6B -The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 25, 1999 'M' women's hoops back after losing slump Sickness handicaps Blue men's swimming By Geoff Gagnon Daily Sports Writer EVANSTON - Riding an upswing in its roller-coaster season, the Michigan women's basketball team tore through the Midwest this past weekend, rolling . by Iowa and Northwestern to help build its second win streak. And for Michigan, everything has come in streaks this season. In sliding past-..........-....- Michigan State a week ago, the Basketball Wolverines put a Notebook close to the worst--..-.--......... losing streak in coach Sue Guevara's tenure as they bid farewell to a five-game drought. That skid seems to have been all but forgotten as the streaky Wolverines dis- mantled a trio of conference foes to move from the Big Ten cellar, to the con- ference's middle ground. "You saw in that losing streak our heart and our pride challenged," said Guevara. "And I think now we are answering that challenge." In answering that challenge, Guevara's squad has slowly been able to return to the form that dazzled onlookers as the team was able to open the season by cat- apulting to a school-best nine straight wins. As impressive as its start may have been, a five-game losing streak to start the new year seemed to silence those touting the team as.one of the confrence's fiercer. Not counting their first loss at Vanderbilt, all of Michigan's wins and all of its losses have come strung together. And Guevara says she expects that to continue as the Wolverines look to con- tinue their current streak. "Trust me, we're not done yet," Guevara said. "The momentum is start- ing and I think we're getting better and better." BLACK PARTY: Known throughout the Big Ten as a feared scorer, the defensive play of Stacey Thomas has essentially gone virtually unnoticed amidst the glare of her solid offensive showings. With her play yesterday, Thomas left no doubt about her defensive prowess. And in tallying six steals to go along with four blocks, Thomas certainly caught the attention of her Northwestern opponents. "Stacey Thomas is incredible," Northwestern forward Clarissa Flores said. "I've never seen such an athletic player. She was blocking shots, stealing, she was just an unbelievable player" Yet even as her defensive play fueled her team to its third straight win, Thomas says her defensive ability often ignites her play on the other end. "I love defense - that gets me going," Thomas said. "I think my defense helps my offense.' Yet yesterday, her play needed little help. Leading all scorers with 15 points, Thomas also pulled down 10 rebounds while dishing out six assists. "Thomas put on one of her better shows defensively. We know that Stacey can steal the ball and she had some key blocks' Guevara said. "I think the thing that stands out for Thomas is the six assists. For our team that's the most assists we've had all year." By Jon Zemke Daily Sports Writer Despite sickness, injuries and an absence of distance events, the Michigan men's swimming team found it in itself to swim against the some of the best competition and weirdest oddities in the NCAA. Friday and Saturday, Michigan trav- eled to Dallas to participate in the 17th annual Dallas Morning News Classic. The Wolverines finished fifth out of six teams in a meet that usually showcases the top six teams of the previous year's NCAA Championships. The meet was filled with oddities. Because of scheduling problems most of the teams in the meet were not top six placers at NCAAs last season including Michigan who finished 12th. Texas, last year's Dallas Morning News Classic winner, finished in sixth. "It's kind of ironic," Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek said. "Last year's first and second place, Texas and Michigan, are in this year's cellar. Texas didn't bring a lot of their top athletes, because they have illnesses like we did. So we left half the team home." The oddities didn't stop there. Michigan found themselves short- handed, with close to half the team fighting sickness. Pneumonia kept Michigan's top swimmer Tom Malchow out of the meet, while many others have been fighting everything from colds to bronchitis. "It's affecting a lot," Michigan fresh- man Tim Siciliano said. "Actually I went to this meet sick and so did Chris Thompson. We both kind of got over it at the end of