 190.125 points, followed by Ball State's last- place score of 188.900. In their most recent meet, the Wol- rines scored a season-high 196.575 points in a win over defending na- tional champion Utah on Feb. 17. They also recorded season-high team scores on the uneven bars and the floor exer- cise, and their score of 49.350 on the balance beam was the highest in team history. The Michigan record book was safe this weekend, though, as the team did tt approach any of those marks. The Wolverines were unable to score above 49 points in any event. Their best show- ing was 48.550 in the vault, and their beam score dipped to 48.400. The Wol- verines' current record is 10-3. Afterward the team was not con- cerned by the second-place finish or even the drop in their point total be- cause they said the scoring was tough in this meet. "We were happy with how our per- rmance went," Michigan freshman Beth Amelkovich said. "We were con- sistent with last week. We still hit like we did last week. The scores weren't as high down there." Michigan gymnasts did take four of the top five places in the all-around competition. Junior Andrea McDonald was second with 38.775 points, senior Wendy Marshall came in third with .625, andtwo freshmen, Amelkovich We did the best we could don We hit all our routines like we needed ton" - Beth Amelkovic Michigan gymnast and Kathy Burke, finished in a tie for fourth, each scoring 38.600. As usual, Marshall was the best on the vault, scoring a 9.900. McDonald and Amelkovich tied for the top spot in the beam event with identical scores of 9.875. Amelkovich iso was third on the bars. "We did the best we could do. We hit all our routines like we needed to," Amelkovich said. A third Michigan freshman, Lisa Simes, also made a strong showing. In her second meet since returning from an injury that had kept her out most of the year, Simes finished sec- ond in the bars and took third in the vault. The Wolverines competed without *e services of sophomore Heather Kabnick, who was out, probably due to a stress fracture. Although she has been bothered by the injury for more than month, this is only the second time she was kept out of the lineup. Michigan returns to action this Fri- day in the Shanico Invitational, hosted by Oregon State. Two other Big Ten teams, Ohio State and Penn State, will so be competing. Michigan defeated O)hio State in a dual meet on February 10. During Spring Break on March 9, the Wolverines will host the team currently ranked No. 1 in the country, the Geor- gia Bulldogs. Michigan will use these meets to pre- NCAAhopes on the line against Spartans .. 3. By Paul Barger Daily Sports Writer Here we go again. In the recurring theme of the century, the Michi- gan men's basketball team (7-7 Big Ten, 17-10 overall) is in a must-win situation tonight. If the Wolverines want to have a good chance of getting a bid to the NCAA Tournament, they have to win at least two and maybe three more games. You've heard this all before. Every game becomes important when a team loses six times in eight games during the heart of the conference season. "We have to play hard and win the rest of our games," sophomore Michigan vs. Michigan State M a u r i c e Today, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Taylor said. Crisler Arena "We control our destiny. (The NCAA Tourna - ment) is the only thing I know." Michigan h o s t s archrival Michigan State (8-7, 14-13) at 7:30 p.m. The Spartans are in a must-win situation as well, and are in the midst of a disappointing downfall of their own. Two weeks ago Michigan State was in aposition to challenge for the Big Ten title. Now they are in jeopardy of an overall record below .500. A team must win half of its games to get a bid to the NIT. The Spartans have basically played their way out of a shot at the NCAA Tournament, but could get consideration if they win their last three games. That would give them only 17 wins overall, but 11 wins in the conference. No Big Ten team that has gone 11-7 in confer- ence play has been kept out of the NCAA Tourna- ment. Michigan has had a great deal oftrouble keeping games close early, and has lacked emotion through- out the first half of many contests. With the Spar- tans coming to town, the team expects to be fired up tonight. "We've got to come out and play hard against Michigan State," freshman Louis Bullock said. "(This) game is very important." One of the Wolverines' biggest problems of late has been Bullock's play. After the Indiana game Jan. 23, the guard looked like the leading candi- date for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. That award is not out of reach, but Bullock's chances have been greatly jeopardized by his cold streak. Over the past five games, Bullock has shot 12-of-50 from the field. Last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Maurice Taylor, is having similar troubles. Taylor has nine points in his last two games and went 2- of-12 from the field against Minnesota. Tonight's game is even more important for the Wolverines, considering the difficulty of the task that lies ahead. Sunday Michigan travels to Champaign to take on the Illini. Illinois is tough to beat at home, and Michigan is easy to beat on the road. The Wolverines have compiled five conference road losses this season and have only two wins. Ironically, one of those wins came against tonight's