N Fish Tales By MARK FISCHER The Michigan Doily-Wednesday, March 4, 1981-Page 9 SPORTS OF THE DAILY i Women tumblers rolltng along Six losses later.. . . .. is NCAA bid possible? It was as if Bill Frieder and his Michigan cagers had met up with Ricardo Montalban and were taking a trip on Fantasy Island. There they were, a team previously picked to finish in the middle of the pack at best, cruising along with a 16-3 overall record, a number 12 national ranking, and a 7-3 conference mark which gave them a share of the Big Ten lead. They were riding high on a four game win streak, and with less than half of the league season remaining, a first class ticket to the NCAA playoffs loomed pleasantly on the horizon. But by now, six games and six losses later, the tie for first has turned into a tie for sixth, the national ranking is long gone, and the ticket to the NCAA's thas turned into nothing more than a stub for a longshot raffle heavily rigged in favor of several other teams. According to Coach Frieder, only two things really went wrong. The first, he contends, had nothing to do with the Blue cagers themselves, per se, but with the particular opponents they had to play during the losing skein, and where they had to face them. The second came with the loss to the North- western Wildcats in Ann Arbor. "A great deal of it has been our schedule," he said. "You know, if you'd have gone back last fall and looked on paper, you'd have probably predicted that Illinois and Indiana and-Iowa on the road were going to be losses, OK, so that's three of the six games." Yet none of that explains the 74-70 home loss against Northwestern, the league's poorest team, and one which Michigan whipped easily in Evanston several weeks earlier. In fact, the only possible explanation behind the Wolverines' baleful performance against the Wildcats at Crisler that Satur- day afternoon has to lie in the team's travel foulups prior to the contest. On their way home after a three-point (66-63) loss in Champaign to Illinois, the roundballers were fogged out of Detroit's Metro Airport and had to land in Cleveland, of all places. As if that wasn't enough, the next morning's flight back to Ann Arbor was cancelled due to fog. The team was forced to take a four-hour bus ride back, and finally arrived in Ann Arbor at 6:30 p.m., which left no time for practice. Both smooth travel and the Friday practice in between games, which is usually part of the cagers' routine, apparently were sorely missed. At any rate, the loss severely hurt Michigan's chances at an NCAA playoff berth, as well as the team's image in the eyes of fans and other observers. Instead of being 8-8 and in the throes of merely a two-game string of set- backs, the Wolverines are 7-9 and in danger of losing seven in a row. Frieder is well aware of these facts. "What it (the losing streak) really comes down to is not a big turnaround," concluded the coach. "It comes down to (the fact that) we lost the North- western game at home, which we should have won. "That was very crucial to us," he continued. "Had we won that game I don't think there'd be near the concern there is. But we didn't win it, so now all of a sudden it's a six game losing streak. With that win and two games coming up, we'd be in great shape, but we didn't get it." No they didn't, and because of it, their chances of reaching the NCAA's are slim at best. In order for such a long shot to materialize now, a number of somewhat improbable events must take place. First and foremost, Michigan has to win their last two games, which just so happen to be against the two teams that - from the Wolverines' point of view -- have to lose twice: Minnesota (Thursday) and Purdue (Saturday), who are both 9-7. The Boilermakers must lose to Ohio State on Thursday and Wisconsin must beat the Gophers on Saturday in order for Michigan to fin- ish tied with the pair for fourth place in the conference. Should this occur, the Wolverines would have the edge in the NCAA playoff selection process by virtue of their perfect 9-0 non-conference campaign and subsequent (hypothetical) 18-9 overall record. However, even if this unlikely combination of Michigan wins and Min- 'nesota and Purdue lpsses should take place, it is still doubtful that the NCAA would pick a fourth plee team with a 9-9 conference record, even if that con- ference happens to be the Big Ten. "It's a rare possibility," said Frieder of his team making the NCAA playoffs. "I'd say the NIT's are much more realistic." By BARB BARKER "We gained a lot of respect, came through where it counts, and finally have shown ourselves to be a top rated team-I couldn't have hoped for a bet- ter week," said women's gynmastics coach Sheri Hyatt. The Wolverines competed in both Big Ten and state tournaments over spring break and scored their two highest scores to date in each. THE TEAM TOOK third place with a 135.5 in Big Ten Championships held February 20-21 at Ohio State. Michigan, who was rated fourth going into com- petition, was able to beat out third seeded Illinois and came within six ten- ths of a point from catching second place Ohio State. Michigan State took first with a score of 140. "We went in to beat Illinois and that's exactly what we did. Ohio and Michigan State had been scoring so high this season that it would have been unrealistic to think of a first or second place. The fact that we came so close to Ohio State is pretty impressive," said Hyatt. Michigan had four team members qualify for the finals. Freshman Kathy Beckwith took fifth place all-arounder and second place in the vault. Junior Cindy Shearon placed seventh in vault. The Buckeyes' Donna Silber was first all-arounder. WITH THEIR all-time highest score of 136.9 the Wolverines took a second place behind Michigan State (138.9) in the state championships at Kalamazoo last weekend. This was the fifth con- secutive year the Spartans have finished at the top. "It took us a while to warm up," said Hyatt. "But after three events, we were within a half point of Michigan State. Although we didn't take first, I am more than pleased with our performan- ce. A 136.9 is more than we ever an- ticipated scoring. And the scores are what count overall." Beckwith was first all-arounder, taking top positions in both the beam and vault events. Her 9.35 on the beam was the highest score for this event that she had ever received in her life. Sophomore Angela Deaver was third all-arounder. BECKWITH ALSO attained special recognition, receiving the All-State vault and all-arounder awards. "For these awards, the competitors four top season scores are averaged with her two top state meet awards," said Hyatt. "This award signals that Kathy is very consistent. And it's con- sistent people who make it to nationals." Women tracksters disappoint A disappointed women's track team returned from the Big Ten meet at Champaign, Illinois February 21-22, having finished seventh in a meet coach Ken Simmons had hoped to place fifth. "We didn't do as well as we could have," said Simmons, as several unlucky events dashed the Wolverines' hopes for a top five finish. For example, the Michigan 4 x 220 relay team was in second place when the anchor leg runner received the baton, but she tripped and fell, as a result Michigan lost eight points. And Lori Thornton, a 20' long jumper this season, could only manage a sub- par 18'10%", which was still good for fourth. THOUGH PROBLEMS such as "down" days and stomach cramps beset other Michigan performers, several runners had an outstanding day. Sue Frederick ran to a Big Ten meet record, recording a 2:08 in winning the 880. Lisa Larsen registered an im- pressive "double," garnering fourth in the mile in 4:53 and sixth in the three mile with a 16:25. This meet marks the end of the season for most of the team, but several will be going to the AIAW nationals at Pocatello, Idaho on March 7 and 8. Qualifiers for the meet are Thornton (long jump), Weaver (5,000 meters), Frederick (800 meters), a distance medley relay team whose composition is as of yet undetermined, and a 4 x 200 team of Thornton, Sharpe, Renee Tur- ner and Brenda Kazinec. --JOHN FITZPATRICK --- - mm m m m - - mm m -m mmmm, IARMY I SURPLUS1 We stock a full line of clothing, boots, camping equipment, hunting clothing & winter coats. 201 E. Washington at Fourth I Open M-Sat 9-6 994-3572 1 , 20 % off' 1 ENTIRE STOCK of Sleeping Bags & Framed Packs 1 (Except sole Items) *i VISA IFEXPIRES MARCH 7, 1981 Wfyou fi out who your friends are. You can save a lot of gasoline-and a lot of money-if you use the phone before you use your car. 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