6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 12, 2001
Defense gets C-plus in win over Kiondaika
With 14 points and five rebounds, center Jennifer Smith dominates the paint for 'M'
By Jim Weber
Daily Sports Writer
After-the only exhibition for the Michigan
women's basketball team, a 89-75 win over RTU
Klondaika, players and coaches critiqued their per-
formance: C-plus.
The 17th-ranked Wolverines now have only four
more days to find their "A" game before they go on
the road to play No. 6 Louisiana Tech in the season
opener Friday.
Guevara was happy with the 48-31 halftime lead.
It was the second half that disappointed her.
Klondaika opened the second half with a 10-5 run
and eventually closed to within nine with 11:24 left
in the game.
The Latvians couldn't cut into the deficit any
further because of Michigan's presence in the paint.
The weaker Latvian players were out-rebounded
45-35 and were unable to contain center Jennifer
Smith, who scored 10 of her 14 points in the sec-
ond half. Smith also hurt Klondaika on the glass,
grabbing five rebounds, four on the offensive end.
Louisiana Tech "is going to be a lot different for
me because the post players are a lot bigger and a
lot stronger," Smith said. "But it did prepare (us)
defensively, (playing) weak side and help side.
Defensively it probably helped more than offen-
sively."
The Latvians helped show Michigan how much
they need to improve its defense for Louisiana
Tech. Klondaika shot 52.5 percent from the field
for the game and 56.3 percent in the second half.
"We didn't do a bad job (defensively) in the first
half. In the second half, it was a complete melt-
down," Guevara said.
This week's practices will feature the "shell
drill," designed to stop penetration through the
defense. "They are going to love the shell drill
come Monday through Thursday," Guevara said.
The exhibition was a showcase for two highly
anticipated events. Senior Alayne Ingram played
point guard after three years as the shooting guard,
and freshman Tabitha Pool debut in maize and
blue.
Ingram played a team-high 34 minutes and
scored a team-high 24 points, half on three-point-
ers. But Smith was especially happy with Ingtam's
four assists.
"She had some sweet passes. She sees you wher-
ever and whenever," Smith said.
Her coach was impressed by how easy Ingram
made the transition to point guard.
"I thought she did a very nice job of running the
team," Guevara said. "I didn't think there was any
question as to who the leader was out on that floor.
And that's the kind of thing we need from Alayne."
As part of this leadership role, Ingram directed
highly touted freshman Tabitha Pool on the floor as
she has done in practice to get Pool situated with
the Wolverines' system.
"I just keep talking to Tab, making suie she
knows where to be at. She gets a little mad at me
when I yell at her but I say, 'I just want you to do it
right because in the heat of the battle it is going to
be a lot worse,' " Ingram said.
Pool entered the game midway through the first
half and played well. She recorded nine points, four
boards and a block on a 6-foot-6 Latvian player to
put aside any doubts about her knee after tearing
her anterior cruciate ligament last season.
"I was pleased with the way she came off the
bench. You never know how kids are going to
respond," Guevara said. "She is Miss Michigan
basketball and all of a sudden she is coming off the
bench and she is not the go-to (player). I thought
she blended in very well. I thought she was aggres-
sive."
Freshman Tabitha Pool scored nine points In her Michigan debut Friday night.
Led by big three, 'M'
ends fall on the rise
By Melanie Kebler
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - If the Michi-
gan men's tennis team was looking
to end the fall season on a good
note, it certainly wasn't disappoint-
ed this weekend at the Big Ten Sin-
gle's Championships in East-
Lansing. Not only did senior Henry
Beam and freshman Matt Lockin
put up strong individual perform-
ances, but the team also exhibited
depth and talent.
"Coach Mark Mees and I were
very pleased with the overall results
this weekend," Michigan assistant
coach Dan Goldberg said. "This
tournament gives players that dur-
ing the season may be playing in the
lower part of a lineup an opportuni-
ty to match up against No. I and
No. 2 players from other teams."
