Hitters t(
Wolverines start s
By Will MlcCahill
Daily Sports Writer
Catch-up, anyone?
That is what the Michigan baseball
team will be playing as it swings
q rough Texas next week. It hopes to
et up to competitive speed with
southern and West Coast teams that
have been playing for at least three
weeks.
"It's an evaluating trip, for sure,"
Michigan coach GeoffZahn said. "But
we're also there to win ball games."
One disadvantage of Michigan's
northerly location is that it shortens
the season considerably, cutting out
ring training and compressing the
gular season from 15 to 12 weeks.
"It cuts down on practice time,"
Zahn said.
That is why the Wolverines need to
hit the ground running next week and
why adaptability is key on the trip.
Mistakes will be made as the players
get reacquainted with the game and
the veterans get to know the newcom-
ers. But if Michigan is to advance in
I e ratings, Zahn said that there is
xn tle room for error.
The end i
Women's basketba
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Writer
*The Michigan women's basketball
team is not giving up yet.
After a frustrating regular season
that produced more knee injuries than
conference victories, it would be hard
to fault the Wolverines for calling it
quits.
For all practical purposes, the regu-
lar season was long over before last
Sunday's loss to Wisconsin made it
Afficial. But now, the second season
the tournament season - begins.
The Wolverines face Northwestern
in Butler University's Hinkle
Fieldhouse at 6 o'clock tonight in the
opening round of the Big Ten Tourna-
ment. The winner will face Penn State,
recipient of a first round bye, Satur-
day. Tonight's loser will go home and
start preparing for next year.
The winner of the tournament re-
ceives an automatic berth to the NCAA
eurnament.
There is no better time than now for
Michigan to spring a couple of upsets.
"Anything can happen in a (single-
elimination) tournament like this,"
Michigan coach Trish Roberts said.
"That's what makes the Big Ten Tour-
nament so exciting. The whole slate is
wiped clean, and everyone has a
chance."
The Wolverines may have finished
Se season with just one conference
D begin Zahn era
season with trip to Lone Star state
The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 1, 1996 - 9
i-
"We should catch up quickly," he
said.
The Texas trip is Zahn's first chance
to get a good look at his squad. Not
only has the weather kept outdoor
workouts to a minimum, but this is
Zahn's first season at the helm, and he
is almost as new to the team as are the
incoming freshmen.
Nonetheless, he knows what to ex-
pect of his returning players. Zahn
said he is looking to juniors Kelly
Dransfeldt at third base and Kirk
Beermann at second for leadership,
and he also hopes that the Besco broth-
ers - Bryan and Derek, both sopho-
more, pitchers - will step up for the
Wolverines.
Dransfeldt batted .291 in 52 games
last year with 27 runs batted in.
Beermann hit .276 in 42 games.
"(Senior pitcher) Chuck Winters
might be a surprise," Zahn said. Win-
ters, who also played free safety for
the Michigan football team last fall,
chalked up a pair of wins against one
loss for the Wolverines in 1995, but
posted a 15.43 earned-run average.
The backbone of the staff looks to
be senior right-hander John Arvai and
junior right-hander Brian Steinbach.
Arvai led the team both in wins
(eight) and ERA (4.02) last season.
Steinbach had the second-lowest ERA
at 5.53 while going 2-3 in 16 appear-
ances.
The Wolverines start the road trip
with four games at Houston from
March 2-5. Then they play a game at
Rice before competing in the Aggie
Continental Classic at Texas A&M
against the likes of the Aggies, Old
Dominion and Northern Iowa.
Michigan opens its home season
against Eastern Michigan on March.
20.
SofthalI.
The Michigan softball team
opens the season today at the
San Diego State Campbell/
Cartier Spring Classic. The
Wolverines face Sacremento
State at 11:15 a.m., Nebraska at
1:30 p.m. and San Diego State
at 6 p.m.
nay be near for 'M'
Ri likely to conclude season at Big Tens
win in 16 tries, but that doesn't mean
the squad will head to Indianapolis
waving a white flag.
