12 -- The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 17, 1997
Michigan
harners host
invite on links
By Chad Kujala
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's cross country team has been passing
every challenge this season with flying colors. In the process,
the Wolverines have been setting records, thanks to their one-
two punch of John Mortimer and Kevin Sullivan.
Mortimer and Sullivan have combined1 to win every invita-
tional title so far this season. The rest of the team hasn't let
up either, resulting in a team victory every week the
Wolverines have competed.
When Michigan traveled to compete in an elite field at
Kansas, Mortimer finished first and set a course record in the
process. When the Wolverines were challenged with an early
10,000-meter run at Illinois, they finished first. When the
then-fifth-ranked Wolverines flew to Montana to face a high-
er-ranked opponent, No. 4 Oregon, they came out on top.
What challenges will No. 3 Michigan face this week?
Well, this week Michigan will run on one of its toughest
$,000-meter courses of the season - it's own Michigan Golf
Sourse, the site of the Wolverine Interregional at lI a.m.
unday.
"It's by far the toughest course we have run on all year,"
Michigan junior Todd Snyder said. "The course has three
steep hills that can wear on you."
4 In many cases, this can mean a disadvantage. In this case,
however, the tougher course is an advantage. The reason is
because it is the Wolverines' home course.
' "I know it like the back of my hand," Snyder said.
4Although we don't run too many races on the course, we all
tnow it so well. We do a lot of workouts on the course."
r. As in past seasons, this weekend's meet will draw a strong
field with three top-25 teams besides Michigan -- No. 17
IWashington, No. 19 Missouri and No. 23 James Madison.
Jnranked teams will bring strong individual performers.
Nebraska's Cleophus Boor and Texas El-Paso's Damian
(allabis will present competition for Mortimer and Sullivan.
"Nebraska brings two Kenyans with them that will be
'tough,"Snyder said. "Kenyans bring fear into the hearts of all
American runners:"
a The Wolverines will also get a look at some individuals
4who raced in pre-nationals last weekend. "It will be nice
to. see how we stack up against those runners," Snyder
,said.
Last season, the Wolverines did not win the Wolverine
Interregional, finishing second behind North Carolina State.
,But last season is a different story.
The Wolverines were ranked 10th at this time last year.
(They were also without Sullivan and senior Don
a McLaughlin - both of whom were red-shirted.
o The Wolverines also had two freshmen, Jay Cantin and
Steve Lawrence, who now have a season under their
belts.
Some things won't change, however. Mortimer finished
first last year and won the individual crown.
The Wolverines have the advantage this weekend and
expect to finish first. The challenge, however, will come
from other team's individuals.
"We don't expect too many challenges from the other
steams, but there will be some tough individual runners,"
Snyder said.


(M5

stickers hit

the road
By Curt New
For the div
When \killie Nekon wrote the hit
song "On the Road Again,' it was prob-
ably a sa'e bet he wasn't writing it as a
tribute to the 1997 Michigan field hock-
ey team, but he very well could have
been.
The Wolverines (2-3 Big Ten, 10-5
overall) will spend their third consecu-
tive weekend away from Ann Arbor with
games at Northwestern t6morrow and
Iowa on Sunday.
In a bizarre scheduling quirk, the
Wolverines play all five of their confer-
ence road games in a row over a span of
14 days.
"Last weekend, we had a long drive
down to Iowa on Thursday, played a
very emotional overtime game, and
then drove out to Penn State,"
Michigan field hockey coach Marcia
Pankratz said.
"It was a nine-and-a-half hour bus
ride to Penn State, where we played on
Sunday. Then we drove straight back to
Michigan, did not get back until 1 a.m.,
and then the girls have to go to class at 8
a.m. on Monday."
Taking an emotionally and physically
grueling road trip is hard enough to do
once, let alone again one week later in
the midst of midterms.
To make matters worse, both Iowa and
Northwestern are in the middle of long
home stands and should be rested com-
FLE PHOTO ing into the weekend.
away Yet, the Wolverines must find a way to
overcome the emotional and physical

