Men's Basketball
at Michigan State
Tomorrow, 8 p.m.
East Lansing
SPORTS
Ice Hockey
vs. Lake Superior State
Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Yost Ice Arena
The Michican Dailyv
Tuesday, January 28, 1992
Page 9
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INJURIES STILL PLAGUE WOLVERINES
Men gymnasts finish third
by Mike Hill
After three meets, the Michigan men's gymnastics
team is still looking to break into the magical 270-275
scoring range.
The Wolverines, suffering from various bumps and
bruises, finished last in Saturday's tri-meet at Cham-
paign. Michigan State topped all with a 275.25 overall
score, followed by Illinois at 272.15 and finally
Michigan with a 264.9.
"It may look bad but we're moving in the right di-
rection," coach Bob Darden said. "We're three points
up from last week's performance, but we still need to
work on getting consistent scores from everyone."
The tumblers started the competition with an un-
usually weak performance on the rings. But they
quickly got back into the meet with an impressive
47.45 showing on the floor exercise.
"The guys really rocked on those routines," Darden
said.
Rookie sensation Brian Winkler placed second on
the floor behind Michigan State's Paul Dackerman
with a 9.75. Ben Verrall tied for the third slot with a
9.65 and Jorge Canacho notched the fourth spot with a
9.60.
However, the Wolverines ran into some serious
trouble on the pommel horse when their first three
performers fell. Michael Mott and Glenn Hill did
their best to pick up the slack, nailing 9.30 and 9.35
scores, respectively. Hill's score was good enough for a
first-place tie with the Spartans' Chris Miller.
"That was really unusual for us because we're one
of the better pommel horse teams around," Darden
said.
Winkler added another quality performance on the
high bar. His 9.35 topped all other Michigan competi-
tors and notched him fourth place in the event.
Another sore point for Michigan was their perfor-
mance on the parallel bars. Not one Wolverine scored
over an 8.7. All five of Michigan State's performers
scored higher on the event.
In comparison, Darden was quite pleased with his
team's effort on the vault. Winkler again led the way
with a 9.30, just .05 off the pace of first-place finisher
Chris Spinosa of the Spartans. Ben Verrall tied for
third with a 9.25.
Winkler continues to impress everyone in his first
year at the collegiate level. His 54.05 was good enough
for fourth place in the all-around competition. Win-
kler paced the Wolverines in every event but one.
"As a freshman, he's really doing a great job for
us," Darden said. "To be able to perform on the same
level as (Michigan State's) Miller and those guys is
unbelievable."
The Wolverines continued to work around injuries.
Last year's top performers, Royce Toni and Jim Round,
were again unavailable. In addition, Ruben Ceballos
and Mott suffered slight ankle injuries which forced
them to skip their high bar routines. All four are
doubtful for next weekend's meets against Iowa State
and Michigan State.
Michigan's Raul Molina performs on the still rings at Keen Arena earlier this season. A weak performance on
the rings contributed to the Wolverines' third place finish behind Michigan State and Illinois Saturday.
Sibs' presence produce
largest crowd of year
by Adam Miller
Daily Basketball Writer
Last weekend was "Siblings' weekend," and in the middle of a snowy
winter there were plenty of sibs forced to stay inside. The Michigan
women's basketball team is glad they were.
Students and sibs turned out at Crisler for the largest crowd of the
season on Friday night, as an announced 1,015 viewed the Wolverines' 83-77
victory over Minnesota. Michigan's previous high of 950 occurred Dec. 13
during an 86-73 victory over Notre Dame.
However, only an estimated 756 showed up after the festivities Sunday
to see Michigan lose to Iowa, 73-61.
JUMPIN' JEN: The Michigan athletic department once again provided
halftime entertainment for both the women's and men's basketball teams
last weekend. The American Double Dutch Jumpers, a competitive jump-
rope team, performed their acrobatic routine Friday night at the women's
game. When the jumpers came back for Saturday's men's game with
Wisconsin, they were briefly joined on the court by Wolverine guard Jen
Nuanes. While Nuanes did not join in the act, she did display her own
quick-footed jumping ability.
TUBE TALK: Sunday's game was televised live on Sportschannel
Chicago. To the Hawkeyes, who appear on network or cable television five
times this season, Sunday's appearance was nothing special.
"It's just like any other game, but the timeouts give you a breather,"
said Iowa's Toni Foster.
To Michigan it was a different story. Aside from Ann Arbor
community access "Wolverine Watch," the team makes no other television
appearances this year. Many players said before the game that they were
enthusiastic about the broadcast opportunity. But coach Bud VanDeWege
said afterwards that the exposure could have worked against Michigan, as
well.
