68- The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - September 29, 1997 Mortimer-Sullivan photo finish leads Michigan pack at Illinois By Chad Kujala Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's cross country team traveled to Champaign on Saturday for the Illinois Invitational with high expectations, and it delivered. Although the field was not the strongest the Wolverines will face this season, Michigan convincingly fin- ished first. Michigan, ranked fifth in the nation, was led once again by its two leaders, senior Kevin Sullivan and junior John Mortimer. The two have been chasing each other all season and this week was no different. The duo finished so close to each other, they shared the same time. Sullivan was awarded the first place finish over Mortimer, both finishing with a time of 30:15. The Wolverines also displayed their depth with junior Todd Snyder finish- ing in fourth (30:36) and sophomore Steve Lawrence finishing sixth (30:43). Other strong finishes were turned in ,y senior Don McLaughlin (31:16), who finished 13th, and sophomore Jay Cantin (31:30), who finished 17th. These strong finishes put the Wolverines well ahead of their oppo- dents. Michigan finished with only 26 points, far ahead of second-place Missouri (57). The meet also gave the Wolverines a look at two of their conference rivals, Iowa and host Illinois. Iowa was able to muster a third- place finish, scoring 75 points, while Illinois finished fifth with 115. The dominance by the Wolverines was expected, but still impressive con- sidering the length of the race. This weekend's race was 10,000 meters, a distance the team usually doesn't run this early in the season. At this point in the season, the team is usually running 8,000-meter races. The Big Ten championships are 8,000 meters, but districts and NCAA cham- pionships are 10,000 meters. Michigan wanted to get an earlier start on its preparation for NCAAs in November. Last year's 14th-place finish at nationals was disappointing for coach Ron Warhurst and his Wolverines. The goal to improve at nationals high on this season's agenda. "Coach wanted us to get a 10K under our belts," Lawrence said. "He wanted us to be comfortable for dis- tricts and nationals, which are both 1 OKs." The Wolverines took advantage of the Fighting Illini's longer course, which seemed to be a perfect starting point. "It was a nice course to run our first 10K on, it is relatively flat," Lawrence said. The results of the season's first 10,000-meter race were encouraging for Warhurst and the Wolverines. "We are six weeks ahead of condi- tioning from where we were last year," Warhurst said. "Last year, Mortimer ran 30:36 on the same course at the district meet. and that was in November. "They all ran comfortably and came on strong at the end." Does the Wolverines' success mean there isn't room for improvement in their conditioning? Lawrence doesn't think so. "The results of the first IOK of the year are encouraging, but I don't think our conditioning is ahead of schedule," Lawrence said. "We don't want to be ahead of schedule because that would mean we are peaking too early. "We want to peak at the right time." Because of the Wolverines' No. 5 ranking, there are high expectations for the team each week they race. These expectations, however, do not bother Lawrence. "I think it is fun to go to meets where other teams expect you to put on a show," he said. "Everyone there is expecting you to perform." FILE PHOTO It's not surprising to see senior Kevin Sullivan pacing the Michigan men's cross country team. Only this weekend, Sullivan was joined in front of the pack by teammate John Mortimer. The All-Americans crossed the finish line together in 30:15. Stickers make history with one victory 32 years after its inception, By Nancy Berger Daily Sports Writer The question most frequently heard from the Michigan field hockey team sideline Friday in its game against Iowa was: "How much time do we have left?" Even Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz couldn't stop looking at the clock as she anxiously paced the sidelines. What was their hurry? They were playing under unseasonably warm and clear weather conditions. There was a large, spirited hometown crowd, and the opponent was the best field hockey team in the history of the conference. Anyone who loves the sport wouldn't have wanted to spend an afternoon like that any- where else. But time was the only roadblock to Michigan field hockey history. It must have seemed like the Wolverines' worst enemy after senior midfielder Julie Flachs scored the game-winning goal to give Michigan a 2-1 lead with 6:47 left in the match. For the Michigan field hockey team and its boosters, those precious minutes would change the whole outlook of the program. There is no more talk of developing a solid team that would take the program to the next level in the future. Michigan finally topples Big Ten powerhouse Iowa w The future is here for the Wolverines, and it is as bright as the late afternoon sun that shined on Ocker Field on Friday. "There is no