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 l >OPPORTUNIT1ES ARE HEATING UP ATWEATHERVANE Sometimes going to class just iSn't enough. - -- ' '- ' - N. f11_ = v I,- I n slk wI I Ar71