Friday
September 20, 2002
michigandaily.com
sportsdesk@umich.edu
SPORTS
9A
Sisters clash at
Cliff Keen in
Blue victory
By Rob Dean
For the Daily
Nicole Poquette jogged onto the court after a
timeout, ready to serve for the Michigan volley-
ball team. This would
have been a routine - TOLEDO
action for the junior from
Grand Haven. But as she MICHIGAN 3
got ready to send the ball
sailing to the Toledo team, she noticed something
that piqued her interest.
Poquette smiled, because standing across the net
from her was her younger sister, Chelsey. This would
be the first time in their careers that the two had ever
played on different sides of the court.
"It was such a good feeling seeing her over there,"
remembers Poquette. "I'm sure she was nervous."
Chelsey saw limited action for the Rockets while
Nicole starred in a 3-0 victory for the Wolverines.
Michigan (6-3) handed Toledo (7-3) its third loss
of the season, dominating the Rockets for most of the
match. While Michigan led throughout, Toledo made
several runs.
"We knew that they were going to play really hard
because they had nothing to lose," said Michigan
associate head coach Leisa Rosen.
But after narrowly losing to two top teams last
weekend, the Wolverines came out strong by overpow-
ering the Rockets at the net.
DANN'Y MOLOH"UOuaiy
Michigan captain Erin Moore delivers a punishing blow earlier this season. The junior had six kills in
Michigan's 3-0 win over Toledo last night.
"They seemed very focused," said Michigan head
coach Mark Rosen.
The team jumped out to an 11-point lead behind the
stellar defense of Poquette, captain Erin Moore and
junior Chanteel Reedus. Katrina Lehman had similar
success serving the ball, posting four aces in game
one en route to a 30-17 win.
Michigan didn't have to play much offense in the
second game, jumping out to an early lead off several
Rocket errors. Toledo did make a strong run to count-
er Michigan's defense at the net - getting as close as
two points - but Rosen opted to keep his players on
the court rather than call a timeout.
"I really wanted to call a timeout to break their
rhythm, but it was early in the match and you only get
two timeouts," Rosen said.
The team rallied on the court behind the leadership
of Lehman and Moore to win the second game 30-25.
To finish the match, Rosen mixed some of the
younger Wolverines with their veteran teammates. In
the end, it was freshman Shaynell Neal with the win-
ning kill to put away the Rockets 30-21.
One incidental moment in the sibling showdown
seemed to sum up Michigan's triumph for the evening.
As Poquette sent a spike flying toward her younger
sister, the ball sailed just past Chelsey's extended
reach. For the night, the Wolverines were simply
beyond the Toledo's grasp. .
Football Saturday
No. 14 Michigan m
Utah
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Michigan (2-1) has a sour taste in its mouth after a
heart-breaking, 25-23 loss to Notre Dame last week.
But so does Utah (2-1), which enters the Big. House
for the teams' first-ever meeting still livid over a con-
troversial ending to its loss to Arizona last weekend.
Inside this edition of Football Saturday, you will find:
Risin' in the West - Who are the Utes? Find out
how coach Ron McBride handles dining with Rick
Majerus as well as helping Utah rise out of obscurity.
The Captains - Take an in-depth look into this
year's Michigan captains. Tight end Bennie Joppru
and Victor Hobson use dramatically different person-
alities to motivate teammates throughout this upcom-
ing season.
As always, Football Saturday contains matchups, a
preview of the game as well as other college football
action around the country.
Powers leads new offense for 'M' stickers
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
It did not come as a surprise that
Michigan field hockey forward Molly
Powers was named Big Ten offensive
player of the week. After
all, she did score three
goals last weekend - two OCKE
against No. 14 Boston Who:No.3r
College, including the vs.emple
game-tying mark. The eastern (5-0
next day, she scored the when: 10 a.r
overtime game-winner 2 p.m.Sund
against Connecticut. Latest: The Vr
What may come as a their final nor
surprise is that this is the weekend bet
first time Powers has comesto tom
received the award in her
four years at Michigan.
The senior has been an integral part
of the third-ranked Wolverines' early-
season offensive explosion. Powers'
three-goal performance last weekend
gives her five for the season - tied
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for second on the team - and she
hopes to keep the offense rolling as
Michigan (5-1) hosts Temple (1-4)
tomorrow and Northeastern (5-0) on
Sunday at Ocker Field..
"It's surprising (that Powers never
received this honor)
because she's very talent-
FIELD ed,' Michigan coach Mar-
higan (5-1) cia Pankratz said. "She
North- comes up with big goals in
big games - like the one
tomorrow, against Connecticut - so
finally, it's nice to see."
verinesface According to Powers,
nference there isn't a real reason
Ohio State why she found herself in
next week. crucial situations last
weekend. When she did,
she made the most of her opportunities.
"I think it was a coincidence," Powers
said. "We all try to fill those shoes when
the game is on the line and be the kind
of player who can step up."
Powers is already close to eclipsing
her goal total from last year (eight) in
just six games. In fact, the entire team is
ahead of its production at this point last
season. Through six games last season,
the Wolverines had scored eight goals.
This season, the number is 20.
Powers indicated that Pankratz has
implemented a new offense this season,
and it has made an immediate impact.
"The system that we're running is
very attacking," Powers said. "So far it
seems to be working for us, and hope-
fully it'll continue to work."