"It's a good thing we came out like we did in the second half,"
VanDeWege said of the Wolverines' turnaround from an uninspired first
stanza. "If we hadn't, then it would have been a bad thing to be on TV. But
1think anybody watching us left that second half knowing that we have a
very competitive, very respectable team."
STREAKIN': Big Ten teams were involved in a number of streaks last
weekend. Among them:
12 - the number of consecutive losses to Iowa by Michigan. The
Wolverines last beat the Hawkeyes, 58-56, Jan. 19, 1986 in Ann Arbor.
30 - the number of consecutive Big Ten road losses by Minnesota
alter Friday's game.
Webber and Co. ready for Spartan fans
by John Niyo
Daily Basketball Writer
Supposedly, it's been circled on
Michigan State calendars for over a
month. And because all the press,
all the attention, and all the hoopla
has surrounded Michigan's rookie
crew, the Spartans are keying on
Wednesday's game in East Lansing
like never before.
This year, state bragging rights
aren't the only incentive. With the
addition of Michigan high school
standouts Chris Webber and Jalen
Rose to the Wolverine lineup,
rivalry takes on a new meaning - at
least for the Spartan fans.
"(The fans') main focus will be
on me and Jalen," Webber said. "But
they'll be on the five freshmen, too.
It's been like that everywhere we've
played."
For the other three rookies, the
in-state feud isn't instinctive. New-
'The crowd's going to
be on me like no
crowd before.'
- Chris Webber
Michigan forward
Webber doesn't expect anything
less from the fans in East Lansing.
"I remember going there when I
was a junior," Webber said. "I know
they can get personal. I'm not saying
that's bad or anything. I'm just say-
ing that it-will in no way faze me."
However, Webber is expecting a
little more abuse than normal. Last
year's national prep player-of-the-
year had fans of both Michigan and
Michigan State guessing right up
until the last minute with his
college choice.
When Webber announced after
winning a second straight Class B
state title that he would wear the
Maize and Blue, the hopes of Spar-
tan faithful were dashed. Certainly,
those same fans will be on hand
Wednesday to jeer Webber at every
chance.
"The crowd's going to be on me
like no crowd before," Webber said.
"But it's fun to shut 16 or 17 thou-
sand people up."
And Webber says he won't
worry about state bragging rights.
Rather, he will simply concenfrate
on notching Michigan's fourth Big
Ten victory.
"I've never been one for rivals;
because of a team name," he said.
"Rivalries with other players is one
thing, but just because they're Mich-
igan State doesn't mean as much.":
What it does mean for the Wol-
verines is a chance to move up in the
Big Ten standings. Michigan now
stands at 3-3 in the conference, 11=4
overall.
Webber helped the Wolverinel
even up their league record with 25
points and 17 rebounds in Saturday's
98-83 victory at home against Wis-
consin.
Meanwhile, a surprising Mich-
igan State squad raced out to a 10-0
record to start the season, and now
stands at 3-2 and 13-2.
Last season MSU swept Mich-
igan. The Spartans defeated the Wol-
verines, 66-59, in Ann Arbor, and,
85-70, in East Lansing.
comers Jimmy King and Ray Jack-
son are both from Texas, while
Juwan Howard cane to Michigan
from Illinois. But the rivalry is
starting to settle in.
"It really just hit me today,"
Jackson said yesterday after practice.
"Everyone's more intense. A lot
more intense."
The ballyhooed class got an initi-
ation to Big Ten heckling at Iowa,
where Quaker Oats had five life-size
cardboard cutouts of Captain
Crunch on hand to watch as part of a
corporate promotion. But the
Hawkeye fans decided to call them
the "five freshmen."
CURRENT STANDINGS
Indiana
Ohio State
Minnesota
Michigan State
Purdue
Michigan
Iowa
Illinois
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Conf.
W L
5 0
4 1
4 2
3 2
3 2
3 3
2 3
2 4
1 4
0 6
All
W L
14 2
12 3
12 7
13 2
11 6
11 4
10 5
8 8
10 8
7 9
KENNETH SMOLLER/Daily
Michigan forward Juwan Howard shoots over Wisconsin's Billy Douglass
during the Wolverines' 98-83 victory Saturday afternoon.
I .4
U U
1992 CAMPS OF CHAMPIONS
ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
WILL BE HIRING SUMMER CAMP:
- COORDINATORS
- COUNSELORS
- OFFICE STAFF
" You will have most days free to take classes or enjoy a beautiful
summer in Ann Arbor
* You will live, work, and play with a spectacular camp staff
* Coordinator and counselor positions include room, board, and a
weekly salary
" You will meet campers from all over the country, ages 8-18 and
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