_ M WOMEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL (4) N.C. State 60 (2) CONNECTICUT 52 (1) TENNESSEE 76 (2) N. Carolina 70 ;43) Louisiana Tech 72, 4)-Purdue 65 PRO BASKETBALL Detroit 94, PHILADELPHIA 79 CHICAGO 111, Boston 88 DALLAS 91, Minnesota 87 L.A. Lakers 107, DENVER 86 Sacramento at SEATTLE inc. L.A. Clippers at VANCOUVER inc. PRO HOCKEY DETROIT 5, Chicago 5 (OT) Carolina 5, FLORIDA 3 UJP Ld jgt 1TtS Check out the Mic when the Wolverin NCAA West Regio 1,300 tickets left Scrappy Apps backs up 'D' ,ily Princetonian 'So many faceoffs occur in any given men's hockey game that mnly in rare late-game situations does a single one affect the outcome of the game. But any hockey coach will tell you that over the course of a game, the team that dominates the faceoff circle will usually -&iminate the game. l Often, the difference between a win and a loss can be the outcome of that night's play in the circle. ' And when the game pivots on the referee's drop or the team just needs to come up with the puck in its own end, Princeton head coach Don Cahoon sends junior center Syl Apps into the vircle to do battle for Princeton. fWhile many centers and forwards will face off during the .course of a contest, the Unionville, Ontario, native has emerged .as the Tigers' top faceoff specialist. He takes virtually all the faceoffs in the Princeton defensive zone and the most crucial Stirops elsewhere. Indeed, Apps' ability in the circle often serves ;a momentum swing in favor of the Tigers. TAKING CHARGE "He wins it probably 80 percent of the time," junior center - Brian Horst said. "It takes a big weight off of (the team's) shoul- 'ders. He makes it so much easier to be in control of the game." "In winning faceoffs, more important than us gaining pos- . Nssion of the puck is not letting the other team get possession," Cahoon said. "Faceoffs are a vital part of the game." After Princeton's first 3-2 loss to Eastern College Athletic Conference-leading Yale on Dec. 6, Cahoon cited Apps' gutsy -work in the circle as one of the reasons the Tigers were able to iemain in the game and take a late stab at the Bulldogs' lead in .the.third period. - With the possible exception of a clean breakaway, the faceoff exists as the only situation in which the game becomes a one- ion-one contest. Apps thrives on this unique facet. . "The referee drops the puck, and it's you and the other cen- terman," Apps said. "I kind of like that. It's a little game within the game because you're going to be facing (the other tear's ,est center) a lot of times during the game. I like taking face- offs. I enjoy the pressure of it." Facing off is not simply a natural ability for Apps, though he grew up playing hockey in Ontario, learning the tricks from a iprofessional center - his father. w In the Apps family, hockey is not just a game, it's a birthright. Apps' father, Sylvanus Apps, played professionally in the NHL %vith the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los ;Angeles Kings before retiring in 1980. See TIGERS, Page 12 'M' teams chigan hockey team this weekend ies play in the first round of the ' nals at Yost ice Arena. There are: for the series, which begins Friday. Tuesday March 24, 199810 Peach sidelined for est Re giona By Sharat Raju Daily Sports Editor In the middle of Michigan's first CCHA playoff game against Notre Dame two weeks ago, defenseman Sean Peach headed to the sidelines-He couldn't finish the game, having sus- tained a concussion. This past weekend, Peach still wasn' feeling well enough to play. And again, Michigan coach Red Berenson didn't suit up the defenseman. Now, it looks as if Peach won't'play at all for the rest of the season. "We'll all be healthy except forSdan Peach," Berenson said: "I don't think Sean will be." The sophomore blueliner expori- enced headaches and some grogginess during the past few weeks; Berenso said. But now, Peach said he's feeling slightly better. "I still got a little bit of a headache and stuff." Peach said. "It's easy t say that I feel good. "I feel like I can play right now, but I don't want to rush it." Peach, perhaps Michigan's best true defensive defenseman, has reason to be concerned. He has already suffoied three mild concussions this seas6 Whether Peach returns depends on-how long the Wolverines last in the NCAA Tournament. "I just talked to the trainer and I should be able to ride the bike"next Monday," Peach said. "You never know, if we do make the final four I might be able to play. I don't know.' See PEACH, Page 12 me games* 11 times the teams have actually taken the field. The Wolverines last faced BallState in 1990, three high-scoring affairsrBut this will be the first time they square off in Ann Arbor. +* Michigan has not thrown the ball par- ticularly well this season. Pitchers ha allowed five or more runs in every game. But that is not unusual. The season is still green, and with all the game cancellations, it has bee dif- ficult for the corps to throw many pitch- es. One thing that isn't missing, though, is good hitting. The Wolverines -have scored eight runs or more in each of their past four games and plentyr contributing. Jason Alcaraz came down with an ear infection and didn't make the tripto Oklahoma, temporarily putting his 12- game hitting streak and .370 batting average on the shelf. But backupBob Robeda stepped in and went 5-for.10 with four RBI in the two-game series. The sophomore is currently hitting .455 this season. But Michigan's most pleasant su prise thus far has been