16A - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 8, 1998 Kovach and Tate head to Happy Valley By Umn Subrammian Daily Sports Writer Over the past few years, Kelly Kovach and Kellyn Tate have been fix- tures in the Michigan softball dugout. They watched the team develop into one of the top programs in the Big Ten and the country. And just last year, they participated in the Wolverines' two wins over Penn State. This year, they'll be trying to prevent a Michigan win over the Nittany Lions. Both Kovach and Tate left Michigan over the summer, taking up assistant doaching positions at Penn State under coach Robin Petrini. For Kovach, a Pittsburgh native who both played and coached at Michigan, the transition is a homecoming of sorts. "I've been at Michigan for seven years" Kovach said. "I had a great experience, but it's time to move up and move on. I guess I just needed to try something new. Also, now I'm closer to my family." = But the thing that most attracted Kovach to the Lions was the opportu- nity to help build a program. When Petrini arrived at Penn State, the Lions *re at the bottom of the Big Ten. They have been steadily climbing and finished seventh last season. "Michigan has a lot of tradition in the program," Kovach said. "I don't know what it's going to be like at Penn State. There doesn't seem to be much tradition yet, but there are the right kind of kids here. "It's great to be part of the building process. It's different and I'm really excited." n Many people -- including Petrini - can only speculate as to whether Penn State will gain an advantage with Kovach and Tate on staff. But Kovach doesn't believe the Lions will have one when they face the Wolverines. "A few -days ago, Coach Petrini remarked that it will be good because I know how they hit and their weakness- es, but I don't think it'll be an advan- tage;' Kovach said. "It all comes down to how teams execute on a given day." Michigan coach Carol Hutchins has received numerous accolades in her 15 years as head coach. Another credit to her abilites as both coach and person is that Hutchins trains her players in such a way that they themselves are desired as coaches around the U.S. "There's a ton of us who played for and coached under Hutch," Kovach said. "People hire us because they know she taught us well. That speaks for itself about her." Kovach hopes to bring to Penn State some of the qualities that Hutchins instilled in her both on and off the field. She is confident that her new team will be receptive to her ideas, As the first assistant coach, Kovach - the all-time victories leader as a pitcher at Michigan - will primarily be working with pitchers and hitters. But more importantly, both Kovach and Tate will bring knowledge about what it takes to win to Happy Valley. "While I can't teach them what it's like to be part of a winning program, I hope I can show them the important things like how to build comraderie," Kovach said. "I learned a lot from Hutch, and I'm going to miss working for her." Point guard is first to commit for 1999-2000 By And Laa Daily Sports Writer After signing on to coach the Michigan basketball team through the year 2003, coach Brian Ellerbe set out to secure other future plans - those of his team. Less than two weeks after inking the long-term deal Ellerbe received a commitment from Kevin Gaines, a blue- chip point guard from Las Vegas. Gaines, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard out of Edward Clark High, is considered among the top 10 players in the nation at his position by national recruiting publications. His August 25 commitment to Michigan ended a recruiting bat- tle that included Duke, Arizona, Kentucky and Connecticut. Although Michigan won the quest for Gaines, Duke and Arizona received verbal commitments from Jason Gardner and Jason Williams, respectively, also top 10 point guard prospects. With his early commitment, Gaines can now spend his senior year concentrating solely on basketball. The former Los Angeles native, who averaged 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as a junior at Clark last year, saw his stock soar after strong performances in many camps this summer. Gaines was rated the sixth-best player at Nike's All- America Camp in July, which featured more than 200 of the nation's best prospects. Gaines was also the leading scorer at the Adidas Big-Time Tournament, also held in July in Gaines' home town of Las Vegas. He averaged 29.8 points per game in six games, scoring 46 points in one contest. Neither Gaines, who began school two weeks ago, nor Clark coach Brad Query could be reached for comment. Ellerbe declined comment as well, as NCAA rules prohib- it a coach from speaking about a recruit until a National- Letter of Intent has been signed. 