C ' 0,$ * UM kj'.S Sports desk: 647-3336 sportsdesk@umich.edu SECTIONB r I Agony of the sweep Penn State takes hree from baseball By David Horn Daily Sports Writer The last time the Michigan baseball team had a victory over No. 25 Penn State (5-1 Big Ten, 12-15 overall), pitcher Bryce Ralston was a healthy sopho-. core who pitched five scoreless innings to help beat: the Nittany Lions 6-1, and propel the Wolverines into the postseason. That was May 15, 1999. Since then Ralston has undergone Tommy John, surgery on his elbow, and did not play last season as a result. Michigan (1-3, 10-12) was swept by Penn State in 2000, and hoped not to repeat that this past weekend, when the Nittany Lions were in Ann Arbor for four games. Only three were played, how- ever, as Sunday's game was cancelled due to an early April snowstorm. But the man who won the only game against Penn tate in the last 15 tries for Michigan would not pitch, having gotten the start on Wednesday against Oakland. The rest of the Wolverine staff could not contain the Nittany Lions, now the best team in the Big Ten. Penn State took a three-game sweep by the scores of 2-1, 4-1 and 9-3. "I tell them to keep their chins up," Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "Because in (Saturday's) second game we started swinging our bats a lot bet- er. And we're young. They have to realize that the eams we're playing are no better than the teams we played at the beginning of the year." The weekend would get progressively worse for the Wolverines. A Saturday doubleheader of seven- inning games gave senior captain Nick Alexander and freshman Jim Brauer chances to start against 'M' dominates Illinois after losing to DePaul By Kdsten Fkdu Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Last weekend, the Michigan softball team met two opponents which it potentially could have dismissed. The Wolverines had the talent but struggled to obtain the drive. After surrendering one horrible inning in their first game against No. 10 DePaul last Friday, all concentra- tion fled for the remainder of the dou- bleheader. The Wolverines (2-0, 14-11-1) lost both games to the Blue Demons 4-2 and 5-2. Michigan spun 180 degrees after feeling the heat of its mistakes for its Big Ten season opening against Illi- nois Saturday and Sunday, winning 10-2 and 2-0, respectively. Yesterday's game went scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when Rebecca Tune grounded a base hit to center field that drove in Moni- ca Schock and Melinda Moulden, who had just knocked a double to left. Michigan's defensive strategy kept the freshman-filled Illini team from scoring in the top of the sixth when pitcher Marie Barda was faced with runners on second and third, two outs and Illinois' best hitter, Janna Sartini, stepping to the plate. Catcher Kim Bugel gave the signal and Barda threw four intentional balls to walk Sartini, loading the bases. "We wanted to make the force because there were runners on second and third," Bugel said. Sartini "is a good hitter, and we had a better chance of getting the next girl out." The strategy worked. Katie O'Con- nell took a couple practice swings and grounded out. Sartini "is their number-four hitter and she was 3-3 (Saturday)," Michi- gan coach Carol Hutchins said. "She hadn't hit the ball yet today, but you don't let their best hitter have a chance to beat you - that's the rule of thumb." On Saturday, Michigan came out strong with Kelsey Kollen hitting a double to right on the first pitch. Ste- fanie Volpe hit a single, bringing Kollen in to score. Moulden then hit Volpe in with a line drive to center before Illinois even had a chance at the plate. After pitcher Marissa Young hit a double and Meghan Doe brought her home, Illinois replaced Amanda For- tune on the mound with Kathryn Nevard, intending to close the gap on Michigan's 3-0 lead. Then, leading off the fourth inning, Tune hit a double and was brought in by Young's homerun. "It was great because my room- mate was on second base, and she told me a changeup was coming," Young said. "She picked up the sign, so it helped a lot." In the same inning, Chrissy Garza, Melissa Taylor and Volpe loaded the bases. After Schock got Garza and Taylor to the plate, Illinois decided to try yet another pitcher as Sherri Tay- lor took the mound. "They have a lot of pitchers," Hutchins said. "I think we were hit- ting them, and they just thought to try something else and see if it works." See ILLINI, Page 38 DANNY MOLOSHOK'JDaify 'the Wolverines were swept by Penn State for the second-straight series. The Nittany Lions own a seven-game winning streak against Michigan. Justin Nash and Mike Watson, respectively, of Penn State. It was the third career start for Brauer, and the second for Watson. In the top of the third, Penn State catcher Chris Netwall did the damage for the second time of the se ies. After singling to lead off the inning, Netwall was sacrificed to second by Willie Melendez, and was driven in by a Zach Smithlin single. In the fifth, Netwall and Melendez scored on a Rod Perry sin- gle. "They're experienced hitters," Zahn said. See SWEEP, Page 5B Clash of the titans Poor shooting, buries Spartans After ending the defendingl champ's repeat bid, Arizona will face Duke in battle of stars.r MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - As the buzzer sound- ed, Arizona's Richard Jefferson threw his hands in the air and sent a salute to all those Wildcats fans who have watched this bittersweet season unfold. On the strength of an extremely impressivej performance, Arizona moves on to the title game. , And what an emotional ride it has been for the Wildcats. Think about it: Lute Olson - who mar- ied his beautiful bride, his high school sweet- heart, the late Bobbi Olson, here in MinneapolisA - has an opportunity to win the national champi- onship in this very city. "One more win," he mouthed to the crowd, as he thrust his index fingers in the air."One more win."4 A five-minute barrage of