Michigan pitcher Matt Herr
Sunday, May 3, vs. Penn State:
1 1/3 !P, 4 R;1 ER, 1 H, tWagd dA L
3 8, O K, 1 HBP, 1 E May5, 1998111
Dutcher steps down as basketball assistant

By RIck** e
OW Joshbeibmm
Daily SpoonsW
Brian Dutcher, an assistant coach of
the Michigan basketball team, resigned
yesterday.
"I spent ten years here (at Michigan),
and it'tjust time to leave," he said. "It's
time to get on with something new and
to let (the team) get on with something
new. I want to try to be a head coach"
Dutcher says he is considering head
coaching offers. Although he couldn't
comment on any specific others, he said,
"It's just a matter of where I want to be."
Dutcher has been considering leaving
Michigan for "a long time," and said that
toB
By Ti. Berka
daily Sports Editor
The Michigan softball team has been
as efficient as the post office this season
- rain or shine, they deliver.
Rain has been just about the only
thing that has derailed the Wolverines
this season, and even Mother Nature's
impact has been minimal. Forced to play
only one game Saturday and a double-
header Sunday - the opposite of the
original schedule - due to rain,
Michigan (22-1 Big Ten, 47-4 overall)
responded with a sweep of the Badgers
(8-16, 19-31-1)4-0, 5-2 and 6-3.
The Wolverines have run off a 12-
game winning streak and raced away
with the Big Ten regular season title.
The second-place finisher in the con-
ference, Northwestern, finished 7.5
games behind the Wolverines.
"It feels pretty good," Michigan
pitcher Sara Griffin said. "Winning the
Big Ten championship was great, but it
makes a difference to know that we
,dominated the rest of the Big Ten."
After clinching the conference title

the opportunities that came along to him
earlier just didn't feel right.
Sunday, Dutcher called Michigan
guard Travis Conlan, with whom he's
grown close, and "said he was 'just sit-
ting here deciding what I am going to
do,"' Conlan said.
Yesterday, Dutcher called Conlan to
tell him he had resigned.
Dutcher was disappointed when he
was passed up for the head coaching job
at Michigan just seven months ago,
when current coach Brian Ellerbe was
hired.
"My No.1 wish was that I would have
been the head coach," Dutcher said.
"Obviously, if I had gotten the job, I

wouldn't be leaving. But my No. 2 wish
was that Brian get the job"
There was speculation that Dutcher
didn't get the job because of his close
ties and friendship with former coach
Steve Fisher - something that Conlan
said still haunts Dutcher in the eyes of
the athletic department and alumni.
Fisher was fired on Oct. 11, 1997 in the
wake of an in-depth NCAA investigation
into the Michigan basketball program.
The investigation found just three minor
violations.
"The report was not the driving factor.
I took the report, and I set the report
aside on the table," Michigan Athletic
Director Tom Goss said that day.

But Goss named Ellerbe, who had
been an assistant for just a few months,
the interim coach
instead of Dutcher,
who had been with
the program for
close to a decade.
Conlan said that
Dutcher's confi-
dence was probably
affected when
Ellerbe was promot-
ed ahead of him.
Dutcher "He didn't have
the same Brian Dutcher attitude" this
past season, Conlan said.
Conlan praised the efforts of Dutcher

and the other coaches for their handling
of what could.have been a sticky sit.
tion throughout the season.
"They just did it for us," Conlan said.
Despite reports otherwise, Dutcher
said his relationship with Ellerbe was
excellent.
"I brought Brian here," Dutcher said.
"I was instrumental in his hiring as an
assistant last year. We were getting along
great. I enjoyed every moment of work-
ing with Brian."
The Wolverines went 233-96 during
Dutcher's tenure, including one NC.A
title, two second-place national finish,
an NIT title and a Big Ten Tournament
title.

STr w
Men~~~- etesfnsforth, wo men second at Big Tens e

By Stephanie Offen
holy Spots Woter
It was as predictuble as a "Home Alone" sequel.
The Big Ten Men's Tennis tournament in Champaign this
past weekend provided no shocks or surprises - and left the
Wolverines empty handed.
Michigan, the fourth seed, also finished fourth - behind
Illinois, which remained undefeated in the Big Ten
Friday, the Wolverines took on Wisconsin and came up
See FOURTH, Page 19

By Drew Beaver
I'sIy to Wrir
It's tough to top an undefeated season. last year, the
Michigan women's tennis team did not lose a Big lei match.
A week before this year's Big Ten 'ounament, Michigan
fell to Wisconsin, 7-0, and dropped four singles matches to
Northwestern in a 4-3 loss. Michigan's Big Ten Tournament
prospects did not look good. Looks can be deceiving, though.
With an NCAA Regional bid hanging in the bal-
See FINALS, Page 1

Lions sweep, eliminate Blue

Rebecca Tune provided clutch hitting
and fielding in beating Wisconsin.
last weekend against archrival Iowa,
there was concern whether the
Wolverines would underestimate the
Badgers.
But Michigan overcame slow starts
in all three contests to continue its win-
ning ways.
"Sweeping Wisconsin was key
because it was a test of our work ethic,
since we had already won the (Big Ten)
See BADGERS, Page 19


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By Jacob Wheeler
Diyports Wrter
Just like it has all season, the loudspeaker at Ray Fisher
Stadium played Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" before
Michigan's final home game Sunday against Penn State.
But celebration was the furthest thing from the Wolverines'
minds after the defending Big Ten champions were swept in 44
four games by the visiting Nittany Lions, obliterating any
hopes of Michigan returning to the Big Ten playoffs.
"Obviously it feels pretty awful right now, getting swept in
our last home series," Michigan senior pitcher Brian Steinbach
said after his final game at Fisher Stadium. "The whole year '
has been pretty disappointing. This year is not what I'm going
to remember about Michigan baseball, but that's what I'm
thinking about right now"
Penn State (13-10 Big Ten, 25-21 overall) entered the week- a
See LIONS, Page 18
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