EI Eiduigwn auiv ---- Sports Desk: 647-3336 r NCAAs next for men s k1aners Dy Chad Kujala Daily Sports Writer Waiting. It's the hardest thing to do when a team knows it's ready right now. Well, the waiting is over for the Michigan men's cross country team. , Wolverines have been waiting all son for today's race. Michigan travels to Furman, S.C., to compete in the fourth oldest champi- onship sanctioned by the NCAA - it is the 60th anniversary of the NCAA men's cross country championship. At the beginning of the season, Michigan coach Ron Warhurst set three goals for his team. The first was to win the Big Ten championship. Done. The second was to win NCAA Division IV i cts. Done. The final goal was to finish in the top five at NCAA champi- onships. Today, the Wolverines have a chance to accomplish their final goal and cap off a phenomenal season. " The Wolverines' best finish ever at NCAA championships occurred in 1992, when they finished fifth. "We've got a great chance to finish beter than fifth," Warhurst said. "We 0OId have to self-destruct to finish any worse." Since the beginning of October, the Wolverines have been the No. 3 team in the nation. The Wolverines finished .With only 21 points last week, one of District IV's lowest scores ever. Michigan placed five runners in the top eight and finished 53 points ahead of second-place Wisconsin. Despite these facts, the Wolverines dropped in the 1Wto No. 4. olorado jumped over the Wolverines due to its regional win, in hich the Buffaloes scored 15 points. vq'n with the one-spot drop, however, Michigan picked up ground on No. I Stanford. "The polls really don't mean that much this week," junior Chris Bunt said. The drop in the polls has made the If verines even more anxious and h grier for today's race. "The team isn't getting any respect," Warhurst said. "I think the guys are ready to go down there and prove that they are for real." And Michigan is definitely ready. "Kevin Sullivan talked to me the other day and said that he felt the team wis ready now" Warhurst said. "When the old man says their ready, it's time to blt's gonna' be fun," senior Don McLaughlin said. "McLaughlin, who has consistently finished in the top-20 all year, was forced to drop out of last week's region- al race. His calf muscle tightened up See NCAAs, Page 3B Did you see the Daily's special Saturday post- Sme collector's edition? a I9a If you didn't get a copy after the game or yesterday morning, stop by the Daily. You'll want to keep this one forever. Michigan edges Ohio State, 3-2 By Chris Farah Daily Sports Writer COLUMBUS -The Michigan hock- ey team has been struggling with consis- tency. The Wolverines have been see- sawing back and forth. Sometimes the Wolverines' offense clicks, sometimes their defense clicks. Sometimes they hold onto their leads, sometime they lose their leads. One thing that has been consistent is the play of Michigan's veterans. Players like senior Bill Muckalt and junior Bobby Hayes have taken the giant's share of the offensive load on their shoulders. But during two road games this week- end, the Michigan freshmen decided to get off the see-saw and start playing with the big kids. Michigan's upperclassmen continued to do well, but consistent contributions from some Michigan freshmen - par- ticularly Geoff Koch - helped the Wolverines pull out an overtime victory yesterday afternoon, 3-2, against Ohio State, and beat Bowling Green on Friday night, 4-2. Ohio State fans still tasted the bitter- ness of their loss to Michigan in football when the hockey teams clashed yester- day. Emotions ran high throughout the crowd and among the two teams as the underdog Buckeyes forced the Wolverines into overtime during a scrap- py, physical game. Michigan and Ohio State battled to a scoreless draw after the first period, with the Buckeyes outshooting the Wolverines, 16-5. Overall, Ohio State did a good job of keeping the puck in Michigan's zone and used the advantage to get 11 more total shots than the Wolverines, 42-31. But after a period of tight calling from the referees, in which Ohio State was penalized five times and Michigan six times - including a charging call against Muckalt at 19:45 that provoked the forward into a minor temper-tatrum - the Wolverines loosened up during the second and third periods. "We knew we'd be a heart-attack team, and I guess we proved that tonight," Michigan coach Red Berensen said. "You look back on the game, and I guess winning takes some of the facts out of the way we played. We had a poor first period. "We got a lot better in the second period, but the third period I thoughtwe did play well. We played harder, much better, with more emotion, we quit wor- rying about the referee and all the dis- tractions. "We came in and found a way to win the game. And