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10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday. March 31. 2004
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I
Butler's play
overcomes
small stature
By Gab. Edelson
Daily Sports Writer
When outfielder Matt Butler drilled a pitch against
Detroit's Daniel Dobberowsky deep down the right
field line with the bases loaded in the second inning
of Sunday's early game, one thing kept running
through his mind.
"I was hoping it wasn't going to go foul," Butler
said. "The wind was kind of blowing toward the right
field line, but I was fortunate it stayed fair"
Not only did it barely stay fair, it also scraped over
the fence for a grand slam in Michigan's 10-5 victo-
ry. It was the only homerun of the four-game week-
end for Michigan (9-9), and it came from the most
unexpected of hitters.
At 5-foot-6, Butler does not inspire fear in the
hearts of opposing pitchers, but maybe that should
change. The junior - who had belted just one home-
run in 84 career games coming into this season -
already has three in 18 games this year, tying him for
the team lead. He ranks first on the squad with 18
RBIs, as well.
But Butler brings much more than power to the
table. His six stolen bases lead the team, and he has
put together an immaculate fielding percentage
(1.000) from rightfield and centerfield.
Perhaps most importantly, the fan favorite brings
energy and enthusiasm to the game.
"He packs a powerful punch," head coach Rich Mal-
oney said at the conclusion of the weekend set. "That
little man is a big man. He plays the game the way it
should be played, with a lot of passion. Here's a guy
with a heart, and he represents who we are real well."
Still, it's extremely surprising to watch the diminu-
tive No. 19 hit the ball out of the park. Even Butler
himself admits he didn't expect the power surge.
"I've been lucky enough to be put in situations
where there's been people on base," he said. "I'm
getting some good pitches to hit, so things are kind
Hung's distant roots
not found on 'hand'
I
By Matt Singer
Daily Sports Writer
7,840 miles.
For the many students who have the
luxury of making easy trips to their
homes in Bloomfield Hills or Grand
Rapids, living this far away from Ann
Arbor might be unfathomable. But
this extraordinary distance separates
freshman Brian Hung
from his hometown. He
traveled from his native
Hong Kong to Ann
Arbor to become a mem-
ber of the Michigan ten-
nis team.
Initially, the transition
wasn't easy for the 18-
year-old. Living in a new
environment is difficult
TONI
Michigan
Mich
Time: 6
Varsity Ten
enough for
his grandparents live down in Florida.
So they were aware of the University
of Michigan."
Despite the difficulties of adjusting
to his new home, Hung immediately
made a splash on the tennis court,
amassing a 7-4 singles record during
the fall season. Since then, Hung has
developed into a serious contributor for
the Wolverines, settling into the No. 3
singles spot (7-2 at that
position) and teaming
[GilT with senior Anthony Jack-
son at No. 1 doubles (7-5).
State at This early success
igan comes as no major sur-
6 p.m. prise to his coach.
nis Center "I saw that he's an out-
standing tennis player and
a very good student,"
Mees said. "(Brian's) the kind of young
man we're looking to build our program
around."
Like many other Michigan stu-
dents, Hung hopes to enroll in the
Business School, and he listed aca-
demics as one of the main reasons
that Michigan stood out from the
pack. And while he might not be able
to use his hand to indicate his home-
town, Hung has found time to return
home to Hong Kong.
"I actually went home twice during
the fall," Hung said. "It's an 18-hour
flight - you get used to it."
Hung and the Wolverines (0-2 Big
Ten, 8-4 overall) look to kick a three-
match losing streak today against
Michigan State. The match will start at
6 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Outfielder Matt Butler's grand slam in Sunday's 10-5 win against Detroit was Michigan's only homerun of the
weekend. Butler leads the team in stolen bases with six and has a 1.000 fielding percentage this season.
of going my way. I don't even hit home runs in bat-
ting practice."
Aside from some minor tinkering in the offsea-
son, which included altering his stance and switch-
ing to a slightly lighter bat, Butler doesn't credit his
improvement to any specific change in his approach
to the game.
"I don't think I'm hitting the ball that much differ-
ent," Butler said. "Things are kind of just working
out. I want to hit (the ball) hard and on a line and
look to be aggressive."
Butler also recognizes teammate and first baseman
Kyle Bohm for the protection he provides in the bat-
ting order. A hard-hitting transfer from Auburn,
Bohm has jumped out to a quick start this year. Bat-
ting third, in the spot immediately following Butler,
he went a combined 5-for-7 from the plate on Sunday
against Detroit and Oakland to raise his team-leading
season average to .429.
"There aren't a lot of times when (opposing pitch-
ers) are going to be throwing me a lot of junk," Butler
said. "They don't want to put me on to get to (Bohm)."
Maloney, who is also impressed with Butler's
developing ability to hit to all fields, believes that
Butler's improved play has been vital to the team's
progress.
"We really need some guys to step up," Maloney
said. "We're getting that (from Butler). I'm real
excited that he's doing so well. He's been a joy to
watch."
most college freshmen. Moving to a dif-
ferent continent just added to the stress.
