PheOT ichga Btag SPORTSWEAE Sports desk: 647-3336 sportsdesk@umich.edu 17A ~ , Crisler changes aplenty; students to floor By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor Students will finally be brought down to the Crisler Arena floor, in the form of 623 bleacher seats behind both the home and visitor's bench. And when they do, they may not r gnize the place - as Crisler has undergone a huge overhaul since new basketball coach Tommy Amaker has arrived on the scene. The changes, discussed by Amaker, women's basketball coach Sue Gue- vara and Athletic Director Bill Martin, are all a part of Amaker's plan to both liven up Crisler and bring back the "timeless" and "traditional" nature of the program. "I don't think of Michigan being anything gimmicky or tricky," Amaker said. "I think of it as traditional, of being classic, of being powerful, and of standards - things that have lasted the test of time." Everything from the paint on the floor to the size of the bathroom stalls in the Michigan locker room have changed, and players say the change is good. "I love it," senior tri-captain Leon Jones said of the changes. "I feel like a freshman all over again." Work began on the project in late June and should be finished by early October. The floor has been refinished for only the third time in the building's 34- year history, with the floor being sand- ed to give it a lighter look. The keys won't be painted blue anymore and the basketball will be removed from the top of the keys. The word "Michigan" will still be painted behind both bas- kets, but only in the northwest and southeast corners. "It's more of a traditional feel," said Lisa Panetta-Alt, who is the manager of Crisler Arena. The floor is "very similar to the way (former basketball coach) Steve Fisher had it." Panetta- Alt added that the bleachers are "high school styled" and will give Crisler a "totally different look." And that's the way a lot of the play- ers liked it. "When I was young, the floor was very simple and plain - and that's some of the reason why I came here," See CRISLER, Page 26A MARJOF The refinished floor of Crisler Arena will give it a totally different look. assing grae ichigan 31, iami(Ohio) 13 'M' capitalizes on errors to secure season opener MARJUIE MARSHALL/Daily Tommy Amaker hopes that the reunion Aill create a family atmosphere. Amalker ft)host bdasketball oe Smith :gaily Sports Editor As one of the first steps in new coach Tommy Amaker's plan to create a "family" atmosphere for the basket- ball program, every former player and manager has been invited, back for a "Michigan Basketball Reunion" of sorts on Sept. 15. "I want our current guys to interact our former guys," Amaker said. " important that they get a sense of what it's like to be a 'Michigan Man' - someone who has gone out and graduated, and moved on to different things." Amaker said all the Wolverines will be interacting in the form of a barbeque and tailgating before the football team takes on Western Michigan. The alum- r so have an option of playing golf over the weekend with the current players, and running the floor in a few pickup games in the morning at Crisler. "Maybe some of the gang can make it over to my house - if it's finished," Amaker added with a smile. "ft's going to be a low-key weekend -- but I hope it will be a lot of fun as well." ile Amaker and his wife are both Thing the move-in process into their new home, Amaker said he hopes this event can be a springboard to making some "family" of the program feel more at home themselves. Amaker noticed the hundreds of alumni that returned to participate in the Michigan hockey team's golf out- ing and reunion in early August, and h s that he can start a similar tradi- t with basketball. "We want to get up to par with that," Amaker said of the hockey team's fam- ily atmosphere. "We're trying to bring :gem back and see if we can develop that type of tradition of coming back - Pr DAVID ROUCHIIJDDaily John Navarre's performance was good enough to beat Miami (Ohio), but the Wolverines will have to make improve- ments all around in order to contend for the Big Tep Title. 1-0, but Miclukan sti has a ways to go By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Editor In its first game of the 2001 season, Michigan looked sluggish and inexpe- rienced - but it still got the job done with a 31-13 win over visiting Miami (Ohio). The Wolverines took advantage of the RedHawks' three turnovers, turn- ing them into 21 points. "They made big plays when they had to on their defense," Miami head coach Terry Hoeppner said. "We had a lot of opportunities and we didn't take advantage of them, and obviously, Michigan did." The Wolverines stumbled out of the gate, opting for a conservative series of B.J. Askew runs and short passes by John Navarre. On Miami's first possession, the Michigan defense was caught off- guard by the RedHawks' spread offense and surrendered a 33-yard run by Miami's Luke Clemens. But a heads-up interception by sophomore linebacker Carl Diggs - playing in the place of the injured Eric Brackins - stopped the RedHawks before they crossed the 50-yard line. Senior standout linebacker Larry Foote joined Brackins on the sideline after an injury on Miami's first drive. On the first play of Michigan's ensuing possession, a 37-yard pass from Navarre to deep threat Marquise Walker was reminiscent of a Drew Henson to David Terrell connection of the 2000 season, and put the