can't-miss shooting and smothering defense pushed the Wildcats to an 80-61 victory over defending championx Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament's semi-r linals Saturday. With a victory Monday over Duke, a 95-84 winner over Maryland in the second semifinal, AP PHOTO AP PHOTO At the men': finals in Minneapolis tonight, ...or the effort-induced scowl of Shane Battier See WILDCATS, Page 38 either the dinking snarl of Loren Woods... will be the face of a champion. NBA will be more terrptzg next tbne around r Izzo Down 22, Duke rallies past Maryland MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Duke was down by 22 points and coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't mince words. "You're losing by so much, you can't play any worse; he told top-ranked Blue Devils during a timeout. "So what are you worried about, losing by 40?" Duke turned things around in a record way, digging itself out of its biggest hole of the season and into another NCAA championship game in a dome that's been a lucky home. The Blue Devils rallied yet again against Maryland, this time for a 95-84 victory Saturday night and a chance at another national championship in the Metrodome. "It's a 40-minute game and they beat us for 12 minutes," said Duke freshman Chris Duhon, who had 10 points and six assists. "If you're going to beat us you've got to do it for 40." Shane Battier, the national player of the year, had 25 points for Duke (34-4), which will play Arizona for the title Mon- day night on the same court where it won its last title in 1992. "It's going to be a special night, Batti- er said. "You can't get two better teams, coaches and traditions in this game" It will be Duke's seventh title game under Krzyzewski, who moved into a tie for second place with Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp with his ninth Final Four victory. UCLA's John Wooden holds the record with 21. Championship coverage Page 3B AP PHOTO Niele Ivey celebrates after the Fight- ing Irish defeated Purdue, 68-66. Riey catchecs fire to secure, Iish's title ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Notre Dame pulled off yet another comeback, this one for the biggest prize of all. The Irish clawed and scratched their way back from deficits time after time and beat Purdue 68-66 on Ruth Riley's two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to win their first national championship. Notre Dame trailed by 12 points in the first half and was down 66-64 with a lit- tle more than a minute to play when- Riley, the team's unanimous All-Ameri- can and national player of the year, came through. "I can't even describe it," Riley said. "This is the only thing I wanted. To be able to share this with my teammates is unbelievable. We worked so hard that it was fitting to end the season this way." It ended the way it did in large mea- sure because of Riley. First, she scored in the lane to tie it at 66 with 1:01 remaining. Then, she rebounded a miss by Purdue's Shereka Wright, enabling the Irish to set up a late shot. They got the ball to Riley - who else? - and she was fouled by Wright. She made the first throw, returned to the line after a Purdue timeout and calmly made ichigan State coach Tom Izzo flirted with the idea of the NBA last spring - when e had something to return to. But would he have stayed without a Final Four- caliber team returning? An interesting question. And probably more salient than you might think. Consider: Last May the Atlanta Hawks offered Izzo the^ job. Coming off of a national title, a third straight Big Ten title and a highly regarded recruiting class, East Lansing loved him. He took a perennial middle- of-the-pack Big Ten team to the RAPHAEL national title. In his five years, the Spartans GOODSTEIN evolved from repeat NIT perfor- On mances, to the Sweet 16, to the Point Final Four. And then, of course, the national championship. ing, and withiason Richardson and Zach Randolph likely leavingjsearly for the NBA, Izzo will need to decide if he has a team capable of contending for a fourth-straight Final Four. Or if the Michigan State dynasty will fall apart, forcing him to rebuild. Without its four best players, even a well-coached Michigan State will struggle contending for an NCAA berth let alone a national title. Just ask the 1998-99 Wolv4trines. They followed up their Big Ten Tournamext title with a12-19 performance. And they had Louis Bullock returning, their second- best player. Now, some rmight think, well, Izzo did it once, what will prevexit him from rebuilding Michigan State again? Or,next year freshman Marcus Taylor and recruit Kelvin Torbert will be around, so the cupboard won't be that bare. Both are true. But Izzo built'the Spartans into a heavyweight when Michigan was at its weakest. Rumors swirled of the NCAA piacing Michigan on probation Rumors have subsided of the NCAA hammering Michigan with probation. Tommy Amaker is con- sidered by many to be the best young coach in the business, and is famed for his recruiting ability. Teamed with Terrence Greene, the Flint-native and incumbent assistant coach who might keep his job, Amaker is a legitimate contender for just about every recruit in Flint. As for having two young guards returning? If Izzo thought about jumping to the NBA with a potential history-in-the-making roster, why would he return for Louis Bullock and Robbie Reid, err, Taylor and Torbert. Obviously, the first sign of danger doesn't mean Izzo will just up and leave. First, another NBA team needs to offer him a job - something that's not certain, now that he's one year removed from his title. Also, he turned down the NBA last year. So what will push him to go pro this year? Without the talent and with a new-and-improved Last Dance Floor: The Michigan Daily's final self-congratulatory entry of 2001. Everyone's a star: Break- ing down the match-ups in one -s of the most talent- laiden champi- onships in history. Ten pizzas, two hooptologists in contention: A run x I 1' ._ i