Daily forum Is s ometffing about Michigan's hockey teas, [o'hring ou. Are you disappointed by or utavorit ream's coverage ? lust plain bored.' Stop yelling from the sidelines. Speak your mind at michimdayily.com/forum. We'll see you there. michigaudaily.cornt/sports SPORTS FRIDAY MARCH 16, 2001 9 Blue morning Aggesse Mavs will try to repeat the beat Women hope to give Hoos rude awakening in NCAAs By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor It wasn't supposed did. to happen, but it By David Roth Daily Sports Writer - In past Big Dance appearances, the Michigan women's basketball team hasn't shown "the hustle" it needs to get out of the first round. Exits in the past years have corresponded more with an "electric slide" out of the wtournament. No. 8 seed Michigan (18-11 over- all) has made the NCAA Tournament hree of tie past four years, and the Wolverines feel their experience will 'be beneficial. The prob- 11cm is, No. 9 seed Vir- ginia (1 8-3), Michigan's JoYCE opponent tomorrow at Who: Michit .a.m. at the Joyce Center Virginia(18 in Notre Dame, has had When: 11 as its NCAA Tournament Latest: TheV "locomotion" running for attempt to w the past 18 years. NCAA Tourni "You aren't going to under SueG the battle-tes in a national champi- in South Ben onship until you have gone to the tournament year in and year out," Michigan coach Sue Gue- vara said. The Wolverines are just beginning that process. By having all their seniors, juniors and sophomores with some postseason experience, this year's team hopes it has gained an edge as the most tournament-weath- red team in the schools history. The upperclassmen know what to expect because they have been there and done that," Guevara said. "I think the Big Ten Tournament pre- pares you for the NCAA Tourna- ment. So when you think about it, (freshmen Stephanie) Gandy and (Jennifer) Smith have already played in two big games where the atmos- phere will be very similar" Michigan takes on a Virginia team led by Schuye LaRue, who compiled 23 double-doubles this season and averaged 17 points and twelve rebounds per contest. "She is very special," Guevara said. "She can rebound the ball aid At this time last year, the regular sea- son conference champion Michigan hockey team steamrolled into the CCHA semifinals at Joe Louis Arena, holding the No. 1 seed and having an automatic bid to the NCAAs in its back pock- et. But then came the unknown - No. 7 seed Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks, in their JoE Loils Who: No. 3 seed vs. No. 4 Nebras When: 8:35 p.m Latest: The twob their two-game sE Omaha. S..s E CENTER gan (10-18) vs, -13) in. Wolverines win their first ament game uevera against sted Cavaliers nd,Ind. take it the length of the floor I wouldn't be sur- prised if shQ could dunk it." Containing LaRue will be the only way the Wolverines can come out on top. But the problem has no easy solution. "I can't really say what we're going to MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily Infini Robinson (No. 31) and Michigan will head southwest to South Bend tomorrow morning to face ninth-seeded Virginia in the NCAA opening rounds. do." Guevara said. "I know we're going to mix it up with some man, zone and who knows, maybe throw some junk. We are just going to try to make it difficult to catch and shoot the ball." Virginia likes a fast-paced tempo and runs well with the ball, whereas the Wolverines, plagued by missed layups this year. usually execute bet- tcr in the half-court :ame. "We need to do a nice job of main- taining our composure and setting the tone, trying to get them to play a half-court game," Guevara said. The half-court game is where Michigan can use size to its advan- tage. Virginia "is going to be the most athletic team that we have played, but I think we are a bit bigger," Guevara said. "We have bigger shoulders and are bigger-boned than they are." Michigan also has an edge because it scheduled, and beat, extremely tough non conference opponents in addition to its already tough Big Ten schedule. "We had a really good year beating ranked opponents," Guevara said. "I just looked over our schedule and out of 29 games that we played, 20 of those teams are now in postseason play. Of our I11 non con ference games, six of those opponents are in the NCAA Tournament, four of them are conference champions. I think our non-conference