0 FILE PHOTO Lovelta Wilkinson and the rest of the Michigan field hockey team rebounded from a 2, double over- time loss to Maryland this weekend when they beat Wake Forest by the same score yesterday. 'M' stickers split games agalnst top-tO opposition lgdbh 2-140 OalK ValIj 1Drive An Arbor, tlt46103 'WePEWORLcy(4) q13-42-5 Indoor Soccer Registration Deadline: Team Processing: Schedules Posted: Season Begins: Season Ends: Indoor Roller Hockey 10/12 10/15 10/16 10/22 12/19 Registration Deadline: Team Processing: Schedules Posted: Season Begins: Season Ends: 9/11 9/18 9/19 9/21 12/11 By TJ. Berka Daily Sports Writer No one can accuse the Michigan field hockey team of easing into the season. The 1Ith-ranked Wolverines, coming off their first-ever Big Ten championship last season, opened this one by splitting two matches at the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Challenge this weekend in St. Louis. The Wolverines ended the Challenge on a high note yesterday with a 2-1 victory over Wake Forest. The victory over the Demon Deacons helped soften the blow the Wolverines took Saturday, when they lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to sixth-ranked Maryland in double overtime. "This was a big win for us," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "We had a tough loss against Maryland on Saturday and we knew this was going to be a tough game. I think it was very important to rebound and come away with a win." The Wolverines were paced by Amy Philbrook, who scored her second and third goals in the first half versus Wake Forest. After taking the early lead, Michigan concentrated on defense, allowing only a goal from Lisa Andres. Saturday against the Terrapins, the goalies dominated the action. Keli Smith opened the scoring for the Terrapins early in the first half. Kelli Gannon deadlocked the score at one by depositing her second goal of the season. After that, the goalies seemed inpenetrable. Finally, Michigan goalie Kati Oakes flinched. After Smith was tripped from behind, 'Carla Tagliente used to the ensuing penalty stroke to beat Oakes for the game-winning goal. Despite allowing the deciding goal, Oakes was superb in net, coming up with nine saves. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Maryland goalie Angela Platt was a little better, keeping 15 of Michigan's 16 shots out of goal. "Hopefully, this will help us down the stretch because we really played well against a very good team,' Pankratz said. The Wolverines also played well in their opener against the Cardinals, outshooting Ball State 22-6. Gannon opened the scoring in the. first half, as she was assisted by Courtney Reid and Catherine Foreman. Ball State goalie Angela Del Russo kept things close for the Cardinals, turning away 18 shots, but she was beaten again by Amy Philbrook in the second half, putting the game out of reach. "This was a great win for us," Pankratz said. "We played great defense, and if it weren't for their goalie, the score could have been even more one-sided." The win, while big because it was the season opener, was sweeter because Ball State shut the Wolverines out, 4-0, last season. This year, it was Oakes and the Wolverines doing the skunking, as Oakes turned away all six shots she faced. Player' The Top 10 Point Guards in The Nation Rating next year's crop of playmakers, according to FastBreak Magazine, a national recruiting publication 4. Kevin Gaines 6-3,185 5. Tony Robertson 6-2, 185. 6. Steve Blake 6-3, 170 7. Majestic Mapp 6-4, 185 8. Tony Bobbitt 6-5, 185 Las Vegas Barrington, R.I. Miami Bronx, N.Y. Daytona, Fla. Compton, Calif. Ht/Wt Hometown 1. Brett Nelson 6-3, 175 St. Albans, W. Va. 2. Jason Williams 6-2, 185 Metuchen, NJ. 3. Jason Gardner 5-11, 170 Indianapolis College Choice Florida Duke Arizona Michigan undecided Maryland Virginia Florida St: undecided Iowa St. 9. Tito Maddox, 6-4,190 10. Kirk Hinrich 6-2, 180 Sioux City, Iowa Form your owin Team or egister Individuallj. Located 5 Minutes from Campus. 4hetc us out on the web: www.wwsports.com All of these are oral commitments. The class of '99 cannot sign letters of intent until the early signing period, which begins in November. 0 ti VI WHERE'S THE BIEEF? COME TO THE DAILY MASS MEETlNGS AND MEET-JIM "ROSE BEEF" HIMSELF. TUESDAY, SEPT. 15 AND THURSDAY, SEPT. 17, 7:30 PM, STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BU LDING, 420 MAYNARD STREET. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THIS GUY IS IN CLASS. Excitement and adventure is the course description, and Army ROTC is the name. It's the one college tial and helps you take on the challenge of command. There's no obligation until your junior year, and