The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 26, 1998 - 7B basketball hopes to improve visibility By Stephanie Offen Daily Sports Writer CHICAGO - In a letter from Michigan Women's basketball coach Sue Guevara to prospec- tive players, she wrote, "As a potential women's basketball player, you will be participating in the ig Ten Conference, the nation's leading confer- nce in attendence. You will be competing against the top players in the country, game in and game out." And it seemed that any of the women's basket- ball coaches yesterday at the Big Ten's preseason media day would have said the same thing to their prospective players. The Big Ten led the nation in women's basketball attendance for the sixth straight season last year. The attendence has continued to grow for the past 17 years, and last season the conference saw a 10 ercent increase over '96-97. The overwhelming support for the Big Ten is not 'going unnoticed. The conference will have at least 27 of its games broadcast on television this year. The Wolverines will make their first-ever CBS Sports appearance on Jan. 9 when they play Louisiana Tech, a typical power in women's bas- ketball. While this game will take place at Crisler Arena, the Wolverines have two other televised matchups on the road against Purdue and Michigan State. '"Television loves the atmosphere of the Big en," Ohio State coach Beth Burns said. "They love the fact that the fans are excited and jumping on each other." It is this national exposure that helps the Big Ten land the quality players that it does year after year. It is becoming one of the premier conferences in women's basketball, allowing it to recruit premier players. "The more we keep pushing the Big Ten, the more we will be able to retake the ACCs of the world," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. The conference is on its way to doing just that. Wisconsin, which reached the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, led the conference in attendence. It is no coincedence that the Badgers, who are also ranked third nationally in attendence, have the 10th best recruiting class in the nation. And the recruiting class plus the fan support has given Wisconsin a No. 3 preseason ranking in the conference. "The fans are like our sixth man," senior Amy Wiersma said. "We have such a great fan base that we couldn't do without." Another team looking to build a solid fan base is Ohio State. The Buckeyes are moving into the new Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center this season. It is the largest venue for a Big Ten women's basketball team, and the Buckeyes are hoping an enthusiastic Big Ten crowd will fol- low them to their new home. The Big Ten's televised games aren't the only ones potentially bringing the athletes to the confer- ence - the WNBA is helping as well. "It's great to have women's basketball going on through the summer months as well," Minnesota coach Cheryl Littlejohn said. "We are getting a WNBA team in Minnesota and I think it will real- ly help with exposure. It will help with recruiting when people realize they have a WNBA team in their backyard." No teams needed the recognition of the Big Ten name in the offseason as much as Iowa did. The Hawkeyes lost four starters, and have just three let- terwinners remaining on the team. "We basically have to rebuild," Iowa coach Angie Lee said. "This is nothing that is new to Iowa, it will just take time for the team to learn, grow and process everything." With just three returning players, the newcomers will have to adjust quickly to the intensity of the Big Ten. "The freshmen will have to understand and experience the different level that the Big Ten is at," Lee said. "They will have to develop a new intensity and work ethic." And don't forget about the Wolverines. The national exposure will help Michigan this year as well. The Wolverines have their three televised games, and hope such national exposure will lead to an increase of fans in Crisler Arena. The team also has five new players in transfer student Alison Miller and freshmen Raina Goodlow, Alayne Ingram, Heather Oesterle and Ruth Kipping. Michigan made its second NCAA appearance last year, and with three starters returning, the Wolverines are hoping for a repeat. "The team is really upbeat and competitive at scrimmage," Guevara said. "I think this is the first time I've smiled coming out of practice." Michigan women's basketball ranked fourth The"Michigan women's basketballteamwas ranked fourth by the coaches at the Big Ten's annual Tipoff luncheon yesterday in Chicago. Michigan may have been fourth in the media poll, but the media ranked only the top three teams. The Wolverines open their sea- son with an exhibition against the Swiss National Team on Nov, 3. oa he ' too five n' Iedla'stop thr git 1. Purdue (9) 52 Purdue (53) 175 2. Penn State (1) 39 ilinois (9) 72 3. Wisconsin 17 Penn State 