2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 1, 2002 CLUBSPORTSWEEKLY - Edited by Kareem Copeliand and Jim Weber Golfers pioneer chances for women in athletics Two-step ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Who: Bobby Korecky Hometown: Saline Sport: Baseball Year: Senior By Josh Holman Daily Sports Writer They don't look like your average club team at the University of Michi- gan. The University Women's Golf Club (UWGC) isn't composed of the typical student athletes. In fact, there aren't any students at all - although membership is open to them. This club is composed of a mix of staff, faculty, alumni and their spouses. It's composed of-women like Ruth Spangenberg, 80, who has been a mem- ber since the club's founding in 1960. She is still an active golfer and she walks 18 holes almost every week in the club's seven month season. Spangenberg is just one of the many women who make it out to the Michi- gan Golf Course for an 8:30 a.m. tee time each Tuesday, and most of them have been doing it for quite a while. The UWGC can trace its roots back to Barbara Rotvig, a former member of the physical education department. She initiated the first meetings that created UWGC. Initially, it was just an attempt to introduce more women to the sports at a time when women's sports still lacked much of the respect they deserved. "This group was ahead of its time in pioneering the opportunity just for women to play golf," University Golf Course manager Charlie Green said. Sure, they may be pioneers, but the stereotypes are bound to exist. A group of aging women who get together once a week to golf? Some may say that it's probably just an excuse to drink coffee and gossip. Granted, the nine-hole group will often come in from the course to a cup of coffee followed by the 18-hole group, which will usually conclude their round with lunch together. But don't think these women can't golf. UWGC has everything from handi- cap chairs for both the nine-hole and 18-hole group (Pat Hatch and Spangen- berger, respectively) to rules chairper- son Jeannine Galetti. "It's usually a matter of just keeping up with the rules that (the USGA) puts out each year," Galetti said. "None of them seem to make sense, sometimes." There is no doubt that each tourna- ment is competitive, but it's not The Masters either. The weekly winner at each tournament receives a golf ball, and there is a limit to how many you can win. Most of the time they are playing for pride. Many of the women are just happy to have the chance to play on the University Golf Course, whose man- agers have supported the UWGC since it's founding. "When they were doing the renova- tions on this course, our group was asked to give suggestions," vice presi- dent Connie Corwin said. "They still screwed it up," Galetti said of the course. "Most of the time I find it much too difficult." The club is aiming to include more students in its membership, which includes around 50 playing members and 100 contributing members. Tee times begin at 8:30 a.m. every Tuesday morning from April through October. What: The righthanded pitcher allowed no runs in a complete game shutout of Iowa on Saturday. He struck out three hitters and walked i t'' none in route to the 3-0 victory. He made quick work of the Hawkeyes, ?. giving up just two hits during a game that took just an hour and 13 min- utes to complete. The win improved Michigan's ace to 2-2 on the sea- son. He has a 5.89 ERA this year. Korecky SPoRT BRIEFS 0 S 0 Herd hoping plane pieces bring good luck HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - Two Marshall football fans and coach Bob Pruett want to use pieces of a crashed airplane that 32 years ago decimated the university's football program as a good luck charm. The two fans, Millard Robertson of Huntington and Ric Griffith, city coun- cil president of nearby Kenova, W. Va. have saved four pieces of the plane that went down in Huntington on Nov. 14, 1970, killing 75 Marshall football play- ers, coaches and supporters. Now they want to encase the fuse- lage pieces in glass and have them used in a ritual ceremony at Marshall home games. Griffith told WOWK-TV he wants to establish a tradition where Marshall players touch the plane pieces as they enter the field. He cited similar stadium traditions where Notre Dame players touch a "Play Like a Champion Today" sign and Clemson players touch Howard's Rock. Pruett likes the idea. "I don't think there would be another event in all of college sports that would have the emotion or