UI e t rwitm 'rig SPORTS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2001 12 r -s Battle in Seattle Noise, tough Husky 'D' await the Wolverines in Washington 0 By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Editor Last Saturday, No. 11 Michigan defeated Miami (Ohio) 31-13 and remained relatively unchallenged by the RedHawks. And now the Wolverines are in for some- thing completely different: Tomorrow, Michigan will take on No. 15 Washington in Seattle. The Huskies are com- ing off a Rose Bowl win over Purdue and are expected to battle with Oregon and Oregon State for the Pac-14 title. Washington lost much of its offensive pro- duction from a year ago with the departure of quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, last sea- son's Pac-10 Player of the Year. Tuiasosopo led the Huskies with nearly 2,500 yards of total offense. Junior Cody Pickett was named the starter this fall and is expected to step in where he left off. "With the departure of Marques Tuiasosopo, we have to make subtle changes to our offense to * 0 SEAT Who: No. 11 M vs. No.15 Wa When: 3:30 p Latest: The W( their first real t son when they son's Rose Bo MAUUItOI MARHALL/ John Navarre got his first taste of the Pac 10 last year at UCLA. Another west coast trip to Washington will again be his first test of the year. Home 'Dawgs' By Arun Gopal Daily Sports Writer The tuneup is out of the way. It's now time for the Michigan fans have been pointing to this Saturda tilt at No. 15 Washington since the end of last see personnel losses on offense, coupled with the fear Seattle have combined to make this game a water Michigan's season. Win, and the Wolverines could be on their way to cial. Lose, and, well ... perhaps the Alamo Bowl bad. San Antonio does have Riverwalk, after all. MICHIGAN RUSH OFFENSE VS. WASHINGTON RUSH earning the starting tailback spot in fall practices, B decent job against Miami (Ohio), rushing for 94 yar Chris Perry, Walter Cross and David Underwood all tions as the Wolverines rolled for nearly 200 yards. hold avantage over Bue The Pac-10 has a reputation as a league without much defense. But Washington bucks that trend, largely thanks to senior defensive. tackle Larry Tripplett - an All-America candidate. Tripplett will main event. get constant double- and triple-teams, but this year he gets help y's heavyweight from Kai Ellis, a highly-touted defensive end who transferred from ason. All of the San Francisco City College. Ellis and Tripplett have added pressure rsome crowd in on them thanks to the departure of linebacker Jeremiah Pharms. shed moment in Even though Michigan's running game might not be as dominant as it was last year, the Wolverines should be able to run on Wash- something spe- ington. Oregon gained over 230 yards rushing against the Huskies wouldn't be so last year, which will have Michigan's offensive line salivating. Edge: Michigan DEFENSE: After .J. Askew did a ds on 20 carries. made contribu- See MATCHUPS, Page 14 suit Cody Pickett," Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel said. Pickett will have the benefit of a strong running game and a potential All-American in tight end Jerramy Stevens. "If you take the tight end (Jerramy) Stevens and the nose guard (Larry) Triplett, I think they are both first-round draft picks," Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr said. "Stevens' presence will force us to defend the center of the field and doing that help on the outside." Sophomore Rich Alexis and senior Willie Hurst will likely share time at running back for the Huskies. Alexis led the team with 740 yards and nine touchdowns, while Hurst battled from deep in the depth chart to split time with Alexis by the end of the season. "Their two running backs are as good as any two that we have faced in many, many years," Carr said. With the status of Michigan senior line- backers Larry Foote and Eric Brackins still in limbo, Carl Diggs and Zach Kaufman will again have to step up on defense to stop the Huskies' powerful ground game. Freshman Reggie Williams is expected to make his highly-anticipated debut against the Wolverines. "Reggie will play this weekend, how much, we will have to wait and see," Neuheisel said. "But he has been what we expected. He is a talented young man who has learned quickly, so there is no reason to save him." Williams has been given the opportunity to play due to injuries in the Huskies' receiv- ing corps. Fellow freshman Charles Freder- ick returned to the team this week after leaving the team due to feeling homesick. Frederick will likely not see action. On defense, the inexperienced Michigan offense will face one of the top a units in the country - led by TTLE senior defensive tackle Larry Michigan (1-0) Triplett, a preseason first-team shington (00) All-American selection by many .m. preview magazines. Triplett led olverines face Washington with six-and-a-half est of the sea- sacks and 11 tackles for a loss. visit fast sea- Jonathan Goodwin will likely wv champs have the daunting task of pro- tecting John Navarre from the Huskies' star. "Triplett is probably one of the best guys I