2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 3, 2000 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY Edited by Michael Kern and Ryan C. Moloney Spartans face Florida for title tonight " INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - After spending a week preparing for Wisconsin's throwback offense, Michigan State had one day to get ready for Florida's racehorse game. The Championship game is tonight at 9 p.m. The senior-laden Spartans, champions of the Big Ten conference, play for the national championship against the Gators, whose roster is bulging with freshmen and sophomores. Michigan State survived a bruising battle with Wisconsin 53-41, a game that sometimes seemed to be played in quick- sand with lids on the baskets. And then they were joined in the final by Florida, whose run-and-gun attack wore down North Carolina, 71-59. "Those are two opposites," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the differ- ence between the Badgers and Gators. "It will be opposite styles from what we've had to prepare for." Point guard Mateen Cleaves, who returned for a final season at Michigan State and one last run at a national cham- pionship, knows the Spartans are in for a track meet against the pressing game of the Gators, the first No. 5 seed to make it to a national championship game. I've watched Florida play all year," he said. "They play intense defense. They're going to be in your face." That is the style of the Gators, who were a fraction of a second away from washing out of the NCAA tournament in their first game against Butler. Mike Miller saved them with a game-winni basket with three-tenths of a second left in overtime. March 16 March 1B March 23 March 25 A A March 26 March 24 March 19 March 17 1 MM ichigan S..11MchDuke 16 Lam ar 8 uth aUtah 8 Kansas asn 9 Saint Louis 1 Michigan St. 5 Florida --- UDefaut 5 wetcy 5Kentucky ,5 Forida 42 S on Syracuse 5 Florida ---tle 4 4Syrac use Emst 1M 4 Illsinoisrid 1SamfsrtatW e 1M 11R 1 ichian SA 5 loria hig:tn n, om.:3Psn < Maryrnd Mal)an:3nOaaho a S Indoianoa S 64 UCLA 2 wa3 Oklahoma S StHoftr 7 uun 7 Auburn 10 Seton Hall 7Oeo 1.0 Cchton 2 Iowa Stae 10 Seton Mats TOSe tonal KR i tINGL E/ uaiiy Attacker Tom Burns, a key to Michigan's dominant offense that scored 52 goals in three games this weekend, passes the ball against No. 9 Arizona on Saturday. Lacrosse dominates ranked foes Men defeat three ranked teams in three straight days I Arilana 1. Arilana 16 larksnn St. 8 Wisconsin 8 Wisconsin %) Fresno 5tat $ VNISCaflSlfl 5 Tex a,, 5 Texas 12 tnH+rnn St. 4t S,0 ""4 1-11, State State 1.:3 S.E. Ma. St. 4 La. S ' N/e,*t 6 Purdue w lttrrarrt! 4 Purdue 7v1 rf.'atlr f.'r rr h"t" Es f urduts :3 Oklahoma 3 Oklahoma 14 Win! ht r7g4S Purdue 10 GonXttga 10 ran t.rf?,..r - 10 t.ianlagk71 7 ,t John's -_ 7 St. John's 15 N. Arizona 5 Florida 8WisconsinJ 8 N. CarolinaI I. Stanford 1 Stanford £3 N. Carolina 16 S- C. St. £3 N. CarORlna 8 N. Carolina 8 N. Carolina 9 Messnurf S Connecticut 5 Connecticut - 4 Tennessee 1_? Utah State 4 Tennessee Tennessee - ++nicd 13 La.-Lafayette Freurk heed.. C',w- 6 Miami (Fta.) rNic'me, 7?s, 6 Miami (Fla,) 6 Miami Fla 11, Ark rn s as ----- -- 3 01110 State _ 3 Ohio State 7 Tulsa 14 Appichn. St. 7 Tulsa 7 Tulsa 10 ONLY 7 Tulsa Cincinnate Cjncinnsrii 15 (JNC-W lmptn I,, r4pgq With No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 9 Arizona and No. 12 Illinois on the Michigan lacrosse club's platter this weekend, the Wolverines were hungry for some top ranked cuisine. After sweeping all three games from its opponents, including a 25-13 demoli- tion of Virginia Tech, you can be sure No. 7 Michigan is full. "For us to win three games against three ranked opponents three days in a row is outstanding," Michigan coach John Paul said. As the ranking of Michigan's oppo- nents got progressively lower, ironically so did the Wolverines' margin of victory. Michigan beat the sixth-ranked Hokies by 12, No. 9 Arizona by nine in a 15-6 route and No. 12 Illinois by 3 in a 12-9 edging. Paul felt that the Illini's lower rank might have deceived his team. "The guys were looking past Illinois because the other teams were higher ranked," Paul said. But the clubs have long histories and Paul considers them arch rivals. "This is like the Michigan-Michigan State game for us," Paul said. "This was a game of emotion today." But, the game yesterday was School KO's boxer - Michigan sends one to nationals The NCBA national championship may be the ultimate prize, but