10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 29, 1997
'M' field hockey looking to
clinch first-ever league title
By Kurt New
For the Daily
The Michigan field hockey team has existed for 25
years, yet in this season alone it has managed to exceed
all of the accomplishments of the previous teams com-
bined.
It has been a season of record-setting for the No. 11
Wolverines. For starters, their win over Ohio State this
weekend was their 14th victory of the season, eclipsing
the previous Michigan record of 13.
That win also insured that Michigan will finish over
.500 in conference play for the first time in school his-
tory. A win over Michigan State in the Wolverines' reg-
ular season finale on Sunday would also clinch at least a
co-Big Ten championship, which would also be the first
in school history.
Earlier in the season, Michigan also got its first-ever
win over Iowa, which it followed up with a second vic-
tory over the Hawkeyes almost a month later.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Aside from their various team
accomplishments, the Wolverines also have several
players who are strong contenders for individual awards.
Senior Julie Flachs, who has set Michigan records for
career and single-season goal scoring, is a strong con-
tender for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Flachs has gone back and forth with Iowa's Kerry
Lessard for the Big Ten scoring title all season, and the
winner of that battle may very well capture Big Ten
Player of the Year honors.
Forward Kelli Gannon is in the running for Big Ten
Freshman of the Year. Her game-winning goals agair
Penn State and in overtime against Ohio State this week-
end have certainly strengthened her chances for the
award.
Senior Sandra Cabrera is also a strong candidate for
Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten.
Players are not the only Wolverines in contention for
post-season awards. After putting Michigan in position
to win its first- ever Big Ten title in only her second year
on the job, Coach Marcia Pankratz will surely be given
serious consideration for Coach of the Year in the Big
Ten.
HOME SWEET HOME: Playing for the Big Ten title I
home should bode well for the Wolverines, who are 8-1
at Phyllis Ocker Field this season - with eight consec-
utive wins.
Much of the reason for this dominance lies in the fact
that Michigan's success has parlayed into larger crowds,
which have given Michigan a definite home field advan-
tage. Barring disastrous weather, this Sunday's game,
with its championship implications, could very well be
the largest crowd in Ocker Field history.
PAUL TALANIAN/Daily
With a win on Sunday, the Michigan field hockey team will clinch a share of the Big Ten title - for the first time ever.
Buckeyes need Bowl'
help, for a change
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio State is
ninth in the country but no better than
fifth in its own conference.
Heading into Saturday's game at No.
21 Michigan State, the Buckeyes need
a lot of help to make a return appear-
ance at the Rose Bowl. Whether they
get that help, at least this week, will
likely be determined even before the
kickoff at Spartan Stadium.
Unbeaten Michigan hosts
Minnesota, No. 2-ranked Penn State
travels to Northwestern and surprising
No. 18 Purdue is at Iowa - and should
be finished by the time the Spartans
and Buckeyes square off at 3:30 p.m.
"If they're flashing that score up
there and announce it on the PA sys-
tem, I'm probably aware of it," Ohio
State coach John Cooper said. "I don't
try to make it a point to look for it or
listen for it, but usually you know
what's going on."
What's going on is that the sand is
sifting through the hourglass on the
1997 season. And the opportunities to
steal a championship are dwindling,
particularly if the favorites continue to
win.
"It's no danger looking at the score-
board," tailback Pepe Pearson said.
"You like to see what's going on in
your conference. We have a tough con-
ference this year. A lot of big teams are
going to knock each other off. So it's
an interesting race."
Wide receiver Dee Miller said, "The
scores are going to be flashing, but our
primary focus is going to be Michigan
State. We can't worry about what
everybody else does. As long as we
win out, that's the only thing we can
do."
But winning out still doesn't mean
much without some help.
Since Ohio State ( 3-1 Big Ten, 7-1
overall) lost its head-to-head matchup
with Penn State 31-27 on Oct. 11, the
Nittany Lions would win any tie-break-
er. For Ohio State to make it back to
Pasadena, Penn State must lose twice.
