Thursday, September 7, 1972 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five' -_., netters reign as bid nkings By GEORGE HASTINGS Most sports fans are aware of some of the major dynasties in college sports, such as UCLA's domination of West Coast bas- ketball, Indiana's preponder- ance in Midwestern swimming, and Penn State's supremacy in Eastern football. But few are cognizant of an- other dynasty that has been just as decided - that of Michigan in Midwestern tennis. The Wolverine tennis pro- gram has been by far the best in both the Big Ten and the en- tire Midwestern area for some time now. Michigan teams have taken the conference title eleven of the last thirteen sea- sons, including the last five years. This past season the Wolver- ines had their most powerful team ever, and they' unveiled the proof of their supremacy by sweeping their last fourteen dual meets, going undefeated in the Big Ten and the Midwest. and finishing far ahead of their nearest challenger in the Big Ten tournament. Michigan players grabbed tit- les in three of the six singles flights, and in two of the three doubles categories. Two of the other three Wolverines were second in their flights, while the sixth Michigan man finish- ed third. The other Wolver- ine doubles squad was also a runner-up. For the upcoming 1973 sea- son, Michigan coach Brian Eis- ner has six of his top seven players returning, plus the ad- dition of three of the best prep players in -the United States. The outlook is for another out- standing season and Big Ten win, with a possibility of seri- ous contention for the national title as well. Heading the returning cast is sophomore Jeff Miller, who was one of Michigan's two freshman sensations of the past season. Miller is pro- bably at this point the lead- ing contender for the number one singles post, vacated by the graduation of 1972's lead- ing Wolverine, Joel Ross. Miller played number two singles last dear, and was Big Ten runner-up in that cate- gory. He went through the en- tire Big Ten season undefeated, only to lose in 'the finals of the Big Ten tourney. Miller, from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, was formerly one of the outstand- ing junior players in the U. S., and a junior Davis Cupper. Also returning is Dick Rav- reby, a senior from Walnut Creek, California. Ravreby went undefeated in Big Ten singles last year, taking the tit- le at numbei' three singles. Ray- reby also combined with Ross to take the number one. dou- bles title. With Ross graduated, it means that Ravreby will have a new doubles partner. Tim Ott is another senior from California (Manhattan Beach4 who will again be a big factor for the Wolverines. Ott, who was a number two singles player as a sophomore. played at number four last year and had little competition, breezing to the Big Ten title. OTT ALSO COMBINED with Miller to win the conference title at number three doubles, and Ott had the distinction of being the only player in the Big Ten last year to go the en- tire Big Ten dual meet and tournament competition with- out tasting defeat at either singles or doubles. Returning, as well, is yet an- other Big Ten title winner Kev- in Senich who is a native of Cleveland. Senich was champ at number five singles last year, and was also half of a Big Ten number two doubles champ team two years ago. The only one of the Wolver- ines top six last year to go with- out a singles or doubles title was JerrytKarzen, of Glencoe, Illinois. but Karzen came close. He finished third in the con- ference at number six singles, upset in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament following an undefeated dual meet sea- son. He also teamed up with Senich to finish second in num- ber two doubles. Also returning is Mike Ware, a senior from Detroit. As num- ber seven player last year, Ware saw little Big Ten ac- tion. However, the six return- ing players are in no way se- cure as they will have to con- tend for their places with three excellent freshmen whom Eisner has recruited. The Michigan coach has picked off two of the top ten junior players in the country, both from Puerto Rico, as well as another who is perhaps the best prep player in Illinois. The top prospect is Fred De- Jesus, who comes from San Juan, Puerto Rico. DeJesus, who , won national titles for 12 - and - under, 14 - and under, and 16-and-under age groups, is currently rated the number seven junior player in the nation. Also originally from San Juan is another of the freshmen, Victor Amaya. Amaya's family currently resides in Holland, Michigan, and Amaya, a big. 6-6 player, known as a hard- hitter, has been the Michigan high school Class A singles champ the last two years, and is the nation's ninth-rated jun- ior. The third'highly rated fresh- man is Eric Friedler, or Evan- ston, Illinois. Friedler was the twelfth - ranked player in the nation as a sixteen year old, and was considered by some to be the best tennis prospect com- ing out of Illinois this