schedule is get- ting better, and we are getting better in the Big Ten." The Cavaliers will have their hands full defending M ich igan's whack-a-mole offense, where trying to contain one aspect of the game usually leaves another open. "We should be able to kick it out to our guards." LeeAnn Bies said. "If' they take away one thing they always leave something else going." first year in the conference, embarrassed a Michigan team that seemed unbeat- able - scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes and streaking out to a 4-I lead early in the second period. Michigan's 7-4 loss not only knocked it out of the tournament, but stripped away the Wolverines' chances of a first- round bye in the NCAAs in favor of a more ominous No. 5 seed. The Wolverines didn't respect Nebras- ka-Omaha. and they paid the price. But the bitter taste of the loss still remains fresh in Michigan's minds, and matched with the Mavericks recent tear this season-15-4-1 in their last 20 games -_ the Wolverines vow that there won't be a repeat performance tonight when the two teams face off in the CCI IA semifinals for a rematch. "I was thinking about it constantly," said Michigan defenseman Mike Roe- mensky about last year's meeting. "As soon as I heard we were playing UNO (this year), flashbacks started coming in. I don't want to get embarrassed again. It was embarrassing last year, it could have cost us a heck of a lot, We have a lot riding on this game." Michigan's NCAA hopes may be on the line, as it is not quite yet a sure bet for the 12-team field to be picked on Sunday. To guarantee a berth, Michigan must beat the Mavericks and then finish it off with a win in the title game on Saturday against the winner- of tonight's Michigan State and ARENA Bowling Green semifinal. Michigan But a victory tonight ka-Omaha won't be easy, as the Mav- . ericks are much inproved teams split from a year ago. Paced by a eries in hot goaltender in freshman Dan Ellis, intimidating forechecking and an in- your-face style of play, Nebraska- Omaha legitimately clinched home-ice for the first round of the playoffs in just its second season in the CCI 14 -- something that impresses Michigan coach Red Berenson. "This is, if not already, one of ithe powerhouses or future powerhouses in the CCH A," Berenson said. The Wolverines said they've learned their lesson from last year's loss,while realizing this game's NCAA implications. "I don't think we're safe at all," Berenson said of his team's NCAA chances. Berenson feels the only guaranteels running the table and securing an auto- matic bid by capturing the champi- onship trophy -- which was recently named "The Mason Cup" after Michi- gan State coach Ron Mason. The Spar- tans raised last year's championship banner to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena. "The only way we have control of'our destiny is to change the color on that banner" Berenson said. "That's the best way, but not necessarily the only way." E b .v . ,.. , Wrestlers at NCAAs 'M' nine closing out pre-conference season In the event of events in collegiate wrestling, Michigan has put Itself in a good position after one day f action in Iowa City. Joe Degain After the first two sessions, Michigan finds itself in a tie for seventh with Nebraska. Minneso- ta leads the tournament, fol- lowed by Iowa, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Illi- nois. Five of the eight wrestlers the Wolverines qualified for the NCAA tournament are still alive n the winners bracket after two ': matches. The quarterfinals wil begin tomorrow at 10 a.m Senior Otto Olsen, ranked seconc aCthe 174 lbs. weight class, led the WavID KATzO charge for Michigan, pinning his first challenger in 2:38. Sophomore A.J. Grant also scored a major decisions ai the 125 lbs. Grant will face No. 2 Jody Strittmatter of Iowa, a thorn in Grant's side throughout the last two years. Mike Kulczycki, Andy Hrovat and Matt Brink all will face higher-ranked Illinois foes in t heir quarterfinal matches: Weight Athlete First match Second match 2 b: "o. 2 Q A.f. Guric ic.: R. N- Mnsueto 8-0 dec. B. ThompCion 4-2 149 lbs. No. I1 Mike Kulc:vi dc. I. [n::en 9-4(OT) dec. E. Schiesing 7-4 7 1at Cwen 't to R. Stuart 6-2 pinned by E. I iarri, 6:37 ( ib:. No. _Ic Charle(% Mg eli .e. T. Oitmn 6-3 lost to C. Martin 6-5 74 ihL. No. 2 Otto Ooen pinneJ C. Owen 2:3' dec. B. King 6-4 