i

MAJOR LEAGUE
FEBAU.
merican League
Championship
Series - Game 1
NEW YORK 7,
Cleveland 2

SPORTSafl

racking 'M' teams
The Michigan women's cross country team, which is
currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, travels to
Kalamazoo this Friday for the Michigan Intercollegiate.

Wednesday
October 7, 1998

A13


Tuman proud of graceful grab

aily Sports Editor
It was not your typical head-down, forearm-bared, shout-
er-leveled Jerame Tuman reception.
It was much more elegant than that. It was stretching,
eaching and cradling ever so carefully. It all took place in
id-air. It ended with a ballerina's toe-touch, one toe down
nbounds, before the rest of the 248 pounds crashed to the
Iround out of bounds. It might have looked like Baryshnikov,
t was Tuman.
and he loved it.
"I was proud of that catch,'
ruman said with a grin. "I thought it RaV decisio
was a good catch. I'd like to think .1
hat I can make those kinds of From Staff Reports
:atches all the time, but I was proud Finally,, after week
f that one.' Marcus Ray investiga
Tuman's grab was all the more tion.
mportant because of Michigan's The Michigan Athl
ituation at the time. The submitted the results of
erines trailed, 9-7, with less tion to the NCAA las
han 10 minutes to play in the game, announcement about R
md were faced with third-and- today.
even from Iowa's 19 yard line. During yesterday's B
3rady lofted a pass toward the side- Lloyd Carr said he exp
ine, and when Tuman pulled it in, yesterday afternoon.
he Wolverines were suddenly in a But with Athletic Di
nuch more favorable position: town, an announcemen
First-and-goal, from the Iowa 10.
lay Feely kicked the game-winning field goal four plays later.
It was a beautiful catch, no question - just not the type
eople have come to expect from the bruising tight end. And
tve it or not, Tuman said yesterday that he actually visu-
ilized himself making such a catch only moments before
ictually doing it. That doesn't change the fact, however, that
it was out of the ordinary.
His nine-yard reception in the first quarter, on the other
and - now that was prototypical Jerame Tuman.
Tuman gathered a Brady pass over the middle, and as he
turned upfield, he found a defensive back in his way. One
orearm-shiver later, however, the cornerback was flat on his
back. Tuman rolled past him for a few more yards.
*e finished the day with four catches -most among
higan receivers - for 34 yards. It was the type of game
that seemed to be commonplace for Tuman last season, but

that hasn't been as frequent thus far in '98.
After a stellar junior season, Tuman was pegged this year
as a preseason All-American. But the honor made certain that
Tuman wouldn't take opposing defenses by surprise, as he
seemed to do quite frequently last season. The all-too-famil-
iar, delayed-slant-across-the-middle-of-the-field pattern -
the one that Tuman and Brian Griese worked so many times
to perfection last year - had become, in fact, all too familiar
to opposing defenses. They took it away. So Tuman's recep-
tion rate has gone down. And after every game, he's asked if
he's bothered by his apparently decreased role in the offense.

)n imminent
s. of speculation, the
ion is nearing resolu-
etic Department, which
of its internal investiga-
t Friday, may make an.
Ray's future as early as

"I've never been the type of guy
who really looks at those kinds of
things," Tuman said. "I think maybe
teams were expecting us to go to
me a lot on offense, so it opened
things up for some of the other
guys.
"But it really doesn't matter to
me. I enjoy patting someone else on
the back just as much as catching a
pass."

Big T
ected
recto
[t rem

MAKING CHANGES: Lloyd Carr
en teleconference, said yesterday he's decided to make
i results as early as a change in the punt return game,
where James Whitley has struggled.
r Tom Goss out of Carr said that the duties will likely
ained on hold. be handled by Tai Streets, who han-
dled a couple punts against Iowa.
Carr said the decision to replace Whitley was a difficult

one. : x T
"I said, 'You know, James, when things go poorly, and
when you're being criticized, and when things aren't going,
well for you, that's when you have to remain confident in
yourself,"' Carr said. "I said, 'You know and we know and
everybody on this football team knows you can catch punts 4
and you can run with it. That isn't going to change simply
because you dropped a punt or you fumbled the ball.'
Carr also said that Whitley could return punts again, a.
maybe even later this season, if he continues to work in prac-
tice.
"That kid, you know, he's down, and I hurt for him," Carr W Z
said. "But I also have confidence in him. Someday, he'll be WARN2INDaily
out there, and he'll catch a punt and run for a touchdown, and Even though Michigan tight end Jerame Tuman's patented slant route is often keyed upon by opposing defenses, the senior
he will have learned something valuable.' managed to make a spectacular catch In a crucial situation for the Wolverines last Saturday.
'M' volleyball set to defend 'State
Pride' flag as Spartans come to town

