68 - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, April 15, 1996
Weather
By John FrIdberg
Paiy Sports Writer
Although the Michigan men's golf
team had its best finish-of the spring
over the weekend, there are stillsmany
disturbing trends that continue to fol-
low the Wolverines.
Every golfer on the team has seen his
average jump this season. In the 1994
fall season, Chris Brockway averaged
72.79 per round. His highlight was a
win at the Falcon Invitational. This year
the senior captain has struggled to a
77.74 average with no top-10 finishes.
'M' golfers tie best finish of
year with 5th-place showing
(with the team),"
Michigan coach
Jim Carras said.
"We basically
have the same
team that we had
lastyear, and they
all have higher
averages."
Juniors David
Jasper, Keith
HMinton, Brent
what the problem is
Wep,
By John Friedberg
Daily Sports Writer
This weekend the Michigan's men's
golf team had anew experience: They
played consistently as a team.
The Wolverines tied their best fin-
ish of the year in The Legends of
Indiana tournament over the week-
end. Michigan stepped up its play and
finished in fifth place. The Wolver-
ines matched their fifth-place show-
ing in the Florida Atlantic Invitational
at the end of October.
Michigan played solidly despite
stormy weather Saturday. The wind
during the tournament pushed good
scores into the high 70s.
"It was so windy," Michigan coach
Jim Carras said. "I expected the wind,
but the rain on Saturday made golfing
very tough."
Ball State had an exceptional week-
end. The Cardinals, who won the team
event, were led by Kevin Reed.
Reed won the individual honors
with a three-round total of 221.
Minnesota and Northwestern were
the only Big Ten teams to finish ahead
of the Wolverines. The strong finish
was encouraging at this point in the
season.
"I am starting to see the light at the
end of the tunnel," Carras said. "I am
starting to like what I see out there."
Michigan's good showing was led
by Kyle Dobbs.
Dobbs overcame the horrendous
weather Saturday to shoot an even-
par 72.
The junior from Saline finished the
tournament with a total of 224 -
good enough for a second-place tie
and only three strokes behind Reed.
His second-place finish was the most
impressive for the Wolverines this
spring.
Ironically, Dobbs also had a sec-
ond-place finish in the Northern In-
I am starting to see the light at t
end of the tunnel. I amy starting to Ike
whatI see out there.
- Jim Carras
Michigan men's golf coach
Idalski and Justin Hicks have all expe-
rienced at least a stroke increase in their
previous season averages.
"We are not pressuring each other
enough," Carras said. "We have not
been able to practice because of the
:weather, but I still do not know how to
explain this."
The inconsistent play has shown up
in all of the tournaments that Michigan
has competed in. After a year in which
the Wolverines placed no lower than
fifth in all but one of their team compe-
titions, Michigan has only found the
best five twice this season.
Another disturbing sign is the lack of
consistency within the team. In the three
spring tournaments, Michigan has had a
differentleaderineach. DavidJaspershot
a226 in the first tournament of the season,
but followed that up with a 235 over the
weekend. Granted the weather did not
help, but his situation is not unique.
Keith Hinton preceded his seventh-
;place 220 at the Marshall Invitational
with a 52nd-place 235, and he followed
it with another 235 in Indiana.
Kyle Dobbs has been the most con-
sistent Wolverine, but he too has been
plagued by uneven play. This weekend's
224 was Dobbs' best of the year.
"Guys seem to have one bad hole
,very round," Carras said. "Triple and
'quadruple bogeys should not be hap-
pening at'this point."
The weather has had something to do
with these problems. Michigan has only
been able to shoot two practice rounds
outdoors in the past two weeks. Adding
to that dilemma has been the weather at
the tournament events this spring.
The first tournament of the spring,
the Fripp Island Hogan, was cut a round
short due to the weather. None of the
following tournaments have come close
to having the good weather that Ann
Arbor experienced yesterday.
But all of the teams competing against
.the Wolverines have battled the same
conditions, just not the same erratic play.
K"We are going to have a qualifier this
-week to see who goes to Columbus,"
tCarras said.
Maybe that will enable Michigan to be
ready for the tournament this weekend.
tercollegiate in early October. He
seems to be improving in each tourna-
ment. He is the only Wolverine golfer
to compete in all of the tournaments
this year.
"Kyle is starting to play like I ex-
pected him to," Carras said. "He is
really getting better."
Dobbs finished three shots back of
Reed and seemed to get stronger as
the weather got worse. Dobbs started
his run with rounds of 77 and 75 in a
sunny, but very windy Friday. His 72
Saturday came in a rain and wind
storm.
While Dobbs was certainly the high-
light of the weekend, there were other
bright spots for the Wolverines, who
overcame a 10th-place start after the
first 36 holes to gain the fifth-place
finish.
Freshman Isaac Hinkle overcame a
first-round 82 to shoot a 73 and a 78 in
the last two rounds. His 233 was good
enough to place him second among
his teammates. The Ostego resident is
becoming one of the better players on
the team.
