n . . E LDaLLy trivia Two tickets to the Michigan-Michigan State hockey game on Feb. 17 will go to the two respondents that answer the most questions correctly. Send answers to sports.contest@umich.edu Soday's question: Which Michigan hockey player hails from the city where the team will play this weekend? Yeterday's answer: Vic Heyger michigandaily.com /sports Spo ffi~ajd RTS THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2001 5A .Youth could hinder Minnesota women MARK FRANCESCUTTI 1 , / 1 By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's basketball team is in the eye of the storm that is its Big Ten schedule. But the lull ,ends after tonight as the Wolverines 76-4 Big Ten, 13-7 overall) face Minnesota (1-7, 8-11) before head- ing to No. 6 Purdue on Sunday. Minnesota's lone Big Ten victory came against lowly Northwestern, which has yet to win a conference game. But to Michigan, there is no chance to look past a Big Ten game. "We came out on Sunday and did- 't play very well," junior guard *layne Ingram said. "We don't want the same thing to happen against Minnesota because they are a better team than they have been in the past." Last Sunday, the Wolverines need- ed to rally in the second half to defeat the Wildcats 74-59. This came just 10 days after Michigan traveled to Evanston and thumped Northwestern by 42. The Golden Gophers are led by *outh. Minnesota starts three players in their first year. They used to also. start freshman Tanisha Gilbert and her 14.7 points a game until she became academically ineligible for the second semester. Her replace- ment, senior Brandy Pickens, has managed just nine points in her five games since taking over as a starter. Freshman Lindsay Whalen leads e Gopher youth corps in scoring at 18.2 points per game - second in the Big Ten to fellow freshman Kelly Mazzante of Penn State with 18.3. The rest of the Golden Gophers are more than just a supporting cast to Whalen. Newcomer Ozlem Piroglu has also had a strong impact for Minnesota. Piroglu, a Turkish national team member, is second in the Big Ten in assists, averaging 5.8 per game. Sharp-shooting sopho- BIG TEN STANDINGS Conference Overall Team W L W L 1. Purdue 9 0 19 3 2. Penn State 6 3 14 6 2. Wisconsin 6 3 12 7 4. lowa 5 3 10 8 4. Illinois 5 3 10 10 6. Michigan 6 4 13 7 7. Indiana 5 4 14 6 8. Ohio State 3 6 13 6 9. Michigan State 2 6 8 11 10. Minnesota 1 7 8 11 11. Northwestern 0 9 4 15 M' POINT LEADERS Player Pts Asst Rbds Bies 12.8 0.8 7.5 Goodlow 11.1 0.7 4.9 Ingram 10.7 -3.6 2.3 Smith 9.3 0.7 4.6 Thorius 8.2 5.0 3.6 Oesterle 7.2 2.7 4.3 Gandy 6.7 0.8 3.2 Robinson 2.7 0.3 0.4 Leary 1.4 0.9 1.5 Schumacher 1.3 0.5 1.0 Dykhouse 0.6 0.0 0.5 Jara 0.3 0.5 1.4 more Lindsay Lieser tied her own Minnesota record by making 7-of-1I 3-pointers against Illinois. Whalen is the leading scorer, but anyone can step up for the Golden Gophers. Whalen has led the team in scoring in just six games, and four others have been Minnesota's high scorer. Despite their record, the Golden Gophers are still cause for concern for the Wolverines. Minnesota nearly defeated Illinois last Sunday and lost to Michigan State and Indiana by a combined four points. "I know that Minnesota may be at the bottom (of the standings), but they are still just as capable of beat- [fhen the team stops trying, the fans will too As the clock struck seven, Reza Breakstone takes one more deep breath. The Michigan Superfan passes out flyers containing cheer suggestions to fellow Maize Ragers.. A big night lies ahead for the Superfan. The biggest game of the sea- son, a battle for state supremacy, is just minutes away. And he's well prepared, with printed color license plates that have a variety of State insults in abbre- viated form like "SHT HDS" and "STE SCKS." Breakstone is ready. Meanwhile, recent graduates Brian Galvin and former Superfan Jeff the kids in the yellow shirts leave early. You know there's a problem when the The Victors, played by the pep band, is drowned out by Michigan State fans' fight song a cappela. You know there's a problem when the game changes from a basketball game to a murder. And worst of all, sitting in President Lee Bollinger's seats - two Michigan State fans. When the president won't even show up at the biggest game of the season, you have to wonder how pathetically unimportant this team is to the University. Are you upset? Are you embar- rnerad9 Arp Mir j~~~~rtL. - - - BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Stephanie Gandy and the Michigan women's basketball team face Minnesota tonight and Purdue this Sunday in West Lafayette. ing anybody," junior Raina Goodlow said. In addition to having Purdue in the back of its mind, Michigan is also concerned about the health of starter and co-captain Anne Thorius. Thorius has a mild sprain after rolling her ankle against Northwestern and is not likely to play against Minnesota. Despite being relegated to a protective walk- ing boot and crutches, Thorius is hopeful for a quick return. "I feel fine. There is no pain or anything," Thorius said. Freshman Stephanie Gandy was sidelined with a similar injury two weeks ago and missed two games. After tonight, the Wolverines will have five conference games remain- ing. Four of those games are against teams ahead of Michigan in the Big Ten, including road games at Purdue and No. 15 Penn State. Holzhausen pre- pare themselves accordingly. Galvin passes out copies of his Maize Rage newsletter, a per- sonal task he spends hours producing before each game. Holzhausen has his oversized 'M' flag, his cowbell and his usual cape and