Ud1be Sid$§un 3aiI PORTS michigandaily.com/sports sportsdesk@umich.edu FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2001 9A * Streaky Groninger finds his mark for 'M' Russian 'quiz' awaits Blue women at Crisler By Benjamin Singer Daily Sports Editor It's no secret that Gavin Groninger six three-pointers, which he's done twice. "He's shooting the ball well, he's making good decisions, he's extending By Charles Paradis Daily Sports Writer came in two years ago touted as a sharpshooter. The kid from the Hoosier state displayed his long- range accuracy early in his career, going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc in his fourth career game.- But after showing early promise, Groninger's effectiveness on the court quickly diminished. He soon fell into a deep Who: Michigan (1-0) vs. Nike Elite When: 2 p.m. Sunday Latest Former college all- stars such as Randolph Childress and Charles O'Bannon will play against Michigan in the Wolverines' final exhibition. the defense, he's making his teammates better around him," assistant coach Chuck Swenson said. "Those are the things he's been doing. Because he's been doing them every day, I don't see why that would change. I just think that he's really been play- ing probably the way he thought he would when he came into the Big Ten." slump that took up a good chunk of the season, as he shot 8-for-45 (18 percent) over the course of 16 games. In Groninger's sophomore year, his minutes and points per game went down from 24 and seven to 19 and 5.6, respec- tively. All preseason long, the coaching staff has been praising the new and improved Gavin Groninger. They weren't simply stroking his ego - Groninger showed in Michigan's first exhibition last Sun- day he can really stroke the three. He poured in 29 points, including a 7-for-11 performance from three-point land. His career-high for a regular-season game is Because depth is a concern for Michi- gan, increased responsibility will be placed on Groninger. Although listed as a guard, where he started in Sunday's exhibition against EA Sports All-stars, the 6-foot-5 Groninger can step in at small forward to help out the few true post players. Not only will he be count- ed'on for more scoring, but he will be depended on to p tform new tasks all together. "One thing we're asking Gavin to do that he's never been asked to do in the past, that I know of, is rebound just because we're undersized," Swenson said. "That's an area that he's going to While tonight's preseason game against RTU Klondaika (Latvia) may not show up on the No. 17 Michigan women's basketball team's statistics at the end of the year, the team does not consider this game unim- portant. After the Wolver- 0 ines earned their first ever CRISLE preseason top 25 bid, they Who: No. 17 will do whatever it takes to RTU Kondail remain there. When: 7 p.m "This is like a quiz," Latest: Thefir coach Sue Guevara said. " game for thet The test is next, Friday." will also be th The matchup tonight at Crisler unt will be a fast paced and exciting game. Guevara characterized the Latvian squad as playing "typical" European basketball. The European run and gun style of play is characterized by a lot of give-and- goes and back door cuts. The style also features three point shooting by the frontcourt players, which can be a prob- lem if the opposing post players cannot move out and defend the perimeter. The Wolverines play a fast paced style of basketball as well. "We really like to get the ball up the floor and get some easy shots, or get R ARENA Michigan vs. rka n. rst exhibition Wolverines heir last action il Nov. 29 the ball up the floor and hit our post players, and I.think we do that well," Guevara said. The key to this style, though, is that a team must have post players who can run the floor. The Wolverines have one of the most athletic frontcourts in the conference, with post players who, can get up the court to take advantage of the transition offense. From a coaching stand- point, the game will also help the staff decide on a starting five line and get a feel for how the players are working together. Starting lineups were not finalized until late this week and it is FILE PHOTO Michigan needs Gavin Groninger to shoot well from long range, but defend as well. have to improve in." Groninger and his coaches alike attribute his recent play to a new self- confidence. "I've been working really hard, and I know that everyday I can look at myself in the mirror and say that I've been working hard and I'm the best player that I can be," Groninger said. "So, I think that's going to carry over to this season." $ TO THE Izzo: Michigan State put together a private fund for coach Tom Izzo worth up to $4.9 million as an incentive for the coach of its basketball team to remain with the program. Izzo, who is enetering his seventh year as coach of