THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Eleven THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Eleven Gymnasts nip By LEBA HERTZ Despite the absence of J. P. Bouchard and an injury to Jean Gagnon, the Mich- igan gymnastics team pulled an upset over nationally ranked Penn State last night in Crisler Arena by a score of 161.05 to 160.2. Gagnon, who was ob- viously hurting from the start, scratched from the last three events. Coach Newt Loken excitedly com- mented on the victory, "Wow, it was just wonderful. (Randy) Sakamoto was just tremendous. Pierre (LeClerc) and Bruce (Medd) had great evenings. (Jerry) Poynton was absolutely won- derful and the ring team came through again. The vaulting was out of sight and the three high bar men sailed through to a great finish." "Without commenting on Michigan's fine performance, Nittany Lion coach, Gene Wettstone expressed only bitter- ness in his team's loss. "At no time, should the host coach choose the judges," Wettstone complained. Despite Wettstone's objections, the meet was a tight and exciting one. The first event, the floor exercise, found Penn State holding a slight lead with 26.7 points to the Wolverines' 26.6. Sakamato starred for Michigan in amas- sing a superb 9.15. Captain Jim Kreust of Penn State finished second with an 8.95. Filling in for Bouchard, Chuck Still- erman performed a fine 8.85. On the pommel horse, Penn State seemed lackadaisical in totaling only 24.5 points to Michigan's 26.3. Poynton was again magnificent for the Wolver- ines in garnering 9.1 points.' The two events gave Michigan a slim lead of 52.9 to 51.2. Loken felt this event was the turning point. Joe Neuenswander and Captain Monty Falb led the way for Michigan on the rings as the Wolverines outscored Penn State 27.3 to 26.8. Neuenswander scored a 9.3 to win the individual title in the rings. Falb's last home meet ended with accolades from all as he scored a 9.2. Nittany In vaulting, things looked grim for the Wolverines as Kreust and fellow' teammate Brandt Atkins each scored a 9.2. But diminuitive Pierre LeClerc came through with a 9.35 to keep Michi- gan in the lead with a 107.4 to 105.2 score. On the parallel bars Michigan fal- tered a little as Gagnon scratched. Penn State outscored the Wolverines 27.35 to 26.30, thus closing the gap. Things were left up to the high bar men. Although Penn State won the event 27.63 to 27.35, the high scoring of Medd (9.05), Bob Darden (9.1) and Carey Cul- bertson (9.2) gave Michigan its stunning victory. Kreust was high for Penn State with a 9.2 with Bob Graf scoring a 9.15 and Mike Greene and John Juliano tied with a 9.0. The individual title went to Kreust who scored a spectacular 53.75. LeClerc finished a distant second with a fine 52.6. Medd came in a close third with 52.15 points. Lions Loken praised the Blue gymnasts when he stated, "Despite the prob- lems we had (Bouchard's absence and Gagnon's injury), the guys provided a great win. I was. proud of them all." The gymnast next step will be the Big Ten Meet at Iowa. Although Michi- gan edged the powerful Iowa team, Lo- ken is still concerned. Loken remarks, "We have our :hands full with Iowa. How well can Jean (Gagnon) get pre- pared for the Big Tens? His job is vital if we are able to take the title." Although not as impressive as a Michi- gan football team defeating Ohio State, the victory over!Penn State was a great step for the Wolverines and should give them an added boost when they head for Iowa. Michigan has finished the regular sea- son with an impressive 7-0 record. A Big Ten title would make it a perfect season. JERRY POYNTON OF MICHIGAN performs his pommel horse routine-a performance that won him the individual title in that event last night. Michigan defeated the mighty Penn State squad 161.15 to 160.2. The side horse was the event which turned out to be the deciding factor in the Wolverine win. I' rnour Russell rattles I over 1and out, rI ROGER ROSSITER- Deers des .. .