mask. The faithful Michigan fans are ready. Too bad the team isn't even close. Charlie Bell Rent: Free fi Game 1(Feb. 18, 1 Michigan te, Game 2 (Feb.1 2 Michiganae 82, Game 3 (Jan: 30, 2 Michigan State 94, Ticket value: 4edit Fans: Spar answin $10 Recruiting: Roll onc to NBA OWNED BY MICH ..TITLE CRIEF i R CRISLER ARENA Who: Michigan (6.4 Big Ten, 13-7 overall) vs. Minnesota (1-7, 8-11) When:? p.m. Latest: After facing the Golden Gophers, Michigan will travel to West Lafayette on sun- day to face No. 6 Purdue. for three. Jason Tumblers looking to stay on fire By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Writer The No.8 Michigan women's gym- nastics team is riding a hot streak that it does not want to end. Led by senior Karina Senior, who has captured two all-around titles in the past three meets alone, the Wolverines have been victori- ous in four consecutive meets and have increased their team score in each suc- cessive competition. Tomorrow, the Wolverines will put this streak on the line when they travel to Gainesville, Fla. to compete in a dual meet against Florida and Auburn. Coach Bev Plocki feels that with each meet, her team continues to gain confidence as it excels against any and every opponent. "We're really excited about competing in Florida," Plocki said. "Things are really starting to come together for this team.' With each successive meet, the Wolverines seem to be gathering strength and determination as their team score continues to improve. Since the Super Six Challenge, Michigan's season opener in which it fin- ished fourth out of six teams, the Wolverines' team score has improved by almost two full points, reaching a season high of 196.325 last week in Kentucky. SAINEVILLJE, r LA. Who: Michigan (6-3) vs. Florida (2E) and Auburn (1-2) When: 7p.m. Latest: Michigan has a four-neet winning streak on the line. Karina Senior will be con- peting for her third all-around title. Michigan defeated Florida at the Super Six by .05. This progressive increase will be test- ed on Feb. 10, when Michigan goes on the road to compete against No. 3 Georgia. Perennially a national champi- onship contender, Georgia has won all 11 meetings between the two teams. This includes a win at the Super Six Challenge earlier this season. But, Plocki is concentrating on keeping her team's focus on the dual meet at hand. "We haven't even spoken about Georgia," Plocki said. "We are just trying to concentrate on our individual perfor- mances and make sure that we are pre- pared. That is the best offense and defense we can have." No. 6 Florida will be looking to even its all-time record against Michigan at 5- 5, and to improve its season record to 3- 6. Michigan defeated Florida in the Super Six Challenge, but only by .05 of a point, a miniscule difference. "Florida has developed along with us this season, but we still have a lot of room to improve," Plocki said. -Michigan holds an all-time record of 2-0 against Auburn. Richardson for three. Zach Randolph for two. Before the Maize Rage has enough time to strum up a Michigan cheer, Michigan State leads the Wolverines 8-1. The green and white rim swarming in the upper deck of Crisler erupts with noise. Below, in a small L-shaped pat- tern, 500 or so yellow-clad Maize Ragers can just watch in a confused daze. All their hard work to get ready for the game, to cheer for the team they love, is wasted. For three straight seasons, Michigan State fans have taken over Michigan's arena - an embarrassment, a mock- ery, but now, not an aberration. It's not the Maize Ragers' fault. You can't insult and taunt the opponent when Randolph and Richardson are dunking on you at will on every pos- session. And as a fan of anything Maize and Blue, you should be downright fright- ened that the Spartans own Crisler. You know there's a problem when rassea : ire you frustrat- DEEDed? IARENA You may not be able to fire or State fans Brian Ellerbe, L999): ,or find that year-breaking recruit. But 0) you do have a Michigan 62 voice. Some fans 001): ~have the will Michian 1 to waitthis program out. era-apd Baltic If you believe , test - in Michigan e, go directly basketball, by all means, IGAN STATE keep hoping. But if you're a fan who wants changes, show it! Either don't come to the games, or if you do, show Athletic Director. Bill Martin what you want. Make signs, wear green t-shirts, talk to rich alumni who have connections - anything you can do - it's your team, too. Do it for no better reason than the fact that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo supports Ellerbe and states that Michigan is a program on its way up. Funny, but didn't he say that last year? And why-wouldn't Izzo support the Wolverines? It's two easy victories each year. After the murderous rampage, Ellerbe and several players made excuses. Only heart-filled Chris Young admitted some of the Wolverines just stopped trying. And in response one fan said: "If they are going to quit on me, maybe I'll quit on them." Mark Francescutti can be reached at mfrances@umich.edu. BRANDON SEDLOFF/Daily Freshman star Calli Ryals practices her balance beam routine. The Wolverines have had recent success on the beam. You only have one life, so choose your career wisely. When you become a Doctor of Chiropractic, you get lifestyle rewards plus the satisfaction from helping others to good health. You do it the natural way, with your own hands, not drugs or surgery. And, when it life. caeer.choice. comes to your chiropractic education, one name stands out. Palmer. almer chiropractic. 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