Page Eight

THE MICHIGAN DAILY


Sunday, March 30, 1975

DN~Iepth
By SCOTT LEWIS
The Michigan gymnastic team thoroughly dom-
inated the individual competition yesterday
afternoon, as the 67th annual Big Ten Champion-
ships drew to a close amidst much excitement.
The "cream of the crop" of the Big Ten gym-
nasts drew many appreciative ovations from
the enthusiastic crowd of 6000 fans at Crisler
Arena.
OVERALL, FOUR WOLVERINES captured
first place in six events, sweeping the top three
spots in the floor exercise'and high bar.
"This was a fantastic performance by the
guys," an elated Michigan coach Newt Loken
said afterwards. "I'm tremendously elated with
the super job of our team."
After the awards presentation for the team
and all-around titles, the battle for individual
crowns ensued:
The first event was the floor exercise. The
final result, a Michigan sweep of the top three
places, set the tone for what was in store during
the rest of the afternoon.
Harley Danner, Randy Sakamoto and Chuck
Stillerman, all of Michigan, were in contention
for the top spot going into the event, as only
one-tenth of a point separated the three per-
formers.
Stillerman's routine, an assortment of flips
and near-perfect still positions, earned him top

ignites t
honors with a 9.05 score. He barely edged out
Danner and Sakamoto, who finished second and
third, respectively.
PERHAPS THE BIGGEST surprise of the
floor exercises was the failure of Iowa's Dave
May to win first place. May won this event last
year, but stiff competition from the Maize and
Blue performers pushed him back to fourth
place.
"I'm really proud of our floor exercise team,"
said Loken. "They really did some super work
out there."
The pommel horse, one of the more difficult
events in gymnastics, saw Illinois' Howard Beck
come away with an easy victory. Beck's final
average, 9.24 points, was more than .2 points
higher than his closest competitor.
Michigan's Jerry Poynton finished second with
an average score of 9.03, while Wolverine
Rupert Hansen placed third.
"I could have done better, but I can't be
dissatisfied with my performance," Poynton said
afterwards. "I always go out and do the best I
can and that is what is important."
THE MOST EXCITING event of the afternoon
was the rings. Michigan's Joe Neuenswander and
Indiana's Landy Fernandez finished the pre-
liminaries with identical scores. Wolverine
Pierre Leclerc followed close behind.

r I uOFmph
For their final routines, all three gave superb
performances, but Fernandez' came up the
victor, as he earned a 9.4.
Neuenswander scored 9.3 to place second, while
Leclerc, who also finished with a 9.3, captured
the third spot.
There were no surprises in vaulting, as
Richard Bigras, Michigan's defending Big Ten
champion took first.
"For a while, I wasn't sure if I could keep it,"
said Bigras, referring to the title he earned last
year. "But it felt pretty good coming out of the
finals with the victory."
LECLERC DIDN'T SETTLE for second best
on the parallel bars, however, as he placed well
in front of his nearest competitors, swinging to
an average score of 8.92.
Bigras, who was leading in the event going
into the finals, had a chance to leave with two
first places, but he could garner only 8.45 points
in his final routine, and he finished in second.
The final event of the day was the high bar,
and like the first event, Michigan took the top
three places.
Defending Big Ten champion Bob Darden
grabbed first with an average of 9.31 points, the
highest average of any competitor in the meet.
Bob Creek finished second while co-captain
Bruce Keeshin captured third.

Daily Photo by E. SUSAN SHEINER
MICHIGAN'S PIERRE LECLERC performs a difficult stunt on the rings, in the finals yesterday afternoon
at Crisler Arena. This stunt awed the crowd, and helped him earn a score of 9.3 for this routine. LeClerc
finished third in this event, behind Joe Neuenswand er, also of Michigan, and Indiana's Landy Fernandez.
Fernandez, whose brother Ben had captured the rings title the four previous years, turned in an almost
flawless performance.


