The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 18, 1997-11
,Confident,
men
are back
By John Friedberg
?aily Sports Writer
After a loss to No. 11 Notre Dame in the
great outdoors of South Bend on Tuesday, the
Michigan men's tennis team will seek the shel-
ter of the Tisch Tennis Center this weekend.
Michigan (5-3 Big Ten, 7-11 overall) will host
No.22 Northwestern tomorrow and Wisconsin
on Sunday.
"Everybody's pretty confident about our
chances this weekend," sophomore Will Farah
said. "The switch to outdoors may have affect-
us, but now we get to play at home.'
Northwestern (8-0, 13-5) is the only unde-
feated team in Big Ten play.
The Wildcats are also the only ranked team
in the Big Ten.
Northwestern's "whole team is real strong"
Farah said. "But I think that we match up well
against them.'
Northwestern returns three of its singles
players, who gave Michigan a tough match last
year but lost, 4-3, in the semifinals of the Big
Wen championships.
Like Michigan, Northwestern has struggled
with doubles this season and has had to rely on
strong singles play to win dual matches.
Farah, who was pressed into duty at the No.
3 spot against the Irish, shares the top win total
of any Michigan singles player. The sopho-
more holds a 21-15 record, which includes a
team-best 7-2 record in conference play.
Wisconsin (2-6, 9-10) will come to town on
Sunday looking to climb out of ninth place.
The Badgers are led by No. 5 singles player
*Adam Schumacher.
Schumacher, only a freshman, has a 13-5
Lions'
netters hope
to spoil Wolverines
By Alan Gomez
Daily Sports Writer
Losing teams love to play the spoiler. Teams
that have struggled all season thrive on taking a
late season slap at the contender. Penn State
will look to play the role of spoiler when it
takes on the Michigan women's tennis team
tomorrow at the Tisch Tennis Center.
With a win against Penn State, Michigan will
finish its first undefeated regular season in the
Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions have not played well this
season. They are currently 1-7 in the confer-
ence with only two matches remaining. So, the
only thing left for them to do before the Big Ten
championships on April 24th is to spoil the
glory season the Wolverines have put together
and give them their first conference loss of the
season.
The bad news for Penn State is that the
prospect of pulling off the upset is very unlike-
ly. The Wolverines hold an 8-2 mark over the
Lions in their brief history. Michigan has taken
the past five regular-season matches.
And, most important, the Wolverines are on a
serious roll.
Michigan has now won five straight matches,
including victories against No. 7 William &
Mary and No. 32 Indiana. The Wolverines are
now 14-4 on the season and have dominated the
Big Ten. So the Lions will need some spectacu-
lar performances to have a chance to defeat the
Wolverines.
Michigan as a team is not the only thing
undefeated in the Big Ten. Senior Sarah
Cyganiak and freshman Brooke Hart are both
9-0 in the conference. Both of them also have a
remarkable 15-3 record in dual-matches.
Cyganiak will be trying to win her 25th match
of the season.
Two other freshmen, Danielle Lund and
Erryn Weggenman, aren't too far behind the
team leaders with only one loss each in the con-
ference. Lund has a 8-1 record, while
Weggenman comes in at 6-1 in the Big Ten.
To add to that domination, no Wolverine
enters the weekend with a losing record in the
conference, a testament to Michigan's new-
found depth, which it has lacked in previous
years.
The domination does not end with the sin-
gles. Two of the doubles pairings enter the
weekend with an 8-1 conference record.
Cyganiak has teamed up with junior Sora Moon
in doubles and won eight of their nine matches.
They have already won 25 matches this season.
That record is equaled by a pair of freshmen,
Weggenman and redshirt Jen Boylan, who have
compiled a 16-8 overall mark. The third dou-
bles team, which is also made up of T pair of
freshmen, hasn't had trouble picking up the
slack either as they come into the match with a
7-2 Big Ten mark.
