16 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 6, 1998 Going to the polls The Michigan women's cross country team is vaulting itself up the national rankings. The ulti- mate goal? The school's first women's national championship. Here's the latest poll: School Points Pvs. 1. Brigham Young 225 1. 2. Michigan 214, '5 3. Stanford 199 2 4. Providence 195 3 5. Arkansas 183 12 6. Wisconsin 178 9 7. Wake Forest 165 6 8. Georgetown 160 7 9. Colorado 156 4 10. Arizona 146 8 11. N.C. State 142 10 12. Dartmouth 131 11 13. N. Arizona 122 13 14. Washington 109 14 15. Oregon 89 16 16. Missouri 81 15 17. Minnesota 75 17 18. William & Mary 64 18 19. Baylor 55 22 20. Cornell 43 24 21. South Florida 41 28 22. UCLA 38 20 23. Florida 33 19 24. Bowling Green 27 25 25. West Virginia 25 21 Field hockey nears matches with bitter rivals By Steven Kyritz For the Daily By most measures, the Michigan field hockey team has already had a successful 1998 season. It currently ranks ninth in the nation with a 10-2 record, including a perfect 3-0 mark in Big Ten play. Junior goalie Kati Oakes has posted 4 1/2 shutouts, putting her in prime position to challenge the single-season Michigan record. With seven regular season games remaining, Oakes must record three shutouts to etch her name in the Wolverine record books. At the forward position, sophomore Kelli Gannon netted her team-leading ninth goal of the season on Sunday. This past weekend, the Wolverines went on the road and returned with a pair of big conference wins over Northwestern and Iowa, The victory at Iowa was the squad's third straight over the Hawkeyes, which is all the more impressive when considering the history of the rivalry. Just two seasons ago, Iowa went 10-0 in conference play, beating Michigan for the 30th and 31st consecutive matches. All in all, this year's Michigan team has produced some very impressive achievements - but based on the team's preseason goals, the season is just getting started. "We were hoping to repeat as con- ference champions, and with our (3-0) record, we're off to a good start," said senior forward Amy Philbrook said. Beginning this weekend, the team's season practically begins anew as the Big Ten schedule kicks into gear. Ohio State, currently ranked I3th in the country, rolls into town Friday, and Sunday features a showdown with Penn State, After last year's Big Ten champi- onship loss to Penn State, it would be understandable if the Wolverines looked past the Buckeyes to Sunday's match, but this team knows better. "Coming into the season, one of our goals was to practice in the present and play in the present," Philbrook said. Following a huge 1-0 upset of the Nittany Lions this past weekend, Ohio State will have a great deal of momen- tum to go along with an 8-I iccord In addition, the luckevcs, like Michigan. boast an unblemished 3-0 conference mark. "They're a tough team," Philbrook said. "They're aays scrappy, and we always battle them, and it's alays a tough match." The Wolverines also can send out a message with awain Sunday. iast sea- son. they suffered a heartbreakin 2-I loss in the Big Ten tournament cham- pionship game against Penn State, and with the Nittanv Lions in town for the first time since then, emotions will surely be riding high. If the Wolverines can harness that emotion and turn it into a victory. they will accomplish two goa Obvously a small measure of 1indication would be achieved, but at the same time, a damaging blow would be dealt to a tough conference opponent. A second loss in such a competitive conference w ould be an extremely dif- ficult hole for the Lions to climb out of, especially with Michigan fieli hockey visiting Happy Valley later this month. S 01 JOSH LEIN8Au i aly The eighth-ranked Michigan field hockey team has continued its hot play during the Big Ten season, winning its first three conference games. . .. - -'1 Western icers dealt one-game suspension, Wilkinson reinstated By David Den Herder Daily Sports Writer The Western Michigan athletic department announced Friday that it has concluded the internal investigation into its men's ice hockey program. Officials found Broncos coach Bill Wilkinson -- who has been suspended since Sept. 21 - responsible for two minor NCAA infractions. Despite the findings, Wilkinson was reinstated in time for Western's annual intrasquad game Friday night. According to a written statement released by the Western athletic depart- ment, Wilkinson was issued an order for "greater oversight of the program." "Even though the infractions are classified as secondary by the NCAA, I have a responsibility to ensure compli- ance with all conference, NCAA and university rules and regulations," Athletic Director Kathy Beauregard said last Friday. Furthermore, Beauregard has pun- ished the entire team for its participation in a Sept. 19 party at a house owned by Wilkinson. The party followed a team golf outing earlier that day, and involved underaged drinking by student athletes. The athletic department mandated that all players serve a one-game sus- pension and attend mandatory alcohol education classes. The team will also serve 300 hours of community service. In order to avoid having to forfeit any games in the upcoming season, the play- ers will not all be benched for the same game. Instead, suspensions will be dis- tributed evenly over six games. Still suspended indefinitely after being arrested Sept. 19 are sophomore forwards Steven Rymsha and Mark Wilkinson - the coach's son. The pair was apprehended by police after neighbors complained about noise at the house. They were arrested for pos- sessing alcohol (as minors) and not cooperating with police, according to the release. Wilkinson said yesterday that the remaining suspensions are being imposed by the athletic department, and that they are part of the department's pol- icv whenever active athletes are arrested for misdemeanors. When the Sept. 19 party was broken up, it spawned an internal investigation directed toward Wilkinson and possible illegal leasing practices Beauregard found that the four play- ers residing in the house owned by Bill Wilkinson had neither been required to sign a lease, nor asked to make a securi- ty deposit before taking residence. Both inactions are considered by the NCAA to be "extra benefits," and hence, constitute violations. Beauregard also concluded that the coach had organized the team golf out- ing, which could also be a violation. Wilkinson has coached the Broncos since the 1982-83 season, compiling a record of 310-285-47 over 16 seasons. He was named CCHA coach of the year three times and was a two-time finalist for national coach