4coreboard .
MAJOR LEAGUE HOUSTON 4,
BASEBALL Chicago Cubs 2
TEXAS 6. NBA
Detroit . BASKETBALL
N.Y. METS 12, Orlando 81,
Florida 3 NEW YORK 72
San Diego 4, Miami 92,
COLORADO 3 TORONTO 70
San Francisco 7, PHILDELPHIA 95,
CINCINNATI 6 Minnesota 87

Golden State at
HOUSTON, inc.
NHL
HOCKEY
CAROLINA 4,
New Jersey 2
Buffalo 4,
N.Y. ISLANDERS 3
San Jose at
PHOENIX, inc.

SPORTSjgai ~a~

Tracking 'M' teams
The Michigan men's tennis team goes to East Lansin
to play Michigan State today at 6 p.m. Michigan
coach Brian Eisner hopes his team can extend its
eight-game winning streak against his alma mater.
Wednesday
April 7, 1999 8)


Michigan
bowls over
Falcons, 8-7
By Dan Dingerson
Daily Sports Writer
After a strong series against Big Ten champion Illinois
which the Michigan baseball team split, the Wolverines
traveled down to Ohio to face Bowling Green.
The Falcons are the second Mid-American Conference
team Michigan has faced in
the last week. After defeat-
ing Central Michigan in the MICHIGAN 8
home opener, and Western f BOWLING GREEN 7
Michigan earlier in March,
the Wolverines wanted to
remain undefeated against MAC foes.
The Wolverines succeeded - but.not convincingly.
The team was only able to defeat Bowling Green 8-7,
raising the Wolverines record to 16-13.
The Wolverines continued to win with their bats. For
the 11 th straight time, Michigan won a game in which
the team scored at least six runs. This season the team is
13-2 When scoring at least six runs in a contest. In con-
trast,.the team has only won three times this year when
failing to to get those six runs.
Although pitching has been a concern entering the
season, it has been solid so far this season. Against the
Falcons, the team used. a pitching-by-committee
approach.
Starting pitcher Nick Alexander only lasted to the
fourth inning, falling behind 3-1 before he was relieved
by Job Young. The sophomore pitcher - Young - was
in for two innings, and despite giving up two runs earned
the win. The victory was Young's first of the season.
See FALCONS, Page 9

Blue honors top
student athletes

By Mark Francescuttl
Daily Sports Writer
While a bird flew through the rafters
of Crisler Arena last night, it was the ath-
letes below that took off with the high-
light of the evening.
More than 300 of the 700-plus
Michigan student athletes received hon-
ors for earning a 3.0 grade-point average
in two consecutive semesters.
The University Athletic Department
also acknowledged athletes who earned
a 4.0 GPA and the all-academic Big Ten
honorees. Former football captain Jon
Jansen and gymnast Beth Amelkovich
took home the Big Ten Conference
Medals of Honor - the highest awards
given by the Athletic Department.
Amelkovich, who helped lead the
Michigan women's gymnastics team to
three Big Ten Championships, sad that it
takes some perfection in a person to
achieve success in both academics and
athletics.
"All my teammates say that I am a
perfectionist and a bit over-compulsive;"
Amelkovich said. "I try to get things
done early so that when those stressful
times come up like midterms you have
some things done."
This year's crop of top student-ath-
letes is the largest in the nine-year histo-
ry of the banquet. This year's group was
so large, that officials had to move the

site from the Michigan League to the
larger Crisler Arena.
"We had so many smart athletes that
we had to come here to accommodate
the people," Amelkovich said. "This is
an example when student athletes apply
themselves."
Amelkovich gave a short speech after
receiving her award and also intends to
speak for the Division of Kinesiology at
graduation ceremonies in May.
Jansen, an All-American offensive
lineman, also earned a Big Ten medal.
While the departing senior's next
focus is on his NFL draft position, heO
said that he is thankful in having a strong
backup plan due to his academic perfor-
mance.
"It's something that I have always
strived to do," Jansen said. "You can
only play football for so long. When you
are done with (athletics), you have to do
something."
Jansen said that his success can be
attributed to his time-budgeting skills
which he accomplished without a com-e
plicated planning system.
"It all has to do with time manage-
ment," Jansen said. "You just can't go
out every Friday and Saturday night.
Jansen followed other past football
players who had strong academic
careers.

See HONORS, Page 9

DANA LINNANE/Daly
Bryan Cranson was one of five pitchers in Michigan's pitching-by-committee approach yesterday against
Bowling Green. The Wolverines scored seven unanswered runs to defeat the Falcons, 8-7.

