Wednesday
October 6, 2004
sports.rmichigandaily.com
sports@michigandaily. com
SPORTS
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Turnover
free defense
still shines
By Sharad Mattu
Daily Sports Editor
Before Saturday's game against Indiana, the word
that best described the Michigan football team may have
"opportunistic."
On defense, every deflected ball and loose ball seemed
to find its way into a Wolverines' hands. Through four
games, they led the nation with 19 forced turnovers.
Michigan's defense gave its offense good field posi-
tion, which it often took advantage of. Seventy-nine of its
117 points had come off of turnovers, and the offense had
just a handful of long scoring drives.
But against a Hoosiers team determined not to beat
itself, Michigan won in a different fashion. The defense
failed to force any turnovers, but it still was dominant.
The offense was able to put together three touchdown
drives of 80 yards or more.
The game should have been good preparation for this
Saturday's contest against Minnesota. Michigan still
leads the nation in forced turnovers, but the Gophers'
offense has fumbled or thrown the ball away just twice,
tied for sixth-best in the nation.
"We know teams are going to try to limit their turn-
overs," safety Ryan Mundy said. "Indiana came out
with a different plan than we expected. It was kind
of frustrating not to force any turnovers because it
was something we've really tried to do since camp. It
wasn't like we didn't play hard; they just held onto the
ball really good."
Michigan's defense forced Indiana into an 0-for-12
showing on third downs, leading to nine punts.
"Anytime you can come out and force the offense into
a punt, you've done a good job," linebacker Lawrence
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Netters bow
By Max Kardon
Daily Sports Writer
As frigid fall weather descends on the student body,
members of the women's tennis team find opportuni-
ties for escape when they travel to the warmer climes of
national competition.
Yesterday, senior Michelle DaCosta and sopho-
more Elizabeth Exon found themselves beachside
in sunny Southern California. They made the trip to
represent Michigan at the 2004 Riviera/ITA Wom-
en's All-American Championships at the picturesque
Riviera Tennis Center in Pacific Palisades, Calif.,
outside Los Angeles.
DaCosta found success in the first round of qualifiers
against Georgia Bulldog Natalie Frazier, but was tripped
up in her attempt to advance in the second round by
Tulane's Nancy Kockott. Exon was unable to duplicate
DaCosta's early success, suffering elimination in the first
round at the hands of University of Nevada-Las Vegas's
Elena Gantcheva.
DaCosta, ranked No. 34 in singles nationally, was
awarded the seventh seed in a highly qualified prelimi-
nary bracket. She drew a wild card in Frazier, Georgia's
lone representative.
Stymied by Frazier's consistent, grinding baseline play,
DaCosta started off slow. After dropping the first set 2-6,
WOMEN'S GOLF
Football in Indiana
still lagging behind
Michigan's defense forced no turnovers for the first time this season against Indiana.
Reid said. "The defense's job is to get off the field. Some-
times causing so many three-and-outs can be just as good
as causing turnovers."
The Gophers rarely turn the ball over because they
are primarily a running team. Reid hopes Michigan can
force a turnover or two, but knows it may not happen.
"Every game we try to come out and get a couple of
turnovers," Reid said. "It's always nice if we can come
out and strip the ball away a couple times, but our prima-
ry focus (this week) will be to stop the running game."
Added linebacker Roy Manning: "Turnovers are a
plus, but even though we've gotten so many, we still
make sure to remember that there's other ways to shut
down a team."
INJURY NOTES: Steve Breaston and Jeremy Van Alstyne
may return the field for Saturday's game, and could give
the Wolverines a boost on offense and defense, respec-
tively, against No. 13 Minnesota.
Breaston - who is Michigan's third receiver and han-
dles punt and kickoff returns - injured his hand against
Iowa and did not travel to Bloomington last Saturday, but
he practiced Sunday night. The sophomore has 355 all-
purpose yards this season.
"He's going to have some discomfort handling the
football," Carr said. "But it is on his left hand, so he's
going to secure the ball in his right hand in most cases."
While Breaston's return is no surprise, Van Alstyne's
is far from expected. The defensive lineman suffered a
knee injury during spring drills and was expected to miss
the entire season. His return will improve the Wolver-
ines' depth on the line, which was thought to be a weak-
ness heading into the season.
"He's made a remarkable recovery," Carr said of the
sophomore. "We have to see how he handles practice and
if there's anything that comes up. But I think you could
see him this week."
v out on the West Coast
DaCosta bounced back to take the second 6-2, when she
got a firm handle on her all-court style of play.
"I felt like I came into the first round mentally and
physically prepared," DaCosta said. "Frazier kept me off
balance from the start and didn't give me a chance to get
in sync."
"In the second set, I started playing my game and felt
more comfortable. Frazier refused to stay down when I
laid her out."
