Sports
Page 12 Sataurday, July 11, 1981 The Michigan Daily
BLUE NETTER GETS NCAA AWARD
Horwitch wins scholarship
4
.4
By MARK MIHANOVIC
Daily Executive Sports Editor
An accomplished college career was capped in
style yesterday, as Matt Horwitch, who held down the
number two singles spot for the Michigan Wolverine
tennis team each of the past four years, was presen-
ted with a $2,000 post-graduate scholarship for
athletic and academic excellence.
Horwitch is one of six NCAA Division I non-football
and non-basketball athletes to receive the award.
Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham and the
University's Big Ten faculty representative, Thomas
Anton, made the presentation. Basketball player
Marty Bodnar was an alternate for the award last
year.
DURING HIS FOUR campaigns at Michigan, Hor-
witch compiled an overall singles record of 82-20 and
a doubles mark of 80-15. When he won the Big Ten
second singles championship this past spring, it
marked the first time that a netter had racked up four
consecutive conference titles at one position. In his
freshman and junior years, Horwitch teamed with
Jeff Etterbeck and Michael Leach, respectively, to
garner a pair of Big Ten first doubles crowns, as well,
He finished 31st at the NCAA tour-
nament in his junior year and moved up
to the top 16 in 1981. He was an All-
American in each of his last two
seasons as a Wolverine.
As is expected for one to be con-
sidered for this award, Horwitch's per-
formance in the classroom was as'im-
pressive asjis play on the tennis cour-
ts. An economics major specializing in
Industrial Organization, the Highland
Park, Illinois native graduated with a
3.8 GPA and Phi Betta Kappa honors.
He plans on continuing his education at
a top-notch law school in a few years.
First, however, Horwitch wants to
test his tennis game on the professional
tour. Thus, he forfeits the scholarship
money (which must be used for the con-
tinuation of the student-athlete's
education within one year of the award
date).
"ACADEMICS ARE my major con-
cern," he said. "It's just that tennis has
just been such a big part of my life. I've
spent a lot of time doing it."
Horwitch also feels that two or three
years on the circuit will enhance his
potential in the eyes of law school ad-
missions officers.
"They look favorably on it," Horwit-
ch said. "I was just talking to a friend of
mine who has finished three years on
the tour, and he felt it prepared him for
law school. He was disciplined, and he
really looked forward to going to
classes again.
"The date I've set to terminate it if
things don't go well is two to three
INGSTROM years," he continued. "And if things go
fence to well, it'll still be three years."
he last Perhaps the first indication of what
re eat direction Horwitch's professional ten-
greeball nis career is due to take will come on
ootball August 23rd in Flushing, New York, at
the U.S. Open qualifying competition.
Doily Photo by PAUL E
THOMAS ANTON, MICHIGAN'S Big Ten faculty representative, presents the NCAA award for academic excell
tennis standout Matt Horwitch. The Blue netter, who was the number two singles player for Michigan during t
four years, had an impressive 3.8 grade point average when he graduated from the University with a de
economics last May. Horwitch, an All-American for the past two years, was one of only six NCAA Division I non-f
and non-basketball athletes to receive the award. Athletic Director Don Canham looks on.
4
NCAA
traek
meet to
shift sites-
By RON POLLACK
DailySports Writer
Michigan has hosted the NCAA indoor track champion-
ships for each of the last 17 years, but a change is in order.
Michigan will still host the meet in the future, but plans are
being made to change the site from Joe Louis Arena. to the
Pontiac Silverdome.'
Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham, who doubles as
the meet's director, lists a number of reasons for the planned
move. "Well, I think the basic reason is that we have to buya
new track," said Canham. "The track that we have is 15
years old, and it's simply an outdated track. One of the
problems we had, is it's only four lanes wide and we have to
run two different sections, for instance, in the mile relay to
declare a winner because you have six or eight teams.
"WE'RE GOING TO build a new track, and a larger
track would not fit in either Cobo Hall or in the Joe Louis
Arena. A six-lane track is just too tight in both of those
arenas, whereas at the Silverdome we can build a slightly
larger track with six lanes which will make it a one-day track
meet. Presently we have a two-day track meet because we
have to run all those heats and things like that to decide the
winner.
According to Canham, the bill for the new track will be
footed by the NCAA. "The NCAA is going to buy the track,
and it'll cost about $110,000," he said. "It's the only place in
this part of the country that we can hold it on a large track, and
that's the basic reason why we're moving."
- It is Canham's contention that the move will not only im-
prove track conditions, but will also be advantageous to the
spectator. "The meet has been a two-day meet: in other wor-
ds, finals both days," said Canham. "Now that's an artificial
situation, because it's really a one-day track meet. But the
small track and small facility has made us divide it. So I
think that the big factor will be, from the spectator's stan-
dpoint, they buy one ticket and see the whole track meet in a
two-and-a-half hour period."
The track will be situated in the end zone at the Silver-
dome which is similar to what was done when Michigan last
played Notre Dame in basketball and drew 38,000 people.
"It will be an ideal place, in my opinion, to run a track
(meet)," said Canham. "And my guess is, we'll set an all-
time attendance record without much question."
4