the meet" The loss of Malchow and freshmap Tim Barry to the flu left Michigan with- out its top swimmers in the butterfly. Coupled with the fact that there were no distance events, which is Michiga" strong suit, the team found themsel shorthanded against a lot of tough com- petition. Michigan won only three of 18 events in the meet. Senior Brett Wilmot won the one meter springboard with a score of 299.55. In the 500-yard freestyle sopho- more all-America Chris Thompson took first place, and fellow sophomore Scott Werner won the 200 breaststroke by nearly four seconds. Another strange twist to the meet that the competitors swam consolatiV races instead of preliminary heats. "Two people from each team can- swim in each event one in each heat," Hopwood said. "In my turn at breast- stroke ... I would have been the second overall time, but I had to be in the (con- solation) heat." The Wolverines finished with three winners in the consolation races includ- ing senior Andy Potts and Siciliano we ning the 200 individual medley and breaststroke, respectively. Each of the six teams were allowed only eight swimmers and one diver for the meet, which added to Michigan's already cancerous handicap. "It was a tough weekend, because we were down a couple of the original kids we were supposed to take to the meet," Michigan freshman Jeff Hopwood said. "We didn't have our full roster and we were struggling." DHANI JONES/Daily Alayne Ingram (40) is one of the Michigan women's basketball team's most promising young players. Freshmen emerge for women' sbasketball By Stephanie Offen Daily Sports Writer EVANSTON - The Michigan women's basketball team's season has made a 360-degree turn. A nine-game winning streak quickly turned into a five-game losing streak. And this week- end's two-win road trip, added to a vic- tory earlier in the week against Michigan State, and yet another win- ning streak has begun. And it has been the play of the Michigan freshmen that have gotten the Wolverines back on track. With freshman Heather Oesterle still sitting on the bench with a stress frac- ture in her foot, the other three new- comers have seen more playing time and put it to good use. Through the last few games, Ruth Kipping has been leading the way for the freshman trio. Kipping was given a starting position in the Jan. 15 game against Wisconsin, and has remained there ever since. She posted 15 points against the Badgers, a career high at that point. Against Michigan State, Kipping added 14 points and nine rebounds to the Michigan victory, but that would be soon surpassed by the careerday she had Friday on the road against Iowa. Against the Hawkeyes, Kipping shot 80 percent from the field, scoring 19 points. She also produced on the defen- sive end, adding 11 rebounds. But during that game, she hyperex- tended her knee, which bothered her in yesterday's victory over Northwestern. Kipping still held on to her starting position, but she only saw 16 minutes of playing time and was only able to contribute four points. "Ruthie is a candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "Unfortunately we didn't get to see that today. But she will get a couple days to ice up, heal up and get ready for Ohio State" So it was yet another freshman who took that leadership role. Alayne Ingram started the game off with a bas- ket and free throw to give Michigan the early lead, and she continued to con- tribute the rest of the game. Ingram ended the game with l1 points, which included two key 3-point- ers. Her aggressive and quick style of play also helped to slow the Wildcats down in the second half "It was definitely a fast-paced game, and it did wear us down a little bit," Northwestern sophomore Clarissa Flores said. "And with the injuries we have, they definitely wore us down." Ingram also produced a team-high 17 points earlier in the week in the victory against Michigan State. Although Raina Goodlow hasn't got- ten the starting nod like the other two freshmen, her contributions off the bench have taken notice. In Friday's win over the Hawkeyes, Goodlow added nine points off the bench. That was followed by a six-point perfor- mance yesterday, where Goodlow was perfect from the field. And this is a crucial time for the freshmen to emerge. This is a team that has had many missing links over the past few games. With Oesterle sitting out the past few games, Ann