4 8A - Wednesday, March 19, 2008 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 'M' lands NIT bid, first-round bye The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 0 By CHRIS MESZAROS Daily Sports Writer It's been 149 games since the Michigan women's basketball team last played in a postseason tournament. But the Wolverines will never make it to 150. The Wolverines (10-10 Big Ten, 17-13 overall) were invited to the Women's National Invitational Tournament at midnight Tues- day, receiving a first-round bye in the tournament. They will host a second-round game Monday at Crisler Arena against the winner of Saturday's first-round matchup between Virginia Commonwealth (25-7) and Charlotte (18-13). "To host is just unreal," sopho- more Krista Phillips said. "Every one of us is just ecstatic to play in front of our home crowd and we just want to get (our fans) back out here." Admission to Monday's game willibe free for students. The postseason bid is the first for anyone on Michigan's roster. Senior housemates Krista Clement, Katie Dierdorf and Janelle Cooper and junior Carly Benson all stayed up late last night, refreshing their computer screens, to find out if Michigan would be one of 18 teams to receive an at-large bid. "We were in our house check- ing the Internet, checking the Internet, checking the Internet," Clement said. "We were watching the NCAA selection show to see how many Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament. We were hop- ing many Big Ten teams got in the tournament so we would have a better chance to getinto the NIT." On Monday, Big Ten teams received four bids to the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State's sur- prisingsnub meant that it would be bumped down to the WNIT and left less of a chance for Michigan to grab a spot in the tournament. With one more Big Ten team in the mix, Borseth and the rest of the Wolverines were concerned, because they didn't know if the I WNIT would choose teams like Wisconsin, Indiana or Illinois over Michigan. "It was nerve-wracking, think- ing that they'd put five Big Ten teams in there," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "We were wondering if we'd beat out Wis- consin or Indiana in the process." But, all five teams were invited to the WNIT, meaning nine of eleven Big Ten nine will play in postseason tournaments. Virginia Commonwealth, with its stronger regular season record, appears to be the more danger- ous potential opponent. The Rams made it to the CAA Championship game before losing to No. 14 Old Dominion. If the Wolverines win their sec- ond-round matchup, they will not be able to host a third-round game at Crisler Arena. Michigan is host- ing the Big Ten Women's Gymnas- tics Championships that weekend. Instead, the Wolverines will likely travel to either Mississippi or Arkansas to play against Missis- sippi State, Southern Mississippi, or Arkansas-Little Rock. But, for now, Borseth is just glad his team has made it this far. "We've jumped a few hurdles that the program hasn't jumped the past few years," Borseth said. "We get a chance to have a winning record and play in a postseason tournament. Everything has really added up, and it's pretty exciting." ROBMIGRIN/Daily The Michigan baseball team's home opener was scheduled for 3:05 this afternoon but was called off by Michigan coach Rich Maloney more than 24 hours in advance. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT By JASON KOHLER Daily Sports Writer At 3:05 today, the Michigan base- ball team planned to take the field for its home opener against Oakland University. But, if fans head down to Ray Fisher Stadium this afternoon, the only people they'll find willbe work- ers standing in the rain in muddied, tan coats, putting final touches on the new nine-million-dollar com- plex for its inauguration. Michigan cancelled its first con- test in the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex yesterday, more than 24 hours before game time. The game has been rescheduled for next Monday, March 24. A game is usually called off on the day of the contest unless there are extreme weather circumstances. This raised the question of whether the stadium is ready for a crowd. But Michigan coach Rich Malo- ney won't hear of it. "There's nothing to that," Malo- ney said from his office on the sec- ond floor of the new complex. "I cancelled the game. No one else had to do with it. I cancelled it because it's raining outside." Maloney called the decision a no- brainer. According to online fore- casts, it will be about 40 degrees with showers tomorrow afternoon. The gloomy weather won't slow down the workers, though. The sta- dium is still littered with construc- tion equipment, including a small orange lift behind the home plate bleachers. The construction of the com- plex began in December 2006, and involves renovations to the soft- ball team's Alumni Field as well as Fisher Stadium. The stadium reno- vation is running on schedule to be completed this March, according to the construction report that was submitted to the University Board of Regents for tomorrow's regents meeting. As part of the new complex, a new brick wall was built in left field. The wall was Maloney's idea, and he hopes it will add character to the field. But behind the wall, the left- over brick and construction equip- ment remain. The biggest areas of concern are the muddy bullpens, which won't be completed for another week or two. "The game itself has nothing to do with what isn't done," Maloney said. "Are there still things being tidied up? You betcha. But that doesn't change the game. We still want to play." Despite the yellow-green, half- frozen outfield grass, Maloney says the field is playable because it wasn't part of the construction. It was redone two years ago. "All we really need is the playing surface and the wall," senior captain Derek VanBuskirk said. "We don't really need the extra stuff around it." The Wolverines haven't been able to practice in the new stadium this year because of the construc- tion. "It's special for the kids because they're going to walk out of that locker room and they'll be the only people who will walk into this sta- dium for the first time," Maloney said. Except for the construction workers, of course. Since Maloney came to Michigan in 2002, he dreamed of building a new baseball complex. He certainly didn't imagine having to postpone Opening Day in the new ballpark. But, as one onlooker passing by the stadium yesterday said, the complex will look like a big-time park when it's complete. "I want people to say, 'Wow, we