The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 27

-JDODlrttS Barkley dunks IRS D-2 White Sox roll on D-4 Brewers look to rebound D-4 Rose awaits sentence D-4 Jones to play overseas D-3 VW7 WISCONSIN. CLASSIFIED THE POST-CRESCENT APPLETON-NEENAH MENASHA, WISCONSIN TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1996 imfi 7, WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Zina Garrison snapped Monica Seles winning streak at 36 matches today and advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals with top-seeded Steffi Graf, who survived a scare. Garrison, the fifth seed but overlooked by most when it came to naming the contenders for Grafs crown, beat the third-seeded, 16-year-old Seles 3-6, 6-3, 9-7. The victory secured Garrison's fourth berth in a Grand Slam semifinal and her second at Wimbledon. She also reached this stage in 1985.

But it wiped out the chance of another big matchup between Seles and Graf, who had lost to the Yugoslav teen-ager the last two times they met, in the finals of the German and French Grat made it to the semifinals of her 15th consecutive Grand Slam tournament with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia. "This match was so close, it was difficult to be out there for three hours and just to lose it on a few points," Seles said. "She had more luck out there today." Capriati. But Graf beat Capriati on Monday and, 24 hours later, Garrison beat Seles. The woman who ended Chris Evert Grand Slam career in the U.S.

Open quarterfinals last year had done it again, a big win over a big favorite in an important match. Seles had a match point on Garrison's serve, at 30-40 in the 14th game of the final set, just after the American slipped and hurt her right thigh while chasing a backhand into her forehand corner. She got up slowly and in some pain but waved off an umpire's offer of an injury time out. "I didn't want to give her momentum," Garrison said. Garrison saved that match point with a forehand drive, then won 10 of the next 11 points, breaking Seles at 15 on a netted forehand for an 8-7 lead and closing the match at love on a backhand into the net, a backhand dropshot, a service winner and a backhand long off a See TENNIS, Page D-2 Seles loss disappointed Graf.

"I was hoping to play against her badly," Graf said of her teen-age tormentor. "If Zina's playing well, if hard because she is coming in and playing a lot of slice." Martina Navratilova, seeking a record ninth Wimbledon singles title, became the old tournament's winningest player with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Katerina Maleeva. It was Navratilova's 97th singles victory, one more than Chris Evert compiled in 18 Wimbledons. In the men's draw, the quarterfinal field was being completed, and unseeded Brad Pearce of the United States won a spot with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Mark Woodforde of Australia. Garrison, a 26-year-old from Houston, has had a good year, despite a first-round loss at the French Open.

She won a grass-court warmup tournament in Birmingham, England, last month and then declared: "Maybe I can win Wimble-doa" Not many took her seriously, even fewer when the Wimbledon draw put her in the same half as Graf, Seles and 14-year-old challenger Jennifer AP photo by Dav Cwhln GOING BOOM is Boris Becker, as he hits the grass during his fourth-round match with Australia's Pat Cash on Monday at Wimbledon. Tom Boswell Washington Post Syndicate State courting NASCAR r. 'V'U By Tom Goff Post-Crescent staff writer Old lessons, new teacher help Ripken ometime in June, the 1 Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. reached rock bottom. SOI That's what it usually takes to convince a x''r! V- i Post-Crescent photo by SEEING STARS is Chad Hohn of New London, left, as he gets the autograph of NASCAR racing star Bill Elliott at Wisconsin International Raceway on Monday.

Seated to the left of Elliott is defending Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace. IBaWiry aves best for hst lap By Tom Goff Post-Crescent staff writer KAUKAUNA If the NASCAR Winston Cup series ever branches out to other Midwest tracks besides Michigan International Raceway, two of the more attractive sites in Wisconsin are State Fair Park in West Allis or the road racing course at Road America in Elkhart Lake. NASCAR has already conducted sportsman races in Milwaukee on a trial basis and has also been talking seriously about the possibility of staging a NASCAR race at Road America, which has recently undertaken a three-year, $1.1 million improvement package to retain its association with Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The legendary Pagoda at Road America has been removed to clear the way for the track's enlarged 200 paved pit and paddock area. Road America's pit row has been lengthened by 300 yards south toward turn one.

Each of the 30, 36-foot pits will be equipped with its own electricity, water, telephone, computer and fax line. We obviously undertook the big renovation package to keep our CART affiliation strong. But on the other hand we also did it because we've been in discussions with NASCAR for almost a year," Roger Jaynes, Road America public relations director, said recently. "Bill France (NASCAR director of competition) and his people came up here last summer and toured our facilities. They said they like the track the way it is.