*. seven strong ABE PRATT, GENERAL manager of the Vancouver Canucks, -once said, "Forwards are good for goals and headlines, but defensemen are the backbone of a hockey team." Defense is the least glamorous position on a hockey team, just as offensive line is in football. But a team without good defensemen does not win consistently. Look at the Detroit Red Wings. 'Every coach in hockey-including those in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association-knows what good defensemen mean to a team. That's why Michigan coach Dan Farrell beams with joy .whenever a conversation turns to his blue line corps. "There's no team in the league that has seven good defense- men like we do," he flatly remarked. "Some have three or four, but not seven. That's definitely our strongest area." Goalie Robbie Moore agreed wholeheartedly, claiming, "We've got the best defense in the league, and potentially the best in the country." RANDY TRUDEAU, Tom Lindskog, Greg Fox, Gordie Cullen, Rob Palmer, Dave Shand, and Greg Natale are free skating defensemen who all possess "lightness afoot" Farrell's sole re- cruiting criterion. "I feel . can teach a recruit all he needs to know about plaging defense, if he "is the physical ability t' make the moves," Farrell explains. "All our defensemen have that ability. All seven are exceptionally good skaters." A comparison of Michigan's goals against statistics con- Krms Farrell's allegations. Last year, in thirty-two games, Michigan surrendered 183 goals for an average of 5.7 per game. This season through thirty games only 137 pucks have entered the Michigan net 4.5 per game. Add to that the Wolverines' increased scoring output (approximately a goal a game) and you end up with better than a two goal per game difference in favor of the 1974 Maize and Blue. None. of the Michigan blue liners believes the improvement is all their own. Tom J.indskog noted that "The play of our for- wards has helped the defense a lot. They're more conscious of coming back on defense this year, which means we don't get caught in three-on-two and four-on-two situations very often." Farrell believes that in the perfect situation a defenseman should never get beaten one-on-one by a forward. "We work really hard on one-on-one's," claimed junior-year captain Randy Tru- deau, the oldest of the defensemen. "VOU CAN'T TAKE anything for granted as a defenseman," Lindskog explained. "Whenever we move into the offensive zone,'we have to get back to our position as soon as possible. We're taught never to trust a forward covering up for us," he added dith a smile. Palmer, Shand, and Natale are all freshmen. All have had to adiust to the different style of hockey played in the United States' colleges. Each has had his own individual problems. "College hockey is tougher on the defenseman because they don't use the center red line," offered Natale. "Teams will shoot the puck from their own blue line behind our net, and we have to get back in a hurry. They also forecheck behind the net. here which is almost never done in Canada." "In Canada they stress using finesse," Shand noted, "while here they play a more physical, disciplined game. The only thing I have problems with is the two-on-one break. Other than that I haven't had that much trouble." For Palmer, the speed of the opposition's skaters has re- quired the largest adjustment. "Everyone skates a lot faster in this league, and without the centerline you have to make sure no one gets behind you for a long lead pass. The faster skating and the lack of a red line make college hockey a much faster game than the way it's played in Canada." INJURIES PLAY A major role in all sports, but in hockey the ability to play despite injury is considered a vital charac- teristic of the complete player. Lindskog and Shand epitomize that quality. Early in the year, both suffered broken noses. Shand's re- ouired emergency surgery. Neither missed a game. Then, last Friday at Notre Dame, Shand had a recurrence of an old shoulder problem. "It pops out every now and then," Shand explained. "It hurt really bad, but I popped it back in on the bench." Amazingly, he still played Friday night wearing a shoulder harness that held