no boxer can compete for coveted All-American status until he makes it through one of the nation's rugged regionals. The Michigan boxing club qualified two representatives to compete for national titles in their respective weight classes. Sophomore Theron Tingstad and freshman Aaron Isely both survived the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati, but only Tingstad will make the trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., this Wednesday through Sunday. Isely is behind in his studies and Michigan's third in three days-making it as big of a physical push as it was an emotional push. "When you play three games in a row, it's pretty hard to keep your body in good condition." defender Wesley Martus said. "But since Illinois is such a big rival - we played them in the CCLA championship last year - it was impor- tant that we stayed strong against the rivalry." Attackman Jeff Hadwin, who led the team in goals during the invita- tional, also felt the exhaustion of consec- utive games. "We were definitely worn down today," Hadwin said. "It's all heart at the end when you're warn down. When it's time to play you just put your head in and hope everything works out." Hadwin, who netted three goals against the Illini, attributed his club's success to the intangibles of Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. "It's really nice to play at home," Hadwin said. "We finally had some good fans and our alumni were back. We just love playing at this place. We haven't lost here in quite some time. It was nice hav- ing some top ranked teams coming here instead of us playing them on the road." -David Roth made the tough choice of forgoing the trip. "I still have three more years, so I'll definitely be out there again," Isely said. "I'm here for school first." Tingstad's berth came via his region- al final victory over Navy's Steve Cobos in the 139-pound class, while Isely's runner-up finish in the 147 was enough to guarantee himself a spot, one he eventually turned down. Senior Keith Briggs failed to make it out of the regional, falling to eventual champion Ben Zuber of Navy in the semifinals of the 175. Tingstad, the Michigan captain, is one of eight boxers in his weight class to qualify for nationals. He will be fighting for All-America status this week as the Wolverines' lone representative. - Chris Duprev Chris ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Who: Justin Toman and Kris Zimmerman Sport: Men s Gymnastics Year: Jr, Fr. Why: Toman and Zimmerman tied for the 2000 NCAA title on the parallel bars Saturday in Iowa City with 9.9 routines, The duo are the second and third individual national champions of the calender year for Michigan athletics. Toman defended his 1999 title, this year with a knee brace protecting a partially torn ACL. Toman Zimmerman Chris Duprsvs 4 Yes, Vzwi a there ,r a wayto eatthe Spartans Two-sport standout says yes to Ellerbe The Michigan basketball team bol- stered its recruiting class by receiv- ing a verbal commitment from 6- foot-2 point guard Maurice Searight of Pontiac, Mich., The Wolverine reported on Saturday. Searight's addition will give the Wolverines five guards on the roster next year that could all compete for playing time. In addition to returnees Jamal Crawford, Kevin Gaines and Gavin Groninger, Michigan signed point guard Avery Queen in the fall period. Michigan has one scholarship left for this year. Junior-college big men appear to be the target for the Wolverines. With five guards and three wing forwards, Michigan is well-stocked at those positions already. With the graduation of Peter Vignier in the post, only Josh Asselin and Chris Young return down low. Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe does not have a freshman or sopho- more of the 6-foot-I I mold - the recruitment of such a player is Ellerbe's next priority. - Chris Duprev fter watching Michigan State in person five times this season and Seeing them on TV countless others, I believe I know how to beat this team. So if you're reading the Daily with your cup of coffee this morning, Billy Donovan - and I know you are - you're in luck. Keep this column in your breast pocket tonight when your Gators take the floor against Michigan State. It just might save you. The best part is, this strategy doesn't require that you "shut everyone down" on Michigan State. Just follow some simple rules, and the Spartans can be beaten. The upset is possible. It just takes 40 minutes of discipline. Syracuse