meaning that this tradition could have," he said. "I think it's another step toward closure and another step toward honoring those great players." Robertson found the plane pieces three days after the accident on a hill- side near the crash site. He saved them for 12 years, then gave them to his friend, Griffith, who has kept them safe since. "I remember it like it was last night," Robertson said. "I never thought it would go this far, but I'm glad it did." Kent hits disabled list with broken wrist AP PHOTO The Indians' Ricky Gutierrez completes a double play after forcing the Angels' Garrett Anderson at second. Cleveland beat Anaheim, 6.0, to open the 2002 baseball season. Bas lbegins anew aTribe tops Angels SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco Giants have decided to open the season with second baseman Jeff Kent on the disabled list with a broken left wrist. Kent has been playing in Arizona with the Giants' Triple-A team. On Sat- urday, he went 3-for-7 with a double, and played nine innings defensively. Kent is eligible to be activated April 6. The Giants open their season tomor- row against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kent, a former National League MVP, told reporters he injured his wrist while washing his truck. But later reports said he may have had an acci- dent while riding his motorcycle near the Giants' spring home, Scottsdale Stadium. Kent played in just two exhibition games this season. Looking on the bright side, Giants manager Dusty Baker said at least the injury didn't happen late in season's final stretch, when Kent's health will be essential. "If you're going to lose them, you might as well lose them early," Baker said. 'M' Norn Young 'M' hurdlers star in North Carolina Track followers throughout the coun- try have seen freshmen Nathan Brannen and Alan Webb excel, but have not seen Michigan's young, outstanding hurdlers. Though hurdling is not included in the indoor season, hurdlers train throughout the indoor season, waiting for their chance to compete in the out- door season. The Wolverines traveled to North Carolina State for the Raleigh Relays this past weekend. The hurdlers had waited long enough, taking advantage of their chance to shine this weekend. As the saying goes, "good things are worth waiting for," and those good things were performances by young hurdlers - freshman DarNell Talbert and sophomore Andrew Ochs. Talbert placed 16th in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.20. His time was the highest individual finish in all the track events at the meet. Sophomore 400-meter hurdler Andrew Ochs earned a time of 53.37, placing 19th. Ochs thinks even though track is mostly an individual running sport, he finds his motivation to keep pushing from his teammates. This year, Ochs finds that his team- mates are his largest motivation when the season seems long after endless practices and training. "My teammates are always pushing me mentally and physically to do better," Ochs said. "Our 400-meter hurdler cap- tain, Derrick Applewhite is always push- ing us, motivating us never to slow down."1 With a strong team aspect in mind for the outdoor season, Ochs, Talbert and the rest of the Wolverines hope to build on their strong performances from last weekend. The Wolverines took it easy this past week in the non- scoring Raleigh meet. They will return to North Carolina this weekend to compete in the 15th annual Duke Invitational at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N C. - Jacob Leonhardt Rowers' win streak ends against Duke The Michigan's second varsity eight experienced something new this week - struggles. The boat entered this season with a 11-race winning streak and a NCAA Championship from 2001. But in Satur- day's Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Wolverines caught a crab early on, but they fought back to finish with a signif- icant lead over Duke. The boat would- n't, however, fare as well in the afternoon against Virginia. The winds were picking up in the afternoon at Belleville Lake, and Michigan began to take on water early in the race against Virginia. After 250 meters, the judges stopped the event to allow the Michigan rowers to return to the boathouse safely. Severe wind conditions caused all of the teams to use a "floating start," sometimes starting as far as 100 to 300 meters down the 1,940-meter course. Overall, the Wolverines won five of the six varsity races in front of 300 fans in Van Buren Park. Michigan's only loss came against Virginia's first varsity eight in the clos- est event of the day. Despite running into some rough water at the begin- ning of the race, the Wolverines fought hard, trailing the Cavaliers by a boatlength for most of the race. Michigan finished with a great sprint to post a time of 7:18, but Virginia edged it out by less than a seat with a time of 7:17.3 In the morning session, the Wolver- ines swept the Blue Devils, winning all three varsity races handily. ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The new-look Cleveland Indians opened the 2002 major league baseball season with the pitching they've been looking for. Bartolo Colon pitched a five-hitter to become the first Cleveland pitcher in 34 years to throw an Opening-Day shutout, and the Indians scored four first-inning runs in a 6-0 victory over the Anaheim Angels last night. "We were aggressive and we played the kind of baseball I hope that we can play all year long," said Cleveland's Travis Fryman, who hit the first home run of the season. Navy SEAL members parachuted in to deliver the ball used for the ceremo- nial first pitch and President Bush delivered a videotaped message to the sellout crowd of 42,697. A day ahead of other major league teams, Cleveland and Anaheim took the field to show off their new uni- forms and the season began at 8:18 p.m. ET - 13 minutes late because of the ceremony. Colon was among the many major leaguers who aged dramatically during the offseason, when new rules forced them to supply passports. At first he said he was 26, then said he was 27 and later admitted he was 28. After throwing just two complete games in 30 starts last year, Colon allowed four singles and a double, struck out five and walked two. He needed just 99 pitches to throw the fifth shutout of his career. "That's the way I imagined him pitching," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said. "He threw all his pitches, mixed in some breaking balls, threw his fastballs on both sides of the plate, was aggressive." It was the first Opening-Day shutout in the major leagues since Dwight Gooden led the New York Mets over Colorado in 1993 with a four-hitter. It was Cleveland's first shutout in an opener since Sonny Siebert's two-hit, 9-0 win over the Chicago White Sox in 1968. The Angels were blanked on Open- ing Day for the second time in their 42-year history. The other was when Mel Stottlemyre beat them 1-0 at Yan- kee Stadium, also in 1968. Milton Bradley hit a two-run single in the first off Jarrod Washburn and Fryman, who slumped to just three homer last year after hitting 22 the previous season, had a solo shot in the third. "They've been so few and far between the last year or so, it felt pret- ty good," Fryman said. "Last year I had a very difficult year and didn't swing the bat well at any point." The Indians have won six of the last seven AL Central titles but are without a World Series title since 1948, and jettisoned much of their hard-hitting offense - including Roberto Alomar, Juan Gonzalez and Kenny Lofton - in favor of pitching and a lower pay- roll. Despite the departures, the Indians had plenty of offense in the opener, which took just 2 hours, 23 minutes. Baseball is trying to speed along games this year, and Colon made it look easy in the early opener. Ten other games are scheduled for Monday, the first full day of action in the 26-week regular season. Anaheim, too, is a changed team, having traded slugger Mo Vaughn and signed pitcher Aaron Sele in an effort to win the World Series for the first time. Washburn got in trouble immediate- ly, walking leadoff man Matt Lawton. The Indians followed with four con- secutive singles - by Omar Vizquel, Ellis Burks, Jim Thome and Fryman. Cleveland's first run scored when Vizquel singled and right fielder Tim Salmon threw wildly, allowing Lawton to come around from first. 'M' CHEDULE Wednesday, April 3 Baseball vs. Detroit, 3 p.m. Softball vs. Bowling Green, 3 p.m. M Tennis vs. Michigan State, 6 p.m. Thursday. April 4 Ice Hockey vs. Minnesota at Frozen Four (St. Paul, Minn.), 7:30 p.m. M Gymnastics at NCAA National Qualifier (Norman, Okla.), 2 p.m. Friday. April 5 Baseball at Minnesota, 7:35 p.m. Softball at Indiana, 4 p.m. M Gymnastics at NCAA Team and All-Around Finals (Norman, Okla.), 8p.m. W Tennis vs. Miami (Fla.), 1:30 p.m. M Golf at Marshall Invitational M Track/Field at Duke Invitational Saturday. April 6 Ice Hockey in Frozen Four (St. Paul, Minn.), 7 p.m. Baseball at Minnesota (DH), 5:05 p.m. Softball at Indiana, 4 p.m. W Gymnastics at NCAA Regional (State