The third and deciding set tested the toughness and
endurance of both combatants. DaCosta and Frazier
demonstrated a high level of discipline and focus as they
fought through extended rallies to decide tightly contested
games. Battling to the bitter end, Frazier played the thorn
to DaCosta's side. The stalemate in the third set forced a
tiebreaker in the third hour of play. DaCosta conquered
the Bulldog 7-3 in the tiebreaker to seal a prolonged vic-
tory 2-6,.6-2, 7-6 (3).
"Frazier was tough, but DaCosta hung in
there," assistant coach Katy Propstra said.
"There were some ups and downs, but she did a great
job of finishing."
Exon also had difficulty with her draw, but she was
unable to match DaCosta's success.
Exon, ranked No. 57 nationally, ran into a brick wall in
the form of the counterpunching Gantcheva.
The fiercely competitive Exon fought valiantly, but the
consistent Gantcheva exploited Exon's mistakes. The final
score was not indicative of the tide of the match. Failure to
execute on several key points gave Gantcheva the advan-
tage, and Exon was eliminated 6-2, 6-2.
DaCosta, exhausted by her first-round odyssey, was
granted only an hour of rest before her second-round
showdown with Tulane's Kockott. Coming off three hours
of extreme exertion, DaCosta was forced to concede the
rested Kockott a devastating advantage.
"The first round took a lot out of me," DaCosta said.
"I was mentally exhausted by the length of the match,
not to mention the physical stress on my legs."
Kockott's aggressive serve-and-volley game prompted
a weary DaCosta to chase balls all over the court. The
fuel-starved Wolverine sputtered on an empty tank.
"I didn't have the energy to play her game,"
DaCosta said.
"She dictated the pace, and I found myself trying to
keep up. She was aggressive and I just tried to get by with
what I had left. A little more rest and I wouldn't have been
on the defensive."
Kockott took the match 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the final
qualifying round.
DaCosta will have time to rest before she competes
in doubles play with sophomore partner Kara Delicata
tomorrow. The No. 8 duo nationally, they will bypass the
qualifying rounds to be dealt directly into the main draw.
CHRIS BURKE
Goin' to Work
B LOOMINGTON - It's half-
time of Saturday's Michigan-
Indiana game. I've made my
way from the press box down to the
main concourse of Memorial Stadium
with the intent of talking to some
Hoosiers fans - mainly to figure out
if anyone gives a rip about this foot-
ball team.
I'm just a few steps into my tour
when I run into a group of four girls
- Indiana students. A good place to
start, I figure.
They mention that they're casual
fans; that they usually try to come to
the home games (especially when the
student tickets are dropped to $5, as
they were on Saturday).
As the conversation winds down
- two of the girls get cell phone calls
and leave me in the dust - I fire off
one last question: Do you have a favor-
ite Indiana player?
"Um ... the guy that just scored the
touchdown is pretty good ... his name's
Ben, I think. It's kind of a long, weird
name," one says with an embarrassed
chuckle.
That's it?
"I guess so."
Welcome to football on the other
side of the Big Ten universe.
PLAYING IN ANONYMITY
For the record, the "guy" that
scored Indiana's touchdown right
before halftime is BenJarvus Green-
Ellis, one of the most promising young
players in the Big Ten.
Not that it seems to matter much
here in Bloomington. Sure, there are
those loyal fans that have stuck with
this Indiana program through thick
and thin. They still get season tickets
even though the Hoosiers are the Big
Ten's whipping boys.
Let's call them the "needle-in-a-
haystack" group.
Because they are significantly out-
numbered by those who see football
as something that gets in the way of
Indiana basketball season.
Saturday's game was the biggest
of the year for Indiana. The Hoosiers
went in 2-2, had already won at Ore-
gon and were broadcast by ABC for
the first time since 2000 (coinciden-
tally, also a game against Michigan).
But the announced attendance after
Michigan's 35-14 victory was 35,001
- about 17,000 less than capacity.
There were gaping areas of seating
open on either side of the open-ended
stadium.
And that might be because a good
number of people who showed up
at Memorial Stadium never entered.
After my friendly chat to start half-
time, I wandered in to one of the most
charming aspects of the Indiana foot-
ball setting: the parking lot. It was so
close to the stadium - just feet from
the entrances - that a large (relatively
speaking) number of fans ventured out
there during the break to reconvene
with their pregame tailgates.
That's where they meet up with
another decent-sized group that never
entered Memorial. Either they didn't
bother to try to fill the Black Hole that
was the outside few sections of seats,
or they, as one, um, "fan" said on Fri-
day night, "Tailgate, then go home and
watch the game on TV."
Not exactly an intimidating situa-
tion for the visiting team.
HISTORY OF MISERY
When you talk about the history of
Michigan football, you almost have to
break up your time. There is so much
to talk about in every decade since the
Wolverines began playing that it's too
much to handle all at once.
When you talk about the history of
Indiana football, somebody changes
the subject to basketball.
OK, that's not entirely true. Occa-
sionally, an Indiana team will remind
everyone in the nation that the Hoo-
siers still hit the gridiron in the fall.
