The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January, 14, 1997 - 11 Love affair with Crisler for Michigan women cagers By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Writer "All you need is love." Who knew the Beatles were such big fans of Michigan women's basketball? Chances are they weren't, but they were dead on about this yearls drastic turnaround for the Wolverines. With an 11-3 record, including a 3-2 mark in the Big Ten, Michigan is off to its best start ever - all because of love. At least that's what Michigan coach Sue Guevara would have you think. "I love my team - I love these play- ers," she said Sunday, after topping Illinois 93-87. "If there is one thing I love about them it is that they are resilient. They bounce back. "They listen to what our coaching staff is telling them, and they try and make a difference." And this year's squad has shown more bounce than any team under former coach Trish Roberts. The 1996-97 version of the Wolverines have won almost half as many games Roberts' did in five years. AP Women's Poll The new Associated Press top 25 women's college basketball poll with results through Jan. 1.2, First* place votes in parentheses. Team Record Pvs. 1. Connecticut (37) 14-0 1 2. Old Dominion (2) 13-1 2 3. Stanford (1) 16-1 3 4. Georgia 11-2 5 '5. Alabama (1) 13-2 6 6. Louisiana Tech 14-2 4 7. Vanderbilt 12.2 8 8. Virginia 11-3 13 9. Tennessee 11-6 9 10. North Carolina 12-1 16 11. Kansas 12-2 15 12. Clemson 12-2 20 13. Arkansas 12-3 10 14. Texas Tech 9-4 7 15. North Carolina State 11-5 11 16. Texas 8-3 12 17. Louisiana State 13-0 22 18. Western Kentucky 10-3 19 19. Duke 11-4 14 20. Wisconsin '10-3 17 21. Notre Dame 13-4 21 22t. Auburn 10-4 18 22t. Stephen F. Austin 13-2 23 24. Florida 12-4 25 But don't remind Michigan's Catherine DiGiacinto. "Last year was just a lot of up-in-the- air stuff" the senior forward said. "I real- ly don't like to dwell on the past. "Focusing on the present is really working well for us." And the present is Guevara and assis- tants Yvette Harris, Yulonda Wimbish and Eileen Shea. The foursome have come in and instilled a winning edge in the Wolverines, according to Michigan's Molly Murray. "I believe all attitudes or preconceived notions from the past few years have been eliminated," Murray said. "I really think that has to do with the attitude of the coaching staff, and it rubs off on us." Even Michigan's losses have been rea- sons to celebrate. On Dec. 1, the Wolverines dropped a 77-74 contest to then-No. 1 Stanford. Thought by many to be an aberration at the time, it was actually a sign of good things to come. Illinois' coach Theresa Grentz, Michigan's most recent victim, definitely sees something that was missing in last year's Wolverines - confidence. "When there's no confidence before, anything looks better," Grentz said, when asked about the difference in Michigan this year. "Two times nothing is nothing. "They are a unit, and they look like a team, and that's a credit to their head coach." For the most part, the Wolverines do credit their coach. But they are also quick to point out the effect the home crowds have had. "I don't know if you can imagine the effect the people that come to our games have on us," DiGiacinto said. "To pump your hands and hear everyone cheer is great. "The people have to know how much we appreciate them coming to our games." Sunday's crowd of 2,903 was the largest this season for Michigan, and it finally looks as if there will be an actual home-court advantage for the Wolverines this year. "In the past (the home crowd) hasn't; really been all that large," Murray said,, "so we never really knew what it was like to have a couple thousand people cheer- ing behind us. "Now, when we're at home, it's our, court, and good things seem to happen more." Who knew shiny happy people would ' be such a big deal? "When you walk in through that tun-' nel," Guevara said, "and you see both sides of the arena full of people, and you' hear 'The Victors' playing - I'll tell you what, I get tingles." JEANNIE SERVAAS/Daily After playing 11 of its first 13 games on the road, Michigan and Catherine DiGiacinto returned home to the friendly confines of Crisler Arena on Sunday. A 93-87 win over Illinois improved the Wolverines' record to 11-3, their best start in school history. Debate heats up at NCAA conference NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The ,CAA's Division I schools voted yester- day to let athletes hold part-time jobs, a revolutionary step that triggered more than an hour of bitter, confused debate. The move is a radical departure for the NCAA, which earlier in the day put the finishing touches on a vast new restruc- turing plan.. The debate on the part-time job mea- sure took on a