,ils.E4'_________________________
It's a racket!
The men's tennis team will take on Penn State at the Liberty Sports
Complex at I p.m. Saturday.
The men's and women's track and field teams will host the Red
Simmons invitational tomorrow in the Track and Tennis Building at 12
noon.
Page 11
Friday,
January 19, 1996
Y __,_
Women's
rebuilt illini,
By James Goldstein in
Daily Sports Writer I1
Thedefinition ofa"rebuilding year" M
usually suggests a season where a team
needs to start over, sometimes from w
scratch and focus on things such as hi
team attitude, chemistry and game-to- hi
gahe effort.
The expectations ofa rebuilding team pi
S lowered, especially when the coach al
says it will take a season or two for a
program togetbackto itswinning ways. as
The coach in question is Illinois' new it
women's basketball general, Theresa dr
Grentz. o
Grentz, previously the coach of
Rutgers for 19 years, stated in the pre- la
season conference luncheon that this ho
would be just such a season for the h
ghtintg Illini.
Even the preseason Big Ten basket- 2?
ball poll agreed with Grentz, placing St
the fl.ini second to last in the confer- th
en& just ahead of the Michigan.
The prediction has been right on for ci
the WJIverines (0-5 Big Ten, 6-9, over- si
all) Michigan is tied with two other tu
teams in the conference cellar.
But Illinois (2-3, 8-7) is moving in fo
an opposite direction, having won its ag
last-ee games. w
*Michigan looks to be a streak-stop-
per onboth sides, hoping to break its oi
six-game losing streak against the surg- C
in 1lini tonight at Huff Hall. The Wol- to
vefnes then travel to Ohio State to play m
the Buckeyes at 2 p.m Sunday at St. ki
Joni Arena.
MiThiganattributes Illinois' recent play o
to rcntz.
1 am a little surprised (about the sr
Illini record) with anew coach, but then sl
,o not because it's Theresa Grentz," th
Michigan forward Amy Johnson said. ar
"I know from her reputation that she is P
a great coach."
After getting blown out by the likes to
of Northwestern, Iowa and Purdue, the b
Illini surprised the nation by demolish- c
>ops face
Buckeyes
g No. 14 Arkansas, 88-64. Since then,
linois has beaten conference rivals
linnesota and Indiana.
Against Minnesota, sophomore for-
ard Ashley Berggren tallied a career-
gh 43 points on 15 of21 shooting and
tting 15 of 21 foul shots.
The Wolverines are not only im-
ressed with -Berggren's statistics, but
so with her work ethic.
"She's a big-time hustle player as far
sgetting her own rebound and putting
back up," Johnson said. "She can
rive to the hole and has little bit of an
utside game."
Johnson said the Wolverines do not
ck hustle and effort. The problem
isn't been going after the ball; it's
olding onto it.
The Wolverines turned the ball over
3 times in their 79-64 loss to Penn
tate last Sunday, getting just under
eiraverage of23.9 turnovers per game.
Whenever Michigan made a run and
utthe Nittany Lions' leadto eight andthen
x points, the Wolverines made a costly
mover that took the air out of the team.
But Michigan thinks it has a solution
or the sloppiness that could be used
gainst the Illini and the Buckeyes this
eekend.
"I think if we're loose we can cut down
n our turnovers," Michigan forward
atherine DiGiacinto said. "Wejust need
go out there relaxed, not thinking so
nuch about it, but just playing like we
now how."
DiGiacinto knows only how to play
ne way -emotional and with a smile.
The 6-foot-I junior has provided a
park coming off the bench whenever
he plays. And she provided even more
han that as she contributed 16 points
nd 13 rebounds off the bench against
enn State.
"I'm usually a happy person, smiling a
ot," DiGiacinto said. "Our team plays
etter when we're relaxed and when we
an have fun and smile. Especially for
Penn State brings
perfection to Clisler
Wolverines hope to play spoilers
By Michael Rosenberg
Daily Editor in Chief
Penn State -- No. 14 in the nation,
undefeated, first in the Big Ten.
