Friday October 21, 2005 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily. com PRheTfiCSigSn Bilg 9 Running game key for Varsity At the beginning of this year, many thought these two teams would be fighting for a spot in the Rose Bowl - or at least a Big Ten Championship. But Iowa lost a noncon- ference game to Iowa State, and Michigan, well, Michigan has lost every other game this year - putting the Wolver- ines on pace for another loss this week. Here's how the two teams match up. Michigan rushing offense vs. Iowa rushing defense: This will probably make or break the game this week. Michigan is going to try desperately to get the running game started. Mike Hart is off his pace from last year, but * he has still rushed 117 times for 567 yards and four touch- downs. The offensive line, which struggled with injuries early, has come together to form a cohesive unit. But the Iowa linebackers might be the best in the coun- try. Iowa likes to crowd the middle and force running backs to the outside, where linebackers Abdul Hodge and Chad Greenway can roam freely. The pair has already racked up 173 tackles this season. The Wolverines will try, but it might prove difficult to establish the running game this week. Edge: Iowa Michigan passing offense vs. Iowa passing defense: Last week, when the offensive line held strong against one of the best front sevens in college football, the result was a good game from quarterback Chad Henne - 21 for 36 for 212 yards, no interceptions and two touchdowns. The receiving corps is hitting its stride too. Co-captain Jason Avant has been solid all year, and he's third in the Big Ten in receiving yards per game. But the emergence of freshman Mario Cashmere Manningham and the return of Steve Breaston have made this unit one of Michigan's strengths. Manningham has just 16 catches this season, but five of them have gone for touchdowns. The Iowa secondary is adequate, holding teams to an average of 240 yards per game and just once has the unit allowed more than 300 yards. Its five interceptions helps but isn't indicative of much. The bottom line is that if Henne has time to throw, it's going to be difficult for Iowa to stop the receivers. Edge: Michigan Iowa passing offense vs. Michigan passing defense Drew Tate was tabbed as the Big Ten preseason Offen- sive Player of the Year. But he sustained a concussion in the Hawkeyes' loss to Iowa State and then struggled in the loss N ICE HOCKEY Icers set to renew rivalry with Sparty Sophomore Mike Hart's impressive rushing may not be enough to overcome the Hawkeyes' defensive line. to Ohio State. But on the season, he has completed 63 per- cent of his passes and thrown for 11 touchdowns against only three interceptions. Senior receiver Clinton Solomon has helped Tate this season, reeling in 20 catches for 434 yards and six touchdowns. He has been the Hawkeyes' deep threat, averaging almost 22 yards per catch. Although it's hard to believe with the loss of Marlin Jackson and Ernest Shazor, Michigan leads the Big Ten in passing defense. As a unit, the defense is giving up just 181 passing yards per game. Junior cornerback Leon Hall has spurred the secondary this season, locking up on the opponent's No. 1 receiver week after week. Michigan will be without at least one of its starting safeties - Willis Bar- ringer - and possibly strong safety Brandent Englemon. Although their replacements played well, look for Iowa to try and challenge youngsters Jamar Adams and Brandon Harrison. Edge: Push Iowa rushing offense vs. Michigan rushing defense Last year, the Hawkeyes were decimated with injuries to their running backs. But this season, Iowa has sopho- more Albert Young toting the rock. Young has been the Hawkeyes' No. 1 option, rushing the ball 121 times for 738 yards and five touchdowns. In past seasons, Michigan was stout against the run, but soft against the pass (rememberthe nicknamed "Suspects"). This season, the rushing defense is struggling while the pass defense leads the conference. The Wolverines have surrendered 155 rushing yards per game, and it would be worse if not for their showing against Eastern Michigan. That said, the front seven have played better since games against Wisconsin and Minnesota. LaMarr Woodley and David Harris will have to contain Tate's scrambling and lead the charge against the shifty Young. Edge: Iowa Special Teams:. Garret Rivas has been up and down this season. But he hit a 47-yarder to put Michigan up 21-18. Once again, Steve Breaston showed why he is one of college football's best special teams players. With the game on the line, Breaston came up with a 42-yard return to set up the Wolverines' game-winning drive. If it comes down to a field goal, Iowa would be in good hands; kicker Kyle Schlicher has hit 9-of- 10 this season. Edge: Michigan Intangibles: Iowa has won 20 straight home games at Kinnick Sta- dium, and it'll be tough to reverse that trend on Saturday. The Hawkeyes are urging their fans to "paint it black" by wearing black to the game, and, knowing Iowa fans, it shouldn't be tough to get rowdy for this game. Both teams have something to prove, but it's Iowa that has the fan support. Plus, Michigan will