184 lbs. No. 7 Andy I lrovar dec. T. (ass 1 -6 dec. T. Tis i 1-6 197 lbs. No. 12 hoe DeGain dec. A. Zerkle 9-5 lost to O. EL:en 10-1 heavywt. Matt Brink BYE dec. J. Eschenfelder 4- 3 By Benjamin Singer Il )y Spirs Wriu r The Michigan baseball team is 1 migrating north with the coming of spring.l After playing its first eight games in Florida. the Wolverines (5-6) left the 1 sunshine state for good. Coming oft a three-game series in Louisiana against P McNeese State. Michigan continues to more up the map with three games in Lawrence. Kan. this weekend before its first home game at Fisher Stadium. The Wolverines will play in their first-ever meeting with Illinois-Chicago followed by two games against Kansas. The change of scenery saw Michigan start to right its ship. snapping a fiur- game losing streak by taking the last tkwo against the Cowboys. "We've got a two-game winin streak." co-captain Scott Tousa said. "We're just hoping to carry that momentum into the series (in Kansas) and get three wins there and then carry that into the Big Ten season." The approach to the final games before the first Big Ten series at lowa is no different than it has ever been. "We have been trying to set our ros- ter, see who's hot and who can do what," coach Geoff Zahn said. 'I think that question will continue to be answered." '. The projected pitching rotation for the weekend in Kansas remains the same Nick Alexander, Bobby Korecky and Jim Brauer. Pitching coach Steve Foster is pleased with the overall perloahance of his staff thus far. "I think our pitchers are giving our hitters the opportunity to win." he said. Korecky's last out ing against McNeese State was a complete-game, 3-1 win in which he fanned six. The Ho(;r.rN lBALLPARK Who: Michigan (5-6) vs. Illinois-Chicago (3- 12) When: 2 p.m. Latest: The Wolverines try to extend their winning streak to three games in the first of three weekend contests. A look at the underside of U of M www.universitysecrets.com freshman Brauer had a shaky first- career start the next day. I e was pulled with the bases loaded after allowing four runs in 4.2 innings. "I think Jim learned a lot." Foster said. "lie got in a little bit of trouble in the middle innings because I think he got in a pattemn of throwing his break- ing ball. You learn quick when youhet: to this level that you can't overuse4he - pitch because hitters make adjust ments." choosing a concentration? International and Area ealth ,,Peep, a1G'jr- Studies C~oncentration Faar Ch tip SNk LS&A* Concentration I Advising Liberal Arts (2 and Careers o "''bo's.- 9noetr4. a :~ For a listing of events, please visit http://www.lsa.umich.edu/saa/conCfair/ .J Softball searches for hit parade in Tallahassee By Kristen Fdh Daily Spurts W\rite' "I'm waiting." Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins said. *iutchins is anxious to see who, exactly, will support the team's offense. The 20th-ranked Wolverines i6-') came out of the field house just over a month ago to begin its season. So far, Melissa Taylor and Melinda Moulden have led the team with 16 and 14 hits, respectively. But other than a few key hits from Kelsey Kollen and Rebecca Tune, Hutchins is still looking for lrovemnent from the rest of th2 order. "This team has had as good of a defense as any tean in all my years o' coaching." Hutchins said. "Now, we just need to get the bats on the ball." This weekend. Michigan travels to Tallahassee for the Lady Seminole LADS- SEMINOLF INX'TrNrIONAL Who: Michigan (6-7) vs. Massachusetts (7-9) and Maryland (13-8). When: noon and 6p.m. Latest: The team will play five games in the weekend event as the wolverines hope to get offensive, duties at third base. "This is definitely a learning situa- tion for her," lutchins said. "Third base is one of the hardest positions to get used to, and Stefanie has had both good games for us as well as some rough times." Maryland's greatest asset is junior pitcher Amanda Bettker, who tallied six strikeouts against the team's most recent opponent. Boston University. Troy State's junior pitcher Melanie Davis, toting a 0.68 ERA, will also be a Michigan roadblock. Now Offering Candies& Sweets Caramel Crunch Cheesy Golden Corn Chicago Mix 16 Flavors in all! $,$ r -~ 4~ 4- - -4 .-l -l a- I I ?.' ' , { >. ...# i > ........:.... ^, . -.:max . .. .... x.... ,...r:.> t....... w . :'d .... :. U ._ ,... .. ,.. '