t it * 4 'K,' 0 7' L R I x 4 t' ! Michigan's Tom Dolan failed to qualify fo By Doug Stevens ly Sports Writer Throughout the season, Michigan men Jon Urbanchek kept his team focused on t Every day, he would shout out number or some other large figure, signifying t remaining until the U.S. Olympic trials. He constantly stressed to his athletes i patient, despite the' frustration inherent i less practices in preparation for a mee away. In October, when the Wolverines con -Wet, and in every month since then, Urban ,significance of any one meet as nothing bid practice., Rather than encouraging top times fron time they competed, he merely asked for p "Discipline is the ability to wait forthe 1on would preach. "Youhave to know where yo Olympics only roll around every four yea He knew throughout the winter that all th a top-flight swimmer is the once-in-a-life qualify for the Olympics. That is the mind s athletes throughout the season. It fact, Urbanchek and the Wolverines ha whentheyfailedto win their I1thstraightBigT CR CC By Alan Goidenbach Daily Sports Writer Michigan's 3-0 blanking of Miami *hio) Saturday night was the Wolver- ines' third shutout of the Redskins this season,, matching a team record. On Nov. 11, Michigan came away from Oxford with an 8-0 win. Two months later, the Wolverines enjoyed theirmost lopsided win oftheseason- 13-0 shellacking of Miami at Yost Icer Arena., The only other Michigan team to shutout an opponent three times in the - me season was the 1926-27 Wolver- es, who blanked Wisconsin,1-0, three separate times. BYE-BYE BOTTERILL: Left wing Ja- son Botterill gave his teammates, as well as Michigan's fans, a big scare midway through the third period of Saturday's game. After arguing with referee Roger Graff over a disallowed goal, Graff gave Botterill a game-mis- conduct penalty. 1However, this should not be con- used with the two game-disqualifica- tion penalties that he drew in separate incidents earlier in the season that re- sulted in his missing over three games worth of action. If Botterill had been assessed a third game-disqualification, he would have been suspended for the remainder of the season. If any good came from the penalty it was the 10 minutes Botterill incurred om the call that allowed him to pad his HA-lead in penalty minutes. He now has 127, which is well within reach of Michigan's single-season record of 147 set by defenseman Chris Tamer in 1989- 90. GET YOUR YOST-YOST'S OUT: If you couldn't get out to see the Wolverines in action this weekend, not only did you miss a pair of Michigan wins and the final games played this season at Yost, t you also lost your last chance to see e 74-year old building in its current condition. Newsletters Cheerleaders to hold tryouts The fMichigan varsity and varsity reserve cheerleading teams will hold open tryouts for all students interested Sunday, March 31, at noon in Cliff Keen Arena. Athletes are strongly encouraged to attend a series of clinics on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at th'e Intramural Building. For more information, contact varsity cheerleading coach Pamela St. John at (313) 525-1735. Wednesday March 13, 1996 9 Bigger not always better Blue to stay with small lineup against Longhorns By Michael Rosenberg Daily Sports Writer When Michigan men's basketball coach Steve Fisher went to a three- guard starting lineup against Indiana Feb. 18, it was widely assumed that he simply wanted his team to handle the ball better. "I made up my mind after that game that that would be our lineup for the rest of the season," Fisher said two weeks later. But now comes shocking new evi- dence that Fisher's concern wasn't for the rest of the regular season - he was just preparing to play Texas at 10:30 p.m. Friday in Milwaukee, Wis., in the NCAA tournament. Sources close to Fisher deny that the coach saw the tournament bracket three weeks before the rest of the nation. Nonetheless, Texas coach Tom Penders thinks Fisher is on the right track. "That matchup with us is not a bad idea," Penders said. "We're obviously a good perimeter team. They match up better with a smaller lineup than a bigger one." The biggest reason Texas is consid- ered a good perimeter team is guard Reggie Freeman, who scored 22.8 points per game this season. "Reggie Freeman is one of the pre- mier players in the country," Fisher said. "He can score from long, long range. And if you come out and guard him, he'll beat you off the dribble." Fisher will have to choose among Louis Bullock, Travis Conlan and Dugan Fife to guard the 6-foot-6 Free- man. Conlan, the tallest Wolverine guard, is the likely choice. But the Longhorns' strong perim- eter play goes beyond Freeman. Brandy