Thursday, September 21, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 11A Insh will avenge last year's loss to Sparty Here at Around the Big Purdue needed overtime to beat (Does 47-17 sound familiar to Ten (ATB), we like to Ball State but has looked good in you, JoePa?). The Buckeyes hold ourselves to a high its other two wins. Neither team's won comfortably against Cin- standard of excellence. So, our defense is terribly concerned cinnati last weekend, and they apologies go out to Iowa State with keeping the opposing team will be hungry to avenge last for incorrectly stating it hadn't out of the end zone, so this match season's loss in Happy Valley. beaten Iowa since 2002 (The between two mediocre Big Ten The Horseshoe will be rocking, Cyclones had won six of the last teams should turn into an excit- and Ohio State will be rolling. It eight). Way to go guys, you real- ing shootout. Alert the Pentagon won't be a repeat of Notre Dame, ly showed the Hawkeyes - and about this game because there but Penn State still comes out made ATB look "great" while will be plenty of bomb testing with a loss. AARON HANDLESMAN/Daily Freshman Amy Klppert Is the only freshman to start all eight games this season. f i KiPper s rght1 in By Kevin Wallace For the Daily Starting as a freshman in college soccer is rare. Starting after making a position switch is impressive. But freshman Amy Klippert of the women's soccer team is doing both. The Newport Beach, Calif., native usually played for- ward in high school. But when Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher recruited her, she saw that-Klippert had potential to blossom as a defender. "I had seen her play defense in a couple films, so I knew it wouldn't be completely for- eign to her," Rademacher said. "I believed that because of her versatility and speed, that defense was a position better suited for her." Klippert - the only Michi- gan freshman to start all eight games - has solidified a defense that has allowed mul- tiple goals just once (against No. 1 Notre Dame). Senior captain Katelin Spen- cer has also noticed Klippert's outstanding play. Thanks to the freshman's adjustment to defense, Spencer has been able to move from defense to mid- field. "Her level of confidence as a freshman has been really impressive," Spencer said. "Fundamentally, she is very confident to the ball, can spot teammates easily, possesses great speed and is not afraid to tackle hard." Although others perceive Klippert as having the demean- or of a veteran, Klippert her- self is still riding high about starting as a true freshman. "I was actually stunned that I have been able to start as a freshman," Klippert said. "This team is so deep that I had figured I would be riding the bench." Klippert has impressed everyone with her solid play, but she said that the adjustment from West Coast high school soccer to Midwestern college soccer wasn't easy. Klippert indicated that the physical play at Michigan differs great- ly from the "fancier style" she learned in California. "And here at Michigan, they don't necessarily care about all the little technical nuances of the game," Klippert said. Rather, they just care that you put in a hard effort and you get the job done." Klippert has definitely been getting the job done for a team that has recorded five shutouts in its first eight matches, including a 1-0 win against No. 17 Arizona on Aug. 27. As the Wolverines move on to the Big Ten sea- son, Klippert has set some personal goals that will help' the team succeed. "Overall, I would just like to help lead the team to victory as much as possible and help make this a memorable season for the seniors," Klippert said. "I want to get better with my feet skills and get more expe- rience with the physical nature of college soccer." Michigan is looking to improve on last year's sub- par 3-6-1 Big Ten record last year, and with Klippert's help on defense, it has a good shot at doing so. The team wraps up the nonconference sched- ule tonight at 7 p.m. against Oakland at U-M Soccer Field before opening the Big Ten season at Penn State on Sun- day. doing it. That's the last time we trust a Big Ten injury report. Drew Tate's "abdominal strain" didn't seem to bother him a bit. Anyway, without further ado, here are the (we think) factually correct picks: No. 14 Iowa (3-0) at Illi- nois (1-2), Saturday, Sept. 23 - Noon This may not be the most exciting matchup in the world, but it's two Big Ten teams squar- ing off, so it can't be that bad, right? Who are we kidding? This won't even be close. The Illini are the only Big Ten team with a losing record and that list includes Indiana (The Hoosiers' lone loss came against Southern Illinois, 35-28). What does that say about Illinois? It says that the Hawkeyes will have a field day and make Champaign their new home away from home. Here's one more thing to think about: Illinois has won one conference game since 2003. Iowa 56, Illinois 14 Minnesota (2-1) at Purdue (3-0), Saturday, Sept. 23 - 7 p.m., ESPN2 A Laurence Maroney-less Minnesota looked sensational against cupcakes Kent State and Temple but embarrassed itself against California in week two. Acrss the Dig Ten with H. Jose Bosch going on at Ross-Ade Stadium (Maybe rename it Los Alamos?). Expect Boilermaker quarter- back Curtis Painter and Golden Gopher quarterback Bryan Cupi- to to look like Dan Marino and John Elway. Purdue slappys will be happily beating on their repli- ca "World's Largest" bass drum after this one is finished. Purdue 42, Minnesota 38 No.24 Penn State (2-1) at No. 1 Ohio State (3-0), Saturday, Sept.23 - 3:30 p.m., ABC Question: What is the per- fect way to rest those feet after the long walk down Hoover and State Streets on Saturday afternoon? Answer: Watching these two Big Ten powerhous- es clobber each other. Lost in the excitement of Penn State's exceptional loss to the Wolver- ines last season was the fact that the Nittany Lions defeated then-No. 6 Ohio State the week before. But Penn State's missing someone named Robinson this season, and we've already seen what happens when Joe Paterno leads his troops into hostile ter- ritory against a top-five team No. 1 Ohio State 24, No. 24 Penn State 17 No. 12 Notre Dame (2-1) at Michigan State (3-0), Satur- day, Sept. 16 - 8 p.m., ABC Everyone knows what hap- pened after the game last sea- son, and don't think Notre Dame has had this date circled on its calendar since. Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis has instructed his players to not dis- cuss the Michigan loss, or the event-that-shall-not-be-named, for the rest of the week, which is a good idea considering what happened 'to him last season when he talked too much. The night before the Michigan State game Weis told those attending a pep rally, "The last thing I'm going to say to you is I'm going to be looking for you at about 5:40 after we're 3-0." You must have thought you were still in New England, Charlie. This sea- son will be different since the Fighting Irish have already gone through their embarrassing loss of the year, and they won't have to play in South Bend. The loyal sons will be marching onward to victory on this night. Let's hope they remember to bring their flag. No. 12 Notre Dame 31, Michi- gan State 28 WANT TO BE ON OUR BLOG LIKE ANDY MACMILLAN? SEND US A QUESTION. GO TO THE GAME AT MICHIGANDAILY.COM Short-game focus angers fans STRAFFAN, Ireland (AP) - starting each hole from about 120 "We walk down the first hole to There are times when the Ameri- yards away. The gallery wasn't about 120 yards short of the green cans just can't win, such as the Ryder aware of this, so when Tiger Woods, and started from there, and kind of Cup. Phil Mickelson and the rest of the left everybody sitting in the stands And sometimes, they don't even Americans walked from the fourth by the first tee waiting'" Lehman have to wait for the matches to get green, past the fifth tee and kept said. "That was a mistake. We under way. marching down the middle of the should have hit a tee shot at least on The weather turned so nasty fairway, the Ryder Cup got its first the first hole. To all of those fans left Wednesday morning, with 40 mph dose of booing. waiting, I apologize. That was my gusts that toppled a few trees and "You don't give a damn about mistake" brought the rain sideways, that The Ireland's public," shouted one man There's always something at the K Club was closed to the public for behind the tee, and hundreds of oth- Ryder Cup. nearly three hours. U.S. captain Tom ers nodded. Woods riled the English fans Lehman sent his players back to bed, Another man asked Jim Furyk to at The Belfry four years ago when and only later did both teams believe stop for a picture. He walked over to captain Curtis Strange allowed him it best to play for thousands of spec- man's wife, put his arm on her shoul- to practice at 6 am., as he normally tators who eventually got onto the der and posed with a smile. does, finishing about the time fans course. Walking back toward the fairway, were just showing up. But it was no time to take golf Furyk said, "I guess we're just the Last time outside Detroit, the seriously, not with the wind blowing ugly Americans" Americans were criticized by their the ball all over the place. Lehman later asked for a mul- own gallery for not signing auto- Lchman fulfilled a prediction he ligan. graphs during the practice rounds. made in February by creating what He realized his squad should have There was a policy against auto- was believed to be the first "twelve- performed at least on the first tee, graphs, which the Europeans gladly some" game in Ryder Cup history, where the grandstands were packed violated with hopes of winning favor his entire team playing nine holes on with people. And when he caught up on foreign soil, and it worked. a gray, miserable afternoon. with his team on the seventh hole, Lehman's apology was sincere, But there was a twist. he told them to tee off on No. 9, the but he had no regrets about what They worked on their short game, only drives they hit all day. unfolded on The K Club. BOSTON CHICAGO EVANSTON FRANKFURT LONDON LOS ANGELES MILAN NEW YORK PARIS PHI1LA DEL PH IA PRINCETON RUNE SAN FRANCISCO TOKYO TORONTO A big thank you to our 2006 Summer Interns: Homed Bazaz, Feifei Hu, and Michael Duboe. APPLY ONLINE WWW. ZSASSOC IATES .COM value challenge respect opportunity g rowth University of Michigan Engineering students are invited to attend our presentation: Engineering - 1500 EECS Tuesday, September 26, 2006 5:30 - 7:30 pm Engineering students, please submit your resume by Sunday, October 1,2006. Z S A GLOBAL LEADER IN SALES & MARKETING CONSULTING Choose from a wide variety of courses - receive Fairfield University credit and grades! Short-Term '07 - January Intersession: Florence, Italy; Ocho Rios, Jamaica - March Break: St. Petersburg, Russia; County Clare, Ireland; Syracuse, Italy - Summer: Florence or Padova, Italy; Managua, Nicaragua Fall/Spring Semester Programs - Florence or Syracuse, Italy - Galway, Ireland - Brisbane, Australia - Managua, Nicaragua U NIV E RSITY C OL LEG E A T For more information: Office of International Education Fairfield Fairfield University(.t UNIVERSITY www.fairfleld.edu/studyabroad .E 'rsaa.l'z,"i Contact Ann at (203) 254-4332 Fairield, CT 06I'iOi4824-5195 I