Women's Gymnastics
Big Ten Championships
Tomorrow and Saturday
Champaign, Ill.
The Michigan Daily
SPORTS
Women's Rugby
vs. Dayton
Saturday, noon
Mitchell Field
Page 9
Thursday, March 21, 1991
0
.,, .
FULL COURT
PRESS,
BASEBALL TEAM WINS HOME OPENER, 9-4
.
Hitters lead assault
N
Eastern
*sets tone
for state
by Matthew Dodge
Daily Sports Writer
Now I know how the Native
Americans felt when the Europeans
sailed into town proclaiming
themselves as the discoverers of a
new land.
Probably just like the Eastern
Michigan Hurons do this week.
Actually, they're not the Hurons
anymore; they are searching for a
new nickname. Maybe State Champs
would be better.
This squad has opened up many
eyes this season, and has taught
*everal lessons to other prominent
programs in the state of Michigan.
The average fairweather fan is
jumping on the bandwagon way too
late. You all don't know what you
have missed.
But Steve Fisher does. Here is a
list of the coups pulled by Ben
Braun and his staff:
1. Lorenzo Neely. As the point
uard at Detroit Northern in 1987,
cely helped send Derrick Coleman
to Syracuse, and then the NBA. And
this year, by his absence, he helped
send Michigan to the NIT.
After a 1988 game, Bill Frieder
said, "Neely was tremendous, he
completely outplayed Rumeal."
Were Neely playing in the Big
Ten, he would be the second best
point guard in the conference, behind
Ohio State's Mark Baker. He
penetrates, dishes to the big fellas,
and knocks down the jumper. He
plays defense. And the pro scouts
like him. The NBA's Cleveland
Cavaliers have been to every Eastern
game since February to see Neely.
But Lo stands out above other
Midwest guards because he's a
winner. In his four years, EMU has
won the MAC title twice. These
*titles were sandwiched around two
second place finishes in his
sophomore and junior years.
2. Theron Wilson. The All-State
forward from Royal Oak Dondero
1-igh - ranked No. 3 in Class A -
signed with EMU in the early
signing period in November.
This catch is significant because
Wilson is the first prime time
recruit to pass up the Wolverines
*for the Hurons. Not only did
Eastern beat out its rival in Ann
Arbor for the silky smooth blue-
chipper, but Braun swiped Wilson
right out from under the grasp of
Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV.
However, Wilson's decision
should be no surprise. Braun and his
staff treat their players right. The
Eastern program is the classiest in
the state, bar none. And the crowd at
1Bowen Fieldhouse is unreal. Any
recruit would rather play in an
intimate, deafening gym than a
cavernous, half-empty arena.
3. Gary Waters. In his second
year as Braun's top assistant, Waters
is indispensable to the Hurons'
program. He gives EMU something
that Michigan does not have - a
coach who relates well to the
players.
Waters' old stomping ground
was Ferris State, where he coached
the Bulldogs to several consecutive
league titles. Upon arriving in Ypsi,
he gave the Eastern program a hefty
boost by walking onto campus with
the man in the center, Marcus
Kennedy.
And the center is where the
entire Eastern team sits this week
- the center of attention. The
Hurons' tourney run may not last
long, but the talent and class of the
program will.
by David Schechter
Daily Baseball Writer
Behind the strength of Dennis Kon-
uszewski's right arm, Michigan (9-6) treat-ed
its opening day crowd to a sizeable 9-4
victory over Bowling Green yesterday.
Konuszewski (1-0), the third pitcher in
Michigan's starting rotation, threw six in-
nings for the victory, allowing only one hit
and no runs. "I felt good out there today,"
Konuszewski said.
The Falcons, on the other hand, could not
find an effective pitcher to lead them. Starting
with left-hander Vince Metzger (1-1),
Bowling Green coach Danny Schmitz called
on six more of his pitchers, but none could
provide the consistency Schmitz needed.
Offensively, the Wolverines packed a po-
tent punch. They stranded nine runners, but
took full advantage of men in scoring posi-
tion. In the fourth inning with two outs and
the bases loaded, outfielder Steve Buerkel hit
a single to knock in one run. Buerkel's hit
was followed by a double from third baseman
Tim Flannelly to send in two more runs.
In the sixth inning, with the bases once
again loaded, outfielder Pat Maloney sent the
ball deep into left-center and racked up three
runs to add to Michigan's total. All told, the
Wolverines loaded up the bases in the fourth,
fifth and sixth innings, and tallied 8 runs.
Though Freehan was pleased with his
starting pitcher, the only other pitcher he had
praise for was short reliever Todd Marion who
came in to close the game. "We planned on
using Todd in one shape or form today,
Michigan
lacrosse
falls to
Oberlin
by Mitch Rubenstein
Daily Sports Writer
whether it was 11-0 or whatever. He needs to
pitch to be an effective short reliever,"
Freehan said.
Freehan's staff of middle relievers left the
coach dismayed.