have to dress in those pink locker rooms. Prediction: Iowa 31, Michigan 27 By Daniel Levy Daily Sports Writer Michigan-Michigan State is always a big hockey game, regardless of the rank- ings. But when the two teams face off on Saturday night at Yost Ice Arena, the national expectations will add fuel to the already heated in-state fire, since both teams come into ..... this game ranked in the top 10. The Spartans (2-0-0 over- all) beat No. 8 North Dakota M last weekend to claim the No. 10 spot in the polls. Michigan ''$ (4-0-0) grabbed an impres- sive 3-2 win over then No. 5 Boston College on Saturday and followed that up with a 9- 2 rout of Merrimack on Sunday to earn the top spot in the nation. Michigan was preseason No. 1 last year before losing its first game to Northeast- ern. Then the Wolverines claimed the No. 1 ranking in the middle of the last year but lost their next two games to No. 3 Min- nesota and No. 2 Wisconsin to drop a few slots in the polls. So maybe it is the les- sons learned from that experience that has Michigan coach Red Berenson telling his team to ignore the early season opinions of the voters. "We've addressed the ranking thing, and how fickle that is this time of year," Berenson said. "Every weekend, two more games go by, and someone moves up or someone moves down depending on those gaines. So, the ranking doesn't matter." Last season, the Wolverines were 2-1-2 against the Spartans. Both wins came early in the year, and in both games the Wolverines found the net with relative ease, scoring a com- bined nine goals. However, Michigan State goalie Dominic Vicari was much tougher the next three times around and allowed just four goals total. Not surprisingly, the Wolverines didn't fair too well, going 0-1-2 in those con- tests. Vicari's ability to steal a game was evident last year when he made 82 saves to will his team to consecutive ties with the Wolverines, and it hasn't escaped Berenson's mind. "He is one of the better goalies in the league, and he can make the difference in the game," Berenson said. "We've had games where we may have outplayed them or out-shot them, but we couldn't score." Much has been made about Michigan's group of freshmen this year, but Michigan State has a pair of tal- ented youngsters as well. Justin Abdelkader, who was drafted in the second tate at ' " " round by the Red Wings, and Tim Kennedy have given the Spartans a lift this year. "I like the two fresh- ______ man that they have in Ken- nedy and Abdelkader," Berenson said. "These are skilled players." The freshmen have combined with captain Drew Miller and alternate captain Colton Fretter to key the Spartan offensive attack. Miller and Fretter are averaging a point a game so far this season. "The guys who will be key players for them will be Miller - he's one of the top players in the league - and Fretter, who is a good veteran," Berenson said. "I think they have more high-end skill than last year." An X-factor in Saturday night's game may be which team is able to stay at full strength the longest. Each team will be eager to lay some big hits to send a mes- sage to its rival, especially considering each teams has at least 13 players on its roster from the state of Michigan. The loud atmosphere of Yost, the hatred between the two teams and the fact that officials have been calling games more tightly this season could result in a lot of penalties - especially early on when the refs will want to make sure the game doesn't get out of hand. So whichever team is able to play under control and avoid costly mistakes should have a big edge in the game. "You've got to be ready with your pen- alty killing, powerplay and discipline." Berenson said. "It's not going to be a pen- alty-free game, but you have to try to keep your emotions under control and make sure the penalties don't hurt you." Blue snaps skid in 2 OTS By Anne Uible Daily Sports Writer Snap. That was the sound of two streaks end- ing last night under the bright lights of the U-M Varsity Field. The Michigan men's soccer team (7-5-1) finally ended its four-game skid by defeat- ing the No. 25 Wisconsin-Milwaukee (8-3-4) last night in double-overtime with a score of 2-1. Consequently, the contest marked the end of the Panthers' impressive five-game winning streak. "Sometimes opportunity presents itself in the form of temporary defeats," Michi- gan coach Steve Burns said. "And that was certainly the position we were in coming into this game." Michigan took the field like a team fresh from training camp. The Wolver- ines altered their lineup and implemented a two-forward formation instead of their normal three-man front. "I thought Trai (Blanks) and Steve (Bonnell) did a good job in the two-point forward position," Burns said. "They had a lot of support from our midfield players." For the first time in the past few weeks, the Wolverines were able to mount offensive attacks and create more open chances at the goal. However, it wasn't enough to stop the Panther from creeping up on them. Wisconsin-Milwaukee went up on the Wolverines, 1-0, in the 53rd minute when sophomore Martin Castro caught a cross from the left side of the field and centered it to freshman Adam