Our discussions with France have been very positive and I feel we're maybe a couple of years away." The problem right now is with 29 races already, it's hard to. find an open race date. But if one does become available, Road America has a lot to offer. You need a big crowd to generate a NASCAR purse and we can take 100,000 people here and not even blink and eye," said Jaynes. At Milwaukee, the most they can get in is 40,000." It's no secret defending NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace would like to see a NASCAR race in Wisconsin.

But as successful as he's been on road courses, he'd prefer Milwaukee. I think they could have a good race up there (at Road America), but that's not up to me," he said Monday prior to competing against fellow NASCAR stars Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip and Geoff Bodine in the Match Race of the Century" at Wisconsin International Raceway. But I'd rather see one at KAUKAUNA In a night featuring match races between NASCAR stars Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Geoff Bodine and Michael Waltrip, Terry Baldry felt fortunate that Tom Carlson and Rich Bickle Jr. chose to have a head-to-head battle of their own. Waltrip wins one-on-one duel By Tom Goff Post-Crescent staff writer KAUKAUNA If Michael Waltrip ever gets tired of driving, he can always try a basketball career because he's pretty good playing one-on-one.

That's the first race this thing's won in about seven weeks," said Rick Bickle Jr. after Waltrip drove his Camaro to victory over Geoff Bodine in a decisive four-lap match race in the Match Race of the Century" at Wisconsin International Raceway on Monday. The "Match Race" featured four of NASCAR's top drivers in single-elimination races. Wallace, driving Lowell Bennett's Camaro, edged Bill Elliott in Johnny Zieglers Thunderbird for third. After each driver had won a race, Waltrip set up Bodine, driving Steve Seligman's Thunderbird, with a daring inside pass going through the second turn on the second lap and won by two car lengths.

I knew what I had to do," said Waltrip of the winning maneuver. This track is a little deceiving because you can run lower than you think. I felt there was room underneath and fortunately there was. Richie has a good handling car. When you have a situation like that, it's a lot of fun to race." In opening-round competition, Waltrip nipped Wallace by half a car length and Bodine won by two car lengths over Elliott Bodine claimed that some information he got from Dick Trickle, who has won many events at WIR, helped him.

Dick just told me stay on the gas and turn left," joked Bodine. While Bickle and Carlson battled for the lead in the final laps, Baldry caught and passed both drivers in the final turn of the final lap to win an exciting three-car shootout be '1 Baldry them because my crew signaled me that with 10 laps to go, I was three seconds behind," said Baldry, a former three-time Fox River Racing Club champion at WIR. "When I did catch them, Bickle tried to go by him (Carlson) on the outside and I got the chance to go inside. The way it turned out, inside was the place to be this time," he said. Bickle, of Edgerton, finished second in the same Camaro that Michael Waltrip used to win the Match Race of the Century." Carlson, of LaCrosse, held on for third, followed by Appleton's J.J.

Smith in fourth and Neenah's Lowell Bennett in fifth. Greasy tires on his Thunderbird was the problem for Carlson, the current ARTGO points leader. "I think the tires greased up. Running wide open like I was gets them hot," he said. Carlson, who started on the outside of the front row, jumped in front immediately, passing pole sitter Pete Berken who triggered a pair of minor spins in the first two laps.

With iust one lap completed, two-time defending Central Wisconsin Racing Association champion Allen Check spun after colliding with Berken going through the first turn. On the restart, John Ziegler spun in virtually the same spot after col See BALDRY, Page D-3 successful man to make drastic changes. At the moment, he was passing Everett Scott's mark of 1,307 consecutive games, second all-time, Ripken also was hearing boos at Memorial Stadium. As he was building an American League-record streak of errorless games at shortstop, Ripken was being savaged on talk shows for being selfish. I You see, Ripken's batting average had plunged to .209.

And in baseball your average and the public's estimation of your 'character usually go hand in hand. Ripken's failure to hit his weight became symbolic of a 4 '-season spaa Since 1985, the six-time all-star starter had proved, beyond any statistical doubt, that he no longer bore much resemblance to the hitter who'd masticated AL pitching in his first four seasons. In those early years, Ripken averaged .293 with 27 homers, 68 extra-base hits, 108 runs scored and 98 RBI a year. In the four seasons since, he has averaged .264 with 24 homers, 55 extra-base hits, 91 runs and 88 RBI. Holy atrophy! i Everybody had a solution.

Take a rest to avoid those slumps from the past two Septembers. Break the streak, forget about Lou Gehrig's mark of 2,130 games and take the off. Move to third base a physically easier and less mentally demanding position. Bat lower in the order where there's less responsibility. Only one suggestion seemed verboten.