And just to add a few more impressive num-
bers into the Michigan pot: The Wolverines
have never lost at home. Since the openig of
the Tisch Tennis Center on Feb. 15th against
Western Michigan, the Wolverines have won all
six of their matches there, including five
against conference opponents.
What does all this mean for the Lions?
Considering Michigan's level of play, combined
with the less-than-perfect tennis that Penn State
has displayed, the Lions need something just
short of a miracle.
As much as the Lions are looking to fill the
role of the underdog in the scenario, Michigan
hopes to continue playing its role of the star.
William Farah and the men's tennis team return to Ann Arbor for two weekend matches.
record on the season. He and No. 4 Jeff Malik
are the only Badgers above .500 this season
"The depth in the Big Ten is great this year,
so we really cannot take any teams lightly,
freshman Brad McFarlane said. "Our advan-
tage this weekend is our home court."
Indeed, Michigan has won its only two
,matches at the Tisch Tennis Center this season
and looks to move out of a fourth-place tie with
Illinois this weekend.
But what may be of greater concern to the
Wolverines this weekend is the uncertainty of
its lineup.
No. I singles player David Paradzik and No.
5 Jake Raiton were held out of the Notre Dame
match due to what several of their teammates
said yesterday was a "team matter."
If the two do not play this weekend,
Michigan will probably send the same team
out that fell to Notre Dame on Tuesday.
That would mean that freshman Matt Wright
would climb back to the No. I spot, taking
Paradzik's place. Wright played well against
Notre Dame's Ryan Sachire but lost, 7-5, 6-4.
Sachire is ranked 42nd in the country.
Junior co-captain Arvid Swan would move
from No. 3 to No. 2, where he started the sea-
son. Farah would take his team-best record to
No. 3.
McFarlane, who has done an admirable job
in the No. 6 position, would move up to No. 4.
And either junior Miki Pusztal or freshman
John Long would play their first matches in
front of their hometown crowd in the No.6 slot.
Michigan track
to give stars rest
JBy Chris Farah
zDaily Sports Writer
If you start hearing mysterious music Saturday, don't worry,
you're probably not insane. The sounds could very well be
coming from Michigan State's outdoor track, where the
Michigan women's track team will be playing a version of
musical chairs all day long.
The Wolverines are shuffling their traveling lineup for the
Michigan State Invitational. Many of Michigan's regulars will
not be making the trip, and those who do may find themselves
competing in different events than usual.
The reason for the midseason change is two-fold, according
to.Michigan coach James Henry.
"Our overall goal had been to get in three good competi-
tions," Henry said,. "then get a week off of rest for our top kids
so they can study, get their exams and final papers in, and head
out to the Penn Relays?'
"It also gives the opportunity for some of our kids who
haven't traveled to show they're a part of this squad and possi-
bly make the top-2$ traveling squad."
Most of Michigan's premier distance and mid-distance run-
ners will not make the trip to East Lansing. Despite the cold
and rain, many of them recorded personal bests at last week-
end's Duke Invitational and will use this weekend to recover.
Many of the sprinters may still be making the trip, however.
Henry said he is concerned that bad weather conditions have
hindered the progress of many Wolverines, and hopes
Michigan State will provide some decent conditions.
The weather "has put a stymie on things," Henry said. "I'm
a little antsy. They will more than likely not live up to what they
are capable of doing this weekend, because it doesn't look like
the weather's going to get into the 60s."
Two of the few top-notch Wolverines who will brave the'
East Lansing skies Saturday are sophomore high jumper
Nicole Forrester and junior heptathlete Tania Longe.
Forrester will not compete in poor conditions but said she
hopes to have another shot at qualifying for the NCAAs.
"I have to go' Forrester said. "I want to go because I haven't
qualified yet. If I can get good weather this weekend, it will
help. I need to jump at least 5-foot-10, but I'd be more satis-
fied if I could pull a 6, because then I wouldn't have to worry
if I would get (the bid) or not:"
Although Lange will also be competing this weekend, she
won't be participating in her usual events, which include the
triple jump, long jump and 100-meter hurdles. Instead, Henry
has decided to give her a taste of something new. Longe will run
in the 100 and 200 dashes and maybe even the 4 X 100 relay.