The Wolverines opened up first
round play Saturday morning with
three of six players advancing. In
the first round of the double elimi-
nation tournament, Greg Novak,
Chris Shaya and Ben Cox all bowed
out. Cox, the No. I1 seed, was upset
by Northwestern's Ryan Edlefsen,
and later withdrew from the back
draw because of nagging arm prob-
lems.
But two of his teammates defeat-
ed top-notch players at the tourna-
ment. Anthony Jackson knocked off
No. 8 Adrian Bohane of Ohio State
and Matt Lockin defeated No. 4
Jackie Jenkins to start the day. No.
3 Beam also advanced, easily han-
dling Iowa's Matis Jasicek, 6-3, 6-2.
In the second round, Jackson fell
to Thomas Hanus of Northwestern,
6-2, 7-5.
"He played a better match, he had
the right game plan and I don't
know if I was aggressive enough,"
Jackson said.
Beam faced Michigan State's
Jimmy McGuire and battled through
a tough first set before cruising to a
win, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Lockin also was
victorious in the second round,
defeating Purdue's Lait Al-Agba, 6-
4, 6-4.
Yesterday, Beam and Lockin con-
tinued to advance. Beam defeated
Josh Axler of Northwestern in the
morn ing, then faced Minnesota
freshman Avery Ticer in the quarter-
finals later that day. After dropping
the first set 4-6, Beam tried to
regain control of his service game
but ended up bowing out, losing the
second set 4-6.
"I just had a lot of problems put-
ting my serve in the court today,"
Beam said. "The other guy was a
pretty good player and he took
advantage of that. I thought I had a
real good chance to win it, but I
didn't put myself in that position
and I didn't play well enough
today."
Lockin put away his first match
of the day against Minnesota's
Manuel Lievano, battling back from
a one set deficit early in the match
to advance to the quarterfinals.
Lockin lost the first set against
Jamal Parker of Illinois in a tie
breaker, but seemed to regain con-
trol in the second, taking a 4-1 lead
and going on to win the set 7-5. The
final set was hard fought and the
score remained close throughout.
The match ended in a heartbreaking
loss for Lockin when Parker won
the final tiebreaker point on a let
serve.
Despite this bittersweet end to the
tournament, the team still show-
cased a considerable amount of
depth and skill against the Big Ten's
top singles players.
"We had two players in the quar-
terfinals which is obviously a really
good effort," Goldberg said. "Matt
had a number of good wins here.
The (three) Victors
No. 3 seed senior Henry Beam (3-1): def.
Matis Jasic (Iowa), def. Jimmy McGuire
(Michigan State), def. Josh Axler (North-
western), lost to Avery Ticer (Minnesota)
Freshman Matt Lockin (3-1): def. No. 4
seed Jackie Jenkins (Northwestern), def.
Laith AI-Agba (Purdue), def. Manuel
Lievano (Minnesota), lost to Jamal Parker
(Illinois)
Sophomore Anthony Jackson (2-2): def.
No. 8 seed Adrian Bohane (Ohio State),
lost to Thomas Hanus (Northwestern),
def. Justin Baker (Wisconsin), lost to
Jamie Sahara (Northwestern)
Anthony beat the No. 8 seed in the
first round, which was a confidence
booster. I think we can take a lot of
positives out of this event."
The Wolverines hope to use their
impressive showing at this final fall
tournament as a momentum builder
as they look toward the spring sea-
son, which starts in January.
"We'll still be conditioning, doing
individual work outs and players
will be hitting on their own," Gold-
berg said. "This is really a very crit-
ical time because I think we want to
sustain the momentum that we had
at this event and also at the Rolex
Regionals. We want to sustain that
momentum through the remainder
of the fall and right through exams
so that in January in the team
matches everyone feels like they are
at the top of their games."
In January, the team will face a
tough Big Ten conference schedule.
Minnesota and Illinois - whose
players were responsible for knock-
ing out Beam and Lockin -
showed incredible depth this week-
end. Minnesota sent five of six
players into the quarterfinals yester-
day and is sure to be a favored con-
tender for the Big Ten title in the
spring. Ohio State and Northwest-
ern should also be strong this year.
