Friday, December 3, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - 11 *For 'M' the unfamiliar awaits Women's basketball faces three other WNIT picks By Dena Beth Krischr .Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's basketball team s looking to better its undefeated record as it faces New Mexico State for the first time .:n Michigan history at the Gene Hackerman the random burst of energy that helped them bounce back from a 14-point deficit to defeat Providence 79-66 on Tuesday night, starting the game out slow just isn't going to cut it against the top teams they've got lined up in the future. Rice Invitational in ,.___That random burst of Houston today at 7 p.m. energy came mostly The Wolverines will be THIS WEEKEND from senior forward going into the tournament ---.-----------"------..-.-- Kenisha Walker, who blind, not knowing much Who: Tonight: vs. New grabbed three boards and 2 bout New Mexico, Mexico State; Tomorrow vs. had nine points in just 10 Massachusetts or Rice. All Rice or Massachusetts minutes on the court. they know is that the other Where: Gene Hackerman "I decided with the time three teams saw just as - Rice nvitational; Houston that I have I might as well much postseason action as .hn 7m tonight; do something," Walker chigan did in the WNIT. . ; said. "My nickname is "We haven't started our 7 p.m. tomorrow. 'Instant Energy' so when I scouting report or anything The Latest: Coming off of come in, I just try to bring like that, so we don't really a 79-66 win over Providence, in a little energy to the know too much about Michigan coach Sue Guevara team, a little excitement them," sophomore guard and the Wolverines are 5-0, and emotion and just have Alayne Ingram said. "We matching their best start in some fun. know that they're three Guevara's four-year tenure. "I play best when I get oher good teams, we all to run the floor in an went to the WNIT and that open court. We had an etting there is not an easy task - so we opportunity to do that in the second half know they're going to be good competi- and we capitalized." tion." But Michigan can't rely on a few sponta- What the Wolverines know is that despite neous combustions from certain players. The team as a whole needs to be more revved up, and the Wolverines aren't exact- ly sure about how they're going to ensure that. "I don't really know what else we can do," Walker said. "We have our pre-game warmup, we get excited in the tunnel before we come out and it's just up to the players who are starting the game to come out and have a little enthusiasm for themselves, because you can only say so much." The Wolverines have since then gone back to practicing against their managers - who just so happen to 'be of the male per- suasion - in order to get used to playing the way they did during the second half of Tuesday's game. "They're really good for us to play against," Guevara said. "We haven't done it the last couple of weeks because our games have been so close, but playing them really helps us a lot. "They're quicker, they're faster, they jump higher and they block a lot of shots and make us play faster than we want to, so we have to learn to control tempo with it." The winner of tonight's game will play for the first-place title tomorrow at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Massachusetts- Rice game. Raina Goodlow and the Wolverines hope to soar above the competition at the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational, a tournament that Includes three other teams that made the WNIT last season. Cliff Keen calls wrestlers west STAFF PICKS y Ryan C. Moloney aily Sports Writer When a wrestling tournament bears the name of a legendary Michigan coach, it's usually safe to assume a few things - the competition will consist of several nationally-ranked teams, and the tradition that goes with the tournament will add a little prestige, Oh, and of course, the hotels in Ann Arbor *hould enjoy an onslaught of business, right? With apologies to 3ampus Inn and the Sheraton, the Cliff Keen Invitational won't be taking place in the Cliff Keen Arena - rather, in Stateline, Nev. Make sense? Even *he Michigan wrestlers are scratching their heads. "It's kind of strange to have it near Las Vegas," captain Otto Olson said. "Because of. the name, it's still a little tion for us. THis 1N Who: 41-tear that includes N and No. 6 Okh Whgre: Clif Invitational in! When: Dece day The Latest a 79-66 win a Michigan coac and the Wolve matching their Guevara's four bit of a tradi- national teams like Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Illinois as a gauge for making decisions for after Christmas break. "This tournament is the first time I'll have kids at each weight," McFarland said. "I'll make decisions on weights and redshirting afterwards, but I like the attitude on this team - everybody is working hard." !EEKENDAmong those are Olson and freshman A.J. m tournament Grant. McFarland 4o. 3 Minnesota commented on ahoma State.. Olson's "great job I Keen as captain, Stateline, Nev. adding that "he ember 3-4, all' has demonstrated a great work ethic in practice." : Coming off of Grant has ver Providence, shown a lot of fire h Sue Guevara ,. and "great spirit" .ines are 5-0, in practices so far best start in as well. r-year tenure. M c F a r l a n d "expects good things" out of Joe Warren and 141-pound stalwart Damion Logan, and is counting on the emer- gence of Kyle Smith in the 197-pound class and Mike Kulczycki