52 4. Michigan 15 - 5.Ohio State 14 rm votes ine eses DAILY ONLINE WWW.MICHIGANDAELY.COI 4a: SMALL MGOVES WOR LDWIDE MOVING SYSTEMS CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE 888=949-6683 ICC#MC282234 MPSC L-25540 WE SPECIALIZE IN SMALL MOVES : K" ; 5S .: } " Local, Long distance International " No minimum weight restrictions W " One piece of furniture to a house full * Professional packing & crating " Short and long term storage " Fully insured WE PARTICIPATE IN THE 'CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MOVER"PROGRAM 10% Student Discount until January 1 Notre Dame cloves its way past Blue soccer in double-overtime thriller 111i4 I'''1 By Josh Borkin Daily Sports Writer The battle lasted 113 minutes, but in the end the Michigan soccer team was defeated in heartbreaking fashion. Fifth-ranked Notre Dame arrived in Ann Arbor on Friday to face what may turn out to be its most challenging task f the year. In addition to the bitter alry that exists between the two uni- versities, the national spotlight was focused on the Michigan squad, since tis was potentially their toughest opponent of the season. ' The Michigan Soccer Field's bleachers were filled to capacity. A Michigan soccer record 1,092 fans were in full support, cheering on the Wolverines. Notre Dame has been ranked sec- d. nationally all year long, while ichigan has improved rapidly to earn the 19th spot in last week's poll. Both squads battled back and forth for two halves and the first overtime, but were unable to net a goal. Seven minutes into the second overtime, Notre Dame point leader Jenny Heft scored off an assist from forward Jenny Streiffer. Heft is one of the best forwards in B3ig Ten standings: women's soccer Final conference results through Saturday, Oct. 18. the country. She is fourth in the nation in points per game with 2.93 and third in the nation in goals per game, averag- ing 1.33. "She is an amazing player," Michigan's Emily Schmitt said. "We were able to contain her for almost the entire game, but we just couldn't stop her in the end." Michigan did have several chances to win the game. In the 22nd minute of the first half, Jessica Limauro and Amber Berendowsky attacked on a two-on-two, but Limauro's cross went wide and Berendowsky was not able to make contact. "I was disappointed a couple of times that I was not able to score," Limauro said. "But I still kick myself when I think about missing that oppor- tunity with Amber." The Wolverines had a chance to end the game in regulation when Stephanie McArdle headed a corner kick from Emily Schmitt off the crossbar. But to say this game was a complete disappointment would be an insult to the fans that attended and all the women who suited up to take on Notre Dame. "Of course we were disappointed with the final outcome," Schmitt said. "But I have never been so proud of my teammates. We played the best we ever have as a team." While Michigan failed to score, they showed they could contend with one of the country's most elite teams. "This game showed that we could play against anyone in the country," Schmitt said. "It also proved to a lot of people that we are not afraid of any team." Last year's game was a 5-0 romp by Notre Dame. Michigan played "a defensive ballgame and never forced the ball upfield," Schmitt said. This year, though, the Michigan defense and offense made countless attempts to establish a lead while keep- ing the Irish off the board. "We knew what talent they had, and played appropriately," Limauro said. "We dropped several people back on defense and tried to control the mid- field. This only left me and Amber as the forwards." The defense was led by former high school sprinter Vanessa Lewis. Lewis used her speed and athleticism to turn away numerous Notre Dame forwards. Michigan goalkeeper Carissa Stewart kept the Wolverines in the game, making seven saves for the game. "We are so proud of our play," Limauro said. "We played very well, but we are still working to reach the peak of our potential." PRINTING LOWEST PRICES! HIGHEST QUA LITY! * FASTEST SERVICEI 1002 PONTIAC TR. U 994.136 88E 3 "Dark, trippy... muscular" - Rolling Stone Nobody Does .::. Better!I Team Penn State Wisconsin N'western ilchigan Indiana Minnesota Ohio State linois Iowa SMichigan St. W L T Pet. 7 6 6 5 5 5 3 1. 3 1 1. 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 8 1 1' 0 0 0 1 0 1 n. .833 722 .667 6811 .625 .556 .389 .375 .167 .005 DRIVE Y*UR ELF &AVE - -®- i . VOW rt . v :.::. ' Big Ten conference ed on Oct. 18. play conclud- Michigan has secured a berth In the Big Ten tournament, to be held Nov. 6.8 at Penn State. Michigan defeated Northwestern 1.0 in the finals of last year's Big Ten tournament. IN STUDENTS WITH CROHN'S DISEASE OR ULCERATIVE COLITIS Please join Dr. Ellen Zimmermann Asst Professor of Gastroenterology, U of M for an informal discussion XXI* r'~ri i~L~i.' k~t~r~hA A if~k 0 IA~r~'I%..:' Y :;