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NCAA MEN'S NATIONAL
BASKETBALL HOCKEY LEAGUE
5) Rhode Island 87, MONTREAL 5,
24) Texas Christian 85 Philadelphia 1

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Tracking 'M' teams
The Michigan hockey team returns to action this
Friday at Yost Ice Arena. The icers will face Alaska-
Fairbanks at 7 p.m., a team the Wolverines swept in a
two game set earlier this season.
Tuesday Q
November 10}, 19989

NATIONAL
FOOTBALL
LEAGUE
PITTSBURGH 27
Green Bay 20,

N.Y. Islanders 3,
TORONTO 1
Los Angeles 3,
VANCOUVER 2


'M' to host first
round of NCAAs
Soccer faces Xavier tomorrow

By Vaughn R. Kiug
and Geoff Gagnon
Daily Sports Writers
The Michigan soccer team's semi-
nal loss in the Big Ten tournament on
Saturday may have knocked the team
down. But as the squad was informed
late last evening, the setback did not
knock it out.
The Wolverines will resume post-
season play on Wednesday when they
host first round NCAA tournament foe
Xavier at the Michigan Soccer Field.
And in Xavier, the Wolverines will
Ond a team with which they feel they
realistically can compete.
"Xavier is a solid, scrappy team;'
Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said.
"They do a lot of things well and they
have a couple of good players. But, I
think that if we do what we need to do
and play our style of game, we will be
all right."
Xavier found its way into the 48-team
field by wrapping up an Atlantic-10
conference championship weekend
Oer downing Dayton 2-1, a team
Michigan defeated 3-1 in its season
opener.
"The fact that Xavier played teams
like Dayton, Ohio State and UMass, just
like us, gives us something to compare
ourselves with," Belkin added. "But, we
are going to go into this just like any
other game."
As for the Wolverines, who will make
eir second tournament appearance in
'"s many years, an at-large invitation
paved the way to the tournament.
The Wolverines made a strong case
for their inclusion in this, the 17th annu-
al women's soccer championships, by
upending Northwestern, 1-0, in the con-

ference tournament opener last Friday.
Another attribute that worked in
Michigan's favor, Belkin said, was the
strength of the team's schedule, which
featured top-ranked Notre Dame and
then No. II Brigham Young.
"Of course playing tough teams
down the stretch helped us out;' Belkin
said. "Playing teams like Notre Dame
and BYU was good even though we
lost. The NCAA definitely looks at
that."
Michigan will be joined by five other
Big Ten teams - Penn State, Indiana,
Wisconsin, Minnesota and
Northwestern -- which confirms
Belkin's contention of the conference's
strength.
"This gives the Big Ten a lot of
respect;' Belkin said. "Obviously, con-
ferences like the ACC and the Pac-10
are going to be well-represented. But to
have so many Big Ten teams at NCAAs
really says a lot about the type of com-
petition we saw throughout the season."
The winner of the first-round
matchup up will travel to South Bend to
face fourth-seeded Notre Dame this
weekend. Michigan pushed Notre
Dame into overtime on Oct. 23 before
succumbing to one of the most potent
offensive attacks in the nation, losing 1-
0.
But despite their stellar play against
one of the toughest teams in the country
only two weeks ago, the Wolverines
refuse to look past opening-round oppo-
nent Xavier.
"We are not even thinking about
Notre Dame at this point," Belkin said.
"Maybe that is something that we can
do in a couple of days, but right now our
primary concern is Xavier."