But Beam doesn't think Michigan
should be counted out just yet. The
senior was impressed with his own
team's results this weekend and is
of the opinion that Michigan has a
chance to contend for the title.
"Everyone on our team had pretty
good results," Beam said. "We'll be
good this year."
Food for Thought
Iraq Embargo
A recent study showed
that people living in
northern Iraq, out of
the control of Sadam
Hussein, have plenty
of dairy products for
children.
Gary Lillie & Assoc., Realtors
www.garylillie.com
By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - Usually facing
a seeded player in the first two rounds
of a tournament more than once is a
bad omen.
Unless your name is Matt Lockin.
For the freshman, beating top-ranked
players in the early rounds has become
as consistent as his serve return.
After beating the No. 5 seed at the
ITA Midwest Regional two weeks ago,
Lockin returned to competition Satur-
day at the Big Ten Singles Champi-
onships with a win over No. 4 Jackie
Jenkins (6-2, 7-5).
"Lockin's going to be a good player
for us," Michigan men's tennis coach
Mark Mees said. "He's a good competi-
tor, he works hard and he's got a lot of
talent so we expect some good things
out of him."
Though the upset on Saturday cou-
pled with his second-round victory
over Purdue's Laith Al-Agba (6-4, 6-4)
were impressive, they were nothing in
comparison to his two matches yester-
day, including a thrilling quarterfinal
loss.
In his quarterfinal match against
Manuel Lievano from Minnesota,
Lockin dropped a tough first set 3-6
before taking the next two 6-3, 6-1.
Early in the second set, a rally of shots
led to what would be a change in
momentum.
Lievano hit a winner into the net that
dribbled over the tape to make a Lockin
return-impossible. Instead of getting
down as a result of the point, Lockin
got fired up with his opponent's loud
celebration over the cheaply won point.
Lockin then began a comeback that
Lievano could only sit back and watch.
"There was a turning point in the
second set where I got in (Lievano's)
head a little bit," Lockin said. "Also, he
didn't really bring it all together in the
third. He started spraying balls and
wasn't into the match like I was.
"I turned it up and he shut down
mentally."
That mental toughness shown
against Lievano was what drew Mees
into making Lockin a Wolverine.
"The first time I ever saw (Lockin)
play was in South Carolina," Mees
said. "It was hotter than sin down there
and he's out there grinding away in a
three hour match when his team had
already won the meet.
"At that point, I knew he was a pretty
good competitor and that he's not going
to be phased by losing a first set.
Someone is going to have to put in a
full match to beat him."
In Lockin's semifinal match, Illinois'
Jamal Parker gave him all he could
handle in what would be one of the
closest matches of the tournament.
The first set appeared to belong to
Parker early on as he, with his over-
powering first serve, had a 5-2 lead
after the first seven games. As Parker's
serve began to falter, Lockin took
advantage with key returns to break
Parker's serve to make the match 5-4.
The two competitors each held serve
to reach a tiebreaker at 6-6.
But Parker's serve proved to be too
much to handle for the freshman as the
first three points were won by Parker
leading to his 7-2 win the first set.
There's no trouble Lockin it up
The second set was just as close with
both not giving an inch on their serve.
Lockin eventually broke serve and took
the second set 7-5 to earn third set
which was as dramatic as the first two.
Neither lost a serve in the third set
leading up to the second tie-breaker of
the night. Lockin this time broke one of
Parker's serves in the tie-break to give
himself a 3-2 lead. Parker then took
the final four points, including the final
point reminiscent of the one Lievano
had hit earlier in the day.
Lockin had a change early on in the
set to get a break to eventually win the
match, but couldn't convert the oppor-
tunity.
"There was a chance in the begin-
ning of the third set when I was up 40-
15 with two points to break him which
probably would have been the match
and the set," Lockin said. "It came
down to me not coming in enough. I
didn't serve and volley like (Parker) did
(in those two break points). Just the
way it happened in the tiebreaker."
Though he lost, Lockin ended his
fall season with a 6-2 record in his final
eight matches. Even as just a freshman
proved he is going to be ready to be
one of Michigan's top singles players in
the spring after he takes care of a few
mechanics in his net game.
