24 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 9, 1998 Michigan men's golf looks 4 to regain 'balance' of old Carras, Harris looking for four or five consistent scorers By Tracy Sandler Daily Sports Writer Everything in life needs to be balanced. One needs a good balance between work and play. In sports, each team needs to be balanced in order to perform at its highest level. No one knows this better than Michigan men's golf coach Jim Carras. Five golfers from each team participate in a tourna- ment, with the four lowest scores being counted. The highest is thrown out. Therefore, two or three good scores each weekend is not going to cut it. "For us to achieve the kind of success we desire, I use the word 'balance,"' Carras said. "We need to have four people play well. We'd like to have five, but we need to have four. If our four best scores are 77, 78, 79 and 80, we will not do as well. "Two years ago we had seven good players recording four good scores. What we need are good No. 4 and No. 5 men. "We need to know that we have a good enough balance that we can put five guys in there and know that four are going to play well." During the aforementioned season, the Wolverines qualified for both the NCAA regionals and finals. Last season, Michigan finished fifth in the Big Ten and did not see NCAA tournament action. Carras said that some of this year's goals include returning to the success of 1997. "We want to improve upon last year's season," Carras said. "First of all, we have every hope of improving on our Big Ten standing. "Secondly, we want to return tothe NCAA regionals and finals, as we did in 1997. We want to get back to the finals." So the question is: How? How do they get back to the finals? The answer seems to be balance. So, how do the Wolverines achieve such balance? Michigan returns all-Big Ten team member Michael Harris, while Carras said that junior Mike Affeldt and4 sophomore Scott Hayes are both performing well on the greens. "We certainly have one of the best coming back in Harris," Carras said. "He's the captain of our team, and he's our anchor. But, if we depend totally on him, we'll be in trouble. Affeldt and Hayes look like they're play- ing rather well right now. Of the five returning starters, those three are showing the kind of strength that we need." In terms of the four and five men that Carras says bal- ance out the team, the Wolverines may find them it youth. "Based on the play of the kids so far, we have some very young kids - both true freshmen and redshirt freshmen - who may give us the balance we need. The key term for us is balance." The Michigan men's golf team is hoping to recapture the form that made It tough to beat two years ago. To get there, the Wolverines need consistent play from four or five men. FILE PHOTO SNYDER Continued from Page 22 with so many coaches in awe of his accomplishments, it's hard to deflect the spotlight. The only problem may be that the majority of those peers seem to be eulogizing the still-active coach. "What else can you say about Joe Paterno," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Joe is going to be remembered as a great ambassador for college . ..__ .....,._ Y.._........,......,.... ._.. football. He's leaving a great legacy." The only problem is, Paterno isn't leaving. He continues to want to coach until the sun emerges on a Happy Valley November day. Here's to hoping the only November sun he sees is on his next Hawaii trip. SNAP, CRACKLE, POP: Just one week into the season, Michigan State is fighting an uphill battle. After two devastating losses in consecutive weeks - the first a collapse against Colorado State and the second this week's duck-slap at Oregon - coach Nick Saban is hardly concerned with this week's opponent, sud- denlysparkling Notre Dame. "I'm not very concerned about whoever we're playing this week as I am about ourselves and our confi- dence," Saban said. He wants his team to regain "the inner soul and the passion for the game" that has appeared absent since the first half of the Colorado State game. "We've got to get back to compet- ing that way," Saban said. Suddenly, Saban may have more to worry about than his team's psyche. Cornerback Amp Campbell, the heart of the Spartan secondary, underwent surgery this week for a neck problem and offensive tackle Shawn Mason - "our best offensive lineman" accord- ing to Saban - is out for the year. Not a good sign with the Jarious Jackson show rolling in. ARE YOU YELLOW?: Fry, who prob- ably has forgotten more football than his players have seen, was awestruck by an Iowa first last weekend. Kahlil Hill, a redshirt freshman playing in his first game for the Hawkeyes, caught the nation's atten- tion by returning a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown, despite handling just three kicks on the day. "It's the first time that's happened in the history of Iowa," said, Fry, who probably would remember. "He's an extremely gifted, talented young man. I don't know if he'll be in the same category as (former Hawkeye) Tim Dwight, but he'll be outstanding." Fortunately for Hill, he has a head start on the competition. His father, J.D. Hill, played for nine years in the NFL, with a few for the Buffalo Bills in the 1970s with O.J. Simpson. This week, the younger Hill faces Iowa State - another chance to dis- play his 'killer' returns. - Mark Snyder can be reached at msnyder@umich.edu. 0 4 10 ,..,. REC SPORTS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHAT'S HAPPENING INTRAMURALS Intramural Soccer Officials Needed!! -U * No Experie Necessary nce T Get a Free =Shirt NX Cassbi CWasskos * Feuehs F ...L ..fr " spinning " Aerobic Classes " Free Weights " Basketball " Cardio-Equipment " Cybex " Weight Loss Program " Personal Training " Cardio Boxing " Self Defense Classes At left, Marcus 4 Knight tums a potential interception into a huge gain for the Wolverines. s Knight made five catches against Notre Dame on .i Saturday in just his second career start. WARREN ZINN/Daily KNIGHT Continued from Page 23 receiver. "I'm from the South, and it was a difficult adjustment," Knight says of the transition from an Alabama high school to college life in Ann Arbor, "I had to stop worrying about t things I can't control, and concen trate on improving myself." There were times, he admits, when the quick-fix solution - leaving - seemed more appealing than the long-term prospect - sticking it out. "Of course, it was always in the back of my mind," Knight says of transferring. "Some people know right away that this is the place for them. It just took me a while to g comfortable. But I've made th adjustment well, and now I'm happy." And now he's getting his chance. Instead of wondering whether he went to the wrong school, or dwelling on what might have been, Knight spent the first Saturday of this September on the field - catch- ing passes and throwing blocks. Knight may be new to. the spo light, but you'd never know it by lis- tening to him talk. He sounds like an old pro. "Believe it or not, Marcus Knight has been waiting to do this for a long time," Marcus Knight says in the SPORTS ' Officials are INTRAMURALS * Flexible Paid for All Hours Games Worked Training Clinics Begin I I I I