10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 3, 1999
Kacor set marks last weekend.
By Emily Mitchell
For the Daily
Last weekend the Michigan vol-
leyball team split two matches
against No. 9 Iowa and No. 2
Minnesota.
The Wolverines fell against
Minnesota, 3-15, 3-15, 10-15, last
Saturday night, but swept Iowa, 15-8,
15-2, 15-10.
Not only did the victory over Iowa
snap Michigan's two-match losing
streak, but it was also one of the
most successful games of the year
for sophomore Nicole Kacor.
Kacor, who plays outside hitter,
"played the best blocking game she
has had all year," Michigan coach
Mark Rosen said. "Her blocking was
a big factor for us."
Against Iowa, Kacor had 14 kills,
14 digs, and three blocks, bringing
her career totals to 276 kills and 272
digs. This raises both her kills-per-
game average and digs-per-game
average to over 3.7.
"Kacor is a great competitor. She
goes for everything and really drives
to succeed," freshman, Dana
Chapman said. "She is a really big
competitor. She really wants to have
everyone do well."
"Nicole has really stepped up this
year. She has helped the team
tremendously," junior teammate
Sarah Behnke said.
In addition to a great game played
by Kacor, Alija Pittenger also had an
exceptional serving game. She
served five aces, four of them in
game one.
Not only did Kacor do well in the
game against Iowa, but she also
reached the 300 kill mark against
Minnesota.
"It wasn't that we played bad
against Minnesota," Rosen said.
"They are ranked No. 2 and are one
of the top teams in the country."
Behnke agreed.
"I don't think we played much dif-
ferently against the two teams,
Minnesota just forced us into a lot
more errors," Behnke said.
Despite the split this weekend, the
team has remained positive.
"This team has been really tight
this year," Rosen said. "They are
learning to play and compete better
together. We really feel good about
it. Our court personality has gotten a
lot better in the past 2-3 weeks."
Perhaps due to the newfound
camaraderie, Rosen and rest of the
team are really looking forward to
the upcoming games this weekend.
Michigan plays No. 6 Purdue on
Friday at 7 p.m., and No. 4
Wisconsin on Saturday.
Overall, the team has a pretty good
feeling about the upcoming match
against Purdue.
Rosen, Chapman and Behnke all
think that they have a pretty gooC
chance at winning.
When the two teams met a month
ago, Michigan lost in five tough
games (15-8, 11-15, 2-15, 15-7, 12-
15). This time, however the team is
confident that they will come out on
top.
JOANNA PAINE/Daily
Despite this weekend's split to Iowa and Minnesota, Michigan maintains a positive attitude for this upcoming weekends
games against Purdue.
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Tigers trade six for Rangers' Gonzalez .
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Two-
time AL MVP Juan Gonzalez was trad-
ed from the Texas Rangers to the Detroit
Tigers in a nine-player deal yesterday.
Going with Gonzalez to Detroit were
pitcher Danny Patterson and catcher
Gregg Zaun.
The Rangers received pitchers Justin
Thompson, Alan Webb and Francisco
Cordero, outfielder Gabe Kapler, catch-
er Bill Haselman and infielder Frank
Catalanotto.
The Tigers get "a franchise player and
future Hall of Famer" in Gonzalez,
Detroit general manager Randy Smith
said.
"I guess it heated up over the last cou-
ple of days," Texas general manager
Doug Melvin said. "We had talked about
it at length. Randy Smith has been on
vacation in Hawaii, so it was a long-dis-
tance call trying to get the deal done."
Gonzalez, who turned 30 on Oct. 16,
was the AL MVP in 1996 and 1998. The
Tigers have until Saturday to exercise a
$7.5 million option on him for next year,
and the sides spoke shortly after the
trade was made.
Gonzalez is eligible for free agency
after the 2000 season.
"We just weren't prepared to ... go into
next season with that over our heads,"
Melvin said of Gonzalez's free agency.
The All-Star outfielder hit .326 with
39 home runs and 128 RBIs last year. He
led the Rangers to the AL West titles in
1996, 1998 and 1999, yet all three sea-
Europe
Australia
+ Asia +.
+ South
Africa
America
sons ended in disappointment as each
time they were eliminated in the first
round of the playoffs by the eventual
World Series champion New York
Yankees.
