MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL
Florida 7,
ATLANTA 4
Marins win senes. 42
PRO
HOCKEY
Detroit 3,
TORONTO 2

Pittsburgh 1,
N.Y. RANGERS 0
DALLAS 5,
Calgary A
PRO
BASKETBALL
DETROIT 98,
Seattle 96
MIAMI 102,
Minnesota 90

San Antonio 88,
ORLANDO 87
Cleveland 93,
INDIANA 90
Portland at
VANCOUVER, inc.
Denver at
GOLDEN STATE, inc.
L.A. Clippers at
SACRAMENTO, inc.

Wednesday
October 15, 1997

11



{


~1

Eve one
about t e
bl Fgame
ny football fan in the state of
Michigan who says he is not
hinking about a certain game
eduled for Oct. 25 in East Lansing
' blatant liar.
When Michigan and Michigan State
ogether at Spartan Stadium in two
weeks, it could be the first time that
l o have faced each other as unde-
ds since 1961. Both were 2-0
gjjg into the game in East Lansing.
Mtchigan State won, 28-0.
-:This game has never taken place this
latein the season with both teams
defeated. But before we start label-
This game not only a battle for state
pride, but a
game with
- national champi-
onship implica-
tions, let's not
forget about this
° week's so-called
tune-up game for
ALAN the Spartans.
LDENBACH Michigan
SBronxState heads to
W mber Northwestern for
____ber __the first time
since 1994. The
Spartans have won seven of the past
eight meetings between the two, and
tht2-5 Wildcats come into the game
lsers of four in a row.
'o what's the cause for concern in
East Lansing? The chatter in the State
p for one, says that it doesn't seem
the Spartans are too interested in
thisweek's affair.
At seems like my teammates, all
they talk about is Michigan. The peo-
plein the community, all they talk
about is Michigan," Spartans tailback
Sedrick Irvin said. "It's hard to say I'm
notthinking about Michigan, because
iwt~be back.mof my mind, Iam.°
~~d the funny thing is that there's
lutely nothing a coach can do
t this kind of foresight.
°"'The key to being successful is
focusing on the task at hand,"
M higan coach Lloyd Carr said. "But
ITin't have control on what the play-
eithink."
ight now, that should be Michigan
State coach Nick Saban's chief issue.
"I'm looking forward to playing that
gm, but it just so happens we play
Northwestern this week so my mind is
n Northwestern', said Irvin as he
ght his foot toward his face.
Afer a quote like that, how much of
IRVin's mind is really set on the ques-
tionably-clad ones from Evanston? The
ones who dashed Michigan's hopes for
an-indefeated season twice in a row
bQf6re this season. The ones known for
ping the upset at any given moment.
The-ones who are long overdue for a
bigwin after close losses.
'e should be 6-0 before we play
Mtdligan' said Irvin, as his foot
biga grazing his lips.
Tte moral of the story: cut the unde-
feated talk until Sunday. Besides, Irvin
maybe gagging on some toes come
ne week.
A)LD TIMERS LIVING IT Up: After 35

years on the sidelines, you would fig-
ure that it's time to start considering
retrement.
gut not Iowa coach Hayden Fry,
vhy seems to be having too much fun
fofa68-year-old.
:'rve been hearing that from my
wiesince I turned 60," Fry said. "She
waiis to know if I've checked on our
S~dl Security and do we really have a
retiiment plan."
"Imay be one of the coaches that
coaches fun football. We want to win,
andI'm a disciplinarian, but at the
Sme time, I give my players a lot of
freeom. We laugh, we giggle, tell
figmy stories and then go out and play
had on gameday."
Laughing and giggling, apparently
the fountain of youth for coaches.
-On the other hand, 70-year-old Penn
State coach Joe Paterno, the only

hasing

.

areun
Outside hitter Karen Chase hastom
the nerve to return from injury:s

It

By Josh Kleinbaum
Daily Sports Witer
t could have been a lot worse.
When Michigan volleyball
player Karen Chase felt numb-
ness in the outside of her leg just
more than a month ago, she didn't
know what was wrong. But she
was worried.
Actually, she had an idea what
was wrong; she thought it was a
nerve problem. And she knew
nerve problems could be serious.
The problem was traced to a
bulging disc in her back, an injury
that would be bad enough on its
own. To make matters worse, the
disc was pinching a nerve, caus-
ing the numbness in her leg.
And that led to a month of frus-
trations for the Orinda, Cal.
native.
It started with the uncertainty.
It escalated with the treatment. It
culminated with the loss of her
starting spot on the team.
"It was a couple of weeks
before she knew what was wrong
with her back," Michigan coach
Greg Giovanazzi said. "That was
frustrating and confusing for her.
She's never had a serious injury
before."
The treatment was bad in that
there was no treatment. Chase just
had to wait while the bulging disc
subsided. There was no medica-
tion she could take, and no reha-
bilitation program to keep her
occupied.

