Page 16 Saturday, May 16, 1981 The Michigan Daily
4
'M' netters face U
national contenders," said Eisner "I
Bru ins top seeded am hoping to take two out of the top
_ne inismaceP
. three singles matches a
" TA 1 A and one of the bottom thr
t '' R ii n tied at 3-3 going into the
in ICLA A tunmn
ches, we have an excelle
By BARB BARKER Bruins that could help his netters: winning."
By ' s The Bruins have no outstanding JUNIOR MICHAEL LE
The Michigan men's tenms team, servers. in the number one s
which squeezed out a tie for the title . Their singles players are all back- Wolverines against UC.
with iupstart Minnesota nlast court players. Frieman. Leach has pla
weekend's Big Ten Championships, is All of the - players are ap- four times before, beati
slated to face top-seeded UCLA in the proximately 5'8" or 5'9". times.
first round of the NCAA tournament . None of the UCLA doubles teams Michigan will also have
today in Athens, Ga. The -Wolverines are outstanding. Leach and senior Matt H
were paired with the Bruins in a blind "I think the fact we have had such a peting in the NCAA singl
draw for the first round of the single- super season proves us to be legitimate ships, and another Woly
elimination tournament.
Seeded behind the Bruins are Stan-
ford, Pepperdine, Southern California,
Arkansas, Clemson, Houston and
Southern Methodist.
COMPETING IN the event, which
represents the "cream of college tennis
competitors" according to Michigan
coach Brian Eisner; will be a total of 16
teams - eight regional champions plus
eight additional top teams. The
Wolverines are unseeded in the event.{
Michigan earned the bid to represent
its region in the NCAA match when the
Wolverines tied Minnesota for the
regional championship in the conferen- .
ce tournament last weekend.- The -
Wolverines were chosen to go to Athens'
over the Gophers because Michigan
went undefeated in Big Ten dual com-
petition, including a 6-3 win over Min-
nesota. ~
Despite drawing powerful UCLA as
its first round opponent, Eisner said
that he is optimistic about Michigan's
chances.
"I THINK WE HAVE gained a lot of.
experience in the tough team battle we
had ri the Big Tens with Minnesota," he
said. "Yesterday we scrimmaged
second-seeded Stanford in doubles and
wo five of seven.sets. Wh we Pplayphoto
UCLA, we're going to cut away MICHIGAN'S MICHAEL LEACH fires a backhand in last week
all the pressure of them being the first- Ten Championships in Ann Arbor. Leach will by playing first sin
seeded team. We plan to' take a very when the Wolverines take on top-seeded UCLA in the NCAA tour
analytical approach to the match.",thenssk s AA
Eisner listed four weaknesses of the Athens, Ga.
SPORTS OF THE DAILY:
against UCLA
Free. If we are
doubles mat-
ent chance of
ACH will play
pot for the.
LA's Marcel
yed Frieman
ng him three
two players,
orwitch, com-
es champion-
vpin Ma-
Mees, will be the region's first alter-
nate. UCLA placed five players, more
than any other school, in the 64-player
event, which begins Thursday.
Horwitch, who is four-time second
singles Big Ten champion, was ranked
12th in the college ranks prior to this
season. Leach was ranked 14th and was
undefeated this season until he lost his
Big Ten first singles crown last
weekend to Ohio State's Ernie Fernan-
dez. Neither Wolverine is seeded in the
NCAA tournament.
Ra in slows
Big Tfen.
basebal
tourney
The players were ready but Mother
Nature wasn't yesterday, as the
opening round of the Big Ten baseball
tournament at Fisher Stadiun was
postponed by rain. So with the forecast
calling for sunny skies, the four-team
double-elimination tournament is
pushed back a day, with East Division
winner Michigan scheduled to take on
Illinois at 1 p.m. today, and West
Division champ Minnesota slated to
face Purdue at 4 p.m.
Michigan, which finished the Big Ten
season at 10-4, won the conference title
last year. This year' marks the first
time that the conference has used a
tournament format to determine the
'league winner.
Purdue finished in second place in the
East with an 8-6-1 mark, behind the
Wolverines. Illinois held on to the West
lead throughout most of the season until -
Minnesota swept Wisconsin last Sunday
in a doubleheader, giving the Gophers a
13-3 record and the West title, while the
Illini finished in second place at 11-3.
y u vr t r
kend's Big
gles today
nament in'
'M'golfers in fifth at Big Tens
I
Specialtothe Daily
ST. PAUL - After yesterday's first round of the Big
Ten Golf Championships, Michigan is in a fifth-place
tie with Iowa. Both the Wolverines and the Hawkeyes
shot a nine-over par 364 to trail leader Purdue by
twelvestrokes.
Michigan's top individual scorer is currently senior
John Morse, who is in eighth place with a par 71.
Steve Maddalena registered a 72 for the Wolverines,'
while Ed Humenik and Tom Pursel both shot a 73.
PURDUE'S ERIC DUTT and Michigan State's
Dave Belen share the individual lead at 67.
Two rounds will be played today, with the final on
Sunday on the Minnesota Course.
U.S. divers face China
CLEVELAND (AP)-The best divers from the
United States and China meet for the third time today
and tomorrow at Cleveland State University.
"This is the bulk of the Olympic teams for both
countries," said Dick Kimball, coach of the U.S. team'
and diving coach at Michigan. "You won't find diving
better than this anywhere in the world."
THE AMERICAN TEAM has not beaten tlye
Chinese team in two previous meetings, one at
Fuchou, China last summer and earlier in 1980 at
Columbus., .
Saturday's competition will consist of the standard
four events including 'three-meter springboard and
10-meter platform diving for men and women.
Brett denies hit
KANSAS CITY (AP)-Kansas City Royals third
baseman George Brett denied yesterday that he
struck a photographer on the head with a crutch
Thursday night while leaving to seek treatment for a
sprained ankle.
"I hit the camera. I didn't hit him in the forehead,"
Brett said of his encounter with United Press Inter-
national photographer Tom Gralish.
''That seems like a minor point," Gralish respon-
ded to Brett's denial. "Something hit my forehead."
Pirates'Parker injured
PITTSBURGH (AP)-The injury-ridden Pit-
tsburgh Pirates said yesterday that outfielder Dave
Parker had been placed on the 15-day disabled list
with a "slight tear" of his right Achilles tendon. i
Parker, troubled by the swollen heel for the past
month, was examined yesterday by Dr. Jack Failla,
an orthopedic specialist.
THE PIRATES said they were hopeful that rest
would relieve Parker's problem.
Parker is batting .264 this season with four homers
and 15 RBI. Despite the injury, he was hitting .347 in
his last 12 games with three homers and 11 RBI.
He was forced to leave Wednesday night's game in
Atlanta after seven innings when he aggravated his
heel problem when he lunged back into first base.