Page 2-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Sports - Thursday, September 10, 1992 'M' women gymnasts vault to Big Ten title Men gymnasts break team scoring records by Andy Stabile Daily Sports Writer There's a new kid on the block of Big Ten champions at Michigan. Long occupied by only football and swimming teams, this season the women's gymnastics team brought home the conference title and put an esclamation point on the season by placing two gymnasts in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships. Although the season ended on a high note, the Wolverines paid their dues early in the season, facing a bevy of injuries which threatened to sidetrack the team from its champi- onship season. The Wolverines hobbled into their first meet injury-plagued and came away worse, losing defending Big Ten all-around champion Wendy Wilkinson for the season to a knee injury. But at that same meet, Michigan and the rest of college gymnastics got their first look at Michigan's frosh phenom' Beth Wymer. Wymer filled the void left by Wilkinson, winning the all-around at tIat meet and going on to dominate throughout the season. She would go on to finish fifth at the NCAA Championships, joined at that meet by teammate Kelly Carfora who tied for 19th. : In March, the Wolverines stormed into East Lansing deter- mined to take home the Big Ten ti- tie. Sparked by a large crowd, Michigan narrowly defeated confer- ence newcomer Penn State to take the conference title. Wymer became Michigan's second consecutive con- ference all-around champion. The Wolverines went on to finish second in NCAA regional competi- tion before failing to qualify for the national championships as a team. However, Wymer and Carfora re- ceived at-large bids. At the NCAAs, Wymer took All- American honors in the all-around with her fifth-place finish. Carfora moved up to defeat all but four of the at-large competitors (including Wymer) with her 19th place tie. "I was really proud of them," Michigan coach Bev Fry said. "I heard a lot of really positive things said about how they looked. Michigan was represented very well by both of them." Although the Wolverines were disappointed by failing to qualify for the NCAAs as a team, Fry stressed that the team achieved its goals for the season: to win the Big Ten Championships and to qualify for regionals as a team after falling just short of both in the 1991 season. "Qualifying for nationals as a team would have been the icing on the cake," Fry said. "We went from not qualifying in regionals at all into qualifying in the top half - that is what we want to do at nationals next year. by Mike Hill Daily Sports Writer After struggling in the early sea- son, the Michigan men's gymnastics team recovered to secure one of its best campaigns ever. The Wolverines opened their schedule against Big Ten power Minnesota. Michigan coach Bob Darden was forced to dig deep into his bag of tricks to overcome the losses of Ruben Ceballos, Royce Toni and Ben Verrall to injuries. Michigan could only muster a 267.00 overall team score, as the Golden Gophers coasted to victory. At the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Michigan sunk to a season low 264.90. But slowly, its season began to turn. "We really have had two totally different seasons in one," Darden said. "We started off slow, but I knew we'd turn it around. The guys work too hard for us to continue struggling like that." The second half of the season be- gan over spring break when the team traveled to San Jose, Calif. There, the Wolverines broke the school record by posting a 278.65 score. Just two weeks later, the Wolverines shattered that mark with a 281.65 showing against Michigan State. The Wolverines finished the season ranked No. 10 in the nation and qualified for the East Regional. The Wolverines were led in the all-around by Most Valuable Gymnast Jim Round and frosh Brian Winkler. On the pommel horse, the Wolverines boasted two of the na-^ tion's best in Mike Mott and Glenn- Hill. Jorge Camacho battled Winkler all year for the top spot on the floor 'We really have had two totally different seasons in one.' - Bob Darden exercise. All five qualified for NCAA Championships in Nebraska. Winkler, who was ranked tops in the nation on the floor exercise, shined at the championships. With, an almost flawless 9.95 showing on- the floor, Winkler became the first national champion for the Wolverines since John Corritore- won on the parallel bars in 1978. "What Winkler did in his fresh- man year is amazing," Darden said. "He's just a tremendous competitor and was awesome at the championships." With the return of Winkler and a solid group of underclassmen, Darden expects even better things, for next year. "We got a guy (Chris Onuska) coming in who's going to knock your socks off," Darden said. "He's. going to impact our team immedi- ately, just like Winkler did. I expect us to pick up right where we left off this year." 0 0 Michigan gymnast Debbie Geiger performs on the balance beam at the Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines won their first ever conference title last season. Pess f S i t S PO I t- c At the University of Michigan, that means anything with an 'M' on it. And at Michigan Book & Supply we have a whole floor crammed : full of Michigan insignia items. - T-shirts and Shorts - Sweatshirts and Pants * Hats and Accessories - Blankets - Mugs and Glassware - And much more! (Adult, children and infant sizes) s -1=. , i 1 r'- \'\* l, ' : r . ., ,, t t .. , / . ;/'+'-" . - -" -_ _-,,i%% Q . i , r ' "55{1{1!" , , ;s _1 f c ; , , (((( .. 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