eidiboard -Froacking 'M' teams NATIONAL MAJOR LEAGUE Chicago 2, Like to get up early? Like women's tennis? Then. HOCKEY LEAGUE BASEBALL HOUSTON 1 out the Michigan women's tennis team when it b te TAMPA 0AY 3, Tamp Bay H L ongeles,inc Indiana tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Varsity Tennis NEW JERSEY 1, ST. LOUIS 9 Cleveland at Center. Admission is free for everyone. Washington 0 Milwaukee 4, Anaheim, inc. NY ISLANDERS 3, SAN FRANCISCO 12, Toronto at Montreali 1 San Diego 4 Minnesota, inc. Friday PHILADELPHIA 3, MONTREAL 5, Philadelphia at April 9, 1999 Pittsburgh 1 NY Mets 1 Atlanta, inc. Softball tries to put the hurt on other 'M' Pearson eligible fob top hockey spots 'M' assistant qualified to replace Woog, Lucia By Michael Shafrir Daily Sports Writer All the superlatives have been exhausted. Great, wonderful, unbe- lievable - they've all been used. The easiest way to describe the Michigan softball team is with four words - 28-game unbeaten streak. The Wolverines will put their streak on the line this week- end in a three-game series against Minnesota. The Golden Who: Gophers come to Ann No. 6 Michig Arbor ranked 22nd in No. 22 Minr the country with a 28- Where: 10 record. They will be Alumni Field looking to hand Michigan its first loss When: F since March 2. (DH), 1 p.m. On the heels of a The Lates doubleheader sweep of Michigan loo Purdue on Wednesday, extend its urn Michigan has run its. streak. record to 32-5-1 and climbed to No. 6 in the polls. Michigan's highest ranking of the season was fifth in the preseason poll. Blanking Purdue was not as easy as some of Michigan's games have been. The Boilermakers took Michigan to 11 innings in the second game before los- ing, 3-2. In response to the large num- ber of games the team has played as of late, Michigan coach Carol Hutchins gave her players the day off yesterday to rest them for this weekend. "We should be OK," freshman Stefanie Volpe said. "It was just a real- ly long bus trip, but anytime you play p.t C 11 innings you're going to be tired." The Wolverines' best weapon, their trio of pitchers, has gotten better as the season has progressed - a scary thought for opposing batters. Junior Marie Barda improved her record to 12-1 with her fifth shutout of the season in the first game against Purdue. Not to be outdone, Kate Eiland and Jamie Gillies hold 11-2 and 9-2 records, respectively. Opponents are batting a an vs. paltry .215 against the esota three hurlers. Michigan's opponents have not been able to silence the Wolverines' m. Sa bats quite as effectively. Sun. Michigan is tearing into t: opposing pitching at a ks to .329 clip. beaten They are led by left- fielder Catherine Davie's .421 batting average and .722 slugging percentage. Davie also leads the team with 5 homeruns and 41 RBIs. Although Michigan managed only 17 hits in its two games against Purdue, Volpe said the lack of produc- tion doesn't worry the Wolverines. "The hits came at the right time," Volpe said. "Coach doesn't care how many hits we get, she cares when we get them." For Michigan to stretch its unbeaten streak to an amazing 31 games, they need to win a series of games that will be the Wolverines' toughest test since By David Den Herder Daily Sports Writer The relatively abrupt resignation of Minnesota hockey coach Doug Woog earlier this week has created a vacuum among the NCAA's elite teams. After reappointing Woog to an interi- or position, the Minnesota athletic department refrained from naming an immediate successor - which has opened the door to a short list of possi- ble candidates to take the reigns of the storied program. Among those candidates, if by noth- ing more than sheer qualification, is Michigan assistant coach Mel Pearson. Pearson has been an assistant under Red Berenson for 11 years at Michigan - in which time he has been a part of two national championships and taken a flagbearing role in recruiting top prospects from around the nation. That said, Pearson is not overly eager to abandon the maize-and-blue for a top job elsewhere. "I'm really happy here, and my fami- ly's happy here," Pearson said. "I haven't talked to anybody, nor do I intend to. Now, if someone comes knocking at your door, then I think you have to con- sider it ... but I don't want to be a head coach just to be a head coach." According to officials at Colorado College, the