only once coverage. *_a11 r Page 11 Tuesday October 24, 1995 Blue prepares for stretch run Wolverines enter toughest portion of schedule nicked up By Antoine Pitts Daily Sports Editor As the Michigan football team gears up this week for a matchup with Min- nesota for the Little Brown Jug, the Wolverines will be doing some heal- ing. Several Wolverines remain banged up following Saturday's 34-17 win at Indiana, while another is set to begin getting back into game condition after a four-week layoff. Quarterback Scott Dreisbach, who was injured in practice on Sept. 26, had the pins removed from his hand yester- day. When he will return is uncertain, as the coaching staff certainly will take it easy with him. "When you're casted for a month the problem is lack of strength," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I'm concerned about him losing some strength in his throwing hand." Carr insisted that when Dreisbach was ready, he would bethe team's quar- terback. "We do not have a quarterback con- troversy," Carr said. "I don't worry about dealing with that until he's ready to go!" Carr expects tight end Jay Riemersma, who did not play against the Hoosiers because of an ankle injury, to be ready for Saturday's game. Riemersma reinjured his foot two weeks ago and then hurt his ankle. Riemersma insisted on playing against Indiana, but to no avail. "The trainers indicated it was go- ing to be touch-and-go," Carr said. "6The kind of backs and quarterbacks that will give us our greatest test are in the weeks ahead." - Lloyd Carr Michigan football coach "Jay said, 'Coach, I'm going to play.' I've learned one thing about Jay: He's as tough as they come. There were times a year ago when he had some back problems that they said he wouldn't play and he came out and played." Questionable for the game against the Golden Gophers is defensive tackle Trent Zenkewicz. He left Saturday's game in the first quarter with an injured ankle. "We missed him in there because it was very obvious in the second halfthat we didn't get the kind of pressure we normally get when Trent's in there," Carr said. Center Rod Payne is still nursing a broken right hand. He played Saturday, snapping with his left hand. Payne's condition actually contributed to Carr's decision on who he would start at quar- terback. When quarterback Brian Griese re- turned to practice after sitting out with a shoulder injury, he and Payne had a few snapping problems. "When Brian came back on Wednesday, he had three quarterback- center exchange problems with Payne," Carr said. "That really both- ered me. It's one of.the reasons I decided to wait until very late to make up my mind." Linebacker Rob Swett is battling a nerve problem but Carr expects him to be ready to go against Minnesota. The Wolverines will need all the help they can get as they near the toughest stretch of their schedule. In November, the Wolverines play at Michigan State and face Purdue at home before ending the season at Penn State and home for Ohio State. "I think the true test is ahead of us," Carr said. "The strength of our team has been our defense, but I think we're going to find that the kind of backs and quar- terbacks that will give us our greatest test are in the weeks ahead." TIME CHANGE: The starting time of the Michigan-Michigan Mate matchup Nov. 4 has been moved from 1 p.m. to 3:30. ABC will regionally televise the game. This Saturday's game against Min- nesota will start at 3:30 and will also be televised by ABC. MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Wolverines have suffered some key injuries lately. While quarterback Scott Dreisbach is still out with a thumb injury, t gnd Jay Riemersma'defenslve lineman Trent Zenkewicz have missed some playing time because of ankle injuries. Youth to be served in matchup of new soccer programs en contests. Central Michigan and No. 8 Michi- an-5.BigTen, 10-7 overall) last met N1994, when the Wolverines walked way with a narrow 3-2 victory. The des between the two teams is cur- erily tied, 14-14-2. Following a frustrating loss to Michi- a-State Sunday, Michigan is hoping halt its three-game losing streak and things around. SWe're not letting the losses bring sown," defenseman Sherene Smith aiti, "It's not as if we've been blown 4way. (The losses) are just pushing us Indeed, the Wolverines have been nhing but blown away lately. The ptats beat Michigan by two goals, th was the Wolverines' biggest of defeat in their last three Ndif igan will be without its start- ng sweeper, Sandra Cabrera, who on't be able to play in tomorrow's tch due to a broken thumb. The injry forces the Wolverines to re- work their lineup. "We need to focus on getting used to playing with people in different posi- tions," Smith said, "and get everyone around them comfortable." Along with its remix of positions, Michigan is concentrating on basics in practice. "We want to play better defense