the fickle limb in place. In a year of rebuilding for the Wolverines the defense's turn around has been a key to Michigan's startling success. At the season's ontset Farrell set his defensive match-ups, Shand and Trudeau, Palmer and Lindskog, Fox and Natale, By GEORGE HASTINGS Special To The Daily MADISON - The inevitable dally finally happened. Campy Russell finally had O that super-duper s c o r i n g night, and his 36 points lastI night were good enough to NIGHT EDITOR. power the Michigan Wolver- MARCIA MERKER ines to a 78-74 victory overE Wisconsin for Michigan's big-- resulted in a Britt free throw and gest road win of the year. a 70-59 Michigan lead. Egetryody wineofCheya At that point it looked pretty Everybody knew Campy wapoints much sewed up for the Wolverines, in any game where he really but a frantic Wisconsin press in the wanted them, but team ball has last three minutes and a few missed been the name of the game for one-on-one free shots by Michigan the Wolverines this year, and Rus- made the score closer than it had sell has been unselfish. But last to be. night they needed the big: effort A quick pair of steals and layups from their big gun to hold off a cut the Michigan lead to 74-67 with; scrappy Badger bunch, and Russell 1: 50 left, but at the point Badger came through in spectacular style. guard Gary Anderson 'fouled out The junior All-America candidate' with 19 points to his credit, hurting hit 15 of 26 shots from the floor, the Wisconsin cause. Lamont Wea- at least half of them from very; ver hit a 22-footer a minute later, long range, and added six of seven though, that made it only 75-72 in from the charity line. The 36 points favor of Michigan with forty sec- were Russell's career high, but onds left. Campy even found time to haul down 11 rebounds to go with them. 'n UT JOE JOHNSON, who had another excellent game, then found RUSSELL'S MOST crucial effort Russell under the hoop with a came with six minutes left in the gorgeous floating pass under heavy game, with the Wolverines ahead pressure, and Campy put the con- 65-57 but the battling Badgers at- test into the win column. tempting to make one last surge to As the first half started it was rowdy with 19 points and 8 rebounds, and Johnson had 11 markers, while An- derson had 10 for the Badgers. Wisconsin came out after the in- termission crashing the offensive backboards, with Koehler and Kim Hughes each getting several tip-ins. best and Wisconsin got its offense moving. Anderson was drilling them in from the periphery, and that open- ed the way for Kim Hughes and Dale Koehler to get some easy buckets inside. When the Badgers converted a' pair of steals midway through the first half, they opened a 20-14 lead. BUT RUSSELL and Johnson did not let the Wisconsin lead last long. They led the Michigan fast break, which connected for three quick hoops to put Michigan ahead 27-26. They then combined for Michigan s next 11 points, and when C. J. Kupec hit a layup with one second remaining, the Wol- verines had a 40-34 halftime mar- gin. Russell finished the first stanza Badgers tough Monday night road game after a tiring, important win over the Boilermakers Saturday. "We came to play tonight. It's hard for us to come back on a Monday night, but we went out there and ran the offense very very well." Russell Johnson Britt Kupec Grote Worrel white Totals FG 15-26 6-12 5-12 4-8 3-6 0-0 0-0 33-64 FT 6-7 2-5 1-2 1-3 2-3 0-0 0-0 12-20 IASSISTANT COACH Jim Dutcher THE BADGERS made run after ASdIdTAtT His imsurs runat he ichga led, ut headded that, "This was our best rin at the Michigan lead, but the road win in the conference. Campy Wverinnes erethotfom e out- had his best game of the year get closer than four points before tonight. But he also had some Russell took over in the final min- kind words for Johnson. "Joe had utes. another great game for us," said After the game, Wolverine coach Dutcher of the Michigan guard, John Orr was effusive in his praise who was second high scorer with for Russell. "Campy was brilliant 14 points, along with four assists. out there, positively