2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 5, 1997 SLOAN Continued from Page .1 that he's recently made a conscious decision to scale down his extracurric- ular involvement in the community, compared to years past. "It's kind of funny that people are making a big deal out of it now, because I've tried to step back a little and use my senior year to really explore some new things," Sloan says. "Meet some new people, try to take some more challenging classes. "But I still take a lot of pride in it, and it will always be a part of me - even when I leave Michigan." . And when Sloan does leave Michigan, Berenson won't just be los- ing a nice kid - he'll also have a huge dap to fill on his blue line. "Blake plays against guys that are literally twice his size - and he does- 't know it," Berenson says. "He goes out there and will bang with anybody any time, and that really sets a good example." Sloan gives credit for his develop- ment as a hockey player to former Michigan stars David Oliver, Brian Wiseman and Rick Willis. All, accord- ing to Sloan, were great players who didn't forget how to keep things in perspective. Berenson, for his part, agrees with Sloan's assessment of past Michigan leaders. But he also thinks that in two or three years, Michigan's current young defensemen will be looking back and reflecting on the efforts of one Blake Sloan. "That's what senior leadership is all about," Berenson says. "There are a lot of subtle things that go on that (the players) maybe don't even realize at the time. "As (the young guys) develop and as they grow in the program, in a few years they're gonna look back. And when they think about it ... absolute- ly, Blake is one of those kids who is a giver, not a taker." Perhaps because he's a senior now, Sloan's work in the community is starting to get the attention it deserves. Because in a few short months, Blake Sloan will graduate and move on. Someone else will have to organize charity auctions, like Sloan helped do for paralyzed Boston University hockey player Travis Roy. Another hockey player will have to organize the trips to the hospital. But Sloan isn't the only guy doing good things around campus. There are lots of athletes that visit sick children, there are other sports and teams with players that help in the community. And when all is said and done - whether he has a future in pro hockey or not - Blake Sloan's departure from Michigan will say less about body checks and slapshots than it will about reading books and talking to little kids. U VARSITY' TENNIS CENTER U THE u~NE. END ?artys People Poll presents \ Catherine DiGiacinto and the Wolverines had trouble scoring at Indiana, shooting 29 percent from the field. cagers hot and cold After big victory, Michigan couldn't find the hoop Huskies O.M stay No. 1 women's basketbali The Associated Press The Connecticut women insist that going undefeated isn't their goal. Maybe that's why they still are. Connecticut, the only unbeaten NCAA Division I team, remained the overwhelming choice for N1 I Monday in The Associated Press women's basketball poll - the Huskies' seventh straight week on top. And with one blowout victof after another, it's starting to look more and more like 1995, when UConn was ranked No. 1 and won the national title with a 35-0 record. "I don't think theie's any feeling that we're trying to remain undefeat- ed," said coach Geno Auriemmia, whose team is 20-0 and winning by an average margin of 28 points. "I don't think we approach it tA way at all. It's not important to that we finish undefeated. What is important is playing basketball very well and going back to the Final Four and having a chance to win another national championship. That's what motivates us." Old Dominion, Stanford and Louisiana Tech followd Connecticut in a top four that was unchanged from last week. Alr 25 teams from a week ago stayed in t* poll, even though two of them, Wisconsin and Clemson, lost twice. Connecticut, which has won 40 of its last 41 games, received 37 of 41 first-place votes from a national media panel and had 1,021 points 39 more than Old Dominion. Old Dominion (19-1), which has won 18 in a row, received three first- place votes and Stanford (21-1) b one. Stanford, which has lost onlyW Old Dominion, had 949 points and Louisiana Tech (19-2) stayed at No. 4 with 881. North. Carolina (19-), which started the season 23rd, continued its climb by moving up one spot to fifth. Georgia went from seventh to sixth and Alabama fell two places to seventh after losing to LSU. Texas, Tennessee and Virginia completed the Top Ten, w Tennessee staying the same an Texas and Virginia swapping places. Virginia fell because of a loss to North Carolina. LSU moved up three places to 11th - the Tigers' highest ranking since they were eighth at the end of the 1990-91 season. Kansas- was 12th and Florida 13th, followed by Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Illinois, Clemson a@ Duke. Stephen F. Austin, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan State and North Carolina State held the final five spots. Because of Connecticut's success in 1995, being undefeated is nothing new for veterans Kara Wolters,'Carla Berube and Nykesha safes. Auriemma said that's one reason they're handling it so well. "They are really good at lettiq the other kids know that, hey, there's no pressure. There's nothing to think about other than playing the next game," Auriemma said. "We understand from last season that a loss doesn't kill you. That'sthe biggest lesson you learn. If you lose a game, so what? Last year, we lost our very first one (to Louisiana Tech) and we ended up in the Fi; Four. They're not afraid to lose.