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PRO
BASKETBALL
Miami 90.
BOSTON 74
CHARLOTTE 110,
Dallas 103
Indiana 99,
DETROIT 87
NEW JERSEY 112.
Golden State 96,
Atlanta 93,
PHILADELPHIA 88
CHICAGO 94,
Orlando 81
SAN ANTONIO 87,
Vancouver 79
Houston 124,
LA CLIPPERS 110
PRO
HOCKEY
Dallas 5,
PITTSBURGH 2
CAROLINA 3,
Detroit 1
New Jersey 4,
FLORIDA 2
MONTREAL 4,
Phoenix 2
N.Y. ISLANDERS 4,
Edmonton 4
Toronto 4,
CALGARY 3
N.Y. Rangers 4,
COLORADO 2
Tampa Bay at
ANAHEIM, inc.
Thursday
November +6, 1997
H1A
U U
Big times
MARGARET M
Scott Werner will be one of the
Wolverines heading to Texas.
Men Swim
teir way
into Texas
By John m dberg
Daily Sports Writer
Everything is big in Texas. The cac-
tuses, the cities, the accents and the
Michigan vs. Texas swimming meet tak-
ing place tomorrow and Saturday. Friday
is a standard dual meet, but Saturday is
*'an exhibition, featuring all the events that
take place at the NCAA championships.
"We are really looking forward to
Friday," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek
said. "The competition will be our most
significant of the year. I think Texas may
be the top team in the country."
The Wolverines, fresh off a 173-70
smoking of Eastern Michigan, will
almost be at full strength for this one.
Michigan will benefit from the return of
SOlympian Tom Malchow. Malchow, who
took the silver in the 200 butterfly, was at
an international meet held in Auburn
over the weekend.
"The meet was basically a tune-up for
the world championships," Urbanchek
said.
Friday's competition features two of
the most dominating programs in NCAA
history. Michigan has won l1 national
championships since 1937, making the
Wolverines the top program in the coun-
See TEXAS, Page 12A
Field
Hockey
FR1AY:
(4) Iowa vs.
(5) Michigan State,
1:30 p.m.
(6) Northwestem vs.
(3) Ohio State,
4 p.m.
. SAiu.=AY:
(1) Penn State vs.
lowa/MSU winner,
1:30 p.m.
(2)Michigan vs.
Ohio State/NW win-
ner, 4 p.m.
SUNMA=
Championship
Game, 2 p.m.
Soccer
FRDAm
(I) Minnesota vs. (8)
Michigan State, 1I
a.m.
(4) Northwestem vs.
(5) Indiana,
11:30 a.m.
(2) Michigan vs. (7)
Ohio State,
1:30 p.m.
(3) Penn State vs.
(6) Wisconsin,
2 p.m.
e SATURDAY:
Minn/MSU winner
vs. NW/Ind. winner,
noon
UMIOSU winner vs.
Penn State/Wise win-
ner, 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY:
Championship
Game (TV by
Sportschannel-
Chicago), 4 p.m.
DAeNIE LC ASLEildy
Julie Flachs will lead Michigan into Iowa City this weekend.
Field hockey: Big Tens are next
Michigan faces Ohio State to open the Big Ten tournament.
By Evan Braunstein
Daily Sports Writer
In the past few weeks, the Michigan women's
field hockey team has gone on a rampage. You
couldn't stop the Wolverines, and you couldn't
hope to contain them either.
The Wolverines won their final five games of
the season, all against conference opponents, pro-
pelling the team to its first-ever regular season Big
Ten championship. Three of the victories were
decided by only one goal, including one in double
overtime. On Nov. 2, with the conference title on
the line, the Wolverines handed a 4-0 drubbing to
Michigan State - a team they had lost to earlier
in the season.
Now the Wolverines hope to continue their suc-
cess in the Big Ten tournament this weekend in
Iowa City. The winner receives an automatic bid to
the NCAA tournament next week. Along with
'New season' for soccer
Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa,
Northwestern and co-champion Penn State are the
teams that will attend.
The Wolverines have been preparing since the
beginning of the season for this tournament, and
want to carry their momentum into the weekend.
"We try to schedule our season to prepare for
the tournament so we peak at the right time,"
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said.
It looks as if this strategy worked perfectly, with
the team playing its best hockey in the past month.
Many players, including Amy Helber, Sandra
Cabrera and Kelli Ganon, raised their level of play
towards the end of the season. Still, the Wolverines
will be counting on star midfielder Julie Flachs to
lead them into the post season.
"Julie is one of the best players in the nation,"
See FIELD HOCKEY, Page 13A
By Andy Latack
Daily Sports Writer
This season has been one big highlight
reel for Michigan soccer. Shattering team
and individual records left and right, the
Wolverines have taken the conference by
storm, proving that they have arrived as a
solid program.
For all they have accomplished this
season, it's a shame they have to begin a
brand new one Friday.