at 149. Tony Holifield and Matt Brink, at 157 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, could fulfill some early-season promise with strong showings this weekend. "If you look at our lineup from top to bottom, we're pretty tough;' McFarland said. What might be of more concern to the Wolverines is their adjustment to the new coaching system. McFarland took over for longtime coach Dale Bahr at the end of last sea- son. The length of Bahr's tenure (21 years) could have signaled a rocky tran- sition for the team, but Olson said the issue won't surface this weekend because it never existed in the first place. "(McFarland) has always been run- ning things," Olson said. "but his heart is definitely more into it this year." Not that the process is complete - a season of subtle changes seems the most likely prospect. "The adjustment is going about as well as I expected," McFarland said. "I think it's gone easy for the team because I've been with the program. "I will be able to tell a little bit more as we get into the season." Though the season is young, the tim- ing of the Cliff Keen Invitational -two weeks before the holiday break - tacks on an element of deceptiveness on the result sheet. Unlike at the end of the season, dif- ferent wrestlers are at different points in their training - a favorite might fall to an underdog because of different train- ing schedules. "Some guys like to peak for this because we have some time off after- wards,' Olson said. "I'm not planning on peaking for it, but I still plan on win- ning." MARSHALL (-20.5) vs. Western Michigan Marshall Navy (-6.5) vs. Army Army MIAMI, FLA. (-29.5) vs. Temple Miami Nebraska (-8) vs. Texas Texas Florida (-7) vs. Alabama Alabama All picks made against the spread. Home teams in CAPS. Correct picks in bold. T.J. Berka Rick Freeman Marshall Navy Miami Texas Alabama Alabama 7-7 (1-0) 78-73-3 (6-5) Josh Kleinbaum Andy Latack Marshall Navy Miami Nebraska Florida Florida 7-7(0-1) 77-74-3(5-6) Marshall Army Miami Nebraska Florida Florida 7-7(0-1) 76-75-3 (5-6) Best Bet Last week Overall Texas 6-8 (1-0) 80-71-3 (2-9) Ddleaves Blue for post at Central ciga From staff reports Michigan offensive coordinator, experience, DeBord ha Mike DeBord will leave to become college football since' the head coach at Central Michigan, , variety of schools, deali the Chippewas' athletic department ly with the offense. announced yesterday. ' DeBord replaces D DeBord first became Michigan's Central Michigan, who1 offensive coordinator in 1997, and six seasons with the Ch promptly helped the Wolverines to . Central Michigan v the national championship. He will introduce DeBord at a finish his duties with Michigan ence in Mount Ple through the Orange Bowl, and then Michigan has not ye begin, his first-ever head coaching DeBord's departure. job ' . - ' - By Daily rZ_.T ,_,,.- mi a arinr - n lead "But being a Michigan wrestler is tra- dition enough." * For the most part, Michigan is uncon- cerned about the location - what mat- ters is how they perform in the biggest meet of the season so far. Michigan coach Joe McFarland plans to use the Wolverines' results against top as worked in 1982 with a ing exclusive- iick Flynn at went 30-37 in ippewas. will officially press confer- asant 'today. et announced Sports Editor Chris Duprey T T o PRINTING * LOWEST PRICES! HIGHEST QUALITY! FASTESTSERVWCEI U fl 1002 PONTIAC TR. g 99 4-1367 vespae wKing neaa-coaching i r Volleyball makes unlikely trip to NCAAs ID ,.WORSPORTSCENTERlROLLR HKE ey Raphael Goodstein Diy Sports Writer Christmas came early for the Michigan volleyball team. The Wolverines believed their season was done until their middle blocker, Annie Maxwell, received a phone call. Maxwell's friend, who plays for Virginia, told her that Michigan made the NCAA Tournament. The good news pread via the phone, since Michigan had not even organized a team meeting to watch the selection. "For us it was a total gift;' said Maxwell after finding out the good news. The Wolverines (7-13 Big Ten, 15-14 overall) were awarded an at-large bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament. Michigan was the eighth team from the Big Ten to qualify. It was the first time in conference history that the selection committee has taken eight teams - the Big Ten placed two more teams than any other conference. Michigan will face Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Fairfield (30-3) in the first round of the tourna- ment at 8 p.m. tonight at the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif. Though the Wolverines were one of the last teams to receive an at-large bid, they were placed in a relatively favor- able region. "Something that is in our favor is that Fairfield hasn't played a very strong schedule," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "I imagine that we're going to match up pretty well, but you never know" If the Wolverines get by Fairfield, they will face the winner of Pacific and Colgate. Pacific enters the tournament ranked fifth in the nation. Pacific is the lowest-ranked No. I seed in the tournament and Rosen is familiar with the Tigers. Last year, he coached against them in the Big West Conference as Idaho State's coach. This will be the second time the Wolverines have participated in the NCAA Tournament. In 1997, Michigan won its first-round match, beating Temple in five games. Texas A&M then swept the Wolverines in the sec- ond round. 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