The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 14, 1997 - 13
ig game
I .
for Irish
not as big
for Blue
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Writer
Surprisingly enough, this actually
is a very important weekend.
Even though it's only Notre Dame
that will be visiting the Michigan
hockey team for two games at Yost Ice
Artna - even though the Fighting
Irish are 5-16-1 in the CCHA (8-21-1
4verall) and even though they have
t six games in a row - this is an
important weekend.
This is a very, very important
weekend.
For Notre Dame. And maybe
Brendan Morrison.
In the past three weeks, the Irish
have managed to remove themselves
from what seemed to be a favorable
position in the CCHA playoff picture.
e top eight teams in the conference
lalify for the postseason tourna-
ment, with the eventual winner
receiving an automatic bid to the
NCAA tournament. Three weeks and
six losses ago, Notre Dame seemed to
be a likely bet for the league playoffs.
But now, the Irish find themselves
in.the CCHA cellar, three points out
of eighth place. The bottom four
teams in the league are separated by
just four points.
ABut with only three regular-season
games left after this weekend, Notre
Dame desperately needs to start win-
ning.
A bad time to visit Michigan?
"I don't think there is a good time'
Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin said.
"Obviously, (the Wolverines) are a
juggernaut. They're well worthy of
their ranking, with their record and
eir position and their schedule."
Assuming Michigan avoids a total
collapse and hangs on to win the reg-
ular-season league title, the Irish - if
they make the playoffs as a No. 8 seed
- could be the Wolverines' first-
round playoff opponents.
It's a prospect that, understandably,
is less than thrilling for Poulin. But
the coach says he's more concerned
with the remainder of the regular sea-
son than potential playoff matchups.
'"I don't really think we're quite to
that point yet," Poulin said. "We've
still got a lot of work to do here, and
all we can do is take it one step at a
time."
-And don't think Michigan isn't
aware of the situation.
"Oh, we definitely know (about the
possible pairing)," senior Brendan
Motrison said. "We'd love to go out
nd send them a message, and now is
e' best time to do it."
With six points this weekend,
Morrison would become Michigan's
all-time career scoring leader. His 256
points are second only to former
Wolverine Denny Felsner, who played
from 1989-92.
Morrison is currently tied with
another past Michigan star - former
center Brian Wiseman - for the
Michigan career assist record, with
af4.
"4 guess I'd like to get it over with,"
Morrison said of the imminent
record-breaking. "I'd rather do it
sooner as opposed to later, but it's
really not something that I'm thinking
about."
According to Poulin, it's not some-
thing Notre Dame will be thinking
about either.
"They have a lot of weapons," he
*id. "You can't just focus on one
guy."
In the only meeting of the two
teams this season, Morrison was held
scoreless in a 6-3 Michigan victory in
South Bend.
This weekend marks the first time
since Nov. 2 that Michigan will be
trying to bounce back from a defeat.
Before last Saturday's 2- 1loss to
Michigan State, the Wolverines had
Mpnehunbeaten for 23 games, setting a
y school record.
Incidentally, the Wolverines fol-
lowed the November loss by winning
their next three games by a combined
score of 16-4.
"I think that loss was good for us"
-Morrison said of the most recent
defeat. "It showed us that we have to
come out and work hard every single
night. We definitely turned it into a
* sitive.
"It made us realize how quickly
everything can end," said Morrison.
1996 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSI
KR M'Q MAt WIVF
'M' hoops hope to avenge loss to Lions
Amy Johnson anda
the Michigan
women's basket-
ball team haven't -,
had many prob-
lems scoring this
season. But the
Wolverines'
defense is a con-
cern for coach
Sue Guevara.
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
By Pranay Reddy
Daily Sports Writer
They have their coach - they also haven't
won a game in three weeks.
The dropping of "interim" from Sue
Guevara's title as Michigan women's basketball
coach was no doubt exciting.
Regardless, she knows the Wolverines can't
afford to get caught up in the commotion, espe-
cially in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
"We've had two pretty good days of practice
- we're just caught up on improving our per-
formance against Penn State," Guevara said.
Always the taskmaster, Guevara has been
concerned with Penn State, who is coming into
Crisler tonight at 7:30.
