The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 9, 1998 - 25
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THE FOOTBALL
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By Uma Subramanimi
By Uma Subramanian
Daily Sports aritr
August is winter in Australia. But that didn't
deter the Michigan field hockey team from ventur-
ing to the land dowry under for some preseason
scrimmages.
The team spent two weeks in Adelaide - on the
country's southern coast - playing. matches
against local teams in the region. Recently, the
Australians have dominated the sport, winning two
World Championships and the 1996 Olympic
Games.
"It was a great experience for us to play there
because we competed against some excellent play-
ers," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "We
played a lot of players that are in their Olympic
development program, so the competition was
good for us."
Field hockey, while not prominent in U.S. sports
markets is extremely popular abroad. Numerous
stadiums are devoted exclusively to the sport.
The experience was a positive one for the
Wolverines that gave the Wolverines a sense of val-
idation about their sport, Pankratz said.
"When they see what kind of attention field
hockey gets around the world and experience it
first-hand, the young players realize, 'Hey, we real-
ly are a legitimate sport in the world',' Pankratz
said. "They get to see it in a different way."
Beyond the moral boost the players received
from their trip to Australia, playing against the
Aussies helped the Wolverines with their game as
well. In international play, the tempo of the game is
faster than in the United States. As a result,
Michigan was at a slight disadvantage going into
the matches.
But, Pankratz said she believes that the experi-
ence was a good opportunity for the players to
learn and modify their style of hockey.
"We learned to play much faster hockey down
there," Pankratz said. "It taught us to make deci-
sions quicker, which will help us in our game"
With eight new freshman on the team,
Michigan is looking to find its chemistry for a
new year. The Australian experience was an
opportunity to do just that.
"The team was really open to us," freshman
Jessie Zeith said. "We seem to work really well
together. Our nine games in Australia probably
more than anything helped us leam about playing
together. I think we will work well together"
Though most Wolverines fundraised to get down
to Australia, there was one member of the team
who didn't have to. Freshman Catherine Foreman
- an Adelaide native -made her Michigan debut
when she met up with the team there.
Hailed by Pankratz as the most skilled freshman,
Foreman will be looked to help fill the shoes of for-
mer All-American, Julie Flachs, who graduated
this past May.
"Cathy is really an experienced player"Pankratz
said. "In Australia they start at a much younger age
and so she has a lot of knowledge about the game.
She is probably the best prepared and has a lot of
potential."
Zeith echoed her coach's sentiments, saying that
Foreman's skills are "amazing."
As for Foreman herself, she is more excited
about the Michigan experience.
"It's really good to be here" Foreman said. "The
hockey is a lot of fun because it's not as big. But it's
really fun because everyone is so loyal to their
uni(versity).
"In Australia, we don't have such young towns.
The unis are in the big cities, and there's a lot more
unity in a uni town."
On the field the biggest adjustment for Foreman
comes due to the language barrier - from one
accent to another.
"The biggest culture shock was how everyone
talks," Foreman said. "Even on the field, my team-
mates can't understand me because in Australia we
use different words.
"I wanted a change and Michigan is really well -
known in Australia, so when the opportunity came
I took it. It's one of the few American unis that is
well known in Australia."
While Foreman has a long time to adjust to
American ways, her teammates will continue to
adapt parts of the Australian game.
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rhe Michigan field hockey team had an eventful offseason spending two weeks in Adelaide, Australia,
shere the women played nine games against local Australian teams. Michigan's first home game is
flursday against Southwest Missouri State, at 4 p.m. at Ocker Field.
1
Americans
advance at
U.S. Open
NEW YORK (AP) - Pete
Sampras strolled off the court after
overpowering yet another young
challenger. Venus Williams strutted
i ictory, pumping up the crowd
wi, an on-court dance that looked
like an NFL end zone celebration.
On a Monday when thunderstorms
turned the U.S. Open into
Wimbledon West, Sampras and
Williams reached the quarterfinals
with convincing wins over danger-
ous opponents.
Sampras had 18 aces and never
lo his serve in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win
t included a 2 1/4-hour rain
break, turning his power lunch with
Marat Safin into a late-afternoon
snack for the world's top player.
"I was cracking it pretty hard
throughout the match," Sampras
said. "I got the serve going, which
has been a little bit up and down
throughout this past week. Today it
seemed like it clicked."
The top-seeded Sampras, a four-
tir e U.S. Open champion, next will
fi ithe winner of a match between
No. 8 Andre Agassi and No. 9 Karol
Kucera.
Williams won the final six points
of the tiebreaker in her 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
win over No. 12 Mary Pierce, cele-
brating her win by shimmying to the
net.
"I really shouldn't have done the
dance, I should have waited until
la " she said. "I didn't plan to do
the dance. I planned to win the sec-
ond set really easy."
Williams' quarterfinal opponent
will be No. 4 Arantxa Sanchez
Vicario, who won 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 over
No. 15 Anna Kournikova.
Also advancing to the quarterfi-
nals was No. 2' Lindsay Davenport,
who won 6-1, 6-4 over No. 10
Nathalie Tauziat and next will play
Ananda Coetzer.
pras lost only 20 points on his
;er e in the match and closed out his
00th career win with three consee-
tive aces - including one at 135
nph. He won 41 of 48 points on his
'irst serve in the match.
Safin, 18, who wowed crowds at
his year's French Open with a string
if upsets en route to the fourth
ound in his Grand Slam debut,
h ed off plenty of power, includ-
rt0 aces. But he was no match for
he steady Sampras.
"He's very talented, but also very
oung. The first set I couldn't
'elieve the pace of his serve, I really
ada hard time reading it. The talent
s there, maybe he just needs to tone
t down a little bit," Sampras said.
He's 18 years old and he's got plen-
of years to learn from mistakes.
4y game at 18 was pretty bad."
Sampras was 19 when he won the
. pen for the first time.
Williams took advantage of 19
nforced errors and two double
tults to win the first set in 24 min-
tes against Pierce, who twice had
er wrist treated by a trainer. Pierce
'as down a break in the second set
'hen rain interrupted play.
Pierce was a different player after
te break, and so was Williams -
h*ad 31 unforced errors in the
cond set, as compared to just two
See U.S. OPEN, Page 27
i