And all along, the junior sat on'
the sidelines and watched her role
of starting outside hitter, which
she had owned a year ago, being
taken away. Last season, she start
ed from the outset. Now there is a
four-person rotation to share the
two outside hitter spots.
And through it all, Chase has
not complained and has remained
positive. Giovanazzi attributes this
to her "Berkeley-esque" attitude.
"That's a really good adjective,",
Chase said, "In some ways, I am
little Berkeley-esque. I have a rea
laid-back attitude, and I don't tak
things very seriously."
This laid-back attitude that she .
adopted from her home town, a
suburb of Berkeley, Cal., helped
her cope with the past month and
the frustration that came with it.
Chase worked overtime this r
summer to become a better vol-
leyball player.
She did everything in the team
summer training plan and then
some
"I worked a lot this summer on
getting in physical shape to play :
this year," Chase said. "I felt I
was in much better shape this ye :
than I've been.'
Chase focused on cardiovascu
lar work. She started out her typi1
cal routine with a 10 to 20 minute
warm-up run, moved on to sprints
and then closed out with jumps.
That routine, coupled with grass
See CHASE, Page IV

DANIL ALE/uaily
Junior outside hitter Karen Chase returned to practice full time last week after sitting out much of the Wolverines'
season with a back injury. Chase was a starter before the injury but is now platooning with three other players.

Comfortable in new role, Poulin still an offen

By Andy Latack
Daily Sports Writer
Ruth Poulin has been a part of the
Michigan soccer team since Day One
-literally.
With the program in its fourth year,
the Wolverines are about to bid
farewell to their seniors - members
of the team's first recruiting class
ever.
They prepare to do so in the midst
of their best season to date, and the
success they enjoy is due in no small
part to Poulin,
The senior from St. Charles, Ill.,
with 18 points this season, has passed
senior Debbie Flaherty as Michigan's
all-time leading scorer with 59
points.
Coming into this year, Poulin had
started 38 of 49 games, playing a
major offensive role while starting
regularly at forward. During that peri-
od, she scored seven goals in both her
freshman and sophomore years.
This year, Poulin assumes a differ-
ent role. Due to the strength of the
past two recruiting classes,
Michigan's starting offense includes
just two upperclassmen - forward
Jessica Limauro and midfielder
Flaherty.
Despite starting only one game this
season, Poulin's offensive output has

increased considerably. Tied for
fourth in the Big Ten with eight goals,
Poulin has settled in nicely to her new
spot on the team.'
"This year, I feel that coming off
the bench is more my role" Poulin
said. "When I come off the bench,
I'm more of a spark, and that's what
the team needs, because the three for-
wards that do start are consistent
starters."
Poulin displayed a spark early in
the season, tallying a goal in
Michigan's season-opening victory
over Missouri and tying the score at
one against Butler, a game which the
Wolverines eventually pulled out in
overtime.
Continuing her offensive attack
throughout the season, Poulin con-
tributed two goals and an assist in last
weekend's blowouts of Wright State
and Toledo.
Although Poulin does not start, it is
clear that Michigan coach Debbie
Belkin counts on the senior as a
major weapon.
"She gets a lot of minutes;' Belkin
said. "You can only start three for-
wards, but we have a lot of depth at
that position and can switch it
around."
Poulin, while remaining hungry to
start, knows that her role on the team

is one of the most important.
"Any good athlete will always com-
pete to start, and I'll always work
toward that," Poulin said. "But I've
had great success coming off the
bench this year."
Belkin agrees that Poulin, who
scored Michigan's first-ever confer-
ence goal in 1994, is an integral part
of her offensive game plan.
"We know we can count on her pro-
duction off the bench," she said. "She

has certain strengths to get goals at
certain times, and I try to use her at
those times."
Big Ten champs: With victories
over Indiana and Ohio State last
weekend, Minnesota has clinched the
Big Ten title. The Golden Gophers,
who handed Michigan a 4-3 loss two
weeks ago, are 8-0-0 in conference
and 12-1-1 overall.
PLAYING CATCH-UP: Going into the
final portion of the conference sched-

sive sparlI
ule, Michigan is in third place e
Big Ten. Its remaining oppo
conference doormats Illinois,
and Michigan State, have a com
record of 4-15. Second-placePn
State has one remaining gam a
matchup Friday with undefe
Minnesota. If Penn State loses ories,
and Michigan wins its remai~w~ig
games, the Wolverines will fi
second in the conference and s r
the tournament with the No. 2 s

I _