Maceo Baston - not impressed.
"You can win games against
Huckabuck State or whatever," said
Michigan's sophomore forward,
mocking the Nittany Lions' schedule.
Among Penn State's 13 victims are
Virginia Military Institute, Morgan
State and Vermont.
Nonetheless, Penn State has won
its first four Big Ten contests, includ-
ing a 79-50 laughter over Wisconsin,
which beat Michigan Jan. 3. Thatalone
makes Sunday's noon contest at
Crisler Arena interesting.
"(We're) smart enough to know that
we lost to Wisconsin and they beat
Wisconsin by 29 points," said Michi-
gan coach Steve Fisher.
The Nittany Lions have heard com-
ments about its schedule.
"Some people are a little suspi-
cious," Penn State guard Dan Earl
said. "We just want to go out and
prove we're a good basketball team."
Fisher also dismisses any
Bastonesque theories that Penn State
is a paper 13-0.
"I heard the same thing in football
with Northwestern," Fisher said.
"They are not doing it with mirrors."
But neither is Michigan (13-4, 3-
1), which has dominated Northwest-
ern, Illinois, and Michigan State in
the past three games. The Wolverines
haven't lost in Crisler Arena in al-
most a year, winning 14 straight.
"That's One of our goals, to go un-
defeated at home this year," said
Michigan point guard Travis Conlan.
"You can win Y
games against
Huckabuck State
or whatever"
- Maceo Baston
Michigan basketball player,,
on Penn State's schedule
That goal will face its toughest chal-.
lenge Sunday. Under first-year coach
Jerry Dunn, the Nittany Lions have
transformed themselves into a con-
tender for the Big Ten title.
And they have done it without last
year's star, All-Big Ten center John'
Amaechi.
To make up for the loss of Amaechi,.
Dunn's team has distributed its scqr-
ing among the five starters, all of
whom average at least 11.6 points per
game. The top gun is long-range
shooter Pete Lisicky, who has shot 53
percent from the field, phenomenal
for a guard. Lisicky's accuracy doesn't
waver from beyond the 3-point strip ,
either - he's a deadly 53 perent
from there as well.
But the Wolverines may not even
guard Lisicky. Not that they don.t
respect him - it's just that Lisicky
has a mild foot sprain and iay not
play.
"We're hoping to have him on Sun
day," Dunn said. "I'm not totally sure
on that.
If Lisicky does play, Conlan will b6
See LIONS, Page 12
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
The Michigan women's basketball team looks to score its first Big Ten victory
tonight at Illinois.
me, I know that I play better when I'm
totally relaxed, smiling, and having fun."
The Wolverines, however, will not have
fun trying to track All-American Ohio
StateforwardKatieSmithSunday. Smith
is averaging 22.0 points per game this
season and an amazing free throw per-
centage of 87.3.
Johnson will alternate guarding the
Buckeye forward with Akisha Franklin
and Molly Murray.
The key to this game will be the battle
on the boards. Michigan is a strong re-
boundingteamhighlightedby Pollyanna
Johns' conference leading 10.2 rebounds
per game.
But Ohio State, with the likes of 6-
foot-2 forward Lisa Negri and the 6-foot-
3 center tandem of Tiffany Glosson and
Kelly Fergus, can bang with the best of
them, too.
Notre Dame's Poulin hopes to bring prestige to his alma mater
v -1.
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika
Dadiy Sports Writer
There's a big difference between the
Four Horsemen and a Few Guys with
Hock~ey Sticks.
At Notre Dame, football players are the
ones dubbed with fearsome, apocalyptic
monikers. They win 'em for the Gipper,
appear on national television regardless
of their record, and have devoted follow-
Ss who couldn't find South Bend, Ind.,
on a niap.
But if football is Notre Dame's golden
goose, hockey is its goose egg.
The Fighting Irish have slipped all
over the ice for most of the hockey
program's history. Notre Dame played
its first year of varsity hockey in 1912-
13 and went 1-2. It hasn't gotten much
better since.
