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WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 7, 2001 1
Stickers set to host Tar Heels
By Blake Fillion
Daily Sports Writer
For the first time in the history of Michigan field hockey,
it will be hosting an NCAA regional. Joining the Wolverines
in Ann Arbor will be North Carolina, Michigan State and
Kent State.
"We're thrilled" Sophomore forward April Fronzoni
said."This is a little shocking, but a great opportunity and it
couldn't of come at a better time:'
"I'm very excited to be playing at
home," Tasch said "I'm from Ann OCKER
Arbor and having some of my family Who: Michigan (42 Big
and friends there will be great." North Carolina (4-3, 13-
The Wolverines have struggled over when: 11 a.m.
the past four weeks, managing just a 4- Latest: After two yearsc
3 record. Last weekend against Ohio field hockey team has a
State, Michigan suffered its first loss in ture its first national cha
three seasons of Big Ten Tournament competition.
After a disappointing season, the Wolverines look to
rebound with a successful post- season run.
"We were meant to learn some lessons early this season"
Fronzoni said "But it's better to have learned them before
the tournament."
"We had some glitches, but we've been working on them
all season" goalie Maureen Tasch said. "We're prepared for
anything."
Action will begin Saturday morning at 11 a.m. when
Michigan plays North Carolina. The Tar Heels, the fourth
seed in the tournament, are the top seed in the section of the
NCAA Tournament being hosted in Ann Arbor.
This will be the second meeting this season between the
Wolverines and the Tar Heels. At the Temple Invitational in
early September, Michigan fell in overtime 2-1 in a competi-
tive match.
"Carolina's a great program" Fronzoni said, "We played a
tough-fought match earlier in the season and we're excited
to play them once again. We out-shot them and out-cornered
them, so we're feeling good."
"It was a tough, tough game," said Catherine Foreman
"But we're looking good."
In the second round-of-16 matchup, Michigan State will
take on Kent State at 2 p.m.
"This will be wonderful and very exciting" coach Marcia
Pankratz said, "These are four really tight teams in ability,
and this will be a great hockey event."
The Wolverines are viewing this tournament as a new sea-
son and an opportunity to make up for some difficulties ear-
lier in the season.
"This is the absolute best-case sce-
IELD nario," Tasch said.
n, 14-5 overall) vs. Although this weekend will mark the
team's first opportunity to host an
NCAA regional, it will also mark the
coming close, the final home matches for seniors Cather-
ther chance to cap- ine Foreman, Maureen Tasch, Jessie
pionship. Veith, Laura Stinson and Ali Balmer.
RF
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of c
not
am
"It'd be great to go out with two wins and a spot in the
Final Four," Foreman said.
Due in large part to this senior. class Michigan has turned
its field hockey program around. In its sophomore year, the
team won its first Big Ten Tournament title in many years,
received its first bid to the NCAA Tournament in team his-
tory and ended up placing second in the tournament.
"Due to this senior class, expectations for this team have
risen" Pankratz said. "Because of their dedication and com-
mitment, the success of our program has risen greatly."
The Wolverines feel optimistic about the remainder of
their season. They've had some difficult times, but view
hosting this regional as a great chance for redemption.
They've dominated every opponent they've faced this
year. In every game they've out-shot their opponent and out-
cornered them, but failed to capitalize, resulting in five loss-
es. With several victories over top-10 teams, including a
victory over defending champion Old Dominion, the team
knows that it can beat any team on any given day.
"We know we can out-shoot anyone" Tasch said, "It's a
great feeling going into such a big tournament."
9
AP PHOTO
Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans has turned the Badgers' offense into an explosive unit. Wisconsin will need more of the
same from Evans and freshman tailback Anthony Davis in order to win its last two games and qualify for a bowl game.
Badgers keep bowl hopes ive
NCAA field hockey tournament
November 10
Nov. 11,
Nov. 16
Nov. 16
Nov. 18
1 Old Dominion,
assacusetts
Princeton
Northeastern
4 North Carolina
Michigan
Michigan State
Kent State
3 Wake Forest
Ohio
Virginia
Ohio State
2 Maryland
Fairfield
California _______
Syracuse J
By Raphael Goodstein
Daily Sports Editor
Wisconsin (3-3 Big Ten, 5-5 over-
all) helped its bowl hopes this past
week by beating Iowa (2-4, 4-4),
which also has postseason aspira-
tions.
Because a winning record is
required for bowl eligibility, Wis-
consin needed to beat the Hawkeyes
and will still need
to win its home FOOTBALL
game with Michi-
gan and its season
finale with Min-
nesota to have a winning record.
The Badgers have this week off
before their home game against
Michigan..
"We probably played our best
game offensively," Wisconsin coach
Barry Alvarez said. "(Wide receiver)
Lee Evans played well, (quarter-
back) Brooks Bollinger had his best
day. I thought our offensive line
played its best game.
"We've got on off date. Like most
teams, we could sure use this week
to get healthy. We've got a number
of guys who are banged up and we
could use this week to get ready for
an excellent Michigan team."
The Badgers have a number of
possible bowl destinations, especial-
ly the Tangerine Bowl .
"What we try to do is worry about
the next game," Alvarez said.
"Everyone's smart enough to know
how many games you need to win to
qualify for a bowl game."
Wisconsin has qualified for a
bowl game the last six years.
FIGHTING CHANCE: No. 15 Illinois
(4-1, 7-1) is the surprise of the Big
Ten thus far.
