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Men's tenmis
wins eighth
straight match
Dena Mrschor
For IThe Daily
Welcome to Michigan - if you don't like the weath-
er, just wait 15 minutes.
The Michigan's men's tennis team moved yesterday's
scheduled outdoor match inside the Varsity Tennis
Center to avoid cold rain and strong winds that could
only hinder its performance. The Wolverines beat Penn
State 6-1 indoors after a difficult, windy outdoor tri-
uph against Ohio State 6-1 on Saturday, increasing
4ei winning streak to eight and improving their record
Michigan junior and top singles player Matt Wright
ea iJy gained four wins this weekend, 6-1, 6-2 over Penn
Sate's Marc Dorfman, and 6-1, 6-0 against Ohio State's
Chris Porter. Wright needs to win just three more match-
es to set a career-high 60 wins.
Although the wins seem to have been an easy feat, the
team had a huge obstacle to overcome at Saturday's
match against Ohio State: Michigan weather. The tem-
perature was perfect, but the winds were far from tennis
ball friendly.
"The wind is the devil," an agitated freshman Henry
1 am Jr. said. "We are a better team, but with condi-
tions so bad, it can neutralize our strength."
Such bad conditions will effect both teams, but
Michigan proved to be the better of the two, winning all
three doubles matches and five of six singles matches.
"The ball carried more than usual," freshman Ben
Cox said. "But we had been practicing in the wind all
week."
The Wolverines may have won, but the constant bat-
tling against the wind prevented them from playing to
See TENNIS, page 6B
Women lose
igt match a
team uimproves
By Daniel Reback
For the Daily
The Michigan women 's tennis team needed a change.
Victories have been hard to find so far this season. The
team was struggling as the second half of the Big Ten
season loomed ahead.
On Saturday, the women netters traveled to Tampa,
Fla. to square off against South Florida.
Trying to find a more effective lineup, Michigan coach
itsy Ritt juggled with the doubles teams.
Switching players on two doubles teams, Ritt's move
nearly paid off.
With a revamped doubles squad, the Wolverines were
on the brink of upsetting South Florida.
But Michigan would fall short, losing 4-5. The defeat
was South Florida's fourth consecutive over the
Wolverines.
Although the loss dropped Michigan's overall record
to 4-10, the future looks brighter for the Wolverines.
With the new-look doubles teams, the Wolverines won
*o of the three doubles matches in Tampa. Ritt divided
der No.1 doubles team of junior co-captains Danielle
Lund and Brooke Hart.
Lund and Hart had been ranked No. 24 by
Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Breaking up her premier doubles team, Ritt's gamble
paid off. Both Lund and Hart would pick up victories
with another partner.
Hart and freshman Jen Vaughn won at the No.1 dou-
bles spot, 8-2. Lund and senior Jen Boylan were also
victorious at the No. 2 doubles, winning 9-7.
*With the match going down to the wire, the No.3 dou-
bles team almost preserved victory for Michigan.
Sophomores Alison Sinclair and Szandra Fuzesi came
See SOUTH FLORIDA, Page 6B
Baseball
splits
with
Illinois
By Chris Grandstaff
Daily Sports Writer
While many people celebrated
Easter Sunday searching for eggs
and candy, the Michigan baseball
team (5-3 Big Ten, 15-13 overall)
spent the holiday unsuccessfully
looking for hits and runs as they fell
to Big Ten rival Illinois (6-2, 16-8)
7-1, finishing the series with the
Fighting Illini tied at two games
apiece.
The Illini were led yesterday by
pitcher Travis Rehrer, who allowed
one run on just two hits in eight
innings of action.
Michigan looked as if it were in
for a good day in the first inning, as
both Bobby Scales and Jason
Alcarez led off the game with base
hits. But that would be all that the
Wolverines could muster, as Rehrer
held Michigan hitless for the rest of
the game.
"Their kid pitched a great ball
game," Michigan coach Geoff Zahn
said. "We o'nly got two hits so
you've really got to give him credit.
He went a long way and that was
pretty much the ball game."
Michigan mounted its only serious
threat of the game in the ninth when
Rehrer walked the bases loaded with
just one out and the top of the order
coming to the plate. That brought
Illinois coach Richard "Itch" Jones
out to the mound. Jones then
scratched Rehrer in favor of Andy
Dickinson.
Dickinson struck out Scales
before beaning Alcarez with a pitch,
which allowed Michigan's only run
to score. Dickinson finished the
game by getting Michigan co-cap-
tain Mike Cervenak to fly out to cen-
ter.
The Illini did most of their damage
See IWL1NOIS, page 4B
SARA SCHENCK/Daily
Michigan shortstop Bill LaRosa and the rest of the Michigan baseball team split a four-game weekend series with Big Ten contender Illinois. The
Wolverines are now 5-3 in Big Ten play and 15-13 overall heading into games against Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan this week.