"You take out your starter and your middle
relief gives up four runs. That's the area
we've been most vulnerable so far this year,"
Freehan said. "I'm still searching for
somebody to come in and do that kind of job
for me," Freehan added.
Defensively, Michigan displayed shinning
spots - with notable catches - and gaping
holes - by giving up three errors.
"I don't like to see three errors on the part
of Michigan," Freehan said. "Pat Maloney
made a good play, Steve Buerkel made a great
play, but our infield needs to play better."
If there was something that Freehan
couldn't complain about, it was the hitting
that ripped Bowling Green's pitching staff for
11 hits and nine runs. The Falcons staff gave
up eight walks to Michigan.
In this weekend's doubleheader with
Eastern Michigan, Freehan plans to start
Wolverine ace pitcher Jason Pfaff. Freehan
will look from a stronger performance from
his middle relievers this weekend.
Yesterday's early taste of Spring and
warm weather brought out large numbers to
Michigan's opening game. Baseball fans
came to take in some baseball and enjoy the
sunshine. Michigan football players,
basketball players and lacrosse players alike
showed up to cheer on another Wolverine
team.
Michigan hurler Dennis Konuszewski pitches the Wolverines to a 9-4 win over Bowling Green
in the 1991 home opener yesterday at Fisher Stadium.
Women's tennis team heads
A.
.
to South Bend for triple play
by Adam Miller
Daily Sports Writer
On the eve that marked the first
day of spring, the Michigan lacrosse
team took the field expecting to beat
Oberlin College. In a game where
desire would decide the winner, the
Wolverine players were unable get
their hearts out of hibernation. The
end result was a 15-10 loss at the
hands of the Yeoman.
The Wolverines played like
champions in the first quarter and
raced out to a quick, 3-1, lead. When
the Michigan team broke its huddle
at the start of the second quarter, the
team left their determination on the
sidelines. Not even the tongue-
lashings that the players received
from their captains could thaw out
the team's frozen hearts.
Michigan had superior athletes in
its arsenal of attack, but the size and
strength of the powerful squad was
neutralized by Oberlin's sharp
passing. The precision with which
the Yeoman moved the ball seemed
to tire out the weary Wolverines. A
victory for Michigan should not.
have been out of the question.
According to the Albion head
coach, "We were very concerned
about our chances of beating
Michigan coming into the game."
He continued to say that, "Michigan
always plays us tough. Michigan is
a good team that is going to win a
lot of games."
Academic
All-Big Ten
Women's Basketball
Jennifer Nuanes
Women's Gymnastics
Deborah Geiger
Eva Gordon
Allison Winski
Tiffany Kinaia
Women's Swimming
Lisa Cribari
Mindy Gehrs
Minoo Gupta
Missy McCracken
Karen Sinclair
Sandra Smith
Claudia Viera
Jennifer Zakraisek
It's been a season of streaks for
the Michigan women's tennis team.
The Wolverines began the season
with a four-match winning streak
against non-conference opponents.
But now, Michigan (6-4) is on a
two-match losing streak, having
fallen to Northwestern and Wiscon-
sin, two of the top three teams in
the Big Ten.
Michigan looks to regain its ear-
lier success with a trio of non-con-
ference matches this weekend in
South Bend. The Wolverines face
Boston College on Friday, Notre
Dame (8-3) on Saturday and Okla-
homa (4-4) on Sunday.
The toughest match of the week-
end should be against the Fighting
Irish. Notre Dame is currently ranked
21st in the nation and second in the
Midwest Region.
Once again, the competition at
No. 1 singles will be stiff. Last
weekend, Christine Schmeidel (52nd
nationally), Michigan's No. 1 seed,
was pitted against Wisconsin's
Elaine DeMetroulois, a three-time
Look your best
for Easter!
.6 Barber Stylists
*No waiting
Dascola Stylists
opposite Jacobson's 668-9329
All-Big Ten selection. Saturday, she
will have to contend with another
tough opponent, Notre Dame's.
Tracy Barton (28th).
As far as Schmeidel is concerned,
Sunday will be the first time in a
while that she will face a player
whom she outranks. Oklahoma's
No. 1 player, Stacey Bullman, is
53rd in the national polls.
Friday's game against Boston:
College is a late addition to the,
Wolverines' schedule.
*
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Michigan senior captain Stacey Berg, the No. 2 singles player, pounds a
backhand in a match last season against Wisconsin. The Wolverines will
travel to South Bend tomorrow to play three dual matches.
The Wolverines believe they have
the physical talent to stay with
anyone, but it seems that their
mental game needs to be worked on.
Throughout the game, the words,
"keep your head in the game" could
be heard over and over again coming
from the bench.
The MVP of the game appeared
to be Ivan Frank, who showed the
hustle and determination of a winner.
The Wolverines have to pick up
their level of play if they are going
to compete with the elite teams on
their schedule.
The entire game was summed up
by captain Marc Silbergeld, who led
the team with five goals, in a post-
game talk with his team.
"Never in the four years that I
have been playing lacrosse at
Michigan have I seen a team roll
over and die like you guys did
tonight."
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