"It was definitely tough," Hung
said. "But all the guys on the team
helped me out."
As a high school student, Hung was
one of the premier players in Hong
Kong, climbing as high as third in the
nation's men's rankings. He qualified
for the finals of the 2001 World Youth
Cup, and he has been a member of the
Hong Kong Davis Cup team for the past
two years. So how did this prolific fig-
ure in Hong Kong tennis end up smack-
ing forehands for the Wolverines?
"He contacted me first, a while
ago," coach Mark Mees said. "He's
got a brother who is a student at
Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, and
Water polo faces series of tests in coming week
By Brad Johnson
Daily Sports Writer
After blazing through its last three
weekends of competition with a per-
fect 12-0 record, the Michigan water
polo team will finally get the chance
to find out what it is made of.
The Wolverines face No. 7 Loyola
Marymount (16-4) at the Indiana
Invitational Saturday in a game that
could have considerable implications
for Michigan in the NCAA tourna-
ment.
"(The Loyola Marymount game)
is really important because if we get
to the Final Four it could determine
the seeding," junior goalkeeper Bet-
sey Armstrong said. "We've beaten
them once, so if we beat them again
and then move onto the Final Four at
the end of our season, then we will
get the third seed."
In February, Michigan (8-0 Col-
lege Water Polo Association, 24-7
overall) defeated Loyola Marymount
3-2 in California. But the No. 8
Wolverines will have their hands full
trying to defeat the Lions for a sec-
ond time in two months.
"(This game) is the difference
between playing in the 1-4 game and
the 2-3 game in the Final Four,"
Michigan coach Matt Anderson said.
"We've proven that we can beat
them and now we just have to do it
again."
Even if Michigan can take care of
business and defeat Loyola Mary-
mount, it will still have to face No.
20 Cal-State Northridge at the invi-
tational.
The Wolverines return home April
6 to face an even bigger challenge at
Canham Natatorium: the World
Champion U.S. Olympic women's
team.
"The benefit (of playing the
Olympic team) is that the game is
going to be as quick as these girls
have ever played," Anderson said.
"That is good going into our confer-
ence championships. (Our team) is
going to have to be ready to be at the
top of its game, both offensively and
defensively. It's going to be a very
physical game, not in the sense that
it counts for the record, so they're
going to be trying to hurt us. They're
just going to be looking to swim us a
little bit more and pound us a little
bit more."
When asked if the matchup is sim-
ilar to a No. 1 facing a No. 16 in the
first round of the NCAA men's bas-
ketball tournament, Anderson
laughed and said it is more like a
No. I taking on a No. 32 seed.
"Are we going to lose?" Anderson
said. "Without a doubt. I'm looking
for a good first half. After that,
they're just physically better than us
and a little bit quicker. These girls
are in full-time training, so they
train six to eight hours a day, and
they are playing hundreds of games
against the best competition possi-
ble. Yes they are bigger, yes they are
faster and yes, they are stronger.
They are full-time professional ath-
letes, they just don't get paid."
The girls on the Olympic squad
are basically the same age as the
players on Michigan's team. In fact,
No. 3 UCLA's starting six players
for next year are all on the Olympic
team and were redshirted this year as
a result.
No matter what happens over the
next week for Michigan, the team is
just glad to finally face some stiff
competition.
"It's like if you had the opportuni-
ty to play Michael Jordan and say,
'Yeah, I posted him up and scored a
little reverse lay-up on him,' "
Anderson said. "This is only going
to give the girls confidence. If they
can do this against one of the 13 best
players in the world, they, can surely
do it against whatever (a team like)
Indiana throws at them."
I
BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily
Freshman Brian Hung came to Michigan's tennis team all the way from Hong Kong.
UOY GANNES/Uaily
Junior driver Meg Knudtsen and the rest of Michigan's No. 8 water polo team will
face two other nationally ranked teams this weekend in the Indiana invitational.
DUCKS
Continued from Page 1
shot 8-for-12 from behind the are in
the first half. It shot 52.7 percent from
the field for the game.
"The ball movement was great,"
said sophomore guard Daniel Horton,
who led the Wolverines with nine
assists. "We've been playingreally
unselfish, and guys were getting open
looks. That's something that we,
weren't doing at the beginning of the
season."
Oregon stayed within striking dis-
tance for a while, but let the game slip
away in the second half. The Ducks
got within,15 after Jackson scored a
layup off a 3-on-I fast break. But the
Wolverines came right back with
another run. Sophomore center Chris
.Hunter rebounded his own miss from
the free-throw line to catapult a 7-0
run with two consecutive layups fol-
lowed by steals. Oregon never got
closer than 19 after that point.
After a Big Ten season that had
numerous disappointments, the young
Wolverines have gained momentum at
the end of the season. The NIT run and
the fact that the Wolverines are losing
just one player in the rotation to gradu-
ation bode well for next season.