Lemire out against the Spartans, and the departure of sopho- more Mandy Stowe, made it important for the freshmen to contribute quality minutes. The team's top scorer, Stacey Thomas, also went into a small scor- ing slump earlier in the month. And it was the freshmen who were able to take the pressure off herand help to take her place. Now the slump is over, and the pressure has been removed. "I'm very proud of the freshmen," Thomas said, "They're coming in, contributing and working hard. It's great to see how they can step it up." These setbacks to the Michigan program have proven to not be set- backs at all, but instead more oppor- tunities for the freshmen to shed their Inexperience. And they have done just that. "My freshmen aren't freshmen anymore. They are now sophomores," Guevara said. DANA LINNANE/Uaily After a slow start in the conference, the Michigan women's basketball team has stormed back as of late, winning three in a row. Two of those victories came on a Midwestern road swing this past weekend. DANA IINJNANE/LDily Michigan center Alison Miller played 34 crucial minutes in the paint for the Wolverines against Northwestern. Her 10 points were key, as were her three offen- sive rebounds. Michigan defeated the Wildcats, 64-54. Fsh Tonight through Thursday 6:00-10:00pm WI LDCATS Continued from Page 11 shooting for the game. The game was closely contested from the opening tip until the Wolverines pulled away late in the second. Northwestern dominated early, posting a 30-22 lead with seven minutes left in the first half. The Wolverines fought back and went on a 9-0 run to go up 3 1-30. They headed to the lockerroom with a 37-36 lead. The second half was an entirely dif- ferent story. Michigan's defense forced Northwestern to go 5-for-20 from the field after the break. In several critical situations, time ran out for the Wildcats and they were forced to take off-balance shots as the shot clock ran down. "They made us run down the clock;' Northwestern's Carissa Flores said. "It seemed like with four or five seconds left we were struggling to get a shot!' In Friday's victory over Iowa, the Wolverines also played a solid all- around game. In that outing, they shot 53.3 percent and grabbed 38 boards. Kipping and Thorius both scored 19 points in the win. Senior Ann Lemire " also had an impressive performance scoring 17 points in her first game back from a suspension and an illness. - S. 55 6 - MICHIGAN (66) FU FT REB MIN F-A M-A 0T A F PTS Thomas 40 7-5 1.2 5-10 6 1 15 Kipping 16 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 0 4 Miller 34 5-10 0-0 3-4 2 1 10 Thorius 36 5.8 2-2 0-2 7 2 14 Ingram 36 4-9 1-1 0-3 4 2 11 Walker 14 2-4 0-0 0-2 0 1 4 Goodlow 15 3-3 0a0 0-1 0 1 ,6 Lemire 9 0-2 0-0 0-3 1 1 0 Totals 200 28-55 45 8.29 22 9 64 FG%:.509. FT%:.800. 3-point FG:4-9, .444 (Ingram 2-4, Thorius 2-3, Lemire 0-2). Blocks:6 (Thomas 4, lopping, Miller). Steals: 10 (Thoma Miller, Thorius, Ingram, Walker). Turnovers: 16 (Lemire 5, Ingram 3, Thomas 2, Thorius 2, team 2, Kipping, Miller). Technical Fouls: none. NORTHWESTERN (54) FK FT RDB MIN M-A M-A 0"T A F PTS Flores 33 4-12 2-4 1-4 0 1 12 Schock 32 5-10 0-0 2-4 0 2 -40 Sears 28 2-3 3-4 1-6 4 3 7 Leonard 38 3-9 1-2 2-2 2 1 8 Chawansky 40 5-12 1-2 1-4 5 5'12 Holland 8 1-3 0-0 2-2 0 1 2 Giblin 4 0-0 0-0 0-10 0 0 Berki 17 0-2 3-4 1-4 1 1 Totals 200 20.51 10.1613.32 12 9 FG%: .392. FT%:.625. 3-point FG:413, .308 (Flores 2-6, Leonard 1-4, C hawansky 1-2). Blocks: 0 Steals: 8 (Sears 2, Leonard 2. Chawansky 2, Flores, Schock). Turnovers: 22 (Flores 5, Sears 5, Leonard 5, Chawansky 3, Schock 2, Berki 2) Technical Fouls: none. Michigan ..........37 27 -64 Northwestern ..........36 18 - 54 At: Welsh-Ryan Arena Attendance: 935 10 DAYS ONLY ' _-_ Bio Anthro 161 Bio Anthro 364 Bio Statistics 503 Buddhist Studies 220 Chemistry 130 Chemistry 210 Chemistry 215 Comm Studies 101 Comm Studies 310 Cult Anthro 385 Econ 101 F:mn I9 Finance 310 Geo Sci 100 Geo Sci 105 Geo Sci 107 Geo Sci 110 Geo Sci 111 Geo Sci114 Geo Sci 115 Hist 111 Hist 160 Hist 218 Nict qOR NRE 375 Philosophy 232 Philosophy 356 Physics 125 Physics 140 Physics 240 Physics 242 Poli Sci 140 Psych 111 Psych 112 Psych 116 Psvch 3an Psych 340 Psych 345 Psych 350 Psych 360 Psych 370 Psych 380 Psych 390 Psych 400 Psych 436 Statistics 301 Theatre 322 Wnm Studies 20 fjo glwOp lCBTORE i I I I I I' - '3~z.'~V~~ ..~ ~ F - ~ U