word for (beating Iowa). You have to be a player that has been here to know how this feels," Flachs said. "We have taken a huge step, a huge step. When you have never beaten Iowa and then finally do, that is a pivotal step." While the Wolverines had a string of 31 con- secutive losses against the Hawkeyes, they are the first Big Ten team to beat Iowa in two years. Even though there are still 10 games left in the season, this one game has opened up the conference title race and has given Michigan the confidence nec- essary to be an intimidating team. The crowd knew exactly what these hardwork- ing girls accomplished and what this game meant to them. It was the hooting and hollering of the Michigan supporters that gave Michigan addition- al inspiration. In fact, the fans' support might have influenced the referees' decision on who retained possession of an out-of-bounds ball, "They were cheering so loud that you could not hear the whistle, and that is the best feeling," Flachs said. "When it comes down to whose ball it was and our fans are cheering then (the refer- "This is their win andw they deserve to feel [ ,good about their program and their team.* - Marcia Pankratz Michigan field hockey coach on the Wolverines' historic win over Iowa ees) are going to give it to us." The lively audience gave the Wolverines resounding applause and a standing ovation as Michigan took its post-game warm-down lap. After their 2-1 victory over Northwestern yester- day, the Michigan fans actually came out of th* seats and stood along the sideline, slapping hands with the players as they jogged by. "This is their win, and they deserve to feel gobd about their program and their team," Pankratz said. "This is an exciting game, and Iowa is a championship team. To be able to competewith them and beat them a couple times and have a rivalry would be great." WARREN ZINN/Daiy .enlor forward Merideth Weinstein fights an Iowa player for control of the ball in te Wolverines' 2-1 win over the Hawkeyes on Friday. A g.'aii i U Now Hiring Openers, lunch, & closers Very flexible scheduling Free meals & uniforms Locations: Michigan Union " Michigan League PEACE CORPS CAMPUS REPRESENTATIVE Peace Corps is currently placing college seniors in positions that begin in the spring and summer of 1998. For information about current openings, visit the University of Michigan campus representative. International Center 603 E. Madison Weekend sweep puts field hockey in first t 4e (313) 74724-2182 OR (800) 424-8.580 MUMOMIN HISTORY Continued from Page 1B beautifully executed penalty corner to put the game away. The story of this game though was the Wolverines' defense, which con- tinued its dominant play by holding the Wildcats to one shot in the sec- ond half and not allowing a goal until just 5:30 remained in the game. "We try really hard to win the 50- 50 balls," Michigan defender Sandra Cabrera said. "We're really aggres- sive defensively, and that is what's made us effective." However, as impressive as the vic- tory over Northwestern was it paled in comparison to the victory over Iowa on Friday. Despite having never beaten the Hawkeyes, Michigan showed no signs of intimidation from the opening whistle. The Wolverines immediately put heavy pressure on Iowa, rarely allow- ing the Hawkeyes to get the ball past midfield. The constant pressure finally resulted in a goal when Babbitt redi- rected a centering pass from Meredith Weinstein past Hawkeye goalie Lisa Cellucci to give Michigan a 1-0 lead. For most of the game it looked as if the single goal might be enough Michigan's defense swarmed arour any Iowa players who made the mis- take of gaining possession of the ball. But Iowa could not be kept off of the scoreboard forever, as its star player, Kerry Lessard, fouind the back of the net off a penalty corner with 16:03 remaining in the game. With the score tied atC'one, Michigan could have easily folded against an Iowa team they had nevg beaten. But the Wolverines refused to quit after putting forth such a concentrat- ed effort for the first 55 minutes. And not surprisingly, it was Flachs who led the charge. With less than seven minutes to play, Flachs took a feed from Kelli Gannon, faked out Cellucei and buried a difficult shot from th~e.ight side of the net for the game-winner Flachs' go-ahead goal 'shoul come as no surprise to Michigan fans, as she has made late,'game- winning goals seem almost routine. This was the sixth game-winner Flachs has scored in 10 games this season. DATABASE ADMINISTRATORS/ MODELERS Design and develop database access techniques and integrate existing data. CS or quantitative discipline degree required. Thorough understanding of database administration and modeling 3 components is essential. Open daily 10 am - 9 pm - weekends 10 am - midnight "F-- Y'O 0s , "" IkAAMAw M!If.WE'LL 'r'71 'C'A if you're looking for a great environment, advancement opportunities and the latest technology then our information Telecommunications Division (ITD) has the ideal opportunities for you. 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