ball inside the Miami 5-yard line. After two unsuccessful runs by Askew, he finally punched it in on a controversial dive across the end line. It appeared he may have fumbled before he crossed the plane, but offi- cials ruled that he scored before drop- ping the football. "I was pretty sure I held onto it," Askew said. After another punt by Miami, the Michigan offense was again able to easily breakdown the RedHawks' defense. Receptions of 15 and 19 yards by junior Ronald Bellamy set up the first of two Calvin Bell reverses to put the ball back inside the RedHawks' five- yard line. The Miami defense didn't break as it stopped a Chris Perry run and a short pass to Walker after Navarre tripped and fell for a loss of four on first down. Senior Hayden Epstein tacked on a 22-yard field goal to up the lead to 10-0. After a 22-yard field goal by senior Hayden Epstein made the score 10-0, Miami got on the board with a quick six-play drive that lasted less than three minutes. Freshman quarterback Ben Roethlisberger connected with junior wideout Eddie Tillitz for a 21- yard score. The extra point was blocked by line- backer Shantee Orr, and the score remained 10-6. "Shantee is a tremendous athlete," head coach Lloyd Carr said. "He is a guy with great jumping ability." The Miami touchdown began a scoring drought as neither the Red- Hawks nor the Wolverines could man- age a first down. The frustration of Michigan culmi- nated with a failure to pick up the first down on a fourth-and-one run attempt by B.J. Askew at the. 50-yard line. The momentum swing was short- lived by Miami as Roethlisberger again caved under the pressure of the Wolverines' pass rush and threw an interception to junior cornerback Brandon Williams. "We had some pressure and I think (Roethlisberger) made a couple of bad throws - really threw the ball under See MIAMI, Page 20A Any win is a good win. And this past Saturday afternoon, the Wolverines were able to stay out of the loss column. So that's good. But an ugly victory over an inferior oppo- nent is still cause for trou- ble. And on Saturday, the JON SCHWARrL The Schwartz Authority might see what happens to a good team that doesn't get it together in time to take the field. It would be a realization similar to the one suf- fered last year in the scorching heat of the Rose Bowl after a 23-20 loss to UCLA in the third game of the season. In last season's first two games over Bowling Green and Rice, the Wolverines looked very good. So did their record. But then-backup John Navarre was not ready to face the Bruins. His solid performances against the Fal- cons and the Owls were not indica- tive of his ability against the nation's elite. So what does Michigan's average performance against Miami say about its chances in Seattle this weekend or in the Big Ten race? It's hard to tell at this point. The Wolverines were rusty in their first game -not a rare occurrence, by any means. They were without two of their star linebackers, Eric Brack- ins and Larry Foote. They were christening an almost brand new offensive line and a new starting quarterback and tailback. So there's no need for the dooms- day fears just yet, unless Michigan doesn't shake off the rust and do what it takes to secure a victory in See SCHWARTZ, Page 20A Wolverines did look tremendously sloppy. That's troubling. This coming weekend, Michigan I - Hershey's defense not enough to stop 'M' field hockey By David Roth Daily Sports Writer Louisville field hockey goalkeeper Christy Hershey played sweet defense, but Michigan forward Adrienne Hortillosa managed to squeak one shot by to give the Wolverines a 1-0 victory Sunday. On the scorecard, Michigan (3-1) domi- nated, out-shooting the Cardinals 21-3 and holding the penalty corner advantage 8-0. But Hershey's relentless defense kept Louisville afloat until the Michigan fresh- man used solid stick work to give her team the lead with 7:50 left in the first half. "If you take just straight shots on her, she's going to get you," Hortillosa said. "So I pulled right and saw she left the goal nnen between her nads and the nost." why she's here." It was the second time this season that Hortillosa had provided the game's only offense. She gave Michigan a 1-0 win against last year's national champion Old Dominion on Aug. 26. Louisville was playing in its season debut. Of the four teams Michigan has faced, the Cardinals are the only one not in the Top 15, but Hershey's netminding made the contest just as much of a chal- lenge as Michigan's games with more highly acclaimed opponents. "Louisville has really come on in that last couple of years," Pankratz said. She added that head coach Pam Bustin "has taken that program to a whole other level and they're getting better and better." Though the Wolverines' offense had a Pankratz said. "Our concept is a team game to pass the ball and to pass it quick- ly." Michigan's 21 shots-on-goal were the most the offense had put up this season. Facing such a tough goalie kept Michi- gan's persistence high. "It's great to see the forwards down there diving on the ground," Tasch said. "They wanted it real bad." "We should've gotten more than one goal in there," Hortillosa said. "We had a lot of shots on goal and we could have had a lot of tip-ins." It didn't take long for the Wolverines to figure out that Hershey was a brick wall. "We went down there the first 10 sec- onds and got a dead stop," Fronzom said. "That goalkeeper was amazing." I U~