second baseman Scott Tousa. The freshman leads the team with a .417 average and hasjx multiple-hit games. "Tousa has played very well fouu," Zahn said. "He's hitting and doing..a great job in the field. Whenever you have a freshman lead the team in hit- ting, it's going to be a surprise.' MVP awar 1st-ever for Gentilee from staff reports Michigan catcher Melissa Gentili utility infielder Sara Griffin and short- stop Rebecca Tune all returned home from the Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette this weekend with more tro- phies for their shelves. Gentile earned the Most Valuable JOHN KRAF[/Oaily The Michigan hockey team will no doubt miss the defensive services of sophomore blueliner Sean Peach this weekend when they face Princeton in the first round of the NCAA West Regional at Yost Ice Arena. Strong Stenn1s smashes Buckeyes Sy Mark Francescutti JDaily Sports Writer History repeats itself. 0 Last season, Michigan thumped .Ohio State, 7-0, at the Varsity Tennis .Center. On Sunday, the Wolverines - splaying their first Big Ten matchup Hof the season - came out on fire, again scorching the Buckeyes, 7-0, 'pn their home courts. The change of scenery didn't stop the slaughter that began with Michigan (1-0 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) winning a'l three of its doubles matches. The only close match was junior Jake Raiton and sophomore Matt Wright's 9-8 victory over Ohio State's top freshman Chris Porter :and junior Pari Laxminarayan. * Seniors Brook Blain and Arvid ,Swan as well as Wright and Raiton Igained their 14th doubles win. Junior Miki Pusztai joined Sophomore John Long to win the third match. With the doubles wins, Michigan T a Ii Y s Baseball warming to ho By Jacob R. Wheeler Daily Sports Witer Apparently, mother nature is not a Michigan baseball fan. If she was, she'd realize how important it is for pitchers to work plenty of innings early in the spring. But mother nature has either rained or snowed out the Wolverines' last seven games, including what should have been the season home- opener last weekend ~~~~~-~~-~ ~~ against Iowa. Tomorrow's scheduled matchup with Ball State is also in ques- tion because Fisher Stadium is currently cov- ered with snow. "We need to play' Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "There's no question about that. We haven't played in a week, and that hurts because we're used to playing more often.' Tomorrow'st Who: Michigan 1 against Ball State Where: Fisher Fi When:3p.m. Notables: )Aeathei ths wdl be the fir of the olverines Ganes scheduled weekend against]1 rained out.'Teyh rescheduled for la season. FILE PHOTO it only took Michigan senior Dave Paradzik two sets to defeat Ohio State's Chris Porter. His victory set the tone as the Wolverines won all of their matches Sunday. earned the crucial doubles point, meaning they only had to win three of the six singles matches in order to win the contest. But instead they won all six in straight sets. Senior Dave Paradzik continued his strong play at No. I singles with a win over top freshman Chris Porter, 7-5, 6-4. At No. 2 and 3 sin- gles, Wright defeated Scott Wiles, 6- 2, 6-1, and Swan defeated Laxminarayan, 6-1, 6-2. Junior Will Farah, Raiton and Long finished out the bottom three singles with straight-set victories as well. "We didn't have any weak spots, especially at No. 2 and No. 3 sin- gles," Michigan assistant coach Dan Goldberg said. "Dave Paradzik also had a good win against Chris Porter, a very good freshman." See BUCKEYES, Page 12 After a rough season-opening tour of top-notch competition in Texas and Oklahoma, the Wolverines (5-9-1) would like to get back on track against the Cardinals before opening the Big Ten season at Illinois this weekend and at Ohio State the following one. Zahn is saving his best starting pitch- ers for the upcoming conference matchups, in which Michigan will face two of the Big Ten's best teams. The Illini and the Buckeyes each made it to last year's conference tournament, which Ohio State eventually won. "We'll have to pitch the staff against Ball State because our big guys have to be ready for the weekend," Zahn said. The third-year coach hinted that right handers Mike Hribernik, Ryan Kelley and Tyler Steketee and southpaw Nick Alexander might see action tomorrow. Steketee is Michigan's closer. Although Zahn is saving his best for the weekend, Ball State is _----~~~-~- a good swinging baseball team. The Cardinals (9-4) Game are hitting a lofty .305 this basehall team season and have outscored opponents 72-51 thus far. eld Ball State's pitchers have posted a near-respectable Sp amntting, 4.34 earned run average 1998 season. and opposing hitters are for this past batting only .232 against [owa wer them. have been Outfielder Justin Love ter in the is the Cardinals' most dan- gerous hitter. Love is hit- ting .381 with three home- runs. But the senior wreaks havoc on the basepaths as well. Love led the Mid- American Conference with 44 stolen bases last season. "They're going to be very competi- tive;' Zahn said. "Ball State is one of the best teams in the MAC." If bad weather shuts out tomorrow's game, it will be a case of deji vu all over again. Michigan was supposed to host the Cardinals on the same day last year, but rain put a hold on the Wolverines' winning-streak. Michigan has won all Michigan's Sara Griffin was named to the all- tournament team at this weekend's Boilermaker Classic. Griffin pitches and also plays third base for the Wolverines- .. . .. . . .. . .