While others may be having problems because of the weath-
er, Longe said her level of performance is ahead of schedule.
"I didn't run this fast until the end of the season, last year"
.onge said. "So I should be ahead of myself and running
faster, hopefully, later during the season. But you never know
what will happen or how anything will work out."
Although they risk being overshadowed by the few star
}Wolverines who will be making the trip, the other less-experi-
enced Wolverines will have a rare opportunity to compete.
"I know they're interested in running;' Henry said. "For the
outdoor season, we start off out of the blocks going down
south, and only our top kids are able to go. We're hoping the
weather will be good enough for (the others) to show that they
can make our team more competitive and balanced."
Blue men click heels
to Kansas, will face
top stars in Relays
By Chad Kujala
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's track and
field team will be hangin' with the
Lion and the Tin Man this weekend
after it follows the yellow brick road
to Kansas.
The Wolverines will compete in
the 72nd annual Kansas Relays, one
of the premier track meets in the
country.
The Kansas Relays has gained the
reputation of showcasing some of
the best athletes in the country year
in and year out.
In the early days of the Relays,
some of the top names in college
sports refereed the event, including
Dr. James Naismith, the "father" of
basketball; and Adolph Rupp, thanks
to Dean Smith, the second-win-
ningest coach in basketball history.
Notre Dame's famous football coach
Knute Rockne and famed Michigan
football coach Fielding Yost also
appeared.
The Kansas Relays have also
joined the ranks of other major col-
lege sports by tagging on a sponsor.
Last year, the Kansas Relays wel-.
comed Columbia/HCA Healthcare
Corporation as the title sponsor.
Columbia is the nation's largest
provider of healthcare services.
The reason The Kansas Relays
wanted to bring a title sponsor was to
boost its image as a prestigious
event.
As a result, The Columbia Kansas
Relays, as it is, now called, will be
hosting its largest field in recent
memory. This year's meet has 3,100
entries, including athletes at the col-
lege, high school and club levels.
The competition includes 180 high
schools, 50 colleges and 14 track
clubs. The meet has attracted several
midwest schools such as Nebraska,
Kansas State, Missouri and Tulsa.
The meet will also welcome two top-
25 schools in No. 13 Michigan and
No. 21 Eastern Michigan.
The event has attracted some of
the best athletes in the world. The
most competitive event of the meet
will be the mens 400-meter hurdles,
featuring four NCAA champions,
two of them Olympians.
1996 Olympic 400-meter hurdles
bronze medalist Calvin Davis head-
lines the group. Davis was ranked
4th in the world in the 400 hurdles
last year.
Michigan senior Neil Garnder, an
Olympian for Jamaica, is the defend-
ing NCAA 400-meter hurdles cham-
pion. Gardner has also won the 400
hurdles in each of his past three
meets. He is also the Kansas Relays
1996 winner in the 110-meter hur-
dles.
The favorite to win this year's
NCAA outdoor 400 hurdles,
Northern "Iowa's Joey Woody, will
also be competing. Woody, who has
already qualified for the N CAAs
with a time of 49.38, is the 1996
Kansas Relays' 400 hurdles champi-
on.
Other competitors include dark-
horse candidate Zambias Samuel
Matete, whose time of 47.10 in 1991
ranks third on the all-time world list.
Also, 1994 NCAA 400 hurdles
champion Octavius Terry and 1996
Division I champion Dinsdale
Morgan round out the field.
Even though the Wolverines are
the highest ranked team competing
in the event, the meet will be any-
thing but a stroll through the park
with Toto.
The caliber of the competition is
too tough for the Wolverines to walk
over the field.
For Michigan to come back home
with some victories, the Wolverines
will have to borrow the Lion 's
courage and the Tin Man's heart for a
couple of days.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
At this weekend's Michigan State Invitational, the Michigan women's track team will be resting some
of its stars. Less-experienced runners will be given a chance to compete.
NI'ION
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