"I don't come in enough off my first
serve," said Lockin. "I try to take too
many short balls and hit groundstrokes
with them. I need to focus on serving
and volleying more.
"But I feel that with the field we
have now I have a very good chance of
doing well" next time in Big Ten tour-
nament play.
6
6
4
I
Headaches?
Michigan Head*Pain & Neurological
Institute is conducting a research
study evaluating an investigational
medication as a potential treatment
for migraine. Participants must be
18 or older and experience at least
2 headaches per month. Study-
related medical care and
compensation for time and travel will be provided. Please call
our Research staff for more information.
Michigan Head*Pain & Neurological Institute
Joe/R. Saper MD, FACP FAAN, Director
3120 Professional Drive
Ann Arbor, Ml 48104
(734) 677-6000, ext. 4
www.MHNI.com
WEBB
Continued from Page1B
has adjusted to this distance, and
cross country better than anyone
had anticipated.
The individual winner of Satur-
day's race was Boaz Cheboiywo, a
23-year-old Kenya-native who
recently transferred to Eastern
Michigan. Cheboiywo dominated
the race, taking the lead from the "
start and immediately pulling away
from his closest pursuers. Cheboiy-
wo, who is favored to win the
national meet, ran a time of 29:52
- 45 seconds faster than Webb.
"I would be shocked if that man
did not win the national meet,"
Warhurst said.
Although Warhurst did not expect
Webb to beat Cheboiywo, Webb
hadn't ruled out the possibility.
"I wanted to see what (Cheboiy-
wo) was doing," Webb said. "I'm a
little disappointed. I wanted to win,
but at the same time, it's just a pre-
lim. Now I know what I have to
do."
Alan Webb is a "killer competi-
tor," said Warhurst. "But he's
human. Boaz was just better today.
When you're as good as Webb,
you've got to run against these
guys, and you don't always win."
Michigan also placed four other
runners in the top 30.
Senior Mike Wisniewski covered
the course in 30:56, finishing sev-
enth overall.
"Mike ran great today," Warhurst
said. "He was only two places off of
his finish at Big Tens, and this is a
bigger, tougher field."
The regional meet marked Wis-
niewski's third consecutive top five
finish.
ALYSSA WOOD/Daily
With 82 points, No. 11 Michigan finished behind only No. 5 Notre dame this
weekend to automatically qualify for the NCAAs next weekend.
a
"I think I ran better than I've
been doing in the past," Wisniewski
said. "And I can do better than I did
today. There's always room for
improvement."
Fellow senior Mark Pilja also
improved on his Big Ten meet per-
formance, finishing 16th overall
with a time of 31:19.
The fourth and fifth runners for
the Wolverines were Tom Greenless
and Nathan Brannen, who finished
together earning 29th and 30th
place, respectively.
Greenless, who finished in 55th
place at last year's regional meet,
ran himself into the right group of
runners immediately and shaved 40
seconds off his time from last year.
"Greenless ran tremendous,"
Warhurst said. "He is coming along
hcw we hoped he would."
Although only one place behind
Greenless, Brannen ran a much dif-
ferent race than his teammate. The
freshman ran conservatively in his
first collegiate regional meet, start-
ing further back, and steadily mov-
ing through the pack.
Helping Brannen out in the early
stages of the race for the Wolver-
ines was redshirt freshman Brian
Turner who finished 44th overall in
what Warhurst called "his best cross
country race ever."
Even with the unexpected suc-
cess at the regional meet, coach
Warhurst maintains that the meet is
"just a qualifier, not a final. The
point is the team gets to go (to
nationals)," Warhurst said. "The key
in cross- country is the team. This
is fun - this is group therapy."
The team will undoubtedly take
away more than just a qualifier for
nationals.
"We have a lot more confidence
than we did a week ago," Warhurst
said, "and that will be key at nation-
als."
SPINK
Continued from Page 1B
Ininr Tanne Snink ran a sreat race finishing iust
we're a team that is going to go to nationals. So this is a
disappointment." '
The key, McGuire said, for next year is "getting redshirt
kids into the line-up."
~ :
Ai