of the year. He also has led Western to the post- season in 14 of the past 16 years. Michigan assistant coach Mel Pearson - a personal friend of Bill Wilkinson - said he is confident that Western's program can continue its tradi- tion under Wilkinson. "Bill is a pretty up-front, straight-up shooter," Pearson said. "I'm sure he has warned his team a few times of these things, and I'm sure it won't happen again." Pearson added that he is confident Michigan's program is well within NCAA parameters. "All our players know the rules, and I'm sure they're in compliance with them," he said. Bill Wilkinson said that he expects the ongoing suspensions of Rymsha and Mark Wilkinson to conclude today, and that he is eager to get on with the upcoming season, "I'm glad it's behind us," he said. "We made some errors in regard to mak- ing decisions ... but we just need to now focus on the hockey season. Gassoff shows versatili tywhile playing orward By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer Michigan defenseman Bob Gassoff found himself in an unusual position on Saturday - forward. "I walked into the rink Saturday morning for our meeting and saw my name up on the board," Gassoff said. "I had to kind of look twice to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but you have to be able to react quickly and adjust" With many members of the Michigan hockey team feel- ing battered and ill going into Saturday's game against Guelph, coaches moved Gassoff up to the front line. Junior forward Andrew Merrick (illness), sophomore for- ward Mark Kosick (dislocated shoulder) and defenseman Sean Peach (foot) all were scratched from Saturday's lineup. Add to that the ineligibility of senior forward Dale Rominski, because of incomplete grades, and Red Berenson was forced to scrape the bottom of his bowl of tricks for lineups. And so one of the smaller (5-foot-I 1, 195-pound) defensemen, became a big forward for an evening. Gassoff said that position switches come with the territo- ry. "Guys are going to have to be a little mobile and adjust to different roles and different types of situations," Gassoff said. With nine defensemen and only six available slots, the defenders were plentiful enough to help out the forwards. And when the coaches saw that Gassoff had once played at forward, it made for an easy decision. "I played a little forward in juniors, so I guess I figured I could at least figure my way around a little bit out there" Gassoff said. Yesterday at practice, however, Gassoff returned to his regular position. "I'm back playing defense, so it may or may not be me out there the next time this situation comes up," Gassoff said. "But you've got to do these things sometimes, because they happen all the time." During the Guelph game, Gassoff appeared to struggle a bit at first, but late in the game felt very natural in the posi- tion. "First period, I was a little shaky," Gassoff said. "It took me a couple shifts to get my feet wet - after that, things got better." More than getting back to playing defense, Gassoff said he's most excited about this weekend's national champi- onship banner-raising against Lake Superior. "We've been looking forward to it all summer," Gassoff ity said. "It's nice to have something of your own to put up there." JOHN KRAFT/Da Mike Van Ryn and the Michigan defensemen have made freshman goaltender Josh Blackburn's introduction t college hockey as easy as possible, preventing Blackburn from facing a great number of difficult shots. Star tailback Lewis done Volunteering for year KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jamal Lewis, the leading rusher for No. 4 Tennessee, will miss the rest of the regular season after tearing a knee liga- ment, coach Phillip Fulmer said yesterday. "There's a chance he'll be back for a bowl game or a championship game, but that's not likely. It's really unfortunate for Jamal," Fulmer said after practice. Lewis injured his knee in Saturday's 17-9 victo- ry over Auburn. An examination yesterday revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and Lewis will have surgery today. The Volunteers play No. 7 Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga. Lewis had the biggest day of his career last season against the Bulldogs, gaining 232 yards in 22 carries in the Volunteers' 38-13 victory. The 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore has been the mainstay of Tennessee's offense this season, run- ning for 497 yards on 73 carries through four games. His 124.4 yards-per-game average is second in the Southeastern Conference behind Lousiana State's Kevin Faulk and the biggest reason the Volunteers lead the league in rushing at 225.5 yards per game. "H has heen a great niaver for us and will he a 140 yards on 18 carries. Two sophomores, Travis Henry and Travis Stephens, are expected to fill in for Lewis. Henry has carried eight times for 75 yards and Stephens has carried the ball nine times for 62 yards this year. FACING THE MiUsic: Vanderbilt coach Woody Widenhofer isn't about to second-guess himself on his Commodores' double-overtime loss to Texas Christian. !f he had it to do over again, Widenhofer said yesterday that he would send his field goal kicker out once again on the Commodores' first play of the first overtime. After that decision Saturday night, the kick was missed and Vandy eventually lost 19-16 in double o\ ertime. "I made the final decision to go with John (Markham) because the first thing I wanted to do was no turnovers," Widenhofer said. Markham already had kicked a 49-yarder in reg- ulation, but his 42-yard attempt in the first overtime started low and was blocked. When Vandy got the ball in the second overtime, Widenhofer tried to use his offense to improve field position and lost yardage. Markham wound up kicking a 47-varder for a 16-13 lead. Murray injured questionable for Sunday ICERS e Continued from Page 11 return to game action this weekend. Freshman forward Craig Murray left practice early yesterday with an unknown leg ailment.. Berenson said that if Murray is healthy, he may get the nod to center his own line on Sunday. If not, the Wolverines won't be in too much trouble, thanks to simple math. Adding Rominski and Kosick to the lineup allows Michigan some flexibility, even if Murray is a scratch against Lake Superior. THANKS A LOT, OHIO STATE: This Sunday's unusual 5 p.m. start was not by design. The Lakers were sup- posed to clash with Michigan on Saturday night. Michigan has rearranged its schedule in order to accommodate Ohio State. The Buckeyes are desperately trying to schedule as mat y road games as possible early in the season, in -~