Men's golf out to rebound from last week's disappointing Dr. Pepper

After a disappointing performance last weekend that exposed some early-spring rust, the Michigan men's golf team will attempt to rebound this weekend in Lexington, Ky. at the Kentucky Invitational. The two-day tournament, held tomorrow and Saturday, features a 20-team field that includes conference foes Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue.

Mike Harris, the top Wolverine scorer in both tournaments of this young spring season, will look to lead a Michigan five-some that also includes Mike Reabe, Mike Affeldt and Keith Hinton.

Freshman Kevin Harris - Mike's younger brother - will make his first appearance of the spring season as a replacement for Kevin Vernick, the usual starter, who will be attending a family wedding. With Michigan considered to be a bubble team for sele

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The Michigan golf team begins play tomorrow at the Kentucky Invitational. The 20-team field should give the Wolverines, who are considered on the bubble for an NCAA Regional selection, a chance to prove themselves against strong competition.

ction to the NCAA Regionals later this spring, Carras emphasized that his team needs to start performing immediately.

Michigan finished a disappointing 13th (out of 18 teams) at last weekend's Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate, and with only three tournaments remaining, the next few weeks should prove critical.

"We did not do what we had to do this past weekend, so the pressure is on us to perform well," Carras said. "We've got to produce these next few tournaments if we are to have a shot at qualifying for regionals."

The good local weather this week has finally allowed for some much-needed practice for a Wolverine squad that had gone through most of March without playing outdoors.

Predictably, rust has proven to be a major concern for a team ravaged by short-game difficulties. Time, however, is running short.

"We'd like to place in the top six (this weekend), but more importantly we need to beat the teams we are competing with for a spot in the East Regional tournament," Carras said.

"In order to perform well and be competitive, we need to have some depth from our four and five positions. If that doesn't happen soon, you'll likely see some changes in our lineup.

"The time to produce is now."

04-02-98