David Jasper and Keith Hinton each
shot 235 in Indiana. Jasper played for
the first time in two weeks. He missed
the Marshall Invitational last week-
end with an illness that he caught at
the Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate tourna-
ment.
His 235 was a bit higher than his
previous tournaments.
TONYA BROAD/Daily
Michigan's Kyle Dobbs finished in a tie for second Individually and led the
Wolverines to a fifth-place finish at The Legends of Indiana tournament this
weekend.
I
Women golers take 1st at Boilermaker invite
By Jennifer Hodulik
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's golf team was looking for a
first place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational this
weekend, and that is exactly what the Wolverines got.
The Wolverines sealed one of their best seasons in the
20-year history of the women's golf program with a win
and relied on freshman Sharon Park's first place overall
finish to do so.
"l'm very happy and excited," Park said. "This was a
great win for us and a great team effort. Everyone
contributed."
Park tied her career best with low rounds of75 on both
the first and third rounds, to finish with an overall score
of 230 for the 54-hole event. She edged Missouri's
Kristen Samp to record the two-stroke victory.
Host Purdue finished six points behind Michigan in
second place and was followed by Missouri. The Wol-
verines finished ahead of other Big Ten foes Michigan
State, Northwestern and Wisconsin.
Ann Arbor-native Katy Loy grabbed a seventh-place
tie with consistent play in firing 79-80-80 for a total of
239. Loy has had a successful freshman campaign and
earned medalist honors at the Saluki Invitational early
this spring.
The successes of freshmen Loy, Park and Sarah
Lindholm have spurred the team into an immediate
turnaround from lastyear. In 1994-95 Shannon McDonald
and Molly Vandenbark were the only players to record
top 10 finishes in tournament competition.
Junior Ashley Williams stepped up her game a notch
with a career-best 77 in the second round and an overall
finish of 241- good for a 12th-place tie.
While Williams qualified the week before the tourna-
ment and has seen limited action this season, her contri-
bution stood out.
"We really needed the win," Michigan coach Kathy
Teichert said. "Ashley Williams gave us abig lift, andwe
may not have won without her strong performance."
Senior captain McDonald chipped in a 247(80-82-85)
to tie for 28th. Rounding out the Michigan squad were
junior Wendy Westfal 1(84-80-84) and Lindholm (80-84-
84), who tied for 33rd with scores of 248.
The tournament was played on the 5,826 yard, par 72
Purdue South Golf Course, which apparently gave the
Wolverines an easier time than the snowy Scarlet Course
at Ohio State last week.
The win at Purdue, coupled with wins at the Lady Kaf
Invitational in Lexington, Ky., and the Saluki Invita-
tional in Carbondale, Ill., have placed Michigan in
excellent position to qualify for its first trip to the
NCAA regional tournament. To do this, the Wolver-
ines must finish in the top three of their region, which
generally spans the Midwest and includes all of the
Big Ten teams.
Michigan will have a chance to showcase its tal-
ents within the region and conference at the upcom-
ing Big Ten championships, to be held in
Bloomington.
Although Michigan fell to Ohio State and defend-
ing champion Indiana at the Lady Buckeye Invita-
tional, the Wolverines' finish ahead of four Big Ten
schools this weekend puts them in a good position to
improve on their highest-ever finish of seventh. The
Big Ten championships will be held April 26-28.
"I like the way we're playing," Teichert said. "We
need to work on our short game a little more, but I'm
really looking forward to the Big Ten champion-
ship."
Unlike Dobbs, Jasper's play got
worse with the weather. His best round
was his first - a 76. Jasper had been
the top Wolverine finisher in his pa*
two tournaments.
Hinton was plagued by inconsis-
tency this weekend, accentuated by
his first two rounds. His first-round
74 paced Michigan, but his second-
round 82 was the second-highest on
the squad. Hinton was coming off his
best weekend of the year. His perfor-
mance in Indiana was disappointing
after his seventh-place finish at the
Marshall Invitational.
Freshman Mike Emanuel struggled
in his first competition of the spring
season.
All three of his rounds were in the
80s, but he saved his best for last with
a final-round 80, shaving seven
strokes off his second-round total. The
Legends tournament was his first since
recovering from mononucleosis.
Despite the relatively good play,
Carras was not completely satisie
with the performance of his golfers
"We still have to use scores in the
80s," Carras said. "If we are going to
be a good team, we have to become a
whole lot more consistent. We did
play better, however."
Michigan travels to Columbus for
another tournament next weekend.
The Kepler Invitational will feature
some of the toughest competition the
Wolverines have faced this season.
Women's
water polo
grabs Big.
Ten title
By Kevin Kasiborski
Daily Sports Writer
They don't have the budget that the
movie"Waterworld" had, but the Wol-
verines have ruled the world of Bi
Ten water polo for eight years.1
The No. 7 Michigan women's wa-
ter polo team, though only a club
team, won its eighth consecutive Big
Ten championship this weekend in
Bloomington. The Wolverines won
all five of their matches, extending
their conference winning streak to 86,
which dates back to 1988.
