e t a1vidson ST C T NC lf.( - ir) - s.p MI it o t wy er d cah M aroen on wine' vlebll try rs to cniu theiwnig sra l'DY rcnVolleybal CTihes rankd rNo I Bmiy Dighs.n is h h is im ,A i rtchotvwrld the T rningc arne tak- iverstya of ih P985-ic7 .ot l natiol p ii in the UA Ache Arssocainrnknslt Thi igs hertpied Peac ifi hash Tig~ ~~~As'b thre-ea ru nl95'7 esute in tw NCA Prep hoo rsorac Prs CHICAO (AP -- Ls rin Rickey~~~~~ Hign epd edhshg school basketball team to second place in the state tournament. Then he was ted for two alcohol-related offenses, including drunken driving, and was told is high school sports career was over. Now he's filed a lawsuit in federal ourt, claiming to be a recovering alco- olie and arguing that his suburban high chool's disciplinary action amounts to iscrjmination under the Americans with isahilities Act. "I think I deserve a second chance, h 17-year-old high school senior said sdav. "Most people who are alco- holics think no one will help them, and I'm getting that feeling." Legal experts say Higgins is testing a murky area of the law, which courts con- tinue, to decipher almost a decade after it was passed. Bennett Rodick, the attor- ney for Warren Township High School, said the lawsuit is "clearly an attempt to broaden the ADA." "The ADA cannot be used as a shield E nst the consequences of illegal con- t," he said. "I think the school has a righwo expect of its athletes or anyone involved in extracurricular activities that they don't engage in illegal conduct." Higgins, a 5-foot-I1 guard, missed much of last season with a back injury but returned to compile the team's sec- ond-highest scoring average. With his help, the school, located about 30 miles north of Chicago, had its best finish ever irtostate basketball tournament last Higgins was cited in April when he was the passenger in a car that contained open alcohol, and was convicted of dri- ving under the influence of alcohol after he ran into a tree in May. School officials ruled in June that Friday, September 10, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - 15 Volleyball's confidence high heading into All-Sport tourney Newest member of top 25 play host this weekend at Cliff Keen By Jon Zemke Daily Sports Writer Confidence is the first step to suc- cess. At least that's what Michigan vol- leyball coach Mark Rosen is hoping. home-court advantag is up in the air. Of the three teams visiting Cliff Keen Arena two of them are top-20 teams (No. II Pepperdine and No. 16 Arkansas) and the other (Syracuse) is a young developing team similar to the Rosen believes his Wolverines can become Big Ten this year as long as they have con- fidence in their long- term success. "As long as they don't get down on themselves early on, they can do well," Rosen said. Michigan's confi- dence is doing well after its initial tourna- ment. After upsetting No. 7 Brigham Young in three games, the Wolverines beat Toledo and host Georgia to win the Outback Steakhouse Invitational. Michigan has yet to lose a game and the impressive showing has lifted the Wolverines into the 25th-ranked a factor in the THIS WEEKEND What: The All-Sport Challenge. Where: Cliff Keen Arena 'M° matchups: today: vs. Syracuse, 2 pm vs. Pepperdine, 7:30 p.m. tomorrow: vs Arkansas, 8 p.m. The Latest: No. 25 Michigan will try for its second straight tourna- ment title, after last week- ends Outback Invitational championship. Wolverines. "Both of them (Pepperdine and Arkansas) are fairly young teams,' Rosen said. "They have a few senior players with some underclassmen making an impact." One of those players is Pepperdine freshman Stacy Rouwenhorst. She led her team in kills in Pepperdine's last match with 33 and a .466 kill percentage. She also had a 24 digs to help boost the team's record to 2-0. Rouwenhorst is one of a trio of highly sought- after recruits in Pepperdine's freshman class. But Rosen's primary his upcoming opponents solid corps of young players to depend on. That includes sophomore Shannon Melka, who has established herself as the Wolverines' setter, a position that had been up for grabs until late. The Wolverines' attacking is another area in need of work. With the gradua- tion of all-time Michigan kill leader Karen Chase and her heir apparent, junior Sarah Behnke, recovering from illness, Michigan will turn to sopho- more Nicole Kacor as its primary attacker Kacor saw limited action her fresh- man season, but had notched career- highs in kills last weekend with 15 andI 18. But the Wolverines have a more' important area to improve in before they can compete with the top-25 teams on a