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! 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