I NCO eS ?an x e AS MAJOR LEAGUE Thursday, Oct. 23, BASEBALL Game 5 World Series Al Florida at CLEVELAND, games are on NBC) 8:20 p.m. Game 3 Saturday, Oct. 25, Flonda 14, Game 6 CLEVELAND 11 Cleveland at FLORIDA, Tonight, Game 4 8 pm, if necessary Flondaat CLEVELAND, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, Game 7 Cleveland at FLOIA 735 p, it neeary PRO HOCKEY PHrLADELPHIA 7, Tampa Bay 1 VancOuvef 5, DALLAS 1 Boston. EDMONTON. no. A naheimi P HOENiX no. LOS ANGELES, N.Y. isianders, inc. Wednesday October 22, 1997 Titan-ic game for Blue occer By Andy Latack Daily Sports Writer For the Michigan soccer team, today's matchup against Detroit is the calm before the storm. The Wolverines take on the nearby Titans in a game that serves as a pre- cursor to an even bigger contest on Snday - a meeting with cross-state al Michigan State. The Wolverines can clinch second place in the Big Ten with a win at home against the Spartans, providing momentum going into the confer- ence tournament. But according to the Wolverines, their focus is clearly on today's game. "We're not looking past (Detroit) at all," Michigan coach Debbie lkin said. "They're a very physical Team, and we can't afford to take them lightly." Indeed, the Titans, who tied for the regular season championship in the Midwest Collegiate Conference last year, upset the Wolverines the last time the two teams played at Titan Field. The Titans boast an equally solid team this year, going 8-5-2 overall d45-1-2 in the MCC. They defeat- ed Butler last Friday, a team that took the Wolverines into overtime earlier in the season before suc- cumbing, 2-1. Since that Sept. 12 meeting, how- Over, the Wolverines (13-2-1 overall, 6-1-1 Big Ten) have lost only game, on their way to eclipsing school records for conference and total vic- tories. With important games in the near tune, Belkin is making sure that the Wolverines approach the sea- Harris leads 'M' men's golfers to 2nd-place finish By Rick Harpster For the Daily The Michigan men's golf team believed that it was a favorite to wain this week's Persimmon Ridge intercollegiate in Louisville, Ky. The young, untested Wolverines placed fifth in their previous two tourna- ments against some stiff competi- tion. The Persimmon Ridge Intercollegiate, consisting of 23 Midwestern schools, offered an opportunity for Michigan to estab- lish itself as one of the premier teams in the area. The Wolverines responded well to their lofty expec- tations and com- pleted another successful tour- nament yesterday, tying for second place in the 36- hole event. The Wolverines opened the tour- nament with a 298 on Monday Harris to put them in third place after the first round. After firing a 301 yesterday, Michigan gained one spot on the field to finish the competition in second, seven shots behind the leader Akron. Akron won the tournament with a team score of 594. Kentucky and Indiana joined the Wolverines in a three-way tie for second. "I am pleased with how we played this week," Michigan coach Jim Carras said. "We came down here with the expectation of winning this tournament. "Although we did not do that, we played well on a very difficult golf course, (one) which is the most diffi- cult we'll play all season." The par-72 course at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club was no match for Michigan sophomore Michael Harris. Fresh off his first-place finish at last week's Kroger Intercollegiate in Memphis, Tenn. Harris fired an even-par 144 (72-72) to tie for the lowest score in this weekend's tour- nament. Harris then won a sudden-death playoff in dramatic fashion over Akron's Greg Boyette and Eastern Kentucky's Mike Whitson. The three-man playoff began on the 18th hole - a 544-yard par five. After hitting a booming drive, Harris stuck a two iron on the back edge of the green. The shot was a gamble because of the water hazard that sits behind the 18th green. Harris' aggressive play paid off, though, as he proceeded to two-putt and win the championship with a birdie. "(Harris) has just been spectacu- lar," Carras said. "It's almost unthinkable that a sophomore has been able to win two out of the four tournaments he's played in on some very difficult golf courses." Junior Kevin Vernick also played well, posting a 149 (74-75) to finish tied