12 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Young guns leading women's tennis
By Naweed Sikora'
For the Daily
Last season, the Michigan women's ten-
nis team said goodbye to three beloved
seniors - Brooke Hart, Danielle Lund and
Erryn Weggenman - who led the
Wolverines to the Big Ten Tournament,
where they tied for fifth.
As this fall season began with the
Wolverine Fall Invitational, Michigan
coach Bitsy Ritt looked to her experienced
players to lead the team. But it was
Michigan's rookies that provided the spark
and helped the team dominate this past
weekend's tournament.
Michigan freshmen Christine Nolan,
Kimberly Plaushines, Kanitha Tiperneni
and Lisa So played magnificently last
weekend.
Nolan and Tiperneni placed first and sec-
ond respectively in their singles bracket.
Plaushines placed fourth out of 16 in her
singles bracket, falling in the semifinals to
senior teammate Alison Sinclair.
Lisa So, a walk-on to the team, competed
in the round-robin tournament, where she
did not lose a single match.
Coach Ritt was extremely pleased with
the effort put forth by her freshmen.
"I am very proud of the freshman coming
in and doing so well for us," Ritt said. "It
was their first varsity tournament, and that
can be very nerve-racking. It was tough, but
they did a great job."
Not only did the Wolverines play well
individually, but they also dominated the
doubles tournament.
The final doubles match consisted of
three freshmen, Nolan and Plaushines ver-
sus Tiperneni and sophomore Jennifer
Duprez.
The four Michigan freshmen did not lose
a single match to a player on an opposing
team through the entire tournament. Their
only losses catne against fellow Wolverines.
Based on the team's performance, the
freshmen are very optimistic about the
prospects of this season.
"I was really excited to play and find my
place on the team, "Tiperneni said. "We
have a lot of depth this year. If we stay
healthy, we could really do well."
The Wolverines have tremendous depth
and balance. The three new freshmen add a
lot of talent and youth to a roster already
filled with experience.
Although Michigan did lose three key
players last year, the freshmen have the
potential to fill their shoes.
If they achieve that potential, the
Wolverines could be dominant for the next
four years.
Senior Szandra Fuzesi might not miss last year's graduates so
much due to the emergence of the talented freshman class.
isis i i
EVIL LURKS IN DAnK CORNERS
OF THE INTERNET WAITING FOR SHOPPERS
TO SEND THEIR CREDIT CARD NUMBERS INTO CYBERSPACE.
Women's golf finishes fifth
at shootout in Indiana
The Michigan women's golf team
went a long way towards placing itself
among the elite teams in the Big Ten
with an impressive showing at the
Women's Collegiate Shootout in
Franklin, Ind. on Monday and Tuesday
Led by under-par rounds from soph
more Kim Benedict and junior Courtney
Reno, the Wolverines fired a school-
record score of 287 yesterday, and fin-
ished with a two-day, 54-hole total of
889, good enough for fifth place in the
15-team field.
Michigan's round yesterday was the
best of any team in the field.
"It's was great," said Reno, who fired
a three-under 69 yesterday. "Knowing
that we can play betterthan anyone in t
Big Ten is a great thing."
Reno's career day didn't overshadow
the performances of her teammates,
especially Benedict, who shot a one-
under 71 in the tournament's final round.
"I think we're definitely starting to
come together," Benedict said. "We
showed here that we can shoot low.
There's no reason we can be counted out
of any tournament"
Benedict fired the team's low two4
score with a 221, butsthe rest of her team-
mates weren't far behind. LeAnna Wicks
shot a 222, while Bess Bowers and Reno
each shot 224. It was a solid perfor-
mance all-around for the Wolvesines.
"We all needed to come out and show
we could score low," Benedict said. "We
showedthat we can shoot a low number"
Ohio State won the tournament with a
score of 880. The Buckeyes were fol-
lowed in the standings by Purdi*
Michigan State, and then OklahotW
State. The Wolverines finished just one
shot behind fourth-place Oklahoma
State - who finished 56 shots ahead of
Michigan in winning this event last year.
"Last year we got drilled by
Oklahoma State," Michigan coach Kathy
Teichert said. "Now we got bat by .
This wasrs ally a great team effort, and
we're definitely gelling. We've stepped
up so another level." t
"We were awesome today" Reno said
afterTuesday's round. "We didalrightthe
first two rounds, bus we knew we could
do hete X rI was fun:'
- Chris Brke
Michigan's Hayes takes
second at Xavier Invite
Sunday, 20 schools descended on the
Grizzly Tournament Course in Mass
Ohio for the Xavier Provident Open.
The Michigan men's golf team failed
to defend last year's first-place finish,
but the Wolverines played well in fin-
ishing third with a three-round total of
880. Wisconsin and Penn State placed
first and second, respectively.
Leading the Wolverines was senior
Scott Hayes, who shot 210 for the two-
day event. That total put him at thre-
under par and one shot from a fit
place tie with Indiana's Steve
Wheatcroft .
Hayes led all golfers after the first
day, shooting rounds of 67 and 70 for
a five-under par score. This represent-
ed a vast improvement from last year
when he placed 70th.
The Wolverines as a team blazed out
the gate to take the lead with rounds of
285 and 298 on the opening day.
Unfortunately, Monday's 297 dropped
the squad two spots to third. 0
- Kreem Copeland
SPORTS BRIEFS
Yankees make it interesting.
but Mariers take Game 1
NEW YORK (AP) - Freddy
Garcia and Seattle's bullpen put the
New York Yankees right back in the
postseason funk.
Garcia pitched 6 2-3 innings in a
six-hitter, and Alex Rodriguez and
Rickey Henderson supplied the
offense, leading the Mariners over
New York 2-0 Tuesday night in the
opener of the AL championship
series.
Garcia, one of the young pitchers
obtained two years ago from
Houston in the Randy Johnson trade,
allowed just three hits, struck o
eight and handled the two-tin
World Series champions like an old
pro.
The 24-year-old right-hander let
runners reach third base in the third
and fifth innings and escaped a swo-
on, no-outs jam in the sixth.
With the crowd on its feet,
Mariners manager Lou Piniella
stayed with Garcia, who struck out
Paul O'Neill and Bernie Willian
then retired David Justice on a flyout
Mike Cameron caught one step in
front of the center-field fence.
New York, which hit just .244 and
scored only 19 runs in its 3-2 win
over Oakland in the division series,
was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring
position. Sojo and Chuck Knoblauch
had two hits each.
NLCS Preview
Game :L
Who: New York
Mets at ST. Louis
When: 8:18 p.m.
T.V.: NBC
PITcHERS:
NY Mets:
Hampton (15-10)
ST. Louis: Hampton
Kile (20-9)
CYBERIZE!" THE SECURITY YOU NEED i
ON THE NET. Tere
* ONLINE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT lets you keep track of your account anywhere, anytime. , .
* REFUND GUARANTEE* means you won't get stuck with unsatisfactory e-purchases.
* $0 FRAUD LIABILITY so you won't pay a penny for unauthorized e-charges.
* PURCHASE REPLACEMENT PROTECTION* ensures we'll reimburse you for any damaged e-purchases.
cyberize
GET YOUR CARD AND CYBERIZE! TODAY AT www.CAPITALONE.CoM
What's In Your Wallet?"
*Certain limitations and restrictions apply. Please visit website for details.
Capital One is a federally registered service mark of Capital One Financial Corporation. All rights reserved. 02000 Capital One