the Spartans, simply needs to finish out his contract through the 2005- 06 season for a bonus of $3.4 million and additional five-year payments of $300,000. , still unclear who will work best together as a unit on the floor in game situations. Heather Oesterle, who injured her knee at the end of last season, has seen limited action in practice and it is uncertain how long she will be able to play in the game. "You have to watch her (Oesterle) very close," Guevara said. "You don't want her to get too tired. We'll play her by ear and see how she feels." Also, local star freshman Tabitha Pool will play tonight as she rates the health of her knee at 95 percent. FootballSaturday '01: NQ 12 Michigan a Minrnesota TOMORROW, 12,:10 Pm., ESPN2 S & :";ti :;: . ":L S... After last weekend's last-second loss to rival Michigan State, the Wolverines will try to get back in the win column this weekend against the Golden Gophers. This will be Michigan's first home game since it defeated Purdue back on Oct. 13. Inside this edition of Football Saturday, you will find: The Little Brown Jug - After a two year layoff, the Wolverines and the Golden Gophers will renew their rivalry for this precious trophy. Stingy Lau helps Blue squeak past Badgers By Rohit Shave Daily Sports Writer MADISON - When Michigan goalkeeper Brian Lau stopped a scorching shot from Wisconsin's Erol Goknur with 27 seconds left yesterday in the first round game of the Big Ten Tourna-_ ment, the Wolverines' 1-0 upset over > MICHIGAN the Badgers was sealed. Using an opportunistic offense, a WISCXNSIN physical man-marking defense and tremendous goalkeeping from Lau, Michigan secured its program's first postseason victory. The Wolverines' ace goalkeeper Joe Zawacki (red card), their top defender Kevin Taylor (academic rea- sons), and James Baez-Silva (red card) all sat out the game. And to make things worse, Michigan, which has relied on scoring first altseason, had to play against a Me= stiff lake wind in the first half. But it found the poise to attack the wind early and drew first blood against a Wisconsin team intent on pressuring the inexperienced Lau. Midfielder Knox Cameron jumped on a turnover around the 18-yard line, dribbled into the penalty box and drilled a shot past Wisconsin goalkeeper Phil Ayoub at 1 15:59 of the first half for the game's only tally. 0 "It was a huge goal," Cameron said. "We weren't expecting much against the wind in the first half." Shortly after Cameron's goal, Wisconsin's John McGrady lofted a high shot. Lau nearly backed into the net making the save - making sure the ball did not cross the goal line. For the remaining 25 minutes of the first half, the Badgers sent a flurry of scoring chances towards the Michigan net. The majority were created by Wiscon- sin forward Aaron Lauber (four shots on goal). With under seven minutes left in the opening frame, Wisconsin had its best chance to tie the game. Inside the penalty box, Lauber beat several Michigan defenders to the left post, but hesitated in shooting the ball, allowing Michigan defender Dave George to slide-tackle the ball away. Having dodged several bullets before halftime, Burns opted to challenge offensively-talented for- ward Mychal Turpin to mark Lauber throughout the second half. "I noticed that (Turpin) stepped in more later in the game to shut down our guys out wide," DaPra said. "We didn't get as many crosses as we did earlier in the game, and that may have been the difference, that little change." For all the strategic adjustments, the game was ultimately decided by, who seemed to be in proper place for every one of his 12 saves. No overtime needed as Michigan rallies late By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer With five minutes remaining in a scoreless tie last night in women's soc- cer action, it appeared that Michigan and Michigan State would be heading into overtime. But when Michigan's Abby Crump- ton was suddenly pre- sented with an empty ti MICHIGAN net, things changed. In the 86th minute, MICHIGAN defender Amy Sulli- vant was awarded an indirect free kick. Her kick was headed by Carly Williamson before it landed in front of Crumpton six yards from a goal with a goalie placed on the opposite end; Crumpton tapped the ball in for her fifth score in her last four games. Michigan scored two minutes later to finish off Michigan State, 2-0, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in West Lafayette, Ind. The Wolverines face Illinois today with a berth in the Big Ten Championship game on Sun- day at stake. Sullivant scored the second goal and left a couple Spartans in her dust. After receiving the ball at mid- ST. 0 field from goalie Suzie Grech, Sullivant took the 2 ball from the midline all the way to the goalie box after beating three Spartan defenders. Michigan State goalie Stacy Heller cane out to defend