College), 6 p.m. Water Polo vs. Mercyhurst in Southern Division Tournament (Bloomington), 9 a.m. Water Polo vs. Gannon in Southern Division Tournament (Bloomington), 2 p.m. Water Polo at Indiana in Southern Division Tournament (Bloomington), 7 p.m. M Gymnastics at NCAA Individual Finals (Norman, Okla.), 8 p.m. W ,Tennis vs. Ohio State, 11 a.m. M Tennis at Penn State, noon M Golf at Marshall Invitational W Golf at Indiana Invitational W Rowing at Michigan State M Track/Field at Duke Invitational Sunday, March 31 Baseball at Minnesota, 2:05 p.m. M Tennis at Ohio State, Noon W Tennis vs Penn State, 11 a.m. Water Polo vs. Grove City in Southern Division Tournament (Bloomington), Noon, W Golf at Indiana Invitational DAILYSCXRE 0AIRD 0 9 Agassi wins 700th match, Nasdaq Open -from staff reports NBA STANDINGS NHL STANDINGS KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) - As a flashy, shaggy-haired teenager, Andre Agassi became the youngest men's champion at Key Biscayne. Twelve years later, bald and busi- nesslike, he's still the tournament's best player. Agassi won the event for a record fifth time yesterday, beating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open. The 31-year-old Agassi also was the champion in 1990, 1995, 1996 and 2001. The only other player to win five titles was his wife, Steffi Graf. "I've just always loved coming here and playing here over the years," Agassi said. "I've had some disap- pointing weeks here, but there have been about five special ones I'll never forget. I love it here. I definite- ly look forward to coming back next year." Agassi also earned his 700th career victory, a milestone achieved broke again on championship point when Federer netted a forehand. For two sets the 20-year-old Feder- er looked as if he were playing in his first Tennis Masters Series final, which he was. He hadn't lost a set or his serve coming into the match, but those streaks didn't last long. After falling behind 2-0, Agassi broke Federer three times in the first set, repeatedly ripping returns that had the Swiss youngster on his heels - if he reached them at all. One forehand by Federer landed in the sixth row. Federer, best known for ending Pete Sampras' 31-match Wimbledon winning streak last year, rarely reached the net and struggled early with an erratic serve and backhand. But he settled down in the third set, losing only three points on his serve. When he took a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, it looked as though the match might become a test of stami- na on the sweltering hardcourt. EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L New Jersey 47 27 Boston 42 32 Orlando 40 33 Philadelphia 38 34 Washington 34 39 Miami 32 40 New York 27 45 Central Division W L Detroit 43 29 Charlotte 38 34 Milwaukee 38 34 Indiana 36 36 Toronto 34 38 Atlanta 29 44 Cleveland 25 48 Chicago 17 56 WESTERN CONFERENCE Midwest Division W L Dallas 51 22 San Antonio 49 23 Minnesota 45 28 Utah 41 32 Houston 26 46 Denver 22 49 Memphis 19 53 Pacific Division W L Sacramento 53 19 L.A. Lakers 51 21 Portland 44 29 Seattle 43 31 LA. Clippers 37 37 Phoenix 34 39 Golden State 18 55 Yesterday's games BOsToN 110, MILWAUKEE 80 SACRAMENTO 92, ATLANTA 91 Indiana 100, Miami 81 Pct .635 .568 .548 .528 .466 .444 .375 Pct .597 .528 .528 .500 .472 .397 .342 .233 Pct .699 .681 .616 .562 .361 .310 .264 Pct .736 .708 .603 .581 .500 .466 .247 GB 5 6.5 8 12.5 14 19 GB 5 5 7 9 14.5 18.5 26.5 GB 1.5 6 10 24.5 28 31.5 GB 2 9.5 11 17 19.5 35.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Philadelphia 40 22 N.Y.Islanders 36 27 New Jersey 35 27 N.Y. Rangers 32 36 Pittsburgh 28 34 Northeast Division W Boston 41 Toronto 38 Ottawa 37 Montreal 31 Buffalo 31 Southeast Division W Carolina' 32 Washington 33 Tampa Bay 25 Florida 21 Atlanta 19 L 22 24 24 29 34 L 24 32 35 42 44 Pts GF GA 92 220,172 83 215 206 83 184 173 72 205 237 68 184 217 Pts GF GA 94 216 181 89 219 190 89 229 193 7 188 195 72 193 187 Pts GF GA 83 200 203 77 211 228 64 158.191 54 163 229 50 173 263 Pts GF GA 112 235 161 91 204 188 86 200 169 65 180 207 53 151 232 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division W L Detroit 51 14 Chicago 39 23 St. Louis 37 25 Nashville 26 36 Columbus 20 42 Northwest Division W Colorado 41 Edmonton 35 Vancouver 37 Calgary 29 Minnesota 25 L 26 26 30 31 32 L 25 24 25 26 Pts 90 85 83 73 68 Pts 89 87 86 81 GF GA 190 158 193 171 230 196 185 201. 177 211 GF GA 224 182 201 188 196 175 198 195 Pacific Division San Jose Phoenix Los Angeles Dallas w 39 36 36 33 I 3 11 4 Ahi