hurSd'oy, September 5, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
hursaySepembr 5,197 TH MI~iGA DALY ageFiv
Gymnastics: A long
tradition of winning
AFTER OFF YEAR
Tankers: Hope to surface
By LEBA HERTZ
To many students, the Michigan gymnastics
am's greatest feat last year was changing the
me of an evening meet to the afternoon so that
ob Dylan could appear at Crisler Arena. But
enthusiasts of Coach Newt Loken's gymnasts,
ieir greatest achievement was qualifying for
e NCAA's at Penn State.
There were many highlights of the season for
e Wolverine tumblers. The men were unde-
ated in all dual meets which included victories
er Big Ten Champion Iowa and nationally
nked Penn State.
BUT compared to other Loken-coached Michi-
n teams, 1973-74 was an off year. In 27 years,
ken has a record of 194 wins and 34 losses so
e 200 victory mark is well within reach. Michi-
n has won 11 of the last 13 Big Ten titles and
o NCAA crowns.
The past season seemed to end in Iowa City
en the Wolverines failed to retain the Big
n championship they had earned the year be-,
re.
Despite injuries which plagued the gymnasts
ward the end of the season, Michigan finished
cond by scoring a normally winning score of
1.4. However, Iowa the host of the Big Ten
eet was simply exceptional- in scoring a 326.
According to NCAA rules, the champion of
ch conference must score at least 300 in order
qualify for the Nationals. If a team does not
eet this standard, the highest scoring second
ace school goes. Michigan aited in anticipa-
n for many weeks. Finally the Western Athi-
tic Conference results came in. The chain-
on Air Force did not score the required 300
d Michigan became the eighth team at the
CAA's.
HOWEVER, the injuries finally caught up
ith Michigan at Penn State. The major loss
as Captain Monty Falb, ring specialist, who
ad an operation and was unable to participate.
fichigan finished eighth in the Nationals with
st year's wi-ner Iowa State repeating its first
lace performance.
Next year's squad seems strong as the only
raduating members were Falb and floor ex-
rcise and vaulting specialist J. P. Bouchard.
Although Falb and Bouchard are irreplaceable,
the Wolverines have so much depth that they
should remain a powerhouse.
RETURNING lettermen include Jean Gag-
non, Pierre LeClerc, Bruce Medd, and Bruce
Keeshin in the all-around. Gagnon won many
individual titles in the all-around last year and
proved his consistency.
The loss of Falb in the ring exercise will
undoubtedly hurt Michigan; but versatile Joe
Neuenswander should aid the Wolverines in this
event.
The floor exercise event has two dependable
specialists returning in Randy Sakamoto and
Chuck Stillerman. Carey Culbertson and Bob
Darden are outstanding specialists on the high
bar; Jerry Poynton and Rupert Hansen are
standouts on the pommel horse; Rich Bigras
and all-arounder Gagnon are experts on the
parallel bars; and LeClerc and Gagnon are the
one-two punch in vaulting.
To replace Falb and Bouchard, Loken recruit-
ed some fine gymnasts such as Harley Danner,
Michigan State High School champion in the
All-Around competition from Ann Arbor's Huron
High School. Bob Creek of Evanston, Illinois is
considered a fine prospect by Loken, especially
in the High Bar. Creek was an Illinois State
Champion.
Another freshman prospect is Dave Keeshin;
high school teammate of Creek at Evanston and
brother of Michigan captain Bruce Keeshin.
Dave's specialty is the pommel horse.
KURT Golder comes to Michigan as a trans-
fer from Alpena Junior College and Loken rates
hinm an excellent prospect in the rings.
Hopefully, these young gymnasts and the ex-
perienced veterans will be able to avoid injury
and repeat or surpass last year's performance.
Michigan will host the Big Ten Championships
in late March and host defending champion
Iowa in a dual meet. A tenative match is also
scheduled with Louisiana State at Baton Rouge.
In the Big Ten, Michigan will face strong
opposition from Illinois, which lost just one
performer, Iowa, and perennially strong Min-
nesota. One thing is certain. This season will
again be exciting and the Wolverines will be
one of the favorites for the Big Ten title again.
By CHUCK BLOOM'
Q: What does the Big Ten swimming scene
look like for the upcoming year?
A: Well, there's always Indiana.
Q: And?
A: And what?
And what? That question and dialogue has
been sticking in the side of Coach Gus Stager for
the past 14 years.
During that time, the conference's pools have
been dominated by "Doc" Counsilmen's Hur-~
ryin' Hoosiers and for 13 of those years, Stag-
er's Wolverines have always acted as brides-
Imaids.
But 1973-74 was not a good year for Michi-
gan swimming. It started in early September
when the team's top swimmer Tom Szuba,
while on an AAU tour, was trapped in Santiago,
Chile during the Allende overthrow. This, plus
a sub-par summer of training helped to dampen
Szuba's performance last season.
THEN came an early season dual meet loss
to Wisconsin 70-53 up in Madison. It was the
first non-Indiana conference loss since 1968.
The Badgers came back to haunt Michigan at
the Big 10 Championships as Wisconsin's over-
all depth proved to be too much and they re-
placed the Wolverines as Indiana's runner-up.
The season ended with a 15th place finish at
the NCAAs, the first time the Wolverines had
finished out of the top ten in many years.
Alas, what of the future. Stager must re-build
the tankers from the bottom-up due to gradu-
ation.
The Gerald Ford ceremonies in May wiped
out 3 4 of the medley relay, the foundation of
any team, and the pipe-smoking, wise Stager is
searching for proper replacements.
The key to the squad is Dearborn's Szuba,
who must rebound to his freshman formwhen
he was Big 10 and AAU 400-IM champion. This
season, Szuba will be out to prove that he is
one of the country's finest mermen.
OTHER stalwarts of the swim team are senior
breaststroker Pat Bauer, from Ann Arbor, who
must fill the trunks of the graduated Stu Isaac,
and sophomore freestyler Gordon Downie, from
Williamston, N.Y.
Bauer captured a pair of thirds in the confer-
ence meet posting personal bests in both the
100 and 200. Downie, who swam for Scotland in,
the British Commonwealth Games, set varsity
records in the 500, 1000, and 1650 while finishing
second in the 500 at the Big 10s.
Other point-getters for the Wolverines are
New Jersey sophs Fred Yawger (butterfly) and
Rob Helt (backstroke).
The upcoming freshman crop is expected to
- fill the voids and add needed depth but the
brightest newcomer is flyer Andy Lehner, re-
fugee from Southern Cal. As a schoolboy, Leh-
ner was one of the top flyers in the country but
found California distasteful and sat out all of
last season. His presence will help take some
of the burden off of Szuba.
Other hopefuls include Wit Davis,
nian-bteaststroker, and John Daly,
from Puerto Rico.
a Califor-
an IMer
The
Daily Photo by STEVE RUTTAN
.JERRY POYNTON, one of Newt Loken's star gymnasts, shows
his stuff on the pommel horse. The tumblers placed eighth In
the NCAA tournament last year.
--- -
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