Few winning seasons, few titles and
f Ie respect.
"They haven't been that successful,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "But
their4eam is starting to improve. They are
capable ofknocking offateam like Michi-
gan.'
Dave Poulin is one of the reasons why.
Notre Dame's rookie coach -a 12-year
NHL veteran -- decided to return to his
alma mater this season instead of taking a
position in pro hockey. Though Poulin
s never coached before, many felt his
*iringmeantthe Irish were finally getting
serious about hockey.
"There is no question that our long-
term goal is to make the program one of
the elite," Poulin said. "I've played for
coaches that have had distinctly differ-
ent styles, methods and philosophies
which they have used to be successful.
Much of what works at the professional
level will be applicable to the college
ame."
If it worked for Berenson, it might
work for Poulin.
When Berenson took over the Wol-
verines in 1984, Michigan was a peren-
nial also-ran intheCCHA. But Berenson
was able to build his alma mater into
national power with the experience he
gained as a player and coach in the
NHIL.
Poulin will try to do the same. After
illustrious pro career, in which he
' layed over 700 games, appeared in
twoAll-Star games, and competed in
Tomorrow's game
Who: No. 3 Michigan vs. Notre Dame
When and where: 7 p.m., Yost Ice Arena
What: The first meeting of the season between the two
teams. The Irish defeated the Wolverines in one of the three
games they played last year. Notre Dame plays at Illinois-
Chicago tonight at 7 o'clock.
three Stanley Cup finals, he has the
tough task of helping the school for
which he starred acquire a respectable
program.
But there is one crucial difference be-
tween Poulin and Berenson.
"He's never coached before." said
Berenson, who was NHL Coach of the
Year with the St. Louis Blues before
taking the Michigan job. "It's a unique
situation when someone leaves the pros
to coach in college, but he has a soft spot
for college hockey."
Poulin has learned from some of the
best, however, having played for Mike
Keenan, Mike Milbury and Jim
Schoenfeld,andhepreachesthegospel of
Berenson and many other former N HL
veterans.
"The common strand through all the
successful coaches which I have played
under is that the hard way is the easy
way," Poulin said. "If you can accom-
plish the hard work and you can stay
with the discipline, you will be success-
ful."
Notre Dame (4-10-3 CCHA, 5-13-3
overall) may be working hard, but the
Irish haven't seen results yet. They are
mired in an eighth-place tie with Miami
(Ohio) and heading for a finish similar
to last year's ninth-place showing.
But Berenson says records matter little
when the Wolverines take on the Irish.
"Anytime Michigan and Notre Dame
play each other, there'sarivalry," he said.
"It doesn't matter what sport it is, it's still
a chance to beat Notre Dame."
3erenson hopes Poulin can make the
rivalry a little more competitive in the
future, however. Michigan is a big name
on the Irish's schedule. Notre Dame has
faced the Wolverines more than any other
team and holds a 36-39-2 record in the
series.
But even though they beat Michigan.
6-3, last year, the Irish need a few more
victories over the elite teams to start
rising toward the top. So tomorrow
night's 7 o'clock game against the third-
ranked Wolverines (14-3-0, 19-4-0) at
Yost Ice Arena will be a big one for
Notre Dame..
"Playing us is good for theirprogram,"
Berenson said. "I would like to see them
become a powerhouse in our league."
Poulin would too.
"Many, many athletes dream ofcom-
ing back to their alma mater to coach,"
Poulin said. "And now that's a reality
for me. I want to open people's eyes to
the Notre Dame experience which I
believe has been the foundation of my
success."
He undoubtedly wants to win a few too
- for the Gipper, of course.
TONYA BROAD/Daily,
The Wolverines will face Notre Dame tomorrow at Yost Ice Arena. The Fighting Irish are looking to build their program around
their rookie coach Dave Poulin.
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X~'~ F=-I.. Z I<=><=>1/'1 I-U T -H E 119 t 17
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2/,1996
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