Coming up next week...
The Michigan rowing team, ranked third
in the nation, competes in the National
Collegiate Rowing Championship next
weekend.

SPORTS

Tuesday
May 26, 1998 1I

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Ellerbe
hires two
assistants
y Josh Klnbaum
Daily Sports Editor
Lorenzo Neely and Tom Sorboro may
not be able to help Michigan's front-
court, but the two are all Michigan
coach Brian Ellerbe was able to sign this
spring.
After not gaining any new commit-
ments from recruits during the spring
signing period, Ellerbe hired for two
assistants.
Stromile Swift, Louisiana's Mr.
Basketball, and Tony Akins, Georgia's
Mr. Basketball, both opted to stay close
. o home, passing up Michigan for
Louisiana State and Georgia Tech,
respectively.
So, despite the need for a center and a
power forward, Ellerbe hired an assistant
coach and an administrative assistant.
"I'mvery pleased to have two impres-
sive young individuals join our staff"
Ellerbe said in a released statement.
Neely, a Detroit native who spent his
entire collegiate basketball career at
Eastern Michigan, as both a player and a
coach, will join Scott Trost as an assis-
tant coach.
"Lorenzo is a very enthusiastic per-
son who in my opinion has a very bright
future in this profession," Ellerbe said.
v'Plus, he is from the area and has strong
ties to the city of Detroit."
But Neely will not be able to use
those ties to help recruiting. Neely is not
replacing Brian Dutcher, Ellerbe's top
assistant who resigned May 5. Instead,
Ellerbe will hire another assistant to take
over Dutcher's role. This means that
Neely, as the third assistant, will not be
allowed to recruit off-campus - one of
Dutcher's chief responsibilities. Instead,
Neely will coach from the bench during
games, help run practices and assist in
on-campus recruiting.
At Eastern Michigan, Neely led the
,Eagles to two NCAA Tournament
appearances as a player, once reaching
the Sweet Sixteen. After coaching at
Redford High School for three years,
Neely returned to Easters Michigan to
coach under Ben Braun in 1995.
Tom Sorboro's position, administra-
tive assistant, is a new one to the
Michigan basketball program. Sorboro,
making his second stint as an Ellerbe
assistant, will handle the day-to-day
operations of the program, such as mak-
ing team travel arrangements and orga-
nizing camps and clinics.
"Tom brings a unique background
and has a lot of different skills that will
,..low him to excel" as an administrative
assistant, Ellerbe said.
Sorboro, a graduate of Bowling
Green, was an assistant coach under
Ellerbe at Loyola (Md.) College during
the 1996-97 season, before Ellerbe left
Loyola for Michigan.

itle walks away

Relaxation does6
not pay off for
'M' in Seri~es
By T.J. Berka
Daily Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Wolverines have been here
before. In fact, the Michigan softball team has been here tsI
last three years. The Wolverines rationalized that their previoL
experience in the College World Series would pay dividends
for them this year. It didn't.
----------------- After a seven-run first inning in their
Softball first-round victory over Texas on Friday,
the Wolverines performed as if they had
Commentary never been to the College World Series
----------------- before.
While Oklahoma City is not exactly the tourist hotspot of
the United States, it is the mecca of American softball, and get-
ting there is the goal of every collegiate team.
With that said, it's clear that Michigan craved its trip to t
heartland of America.
So why does Michigan tend to melt in the heat of the south-
ern plains every May? It has been said that the southern way of
life is more stress-free and relaxed.
After four years of failure in Oklahoma, maybe Michigan
should take a lighter, more "southern" approach to its game
plan.
While that may be a viable suggestion, don't try to tell the
Wolverines that they're uptight.
According to Michigan, the Wolverines were relaxed, even-
tempered, and happy to be there.
"I don't think there was any pressure ontt us," Michig
pitcher Sara Griffin said after the Wolverines were eliminated
by Oklahoma State. "All we kept talking about was how we
were going to be relaxed, and I think we were."
If the Wolverines were relaxed it was awfully hard to tell by
watching them at Don Porter Stadium.
The game against the Cowboys appeared pretty stressful for
Michigan as coach Carol Hutchins and Griffin were at con-
stant war with the home-plate umpire.
"Do you have 10,000 bucks?" Hutchins said after being
asked about the umpiring behind home-plate. 4
The fine for criticizing officiating in the NCAA just hap-
pens to be $10,000.
See EXPERIENCE, Page 15
The Michigan
women's track
team claimed the
Big Ten title this
past weekend i
Columbus, beaW
ing out Wisconsin
and Illinois.
SARAHCOLUNS/Daily

Michigan coach Carol Hutchins scolds pitcher Sara Griffin during Saturday's 3-1 loss to Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys scored three unearned runs on Griffin, largely due to seven walks.

I

Blue takes Big T ens

By Chris Langrill
Daily Sports Writer
All season long, Michigan women's
track assistant coach Mike McGuire
has been stressing the importance of
Big Tens. That paid off' Sunday when
the Wolverines claimed the Big Ten
outdoor title.
"Big Ten's are still the most impor-
tant thing for us," McGuire said after
the Jesse Owens classic, where the
team garnered many individual wins.
He also added that Wisconsin and
Illinois were looking real good at the
time and that those teams would be
tough come the Big Ten Tournament.
He was dead on.
The Michigan women's track team

totalled 129.50 points for first place
As practically predicted by McGuire,
Wisconsin finished second with 117
points and Illinois third with 115.
Sunday didn't provide the team with
any individual victories. But as this was
a scored team event, even fifth- and
six-place finishes mattered, and they
provided much-needed points. The
team won because, when it was clear
that they wouldn't take first, individu-
als still gutted out their events, helping
pile up the points to victory.
For example, in the 100-meter dash,
Maria Brown and Kenise Bocage fin-
ished sixth and seventh, picking up
three and two points, respectively. Tania
See BIG TENS, Page 13