Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 2, 1990 Grapplers shoot for title without Amine Women tankers end season by Matt Rennie Daily Sports Writer The Michigan wrestling team must feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. The moment it has been waiting for is almost here. For the entire season, the Wol- verines have been pointing toward the Big Ten Championships. Each segment of the season has been a step toward that goal. Pre-season tournaments were preparation for dual meets, which, in turn, were pre- paration for the Big Ten meet. The tournament, which will take place in Evanston, Illinois on March 10 and 11, now looms on the horizon, but the Wolverines must do without one ingredient in their winning formula. Sam Amine, Michigan's starter at 158 pounds and the would-be No. 1 seed in the Big Ten, is sidelined with ligament damage in his left knee. The injury affects coach Dale Bahr's expectations regarding his team's finish in the tournament. "Iowa will be the favorite, probably followed by Indiana" Bahr said. "After that, it's anybody's ballgame. If Sam was healthy, I think we could have battled Indiana for second, but without him, we drop back in the back." From the standpoint of an in- dividual wrestler, the tournament is the only chance to qualify for the NCAA meet. The top four finishers at each weight class will advance to nationals, as will nine wildcards, which the coaches select. Bahr listed Fritz Lehrke (190 pounds), Larry Gotcher (158), and Joey Gilbert (134), as having the best chance to qualify for nationals. He expected to take four or five individuals to nationals, and men- tioned Justin Spewock (167) and Lanny Green (177) as people who could also earn bids. "When you consider the strength of the weight class, I think Fritz might have our best shot at being a Big Ten champion," Bahr said. Lehrke's primarywcompetition will come from Iowa's Brooks Simpson, last year's conference runner-up. Both wrestlers have spent the season ranked in the top five nationally. Gotcher was conference champion last year at 142 pounds. He wrestled at 150 for most of the season, but moved up after the injury to Amine. Bahr doesn't think the jump of two weight classes will affect his star. "Gotcher's the type of guy that is always ready at tournament time," he said. "I think he feels more active (at 158) because he doesn't have to cut (weight) as much." The primary obstacle facing Gil- bert is the strength of his weight class, which many consider to be the toughest in the conference. The Big Ten boasts the top two 134-pounders in the country in Iowa's Tom Brands by Jared Entin Daily Sports Writer Michigan has one last chance to prove itself. This weekend's EMU Invitational for women's swimming and diving is more than just Michigan's last regular meet of the season, it's also the last chance Michigan has to qualify more swimmers for the NCAA Championships in March. Michigan has qualified eight swimmers already, two just last week at the Michigan Open. Coach Jim Richardson said that although he was happy for the qualifiers, "I'm still disappointed that Lisa (Anderson) didn't make it. She missed it by two hundredths of a second, I can't even get that on my (stop) watch." In addition to Anderson, senior Stefanie Liebncr was very close to qualifying last weekend, missing the required time in the 200-yard backstroke by two tenths of a second. The outlook will be even better for Liebner this weekend because she was ill last week. Joining Anderson and Liebner in the ranks of the 'almost' is senior Laura Rollins. Last weekend, Rollins missed qualifying in the 200 breaststroke by only four tenths of a second - an exact repeat of her performance at Big Ten Championships two weeks ago. But this weekend's meet has further implications than just the NCAA Championships. Last weekend, Michigan's froshes made surges in many races and this weekend may prove very similar. Richardson said: "Both Caren Henry and Jennifer Zakrajsek had very good meets." Zakrajsek was only two seconds off the NCAA mark in the 200 breaststroke. Claudia Vieira, another first-year swimmer, was also only two seconds off the NCAA mark, in the 200 Butterfly. One last aspect of the meet is the fact that it is the last meet that half of the senior squad will swim in as Wolverines. Co-captain Amy Honig, Paula Colombo, Kirsten Hirsch, Liz Kowal, Brenna Tymko, and Jeanne Wiemer, all three-time letterwinners, shall swim in their last regular meet this weekend, and all will leave behind a great four years at Michigan. The four years included 37 straight Big Ten dual meet victories, in addition to four Big Ten Championships, and three top ten NCAA finishes. The four years resulted in the chance to help Michigan crack into the top five women's swimming teams in the country at the March championships. and Minnesota's Dave Zuniga. Gil- bert has been struggling of late, but Bahr thinks many of his problems will be solved before the tourn- ament. "It's a long season for a fresh- man," Bahr said. "We're going to start lighter workouts next week. I think he'll be able to build up some energy and throw his whole self into each match." Michigan completes the final stage of its preparation with a tri- meet with Morgan State and Central Michigan this Saturday. The meet will provide the opportunity for the wrestlers to adapt to wrestling more than one match in a day. "We're weighing in the night before, just like Big Tens," Bahr said. "We're treating this as a tune- up, so when the real thing comes, we'll be ready." B by Albert Lin Daily Sports Writer The men's gymnastics team will have a tough task ahead of them as they fly to Iowa City for this weekend's Big Ten Championships. The squad does not have a win against a Big Ten team this year, but they hope to score well enough to gain an invitation to the NCAA East Regionals next month at Penn State. An ideal score would be in the 270 range. The meet favorites are Ohio State and Minnesota, ranked second and third, respectively, in the country. Both teams are capable of scoring in the 280's. This competition arrives at an opportune time for the Wolverines as they are coming off their season- best score of 270.85 last week at Navy. And just two weeks ago, Michigan had to settle for a tie after a Wisconsin protest led to a scoring change that denied the Wolverines their first league victory. Individually, the Wolverines have high hopes for fifth-year senior Tony Angelotti and sophomore Glenn t j Hill. Both are ranked in the top ten in the country in their respective events - Angelotti on the floor exercise and Hill on the pommel horse. In addition, Angelotti was the Big Ten runner-up on floor in last year's championships, and Hill is coming off of a career high 9.70 on horse in last week's meet. After this weekend, the Wolverines bypass Ann Arbor and fly straight to Colorado where they will be joined by Michigan State for a meet at the Air Force Academy next Friday, March 9. I STUDENT HOUSING DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK LIKE AWDEN, Y ,-k xy ' 7 RAVEL Ann Arbor's Oldest Travel Agency A U-M Preferred Travel Agency DISCOUNTS TO EUROPE STUDENTS AND FACULTY ACADEMY AWARD. NOMINATIONS INCLUDING BEST PICTURE BEST ACTOR BEST DIRFCTOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS BEST Daniel Day-Lewis Jim Sheridan Brenda Fricker SCREENPLAY i SIN' Act Now! Get What You Deserve! " Great Locations * Spacious * Modern Efficienciesi and 2 bedroom apartments Call 761-8000 from Detroit to: LONDON FRANKFURT PARIS $410 roundtrip $458 roundtrip $490 roundtrip * plus many other cities, open jaws (into one city, out of another) * no minimum stay, minimal fees for cancellation or change * scheduled (not chartered) flights, one way fares also available Michigan Union Mall, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109 - 663-7575 ',. "Pizzas, trophies and road trips-our Volkswagens deliver." Andy and Liza Keene F: ^ S > Texas A&M University Andy and Liza Keene, students at Texas A&M, talk about their silver Volkswagen GTI's. cars have," explained Andy. And he should know. Andy's been racing his GTI on the Autocross parked side by side. But we don't know how much longer they can keep them together. Right 0