consistent basis -- focus. "We need to approach every match with a more focused mentality," Rosen said. Michigan's lack of focus has plagued the program since early last season. The Wolverines consistently failed to start matches strongly last season, and it seems to have carried over a little into " this season, Rosen said. Resilience will be Michigan's great- est asset this early in the season. The Wolverines have already battled back from a 7-1 deficit against the seventh- ranked Cougars to win the third and final game. Despite his team's recent success, Rosen still has reasonable expectations for team heading into his first home weekend. "We'd like to go 3-0, and 2-1 would be good, but we wouldn't want to go any lower than that," Rosen said. top 25 for the first time in the program's history. But the Wolverines are far from out of the woods yet. Their schedule only gets tougher. With the Big Ten sched- ule, where the nation's best volleyball is played, looming on the horizon, the opponents in this year's All-Sport Challenge will provide a good warm- up. Host Michigan can count on home- court advantage, but exacty how much concern isn't - it's the development of his own squad. Rosen said he didn't have a thor- ough knowledge of his team's next opponents, but he does know that his team needs to improve. Fundamentally, service reception is the aspect of Michigan's game that "has to improve", Rosen said. With co-Big Ten player of the week Joanna Fielder leading the team in over- all performance, Michigan will have a FILE PHOTO ly three wins in his first three matches to lift Michigan into the top 25. The Wolverines k against two top 25 teams this weekend while hosting the All-Sport Challenge. [l world fears mighty Pacific in nation for first time since 1987; players hail recognition U I "HILARKOUSI Ii's a gay 'American Pie!'" ---al. J96%ll, mu ARAH T I Championships. The poll announcement was paired with senior outside hitter Elsa Steggman's recognition as the AVCA National player of the week and her fourth successive Big West player of the week honor. Steggman is the first women's vol- leyball player in conference history to have received the honor in four consecutive weeks. She is one of only four volleyball players in the conference to have received the honor six or more times in their career. "It feels pretty good," Steggman told The Record. "I feel like we're getting the recognition that a lot of skeptical people weren't willing to give us. We earned it and we have to prove we're worthy of it." Steggman was also named the tournament MVP after Pacific claimed the Shamrock invitational title hosted by Notre Dame last weekend, improving their record to 5-0. In the Tigers' first weekend of play, they claimed the State Farm/NACWAA Tournament Title with victories over Nebraska and Florida. In the five-year history of the tour- nament, every champion has either won the NCAA title or claimed sec- ond place in the nation. "I think people can expect to see a good, solid team," Steggman told The Record. "That's what we've been working on and I believe that's our foundation." The Tigers opened their home schedule last night at the Spanos Center in the opening match of the Pacific Nike Invitational. i . p p 3 , L1.U 7 603 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor OPENS TONIGHT 7:00 & 9:00 24 Hour Info Line: 668-TIME SAT & SUN 7:0O & 9:00 www.michtheater.com' wwwwtmichtheater.C ' ster suing school I involved in two alcohol-related cases loses a year of eligibility. The school released a statement saying it "has not discriminated against any student on the basis of disability," but refused further comment. Higgins' alcoholism was diagnosed by the teen's personal physician and also a psychologist and social worker he has been working with, according to his attorney, Steven Glink. Higgins' father and grandfather also are alcoholics, Glink said. "This kid could not control his use of REC SPORTS I NTRAMURALS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHAT'S alcohol (and) because he could not con- trol it, it's a disability and he should not be punished for it," Glink said. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, seeks Higgins' rein- statement to the team and S100,000 in compensatory damages. Higgins said he has received recruit- ing letters from colleges and hoped to impress some bigger schools this season. He said his family was disappointed with the district's decision because he report- ed the cases to the school, then took steps to correct his problem. 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