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Friday, May 14, 1982 .
'M' OPENS TOMORRO0W A GAINS T GEOR GIA4

The Michigan Daily

Blue netters prepare for NCAAs
By LARRY MISHKIN Eisner feels confident that they can.
"We proved we could handle the pressure at the Big Ten
With another Big Ten Championship under its belt, the tournament," he said. "We proved it three days in a row
Michigan men's tennis team will shoot for an even larger title when the pressure was greater than it will be now because we
at the NCAA championships which begin tomorrow and run were expected to win. It was a pressure cooker situation but
through May 22 at the University of Georgia. we showed great mental tenacity and won the key matchups
The Wolverines, ranked 20th in the nation, will open the when we had to. Now we're not under as much pressure. We
tournament against the host Bulldogs, ranked fourth in the have much more to gain and nothing to lose."
nation, in what will be one of Michigan's toughest matches of EISNER SAID that his practice plan calls for Michigan to
the year. play some practice matches with teams outside
HOWEVER, DESPITE the Wolverines' tendency to lose in its bracket in order for the players to keep sharp.
the opening round of the NCAAs and the toughness of their "We will be trying to build back up to the
opponent, coach Brian Eisner is optimistic. emotional level that we were at for the Big
"This is the first time that we drew ateam that is similar to Tens," he said. "We will have four practices
us in style of play," said Eisner. "We've had some success there and I will try to arrange some practice
against Georgia in the past and I feel that the way we're matches with other teams. Everyone is
playing now, we can beat anybody." emotionally nervous and any competition against your own
The success that Eisner referred to includes a strong per- people is not good. I want them to compete though, they need
formance by singles player Mark Mees, who defeated the some fine tuning."
Bulldog's number one singles player John Mangin last fall at Although it was the Wolverines' doubles teams that seemed
the Nike All-American tournament in Los Angeles. The last to carry the team for much of the season, it was the singles
time Michigan faced Georgia in team match play, the players that won the Big Ten tournament for Michigan and
Wolverines came out on top, 6-3, two years ago at the indoor Eisner is expecting more fine play from his singles.
team championships.
EISNER ADMITS, though, that his squad will run into "WE WON THE Big Ten with outstanding singles play," he
several problems, most notably facing Georgia on its home said. "As I had hoped, the great competition we faced earlier
court. in the year began to pay dividends. Now we are on a roll and
"It is almost impossible to play Georgia in Georgia," he building on it. We are going into the NCAAs the way we want
said. "They have great fans. Thousands of their fans come to to, eager, but not burnt out."
their matches and often cause distorted results. It is difficult
for the opponent to concentrate on the match." Michigan's lineup will not undergo any major changes as
Another problem cited by Eisner is Michigan's lack of out- Michael Leach, Mees, Tom Haney, Bill Godfrey, Ross Laser,
door playing time, and Rodd Schreiber or Ihor Debryn will be playing singles,
"WE HAVE not played as much outdoor tennis as I would while Leach and Mees, Haney and Debryn and Schreiber and
have liked," he said. "The Big Ten tournament was inside Godfrey will make up the doubles teams.
and a lot of our preparation has been inside. We have to start The NCAA tournament field is made up of eight regional
feeling confident outside." winners and eight at-large teams picked on the basis of their
Should the Wolverines manage to upset Georgia, the com- national rankings. Michigan is the only team from its region
petition will not get any easier. A big question mark for the in the tournament. The favorites going into the competition
team will be whether or not it can handle the day-to-day are UCLA, Southern Methodist and Pepperdine, ranked first,
pressure of having to face the top teams in college tennis. second, and third in the nation respectively.

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Leach
... top singles player
SCORES

- Baseball
AP Photo American League
Fender Bender Detroit 6, Minnesota 2
Texas 4, Toronto 3
National League
Cincinnati 2, Pittsburgh 1
Race driver Josele Garza of Mexico rebounds off the wall yesterday during practice for the Indianapolis 500 Philadelphia8, SanFranciscol
which will be held on May 30. He was not injured. Garza, last year's Rookie of the Year, crashed in almost the NewYork 4, Los Angeles 2
same spot while leading the race during last year's Indy competition. St. Louis 1oAtlanta9
Chicago 5, Houston 0