for 10th place. Senior Keith Hinton finished at 153 (75-78), tying for 30th. Freshman Kevin Harris, Mike's brother, posted a 157 (78-79) in his second varsity appearance, while freshman Scott Hayes shot a 158 (81-77). Overall, Carras said he is very pleased with the team's progress this fall, especially with the play of his top three players. "If we can get some better num- bers from our four and five spots, and our first three players (Mike Harris, Vernick, and Hinton) keep playing like they have been, we will be very competitive," Carras said. "This is a feisty group of guys, and they have a very competitive mentality." The Wolverines return to action in two weeks, competing in the Stanford Invitational beginning Nov. 7 in Palo Alto, Calif. KEVIN KRUPITZER/Daily Sophomore Mari Hoff and her Michigan teammates head to Detroit to face the Titans in a non-conference game that should serve as a tuneup for a showdown against Michigan State on Sunday. son's homestretch one crucial game at a time. "Every win will help us," Belkin said. "Our goal is to make it to the NCAA tournament, and every win we get moves us closer to this." The Wolverines have been advanc- ing toward this goal by leaps and bounds in the last two weeks. After suffering a loss at the hands of conference champion Minnesota, and tying Penn State two days later, Michigan has been on an offensive tear. In their four games during this span, the Wolverines have outscored their opponents, 24-1, allowing just 18 shots. Thanks to this surge, the Wolverines are now the l3th-ranked team, just three spots behind the Gophers in the national polls. But if Michigan does not look past Detroit, they still may have difficul- ty focusing on the Spartans. Next on the schedule after Michigan State is a season-finale meeting with No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend. Playing the high-powered Irish (14-0-1) the week before the confer- ence tournament should allow the Wolverines to gauge their progress. "It's a good refresher." Belkin said of the teams' non-conference slate. "This way, when we go back into the Big Ten tournament, we're not play- ing the same teams we just got through playing." Despite the importance of the upcoming contests, the team remains focused on today's game. "We remember what happened last time (we played at Detroit)," Belkin said. "We can't afford to slip up." Pack the luggage: Boilermakers could go bovlig t seems that Purdue Pete, the Boilermakers' mighty mascot, should start looking for some lug- gage. After all, some of his armor is big and bulky and if lie doesn't have the right-sized suitcase, it won't fit com- fortably. Then there's the oversized helmet, which probably needs to be boxed separately, but will still be too big to be considered a carry-on. But if Pete is as mathematically *ute as most of the Purdue student body, he should have no problem packing his gear., Why, you ask,. does a mascot need to worry about luggage, or for that matter, anyone or any- thing associated ith Purdue DANIELLE Wotball? RUMORE Well, it looks like for the first Rumore time in 13 long Has it -years, the Boilermakers will have somewhere to go for the winter holidays - and that includes Pete- At the midway point of the college football season, Purdue appears on s way to its first bowl game, bar- ring a catastrophic ending, since los- ing to Virginia in the 1985 Peach Bowl. And we're talking about a good bowl game, not the Motor City Bowl or the Toilet Bowl or anything like that. Purdue, with its very respectable 5-1 record, including a 3-0 mark in the conference, has designs on one 4 the Big Ten's five bowl sites - or somewhere even better. Right now, the Boilermakers are in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten standings with Michigan and Penn State. They are ranked in the op 25 - No. 22 to be exact - for the first time since 1984 and are off to their best start since beginning the 1978 season 7-1. They started the season with a loss to Toledo, 36-22, but then beat Notre Dame, 28-17, the next week. Then they beat Ball State, Northwestern, Minnesota and a good Wisconsin team, 45-20, this past Saturday. "We ran into a very hot Purdue team last week," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "Joe Tiller and his staff have done a