By Uma Subramanian
Daily Sports Writer
Tonight in Cliff Keen Arena, the first of
two battles of the State Pride tournament
will take place.
The prize will be a Michigan state flag
with the word "Tuebor" ( Latin for 'I will
defend') written on it.
The history: The Michigan and
Michigan State volleyball teams have met
16 times, and each team has won the State
Pride crown four times.
Usually, the team that wins both match-
es of the series gets to fly the flag.
Last year, there was no clear-cut win-
ner, but the Wolverines won on total points.
But, when the Spartans come to town
tonight, there will be much more at stake
than just state pride.
This week, Michigan (1-3 Big Ten, 9-5
overall) finds itself ranked just outside the
Top 25. Michigan State (2-2, 9-3) is just
holding on at No. 22.
"This is a huge week that could be our
chance to break into the top 25," Michigan
coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "We're still in
the 'others receiving votes."'
"It's impressive - there are seven Big
Ten teams in the poll. We would like to
move up and add to that list."
With victories over Michigan State
tonight and Minnesota this weekend, the
Wolverines could secure a spot in next
week's poll.
But it won't be easy. Michigan State is

an experienced team that returns 12 mem-
bers from last year.
More important, though, the Spartans
are led by All-America Jenna Wroble,
whom Giovanazzi said is "one of the elite
players in the country."
Wroble has already made an impression
on the Big Ten this season. She is the con-
ference leader in kills and was named Big
Ten player of the week on Sept. 21.
"Wroble is just good," Giovanazzi said.
"There's no way around it, she's going to
get her kills. She's going to give us prob-
lems, but we can't let her be a distraction.
"We're just going to have to shut down
everyone else."
The Spartans, who are one game ahead
of Michigan in the conference, swept
Purdue last weekend. In the first game of
the match, Wroble had six kills.
"I want to see a lot out of our middle
blockers, Joanna Fielder and Linsey Ebert,"
Giovanazzi said. "It'll be up to them to step
up on defense."
In contrast to the Spartans' recent suc-
cess, Michigan fell to Indiana in three
games. Last weekend against the Hoosiers,
the Wolverines struggled with both their
hitting and blocking.
"This past week, we've been trying to
improve our attacking and passing games,"
Giovanazzi said. "There is one really posi-
tive thing that I hope we take from last
weekend, though. We played at a really
good level emotionally - with a lot of

'Stte Pride' stats
from the pst
8 Series tied at four ap ece.
2 Victor receives Mdceigan st f
with "Tuebor?" ("I w''! d;'fen! d itt4en on
it.
9 The Wolverines own the flag after win-
ning last year's crown on points.
intensity. That's going to be important
against Michigan State."
This will be an important match for
Michigan's young pair of setters, Shannon
Melka and Alja Pittenger. This is the first
time either player has faced the Spartans in
a key role.
While the Spartans may have the benefit
of momentum, the Wolverines will have the
home-court advantage.
Last year's contest drew a record atten-
dance of 2,346.
Giovanazzi contends that this was a
major factor in the Wolverines' victory.
"It's always good to play at home,
Giovanazzi said. "Last year's big crowd
helped us win. But, against State, it's espe-
cially easier to play here than in their field-
house. We just handle the ball better here."
He hopes that tonight's turnout will be
on par with last year.

DANA UNNANE/Daiy
The Michigan volleyball team tries to repeat and keep the state flag in Ann Arbor as It takes on
Michigan State at home tonight.

Soccer looks to turn season around
Limauro and the rest of the Wolverines want to improve on slow start


B Boddn
Sports Writer
Disarray - it's the only word that
appropriately describes Michigan's
soccer season. Last year Michigan
won the Big Ten Tournament champi-
onship and earned a berth in the
NCAA tournament. Additionally
almost all of last year's championship
team returns. What's the problem?
"Communication and consistency
i* big problem this season,' senior
forward Jessica Limauro said. "Our
season has been inconsistent as of late.
We need to get back to last season's
form - mainly by playing as a team.'
While thepWolverines look to
improve on previous weeks' play,
Limauro will look to continue her stel-

lar offensive output.
Limauro was named Big Ten co-
player of the week last week. The
senior forward leads the Wolverines in
every offensive category this season:
shots (20), goals (8), assists (4), points
(20) and game-winning goals (3).
"As a senior I am expected to lead
the team," Limauro said. "Coming into
this season I wanted to score more
goals. Last season I wasted too many
opportunities to help out the team."
Limauro is known as the silent
leader of the Michigan squad.

"Jessica is not a very local leader,"
senior defenseman Vanessa Lewis
said. "Her performance this season
and everything else she contributes is
invaluable. She leads by her actions
more than anything else."
While Limauro has supplied the
Wolverines with ample offensive pro-
duction, the defense has failed to
secure late leads and run down loose
balls.
"We must improve our defensive
play,' Lewis said. "In the Minnesota
See SOCCER, Page 16


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Wednesday Cheeseburger

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