- again
strain of a long road trip if they hope to
remain in contention for the Big Ten title
after this weekend.
Currently, the Wolverines are only .
game out of first in the conference, trail-
ing Iowa, Penn State and Ohio State, all
of which are tied for first place. If the
Wolverines have a chance to win the Big
Ten title, they must win at least one of
their two games this weekend.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines
they have not fared well on their road
trip up so far. The Wolverines have lost
all three conference road games, tw
sudden death overtime.
The primary area where Michigan
must improve if it hopes to reverse this
trend is on the offensive end of the field.
The Wolverines, who seemed to have a
knack for scoring timely goals earlier in
the season, are suddenly struggling. In
the three losses, they have managed only
four goals.
"We must improve on our penalty cor-
ners, and our forwards must do a be
job of finishing the opportunities to
have," Pankratz said.
There are reasons for the Wolverines
to be optimistic about this weekend,
since their two conference wins came
against Iowa and Northwestern.
Despite the three-game losing streak,
Pankratz also insists that the team has
not lost any of the confidence gained
from their early conference victories.
"We always focus on each game,
individually. Win or lose, when a gao
is over, we put it behind us," Pankratz
said.

Julie Flachs and the rest of the Michigan field hockey team are preparing for their third weekend
from Ann Arbor. The Wolverines will play at Northwestern tomorrow and at Iowa on Sunday.

Blue women's harriers to be tested for first time

By Josh Borkin
For the Daily
The Michigan's women's cross country
will face its first real test of the season
tomorrow.
The Wolverines will be tested when
they host the Michigan Interregional at
10:30 a.m at the Michigan Golf Course.
They will face some of the nation's
most prominent teams, such as No. 3
Georgetown, Washington, Nebraska and
Texas El-Paso.
Up until now, the Wolverines have
rolled over the competition. Katie
McGregor, Julie Froud and Elizabeth
Kampfe have run in a close pack in most
meets. Last weekend in Kalamazoo, the
closest any team got to catching

McGregor, the course record-holder, was
within 40 seconds.
Michigan women's cross country coach
Mike McGuire said the individual and
pack times were improving, and last
week's Interstate meet was a good warm-
up for the next four.
"The chunk of our schedule remains,
where we will have to step up our perfor-
mances and improve as a team," McGuire
said.
McGregor said she is confident about
her upcoming race, especially with the
home field advantage. The course is dif-
ficult, though, and unlike previous cours-
es, it has a lot of hills and the terrain is
difficult.
"We feel that wve have an advantage

racing on our home course," McGregor
said, "Our team has gotten to know the
course very well, and we feel confident
on it."
And fortunately, the team has remained
healthy through the first half of the sea-
son.
"We are healthy overall, and our top
performers are starting to come on very
strong," McGuire said. "I feel very con-
fident about this upcoming week and
believe that we will be able to win tomor-
row."
Lately, Michigan's top three runners
have not been a surprise.
MlcGregor, Froud and Kampfe have
been able to consistently clock fast
times.

But the comeback of Michelle Slater
has gotten McGuire excited. Last season,
Slater tore her anterior cruciate ligamn
and has worked throughout the year'to
return to form.
"Michelle's last race was an inspiration
to the team and to herself," McGuire said.
"Her injury slowed her down a lot, but
her last race - a fifth-place finish -
was remarkable, and we are hoping for
her to show greater improvement this
Saturday."
Tomorrow's meet will not only test the
Wolverines' legs and endurance, bu*
will test their desire to win and their a I-
ity to rise to the next level.
"It will all come down to who wants it
more," McGregor said.