That's the way Michigan is approach-
ing the Big Ten tournament, taking place
this weekend in Blaine, Minn.
Hosted by conference champion and
No. I seed Minnesota, the tournament
showcases the top eight teams in the Big
Ten, with the winner receiving an auto-
matic berth to the NCAA tournament.
For Michigan (7-1-1 Big Ten, 15-3-1
overall), the Big Ten tournament is a
chance to avenge its only conference loss
of the season and grab the automatic bid.
"We're going into the tournament to
win," Michigan coach Debbie Belkin
said. "We have a different mentality now,
because we know anything can happen.
It's a whole new season."
Indeed, anything can and did happen
in last year's conference tournament.
Seventh-seeded Indiana, entering with a
See SOCCER, Page 13A
Poetry in motion: More than our everyday Jonef
Michigan's Dhani Jones and Penn State's Jim Nelson are a couple of very different linebackers - with a common goal
FILE PHOTO
Krtl~Hale and the Michigan women's
swimming team will race in
Minneapolis this weekend.
0'
IM, women
paddle to
Minneapolis
1~ ByDavid Den~erder
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's swimming
team has shown no signs this season
that its streak of I1 Big Ten titles is in
jeopardy.
After destroying Michigan State on
the road, the Wolverines went on to win
every event at the 16-team
Northwestern Relays Invitational, en
route to their fourth victory in the tour-
nament in as many years.
Though impressive so far, this week-
end's competition will offer a true test
for Michigan. The Wolverines head to
Minneapolis on Friday for the annual
Minnesota Invitational. The two-day
competition will feature Northwestern,
Minnesota and North Carolina. All
three teams finished in the top 20 last
year at the 1997 NCAA champi-
onships.
Minnesota also finished second in
the Big Ten last year behind Michigan
and will put up a very good fight this
weekend., The Gophers will have a
home-pool advantage and the ability to
hit Michigan's pressure points.
"Minnesota is a powerhouse in the
breaststroke and distance free,"
Michigan coach Jim Richardson said.
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika
Daily Sports Editor
R fight there in the
Schembechler Hall meeting
room, while his gruff coach
barks orders and draws up plays, it
comes to him. Inspiration. An
image, a thought or a phrase. And
so Dhani Jones scribbles down a
line of poetry before it
goes away.
Art won't wait, not
even for an intimidat-
ing figure like
Jones, a 6-foot-2,
220-pound
sophomore
linebacker
r:
at Michigan. Jones has been a part-
time poet and painter since high
school, reading his work in front of
crowds and wandering through
museums all alone for years.
Still, inspiration comes when it
wants, even on a week like this, and
who is Dhani Jones to ignore it?
"I've got to do it quickly, before I
lose what I was thinking about - or
the coaches see me," Jones
said. "If they saw me,
they'd kill me. I need to
be focused, but if some-
thing hits you, you seize
the moment. Carpe diem.
Then, you get right back
on track, because this
is an important
time."
No. 4 Michigan
will play at No. 2
Penn State on
Saturday, and Jones
will play a key role for
the nation's top-rated
defense against a potent
Penn State attack. Since
becoming a starter after
co-captain Eric Mayes
went down with a career-
ending knee injury more than a
month ago, Jones's responsibilities
have increased, making the loaded
palate of his life more colorful than
ever.
Saturday could be his master-
piece. Not only do the Big Ten and
national championships hang in the
balance, but Jones will be compared
to Penn State senior linebacker Jim
Nelson.
Jones, of Potomac, Md., and
Nelson, of Waldorf, Md., both grew
up near the nation's captial, but
they're miles apart in everything but
football ability. Ever eccentric,
Jones is well-versed off the field but
still is learning to assert himself on
it. Nelson, a quiet kid until it comes
to football, is evolving into the
vocal leader of the Nittany Lions'
linebackers.
They seem to resemble the uni-
forms they wear: Jones in a wild,
winged helmet, Nelson in a plain,
simple ensemble. The only question
now is who will wear roses in the
end.
"Every player has his own unique
style," said Penn State defensive
ends coach Larry Johnson, who also
coached Nelson in high school. "Jim
has always been quiet until he puts
" the helmet on. Then, he's full of
fire. But I think he's starting to
come out of that shell a little bit."
Nelson was so quiet in high
school, Johnson didn't know what to
expect from him at first. He had
size, as he does now at 6 feet 2, 230
pounds. He ran 40 yards in 4.5 sec-
onds. But his brooding silence
seemed to indicate meekness, so
Johnson put him through a series of
grueling tackling drills, which, of
course, he dominated.
Smiling broadly, Nelson looked
up afterward and asked, "Good?"
"Not bad," Johnson laughed.
"You've said enough."
Life as a military brat, following
See JONES, Page 14A
Help yourself by helping others...
SUNDAY SPECIAL
Wolverines Score-
YouSave!
for every touchdown
=.f
Consider a
Career i
Physical Therapy
Enrollment every APRIL & OCTOBER
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