Michigan won the 1984 NIT, and then
went on to win Big Ten titles in 1985
and 1986.
"We finally put it together," Horton
said. "We're not there yet, but we're
finally getting to the point where we're
getting better every day and we're giv-
ing it our all on the defensive end."
Michigan (22-11) will play Rutgers
(20-21) in the championship game at 7
p.m. tomorrow. The Scarlet Knights
defeated Iowa State 84-81 in overtime
in front of thousands of fans who rode
the train into Penn Station from New
Jersey.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Oregon (53)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A FP~
Crosswhite 21 5-8 2-2 0-0 0 1
Jackson 33 7-11 3-3 1-7 2 2 17'
Platt 17 0-5 0-0 1-2 0 3 0
Brooks 28 2-4 2-2 1-3 3 1 7
Joseph 34 3-9 0-0 1-3 0 2 8
Anderson 18 1-3 0-0 1-3 0 1 2
Davis 17 1-7 0-0 0-1 3 0 3
Zahn 12 0-4 2-23-6 0 2 2
Lincoln 8 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1. 2-
Short 6 0-1 0-013 01 0
Kent 6 0-3 0-00-0 0 0 0
Team 0-5
Totals 200 20-58 9-9 9-28 8 17 53
FG%:.345. FT%: .1.00. 3-point FG: 4-19,
.211(Crosswhite 1-2, Joseph 2-7, Davis 1-6,
Crosswhite 0-1, Jackson 0-1, Kent 0-2).
Blocks: 4 (Crosswhite 3, Short). Steals: 7
(Joseph 3, Jackson 2, Davis, Lincoln).
Turnovers: 16 (Jackson 6, Joseph 2, Brooks
2, Zahn 2, Davis, Crosswhite, Platt, Short).
Technical fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (78)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Robinson 26 5-10 3-4 1-5 4 2 13
Sims 19 2-5 0-0 1-3 1 2 4
Brown 21 4-7 1-4 1-2 0 2 9
Horton 31 5-11 1-2 2-6 9 2 15
Harris 31 5-10 1-2 0-1 1 1 14
Abram 24 4-6 0-1 1-2 1 2 9
Hunter 21 2-2 5-6 2-4 1 1 10
Petway 14 2-2 0-1 0-5 1 0 4
Harrell 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 00
Mathis 3 0-2 0-00-0000
Dill 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ba 2 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
Andrews 2 0-0 0-00- 0 0
Bell 2 0-0 0-1 0-1 00 0
TEAM 0-8
Totals 200 29-5511-218311812 78
FG%:.527. FT%: .524. 3-point FG: 9-19, .474
(Hunter 1-1, Horton 4-8, Harris 3-7, Abram 1-
2, Robinson 0-1). Blocks: 2 (Sims 2). Steals:
11 (Robinson 4, Abram 2, Horton, Hunter,
Harris, Petway, Bell). Turnovers: 11 (Abram
2, Hunter 2, Harris 2, Robinson, Sims, Ba,
Brown, Horton). Technical fouls: none.
4
SOFTBALL
Continued from Page 9
did. I was very pleased with that. She did respond
(after) I chewed on her a little before that game."
Schock's "response" came almost immediately in
the second game. She drove in Michigan's first run of
the game with a two-out double.
"If I think about situations, or if there are runners
on base, I get really nervous," Schock admitted. "So I
just try to go up there and not think about anything
too much."
Hutchins said that Schock's biggest strength is
that she is a "pure hitter" with great hand-eye
coordination.
"She needs to let herself stay out of her way and
allow herself to be the hitter she is capable of,"
Hutchins said.
Besides Schock's offensive prowess this weekend,
the other Michigan hitters in the bottom half of the
order seemed to be getting out of their recent
slumps.
Batting sixth as the designated hitter in both
games, junior Nicole Motycka went 4-for-6 with
three runs scored and three RBIs.
Hutchins had been frustrated with the team's hit-
ting performance at the Louisville Invitational two
weekends ago, especially with the bottom half of the
lineup. But the coach was impressed with the offense
on Sunday.
"I felt the bottom half of the order has definitely
stepped up," Hutchins said. "That's what we need to
have happen consistently going into the Big Ten
season."
Hutchins said that the girls have been continually
working on their hitting in practice, especially in
terms of being more aggressive and making consis-
tent contact.
"There's no trick to it," Hutchins said. "The one
thing we did well (on Sunday) was that we swung. We
were aggressive, and we didn't take a lot of pitches."
Michigan will face Indiana on Friday and Saturday
in Bloomington.
Hutchins believes the formula for offensive suc-
cess is simple - limit the number of strikes that
go by.
"If you don't swing, you can't hit," Hutchins said.
4
Oregon
Michigan
32
46
21 - 53
32 - 78
FILE rnu7u
Catcher Monica Schock tallied a season-high three RBIs
in Michigan's second game against Valparaiso on Sunday.
At: Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 12,630
a lecture by
Dr. Tom Regan
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy
North Carolina State University
- ,.- _____