Keystone Kops appear- ance when the session was adjourned hile experts huddled on what effect it ould have on NCAA bylaws. "Can we take a break for 15 minutes tq get answers to questions," one dele- gate asked from the floor. "What questions?" responded Bob CATRABONE Continued from-Page 10 after meeting Catrabone, the wrestler * very friendly and upbeat. It's obvious to all who meet him, even opponents. "Jeff's very, very personable," Bahr said. "Before matches, he will go out and introduce himself to opposing coaches. He knows everyone on the opposing team. He's like the ambas- sador of good will. It says a lot about Michigan wrestling.' "From an athletic standpoint, coaches ride a rollercoaster. We have a great win 'Mere and we lose tight matches. Some |ys we're drained. Everytime I see him, he has a smile on his face." This positive attitude is pretty much a Catrabone trait. "It's in my family" Catrabone said. "My whole family's always got an upbeat attitude, and I've been brought up that way. We're always trying to keep a smile on our faces day after day" As a wrestler, Catrabone has very few ,eaknesses.- According to Bahr, atrabone is strong in all three wrestling positions - top, bottom and feet. "He's versatile in his wrestling, and he wrestles with control," Bahr said. "He knows what he's doing; he doesn't make many mistakes" The position where Catrabone feels that he makes the least amount of mis- takes is in the top position. "My greatest strength would probably be on the top position'" Catrabone said. a 'm a pinner. I like to get people on their back and pin them. I like to end the match as soon as possible." As strong as he is in the top position, Catrabone knows that that one position will not be enough to beat the best. "I feel (my wrestling) on my feet is getting stronger and in order to be able to compete with the top wrestlers in the country, I have to be real good on my t, and that's where I've been working l~ot" Catrabone said. In terms of weaknesses, Catrabone gets a bit too intense during matches, causing him to sometimes shut down his offense and take less chances than he would normally do, according to Bahr. Catrabone agrees with his coach, but Sweazy of Texas Tech, who chaired the session. "The questions you can't answer,". came the reply. As finally approved by' a 169-150 vote, the measure lets Division I athletes hold part-time jobs whenever they want during the academic year. But they can earn only the difference between the value of their scholarship and the full cost of attendance at their school, which can vary greatly from one institution to the next. For example, if a scholarship at Oklahoma is valued at $15,000 per year and the cost of attendance for an out-of- state student is set at $18,000, an out-of- state player could earn up to $3,000. Letting athletes work during the acad- emic year is a big step for NCAA schools, which have always feared that it would invite cheating as well as create an administrative nightmare. "Do you really want to start keeping time cards for your student-athletes at McDonalds?" asked one delegate. Alabama President Andrew Sorensen spoke on the fear of abuse. Similar pro- posals were defeated at other conven- tions because delegates were concerned that rivals might inflate earnings in order to attract top prospects. Another argument against the idea was that some schools would gain an advantage because their locations would provide more job opportunities. USA Today/CNN Poll The new USA Today/CNN coaches top 25 men's college basketball poll with results through Jan. 12. First- place votes in parentheses. Team Record Pvs. 1. Kansas (28) 16-0 1 2. Wake Forest (2) 12-0 2 3. Clemson 14-1 5 4. Kentucky 14-2 3 5. Iowa State 11-1 4 6. Cincinnati.11-2 6 .7. Arizona 10-2 8 8. Minnesota 15-1. 11 9. Utah 10-2 10 10, Louisville 1341 1 11. Xavier (Ohio) 11-1 13 12. Maryland 14-1 17 13. Duke 11-4 9 14. New Mexico 1.2 18 15. Villanova 12.3 7. 16, Indiana 14-3 15 17. Stanford 1.-2 22 18. Michigan 1J.41 4 19. Boston College 10-2 23 20. Texas -4 19 21 North Carolina 9-4 12 22. Oregon 10-2 20 23. Texas Tech 10-3 21 24. Georgia 11-2 25 25. Mississippi 11-3 - General Information .-and Advice about Finding Off-Campus Housing Reps from over, 50 Rental Companies and Housing- Related Organizations camOus O as, 18. Michigan 11-4 14 19. Boston College 10-2 23. 20. Mississippi 11-3 - 21. Georgia 12-2 24 22. North Carolina 9-4 13 23. Texas 8-4 22 24. Oregon 10-2 17 25. Texas Tech 10-3 20 Michigan Union Ballroom, 2nd Floor I i $~2 39 90a' March 1-8 1997 fr s ny Copper Mountain Resort $ 7people) 99990peple) lift ickets Included! of Listings. from Area Landlords. ' .::< i :: i t J Wednesday Cancun Palace March 1-8 & March 2-9,1997 Quad. 0cc. I IAs *l .i I 1, II