Although Powers and her fellow
Wolverines are averaging 3.3 goals per
game;just four players have put the ball
in the net this season - Powers, seniors
Jessica Rose and Stephanie Johnson,
and junior April Fronzoni. But the play-
ers who are scoring are doing so in
impressive fashion.
"We have some players that are really
growing," said Pankratz, who won her
100th career game last weekend. "A lot
of our upperclassmen are forwards, and
they're very fast. Their skills are starting
to catch up to their speed, and they're
incredibly dangerous. It's an exciting
brand of hockey."
Pankratz hopes the excitement will
continue this weekend, especially
against No. 12 Northeastern. The
Huskies' netminder Emily Roy has
allowed just two goals all season, both
against Massachusetts on Sept. 2. North-
eastern will also take on Central Michi-
gan tonight at Ocker Field as a tune up
for tomorrow's game. Pankratz hopes
the extra day of practice will be to the
Wolverines' advantage.
"We've been able to work on some
things (in the past few weeks) and to
grow," Pankratz said. "We've been able
to expand on our attack and make it
really complicated. We're hoping to
build some momentum heading into the
Big Ten."
Like Jordan, all eyes on Turpin
By Gennaro FlIee
Daily Sports Writer
With supreme ball-handling skills, lightning speed, a
cannon foot and an afro that would make Dr J. nervous,
sophomore forward Mychal Turpin is hard to miss on the
soccer field. So far this season, Michigan has been riding
Turpin's back en route to a 2-2-1 record. During last week-
end's Brown Invitational, Turpin scored two
goals in two games giving him the single-sea-
son record for goals scored (six) - and the ELBEL AND V
Wolverines aren't even out of the nonconfer- Who: Michig
ence season. But Michigan coach Steve Burns Oakland Univ
doesn't see Turpin's dynamic play in a com- and Penn Ste
pletely positive light. As Burns simply states, When: 6 p.m
Turpin is so good, it's bad. Sunday
"I call it 'Michael Jordan syndrome'," Latest: Forw
Burns said. "When Jordan began his career Turpin'stwo
with the Chicago Bulls, his teammates would weekend ma
stand and watch him do his thing when the gan's leading
ball was in his hands.
"Likewise, when Mychal has the ball, our team offense is
stagnant, in that the rest of the team doesn't attack the net
because they are watching to see what he can do. If we aren't
moving without the ball, we can be easily defended."
That was the case last Sunday in a 2-1 loss to Yale.
Turpin scored the Wolverines' lone goal and the Michi-
gan offense struggled, posting just nine shots on goal
compared to Yale's 14.
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After failing to earn a "W" in the Brown Invitational,
Burns and his Wolverines know the importance of this week-
end's two-game homestand against Oakland and Penn State.
"We feel that we've got to make up some ground and this
would be a great time to do just that," Burns said. "When you
look at the psychological component to our team, they know
that they need to respond with two wins this weekend to get
back on track to qualify for the NCAA tournament."
Today, Michigan faces off against the Oakland
Golden Grizzlies. The youthful Grizzlies have
RSITY FIELDS won back-to-back Mid-Continent Conference
(2-2-1) vs. titles, and currently hold a 2-2-1 record in their
sity (2-2-1) race for a third. During his 22 years as Oakland's
(3-3) head coach, Gary Parsons has molded the Griz-
oday, 2 p.m. zlies into a very organized, hard-working team.
Returning almost every defender from last year,
J Mychal Oakland's strength lies in its suffocating defense,
als last which allowed just 18 goals in 2001.
him Michi- On Sunday, Michigan opens up itsBig Ten
areer scorer. season at home against Penn State. One of the
favorites in the Big Ten this season, the Nittany
Lions will enter Sunday's contest with a 3-3 record. The key to
beating the Nittany Lions is stopping sophomore forward
Chad Severs, who is tied with Turpin and Knox Cameron for
the conference lead in points (13).
"Severs is a handful, you've got to always be aware of
where he is on the field," Burns said.
Although Penn State holds a 3-0 edge over Michigan in the
series, two of the three games have gone into overtime.
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Intensity key for 'M' this weekend
By Jae Ferrntino
For The Daily
The No. 14 Michigan women's soccer
team has fared exceptionally well in its
difficult early matchups, but starting
today, the team is putting its record on
the line against familiar conference foes.
This weekend, the Wolverines will
take on their first two Big Ten oppo-
nents, hosting Iowa today and Illinois on
Sunday. Both games will be played at
Varsity Field.
co-captains Abby Crumpton, Andrea
Kayal and Carly Williamson. Their lead-
ership will be needed to start another
winning streak for Michigan.
The Hawkeyes and Illini are not the
favorites in the Big Ten race this year,
but both squads are under new leader-
ship, which means their strategies are
something of a mystery. Michigan does
know, though, that Illinois will be fast.
"I expect them to use a 'run-and-gun'
style," Rademacher said. "The wings
VARSITY FIELD
Who: No. 14 Michigan (5-1) vs. Iowa (4-1) and
Illinois (3-3)
When: 4 p.m. today, 11:30 a.m. Sunday
Latest: Michigan looks to rebound after Geor-
gia snapped its five-game winning streak last
weekend.
minutes had passed.
"We just need to come out at the
beginning of the game with the same
Training clinics
begin on Please contact
Monday, David Siegle at
September 23rd, 763-3562 for
at 7:30 PM at further
the Intramural information.
Sports Building.