opponent. In fact, Michigan surprised many that day, blowing out the Spartans 76-54. At that time, both teams were perched high in the conference standings. A lot has changed since then. Although this game conjures up a great deal oV' interest within the state, ESPN is probably less than delighted to be televising a clash of unranked, mid-pack Big Ten teams to a national audience: After Sunday's game, which will be televised by CBS, the Wolverines have two battles remain- ing - March 6 at Northwestern and March 9at home against Wisconsin. The NCAATournament committee will announce its selections March 10. MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Michigan's Travis Conlan takes the ball to the hole at Penn State Thursday, The Wolverines take on Michigan State tonight in a game that will affect both teams' NCAA tourney hopes. Roster dCtates spikers' success 'M' men greatly improved due to recent personnel shifts Above: Maceo Baston finds the Nittany Lions to. be rude hosts Thursday In the Wolverines' loss. Below: Michigan coach Steve Fisher pleads his case with an official at Penn State. Photos by MARK FRIEDMAN/Daify By Mark Snyder Daily Sports Writer Success in a team sport is often based on the fact that everyone plays well, and that is never more true than in volleyball. But that also depends on who is playing. The Michigan men's volleyball team has had varying waves of success and failure this season, most of which have depended upon the health of the team members and who is on the roster. Middle .blocker Suresh Pothiraj was laid up with mononucleosis for a month, and without Pothiraj, the team was devoid of experience in the middle. His return was eagerly anticipated, but when it came, the chain of bad luck was trans- ferred to another starter. Outside hitter Andy Spitser was the team's energetic leader - not to mention its fiercest spiker. Whenever Spitser rose above the net, op- ponents feared the monster spike. His competitive spirit set a standard for the team, and whenever they were on a roll, it was Spitser leading the high fives. But Spitser's thumb broke before his energy did, and he is now doing his cheering from the sidelines. So for the next two to three weeks, Ted Skolarus has moved into the starting lineup, replacing Spitser's fierce play and powerful put-aways. And he has served more than admirably in his expanded role in the matches. "Ted has played really, really well (recently)," captain Jamie Reynolds said. Because of the club nature of the sport, the roster for the team has undergone a number of fluctuations, with the most recent additions hav- ing the most impact. Chad Stilstra played for Michigan throughout his undergraduate career and had resigned himself to serving as a coach at Michigan while helping out in practice. But then the itch to compete returned, and, with Stilstra beginning to take more classes on the Ann Arbor campus, he was added to the active roster. Also making his return is Ernesto Rodriguez, whom Reynolds believes is the team's best player. Rodriguez has played volleyball for his entire life and that experience, combined with his remark- able talent, makes a huge difference in the team's fortunes. Instantly, the team has gone from inexperienced and lacking direction to being one of the most competitive in the area. This past weekend, at the North-South Tourna- ment, the team played to the level of its competi- tion. This has been a recurring theme throughout this season as the Wolverines have staggered against inferior foes, like they did in pool play this weekend. Their weak initial showing was redeemed as they played Florida in the quarterfinals. Michigan pushed the Gators, the nation's No.2 squad, to the brink of disaster in the playoff round, before succumbing 15-13, 15-13. Florida's national prominence showed the young Wolverines how a talented team can be defeated. "We put it together in the playoff round and played Florida tough," Reynolds said. Finally, the team is beginning to find its groove and settling into place as the roster solidifies. The starting lineup, which Reynolds thinks is permanent, is made up of Pothiraj and Stilstra in the middle, anchoring the team. Michigan's out- side hitters are Skolarus and Rodriguez, with Reynolds and Justin Biebel rounding out the starters. Reynolds sees this season as a positive learning experience, but thinks the team needs to continue competing at a high level. "We are one of the most improved teams that I have seen in the country," he said. But that statement depends on who is playing for the Wolverines on any given day. T o t ' ' ., .. .1 - . .1 .. . . . .. - i -- SCoirs Packet *Resum Seice Copy & indery * FaxServie Le ctu re No t es Sometimes going to class just isn't enough. We take notes in your classes! Grade A NoteTakers are Seniors and Grad Students. They attend class and take accurate and complete lecture notes. These notes can make great supplemental study guides. Give us a call at 741-9669 for a complete class listing. Grade A Notes at Ulrich's Bookstore Second Floor " 549 E. University " 741-9669 4 U I U a:att~al~:. . *. .~ .. .. i WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS SUMMER? "Have you seen those, great ads the Daily has been running for Account Ie Executives? Lets pick up o. , s; ; ' '- r: i ; a :' '' r i Y .. 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