Maybe Cal should start taking batting instruction from somebody besides the third-base coach, his dad. Over the past two weeks, strange doings have been afoot. The Ripken rumor mill has been buzzing because, suddenly, Ripken's appearance at home plate has become radically different. He stopped wrapping the bat around bis neck like a contortionist. He stopped waggling the bat as the pitcher delivered.

Ripken even stopped standing so deep in the box, with an extremely closed stance. Finally, Ripken began looking a bit like a modern hitter one influenced by the Charlie Lau, Walt Hriniak schools of hitting. Weight back. Commit late. Hit to all fields.

Don't uppercut. Line drives, not fly balls. Hit off a firm left side that extends, rather than collapses, at the moment of impact. A funny thing happened: Ripken got hot immediately. One line drive or smoking grounder after another.

Plus a couple of seeing-eye bonuses. In a recent 14-game etretch, Ripken has been one of the jhotter batters in baseball 23 for 66 His average has risen from .209 to .250. By late June, Ripken had a new kind of streak four straight three-hit games, a first for him. I Ripken merely may be in a nice streak that's gotten him back to his inodest level of the past four years. But Ripken doesn't think so.

He thinks Frank Robinson (1966 Triple Crown winner, 586 career home runs) has turned him around. Yes, Frank. The secret's out "If ludicrous for people to say that Fve never had any other teacher but my father," said Ripken, knowing that, basically, that is what most people in baseball believe. "We're all in this together. Sen RIPKEN, Page D-2 fore 8,500 Monday Thunder" fans in the 50-lap late model stock car feature at Wisconsin International Raceway.

They were racing together and that slowed them up some and gave me a chance to catch up," said the Omro driver. It was just a matter of waiting and taking advantage of my opportunities." Carlson, who led for every lap except the one that counted, slid a little high going into the second turn and that was all Baldry needed to duck his 1989 Camaro under him. Staying on the inside, Baldry had a slight lead going down the backstretch with Carlson right next to him and Bickle an eyelash behind, waiting for either driver to make a mistake. Which is exactly what Carlson did. Going into turns three and four on the final lap Carlson got too high, allowing both Baldry and Bickle to go under him.

I didn't know if I could catch Sea NASCAR, Page D-3 Foxes run out of chances Playoff proves to be the payoff for Barnett By Chuck Carlson Post-Crescent staff writer As far as Carolyn Barnett is concerned, the women's U.S. Open will be a piece of cake compared to what she had to endure Monday. Barnett, the 28-year-old assistant pro at Neenah's Ridgeway Country Club and a graduate of Appelton East High, drained a 30-foot putt on the first playoff hole at Olympia Fields Golf Course in Chicago to earn a berth in the prestigious U.S. Open July 12-15 at the Atlanta Athletic Club. KENOSHA The Kenosha Twins won the game Monday night but the Appleton Foxes may have felt like they beat themselves in a 5-2 Midwest League baseball game.

The Foxes wasted a pair of scoring opportunities with base-running mistakes in the early going and then let the game slip away after Manager Joe Breeden's ejection in the sixth. Appleton centerfielder Kerwin Moore singled to lead off the game but was doubled off second by Twins third baseman Pat Meares after he snared John Gilcrist's line drive. The Foxes had back-to-back one-out singles by Pedro Vasquez and Moore in the third to put runners on first and second. Gilcrist followed with a single to right, but the right fielder got the ball to Kenosha first baseman Chris Dellarwelle quickly enough to hold Vasquez at third. Dellarwelle then threw to the shortstop who ran down Moore at second.

Rich Tuni-son struck out to end the inning. Appleton starter John Gross gave up a single to Kenosha shortstop Mica Lewis to start the bottom of the sixth. After an out. Jay Owens appeared to be hit on the left wrist by a pitch from Gross, but umpire Jerry Schmitt called Owens back to the box, saying the ball had hit the bat Owens took off his batting glove to reveal a mark from the pitch and Schmitt reversed his call, sending Owens to first. Breeden argued the call and was eventually thrown out Meares then belted Gross' next pitch for a three-run homer.

Dellarwelle, a former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh star making his first start at first base, hit a two-run double in the seventh. He now has 12 RBI in 10 games. Most definitely it was the biggest putt of my career," said Bar- nett. Barnett fired a 73 in the 18-hole qualifier, in which six golfers secured a trip to the Open. Barnett tied with nine other golfers for the sixth and final spot, forcing the playoff.

I never gave up." It was kind of a grinding round," she said. The group was broken into a fivesome CAROLYN BARNETT qualified Monday for the women's U.S. Open golf tournament See BARNETT, Page D-2 1.