Sullivant but was beaten, leaving Sullivant with an easy shot for the score. . The goals resulted from a well- played second half for the Wolverines after a sloppy first half played in wet conditions. Michigan outshot Michi- gan State 9-0 in the second frame and controlled the tempo of the game. "We played 100 times better (in the second half). We moved the ball around and kept possession," assistant coach Carrie Maier said. The Michigan defense made life easy for goalie Suzie Grech. She only made one save on her way to extend- ing her school record for shutouts in a season to 10. Opponents haven't netted a goal on Grech in 527:48, dating back to Oct. 6 against Penn State. Today, Michigan has the opportuni- ty to show Illinois how it has improved since the teams last faced each other on Sept. 21 in the Big Ten opener. The Wolverines lost the game in overtime despite leading the game with less than a minute left in regulation. The loss was the Wolverines' third blown lead in their first six games. Maier and Crumpton agree that the Wolverines will be seeking revenge on the field today after this game that Maier said was "taken away from us." Michigan has gone 10-2-1 since their last meeting with Illinois, and Michigan thinks it is now playing its best soccer of the season. "We are peaking at the right time," Maier said. "We couldn't ask our play- ers to be chore ready for each game." If Michigan is leading the game in the final minute again, the Illini shouldn't count on another miracle like they had on Oct. 6. The Wolverines * haven't blown a lead since that game, and the players have learned to play while leading their opponents during this time. i Beam seeks another strong performance at Big Tens By Matt Kramer Daily Sports Writer } Two weeks after participating at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships at Michigan State, the Michigan men's tennis team heads back to East Lans- ing this weekend for the Big Ten Sin- gles Championships. The top six players from each of the Big Ten schools will be competing in an individual, non-team scoring event. "I'm looking forward to this week- end," Michigan Mark Mees said. "I think this will be a good chance for some of our guys to shine and it's a good way to wrap up the fall competi- tion and see where we are." Michigan's top ranked player, senior Henry Eeam, is seeded third among all 64 players in the field. Beam reached the Round of 16 last year before falling to Indiana's Milan Rakvica 6-2, 6-2. Rakvica is seeded second this year. "I'm very excited about playing this weekend," Beam said, "I'd obviously like to hold up my seed and I really feel like our team has an excellent chance of doing well." Fellow seniors Ben Cox and Greg Novak are seeded second and third for the Wolverines, followed by sopho- more Anthony Jackson, freshman Matt Lockin and junior Chris Shaya. While the Wolverines have partici- pated in four individual tournaments so far this year, Mees said he already likes what he has seen from Cox and Lockin. Cox and Lockin both finished with 3-1 records and lost in the Round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regionals two weeks ago. This is the first time that the Big Ten Singles Championships will be played in the fall. In past years, the tourna- ment has always been held before the beginning of the Big Ten regular sea- son in January. Because of the new schedule, the tournament will conflict with the National Indoor Championships being played in Dallas this week- end. Therefore, many of the top sin- gles players in the Big Ten will be absent from East Lansing. But Mees said he isn't worried about lack of competition. "The National Indoors have taken away some of the top players but the tournament still has some tremendous players. So it should be quite a test." Beam agreed. "This is the strongest I have ever seen the Big Ten. The con- ference is so deep this year and every team brought in a great recruiting class so the competition is going to be excellent." M nine adds two new assistant coaches to staff Michigan interim baseball coach Chris Harrison added two familiar faces to his coaching staff yesterday. Former assistant Steve Merriman and former player Brian Kalczynski (1998 captain) will serve as Harrison's assistant coaches this season. Merriman joins on after serving as head coach at Macomb Community College for the past two years. U 77 r Ili Concentration? Study Abroad? Plan B? Internships? HELP! 'e can do that. Come to LS&A's ''m.11' If' %.umuRFIi u~I Peace Corps Join our team! WHEN YOU THINK "SERVICE" THINK "KOLOSSOS". Al olssosy our buines cis imlrtn i to us.so we'll work hard to make sure its done right. Think of us when yu need disserationis, black aidl white or color copies, offset printing, color laserprinung, binding. over-size ink jet priing. iiivl signs anid barmiers, Snnhnmnre I