26 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, Septemoer 4, 1i U

'M' men return 9 on the links,
hope to make NCAA regionals

By John Friedberg
Daily Sports Writer
Nine varsity returners in a five-man
sport would be enough to excite any
coach. For the second straight year, the
Michigan men's golf team faces this
situation.
Unfortunately, the Wolverines could
rot translate experience into success
last year. The Wolverines were plagued
by inconsistency throughout the fall
and spring seasons. Six different
golfers took turns as Michigan's low
scorer in 12 tournaments.
Michigan coach Jim Carras does not
plan on having history repeat itself.
"This year, like last year, I am
guardedly optimistic," Carras said.
"There is a real competitive atmos-
phere out there and I expect us to be
better. Only five play at a time and I
only plan on keeping about ten
guys."'
With nine returners and some strong
freshmen coming in, Carras expects to
have a tougher team for the upcoming
season.
Carras points to strong summer per-
formances in various tournaments to

emphasize his thoughts.
"We had two golfers play in the U.S.
Amateur Tournament and others
played well in the Michigan amateurs
as well," he said.
The two golfers who played in
Oregon at the National Amateur
Championship were junior Keith
Hinton and sophomore Michael
Harris. Both eventually came up short
in their championship bids to pro
golf's newest phenom, Tiger Woods.
The summer experience should help
the team as the Wolverines look for a
good start to the year.
Two years ago, the Wolverines had a
strong fall season featuring two tour-
nament wins that propelled them into a
berth in the NCAA Central Regional.
Last fall, the best finish the
Wolverines could muster was a fifth-
place showing in the Florida Atlantic
Invitational in October.
On a brighter note, the Wolverines
finished in a tie for fourth place in the
season-ending Big Ten Championships.
"I expect Ohio State and Indiana to
be two of the best in the conference
this year," Carras said. "I also expect

Minnesota and Northwestern to be
tough."
Ohio State is the defending Big Ten
champion and features quite a strong
golf tradition that includes Jack
Nicklaus.
Indiana has returning Big Ten
Player of the Year, Randy Leen, who
also played in the U.S. Open this sum-
mer.
Minnesota has a deep team headed
by returning the Central Regional
champion, junior Rob Kerr. The
Golden Gophers did not even bring
Kerr to the Michigan Invitational in
the fall because he did not qualify for
the trip.
Northwestern hopes to improve on
a season that saw the Wildcats finish in
13th place in the Central Regional.
Michigan starts its quest for
improvement in the Falcon
Invitational in Colorado Springs,
Colo., September 13-15. The
Wolverines have good memories of
the tournament. They finished third
two years ago and former Wolverine
Chris Brockway won the individual
title.

Men's tennis to challenge Big Ten

y Richard Shin
aily Sports Writer
Last season, the Michigan men's ten-
rwis team enjoyed its most successful
campaign since 1988, capturing the Big
Ten title and reaching a national rank-
ing as high as No. 14. This season, the
Wolverines are ready to contend for
their second straight conference title,
but the task may be harder than last
year.
"The Big Ten is much improved this
year," Michigan assistant coach Dan
Goldberg said. "But I still think that
,we're the team to beat."
Last season's top two singles players,
Peter Pusztai and John Costanzo, who
von a combined 61 matches last sea-
$on, graduated last spring. Also gone
from last year's 18-8 squad is Geoff
P rentice, who posted a solid 14-19

record at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. But
the Wolverines are not without return-
ing talent.
Leading the returning starters are
juniors Arvid Swan, who earned All-
Big Ten honors last season at No. 3 sin-
gles, and David Paradzik, who won
eight of his last 10 matches at third and
fourth singles.
"Swan and Paradzik are outstanding
leaders by example," Goldberg said.
"They are the hardest workers we have
on the team."
Sophomore William Farah comes off
an impressive freshman campaign to
provide solid singles play. Farah fin-
ished the year with the third-highest
win total with a 24-9 record at No. 5
and No. 6 singles. Jake Raiton starts his
second season on the sideline after
undergoing shoulder surgery but is
expected to be ready for the spring sea-

son. He compiled a 15-10 singles
record and teamed with Farah and
Paradzik at doubles.
The key to Michigan's success may
depend on the performances of two
junior transfers as well as the incoming
freshmen.
Miki Pusztai, younger brother of for-
mer Michigan star Peter Pusztai, trans-
ferred this year from Virginia Tech after
two seasons in the Hokies' program.
He, along with Brook Blain, a transfer
from Florida, will provide experience to
a young lineup.
Blain, a native of West Bloomfield,
has extensive experience in both singles
and doubles. While at Florida, Blain
was voted team captain and formed the
37th-ranked doubles tandem with
Damon Henkel, finishing at 22-12. In
two season for the Gators, Blain com-
See TENNIS, Page 28