There's the 1945 team that went
9-0-1. There's the 1967 Hoosiers that
made Indiana's only Rose Bowl trip
after a 9-2 season. There's the 1979
Holiday Bowl-winning team coached
by current ESPN analyst Lee Corso.
There are six bowl trips between
1986 and 1993. There's Antwaan
Randle-El.
And we're pretty much caught up.
For whatever reason, any time that
there's a brief spark in the Indiana
football program, someone shuts the
lights off. And most of it starts with
fan support. Just think about it: If a
player is being recruited by Indiana
and Michigan, where's he more likely
to end up?
If a player has the ability to play at
Michigan, there's very little choice.
Even the people at Indiana know that
- that's why former Michigan assis-
tant Cam Cameron was named coach
of Indiana in 1997, to capture some of
the Wolverines' tradition. And Cam-
eron went 18-37 at Indiana.
That's what makes it such a tough
dichotomy for the fans at Indiana. It's
going to take a serious 180-degree
turn to pack Memorial Stadium and
attract some of the country's biggest
stars. But, as a fan, why go to a game
when you know Indiana doesn't have
a prayer?
In that 1967 Rose Bowl run, the
Hoosiers didn't sell out a game until
the its finale. But'in 1968, they aver-
aged almost 49,000 people and in
1970, they pulled in more than 53,000
a game.
Then, in 1970, the Hoosiers went
0-5 at home and 1-9 overall, and
dropped below 40,000 in 1971.
Turns out if you do a 180 one too
many times, you wind up back where
you started.
HOPE LOST?
So all of this begs the question: Can
Indiana ever truly compete in the Big
Ten in football? Right now, the answer
looks like no.
The Hooisers might, on occasion,
pull a miracle run - a la Northwest-
ern in 1995 - but it'll be impossible
to sustain it. The Hoosiers just don't
have the tradition or the resources to
constantly do battle with the Michi-
gans and Ohio States of the world.
It's obvious Indiana's a basketball
school. A basketball school with a
football problem. A huge football
problem. Or at least it would be a
problem if anyone cared.
Specifically, that, while the basket-
ball team is always a contender in the
Big Ten, the football team is a laugh-
ingstock. And there doesn't appear to
be much light at the end of the tunnel.
The 2004 version of Indiana foot-
ball seems to be pretty similar to the
2003 version - and all of the other
mediocre, non-contending versions.
And it doesn't seem like it's going to
get significantly better anytime soon.
Just ask the guys in the parking lot.
Chris Burke can be reached at
chrisbur@umich.edu
4'M' takes second at
By Mark Glannotto
For the Daily
Senior Laura Olin and sophomore
Brianna Broderick have consistently led
the Michigan women's golf team this
year and the Shootout at the Legends in
Franklin, Ind., which finished yesterday,
was no different. Both women delivered
solid performances in leading the Wol-
verines to a second place finish 12 strokes
behind Notre Dame.
Michigan started the two-day tour-
nament slowly in a tie for fifth place
after Monday's play was completed.
Broderick seemed to be the only Wol-
verine on top of her game the first day
as she posted in two solid rounds of
two over 74, putting her in a tie for sec-
ond place after the first day. Olin and
the rest of the Wolverines all turned in
disappointing rounds, and none were
able to crack the top 10.
"I was disappointed with the poor
rounds, but I was glad the girls were able
to turn it around," Michigan coach Kathy
Teichert said.
The Wolverines were led in their sec-
ond-day charge by co-captain Olin as she
posted a tournament-best round of one-
under 71.
"I hit my irons a lot better (on Tues-
day)," Olin said. "(On Monday) I hit all
my shots three-quarter swing, and a lot
of my balls sailed over the green. On
Tuesday, I hit everything full swing, and
Legends
my play improved."
Not only has Olin played well this sea-
son, but she has also asserted herself as a
leader on the team.
"Laura has played extremely well this
year," Teichert said. "She's been leading
us the entire fall, and we need her low
scores to do well as a team. She came
back from a bad round, and the rest of the
team seemed to follow her lead. Overall,
we just played more consistent. The girls
started playing their own games, and the
scores improved."
Not only has Olin played well this sea-
son, but she has also asserted herself as a
leader on the team.
Michigan sophomore Ali Stinson,
freshman Lindsay Davis, redshirt sopho-
shoot-out
more Molly Spalding and junior Amy
Schmucker finished 19th, 26th, 28th and
45th respectively.
Despite the team's improved play yes-
terday, the Wolverines were unable to
catch up to Notre Dame.
"We've only lost to (Notre Dame)
this fall, but we beat them the past two
tournaments," Teichert said. "We didn't
put the whole weekend together like we
wanted to and it cost us first place. If
the girls keep working hard, the team is
(going) to keep improving."
The Wolverines will look to play
more consistently in a little less than
two weeks when they travel to Fay-
etteville, Ark. to play in the Razorback
Invitational.
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