brilliant. No- body could have stopped him to- "He looks like an all-conference night." guard to me. Buckner and those But he also was happy about the other guys get the ink, but Joe has way his whole team responded to a been more valuable to us." WISCONSIN Badger blues MICHIGAN R 11 5 13 3 2 0k 38 10 13 8 0 5 2 F TP 4 36 1 14 3 11 3' 9 38 0 0 0 0 14 78 Koehler Kim Hughes Anderson, Ptacen a , Weaver' McCoy McCauley Kerry Hughes Totals 10-16 0-0 9-20 1-2 9-17 1-2 0-2 0-0 2-13 0-0 2-3 0-0 2-5 2-2 1-3 0-0 35-79 4-6 5 2 5 0 4 1 0 19 20 19 18 0 4 4 6 a 74 SCORE BY PERIODS MICHIGAN Wisconsin Attendance: 7,684 40 38 78 34-40 '74 oil!________________________ _ _______ I l 3 r _ M ji _i get back into the game. Russell apparent that the Wolverines were drilled one in from the outside, not going to be able to duplicate came back to connect on a drive, their near perfect Saturday per- I and then hit Wayman Britt with a formance against Purdue. The: beautiful court-length pass which Michigan defense was not at its Hoosiers ramble on- 11 140Y CT "7 a 1)_w 0 -*l ***."« =J 4m W *i i f s~bIwane 1Ku u, V-If By The Associated Press BLOOMINGTON - Led by fresh- man center Kent Benson's 19, points and 12 rebounds, Indiana survived a second-half comeback by Michigan State and beat the! Spartans 91-85 to reamin atop thej Big Ten basketball standings. The Hoosiers, ranked No. 10 in the nation, raised their conferenceI record to 11-1 and eliminated the 8-4 Spartans from any hopes for the league championship. Robinson and Hairston led the Michigan State rally and the, Spartans pulled within four, 85- 81, - with four minutes to go be- fore Abernathy sank a basket and two free throws to give the Hoosiers some breathing room. Michigan State closed the gap to four, 89-85, with 40 seconds re- maining. Two free throws by soph-i omore Quinn Buckner Iced the game for the Hoosiers with two seconds to go. Mike Robinson, the defending conference scoring champion, led the Spartans with 27 points, and teammates Lindsay Hairston and Terry Furlow added 21 apiece. Buckner and Steve Green each1 finished with 16 points, while re-7 serves John Laskowski and Tom' Abernathy popped in 15 each in; *the balanced Hoosier attack. 1Gophers romp .pCHAMPAIGN -Minnesota piled up a 38-26 halftime lead and with four players hitting in double fig- ures blasted Illinois 72-52 in a Big Ten basketball game last night. It was the Illini's lowest point total at home since losing to Houston 54-46 in 1968. In the first five minutes of the' last half the Gophers jumped ahead 48-31 in a surge led by Phil Filer's two baskets, and the closest Illi- nois9came to closing the gap was 50-39.1 Illinois, hitting only 21 of 71 floor shots, sagged to 2-10 in Big Ten play. Minnesota, making 29 of 62 field goal attempts, is 6-6. Buckeyes rally EVANSTON-Ohio State's Buck- eyes, down by three points with 18 seconds left in regulation time, rallied for a tie on a basket by Bill Andreas and then collected free throws by Larry Bolden and Steve Wenner to score a 72-69 overtime victory over Northwest- ern last night. It was touch-and-go from the very start as the two teams kept changing the lead with Ohio State going ahead 30-27 at the half. The two teams kept up the same tempo in the second half, and it finally looked as if Northwestern would win it when Bob Hildebrand hit a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats ahead 63-60. Craig Taylor scored a free throw and Bill Andreas connect- ed on a basket to force the game into overtime. Byran Ashbaugh twice gave Northwestern leads in the over- time, but baskets by Taylor and Wardell Jackson helped ease Ohio State ahead. Andreas and Bolden led Ohio State with 18 points each and Jackson finished with 14. Bill Mc- Kinney was high for Northwestern with 19 and Ashbaugh finished with 16. / . Big Ten Stanings 40 4m . dwmmww rr . 0 i r .. " THE DEADLINE FOR ADS IN, THE UMM-ER SUBLET UPPLEMENT Don't be lef this summer with an unwanted apartment 7 WILL PIcF e1 flI RYva INCH AflINi iR Indiana MICHIGAN Purdue Michigan State Minnesota W 11 10 9 8 6 L 1 2 3 4 6 I I