f U~fe S~hi~z 4atr Scores '-c MAJOR LEAGUE Baltimore 9, BASEBALL TORONTO 3 Boston 9, DETROIT 2 PHILADELPHIA 5, Atlanta 1 San Francisco 4, COLORADO 3 N.Y. Yankees 8, CLEVELAND 4 Florida 10, MONTREAL 9 NY METS 7, Pittsburgh 5 San Diego 4, L.A. DODGERS 1. Cincinnati 5, ST. LOUIS 4 Minnesota 7, C. WHITE SOX 2 Chicago Cubs 3, HOUSTON 1 NHL PRESEASON DETROIT 2, Carolina 2 (OT) PITTSBURGH 4, RBnton 2 Washington 2, PHILADELPHIA 1 (OT) U 'a Thursday September 25, 1997 9A Womens biamers travel east fir invite Wolverines to face ranked opponents Skta Srivastava DailySports Writer After dominating the course in - jLansing last weekend, the Nigan women's cross country team 'Iravels to the William & Mary Invifational this Saturday in Williamsburg; Va. Joining th Wolverines will be Anerican, Ohio, Old Dominion, No'rolk State, North Carolina, Radford, Richmond, Virginia Com monwealth, Hampton and host William & Mary. Te. hardest competition for the A .'3 Wolverines should be No. 14 a i'I.am & Mary, 23rd-ranked North Catolina and Ohio. "North Carolina is' definitely under-ranked," said Michigan coach Mik'e McGuire. "Ohio University beaf us last year in districts, so we knowv they are looking to do that again. Michigan will feature the same Iir1%tp used in the Spartan lI tational Laiding the pack will probably be juni6- Katie McGregor, sophomore Elizabeth' Kampfe and freshman JuI 'Frond, who placed first, sec- ond and third, respectively, last weeknd. Alsb running are Eileen Fleck, Lisa' 'Ouilet, Erin White, Katie Cli'ffrd, 'Tiffin Goodman, Sarah Hainilton, Lena VanHaren and cy Akard. concern for the Wolverines is the time margin between their first five finishers. "Both William & Mary and North Ciafo61na pak their first five better than we do," McGuire said. "They have a small time margin, and we need to get that rectified on Saturday -+ our girls have to run better." I'm building off of previous races, a* I hope to be running up there with McGregor soon," Kampfe said. It helps to havp Katie and Julie in fr6nt of me, because it gives me something to work for." Michigan's focus isn't just the improvement of the first five run- ners but the team as a whole. .The team is running together nicely," Kampfe said. "We use each oter in practice to push one anoth- er" I njured runners are gradually get- NCAA preview awaitsy M' cross country in Illinois By Chad Kujala Daily Sports Writer The dreaded Organic Chemistry exam is a whole two months away and you haven't started to study. Who cares? How soon before a final exam does the average student begin studying anyways? Maybe a week, a few days - some possibly a couple of hours. Few would dream of start- ing to study two months in advance. That's about how much prepara- tion the Michigan men's cross coun- try team is allowing for its "final exam." The Michigan men's cross country team will face its toughest competi- tion of the season at NCAA champi- onships. This meet is nearly two months away, but it's never too early to prepare. The Wolverines travel to Champaign this Saturday to get an early start at this year's NCAAs. The meet at Illinois this weekend is a 10,000-meter race, a length usually run by the Wolverines later on in the season. This season, however, coach Ron Warhurst wants his fifth-ranked Wolverines to be ready come nationals. "I want our team to be better pre- pared this year for the NCAA champi- onship," Warhurst said. "We usually don't run a 10K this early in the sea- son, but I feel it will better prepare the team for national competition." The Wolverines were disappointed with last year's 14th-place showing at NCAA championships and want to improve on that mark this season. Does that mean the conference meets are being overlooked? Of course not. Entering his 24th season as Michigan's head coach, Warhurst realizes the importance of a success- ful Big Ten season and the difficulty of achieving a Big Ten champi- onship. "We are by no means overlooking Big Tens or NCAA districts," Warhurst said. "We have the talent to be successful at both of these meets." Michigan's opponents at this weekend's race include the likes of Illinois, Iowa, Northern Iowa and Missouri. Those teams do not have "We are by no means overlooking Big Tens or NCAA districts. We have the talent to be successful at both of these meets." - Ron Warhurst Michigan men's cross country coach the depth and firepower to compete with Michigan, but the race itself will give the Wolverines experience for NCAAs. Although the team will be mostly competing with itself, it does have goals and a strategy. Warhurst wants the team to run together for the first 5K. After that point, senior Kevin Sullivan and junior John Mortimer will break away and race to the finish. And who better than these two to lead the way. Sullivan, a three-time All- American, is healthy after last sea- son's foot injury. Mortimer, 1996's Big Ten Athlete of the Year, has been cruising in the team's first two meets, breaking a course record at the Jayhawk Invitational. As for the next four or five Wolverines, their job is to finish ahead of the other team's No. 1 run- ners. The depth of this year's cross country team is what will determine its success later in the season. Warhurst is hoping that this strate- gy will improve the Wolverine's chances at NCAAs this year. If it works, don't expect the success to set any parallel trends. Studying habits, on the other hand, probably won't be influenced by their success. Study two months before a final exam? Not likely. WARREN ZINN/Daily The Michigan women's cross country team heads to Williamsburg, Va., for the William & Mary Invitational this weekend. The course should be familiar to the Wolverines - it resembles the Michigan State course they ran at last weekend. ting stronger through training. Michelle Slater, who was injured all last season, is now returning to prac- tice. "We really need Slater to start stepping up," McGuire said. "She's training well, and we need her to get up to bat and start swing- ing for the fences instead of just hit- ting singles. "Fleck is also improving - the future is now with her, as she's returning to the form she had a few years ago when she was running her best." Michigan will be at an advantage in Virginia because the 5,000-meter course is similar to the one they ran last weekend at Michigan State. The Wolverines breezed through the Spartan Invitational, while McGregor set a new course record. The secret to the Wolverines' suc- cess? The courses at Michigan State and Virginia aren't as hilly as the Michigan golf course, where the Wolverines conduct practices. Teamwise, there is a formula that the Wolverines need to follow in order to qualify for nationals. Michigan must beat teams like North Carolina and William & Mary - teams outside Michigan's region - in order to qualify for NCAA championship wild-card slots. "Beating William & Mary and North Carolina would make a world of difference for us," McGuire said. "We're going to have to run much better this week. "If we don't, we are going to get our hats handed to us." I FILE PHOTO The Michigan field hockey team faces Iowa this weekend - a team the verines haven't had success against. Michigan hasn't beaten Iowa In 31 mpts. Stickers have minds set Qn conference nemesis R. _ if ......s.... -I --- 11 -1- - -- ' A 44 A --- --- ---. I - . " a ac a a T I I K! UI gl1 w f WI ' .7a~Rt a _;