get a chance to play in this ball- park,"' Maloney said. Is it the stadium Maloney envi- sioned? Not yet. Is it playable? Maloney has no doubts - as long as it stops raining. i4 Faceoffs still glaring weakness for Blue Sophomore pitcher steps into new offensive role in lineup By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK Daily Sports Editor The Michigan hockey team can hardly be described as sub- par, but this season, it has often found itself on the wrong side of the draw. During last weekend's 10-1 and 2-1 wins against Nebraska- Omaha, the Wolverines domi- nated in nearly every statistical category except faceoffs. Michi- gan won just 37 percent of its draws in Saturday's win and 46 percent for the weekend. The Wolverines' performance against the Mavericks was con- sistent with their .477 season percentage. But even though Michigan has made faceoffs a priority in practice, its opponents still consistently win more. "We've been doing everything from looking at tapes, to practic- ing after practice, to even threat- ening the team that we're going to bring Steve Yzerman down and work with our players to show them how to take faceoffs," associate head coach Mel Pear- son said. "I can't tell you why we haven't gotten better." Pearson named mental tough- ness and tenacity as two key traits needed to be strong on the draw, while Michigan coach Red Beren- son said confidence and quick hand-eye coordination are most important. Freshman Louie Caporusso, one of the team's best in the faceoff circle, said Michigan also percent, that's not bad." Caporusso (52 percent) and freshman Matt Rust (51 percent), along with senior Kevin Porter, take the most faceoffs for Michi- gan. Berenson said he felt the freshmen were doing "as good or better" than the upperclass- men taking faceoffs. Porter, who switched to center at the begin- ning of the year, has won just 42 percent of his draws. Pearson said difficulty with draws was an expected part of the learning curve during Porter's transition to center this season, and Berenson said Porter's strug- gles may lie in making faceoffs an integral part of his game. "When I was a player, one of the things I knew was that if I was going to have a good game, it was going to start with faceoffs - so I was pretty good at faceoffs," Berenson said. "Players that have never done that, that's the last thing on their mind when they walk in the building, so we're trying to reeducate some older players like (junior forward Tim) Miller and Porter." Though the Wolverines have hovered below .500 for much of the season, faceoff ,statistics can sometimes misrepresent the team's focus. "Even if we don't get a lot bet- ter, if we can survive by winning important faceoffs," Berenson said. "For me, I'd rather win all my faceoffs in my zone and then maybe take it with a grain of salt in the offensive zone." CLIF REEDER/Daily Freshman Louie Caporusso has improved on faceoffs throughout his first season of college hockey. As a team, Michigan is winning fewer than 48 percent of its draws. By RUTH LINCOLN Daily Sports Writer Last year, pitcher Nikki Nemitz had just four at-bats. Just six weeks into this season, she has already increased that num- ber twelvefold. Nemitz has established herself in the sixth spot of the Michigan soft- ball lineup, with a.292 batting aver- age in 48 trips to the plate. The St. Clair Shores native joined the lineup as the designated player in mid-February for the Time War- ner Texas Invitational. In her first game at the plate, against then-No. 17 Cal State-Fullerton, she had her career best day at the plate, going 3- for-4 with a double and an RBI. - Since then, she has batted in 19 consecutive games, contributing to No. 9 Michigan's 14-game winning streak. Coming into the season, the coaching staff hoped Nemitz would improve her hitting. She led her Regina High School team in batting average forthree seasons.Astarting sophomore pitcher (8-1), she now has the chance to produce at the plate as well as from the circle. As a pitcher, Nemitz is used to adjusting her mindset from hitter to hitter. In hitting, where streaks and slumps dominate, her pitching men- tality helps her succeed. "She's got a great mind for the game," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "Nikki's got a savvi- ness about her, and I'm certain that helps her." Nemitz may not be hitting grand slams or leading the team in RBIs, but her consistency has proven helpful in the lineup. She has tallied 14 hits and has the third-highest on- base percentage for the Wolverines. "What she's been doing best at all year is what we want all our hit- ters to do - not try to do more than they're capable of," Hutchins said. "We just need her to make good contact with the ball, have good at- bats, see the ball and drive it." After feeling nervous during her first game, Nemitz said she has settled in and become more com- fortable at the plate. But though her offensive output has increased, she stressed the importance of keeping her hitting. and pitching accom- plishments separate. "I've been hitting and pitching together my entire life," Nemitz said. "When it's hitting time, it's focusing on hitting. When it's pitch- ing time, it's focusing on pitching." In last Friday's 7-2 victory over conference foe Minnesota, Nemitz earned the win from the mound with six strikeouts and backed up her pitching from the plate, hitting 2-for-4 with an RBI. "When you hit the ball well, you're not thinking about anything, and I think that's her approach," senior co-captainSamanthaFindlay said. "(She) wasn't thinking about her pitching, wasn't thinking about anything, just wanted to get a hit and help the team." '4 a 4 4 tried to be a little innovative this weekend. On Friday, his line tried dif- ferent strategies like switching defensemen with forwards to get better scoring opportunities right off the draw. "After we went up by a big lead, our faceoffs started to get a little creative," Caporusso said. "The ones that were lost, I can't really say you should take those into consideration because we were trying to practice different things, that's for sure." After this weekend, freshman Carl Hagelin boasted a team-high .543 faceoff percentage. He won 15 draws and lost 14 against the Mavericks in his first appearance at center since Nov. 30 against Ohio State. "There's nobody in hockey with a 70-percent faceoff (percentage) - it doesn't work that way," Beren- son said. "There's nobody in the NHL. I think (Detroit Red Wing Kris) Draper is the highest with 59 percent or 60 percent. That's as high as it gets. So if you're at 54 0