Should Penn State lose to Michigan
in two weeks and then the Buckeyes
whip the rival Wolverines in the regu-
lar-season finale - creating a three-
way tie for the title - Michigan would
go to the Rose Bowl.
Under the Big Ten tie-breaker, th
team that most recently went
Pasadena is eliminated (Ohio State)
with the nod going to the Wolverines
based on their head-to-head meeting
with Penn State.
The champion will be "the team that
avoids the big upset," Cooper said. He
cited the close calls -- both survived
- by Penn State against Minnesota
and Michigan against Iowa two week-
ends ago.
Regardless of who wins the Big TO
or goes to the Rose Bowl, Ohio State,
Penn State and Michigan are also in the
race for a spot in the Bowl Alliance.
That would mean playing in either the
Orange. Sugar or Fiesta bowls.
Here's what the stretch run looks like
for the top contenders after this week:
Ohio State plays three of its last four
games on the road, playing at
Minnesota, home with Illinois, then at
Michigan after the trip to East Lansir*
Penn State (3-0 in the Big Ten) hosts
Michigan, plays at Purdue, welcomes
Wisconsin, then closes at Michigan
State.
Michigan (4-0) takes to the road for
games at Penn State and Wisconsin
before its bash with the Buckeyes in
Ann Arbor.
Purdue (4-0) entertains Michigan
State and Penn State, then travels to
Indiana.
Wisconsin (4-1) hosts Iowa and
Michigan, then closes the regular sea-
son at Penn State.
Asked if he spent any time looking
at the Big Ten schedule, Cooper said,
"Oh, yeah. All the time. Particularly
this late in the year."
In Michigan State (2-2, 5-2), the
Buckeyes take on a team that was
ranked 12th just two weeks ago -
before losing to Northwestern 19-
and Michigan 23-7.
Ohio State, meanwhile, is coming
off a 49-6 rout of Northwestern, which
Cooper called the best game his team
has played so far.
MEDIA
Continued from Page 9
throughout the week. Many names sur-
faced, some of which were probably
correct, and at least one that wasn't.
One Detroit newspaper reported early
last week that Goss had flown out to his
California home to interview two candi-
dates, and that one of them "might" be
Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar. The
next day, an Ann Arbor paper, not The
Michigan Daily, reported that "sources"
said Goss was interviewing Romar.
It was true that Goss was in
California. I know this because I reached
him on the phone at his home near
Oakland. The Romar part, however, did
not quite check out.
"Has anyone ever told you that you
were up for the job of President of the
United States?" said Romar from his
office in Malibu, Calif. "That's how this
feels. I've been getting calls about this
all day and I have never talked to Tom
Goss in my life. Who started this?"
The media, that's who.
After coming back to Ann Arbor and
then leaving again to conduct more face-
to-face interviews, Goss returned for
good on Wednesday night. But he still
had one last candidate to talk to, and that
was Reid. Goss had not kept Reid's
name a secret since he is not currently
employed.
would be hired the next day.
By the time the local evening news-
casts took the air, the story read, "It
looks like Michigan has found its man.
Roger Reid is expected to be nam
head basketball coach tomorrow."
From there, things deteriorated
through the rest of the night, to the point
where UPN reported on its 10 p.m. news
that Reid would "be named Michigan's
head coach in a press conference called
for tomorrow."
Interestingly enough, no press confer-
ence was even announced until, oh, 2
p.m. the next day.
But the night was not over y
Channel 4 reported on its 11 p.m. ne
that Reid had "spent the day in Ann
Arbor" and could be named head coach
the next day.
Now that's incredible, considering
Reid was still in Utah at 2 p.m., and not
scheduled to arrive in Ann Arbor until
after midnight.
Now that would be a good reason to
hire the man. If he can be two places at
once, imagine what he could do with t
Michigan basketball team - maybe
them to play to their potential, of all
things.
Finally, the day had come. The press
was gathering at the Crisler Arena press
lounge for a 4 p.m. press conference,
where Goss was expected to announce
his decision. The media had convinced
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