Michigan (4-8 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) will be
out for vengeance against the Lady Lions (6-6
Big Ten, 13-9 overall) especially after its not-so-
happy road trip to Happy Valley.
The Wolverines were the ones who made the
trip to University Park last Friday, but it was
Penn State that did all the moving - as
Shauntai Hall and the rest of the Lions ran over,
around and through Michigan, 82-73.
Penn State coach Rene Portland's infusion of
a transition game ran the Wolverines into the
ground. Hall led the charge for the Lions, scor-
ing the first 10 points of the contest on her way
to a career-high 20.
This time around, Guevara has made her
squad well aware of Penn State's game plan.
"We've been addressing (transition defense)
all week," Guevara said "I think a lot of the
problem last time was communication:'
Michigan's lack of communication was just
one of the reasons Hall was spurred to her
career-best game.
In fact, Hall's performance against the
Wolverines helped her claim Big Ten co-Player
of the Week honors for the past week.
Michigan also provided Purdue's Jannon
Roland with a stepping stone on the way to shar-
ing the honor with Hall. Roland lit up the
Wolverines with 21 points, in Purdue's 64-54
victory last Sunday.
Obviously, Michigan will try to keep from
handing out any more awards both tonight and
Sunday, when the Wolverines play
Northwestern.
The Wildcats (6-7 Big Ten, 13-9 overall)
boast three of the top six scorers in the Big Ten
- Michele Ratay, Kristina Divjak and Megan
Chawansky. Not exactly a remedy for a wound-
ed defense.
Nevertheless, Guevara isn't concerned -
especially after Michigan's previous 97-90 win
over the Wildcats at Crisler Arena.
"We have that capability of scoring," Guevara
said. "I just hope we play better defense."
i
Michigan sports roundup
Michigan wrestlers to celebrate 75 years
By Jordan Field
Daily Staff Writer
This Sunday, the Michigan wrestling
team will square off against league rival
Minnesota. But the dual meet represents
more than just a tight match between the
third-ranked Gophers and the 11 th-
ranked Wolverines.
Sunday's match will also celebrate the
75th year of Michigan wrestling.
Former Michigan wrestlers from the
past seven decades are expected to be in
attendance.
"Michigan wrestlers from the 30s to
the 90s will be here and to win in front
of them would really be special," Bahr
said.
But that wouldn't be the only high-
light: If Michigan can upset Minnesota,
the win would be Bahr's 100th.
"Getting 100 wins will be nice, but to
me it only means I've been here a long
time" Bahr said. "The win is much more
important in my mind to win with all the
alumni there.
"I guess beating Minnesota would be
a great culmination of a personal mile-
stone and a fantastic win for everyone in
attendance."
Underdog Michigan will have one
thing going in its favor heading into
Sunday's match. Minnesota's starter at
118 pounds, Brandon Paulson, recently
had surgery on his ankle and won't make
the trip to Ann Arbor. Paulson was a sil-
ver metalist in Greco-Roman competi-
tion at the 1996 Olympic games.
The only question mark for the
Wolverines will be in the 142-pound
weight class. Redshirt freshman Teya
Hill injured his left knee last week and
may not be ready to go on Sunday. His
replacement would be classmate Luiey
Haddad, who filled in last weekend and
upset a two-time All-American from
Purdue.
Women's
gymnastics
After coming off its big win against
Nebraska and Illinois State last weekend,
the Michigan women's gymnastics team
must now focus on rival Oregon State.
Who?
Yes, that's right, Oregon State - the
ninth-ranked team in the nation that
boasts six All-Americans - is coming
to Cliff Keen Arena tonight at 7.
The Beavers are 7-1 this season, com-
pared to Michigan's 9-1 record.
But the Michigan gymnasts are not
intimidated by their opponent's record.
"The commitment that the women
have shown to practice, each other and
the coaching staff is paying off,"
Michigan coach Beverly Plocki said.
"Our women continue to gain confi-
dence each and every meet. We need to
concentrate on each and every meet one
at a time and build up to the NCAA
championships.
"If we continue our improvement
process, we will contend for a national
title."
Last year, Michigan's chance for a title
was ended by the Beavers, who placed
fifth in the National meet. The
Wolverines finished sixth.
- Sara Rontal
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