Minnesota athletic depart- ment has been doing a little knocking - on their door. Colorado College Director of College Relations Todd Wilson said yesterday that Colorado College coach Don Lucia has been engaged in dialoga. with the Minnesota athletic depa0er regarding the coaching vacancy. Minnesota "had asked for permissic to talk with (Lucia)" Wilson said. ,Ai that permission was granted." Lucia has been at the helm fo Colorado College the past six years, arh has all but resurrected the prograr including guiding the Tigers to th NCAA final in 1996 (where they lost z Michigan). North Dakota coach Dean Blaists was also an early candidate, has appar ently dropped out of the running, as Th Colorado Springs Gazette reported h has since renewed his contract. a $115,000 a year for five years. If Lucia opts for the job at Minnesota it could open an even more realisti opportunity for Pearson at Colorad College. Lucia "took that program fron nowhere. He's a very good recruite r.n a sharp guy," Pearson said. "Ther'ni question that's one of the premier spots. Berenson concurred that Coloratl College has achieved an elite stat among Division I programs - and sai Pearson is qualified for any head coach ing position that may become availabl in the NCAA. "As an assistant coach, Mel would b as qualified as anyone in the counry Berenson said. "He's been in the tt-l es for 10-15 years. If the day ccne when he gets an opportunity he's excite about, I'll be excited about it for him The Michigan softball team brings In a 28-game unbeaten streak into Its weekend battles with Minnesota. the Iowa doubleheader. Michigan beat Iowa 2-0 and tied them 2-2 in eight innings. And if the streak reaches those lofty heights, don't expect the Wolverines to talk about it. If they talk about it at all, they won't use words like great, wonderful or unbe- lievable to describe it. They'll tell you they are just going about their business. "We don't talk about it at all, actual- ly," Volpe said of the unbeaten streak. "We just try and focus on our Big Ten games." Let's tuck and ro Women are top seed in NCAA Regional Men battle to advance. against other top teams By Stephen A. Rom iDaily Sports Writer Of all the words to describe the regular reason of the 1999 Michigan women's gymnastics team, one that most certainly does not come to mind is 'lucky.' Everything from one of the nation's most difficult schedules to fallen gym- ists at the hands of injury have ham- nered any attempt luck might have had in contributing to the success of this team. So why should the post-season be any different? This Saturday, the Wolverines will be leaded to Lincoln Nebraska as the No. I eed to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships. Their seeding is not the problem. Ranked No. 4 nationally, Michigan is most definitely favored to finish in at east one of the top two spots and be awarded an opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City later this month to vie for the istational championship. Nor is their competition - No. 7 :Nebraska, No. 22 Oklahoma, No. 25 Arizona, Illinois and Illinois- Chicago - looked at as a potential )roblem. Something that might be, though, is the order which Michigan randomly drew for .vent competition. The Wolverines will TOMORROW Who: Michigan at NCAA Regionals Where: Lincoln, Neb. When: 8 p.m. The Latest: The top two fin- ishers the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships. begin their post-season on the balance beam. "It's not an ideal draw for us," said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. "We would have liked to have Olympic order" Olympic order begins with vault. On vault,there's room forerror-only the top score of two attempts of each gymnast is registered. On beam, there's less room for error- just six inches of it. The entire idea of trying to balance the emotion of competing in the University of Nebraska's 14,000 seat Bob Devaney Sports Center and being the No. 1 seed, gives the balance beam a fining name. Last season's regional champi- onships brought the same type of luck See NCAAS, Page 11 By Dan Dingerson Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's gymnastics team has one goal left for this season. This season, the Wolverines want- ed to be the top ranked team in the nation, and they are. They wanted to win the Big Ten Championship, and two weeks ago they traveled to Iowa and became the conference champions. TOM The only goal left to fulfill for Michigan is Who: winning a national Michigan championship. Regionals But to compete in the Where: NCAA Championships, Champait the team must first qual- When:' fy in regional competi- tion. The Lal The NCAA regionals, Michigan which begin tomorrow many of i night in Champaign, fea- foes in its tures some of the best NCAA fin teams in the nation. Of the seven teams compet- tog, six of them are representatives of the Big Ten. Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan State and Illinois qualified for the East Regional along with Massachusetts. The only Big Ten team that did not rank high enough to advance to regionals was Minnesota. The teams in the East Regional all rank in the top nine in the country. The Big Ten holds the nation's top four spots. On paper, the meet looks to be one of the most competitive in the nation, featuring the most talent of any meet this year. Because of the qualifying rules, only three Eastern teams will be able to qualify for NCAA Championship competition. The system of qualifying means that four of the teams in the East region will be eliminated even though there are only two Western teams that rank amongst the top nine in the country. This means that at least one of the top four teams in the country will be left out of championship competi- gr 8 its lal lion. Michigan's No. I ranking guarar tees them nothing at this point in tin season. The Wolverines have lost t all three of the other top-rtke schools this year, although theast has been victorious in recent weeks But the Wolverines have score more than 230 points in each of the last three compet' RR A tions. The only othe RR W team to score Mot than 230 this year Ohio State. Michigan' at NCAA scores have constantl improved througbot the season, reapn their high in ic 5m weeks. p."I think that o est: No. 1 team is verytcapabl will battle of putting up a highs s Big Ten score than we did road to the Big Tens, quite a b Is. higher," Michiga coach Kurt Goldc said. "But I think thr if we got the same score itt good enough (to qualify)." Michigan still has the opportunit to improve. The team is still recove ing from injuries that have plagued throughout the year. Kevin Roulston and Adai Hattersley may compete in evet that they have missed the entire sez son. With the introduction of moi specialized routines, the team has th ability to improve it's score signif cantly. Also helping the Wolverines at their increased levels of confident as of late. Because the team is s young, confidence plays almost big of a role as talent does. The tea is not used to competing for 1l NCAA title. "With the performance that we ha at Big Tens, it really gave the guys huge step forward in terms of nf dence," Golder said. "When confident you can do your bes When you're not, then your muscle are a little tense and there is tha added little bit of pressure. Thbs guy's confidence is at its peak." DANAL INNED/aily Kadna Senior and the Michigan gymnasts will try to extend their streak of advancing to the NCAA championships, when they compete in the NCAA regionals this weekend. ;1r a fantastic journey begins... ...tn the best of all possible worlds - Vaulting through the years The Michigan women's gymnastics team will try to reach the NCAA champi- onship round for the fifth straight time when they compete in the NCAA region- als this weekend in Nebraska. The top two teams at the six regional sites move on to the final rounds. Here are the Wolverines' past results at NCAA regionals: 1998 - 2nd place t(Manced to NCAA 1995 - 2nd (Advanced to NCAA Championship) Championships) 1997 - 1st(AdvancedtcNCAA 1994 - 3rd Chamtpinsthips 1993 - 4th 1996 - 2nd tAdvanced to NCAA 1992- 2nd (Advanced to NCAA Championship nChampionships) We will help you get the interviews 4 O music by Leonard Bernstein book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler directed by Brent Wagner, musical direction by Ben Whiteley April 15-17 at 8pm " April 18 at 2pm e Power Center Tickets are $18 and $14 " Students $7 with ID League Ticket Office " Charge it! 734-764-0450 UM School of Music Musical Theatre Dept. EXyerienee Re-H manfznizatio Camyus chapel CRC EXylorations in Faith and Reason North of south U. and Forest Sunday Service 10:30AM Visitors suyyer 6:30 Thursday * (Free or first-timers)