Signing day success
not an accurate sign

*

'M' softball on the road again

By Stephanie Offen
Daily Sports Writer
Just about a week ago, the
Michigan softball team returned from
West Lafayette with three victories -
none of which were against Purdue.
The Wolverines captured the cham-
pionship of the six-team Boilermaker
Classic on March 28. That was their
last tournament before they began
doubleheader play.
Today, Michigan travels back to
Indiana to take on the the
Boilermakers in a midweek twinbill.
The Wolverines did not get an
opportunity to see the Boilermakers
in action during the tournament, but
that was for the best, said Michigan
coach Carol Hutchins.
"We don't want to see them in tour-
nament play," Hutchins said. "We
would rather play them when it

counts."
This game will mark the second
Big Ten opponent the Wolverines will
face this season. They are coming off
a three-game sweep of Ohio State
where they extended their unbeaten
streak to 26 games.
Starting at 3 p.m. today, the
Wolverines will be looking to extend
that streak even more.
But Michigan will have to look out
for an offensive attack that mirrors
their own.
Recently, the Wolverines have been
experiencing success offensively.
Michigan is currently batting .336 to
their opponents' .215 average.
The Boilermakers have been doing
the same. Purdue is batting .302 - a
much better offensive presence then
Michigan is used to.
"We will have to rely heavily on

our pitching and defense," Hutchins
-said.
Michigan will also be seeing some
new faces on the mound for Purdue.
The Boilermaker's pitching staff con-
sists of two freshman pitchers.
"Purdue has new pitchers, but we
have confidence in our offense,"
Hutchins said. "We need to remember
to stay with the good mechanics and
we will do fine."
Today's matchup will also be the
last in a long line of road games for
the Wolverines.
After Michigan's tournament play
on the road, the Wolverines traveled
to face Eastern Michigan and Ohio
State. And after just two nights in
Ann Arbor, the team was uprooted
once again for their last trip of this
series.
Michigan's first game at Alumni

TONIGHT
Who:
Michigan vs. Purdue
Where: -
Varsity Softball Complex,
West Lafayette
When: 3 p.m.
The Latest: The Wolverines
look to add to their 26-game
unbeaten streak.
Field will take place this Saturday
when the Wolverines host Minnesota
for a three-game series.
Even though the Wolverines have
done just fine on the road, they will
be happy to finally be home.
"It's hard to go back on the road so
quickly like this," Hutchins said. "I
think we've spent 22 nights in hotels
this year, and the kids are getting
tired of it."

By Rick Freeman
Daily Sports Editor
There's no telling where
Michigan's recruiting class will end
up when all is said and done. People
will try to rank the program -and
all the ,other men's college basket-
ball programs that can begin accept-
ing national Letters-of-Intent today.
A great recruiting class really
isn't remembered as a truly great
class until it accomplishes some-
thing really big. A highly touted
class that doesn't go far will be
remembered with more bitterness
than an indifferent class that lives up
to its name.
But people will still try. Colleges
are obsessed with national rankings
- and not just in sports, either. The
people that follow college sports are
the same way. Ellerbe's first recruit-

,,, -.

FINALS
FREAKOUT?? I

ing class consists of four high-
school seniors so far - Forward
Leland Anderson, and guards Kevin
Gaines, Gavin Groninger and Jamal
Crawford.
But the big catches are still ou
there. Charlotte, N.C.'s Jason Parker
is a toss-up for Michigan or North
Carolina. And then, right in Ellerbe's
backyard is LaVell Blanchard, from
Pioneer High School.
Recruiting pressures have driven
Michigan basketball coaches before.
Steve Fisher, after coming off a
mediocre 1991 season, landed possi-
bly the most famous recruiting clasg
college basketball will ever see.
The Fab Five had eye-popping
numbers before they ever set foot on
a court. Few classes since then have
drawn consensus raves. Even fewer
players do.
Ranking 'M' recruits
This is haowMichigan's four recruits
so far are ranked by some of the
nation's recruiting experts:
Leland Anderson
6-8F
North Attleboro, Mass.
Full Court Magazine #64
Prepstars #72
Insiders Report #81
Recruiting Beat #93
Jamal Crawford
Rainier Beach, Wash.
Full Court Magazine #32
Prepstars #70
Bob Gibbons #67
Insiders Report #70
Recruiting Beat #80
Kevin Gaines
6.46
.as Vegas, Nev.
Hoop Scoop #12
Full Court Magazine #19
Prepstars #32
Bob Gibbons #34
Insiders Report #36
Recruiting Beat #37
Gavin Groninger
6-56G
Plainfield, Ind.
Full Court Magazine #86
Prepstars #86
Bob Gibbons #79
Insiders Report #82

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