Athletes
out of
action;
Blue wins
By Rick Freeman
Daily Sports Writer
Flashing gold jewelry and a smile,
Robert Traylor sat on the bench, utterly
useless to his former team. Not that he
was needed.
The former Michigan center sat and
watched as Josh Asselin played
Traylor's old role perfectly.
A well-timed dunk from the 6-foot-
1I big man - Asselin, not Traylor -
ignited the Crisler Arena crowd and an
11-2 Michigan run in the second half to
lift the Michigan basketball team over
Athletes in
Action, 87- Michigan 87
76, last Athletes in Ac8on 7
night.
All of a
sudden, a team of players that had stag-
gered through the first half as if they'd
pulled all-nighters the previous evening
had a jolt of pure adrenaline running
through their collective veins. Asselin
scored only two of his 19 points in the
first half, as Michigan sleepwalked to a
45-34 halftime deficit. But after con-
verting two free throws (five-for-seven
on the night) Asselin found himself
with the ball, about 10 feet from the
basket.
"I knew we needed something to
hype the team up, and I thought if I
could do anything to do it, I would,"
Asselin said. "And that seemed like my
opportunity."
But the real difference it might have
See ACTION, Page 10

-
- L
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Josh Asselin and the Wolverines put the Athletes in Action out of commission last night at Crisler Arena. Asselin came away
with 11 total rebounds in the preseason game.

Forget Dayne and Gibson -
Idekng game trubles Carr


jib.



MATTLE OF DRAWN
It's Michigan's resurgent defense versus
Wisconsin's monstrous offensive line and
running back. Something has to give this K_
Saturday in the battle of the Big Ten's two ./
remaining undefeated teams. Read The Daily
all week for your dose of the hype.
away

;1

By Sharat Raju
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr entered
yesterday's press conference in a bad
mood. Of course, that doesn't stray
.romthe norm too much - Carr does
'ot exactly love the press.
Following a behemoth victory last
Saturday against Penn State, however,
you would think that Carr would be a
little more excited than usual.
There could have been any number
of reasons for Carr's disposition.
Perhaps it was the prospect of facing
beastly 258-pound running back Ron
Dayne.
Or perhaps it was facing a team that
'uns the option periodically.
Maybe Carr's mood was not festive
because of a gigantic offensive line
with all returning starters that features
368-pounder Aaron Gibson.
If you guessed any of the above
choices, you were wrong.

"When I look at the Wisconsin team,
I see the best kicking game that we play
this year;' Carr said.
That's right, the fear-inspiring kick-
ing game. Although the punter and the
kicker are two positions that are often
overlooked, Carr has preached all sea-
son long just how important a good
kicking game is in the Big Ten.
"I think their punter is the best
punter in the nation;' Carr said.
Kevin Stemke is one of the country's
leading punters with a 43.3-yard aver-
age. Last week against Minnesota, he
averaged 49.8 yards per boot on eight
kicks. Eight. And this was outdoors in
Madison, not within the friendly con-
fines of the Metrodome.
Against the Golden Gophers, a
Stemke punt was downed on the one
yard line - after it had already trav-
eled an unbelievable 67 yards.
Placekicker Matt Davenport has
missed only one field goal attempt all

year (16-for-17), and that attempt was
over 40 yards. Davenport drilled a 48-
yarder earlier this year for the Badgers.
That special unit's strength shows
that Wisconsin is a well-balanced team
with no real weaknesses. Not even in
the kicking game.
"When you add that to the fact that
they have the best turnover margin in
the nation with plus-21I, you have a
football team that doesn't beat itself'"
Carr said.
If the Wolverines manage to force a
defensive struggle and a field-position
battle in Saturday's showdown with the
Badgers, Wisconsin's ace in the hole
will probably be the strength of its
kicking game. That's enough to make
any coach distraught.
"It's going to take a very good effort"
to win, Carr said. "So if you ask why
I'm not in a good mood - that's why.
- Daily Sports Writer Rick Freeman
contributed to this report.

4days

isCOnsin
quarterback
ticketed for
altercation
MADISON (AP)--The lastthing
the eighth-ranked, unbeaten Badgers
needed with defending national
champion Michigan on tap and a
Rose Bowl berth at stake was a
dreaded distraction.
But senior quarterback Mike
Samuel was cited for battery after a
fracas outside a tavern Saturday night
after the Badgers' 26-7 victory over
Minnesota. It was his third brush
with the law and second this year.
Coach Barry Alvarez said he was
sticking with his starter as the police
investigation continues.
Sources said Samuel, 23, was try-,
ing to be a peacemaker when he was
arrested with his 30-year-old brother

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