and generate more scoring, ofcourse," Smith said. The Wolverines have been having some difficulty getting on the scoreboard as of late. They have only scored five goals in their last three games. Conversely, Central Michigan finds itselftrying to maintain a winning streak. The Chippewas recently defeated Ohio University and Kent State, improving their overall record to 7-6. Central Michigan's biggest threat is Megann Burns, who leads her team in goals (seven) and total points (14). Michigan goalie Rachael Geisthardt will do her best to prevent Burns and the rest of the Chippewas from scor- ing. She has already surpassed her career-high shutout record for a sea- son with six and hopes to make it seven today. On the other side of the field, Smith leads the Wolverines in points, but Michelle Smulders is on a roll with four goals in her last five games. No matter what the result of today's game is, Michigan wants to stay fo- cused for its final Big Ten games this weekend, winding up the season. The games represent a welcome change - they're away. By Jim Rose Daily Sports Writer All season long, the Michigan women's soccer team has suffered be- cause ofinexperience. The young squad is in only its second year as a varsity sport. Today, that excuse won't work. This afternoon at Michigan Soccer Field, the Wolverines host Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are competing in their first varsity season and they've been encountering growing pains simi- lar to Michigan's. For a change, the Wolverines will be the team with more experience. Eastern is 3-7 on the season, but coach Paul Scicluna is proud of the way his team has worked. "All in all, I'm encouraged with the way things are going," Scicluna said. "The program got a late start, so that makes it difficult. "But we're doing some nice things that new teams don't always get a chance to do right away, like play the Univer- sity of Michigan. The spirit here is great." Last year, the Eagles had no sanc- tioned women's program in place. Ac- cording to Scicluna, the players orga- nized a team themselves and got to- gether with other club teams to play, but they were without a coach. Despite the lack of experience in the group, Scicluna enjoys the challenge of starting with a fresh team. "This is nothing new for me. I've been starting from scratch all my life," said Scicluna, who has coached Michi- gan area club teams for the past 25 years. "Usually I take a group of young girls and coach them all the way up through high school." For the past four years, Scicluna coached Michigan's Kelly Lukasik on the Michigan Hawks, a three-time state championship club team based in Livo- nia. Also spending time on the team were Wolverines Jessica Limauro, Jes- sica Jones and Laura Fedrigo. Lukasik is excited about facing her former coach. "He was my favorite coach ever," she said. "I learned a lot from him. It'll be interesting playing against him." Scicluna, who says he encouraged some of the players to attend Michigan, is also looking forward to the matchup. "It will be fun," he said. "I know there will be some extra motivation on their part, to try and play well in front of me.' Eastern is coming off a 3-0 loss to Eastern Illinois on Sunday. The Eagles are led by junior Amy Westerhold who* has seven goals on the season. The Wolverines are looking to snap a- four-game winless streak. Sunday, Michigan blew a two-goal lead in a 3-2: loss to Butler. "We just sort of stopped playing in the second half," sophomore midfielder Debbie Flaherty said. "We got over, confident with that two-goal lead and we rested." With just two regular season games remaining after today's contest with Eastern, the Wolverines (4-10-2) are pointing towards the Big Ten Tourna-* ment as a way to go out on a high note "(The tournament) is like a whoe separate season," Flaherty said. "We'd like to upset a few teams, and show everyone that our record doesn't reflect the type of team we are. We think we're much better than that." WAPLKR VAN UYK/Laiky Kim Phillips and the Michigan soccer team will be facing an Eastern Michigan squad that is in its first varsity season. r picks for this week at The Michigan Daily sports desk on the second floor of the Student Publications Building at 420 Maynard. Deadline iday. The most accurate prognosticator will receive a $15 gift certificate to Steve and Barry's University Sportswear on State Street. s are limited to five entries per week, please. 15. Virginia Tech at West Virginia 16. Kansas at Oklahoma 17. Oklahoma at Missouri 18. Utah State at Utah 19. Bowling Green at W. Michigan 20. Miami (Ohio) at Central Michigan 21. Eastern Michigan at Toledo 22. Cornell at Brown 23. Columbia at Princeton 24. Dartmouth at Harvard 25. Pennsylvania at Yale Tiebreaker -- Minnesota at Michigan, total points: NAME: PHONE: SCOREKEEPERS Ark. sNO' SpEC1A 75(v- K!o. ----_- I A Ah ML ANN& o/r\i rcl - - - - - IFJ