The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, May 28, 1980-Page 15 WOMEN MISM.01, M 7, N H .sports WCHA TO CCHA *. .AND IN THIS CORNER .. Mark Mihanovic M' to switch Early season pretender .. . .. . title contender George Foussianes sat in the dugout, tears swelling in his eyes. It had been the senior's last game in Fisher Stadium, and no one could have anticipated, back in March when the Wolverines returned from Florida at 6- 7, that it would turn out this way. But it had, and Michigan was on its way to Omaha, Nebraska and the College World Series. For Foussianes, it marks the second opportunity to capture the golden prize, a national title. "I was there before, in my sophomore year, and therewas no team that was better than we are now,"Foussianes claimed. "If we play like we can, they (Michigan's chances) are good. "My whole college career has been a lot of fun. Right now I'm just thrilled to death. I got kind of sentimental near the end, this being my last game here. I've just never been on a team like this." It is a team that supposedly started the season in disarray. Bud Middaugh replaced Moby Benedict, who had spent 18 years directing the Wolverine diamond fortunes, and there were rumblings of discontent as Middaugh installed more discipline into the program and cut several veteran pitchers from the squad to make room for younger talent. On top of that, standout hurlers Steve Howe and Steve Perry graduated to the professional ranks, as did outfielder Rick Leach. So it was to be a year to look at new faces at the ballpark. Enjoy the sunshine, but don't expect much from the men in Blue. They're at least a year away. We were wrong Oh, how far wrong one can go in prejudging teams and athletes! After the ballclub's mediocre southern swing, Michigan moundsmen recorded shutout victories in five of their next six contests, and it was off to the races. Junior righty Mark Clinton got shelled in the season's third Big Ten game at Minnesota, but then the Wolverines steamrolled to twelve straight wins and the conference title. And they did it Middaugh's way, using the freshmen, giving them plenty of experience. Veterans like Clinton, Foussianes, and Chuck Wagner offered words of advice and encouragement to the frosh, but in the end, it was the talented right arms of Scott Dawson, Steve Ontiveros, and Scot Elam, and the slick glove of second baseman Jeff Jacobson that made the Wolverines champions, rather than fourth-place finishers. "The way we work together on the field'>and "what's inside my teammates" is Foussianes' explanation for the batsmen's success, and that explanation is about as good as any. There inevitably exists a degree of animosity within any group of 26 men striving to excel individually and as a group, but Middaugh's crew seems to keep any jealousy well below the surface. It sounds corny, but they are a team, in every sense of the word, and a team that had become very efficient by tournament time. Michigan domination Michigan owned the Mideast regional. A 9-4 win over Central Michigan and 7-0 and 12-3 trouncings of Nebraska made me wonder where all the great college teams in this country are. Seven Michigan regulars hit .300 or better during the three-game set, Foussianes (5 for 9), Wagner (6 for 11), and catcher Gerry Hool (6 for 11) all swinging at better than .500. Hool's .545 average, 3 walks, 5 RBI, and excellent work behind the plate earned him the regional MVP. Rightfielder Jim Paciorek went 4 for 5 in the final game, with a homer and 5 RBI. First baseman Tim Miller hit .429 during the regional with 4 RBI and 9 total bases. Ontiveros came on in relief for a win and a save in the first two games. Clinton pitched seven shutout innings in the second game. Elam went the distance in the third for the victory. And on and on. Michigan outhit, outpitched, outfielded, and simply overmatched its opposition. It was a performance that would have seemed inconceivable two short months ago. Incredibly, it's a performance that may be repeated next week. It is becoming more and more apparent that this Michigan club will not be intimidated or overmatched by anyone. The trip to the double elimination World Series in Omaha is more than just the joy ride many would expect it to be for a surprising young team. They are flying to Omaha with four strong pitchers (Clinton, Dawson, Ontiveros, and Elam), with the bats of Foussianes, Hlool, Wagner, and Paciorek, and with solid glove-work up the middle by Greg Schulte in center field, Tony Evans and Jacobson at short and second, and Hool behind the plate. And they are flying to Omaha with the best college baseball coach in the country for the 1980 season. A coach who has refused to make predictions all season. A coach who still refuses to make predictions. "I don't know how we'll be at Omaha. We're seeing nothing but winners there, jpst like ourselves . That must leave a pretty sweet taste fi your, moutIbuldd; By JON WELLS In an official statement to be released today at noon, the University will an-. nouncethe withdrawal of its hockey" team from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The resignation will go into effect prior to the 1981-82 season, at which time the Michigan icers will join the. Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Notre Dame will join the Wolverines with a simultaneous notice of transfer to the CCHA today, in- creasing the seven-team league to nine members. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Don Canham indicated that the decision reflected a combination of financial considerations, and a desire to exploit the natural rivalries that membership in the CCHA will provide. The CCHA in- cludes four teams in Michigan (Western Michigan, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, and Northern Michigan), and three in Ohio (Bowling Green, Ohio State, and Miami). "The decision was fifty-fifty between it (the CCHA) being a sensible league, and a money decision," said Canham. "We'll have a greater opportunity to play against our natural rivals and at the same time conserve costs so we can balance our hockey budget and thus stay in 'business'. "It costs us $10,000 to play at Den- ver," Canham added, and that's non- sense. It just doesn't make sense anymore. At home, Ohio State will out- draw Denver. We don't draw flies when Denver comes here." IN A LETTER of formal resignation to the WCHA, Canham said he was "sorry the league did not look at expai- sian when the opportunity presented it- self several years ago." At that time, Canham advocated a WCHA-CCHA merger that would have created two geographically alligned divisions. A statement by CCHA commissioner Fred Jacoby echoed Canham's reasoning and expressed pleasure at the two-team defection. "The addition of institutions with the stature of Michigan and Notre Dame, will add a further degree of credibility to the league and will make it one of the finest hockey-playing conferences in the nation. The geographic closeness of the schools not only will heighten interest in the games, but will keep travel costs as a reasonable expense." Prior to confirmation of the decision, Notre Dame Athletic Director Moose Krause had said, "Botht Notre Dame and Michigan have been investigating the possibility of competing in a more geographically compact league than the WCHA and our entrance into the CCHA should accomplish that goal," Notre Dame's hockey program has been in dire financial straits for the past several years. ACCORDING TO CANHAM, Michigan Tech and Michigan State, currently members of the WCHA, may follow suit and jump leagues. If this oc- curs, the WCHA would be reduced to six member schools-Wisconsin, Min- nesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado College, Denver, and North Dakota. BILLBOARD New basketball coach Bill Frieder hired his first assistant coach yester- day. Don Sicko, a former Detroit high school coach, met the approval of the Board in Control of Athletics. Sicko, 33, coached in the Detroit -Catholic League for 12 seasons before THURS. PITCHER NIGHT M 9 CHILI DOG SPECIAL Zfor $1.50 MAY 29 HAPPY HOUR 3-8 p.m.-"Two-fers" "SEMBLANCE' FRI.-SAT. TG PARTY! FRIDAY 3-4 p.m. MAY 3A-31 HAPPY HOURS Fri. & Sat. 3-8 p.m.- "Two-fers" "BLUE FRONT PERSUADERS" Sunday is SPAGHETTI NIGHT SUN-MON. "ALL the pasta you can eat for only $2.50" JUNE 1-2 Monday IsBURRITONIGHT M.ndays"-fs" HAPPY HOUR Mon. 3-8 p.m.-"Two-fers" .