and Iowa State followed some of the rules for some of the time. That's not enough. RULE No. 1: No open 3-pointers for Morris Peterson and A.J. Granger. Force Michigan State to win the game two points at a time. Peterson and Granger are beyond the point where they can be tested and left alone behind the 3-point arc. If they hit two or three 3-pointers apiece, you're sunk. Rui.r No. 2: Let Mateen Cleaves do whatever he wants. Cleaves is overrated as a player. His leadership skills are excel- lent, and that's why he's the main man to watch, but that has nothing to do with his playing skills. Even after shooting hun- dreds of jumpers every day over the sum- mer, Cleaves is no better of a shooter. Cleaves can't drive or finish, either. Rarely do you see him take the ball to the hole and get the basket. He doesn't like contact, and is more willing to throw up some sort of acrobatic layup than draw some body and go to the foul line. Why, then, is Cleaves dangerous? Because, for some reason, opponents have some great amount of respect for his driving abilities. The instant Cleaves puts the ball on the floor and heads for the lane, three defenders converge. That leaves Peterson and Granger open on the wings, and that causes trouble. So here's how to handle Cleaves. Let him shoot whenever he wants - get token hand in his face, but don't lunge at him and let him fly by. If he drives, stay with him and keep your hands up. Don't send three people to attack him - he loves that and he'll pass out of it for easy baskets all day. RuLk No. 3: Don't double-team Andre Hutson all the time. If Hutson catches the ball in the paint on a post feed, you have to send the double or it's two points. Hutson will pass out ifhe's doubled- Hutson doesn't force things enough to split two guys and go to the hole. Once he passes out, the defense can reset and a player as physical as Florida's Udonis Haslem can use his big forearm to push Hutson out of the lane. If Hutson catches the ball outside of the lane, leave him alone. His 12-foot jumper is suspect. To have a chance tonight, Florida has to adhere to these rules for 40 minute Unfortunately for the Gators, they've only had a day or two to prepare for Michigan State. That will make their job much tougher. Michigan State 81, Florida 77 - Chris Dupirev can be reached at cduprey@umich.edu. Berenson signs forward for 2001-02 season Next season, the Michigan hockey team will be loaded with talent. With an eight-member senior class, 1999-2000 All-America candi- dates Mike Comrie and Jeff Jillson who will be juniors, a sophomore class loaded with scorers and three big freshmen defensemen, the 2000- 2001 Wolverines could sizzle. But one year of promise never ps the recruiting process for ire seasons. Michigan is already king to beef up its 2001-2002 ros- Recently the Wolverines received erbal commitment from Dwight minen, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound ward from Brighton. lelminen, currently playing for the A Hockey National Development im, touted as a complete player > will be an offensive presence on team, was also recruited by higan Sate, Michigan Tech, mi and Ohio State. - Uma Subramanian U wiv PA SSOVER 2000 First Night Seder at Hillel Wednesday, April 19, 8:20 pm Limited to the first 120 university students Pre-paid reservations due on Monday, April 10 Jewish Women's Seder* & Graduate and Professional Seder Thursday, April 20 Space is limited Pre-paid reservations due on Monday, April 10 *open to women and men Passover Meals at Hillel Thursday, April 20-Thursday, April 27 Hillel will serve delicious kosher for Passover lunches and dinners during the holiday. Prepaid reservations required by Monday, April 10 or a $2 late fee pre meal will be applied, subject to available meals. Hillel has haggagot to lend and seder plates to buy if you are planning your own seder. Orders must be made by Monday, April 10. _______--p Frustrated and disappointed with the University? Need help making sense of your U of M experience? Check out http://universitysecrets.com For more information cal toll-free 1-877-PENNGSE Or visit our website at www.upenn.edu/ge " Teacher Education * Psychological Services " Higher Education Management " TESOL An Ivy League education featuring extensive field work with an urban and international focus r- t i '. i i No Crefit No Problemi First Time Buyer Program If ou have the followingE -i L 1. Join Our Team! We are a busy restaurant & night spot located in downton Petoskey, on I