Skalecki, who high- kicked the ball above senior goalkeeper FAI~h 1±1 M MEN'S TENNIS DePietro nothing but smiles Dan Feldman For the Daily Freshman men's tennis player Mike DePietro gets a lot of teasing from his teammates during practice, but it has nothing to do with his tennis skill. He has plenty of that. Rather, they constantly kid him about his smile. "The kid is always smiling, no matter what we are doing," freshman Scott Bruckmann said with a laugh. "We could be doing an extremely tough fitness workout and you can look over and see Mike smiling during the middle of it. It's quite comical." DePietro, however, is unapologetic about his ever-pres- ent grin. "They tease me, and that makes me smile more," DePi- etro said. "Honestly, I'm having a great time. It's always been my dream to play tennis at Michigan, my favorite school. Now that I'm doing it, I'm really happy and always smiling." A Bloomfield Hills native, DePietro is the lone player on the team from Michigan. His dad had football season tickets and going with him to the games made him a huge football fan. His brother, who is seven years older than him, went to Michigan, which added to DePietro's support for the school. Although his early love for Michigan sports centered on football, being immersed in Wolverines athletics gave DePietro a head start on the expectations of being a Michi- gan tennis player. "I personally take a great pride in representing Michi- gan as a hometown kid," DePietro said. "The older kids understand it more than my fellow freshman, but there's a great pride in representing Michigan. I understand the responsibility, the responsibility that comes with being an athlete in Michigan, from watching them growing up. Michigan strives for excellence at every sport and I grew up knowing that. Take pride in your individual sport and make it the best it can be." While the other freshmen may need a little more time to appreciate Michigan athletics, they are certainly grateful for DePietro's Michigan roots for another reason. "He took us home this weekend so we were able to get some home-cooked meals and were able to get away from college for a little bit," Bruckmann said. This weekend, DePietro and Bruckmann will play doubles together in Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships. "We're looking to get as far in the tournament togeth- er as possible," DePietro said. "We just want to work on" being a better doubles team, working on our technique and our strategy. Hopefully that will result in success in the tournament." As usual, during the matches this weekend DePietro says he'll be much more serious than in practice. "I think there's a difference between enjoying myself around the guys than in a match format," DePietro said. "In a match format, it's time for your game face. You can smile sometimes, but have to focus hard to win the match." Said Bruckmann: "You can definitely tell that he becomes much more competitive (during matches). He is very tough on the court. It's like he turns into a different person once he steps foot on the court." But thinking further, Bruckmann admits DePietro's cheerfulness does slip through a little bit during matches. "Well, I wouldn't say he completely covers up his per- sonality once he starts a match. Throughout a match, he will manage to crack a few smiles," Bruckmann said. Playing for a school he grew up idolizing, who could blame him? A header by senior Tral Blanks clinched the Wolverines' overtime win last night. Peter Dzubay's head. The Wolverines were able to tie the game in the 82nd minute when freshman defend- er Chase Tennant booted the ball above the head of the Panthers' freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum and into the net. "As soon as you saw it leave his foot, you knew it was going in," Burns said. "He scores those kinds of goals in practice all the time, so it was great to see him finally do that in a game." The Panthers came close to ending the game after a corner kick in the 106th min- ute during sudden-death second overtime. Junior Panther Steve Sperl received a corner kick at the left side of the goal and attempt- ed to head the ball into the Wolverines' net. The ball went just over the crossbar. "When (the Panthers) had the corner kick, I felt my heart jump," Burns said. "I thought, 'no way they can't do it,' this is our game." The attempt on their goal sent the Wol- verines into an emergency-attack mode and, in the 109th minute, Blanks tore down the right side of the field with the ball. Senior Adam Bruh quickly turned and sent the ball flying back to Blanks who was then at the right flank of the goal. Blanks con- verted the shot with a header. "I was wide open and the ball just hit off my face and went in," Blanks said. "It was an awesome feeling. It always is when you score for Michigan." After Blanks' shot was securely lodged in Milwaukee's net, the entire Wolver- ines bench rushed the field and embraced Blanks and the rest of the players. "It felt great," senior captain Ryan Sterba said. "We've been feeling so empty after the past few games so this was really sweet for us to get the win." Cu 0"q 6i7 III 0 THRIFT STORE Q ff% AMA&"m AM 04, AM&AM --..