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. ROADWAY PACKAGE SYSTEM 'l PACKAGE HANDLERS PERFECT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS Saving for tuition? Find part- time work, year round at RPS! - Earn up to $8.50 per hour Roadway Package System, a small package delivery service, hires package handlers to load and unload package vans and semi-trailers. If you are not afraid of hard work, are at least 18 years old and want to work 4-5 hours per day, Mon.-Fri., Have you found someone to SUBLET your house or apartment this summer? Don't stress, put an ad in IT AMUL'U I CalTUT .FT