Detroit went 69-92 last season and
finished third in the AL Central, 27 1/2
games behind Cleveland in their final
season at Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers hope for a fresh start next
season when they move into new
Comerica Park under newly hired man-
ager Phil Garner.
"Over the last few years, we have
worked hard to develop a farm system
with a high talent level and strong
depth,' Smith said, without which "we
could not have made today's deal."
Melvin said Thompson is highly
regarded, although the left-hander
underwent arthroscopic surgery on his
pitching shoulder Aug. 26. At the time
he was put on the disabled list, then
manager Larry Parrish said Thompson
was "mentally beat up."
"Whenever there's surgery, there's a
certain amount of risk involved," Melvin
said. "He was pitching hurt, and that was
affecting his last few performances."
Thompson, 26, was 9-11 with a 5.11
ERA. He was an All-Star during his first
full season in 1997, but has been slowed
by injuries.
In 11 seasons with Texas, Gonzalez
batted .294 with 340 home runs and
1,075 RBIs.
Gonzalez played in 49 games com-
bined for the Rangers in 1989 and 1990
before spending his first full season in
the majors in 1991.
lie batted .314 with 47 home runs and
144 RBIs in 1996 as Texas won its first
division title, and batted .318 with 45
homers and 157 RBIs in 1998.
The Puerto Rican native put up more
big numbers last season, but his produc-
tion was somewhat overshadowed by his
refusal to play in the All-Star Game and
the strong offensive production from
teammates Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan
AP PHOTO
Yesterday the Tigers trader five players, including Gabe Kapier, Francisco Cordero
and Frank Catalanatto for Ranger Juan Gonzalez.
S7RACTJSZ UNZVURSZTY
Division of International Programs Abroad
Summer Programs
119 Euclid Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-4170
(800) 251-9674
DIPAsum@summail.syr.edu
httpJ/sumweb.syr.edu/dipa/summer
Rodriguez.
Gonzalez and the hard-hitting
Rangers also were criticized after getting
swept by the Yankees in the opening
round. Texas has scored a total of only
two runs in their last 60 postseason
innings, and lost nine in a row to New
York.
Gonzalez was considered a lock to be
one of the reserves chosen for July's All-
Star game in Boston, but he told
reporters that he would not play in the
classic unless he was voted in as a starter
by the fans. Melvin and Rangers manag-
er Johnny Oates said they disagreed with
Gonzalez's decision, but never criticized
him publicly.
Kapler, 24, became the Tigers' center
fielder once Brian Hunter was traded to
Seattle early in the season. Kaplerhi
.245 with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs.
Cordero, a 22-year-old righty, made
his major league debut and was 2-2 with
a 3.32 ERA in 20 relief appearances.
Catalanotto, 25, hit .276 with 11
home runs and 35 RBIs as a second
baseman. Haselman, a 33-year-old back-
up, hit .273 with four home runs and 14
RBIs.
Webb, a 20-year-old lefty, was 9-
with a 4.95 ERA at Double-A
Jacksonville.
Along with Gonzalez, the Tigers got
Patterson and Zaun, both 28. The right-
handed Patterson was 2-0 with a 5.67
ERA in 53 relief appearances and Zaun
hit .247 with one homer and 12 RBIs as
a backup to Rodriguez.
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Small
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By Dena Beth Krischer
Daily Sports Writer
When sports figures pass on, they are
often remembered for the ways that
they affected our lives while on the
field, court or course.
Payne Stewart, 1999's U.S. Open
champion and Ryder cup team member,
died last Monday.
I never met Payne Stewart.
I wonder if he was a good man.
I wonder if he was a good husband.
I wonder if he was a good father.
I wonder if he was a good son.
But that doesn't matter now. Having a
better understanding of his life will, in
no way, change the sadness and the dis-
appointment that I still feel right now.
Stewart was a joy to watch on the golf
course. He played hard and with pride.
He sunk a remarkable fifteen-foot putt
on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open to
clinch his third major title. But this putt
is not what I will remember him by.
During the Ryder Cup this pas#
September, Stewart was in a tough
match against Colin Montgomerie
arguably the best golfer in the world. On
the final hole of the tied match,
Montgomerie had to drain a long birdie
putt to defeat Stewart, even though the
Cup had already been secured by the
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