Perryman comes off the bench to give Texas a solid threat from out- side. Fisher calls Perryman "their best, perimeter shooter." Michigan's best perimeter shooter is Bullock, who has recovered from a subpar midseason stretch and seems March Madness No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Texas When: Friday, approximately 10:30 p.m. Where: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wis. TV: CBS, Channel 62 if they win... Michigan will play either the No. 2 seed, Wake Forest, or No. 15 Northeast Louisiana. When: Sunday, approximately 5:10 p.m. Where: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wis. TV: CBS, Channel 62 to have regained his lethal 3-point shot. But shooting is not the reason Fisher switched lineups. Ball control is. "(The lineup has) helped us cut down on our turnovers," Fisher said. "We were up in the high teens and in at least four of the last seven games we were in single figures." That will be crucial against Texas, which forced turnovers at a rate bf 21.5 per game this season. Ironically, while the Wolverines' new lineup is ready-made for a first- round win, it may be extremely ill- suited for a second-round matchup. Should Michigan beat the Longhorns, its most likely opponent, Sunday at 5:10 p.m. would be Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are led by All-Ameri- can center Tim Duncan, who almost certainly would have been the No. 1 pick in last year's NBA Draft had he left school. Duncan is probably the best rebounder in college basketball. The Wolverines would probably guard Duncan with Maceo Baston, a strong defensive player. The problem is that Baston often gets into foul trouble; if he does, that would leave Maurice Taylor on Duncan, or possi- bly Willie Mitchell. If 300-pound goliath Robert Traylor wasn't injured, of course, he % ould help guard the All-American. Fisher would love to have to worry about Duncan; it would mean his Wol- verines made the second round for the first time in two years. r the U.S. Olympic team in the 200-meter backstroke yesterday, finishing seventh. M fi n's swimming coach the big goal. s like "126" or "48," he number of days the need to remain in partaking in end- et that was months ,mpeted in their first chek has belittled the gger than a glorified 1m his athletes every patience and focus. ng-term," Urbanchek ourpriorities are. The irs." hat really matters for ,time opportunity to set he encouraged in rdly seemed bothered Ten title, at least inpart because the squad was neither tapered nor shaven for the meet. "As far as the (Big Ten) team championships, we made the choice to concentrate on the Olympic trials and we stuck with it," Urbanchek said after the defeat. Urbanchek must have known what he was doing, as three current Wolverines and two alums, who had been training with the team, qualified for the U.S. Olympic team. Despite a disappointing seventh place finish in yesterday's 200-meterbackstroke,junior Tom Dolan was perhaps the star of the meet, winning three events with outstanding performances. Dolan will be swimming the 400 individual medley, the 400 freestyle and the 200 IM in Atlanta. Another Wolverine who proved he was amply prepared for the trials was juniorJohn Piersma. Piersma won the200 freestyle and earned a spot on the Olympic team with a second-place finish in the 400 freestyle. A pleasant surprise for Michigan was the performance of freshman Tom Malchow. Malchow, who was one of the few Wolverines noticeably disappointed after the Big Ten defeat, is probably one of the happiest team members now. He won the 200 butterfly and will be on a flight to Atlanta come July. In addition to the three current Wolverines qualifying for the U.S. team, former Wolverines Eric Wunderlich placed second in the 200 breaststroke and Eric Namesnik took second in the 400 IM, along side Dolan, to earn a berth on the U.S. team and a spot in Atlanta. Blue netters venture outdoors )mpletes record shutout Five-and-a-half million dollars in renovations to the arena are under- way. The result will be a more mod- ern-looking venue. The renovations will come at the expense of a 600-700 seats, but will be confined almost en- tirely to those with obstructed views. And of course, the Athletic Depart- ment is anticipating loftierticket prices. flockeY Notebook" THE RETURN OF THE OCTOPUS: With six seconds remain- ing in the third pe- riod of Saturday's win, a pair of octopi were hurled onto the ice from opposite ends of the arena. This is a tradition that was started the historical meaning. But when you consider that eight Michigan postseason wins would give Michigan the NCAA crown, the hurlers from Yost may actually understand the concept of the