heck of a job." If all of this is hard to swallow, don't worry - you're not alone. The Boilermakers have not had a winning season since 1984. This season, they lost their best player, fullback Mike Alstott, to graduation and gave former coach Jim Colletto the boot after six straight losing seasons. The Boilermakers' new coach, miracle worker Joe Tiller, inherited a shaky program, to say the least. But none of that seems to matter now, nor does the usual two-to-three year transition period after a major upheaval, now that Purdue has Tiller - the same Tiller who led Wyoming to its first top 25 finish since 1988 last season. "Joe Tiller has done an outstanding job," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I think I'd be less than honest if I didn't say I was surprised. They have beaten some very good football teams, and usually there's a transition period in any program. They are in a good position." There are five games remaining on Purdue's schedule, two that appear to be locks but three that should prove to be a struggle. Let's play this one conservatively: Purdue should beat Illinois this week and Indiana to finish the season. And let's say for the sake of argument that they lose to mightier Iowa, Michigan State and Penn State in between. That leaves Purdue with a 7-4 overall record, 5-3 in the conference. Normally, that should be good enough for the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. But everything depends on the rest of the Big Ten. Three Big Ten teams are undefeat- ed, three have one loss each and one has two losses. That kind of parity makes determining the bowl scene a little difficult. And even if the Boilermakers get shafted from the Big Ten's five bowls, and say they have a 7-4 record, they should still wind up somewhere. "I like to think that we're not an overconfident team because we're only at the halfway point of our season," Tiller said. "I think if we look back about six weeks ago, it hits you right between the eyes that we certainly can't afford to assume anything." STUCK IN THE SHADOWS: There seems to be two divisions in the Big Ten this year - the good division and the not-so-good division. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and now Purdue are in the good division and Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Northwestern are in the not-so-good division (although, occasionally, one or two slip out to the other side). Somewhere in the midst of bowl talk, the national title race and the cellar dwellers, someone forgot about Wisconsin. The Badgers, even more quietly than Purdue, have managed to rack up a 6-2 record, including a 3-1 mark in the Big Ten, and a three- way tie for second place in the con- ference. They lost to Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic in August and to Purdue last Saturday. But in between their two losses, the Badgers have quietly chugged along. Their six wins mostly came against lesser opponents, but they still have the ability to finish high in the conference standings. Hey, they have Ron Dayne, the fourth-best rusher in the nation who has already rushed for 1,088 yards. The Badgers will not have to play Michigan State like Purdue does, but they still have Iowa, Michigan and Penn State to finish the season. Anything can happen. - Danielle Rumore can be reached via e-mail at drumore@umich.edu. 1997 Persimmon Ridge Intercollegiate Team standings 1. Akron 2. Michigan Kentucky Indiana 5. Memphis 6. E. Kentucky 7. Murray State 8. Wisconsin 9. St. Louis 10. Eastern Michigan Marshall 12. Morehead State 13. Louisville 14. Xavier (Ohio) 15. Cincinnati 16. Notre Dame 594 601 601 601 602 606 610 613 615 616 616 617 618. 622 623 624 Individual standings 1. Michael Harris I Greg Boyette R Mike Whitson 1 4. Randy Leen 1 Ryan Loghry 1 Willie Kent Ryan Helminen ' 8. Blair Scurlock 1 9. Dan Chartrand 10. Rob Couture Jason Worbacher Kevin Vemick Brandon Tucker 34. Keith Hinton 60. Kevin Harris 71. Scott Hayes Michigan Akron E. Kentucky Indiana Kentucky St. Louis Wisconsin Memphis Memphis E. Michigan low a Michigan E. Kentucky Michigan Michigan Michigan 144* 144 144 146 146 146 146 147 148 149 149 149 149 153 157 158 k won in a sudden eath playoff on the 18th hole E;r-RE[P_ ,a r r/P" "YE 11/x' N \_f5UrN/ EN T~L %64 L. W" I 141. T NN, I.i.