Entering the season, the Fighting
Illini were considered a middle-
of-the-pack team, especially since
they did not qualify for a bowl last
season.
But Illinois has rebounded from
its 45-20 loss to Michigan and cur-
rently shares the lead with the
Wolverines atop the Big Ten.
At 7-1, Illinois might not be
receiving the respect it deserves,
perhaps in part because of its soft
nonconference schedule.
"If we want respect, we have to
earn it," Illinois coach Ron Turner
said. "If we don't like where we are,
we have to do something about it on
the field. We just have to go out on
the field and play football."
Michigan owns the head-to-head
tiebreaker with the Illini, meaning
that even if Illinois wins a share of
the Big Ten title, they might not
receive the Big Ten's BowlChampi-
onship Series bid.
To qualify for the BCS, Illinois
will need to win the rest of its games
and Michigan will need to lose one
of its last three games.
Illinois closes with a home game
against Penn State, at Ohio State and
back at home against Northwestern.
The last three games for the
Wolverines are Minnesota, at Wis-
consin and at home against Ohio
State.
IN CLOSING: At 5-3 overall (3-2 Big
Ten), Ohio State only needs one
more win to become bowl eligible,
which would be an accomplishment
for new coach Jim Tressel and his
young Buckeyes.
Ohio State escaped Minnesota last
Saturday with a 31-28 win over the
last-place Golden Gophers.
Getting that last win will be a
daunting task for the Buckeyes, as
they close with arguably the Big
Ten's best three teams: Purdue, Illi-
nois and Michigan.
"You can look at this stretch a
couple ways - you could say it's
brutal for the teams we have to play,
or you could say you're fortunate
because the teams that are ahead of
us we still have to play," Tressel
said. "We happen to like the latter
approach. We know how good the
teams are, but thank goodness we
still have the chance to play them."
If Ohio State wins its last three
games against those teams now in
front of it, the Buckeyes would win a
share of the Big Ten title but would
still need another Michigan State
loss to receive the Big Ten's BCS
bid. Because the two teams don't
play this season, Michigan State's
better overall record would be used
as the tiebreaker.
"I don't think anyone can consider
bowl opportunities until they have
six wins and we don't have six wins
yet," Tressel said. "Our focus has
been on adding another victory and
then we can talk about which bowl
games are available."
el
F
4\V
--a
Gators begin tough stretch run
I I
By Eric Chan
Daily Sports Writer
That time of the yeat' has come once again. What time
of the year you ask? Bowl Championship Series time.
It's mid-November, and the standings are packed tight,
with any of eight teams in contention for the title.
No. 3 FLoRIDA (5-1 SEC, 7-1 OVERALL) AT No. 15
SOUTH CAROLINA (5-2, 7-2), SATURDAY, 7:45 P.M.,
ESPN: Florida is No. 7 in the BCS standings right now,
but it can't be counted out. The Gators take on South
Carolina this weekend before facing Florida State, Ten-
nessee and possibly the SEC title game in the coming
weeks. Florida still has a chance to sneak into the
national championship game if they
can survive unscathed through this ACROSS
gauntlet.
Florida quarterback and Heisman the Nation
candidate Rex Grossman leads the
nation in passing efficiency having completed 66-per-
cent of his passes this season. Last week against Van-
derbilt, Grossman passed for 306 yards and three
touchdowns. But he won't have an easy time finding
holes in the Gamecocks' pass defense - currently
ranked seventh in the nation. South Caroling is good at
preventing the big play, but Grossman should be able to
rack up yards with quick, short passes to Jabar Gaffney
and Reche Caldwell.
If South Carolina is to compete, it'll have to get
through Florida's top-ranked rush defense. The Gators
have allowed just 76.5 yards per game to their oppo-
nents this season. If any team can break through the
Florida defense, it has to be the Gamecocks. Running
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This grudge-match is synonymous with former Boston W
College quarterback Doug Flutie and his Hail Mary
pass in the 1984 Orange Bowl. Since then, Miami (Fla.)
is 11=0 against the Eagles.
Miami's Ken Dorsey has thrown 15 touchdowns this
season with just four interceptions. His outstanding play
has led Miami to an undefeated season thus far.
This week, Dorsey is up against one of the top pass
defenses in the nation. The Eagles have only allowed
163 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks this sea-
son.
Boston College quarterback Brian St. Pierre is ranked,
as one of the top 20 quarterbacks in the nation, throw-
ing for 1,475 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. St
Pierre will have to be the Eagles' main offensive threat
this Saturday as running back William Green was sus-
pended yesterday for breaking a team rule.
Boston College's pass defense will be too much for
Dorsey. Even without all-star tailback Green, the Eagles
will run all over Miami's national championship hopes.
Welcome to "Upset City".
Boston College 34, Miami 21
No.7 OREGON (5-1 PAc-10, 8-1 OVERALL) AT No. 16
UCLA (3-2, 6-2), SATURDAY, 3:30 P.M., ABC: Oregon
is another team in the BCS mix. Lately, the Ducks'
offense has looked absolutely unstoppable. This doesn't
bode well for UCLA, which has dropped its last two
games to Stanford and Washington State.
Last week, Oregon quarterback JoeytHarrington
threw for 319 yards, and a school record six touch-
downs against Arizona State. Wide receiver Keenan
Howry caught four of those touchdowns - tying a Pac-
10 record.
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