The Michigan Daily - Friday September 8, 2000 - 19
American
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Fine tuning.
That has been one of the themes of
tie Michigan field hockey team's prac-
tices this week. And after two tough
mates in St. Louis against top ten
t poncnts. the fourth-ranked
lvennes (3-1) will get a chance to do
just that this weekend.
Starting with its home opener this
Saturday against American University
(I -), Michigan will play five straight
home games against unranked oppo-
nents.
This season, the entire starting
Michigan defense is new to the job after
the graduation of co-captains Ashley
Wichenbach and Erica Widder and an
inury to sophomore Stephanie Johnson.
Junior Catherine Foreman has taken
over for Reichenbach at sweeper with
senior Jeanne Shin and junior Ashley
Thomas joining her on the back line.
'Jeanne and Catherine and Ashley
(Thomas) have really taken it upon their
shoulders to incorporate the younger
people into the defense," senior
Courtnev Reid said. "They've worked
really hard to bridge the gap of Erica and
Soley (Reichenbach) being gone."
Freshman Kristi Gannon, who
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MAYNARD ST.
Spikers crave All Sport trophy
By David Horn
Dailv Sports Writer
The women's volleyball team will
have its plate full of appetizing com-
petition as it hosts the University of
"This is my second year here, and
we haven't had too many injuries,"
coach Mark Rosen said. "You really
just have to deal - we haven't been
too rattled by it."
Michigan All Spor
Challenge.
The tournament, whJ
Northern Illinois, Nex
Mexico and Soutt
Carolina to Cliff Keei
Arena, is th
Wolverines annua
early-season test tha
they, although havin
hosted it for eight years
have never won.
The 2000 edition o
FILEPHOTO the All Sport find
Michigan without al
t Volleyball
Freshman
opportunity
and led the
percentage
welcomes
h TONIGHT
n CLIFF KEEN ARENA
e Who: Michigan (2-1),.South
II Carolina (3-1), New Mexico
t (2.2) and Northern Illinois
9 (3-0)
, whn:2:00 p.m. tonight,
8:00 p.m. Saturday
f Latest:Michigan has never
s won its own tournament.
Erin Moore earned the
to start last weekend,
team with a..250 hitting
in an otherwise dismal
loss to Pacific.
"We've been forced
to use a new lineup, but
it's been a smooth tran-
sition," Rosen said,
"The two freshman
(Moore and Nicole
Poquette) did a great
job, having been mixed
with some of the veter-
ans."
The weekend begins
Carolina Classic, the Gamecocks
squandered a 2-0 lead, allowing
Michigan to inch its way back and
win 3-2.
South Carolina brings more thain
close competition. Three current
Gamecocks hail from the state of
Michigan. Freshman Niece Curry of
Kalamazoo, sophomore Sam Alban
of Portage and red-shirt sophomore
Cally Plummer of Indian River will
be a part of what will most likely be
the most intense match of the week.
end.
"We take this match by match,
Rosen said. "These are three really
important matches against thr~d
good teams with all different styles
Rosen cites improvement at ball
control as the key to success for a
team that now finds itself with a
slightly malleable starting lineup.
Last weekend "we were setting a
limited number of people. We need
to be setting for three or four, not
just one or two."
The tournament runs Friday and
Saturday. All games will be played at
Cliff Keen Arena.
The revamped defense of the Michigan field hockey team will use American
University Saturday to tune up for the bulk of its season.
replaced Foreman as the center defend-
er, has helped build that bridge at both
ends of the field for the Wolverines
already netting a goal and an assist.
"She is such a special player,"
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said.
"She is playing already like a senior."
Despite some early success, Michigan
did show some signs of newness to the
job in their4-2 loss to North Carolina on
Sunday - struggling to slow down a Tar
Heel penalty corner attack that Panfratiz
called "outstanding."
"We tried to adapt a couple of things
to counteract their strong corner,"
Pankratz said. "But they were just very
effective"
But Pankratz attributed North
Carolina's success more towards the
strength of that unit then the weakness
of the Wolverines' defense. Against
Duke, the Wolverines held the Blue
Devils to just one penalty corner in a 3-
I victorv.
It's going to take time," Foreman
said. "But we're getting there."
Sunday, Michigan faces Ohio
University - - who will be playing its
third opponent to reach last year's
NCAA Final Four. The Bobcats are 0-2
so far, losing their first two games to
defending national champion Maryland,
9-1, and national semifinalist
Connecticut, 5-2.
AcKING OFF: Johnson will be on the
sidelines until at least October. The
sophomore had surgery this summer on
her lower back to repair a ruptured disk.
Johnson is currently rehabilitating the
injury and hopes to return quickly.
ranked competition. The Wolverines,
who are 25th after the season's first
national potll, will try to rebound
after a loss last weekend to No. 12
Pacific at the NKike Pacific
Invitational.
The loss to Pacific was a familiar
setback for the team, after ending
last season the same way - a 3-2
loss to the then No. 5 Pacific at the
1999 NCAA Championships.
The match against Pacific wasn't
the only thing the Wolverines lost
while in California. Senior captain
Sarah Behnke and senior Joanna,
Fielder each suffered minor injuries,
Fielder is expected to return to play
at some juncture this weekend,
Behnke will most likely not return
until the following weekend, at the
Arkansas Bank of Fayetteville
Invitational.
Friday with an afternoon match
against Northern Illinois, followed
later that evening by a contest with
New Mexico.
Saturday night at 8 p.m. the
Wolverines find themselves in a
rematch of one of the 1999 season's
most interesting games. At the
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