FILE PHOTODa
Michigan's Brandon Howe, a 126-pound wrestler, will have to sit out this season due to a major shoulder injury. He missed his
freshman season after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, so his medical redshirt application will be his second.
Howe miss seonaomlte
wrestling season due to injury
126-pounder's knee hurt; he will apply for second medical redshirt

I. U

STU~ P NtT1 I


mi

NETWORK
with the university's best staff and
world class law students at:
LAWYERS CLUB INING SERVICES
" start at $S.50/hr.
* great meal benefits
" super-flexible schedules
* central location
Scatering opportunities!
apply in person or call now at 764-1115
551 S. State t where aae S. mee+s Madison

Newsletters
Newsletters
Newsletters
Newsletters
Big savings on newsletters for
all clubs, businesses, and
organizations.

u

By Andy Knudsen
Daily Sports Writer
Several months before its season
starts, the Michigan wrestling team is
already grappling with bad news.
Junior All-American Brandon Howe
underwent reconstructive surgery on
his right shoulder Aug. 26 and is out
for the year.
Although he will be in a sling for
another month and had trouble going
to sleep the first couple of nights fol-
lowing surgery, he said yesterday that
he is "doing great right now."
The injury first occurred at the
beginning of last season.
"(The shoulder) just slipped out
when I was wrestling," Howe said.
Howe continued to wrestle, howev-
er, and was the catalyst for the team's
ninth-place finish at the NCAA cham-
pionships last spring, according to his
coaches and teammates.
Entering the tournament unseeded,
he finished eighth in the 126-pound
weight class and earned All-America
honors.
Howe said his shoulder was worse
some weeks more than others, but
remained chronic.
"Some weeks it wouldn't pop out at
all," he said. "And some weeks it
would pop out every day."
At that point he would experience
numbness in his arm.
Michigan wrestling coach Dale
Bahr said Howe demonstrated his

toughness while wrestling injured and
earning All-America honors.
"I can't imagine being in the heat of
competition and having a joint pop
out," Bahr said. "He did a great job
putting up with it."'
After his strong performance at the
NCAA championships, the doctors
and coaching staff thought that reha-
bilitation was all that would be neces-
sary to cure Howe's shoulder.
But his condition grew worse.
"It started to slip on basic day-to-
day functions, like driving a car and
throwing a ball," Howe said.
Facing the possibility of nerve dam-
age, it was decided a month ago that
surgery was necessary.
"In retrospect, we should have
pushed the issue with the doctors (in
March or April)," Bahr said. "(The
doctors) kept pushing rehab, we wait-
ed, and now he's out a good six to eight
months."
"Originally I wanted to try to come
back for the last couple weeks of the
season, but the doctors said no," Howe
said.
Injury problems are not new to
Howe. He was sidelined his freshman
year following a surgery on his anteri-
or cruciate ligament.
But because of already receiving a
medical redshirt freshman year, it
could be difficult to get a redshirt for
this season.
"We're going to try to get (Howe) a

sixth year," Bahr said. "We have to
present our case well and hope they
make the right decision."
"I think 1 have as good a reason as
any,' Howe said. "I had the biggest
knee surgery and the biggest shout:
surgery."
Nonetheless, a decision on Howe's
eligibility for a possible sixth year may
not be decided until the end of the sea-
son.
"I'd like Brandon to have a couple of
injury-free years:' Bahr said, having
seen him become an All-American
with his sophomore year of eligibility.
"I know I could do better" Hox
said. "My shoulder bothered me 9
year."
With three other All-Americans
returning for the Wolverines, Howe is
obviously disappointed that he will
not be able to help his team on the
mat.
"I'm not going to be able to score
points for my team," Howe said. "i'm
not going to be able to show my lead
ership and work ethic on the mat.
"But I want to talk to the youn T,
kids and try to be like an assist;
coach."
Bahr said the likely replacement for
Howe in the 126-pound slot will be
highly-touted freshman Damian
Logan, who ordinarily would wrestle
at 135 pounds. Logan is a three-time
wrestling champion and one-time run=
ner-up from New Jersey.

ma

I-

Ad&
Presentation

Career opportunities
at J.P. Morgan
J. 1Morgan provides sophisticated financial services
to corporations, governnents, financial institutions,
private firms, nonprofit institutions, and uwrealth
individuals around the world.
Please plan to attend our information presentation for
UIniversity of.Michigan Liberal Arts students
(undergraduate) & Business students (undergraduate)
interested in
Audit Plus
Consulting Group
Equity Research

9

1%