18A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 14, 1999 Early results bode well for' inexperienced 'M' tennis., By Brian Galvin For the Daily With the main draw of the Reebok/ITA All-American Championships scheduled to begin play this weekend, the Nike-affiliated- Wolverines have advanced one of their eight players - senior Matt Wright - to the prestigious round of 64. Wright advanced to the final draw after being seeded directly into the qual- ifying round. Wright, ranked 71st in the nation, can use these individual touma-. ments as a springboard to national suc- cess. In the closest of matches, senior John Long lost a tiebreaker in the final set to fall in the finals of the qualifying round (7-6, 6-7, 7-6). Long won four match- es in the pre-q'ualifying round, losing only one set in the process. Overall, the Wolverines posted a 16- 5 record in prequalifying play, with six players winning their first two matches. "We did an awful lot of winning," said Michigan coach Mark Mees. The Wolverines' strong showing in the tournament is a good sign for the young Wolverines, a group looking to win its first Big Ten title since,1996. With the dual-meet season still three months away, Michigan remains confi- dent that it can continue to improve on these solid performances. "Our improvement has been dramatic from our first tournament." Mees said. "Coach Mees was really happy with the way we played," freshman Zachary Held said. "We weren't sure what to expect, but we did pretty well." Held won his first two matches before falling to Northwestern's Brad Erickson. While losing to a conference foe left Held with a sour taste in his mouth, he and the Wolverines still believe they can contend for a conference championship. "Our goal is to win the Big Ten, and we have the team to do it," Held said. "We just have to work hard and take care of business." Though the early-season touns aren't scored for team standini Wolverines are nonetheless c together as a unit. The younger I have a chance to feel out the cc tion during the individual tourn and experience the tribulations o ing for a top-flight program in pr "Our four seniors really push one.' Held said. "Even when the, es aren't around, they make si don't let up. "We get a strong se being on a team." After completing the main d the All-American Championshi weekend, the Wolverines will se sights on the Rolex Re Championships in Madison on I Team competition begins ft Wolverines on Jan. 23 at home Western Michigan. If the early season results a indication, the Wolverines sho ready. Michigan senior Matt Wright has advanced to the round of 64 at the Reebok/ITA Aii-American Championships in Austin, Texas. DHANI JONES/Daily Warick's Heisman candidacy falters z,, TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Hours before Florida State risked its No. I ranking against Miami, a car pulled out of the parking lot of a Tallahassee hotel with a message painted on the rear window: "Hilfiger or Heisman? U make the call." Less than a week ago, the call was simple: Peter Warrick, the Seminoles' sensational wide receiver, was the clear favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, college football's grandest individual prize. The choice is not so easy anymore. Warrick was sus- pended indefinitely last week following his arrest for felony theft - underpaying for designer clothes at a Tallahassee Dillard's department store. He missed Florida State's 31-21 win over Miami, Fla. and is expected to sit out Saturday's game against Wake Forest. And as he waits for his lawyer to sort out his legal mess, Warrick's Heisman chances have all but slipped away. A sampling of several dozen Heisman voters nation- wide indicate Warrick has little or no chance to win the award presented by New York's Downtown Athletic Club on Dec. 11. "Peter Warrick is out of it, in my mind," voter Steve Kirk of the Birmingham (Ala.) News said. "And not because of the moral issues. He missed a big game and there's only I11 of them. You can't miss a big game." Ron Bracken, sports editor ofthe Centre Daily Times, in State College, said he would have a tough time vot- ing for Warrick because "you want that guy standing up there getting that trophy to be somebody that can be looked up at and admired and a youngster can say, 'I want to be like him."' Warrick may be the nation's best player whether he misses one, two or more games, but Heisman voter Bruce Hooley of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer adds, "I also think the Heisman stands for something more than what he stood for at Dillard's." By winning the Heisman, a player is guaranteed life- long recognition by football fans everywhere. Now, Warrick is likely to be remembered as the first player to lose it because of his misadventures in a mall. With Warrick on the sideline, the leading Heisman contender might be Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton, the nation's top-rated passer with 1,347 yards and 12 touch- downs. He's also run for 321 yards and six touchdowns for the eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets, whose only loss came against Warrick and the Seminoles. Also moving up on voters' ballots is Alabama's Shaun Alexander, who averages 203.6 all-purpose yards - second in the nation - and has 14 scores. Others still being considered by the 921 Heisman voters are Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne and Warrick's teammate, quarterback Chris Weinke. "Everyone seems to think Warrick being out has automatically given the award to Joe Hamilton," said Heisman voter Andrew Bagnato of the Chicago Tfibune, "butI don't think that's a given just yet." Warrick may be the first to lose the Heisman because of felony theft - Florida State policy calls for an auto- matic suspension if an athlete is chat'ed with a felony - but at least one player has won the award without playing every game. In 1957, TexasA&M's John David Crow missed three games with an injury and won by playing in just seven games. He ran for 562 yards and six touchdowns, threw for five scores, caught two scoring passes and had five interceptions. "I don't think Warrick's out of it, but he's got to come back and miss only two games." Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. "I think that's the magic number. The fact that hes apologized, and if he plays well, I think enough Heisman voters will give him a second chance." Said Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald: "I've suspended Warrick from my ballot." So has Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "I will not vote for Peter Warrick, even if he is cleared of criminal charges and returns to play. I thought what they did last week by putting him on TV, having him address the team and be on the sidelines, they were trying to make a celebrity of him, and I thought it was an out- rage." By Heisman rules, Warrick remains a candidate, but William J. Dockery, president of the award, said the receiver would become ineligible if convicted of a felony. Should he win the Heisman and then be con- victed, the award can be taken away. "When he comes back I would tell him to take a very back seat, a very back seat," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "You go out and play the best you can play, and don't even think about the Heisman. That's probably blown." Warrick may ortmay not be among the small group of candidates invited to attend the award ceremony in New F York. H lorida State wide receiver Peter Warrick, right, is considered a long shot elsman trophy after sitting out last Saturday's game due to suspension. Tme's Running Out..5 Taking the April MCAT? Tomorrow is the last day to save $100 on the nation's best MCAT prep course! # The Princeton Review 1-800-2REVIEW N : Rushing game no flu 0 STATE COLLEGE - Behind a rejig- gered offensive line, Eric McCoo broke out for 130 yards Saturday, giving Penn State its first 100-yard rusher of the sea- son and leading the way to the Nittany Lions' first solid ground game in a month. So does No. 2 Penn State finally have its running game in order in time for its upcoming game with No. 18 Ohio State, a team that's beaten the Nittany Lions four times in six years? Maybe. Saturday's 341-yard output was, after all, against Iowa,oneofthe nation's worst run defenses. But after a string of anemic rushing performances, the Lions will take it where they can get it. "All the backs, right after pregame, we said, 'This is our coming-out game. This is when we're going to show everybody that we're a running team as well as a passing team,"' McCoo said after the game. "We just executed. These are things we could've done the first five games. Now we're just going to try to continue doing it so people don't say it was a fluke or anything like that." The good news for coach Joe Paterno is that McCoo, now midway through his sophomore year, is proving he's no fluke, either. McCoo, a confident freshman from Red Bank, N.J., stepped into the starting job when Cordell Mitchell went down midway through 1998 with a shoulder injury. His first run from scrimmage, on the day before his 18th birthday, was a 41- yard dash up the middle. A slippery but tough tailback, he went on to rush for 822 yards and score three Flashcom = Internet Access Up To 100 Times Faster Let Flashcom save you time and money. Digital Subscriber Lines offer the fastest, most secure high speed Internet access available today. DSL is an "always on" service, no more annoying busy signals or dropped calls. Largest nationwide coverage avail-FR able! Order Flashcom DSL today! touchdowns last year. He had 163 yard and a 77-yard touchdown against Purdu and 206 yards against Michigan State This season, he leads the team with 31 yards at a 4.6-yard clip and four touch downs. As a receiver, he has caught 10 pass for 130 yards and a score. McCoo wouldn't have come so far s fast had Paterno not needed backs, an McCoo didn't get the usual redshirt * in 1998. Then again, he wouldn't have even made it to Penn State if he weren't s strong-willed. "I had to resist a lot of temptations. There's a lot of things out there, easy to get in trouble,' the affable 19-year-old said. "A lot of my friends are either in jail or, some of them, dead. Football was my way of getting away from all that. I m- aged pretty well, I'd say." That's the kind of confidence he's showing this year, now that he's no longer the kid just grateful to be playing. True, Penn State is relying more on muhiple s t and ns efficient pasing attck. And the rushing stats aren't bad - 220 yards pr game and , 17 rushing touchdowna. But they hide problems. rambling quarterak Rashard Casey is the Lions' No.2 runner with 202 yards and receivers Eddie Drummond i Chafie Fields have another 231 yars reverses ARTH QUAKE HARITY UNDRAISING IGHT Ocl e 6, 1999 * Saturday 6PM -OPM There will be Taiwanese Food Games. "I have a Flashcom DSL connection and this is surely the future for Internet connectivity. Anyone anyplace that can get this technology into their home or office is foolish not to order it today! It's fabulousr CAL. NOW 1.7.r.UNVDL or VisIt: MW.FLAUHCOM.CWM CALL NOW 1.877.864.8375 Onselen ans