year. ANOTHER ASSET in the Wolverines' favor is. their coach, Eisner. A former Big Ten player himself, Eisner has an almost impeccable record as a mentor. Prior to his appointment to the Michigan coaching post, Eisner was coach at Toledo, and in his last four years there the Roc- kets were Mid-American Con- ference champs. In his three years at Michigan, his teams have led the Big Ten all three times. But Eisrler's loftiest objective as 'Michigan coach has not yet been accomplished: that of a national championship. The team's 18th place finish this year in the NCAA champion- ships represented one of the strongest showings ever for a midwestern team in tennis, a sport totally dominated by the warm weather West and South. But Eisner feels that with the crew he has coming back com- bined with the outstanding freshmen he has recruited in 1973 Michigan will be a bona fide national contender with a real shot at the NCAA crown. It appears that for the first time this midwestern dynasty is ready to go national. U on the rings SHOP Monday & Friday Til 8:30 tumblers regroup FASHIONS FOR TALLAND I0 By .DEBBIE WISSNER If the 1971 Wolverine football team is finding it difficult to live- with the knowledge that only one point separated it from an undefeated season. it can perhaps take some comfort from the fact that Coach Newt Loken's ,Michigan gymnasts also found themselves on the losing side of the close ones. Little more than one point kept the Wolverine bouncers from a record-setting string of dual meet victories which would now total 51 straight, and also broke Michigan's hammerlock on the Big Ten championships. cost- ing the team a shot at the NCAA finals. Coach Loken's gymnasts began the dual meet season with con- vincing triumphs over Western Michigan, North Carolina, Geor- gia Southern, Eastern Michigan, and Chicago Circle, running their consecutive win streak to 45. JANUARY 29 the Iowa Hawkeyes came from behind to nip the Wolverines by less than a point in a strong team show- ing which caused many observ- ers to feel that Iowa was the team to beat in the .Big Ten. However Michigan came roar- ing back, defeating Minnesota, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan State, and Illinois in succession, and it looked as if the Wolverine tumblers had hit their stride go- ing into the Big Ten champion- ships in Champaign-Urbana. But Michigan stumbled badly in the compulsories, falling five full points behind Iowa. The Wolverines then stormed back to outscore the Hawkeyes in both -the optional routines and the finals, but their rally fell just short, as Iowa's early lead was enough for them to hang on and take the top spot by a scant 0.6 points. Individually, I h e Wolverines captured three of the six event championships, as Jim Scully fin- ished first on the high bar and Ray Gura took first place honors in both floor exercise and vault- ing. In the coming Neason, Coach Loken faces the problem of replacing some of his key per- sonnel who have been lost by graduation. Among those who are gone are Scully, co-cap- tains Ted Marti and Dick Kaziny, parallel bars special- ist Murray Plotkin, outstand- ing vaulter Pete Rogers, and still rings specialist Mike Sale. Marti finished third in the Big Ten all-around race last year, and turned in some outstanding performances during the dual meet season, including a 9.6 high bar showing against In- diana. Plotkin won the Big Ten parallel bars championship two years ago, and finished in the runner-up spot last year. The pressure will now fall upon senior team captain Ray Gura, one of the few seasoned veterans on this year's squad, to provide both team leadership and consistently good perform- ances. Joining Gura in all- around competition w i l 1 be sophomores Bruce Medd and Jean Gagnon. Coach Loken has few wor- ries in floor exercise, with Gura returning as the Big Ten champion, and W a r d Black as runner-up. Terry Boys is also an outstanding performer in that event. But the loss of Kaziny in side horse may prove to be quite a headache to the 1970 Coach of the Year if Medd and sopho- more Rupert Hansen cannot fill the void left by Kaziny's gradu- ation. Still rings could also be an- other problem, although Mich- igan does have the current Big Ten runner-up in Monty Falb. Gura leads the way in vault- ing, and will be joined by junior Jean-Paul Bouchard, who turn- ed in some excellent showings last season. Gagnon is a strong performer on the parallel bars, but Mich- igan's hopes there lie with jun- ior Bob Johnson, whose scores last year were consistently above 9.0. COACH LOKEN-was working hard on the recruitment of high school gymnasts this spring in an attempt to make up for the loss of the seniors and to build for the future. Although many of the preppers have not made their plans known, some of the more promising prospects in- cluded Bob Darden and Randy Sakamoto from Illinois, Richard Vigras and Pierre Le Clerc, two all-around p e r~ f o r m e r s from Montreal, and Joe Neuenswan- der and Don Chapman from N o r t h Farmington. Chapman was the Michigan high school all-around champion last year. 1972 was only the second time in the last decade that Michigan did not have at least a share of the Big Ten gymnastics crown. Unfortunately, it's not likely to be any easier in 1973. Iowa lost only all-around champion Dean Showalter from its squad, and Minnesota, which finished third in the Big Ten, lost only two specialists. SUITS- SPORT COATS SLACKS SHIRTS TO SIZE 56 . TO SIZE 56 TO SIZE 60 TO SIZE 22 38 Sl|eeve * PAJAMAS .'