have ever seen on film," Goodwin said. Washington returns five other starters from last season's team, including first team All-Pac-10 selection, senior strong safety Hakin Akbar. Akbar led the Huskies in tack- les last season and will be a key component in stopping the Michigan running'and pass- ing game. In addition to facing a talented team, Michigan will play in Husky Stadium, one of loudest and most intimidating places in the nation. "I have said through the years that there are lots of stadiums in this conference that are loud, but the loudest stadium I have ever been in was at Washington," Carr said. "The only way to control that factor is to get ahead. The stadium and playing in the noise is all part of growing as a team." The Washington fans will do their best to hold up their reputation. As if the match-up wasn't enough motiva- tion for the fans, the game will be ABC's featured game on Saturday, airing at 3:30 p.m. 6 0 REC SPORTS INITRAMiURALS Former sticker returns as coach The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHAT'S HAPPENING U t7 a BROOMBALL (Frat, GFS, RH, WyD Men) ENTRIES TAKEN: Monday 9/10 ONLY 11:00 AM to 5:30PM, IMSB ENTRY FEE: ' $78 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Weds 9/12, 8:00 PM, IMSB PLAY BEGINS: Thurs 9/13, Yost Ice Arena 3-on-3 BASKE TBALL By David Roth Daily Sports Writer When Michigan field hockey defe.nseman Ashley Reichenbach stepped off the field after her freshman season, she knew she had to turn and face the strain. The Wolverines had an abysmal 7- 11 record and were sniffing the pants of every other Big Ten team. Nobody comes to Michigan to lose. So Reichenbach and her teammates made some changes. Over the next three years, Reichenbach would help her team to a 50-12 record and co-cap- tained the squad that made Michigan's first-ever National Championship appearance. The Wolverines' turnaround wasn't jdst in their physicality. It was in their philosophy.. Now Michigan is always a threat, always THE team to beat. Last year the team placed first in both the Big Ten regular season standings and the Big Ten tournament. In: July, the Wolverines announced L ENTRIES TAKEN: Monday 9/10 ONLY 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, IMSB + \ ENTRY FEE: $50 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Weds 9/12, 7:15 PM, IMSB PLAY BEGINS: Thurs 9/13, IMSB -f-r the hiring of Ashley Reichenbach as one of its assistant coaches. Michigan can't ever have back the brawn that Reichenbach brought, but at least it can have the brains. "She's tactically incredibly smart and strong and has helped the defense a lot," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "She's stepped right into a whole other role and she's done a fantastic job." Reichenbach, who was also a pow- erhouse in academia, used her under- graduate degree in English to get her a job with Quest Personnel in Norris- town, Penn. But her connection to field hockey remained strong. During the gap year after gradua- tion, Reichenbach coached several camps as well as serving as a volun- teer coach at her high school in Palmyra, Penn. In addition, Reichenbach has partic- ipated in the United Airlines Field Hockey Summer League for the past four years, most recently playing for the Philadelphia Fury. This August, 9 Reichenbach was selected to lead one of eight teams during the 2001 AAU Junior Olympic games. Reichenbach also kept close ties to Michigan. She served as one of two students on, the University's Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1998-2000 and was part of the search committee that selected current Michigan Athletic Director Bill Mar ' tin. Coaching at Michigan so soon after she left, Reichenbach finds herself instructing former teammates. "It's definitely been a different role," Reichenbach said. "Because I did play with (the current juniors and seniors), I do feel like they are my sib- ling sisters. But-maybe more like an extended big sister now." Coaching has expanded the way - SOCCER -. 2 - r f4 ENTRIES TAKEN: Monday 9/10 ONLY 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, IMSB ENTRY FEE: $78 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Weds 9/12, 6:00 PM, IMSB PLAY BEGINS: Thurs 9/13 Mitchell Fields *~6A C, TEAM TENNIS ENTRIES DUE: Thurs 9/13, 4:30 PM, IMSB ENTRY FEE: $25 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Thurs 9113, 6:30 PM, IMSB TOURNAMENT DATES: Fri Sat& Sun9/14, 15& 16 UM Varsity Tennis Center Located on South State Street ;{:g "::":4+:i :S -. . . . . . . . .*tS :Si^ jS.is }:V...S:i r;:; ~ l Jf:W.S.,S ::;;ty;. r; . :# ":. r . " : x:%~r:+. :," ". :;,' ":. ': , ;. rJ;::; %;yv : ;.: FILE';:, PHOTO~. AshleyRichenbach helped turn Michigan in , f" tto omial:pwrasad fnder. Now she wo.a+rks 'r:.,: .. to keep it there as an assistant coach;tX~r." :. :,, :" .:;.,t a:r' www.DeltaU.Org * www.JoinDcltaU.org * www.FourWord.org Do you and your friends have what it takes.. The entry deadline for the TENNIS SINGLES & DOUBLES TOURNAMENT and the SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT is 4:30pm Wednesday September 26. * Friendship * * Culture * s mw".'