Blume

gymnasts

rings 'n things


I

Harley Darnner

0 0 *

. a. pleasant surprise

By LEBA HERTZ
T WAS NO surprise when the Michigan gymnastics team cap-
tured the Big Ten Championship yesterday at Crisler Arena.
But to many enthusiasts, the all-around title was an upset. Harley
Danner of Michigan edged Iowa's Bill Mason to become the first
freshman ever to win the coveted all-around title in the Big Ten.
Danner, a native of Ann Arbor, was not the favorite entering
the Big Tens. Mason, along with Minnesota's Jeff LaFleur, Ohio
State's Chuck Ewing and Michigan's captain Bruce Keeshin were
all averaging better than Danner in the all-around routines.
But an injury hampering LaFleur, and Ewing's disap-
pointing performance in the compulsories gave Danner a
better than fighting chance to pull ahead in the compulsories
and stay that way.
"Well, I was hoping to finish in the top three," Danner said.
"That was a goal. I looked at the scores of the top contenders
and figured I had a shot at it."
Danner did not appear nervous in his first Big Ten Cham-
pionships. On the contrary he was quite confident, self-assertingj
and collected.
After the compulsories, Danner was leading second-place
Mason by a score of 49.35 to 47.7. But Mason edged the Wolverine
freshman in the optionals by a score of 53.8 to 51.9. As a matter
f fact, third place finisher, LaFleur scored higher than Danner
in the optionals.
"The compulsories are the key to the all-around in the
Big Tens," Danner said. "If you can hit the compulsories,
usually you'll win."
Mason agreed with Danner. "The compulsories were definitely
the key. Especially since this was the first year we had to use
Olympic requirements. The person who learns the compulsories
the fastest has the advantage."
This was Mason's last chance for the all-around title, as he
graduates this year. Instead of sulking or acting cheated, he
handled himself very maturely and sincerely praised his opponent.
"Harley is a super gymnast," he said. "He went 12 for 12
in his routines. He deserved to win. I had a shot at it and it
just didn't work out. It was close. It makes no difference to
me that I didn't win."
Danner edged Mason by a score of 101.25 to 100.8. In previous
years that total would not have been good enough for a first
place finish.
For example, in 1974, Carl Walin of Iowa edged Bill Kirchner
of Minnesota for the title by a score of 104.85 to 104.20. The third
place winner, Mason, tallied 102.65. The reason for the low
scores this year is due to the Olympic style routines required
for the compulsories instituted in the Big Ten this year.
LeClerc and Keeshin were both leading LaFleur after the
compulsories, but subpar performances by LeClerc on the pommel
horse and Keeshin on the pommel horse and parallel bars during
the optionals allowed LaFleur to finish ahead of the two Wol-
verines.
This is not to deny recognition to either LeClerc or
Keeshin. Fourth and fifth place finishes in the all-around is
quite an accomplishment. At the end of the compulsories and
three optional routines, LeClerc, Keeshin and Danner ac-
counted for almost two-thirds of Michigan's team total.
In addition to the all-around accolades, Danner copped second
in the floor exercise, fifth on the parallel bars and fourth in the
vaulting. Keeshin captured third on the high bar, and LeClerc
took third place on the rings, second in the vaulting and first on
the parallel bars.
Keeshin, LaFleur and Mason participated in their last Big
Ten Championships yesterday. Harley Danner participated in
his first, won the top award and should have three more good
solid years ahead of him.
Trojans retai

capture
By MICHAEL WILSON'
Continuing at a peak per-
formance level, the Michigan
gymnastics team notched its1
twelfth Big Ten title in fifteen
years yesterday afternoon be-
fore 6000 vocal fans at Crisler
Arena.
The victory set yet another
record for the enthusiastic
Michigan coach Newt Loken, as
he becomes the first Big Ten
coach to win twelve titles.
"This is the best ever," an
elated Loken said. "We've beenj
peaking for this for a long
time."
Right from the start, it was
all Maize and Blue as theI
Wolverines erupted for 205.05
points in the compulsories and
added an impressive 214.75 in
the optionals for an overall
total of 419.80.
Minnesota pulled off a mild
upset by finishing second, ahead
of the defending Big Ten cham-
pion Iowa. The Gophers finished
well ahead of Iowa with a score
of 397.90 to the Hawkeyes' 388.30. '
Minnesota coach Fred Roeth-
lisberger said that he knew all
along the Gophers could beat
Iowa. "Nothing against Iowa,"
Roethlisberger said,, "but I
knew what we could do."
But point totals couldn't tell
the story of the 67th Big Ten1
tournament. Spectators through-
out the two day affair enjoyed1
top-notch performances in every;
session.
Michigan freshman Harley

