Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five Tuesday, August 27, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Experience gives 'M' E. gymnasts edge By ANDY BARBAS ' Two plus two equals one; but another two results in zero. How- ever, one, two, three can almost make up for it. As confusing as this sounds, it is no more complex than the 1968 gymnastics season was for the Wolverines. By finishing in second place in both Big Ten dual-meet competi- tion and the conference meet, the gymnasts earned themselves a share of a three-way tie for the Big Ten Championship. They had to fight it out with the other two, Iowa and Michigan State, to qualify as a team for the 'NCAA championships. A sec- ond-place playoff result eliminat- ed this' possibility; however the Wolverines' individual tallies at the nationals were remarkable, and included a one, two, three sweep of the trampoline. BAD WEATHER This remarkable season seems even more remarkable in view of the pre-season predictions. Most ,mentors regarded Iowa as a run- away favorite; Michigan State as outstanding in most respects, but doomed with a poor trampoline team; and Michigan as a team lacking depth, only to be con- sidered because of its reputation. Even Michigan's usually optim- istic Coach Newt Loken was cau- tions in appraising his team. "We lack all-around men," he ex- plained, "With the new rule lim- iting a team to 12 competitors, we are definitely hurting." "Don't underestimate us," he quickly added. "We're inexperi- M enced and will improve with each meet. If everyone gives a solid performance, we'll be awfully tough." If Michigan had drawn a strong home schedule with the harder teams at the end, they would have been "awfully tough." Unfortun- ately, five of eight conference meets were away, including Iowa and Michigan State, and both of these encounters were early in the schedule. TROUBLE STARTS Iowa, in fact, was Michigan's first league opponent. Besides hav- ing the normal home advantage, the Hawkeyes had a very experi- enced squad. After the third event, the rings, the result was certain with the Hawkeyes holding a four point lead. The meet ended 189.95-186.85, one of Michigan's worst defeats in the past few years. Michigan's strengths were ap- parent even this early in the season. Their world-famous tram- poline team was expected to over- power all the opposition, and it did. Only twice all season did the Wolverines fail to sweep the event, and then they dropped only the third-place spot. By the end of the season, the three trampolin- ists all were NCAA champions. Sophomore George Huntzicker won the crown this year, junior Dave Jacobs won it last year, and senior Wayne Miller won it two years ago. In addition to dominating the Big Ten and NCAA's, Michigan has virtually ruled the tramp world. This year the trio has com- distinguished individually, their team totals were just as strong. The team of Huntzicker, Jensen, and Fred Rodhey was outstand- ing. In fact, only once were they topped in competition. It hap- pened in the second crucial meet of the season, against Michigan State. The meet was a "must" meet for the gymnasts. Having already lost to Iowa, a second loss would most likely eliminate any hopes of a championship. Pre-meet pre- an outstanding show in the vault- ing competition, but the. Wolver- ines gave an almost identical per- formance, losing by the smallest possible margin, and so main- taining their lead. The parallel bar team followed and donated their best score of the season, when the Spartans slipped back another point after their performance, the last event was an anticlimax. BREEZING ALONG With the rest of the conference in nearly a different class, the threesome breezed over their other opponents. With Iowa downing Michigan State, the teams entered the Big Ten meet with Iowa 7-0, Michigan 6-1, and Michigan State 5-2. Since dual meet results and the league meet each count half to- wards the conference champion- ship, the outcome of the meet was crucial. At the start of the meet, Mich- igan State was urging on Michi- gan, for both Michigan and Mich- igan State had to beat Iowa in order for Michigan State to have a shot at a share of the title. The meet began with Michigan State shooting ahead as expected. After the second event, though, it became noticable how really far ahead the Spartans were. Iowa also was ahead of Michigan but by a smaller margin than ex- pected. Going into the tramp, Michigan State led Iowa by 3.4 points and Michigan by 3.8. On the trampoline, the next event, the Wolverine score was phenomenal. It drew the gym- nasts to within .05 points of the Spartans. The Hawkeyes fell to almost three points behind the other twonand realized they couldn't, win. Along with this