Michigan cruised to wins in its first
three games, defeating Ohio State 17-
1, Northwestern 10-1 and Wiscons
14-1.
In the semifinals against Indiana,
the stingy Michigan defense allowed
three goals, but the Wolverines still
won easily, 15-3.
Michigan's toughest test came in
the championship game, a6-1victory
over Michigan State.
"Michigan State has a really good
defensive team," Michigan coach
Scott Russell said." But we're realO
solid defensively, too."
Senior co-captain Julie
Chmielewski led the Wolverines scor-
ing attack with 12 goals and 8 assists
on the weekend. She also contributed
six steals.
Sophomore Lauren Davis netted I1
goals and had six assists in the five
games. Junior Carrie Lilley had 15
steals, 6 goals and 7 assists.
Michigan, the highest ranked cl
team in the nation, improved its ove
all record to 20-5 and raised its Big
Ten mark to 13-0.
This weekend they will host the
regional championships at Canham
Natatorium.
In 'Tuesday's Sports
Section: Coverageof
this weekend's men
and wopons' acr a~;
actionsa F
Divided'M' track gains confidence in meets
$10 CASH
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
NEEDED FOR RESEARCH
STUDY
(Student I.D. Required)
Date: April 15-16
9-3 p.m. at the Michigan Union-
Kuenzel Room
Please call Demand Research at
747-9945 for an appointment
(ask for Mildred).
By Kim Hart
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan women's track coach
James Henry decided to split his team
this weekend for two reasons. He
wanted the distance runners to get
some good competition, and he wanted
the rest of his team to come back to
Ann Arbor with confidence.
The distance runners did well at the
Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn.
The blossoming dogwoods were a per-
fect background for the strong perfor-
mances of several Wolverines.
Senior Courtney Babcock won the
3,000-meter run with a time of
9:26.64, which was good enough for
an NCAA provisional qualifying
mark. JenBarber and Katie McGregor
also ran in the 3,000, coming in sev-
enth and eighth places, respectively,
with times of 9:51.42 and 9:55.07.
The Wolverines also had two com-
petitors place in the 5,000-meter run.
Senior runner Jen Stuht came in 10th
place with a time of 17:25.74, and
freshman Marcy Akard finished in
14th place in 17:34.23.
The rest of the women's track team
went to Oxford, Ohio, on a quest for
confidence. Judging by the perfor-
mance they gave this weekend, their
mission has probably been accom-
plished. The women placed in at least
one of the top 10 spots in all of the 15
events they competed in.
It was yet another great day at the
races for sophomore Tania Longe.
She won the long jump contest by
jumping a distance of 5.61 meters,
and she ran a time of 58.35 seconds in
the 400 hurdles to snag fourth place.
In the 100 race, Atiya Bussey and
Sara Barnard finished sixth and sev-
enth, respectively, with times of 12.79
and 12.90. Barnard also placed eighth
in the 200 with a time of 26.82.
Freshman Rachel Edwards ran a
time of 58.35 to take fourth place in
the 400, and Gina Merola placed 20th
in the same race, clocking in at
1:06.16.
The Wolverines placed in second,
I 1 th and 12th places in the 800. Angie
Stanifer finished in 2:12.65, Lamika
Harper in 2:19.72 and Mara
Guillemette in 2:20.54.
The middle distance and distance
events could have been difficult for
the women, with some of their stron-
gest runners in Knoxville at the Dog-
wood Relays, but the Wolverines did
a respectable job.
In the I ,500, senior Katy
Hollbacher came in 10th place with a
time of 4:45.30, Tanya Manson came
in 14th place at 4:53.8, and Susan
Kaminski came in 18th place at
4:57.79.
In the 3,000, Tiffin Goodman came
in fifth place with a time of 10:28.62,
and Jackie Concaugh placed 11th with
a time of 10:46.54.
In the hurdle events, Jennifer
Petersen competed with Longe in the
100 and came in 13th place with a
time of 15.74 seconds. Phyllis Brooks
and Tiffany Hodge each raced well in
the 400 hurdles by taking second and
third, respectively, with times of 63.48
and 64.75.
The field events also went well for
the Wolverines.
In the shot put competition, Jayna
Greiner finished fourth with a dis-
tance of 13.15, Nikki Keith sixth at
13.02 and Stephanie Wigness 11th
with a throw of 12.34.
Wigness returned for the discus con- -
test and placed fourth. Sarah Clauw
finished the discus in 10th place, and
basketball sensation Pollyanna Johns
in 15th.
In thejavelin contest, JaynaGreiner
finished in 10th place with a throw of
31.32.
Jumpers Nicole Forrester and Ndu
Okwumabua posted outstanding fin-
ishes for their first outdoor competi-
tions.
Forrester won the high jump,jump-
ing a height of 1.75 meters, and
Okwumabua took second in the triple
jump with a distance of 11.26.
. . ._ . ._
'1"
C.PY NTyER
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>OPPORTUNIT1ES
ARE HEATING UP
ATWEATHERVANE
Sometimes going to class
just iSn't enough.
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