4

IjI m I irIli-jutt Doilyj
NIGHT EDIITORS:
JON CHAVEZ MICHAEL WILSON

B i

-1

around with 98.9, and Pierre
LeClerc of Michigan wound upt
fourth with 98.65 points.
Michigan co-captain Bruce
Keeshin notched fifth place and
Bob Spurney of Illinois finished
sixth.
The consistency of the
M i c h i g a n performers was;
never so evident until the final
competition for individual
honors took place yesterday
afternoon. Every Wolverine
who competed in the contest
for the team championship
unalified in one event or more
for individual honors.
"It was a fantastic perform-
ance by the guys," Loken prais-
ed. "They really did themselves
well. I'm tremendously elated."
The Wolverine tumblers es-,
tablished themselves as the
team to beat at the outset of
the tournament. In the com-
pulsory floor exercise, a grace-
ful and expressionistic Randy
Sakamota led the Michigan con-
tingent to 35.05 points.
From then on, all-around per-

place. The Gophers of Minne-
sota, led by all-arounder Jeff
LaFle=r, grabbed an early lead
over lowa, earning 188.85 com-
pulsory points to Iowa's 182.20.
"I expected to do better in
the comp"lsories," comment-
ed a sullen Iowa assistant

IF a

_ _ __..
_ . --

l-

title
coach Neil Schmitt. "We did
what we could do, but I ex-
pected to finish second."
Minnesota continued to sur-
orisa many people in the op-
tionals, strengthening its hold on
second olace by totaling 209.20
-,)its to Iowa's 206.10.
P-rdle and Northwestern
don't compete in gymnastics.
By virt e of their dominating
^t r , the Wolverines head in-
to N" A/\ comnnetition next week
t Td a) State in Terre Haute.
All twelve members of Michi-
Gin's so-ad have earned a trip
in ore way or another.
C-taitl to bh inzllded in the
' \ rme't will be Penn State,
' STT a-d the host team, Indiana
t 'ot LSU and Indiana
Sty" h v- heen raiked number
- 1 t various times this past
;eason.
A r" *ng grace
LOOR F ERCTSE: 1. Stillerman
(11). 9.05; ?. Dannuer (M), 9.01; 3.
sakamoto (m). 8.96.
POMMEL HORSE: 1. Beck (Ill),
9 4; 2. Poynton (M), 9.03; 3. Han-
sen (MI). 8.9.
RINGS: 1. Fernandez (Ind), 9.3;
?. Neienswsnder (M), 9.25; 3. Le-
cl-e (M), 92.
VAULTING: 1. Bigras (MI), 8.97;
2. Leclerc (I) and LaFleur (Minn),
8,96.
PARALLEL BARS: 1. Leclerc (M),
8943: 2. Bigras (M), 8.75; 3. Mason
(Iowa3), 8.74.
HIGH BAR: 1. Darden (M), 9.31;
2. Creek (M), 9.18; 3. Keeshin (M),
9.08.
ALL-AROUND: 1. D- ter (M),
101.25; 2. Mason (Iowa), 100.8; 3.
LaFleur (Minn), 98.9; 4. Leclerc (M),
98.65; 5. Keeshin (M), 97.35.
FINAL RESULTS
MICHIGAN 419.80
Minnesota 397.90
Iowa 388.30
Illinois 375.3.
Indiana 359.95
Wisconsin 351.95
MichigantState 344.30
Ohio State 335.15

SCORES

NBA
Buffalo 102, Boston 96
Atlanta 103, Cleveland 97
Iliiston 107, New Orleans 105
Golden State 113, Detroit 112
K.C.-Omaha 104, Phoenix 100
NHL
N.Y. Islanders 6, N.Y. Rangers 4
Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2
Phladelphia 5, Chicago ?
St. Louis 2, Minnesota 1
Boston 1, Toronto 1 (ie)
Vancouver 4, Los Angeles 2
Montreal 4, Kansas City 1.
EXHIIBITION BASEBALL
Detroit 3, N.Y. Mets 1
Atlanta .3, Texas 'B' 1
Kansas City 2, Pittsburgh I
Montreal 5, St. Louis 4
Minnesota 7, Houston 5
Pittsburgh 'A' 3, Chicago (A) 2
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kentucky 95, Syracuse 79
UCLA 75, Lou4sville 74 (ot)
ABA
Kentucky 126, New York 95
Indiana 114, Memphis 104
Denver 140, St. Louis 130
Utah 119, San Diego 100
WIIA
Winnipeg 9, New England 3
Cleveland 7, Indianapolis 5
Houston 6, Minnesota 2