-They just go out and play." The Huskies certainly looked relaxed in their last game, a 968 victory at Providence on Sunday. Four players scored in double fig- ures and Connecticut had assists on 32 of its 42 baskets while shooting 54 percent. "There are times in the course of games where we've really exedu well and done a lot of good thineg Auriemma said. "Yesterday was-one of them." Illinois' jump from 25th to 18th was the biggest in the poll. The Illini beat Iowa and Penn State to 'take over first place in the Big Ten. Notre Dame, still unbeaten in the Big East, jumped four places to 15th. Wisconsin lost to Michigan State and Northwestern and fell sev places to 23rd for the biggest dro Clemson lost to a pair of ranked teams, Virginia and Texas, and fell just two places to 19th. ,II. j 1 WHICH MICHIGAN UNIVRIYIRIL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MICHI( CENTRAL MICHIGAN EASTERN b WESTERN MICHIGAN FER GRAND VALLEY STATE NORTHERN OAKLAND UNIVERSITY WAY GAN STATE MICHIGAN RIS STATE MICHIGAN YNE STATE By Richard Shin Daily Sports Writer After dominating the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, the Michigan women's bas- ketball team might have expected a good game at Indiana. Instead, Michigan was seeing red. The Hoosiers held Michigan to 29.2 percent shooting from the field, includ- ing a paltry nine for 42 in the second half in Michigan's 73-56 loss. It marked the worst shooting per- formance from the field for the Wolverines this sea- J'f e4 .4 son, who defeated Iowa the week before by shooting a blister- ing 60.4 percent. The stark contrast was nothing new to the Wolverines, who have an impressive 10-0 mark when scoring more than 75 points, and are 2-7 when scoring under 75 points a game. Against Indiana, leading scorers Pollyanna Johns and Ann Lemire could only manage nine points between them. The loss also dropped the Wolverines to eighth place at 4-6, four- and-a-half games behind league-lead- ing Illinois. Michigan also fell to 12-7 overall, which is Michigan's highest win total since 1989-90, when the Wolverines won 20 games. TwO FOR THREE: With two 3-pointers against Indiana, Michigan senior guard Amy Johnson tied fellow senior guard Jennifer Kiefer for first place on Michigan's all-time 3-point field goals made, with 98. Kiefer still leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 37 percent of her attempts this season. For her career, Kiefer has connected on 98 of 244 from long range, an impressive 40 percent. Johnson has only attempted 26 treys in limited action and has connected on 5 of them, and has hit on just under 30 per- cent for her career. As a team, Michigan has hit 70 of 235 attempts -29.8 percent - in 19 games. NO PLACE LIKE HOME: In four confer- ence home games this season, Michigan has drawn 9,954 fans for an average of 2,489. While the growing crowds at Crisler give the Wolverines a reason to be happy, the mark is still almost one- third of the 8,714 fans that Wisconsin draws each game. Wisconsin is third in the nation in average attendance. Michigan State dropped a game on the road and dropped out of first-place, los- ing to Iowa by 20 points. Wisconsin has also faced similar problems on the road, dropping consecutive games against Michigan State and Northwestern over the weekend. The Spartans are 9-1 at home and 16- 4 overall, while the Badgers are 7-2 at home, and 14-5 overall. Collectively, the Big Ten is tops in the nation in average attendance, drawing an average of nearly 3,639 people in 142 games. The Southwest conference is a distant second, with a 2,883 people-per- game average. CLEARING THE BOARDS: When it comes to rebounds, Michigan is truly a leader and the best. The Wolverines lead the Big Ten, grabbing an average of 44 rebounds each game. The dominance on the boards is due to the efforts of Johns, who is currently third in the league at 10.61 rebounds per game, and freshman guard Stacey Thomas, who grabs 6.53 rebounds per contest, good for 11th in the conference. In Michigan's win over Iowa last week, the Wolverines outrebounded the Hawkeyes, 36 to 29. "We asked the players to give 100 per- cent, and each player did that today," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "We executed well offensively. When we exe- cute well, we get high percentage shots." Michigan has shut down its oppo- nents' rebounding attempts, holding them to 38 rebounds per game, for a plus-6.0 rebounding margin. The Wolverines have needed each and every rebound, however, because they are ninth in the league in field-goal per- centage, hitting 42.2 percent of their shots from the field. Most nipo~ntlyTo participate in the Opinion Poll DIAL:1 - (900) 622-7777 Smake the Calls That's Right! rToa cost to vote is $1.49. You ecie th isue.Touch Tone Telephone Required SWhose Really No. 1 in the VOTE *You must be 18 yrs or older or S hearts of Michiganians? have parental consent 1 1 pk Jt Pe py Michigan Union Board of Representatives is accepting membership applications from interested students. UNION r''.?>' '.4, Ii$ 2- i" Applications are available at the Campus Information Center in the Union and at the North Campus Information Center in Pierpont Commons. Applications due Februaiy 10 at 5pm. Return to Terri Petersen, frt; --U Xx