Instead, Michigan will charge into
the tournament hoping to exact a little
revenge on its more-respected con-
ference foes.
Enter Northwestern.
The Wolverines are happy to be
facing the Wildcats in the first round,
Roberts said.
At first glance, this may come as a
surprise, since Northwestern beat
Michigan twice in the regular season
by a combined total of 34 points. But
in the second of those two games -
an l I-point loss Feb. 16-- the Wol-
verines had the Wildcats on the ropes,
leading by a basket with just over two
minutes to play.
"Even though we've lost to (North-
western) both times, I think we're
better-prepared mentally this time,"
Roberts said.
Michigan's mentality may have
been soft in the last meeting between
these two squads, but the team's de-
fense during the last two minutes was
softer.
Clinging to a 79-77 lead, the Wol-
verines allowed Wildcat freshman
Megan Chawansky to get loose for
three consecutive 3-pointers. The two-
point advantage quickly swung to an
86-79 deficit, and Michigan was un-
able to score again.
"Chawansky has had a good couple
of games against us," Roberts said.
"She seems to play very well against
Michigan for some reason."
Some might say the Wolverines'
porous defense was the reason for
Chawansky's performances. That con-
sidered, Michigan will change its de-
fensive scheme tonight.
"Instead of a 2-3 zone, we're going
to play a 3-2 zone," Roberts said. "I
think that will help us cover the wings
quicker."
Northwestern, on the other hand,
will stick to its usual game plan.
"I don't think now is the time to
make any drastic changes," North-
western coach Don Perrelli said. "We
just need to refine the things that we
did well during the regular season.
"Michigan showed us (in Febru-
ary) that they can come out and put
the ball in the basket. We're con-
cerned about facing (the Wolverines),
but that's the hand we were dealt," he
added.
The winner of tonight's game will
inevitably run into trouble with a
rested Penn State team looming ahead,
but that doesn't faze Roberts.
"There's a lot of parity in the Big
Ten this year," she said. "I think you're
going to see some major upsets in this
tournament."
on't let this spring leave you broke and left out of all the fun. Go anywhere
Greyhound" goes for a maximum round trip fare of $129. For a limited
time only, from February 26th until April 15th, students who show a valid
student ID can travel to any of our 2,400 destinations. So this spring, take your
break on Greyhound.
For more information call 1.800.231.2222.
ANN ARBOR. Mt TO:
ONE WAY ROUND TRIP
DETROIT, M 5 $ 9
TOLEDO, OH $14 $25
LANSING, MI $ 8 $15
CLEVELAND, OH $23 $45
KALAMAZOO, MI $14 $25
JACKSON, MI $ 5 $ 9
Go Greyhound.
and Iea fthe dring to us.
http://www.greyhound.com
01996 Greyhound Lines, Inc. Some restrictions and im4ations may apply. Pnces subject to change without notice.
Easter blackout applies from April 4th - April 8th
Bowling Green
slams Spartans, 5-1
The Associated Press
0 EAST LANSING - Jason Clark
had a goal and three assists as Bowl-
ing Green beat Michigan State, 5-1,
last night to keep the Spartans from
clinching the CCHA title.
The Spartans (22-6-1 CCHA, 26-9-
1 overall) can still clinch first-place
with a win over second-place Michi-
gan (20-6-2,25-7-2) in their last regu-
lar-season game tonight. Michigan
d Lake Superior State (20-6-2, 24-
-2), also tied for second, each have
two games left.
Clark set up Chad Ackerman's goal
midway through the second period to
give the Falcons a 2-1 lead. Dave
Crombeen added a power-play goal.
Clark also assisted on Dan Price's
goal 50 seconds into the game and the
third-period goal of Mike Hall.
Clark scored the final goal with
7:12 left.
Sean Berens scored the Spartans'
only goal on the power-play 52 sec-
onds into the second period.
Michigan State had only 18 other
shots on Bowling Green goalie Mike
Savard.
Chad Alban made 23 saves for the
Spartans.
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