. TO SIZE F 0 UNDER- WEAR:. TO SIZE 60 * SOX TO SIZE 16 * BELTS . TO SIZE 60 W SWEATERS TO SIZE 5X " Farah 0 Sansabelt 0 Manhattan 0 Johnny Carson tter 0 Botany '500 f Levi * Van Heusen 0 Cricke l overcoming life's hurdles trackm'en seek assist You Always Have a Choice of Merchandise at Felt Tip Pens Clocks Scrap Books Photo Albums Umbrellas Decals Note Books Spiral & loose leaf Filinq Cords Folders Term Paper Covers Staplers Plus all kinds of STUDENT SUPPLIES State St. at North Univ By ROB HALVAKS ' Returning with a year of Big Ten track competition under his belt, track coach Dixon Farmer will embe-- - his sophomore campaign confident that he can improve upon his record of last season both indoors and out. And even with the return of nearly all of last season's Big Ten point-getters, there is room for improvement. . Despite early indications of success and high hopes for a third or even a second place finish in the Big Ten indoor meet last spring, the Wolverines fared poorly, finishing a meager fifth while picking up a scant three points' a week later at the NCAA meet. Moving outside, the thinclads finished a distant fourth in the conference championships, well behind Michigan State. The Spartans, headed by Olympic prospects Herb Washington and Marshall Dill, captured both the indoor and outdoor conference crowns and finished second to USC in the NCAA indoor meet. Only during the cross country season did the Wolverines live up to their potential. Competing in this sport for the first time in many years, the thinclads surprised the conference with a strong third place finish. Topping the list of returning seasoned veterans is Jamaican Olympian hurdler Godfrey Mur- ray who runs the 120 yard high hurdles faster than anyone in Michigan history, having posted a best time of 13.7, IT WAS MURRAY'S third place finish in the 60 high hur- dles which accounted for the Wolverines' only points in the NCAA indoor meet. Murray also won the high hurdle events in both Big Ten meets last season and, barring injuries, should be an easy repeater this year. Sharing the hurdling duties with Murray again this season will be junior Mel Reeves who finished third in the 120 highs last spring to give Michigan the ter to break the 60 foot mark. W i t h Anderson's graduation, Adams could easily succeed to both titles. In the distance events Farmer has depth returning, including two Olympic prospects in Cana- dian Eric Chapman and Ire- land's Bill Bolster. Also return- ing in the distances are Mike Pierce and Keith Brown. BROWN, AS a freshman, led Michigan's cross country team in the fall, finishing seventh in the Big Ten meet, and provided, stiff competition on the track for his opponents in the two and three mile events. Pierce, who set the Michigan mark in the mile two seasons ago, came on strong at the end of last spring in several of the longer distance events. Also returning to add further depth will be sophomores Mike Taylor and George Khouri and juniors Dave Eddy and Rick Schott. These men, With a little more health and consistency could add a great deal to the Wolverine cause, particularly in cross country. Three-fourths of the mile re- lay team of Chapman, Kim Rowe, Reggie Bradford and Greg Syphax, which ran away with the event at the Big Ten outdoor championships with a time of 3:09.9 and captured a third place at the NCAA out- door meet, will be returning. Only Bradford will be lost to graduation. Syphax and Rowe will also handle the 300 and 440 yard dashes. with help from Geoff Leplatte..Syphax finished fourth in the 300 at the Big Ten indoor meet with a 31.1 while Rowe has posted a 31.0. In the conference outdoor meet the, two finished one-two in the 440 yard dash. HOWEVER. WITH the loss of Gene Brown. Michigan's solid 60 and 100 yard dash runner, the team will find itself extremely weak in the shorter sprints. Also, with the exception of Adams in the shot put, all the outstanding, athletes in each of these areas, as well as in the sprints before the conference in- door and outdoor meets to battle favorably with Michigan State. The Spartan team will be bring- ing the same depth and quality as in 1972 and will be returning to defend its titles. But with the advent of the cross country season, Farmer has some cause for confidence in the return of all his best com- petitors in Brown, Schott, Pierce, Chapman, Taylor, Eddy, and Khouri.. 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