Danner became the first fresh- formers Keeshen, LeClerc andI
man in Big Ten history to win Danner began to work their con-
the coveted all-around crown. sistent magic, as Michigan
Danner finished with 101.25 total earned 34 or more points in the
points, edging a pretourney fa- remainder of the compulsory
vorite, Bill Mason of Iowa, by a portion.
mere .45. As Michigan's depth asserted,
Minnesota's Jeff LaFleur cap- itself, the question arose as to
tured third place in the all-( who would wind up in second

Doily Photo by E. SUSAN SHEINER
Danner splits to victory

KENTUCKY BOMBS SYRACUSE

-Bir uins

edge

o smle

75-74

By The Associated Press

I
I

night's game would
as a coach.

be his last

SANDIEGO-Richard'
Washington's jump shot with
two seconds left in overtime
gave UCLA a 75-74 victory over
Louisville yesterday in an in-
credibly close and fiercely
fought semifinal game of the
NCAA college basketball tour-
nament.

UCLA won the exciting strug-
gle despite a huge rebounding
deficit. The quick, high-jump-
ing Cardinals out-rebounded the
Bruins 49-36, but Louisville
made critical mistakes when it
could least afford them.

COACH JOHN WOODEN, who UCLA APPEARED beaten
has guided a record nine na-
tional champions at the Los late in the game as Allen Mur-
Angeles school, announced im- phy scored seven of his game-
mediately after the game that high 33 points to give Louis-
he will retire from coaching ville a 74-71 lead with 1:17 left
after Monday night's national in overtime.
championship game against Bu wthm ec e
Kentucky. But with 57 seconds left, the
Wooden, 64, who has been poised Bruins pulled within one
suffering from heart trouble the point at 74-73 on two pressure
last two years, said Monday free throws by Dave Meyers.


freshman Jack Givens and the
playmaking and ballhawking of
guard Jimmy Dan Conner to a
relatively easy 95-79 victory
over Syracuse s cinderella
team.
THE VICTORY in the first of
two NCAA semifinal games
here sent the second - ranked
Wildcats, 26-4, into Monday
night's national final against
UCLA.
The psysically-awesome Ken-
tucky squad never trailed and
was in command throughout as
the Wildcats moved within one
step of their fifth national
championship.
SIXTY-ONE FOULS were
whistled inethe very closely-
called game; 70 free throws
were shot and four players foul-
ed out.
But every time one of Ken-
tucky's players got into foul
trouble, coach Joe Hall simply
pulled somebody off his bench.
Kentucky showed its awe-
some physical power under the
boards, outrebounding Syracuse
57-40. And even though the Or-
angemen outshot the Wildcats
49 per cent to 47 per cent, Syr-

title

By The Associated Press
CLEVELAND - Sophomore
Jean Naber set three Ameri-
can records in three days and
led Southern California to its
second straight victory in the
NCAA Division I swimming and
diving chamnionshins at Ceve-

third with 180, Tennessee
fourth with 174 and Alabama
fifth with 165.
Alabama freshman Jonty
Skinner set a record of 43.92 in
the 100-yard freestyle, better-
ing the 44.50 set by Dave Edgar
of Tennessee in 1071.

a time of 2:58.42. William
Hickcox, Ken Knox, Jim
Montgomery and John Mur-
phy made up the team that
bettered the 3:00.35 set by the
Hoosiers last year.
With the victory, Indiana be-

LOUISVILLE HAD a chance
to put the game away when re-
serve Terry Howard had a one-
and-one foul situation with 20
seconds remaining. Howard,
who had hit all 28 of his free
throw attempts this year, miss-
ed and Washington snared the
rebound for UCLA.
UCLA worked the ball out-
side, then Marques Johnson fed

..71W