the Wolverines demonstrated their new attitude from the very begin- ning of the second period. Michigan took advantage of the Muckalt penalty -- he sat out four minutes with an addi- tional penalty for unsportsmanlike con- duct due to his tantrum - to open up the scoring at 3:53 in the second. At the tail-end of the Buckeyes' power play, Michigan right wing Troy Kahler cleared the puck from their zone - right to the stick of Muckalt, waiting next to Ohio State's blue line for the pass after leaving the penalty box. Muckalt sped ahead of a Buckeye, deked Ohio State goaltender Jeff Maund and scored the goal top-shelf But the Wolverines didn't enjoy their See SWEEP, Page 48 PAUL TALANIAN/Daily Josh Langfeld and the other Michigan freshmen had one of their best weekends of the season as the Wolverines picked up two Important victories against Bowling Green and Ohio State. Freshman Geoff Koch scored the game-winning goal in both games. Against the Buckeyes, his heroics came in the final minute of overtime. Ellerbe, Bullock go back to Baltimore to play Towson Michigan plays in its first road game of the season tonight against a new non-conference opponent By Dan Stillman Daily Sports Writer Michigan-Duke, Michigan-Indiana, Michigan-Michigan State. Michigan-Towson? Even though tonight's game between the Michigan men's basketball team and the Tigers from Towson may not scream out, "rivalry" or even "good game, the Wolverines' visit to Towson, just outside of Baltimore, Md., will be special for both teams. The obscure matchup came to be when Towson (1-0) was looking for a marquee opponent to christen its new hardwood floor. Michigan (1-1) agreed to make the trip, not knowing that it would turn into a coming home of sorts for its future coach. Both first-year coach Brian Ellerbe and Louis Bullock will be going home. Ellerbe hails from nearby Capitol Heights, Md., and Bullock, the junior guard, grew up in Temple Hills, Md. Considering the chaotic events surrounding the Michigan program during the past few months, a trip home may be just what the doctor ordered for the two. "I'd like to sink my teeth into some crab cakes," Ellerbe said. Bullock would probably like to sink a 3-pointer, at least one. Normally deadly from long range, Bullock has missed on all 11 of his 3-point attempts in the first two games. Ellerbe said he thinks that while opponents tend to key on "one of the leading returning 3-point shooters in the country," Bullock's main problem is that he's tired, which may sound strange considering the season is only two games old. But the Wolverines have only 10 players plus two walk-ons, and with such a small team, no one gets much of a break during prac- tices. "I think it's his legs right now," Ellerbe said. "I just think he's a little tired. "Because we're so shorthanded on our team, it's really tough to get him a (break), not just in games, but in practice. And I think we need to be a little more conscious of that." With guard Travis Conlan injured, it's been difficult to give anyone in the backcourt much of a breather during practice or games. "People are going to try to wear our guards out," said Ellerbe, who coached at nearby Loyola (Md.) the past three seasons and has never won at Towson. While the Wolverines are coming off their first victory of the season, a 77-59 win over Cleveland State, the Tigers will look to ride the momentum from Saturday's game, their first of the season. A strong second half against American earned first-year coach Mike Jaskulski's Tigers a 51-48 victory. Behind, 28-14, at halftime, after going 6-for-20 from the field, the Tigers made 12 of 17 shots and forward Ralph Biggs scored 23 points in the second half as the Tigers pulled out the win. Ellerbe said he is excited to be near home but that he is focus- ing on beating Towson. Nevertheless, Ellerbe said he will take care of one matter. There have been no takers yet for his Maryland home, which has been on the selling block since Michigan hired him as an assistant coach over the summer. "I'm going to have a few words for my realtor" Ellerbe said. "Realtors are like assistant coaches - they always tell you when they're going to sign somebody." Maceo Baston, a Dallas native, will get to fight for the ball near the hometowns of Louis Bullock and coach Brian Ellerbe this weekend. ,mia ~ h ~ 1* ll 1 11111 ii N Wl l E al The Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Community Research Clinic is seeking healthy males, ages 18-55, for participation in medication research studies. Length of study time is approximately two - four weeks. Research subjects will be paid approximately $500.00 - $1000.00 for participation. You must not take daily prescription medications or have any chronic illness. 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