'M' tennis loses two for weekend invitational

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I DA

By Mark Francescutti
Daily Sports Writer
After dominating the Tar Heel
invitational two weeks ago, the
Michigan men's tennis team will find
out if it can keep that winning edge
starting today.
The Wolverines' latest challenge is
this weekend's Georgia Tech Fall
Invitational in Stone Mountain, Ga.
The Wolverines will have to play
without two seniors, Brook Blain and
Arvid Swan. Blain has an injured
shoulder and Swan is nursing an
injured leg.
Both injuries occurred at last
weekend's ITA All-American
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Championships in Austin, Texas.
While both are capable of playing,
Michigan men's tennis coach Brian
Eisner does not want to risk further
injury.
"Arvid is a little better today,''
Eisner said Wednesday. "But he is
not at the stage where he can play. It
is better to give them a rest while we
can."
While Blain and Swan heal up, the
rest of the team will make its way to
Stone Mountain, the tennis site that
was used for the 1996 Olympics.
"It should be very exciting and full
for the guys," Eisner said.
The tournament is split up into two
divisions, Flight A and Flight B, for
both singles and doubles.
Like the Tar IHeel invite, the
Georgia Tech tournament provides
the Wolverines with some hefty corn-

petition.
No. 4 Georgia, No. 21 Alabama
and the host team, No. 43 Georgia
Tech, will try to put a halt to
Michigan's winning ways. The
Wolverines will also get to see Ohio
State's three outstanding freshmen
for the first time this season.
Luckily, the Wolverines have his-
tory on their side. At last year's tour-
nament, Michigan performed
extremely well.
Senior David Paradzik was a semi-
finalist, and junior William Farah
was consolation champion in the
Flight A singles. Farah and Paradzik
also reached the semifinals in the
Flight A doubles.
Paradzik, who is coming off a
strong performance in Austin, will
join Farah in the Flight B doubles.
The Wolverines are also giving an

opportunity to junior Jake Rai
and sophomore Matt Wrighf.
Paradzik and Wright will compete
in the Flight A singles wilr be Farah
and Raiton will also try to dominate
the singles' brackets. Sophomores
Brad McFarlane and John Long will
challenge in the Flight B singles.
Another factor that should help
Michigan is that some teams still
might have a few players playing in
the iTA Championships. The chai-
pionship rounds of the ITA tou .
ment will last through the weekend.
Eisner is still interested i-i playing
against quality opponents.
"Right now we are trying-to get the
best competition possible," Eisner
said. "But we also want the right
amount for each player. It won't help
if the competition is too tough for
one of them."

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Notre Dame-USC not the same

Los Angeles Times
Under a blue, gray October sky, the
leaves are changing colors, the geese are
flying south and there is a slight chill in
the air. It looks and feels like the USC-
Notre Dame game in South Bend.
"A New Coach, A New Stadium, a
New Streak,"' Tshirts in the campus
bookstore read, presuming that Notre
Dame will resume its dominance after

the Trojans ended their 13-year winless
streak in the series with a 27-20 overtime
victory last December in the Coliseum.
But is a rivalry based entirely on the
premise that both teams are national pow-
ers still vital in a season when neither is?
For the first time since 1960, both
teams play this game with losing records.
It's only the third time in the last 35 meet-
ings that neither is nationally ranked.
Both coaches, Bob Davie and John
Robinson, spoke this week about the sig-
nificance of this rivalry, which began
with Knute Rockne and Howard Jones in
1926 and has been uninterrupted since
1946. The Irish lead the series, 39-24-5.
But when asked if he had noticed the
usual anticipation building on campus,
Davie nimbly sidestepped the question.
"I don't get out much," he said.
The reason should be obvious. Both he

and Robinson have been preoccupied
with Xs and Os as they search-for combi-
nations that will save their seasons.
Robinson also is trying to save his job.
"I can't tell you how important this
game is for all of us on the team; for the
situation we're in," he said on Tuesd,
when he announced he would quit at
end of the season if the Trojans haven't
improved.
Unlike Robinson, Davie isn't pointing
a finger at himself.
Many others are, questioning his abili-
ty as a tactician for a team that didn't
score a third-quarter point until last
Saturday.
It's a sensitive subject here, but Davie
is merely stating a fact when'hes.
there were only 12 starters returning
season from an 8-3 team that didn't go to
a bowl game.

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