Y SUND~fAYMARCHI 8.I1964 PAGE EIGHT THE MICHIGAN DAILY #7 %ALi #JL3 i, y XVAAa.LW%! ILA O, :L V V M 1' Teams Go After Conference Championships 'II ,1 r r -ally=-Kamalakar Rao BILL BRINGS ONE DOWN-The big reason for Michigan's emergence as a basketball power last year was big Bill Buntin, who led the Big Ten in rebounds and set the all-time Wolverine scoring rec- ord broken by Russell this year. Here Buntin brings down a defensive rebound as frustrated Illini Tal Brody (12), Bogie Redmon (33), and Don Freeman stand idly by. Daily-Bruce Taylor' HIGH-SCORING SOPH-Wolverine sophomore forward Wilf Martin tries to remove the puck from the control of a Loyola player in one of Michigan's two impressive victories over the visitors from Montreal. Martin, and fellow sophs Alex Hood and Marty Read, have combined to form a potent second line, one of the main reasons that Michigan's icers have emerged from the depths to be- come a national power again. -Daly--Kamalakar Rao CAZZIE LAYS ONE UP-Cazzie Russell, who, although only a sophomore, has already become a Michigan legend, sinks a layup en route to breaking the Wolverine all-time season scoring record last Saturday against Illinois. This weekend is the one that counts in the Big Ten winter sports season. At its close, six winter sports championships will have been decided, and Michigan has its best chance in years to come away with a majority of them. No Big Ten school has ever won more than three winter crowns in the same year, but the Wolverines this year are likely to match that number easily, and could conceivably garner five first-place trophies. The weekend will consist of four conference meets: track at Ohio State, swimming at Minnesota, wrestling at Wisconsin, and gym- nastics, also at Wisconsin. In addition, the final hockey games of the year will be played, and the basketball campaign will conclude with games Saturday and Monday. In the past four seasons, the Wolverines have done quite well for themselves in wintertime competition. From 1960 through '63, they copped three, two, two, and 21/2 titles, respectively (the half was a tie with Iowa in track). This year all the teams seem to have jelled simultaneously, and the horn of plenty could really open up. The highlight of the year this time around has been the basket- ball team. After many long years of obscurity since the last cham- pionship year of 1948, two sparkling sophomores, Cazzie Russell and Oliver Darden, have turned a good 1962-63 squad into a great one. This pair, along with veteran starters Bill Buntin, Larry Tregoning, and Captain Bob Cantrell, have enabled the Wolverines to be ranked second or third in the national ratings for most of the season. If the Michigan cagers defeat Iowa Saturday and Purdue Mon- day, they will do no worse than tie Ohio State for the conference crown, and since the Buckeyes have been the more recent team to represent the Big Ten in the NCAA tournament, that honor would go to the Wolverines. The hockey team, thanks also to a crop of talented sophomores, has already clinched the Big Ten championship and two victories over Michigan State this weekend will give them a final first-place standing in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The icers last won a Big Ten crown two years ago when they came in second in the WCHA and third in the NCAAs. Last year, they fell all the way to the cellar in both conferences, but this season Coach Al Renfrew's charges have built up an impressive 19-3 season record thus far. Michigan's track team is a perennial power, and this year will be seeking its third straight first-place finish, although it had to share the crown last year. Coach Don Canham looks for a strictly two- way fight down at Columbus between Michigan and Wisconsin, with last year's co-champion Iowa not figuring to -be much of a threat. The wrestling team is the odds-on favorite to renew its deed to the championship which it wrested from Iowa's control last year. The Wolverine grapplers are undefeated in their last 20 dual meets; stretching over three seasons, despite a high incidence of injuries over the past few months. Coach Newt Loken's gymnasts captured Michigan's first confer- ence gym crown in 1961 and haven't stopped since, but this time they'll have a real fight on their hands. Iowa, Michigan State, and Wisconsin are all expected to give the Wolverines fits at the upcoming donnybrook at Madison. The swimming team is the only Michigan wintertime competitor which seems destined not to be close to first place-but it is just as sure to capture the second spot. Once again Indiana promises to dominate the meet, but the Wolverine tankers, also a traditional power, are likely to do almost as well in the NCAA meet as in the Big Ten tourney. f p -Daily-Bruce Taylor ANOTHER GOAL FOR THE BLUE-With his stick raised In the air, sophomore Mel Wakabayashi (9) signifies that he's just scored on Michigan Tech goalie Gary Bauman, after having taken an assist from veteran Ron Coristine (12). The Wolverines have averaged nearly eight goals per game. ,- .r fI y. 4' '; -Daily-Jim Lines TRINDAD FLASH-One of Michigan's best runners of all time Is junior Kent Bernard from Trinidad, who will compete in the 600-yard run and anchor the mile relay at Columbus this week- end. Bernard ran the 440 in :47 last year, fastest in the country, and has repeated that feat this season. TEXT AND CAPTIONS by MIKE BLOCK -Daily-Jim Lines NATIONAL CHAMP - Rick Bay, shown here manhandling a Pittsburgh opponent, won both the Big Ten and NCAA titles in the 167-pound weight class as a sophomore last year. The former Illinois high school champ has yet to be defeated in dual meet competition this season. II -Daily-Richard Cooper AIRBOMNE-One of the track team's more promising newcomers this year has been sophomore high jumper Bob Densham, who has already cleared 6'10%" in his brief college career. He is one of the few Big Ten athletes given a chance to make the U.S. Olympic team. a. I )j _ <. _ _ .> .................................................................................................................................................::..:..:.;.<.::..:..:....::.:v.....'