octopus. Including the two wins thus far, the Wolverines can win the CCHA tournament with wins in the semifinals and finals next weekend, giving them four. The next four could come by way ofthe NCAA tournament. But there is a chance that the Wolver- ines could receive a first-round bye, and thus need only three wins to take it all, making the total only seven. And that would make this whole story meaningless. BUT IT AIN'T THE GRAMM's: Thurs- day at 7 p.m., the CCHA will hold its 13th annual awards banquet at the Grand Westin Hotel in Detroit. Awards to be handed out include Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Best Offensive Defenseman, Best De- fensive Defenseman and Best Defen- sive Forward. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through the CCHA office by calling 764-2590. By Richard Shin Daily Sports Writer Spring break for the Michigan men's tennis team was no vacation. Actually, it could be compared to a day-old can of Coke- warm, flat and generally unsatisfying. The Wolverines travelled to the Lone Star State to face Texas, March 5, and to compete in the Corpus Christi Team Tournament, March 8-10. Similar to the can of fizzled soda, the weather was hot and Michigan was flat, losing to Texas and going 2- 2 in the tournament. Michigan's No. I singles player, Peter Pusztai, went 2- 3, seeing his singles winning streak end at nine. Michigan's troubles were not due to lack of effort from the players, but rather, the great outdoors. The Wolverines' stint outside was their first of the season, and the play- ers had only three days to practice under the sun. "To face top 25 teams and play outside - it's a double whammy," Michigan coach Brian Eisner said. "Considering the amount of time we had (to practice outdoors), we com- peted well." The Wolverines hope to reverse the trend tomorrow as they travel to the Blue-Gray Championships at Ala- bama. Michigan gained valuable experi- ence playing outdoors, and it may prove to be useful. The outdoor tour- nament fields 16 teams, many of which are highly ranked. "Playing outdoors is a tremendous change and (against Texas and Texas A&M) we were playing at the conser- vative end of our ability range (be- cause of it)," Eisner said. "We know that whatever we do (at Alabama), we have to play better, and I think we can." Michigan is ranked No. 25 accord- ing to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Rolex Collegiate Rank- ing, released March 5. While the Wol- verines dropped. a spot in the new poll, Pusztai jumped 41 places to No. 23 in singles. The matches in March represent the first competitive action the Wol- verines have faced in a month and the first taste of matches outdoors. Their next Big Ten contest is against Min- nesota, March 20. And while Coke's secret formula is kept under lock and key, Michigan's formula for success is no secret. "We never performed as well (as this spring) in the past years, and all the players are competing hard," Eisner said. "I think that we have gone to another level. We're playing much better." The Wolverines are hampered by injuries heading into this weekend, including an awkward arm injury to No. 4 singles player Geoff Prentice. Whether Prentice will be able to compete is still a question mark, but Eisner said the diagnosis looked fairly good. "It does appear that he will be able to compete this weekend," Eisner said. "We can't afford to lose somebody of (Prentice's) strength. He is a key player for us." Michigan's star, Pusztai, is also suf- fering from a nagging injury. He rested for portions of the February hiatus to heal tendonitis in his foot and is pro- gressing slowly. Pusztai won two of his five matches over break, dropping a match to South Alabama's Jan Hermansson at Cor- pus Christi, an opponent he had beaten the month before. Michigan's first-round opponent at the Blue-Gray tournament has yet to be determined, but Eisner believes the event will be tougher than the Corpus Christi tourney. "The (Blue-Gray tournament) will be even tougher," Eisner said.. "We are probably the I l th best team there, and we'll see where we fit." years ago by Detroit Red Wings' fans when a team needed eight playoff wins to capture the Stanley Cup. The eight tentacles of the marine mollusk repre- sent the eight needed victories. Last year, the octopus tossing became anationwide craze as the Wings advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. Octopi were thrown at several arenas without regard to iT~T,4 IL~I AIRI .4. ILZUUI ~44~ VT 44 ---.i ROADWAY PACKAGE SYSTEM - I PACKAGE HANDLERS PERFECT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS Saving for tuition? 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