realization, came the knowledge that if Mich- igan beat Michigan State, the Wolverines would be the undis- puted champions. Iowa imme- diately changed its colors and be- gan cheering the Spartans. STATE PULLS AHEAD Whether this helped is dis- putable, but Michigan State did overpower Michigan in vaulting, and kept up with them on the p-bars. Since Michigan and Mich igan State are nearly equal on the high bar, the three teams realized they were all tied for the championship. After much argument (at one time Michigan State threatened to boycott the proposed playoff), a runoff was held at a neutral site in Chicago. It was a matter of who was more determined to win. Iowa was, and did. But as soon as one season is ended, thoughts turn to the next. This year the gymnasts will be formidable. The only major loss to the team is trampolinist Miller. While depth was the team's biggest problem last year, the condition this year is almost one of oversupply. The floor exer- cise, previously represented by Jacobs, Huntzicker, and Jensen, will have three sophomore all- arounders fighting for the fourth berth and maybe even one of the other three. STRONG SOPHS These three newcomers, Ed Howard, Rick McCurdy, and Mur- ray Plotkin, will also fortify the sidehorse. This event has always been a nemisis for the gymnasts, but the problem seems finally solved. Besides one of the return- ees, Jim DeBoo, there are the three sophomore all-arounders, the present all-arounder Jensen, and two new specialists, Bob Wagner and Mike Gluck, vieing for spots. The rings will have senior and captain Ralph Kenney, senior Charlie Freoming, Jensen, and the other all-arounders compet- ing for berths. The tramp will have Jacobs, Huntzicker, and one or both of two sophomores, Tim Wriyht and Pete Rose. The vaul- ters will be composed of Huntzic- ker, Rodney, Jensen, and the all- arounders. The parallel bars has three spots probably filled by Rapper, Jensen, and senior Dick Richards. A sophomore will again round out the list. The high bar, erratic last year, will be strengthened by the all-arounders, as well as hav- ing returnees Mike Sasich, Rod- ney, and Jensen. With this plethora of talent, Coach Loken /admits, "At least I can't blame any poor showings this year on lack of depth." He enters the season witha team al- most untouched by graduations, while both Michigan State and Iowa have been hit hard. This year, the Wolverines will be the team with poise and ex- perience. With their strength, the rest of the country better start looking. "As long as theyre still looking next April,' adds Loken. You Meet *~ ther". ..~ * *. We avea emedo s+ok fusdbok PEOPLE . ~ at. the ~ :j We have a tremendous stock of used books for all your courses at the low SBS prices. You need NOT reserve them. bined to take every possible award, last year Jacobs won every title including the World Champion- ships, and Miller had accom- plished the same feat two years ago. The two events following the trampoline were the next strong- est events. Michigan consistently 'outscored their opponents in the parallel bars. Paced by the even- tual Big Ten winner and runner- up, the p-bar team, was formid- able. Ron Rapper, a specialist on the p-bars especially electrified the crowds with his one-handed hand- stand, while all-arounder Sid Jensen usually scored right behind him. In the nationals, these two sophomores combined for a third place tie. While the vaulters were not as dictions even gave the Spartans a slight edge. The meet began as expected, with Michigan State edging out the Wolverines on the floor exer- cise, swamping them on the side- horse, and winning the rings. They established a 2.6 point lead going into the trampoline event. At this point, Michigan had an inkling that the victory might be easier than they had thought. The gymnasts had remained much closer to the Spartans than they had expected due to better than usual sidehorse scores. With a strong tramp showing, the Wol- verines could breeze home. Un- fortunately, Miller slipped. Still, Michigan State lost the event by almost 3.5 points and dropped behind Michigan. Michigan State came back with Open till 9:00 P.M. for your convenience Order Your Subscription Today 764-0558 STUDENT DOOK 9LRVIC9 1215 S. UNIVERSITY 761-0700 Subscribe to The Michigan Daily 11 I, I :. On the Michigan campus since 1932 __ -- l>s,_; Headquarters for the HIGHEST QUALITY SHOES-- Featuring for MEN Johnston and Murphy French-Shrines and Bass Outdoor Footwear P~ 113 Clothes of Recognizable Excellence Clothes tailored for Van Boven are noted for the superlative fit and balance of their light unpadded construction. They are made of choice British and domestic ma- terials. 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