Blue swees Big Ten opener
By Jon Zemke
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan softball team cele-
brated its silver anniversary this past
weekend, winning its 24th, 25th and
26th straight games, extending the
longest unbeaten streak in the pro-
gram's history. They swept three
games, a double header on Saturday
and a single game on Sunday, against
Ohio State.
After going undefeated for the
entire month of March, Michigan (3-
0 Big Ten, 29-5-1 overall) started out
April just the same. The Wolverines
defeated Ohio State (0-3,10-15) 10-2
on Sunday and 7-3 and 12-4 in
Saturday's doubleheader.
"It's nice," senior Traci Conrad
said. "It feels like we've been on the
road forever so we're just taking it
one game at a time."
Pitching was the story of the
weekend as the starting rotation of
Marie Barda, Jaime Gillies, and Kate
Eiland limited the Buckeyes to nine
runs in the three games.
Yesterday it was the duo of Barda
and Eiland who held the Buckeyes to
just two runs.
Eiland gave up six runs in the first
three innings and was replaced by
Barda in the fourth. Barda gave up
only three hits and improved her
record to I1-I.
Along with the arms of the pitch-
ing staff, the Michigan bats were on
fire as well.
Two errors by the Buckeyes, and
the hot bats of Kelsey Kollen and
Stefanie Volpe in the first inning,
helped the Wolverines take an early
2-0 lead.
Ohio State scored their first run in
the bottom of the fourth, closing in
on Michigan's 4-0 lead.
But a three-run sixth inning would
seal the game for the Wolverines.
Tami Mika's home run would score
two of the runs, and Catherine Davie
would continue her dominance at the
plate by scoring the other to take the
10-2 lead, which would be the final
score.
"I think we kinda let them back
into the game," Conrad said. "It
opened the door for them to get back
in, but we closed it."
Gillies took control of Saturday's
second game by limiting Ohio State
to four runs as Michigan invoked the
mercy rule after five innings of play,
winning 12-4. Gillies allowed eight
hits and also struck out four in the
win. It was Gillies' eighth win in a
row after starting the season 0-2.
Barda threw a two-hit gem for
Michigan in the first game, but the
shutout wasn't there for Barda as
Ohio State scored three unearned
runs in the fifth.
Holding off a late-inning rally by
the Buckeyes, Barda collected her
tenth win of the season.
See BUCKEYES, page 5B
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Michigan softball team swept Ohio State in Its Big Ten
opener, extending their unbeaten streak to 26.
New men's track coach to be named today
By David Mom
Daily Sports Writer
From the moment Jack Harvey
announced that this would be his final
season at the helm of the Michigan track
team, speculation began as to who would
lead the Maize and Blue into the next cen-
tury. The speculation should end today,
when the Athletic Department is expected
to announce the new head coach.
Harvey's official decision came the
week before the Big Ten Indoor
Championships in February, yet had been
expected since the start of the season.
The attention surrounding Big Tens, as
well as the three-week break between
indoor and outdoor seasons, allowed
Michigan's Athletic Department to con-
duct its search in a relatively quiet man-
ner.
no further than its own for a successor.
This left assistant coaches Ron Warhurst
and Fred Laplante as the only candidates
to replace Harvey.
Both men interviewed for the job, but
neither was willing to confirm their sta-
tus.
Both candidates possess lofty creden-
tials. The difference? The majority of
Warhurst's accomplishments have come
as a Wolverine, while Laplante's have
come elsewhere.
Warhurst, the men's cross country
coach at Michigan for a quarter of a cen-
tury, is among the most respected track
coaches in the nation. His illustrious
career has included six Big Ten trophies
and 15 All-Americans.
In addition, serving as Harvey's right-
hand man for the past 25 years, Warhust
Warhusrst has molded the likes of Kevin
Sullivan and John Mortimer into Big Ten
champions.
Warhurst has truly seen it all in his 25
years at Ann Arbor. Not only is he an
expert in the mechanics of running, he is
a remarkable motivator.
"Whenever I'm in trouble, I look over
to Ron for help," freshman Mike
Wisniewski said. "He really helps us with
the strategy of a race."
Laplante is the less heralded and far
less flamboyant Michigan assistant. But
he, too, boasts an impressive resume.
In his 23 years, Laplante has experi-
enced stints with Columbia, San Diego
State, Lehigh and Eastern Michigan,
coaching both men's and women's teams.
In this time, Laplante earned a strong rep-
utation which led to his hiring at
but director of recruiting, Laplante is
largely responsible for landing blue-chip
recruits such as Ike Okenwa and Oded
Padan.
In just two years, Laplante has attracted
athletes from as far away as Sweden and
Israel.
In addition, Laplante's expertise is in
sprints and hurdles. Michigan's relay and
hurdles runners have posted impressive
results since his arrival.
Laplante is well respected within the
program, and while he has less Michigan
experience, he is a key weapon in the
Wolverines arsenal.
When losing a coach who has headed a
program for 25 years, an adjustment peri-
od is unavoidable.
Warhurst, like Laplante, fits all the
qualifications for the job. He possesses
FILE PHOTO
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