The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - February 1,1993- Page 7
Undefeated women
tumblers destroy Illinois
Young 'M' tumblers
show strength in loss
by Thom Holden
*Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's gymnas-
tics team took on the Fighting Illini
of Illinois Friday night at Cliff Keen
Arena. All the Wolverines did was
break two team records and one in-
dividual record en route to a 191.75-
181.15 thrashing of Illinois.
What a difference a week makes.
Last week, the Wolverines, while
performing very well on the vault
and uneven bars, committed several
mental errors on the floor exercise.
Not so this week.
"We needed for this to go well, to
reinforce what we've been telling
them, about how good they are and
what they're capable of," Michigan
coach Bev Plocki said.
Michigan began the evening on a
record-breaking pace, posting a
41.70 (a team record) on the vault.
The vault was more than just one
person posting one high score. This
was a case where everybody pitched
in. Led by rookie Wendy Marshall's
9.65, no Wolverine turned in a score
of less than 9.50. Consistency, some-
thing Michigan had been striving
for, was found early, and carried on
throughout the meet.
The uneven bars were the next
event of the evening. As on the
vault, no score came in under a 9.50.
All-American Beth Wymer led the
way with a 9.85, followed by
sophomores Wendy Wilkinson and
Li Li Leung both notching 9.60. Af-
ter two event, the Illini had become a
non-factor, falling behind the Wol-
verines 95.75-90.20.
Michigan performed well on the
beam, scoring an impressive 47.50.
Then the fun began.
Wymer broke the individual
school record on the floor exercise
with a 9.90, leading the Wolverines
to a 48.50. Senior Ali Winski, with
several very strong tumbling runs, lit
up the scoreboard with a 9.80. Three
of the four events showed no scores
under a 9.50.
Wymer, though pleased with her
performance as well as the team's
performance, said she was not totally
satisfied.
"We can do much better," she
said. "We plan on breaking the
school record over and over again"
Plocki agreed with her All-
American. "Once they set their
minds to it, this is what they're ca-
pable of and more," Plocki said.
"This team has the possibility of be-
ing big."
When the dust had settled,
Michigan had not only improved the
record to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the
Big Ten, but had also broken its
overall team record of 191.70, which
it had posted at the 1992 Big Ten
Championships.
When asked if her team has a
shot of making the NCAA tourna-
ment, Wymer confidently replied,
"Most definitely."
by Brian Hillburn
Daily Sports Writer
HEATHER LOWMAN/Daniy
Bob Young negotiates the pommel horse in Saturday's meet against Illinois.
"Who are these guys?" Illinois
men's gymnastics coach Yoshi
Hayasaki asked Michigan coach Bob..
Darden.
The answer to the question is
Raul Molina, Bob Young, Chris
Onuska, Rich Dopp, and Mike Mott.
Last Saturday, these gymnasts
and other Wolverines squared off
against the Fighting Illini in Ann
Arbor. Even though Michigan post-
ed its highest score of the season, the
team did not walk away with a 'w',
but lost by three points.
The Wolverines' score of 270.3
continues their streak of improve-
ment from meet to meet. In their first
meet of the season, the Wolverines
scored 256. They followed that
performance up with consecutive
scores of 259 and 268.
"One of our goals has been to
improve in every meet," Darden ex-
plains. "But it's going to get tougher
and tougher."
Although the Illini ultimately
won the meet with a score of.273.4,
Michigan's coaching staff was not
concerned with the loss, because the
team is presently focusing on the
NCAA regionals. Making it to re-
gionals is accomplished by averag-
ing the Wolverines' top three scores
of the season, so winning a meet is
secondary to scoring well.
Should the Wolverines perform
as they did this weekend, they will
most likely get the high scores they
desire.
"The guys are getting better.
They're performing better and im-
proving the level of their routines,"
Michigan assistant coach Mike
Milidonis said.
Leading the pack is sophomore
Molina, who tied Illinois' Sean
Henderson for first place in last
Saturday's all-around competition
with a 54.65.
"He's taking his level of perfor-
mance to a new level," Darden said
of Molina. "He's hit six of six for
the last two meets."
"That's like batting 1.000 in
baseball for two weekends,"
Milidonis explained.
Of the four Wolverines among
the top performers this weekend,
three were underclassmen. Junior
Mike Mott won in the pommel horse
event and came in second in the
vault. Sophomore Rich Dopp finish-
ed second on the horizontal bar.-
Freshman Young came in second in
the still rings and fourth in the all-
around and rookie Chris Onuska.
finished third in the parallel bars.
"Mott won for the last two
weeks," Darden said. "He can be A
national finalist."
"His routine is as difficult as"
anyone's in the country," Milidonis
added.
The coaching staff is especially
proud of the team's high scores be-
cause most of this year's roster is
made up of underclassmen who are
working under the new rules and
codes passed by International Feder-
ation of Gymnastics.
"They're competing very smart
Darden said. "We're working with
the code, trying to maximize a gym-
nast's individual efforts. We're able
to cut our losses by going to the
smart cover-ups. It's damage con-
trol-that's the sign of a mature
team."-
This weekend the Wolverines
drew close to 1,150 people at Cliff
Keen Arena, which the coaches are"
quick to point out is the highest
spectator draw at any Michigan non-
revenue sport. They attribute the,
high turnout to people realizing that
they have an opportunity to see some
of the future stars in men's gymnas-
tics.
"We have some of the best
emerging gymnasts in the country,"
Darden said. "Some of the athletes
here are going to be in international
competitions."
Injury-riddled spikers split
a set in West Lafayette
by Erin Himstedt
Daily Sports Writer
Plagued by injuries and personnel
changes, a struggling Michigan
men's volleyball team managed to
return from West Lafayette with a
victory and a defeat.
The Wolverines defeated
Wisconsin in five games, but fell to
Purdue in only four during a tri-
match at Purdue Saturday, bringing
their record to 3-4.
Three team members could not
attend the event due to conflicts and
injuries, and three others played with
ailments. Another three players re-
cently left the team, necessitating a
second team try-out last week. Such
difficulties hindered the young
team's cohesiveness.
"We weren't deep (this weekend)
in terms of our bench. We haven't
played yet with a full team this
year," sophomore captain Stan Lee
said. "Once we figure out who's go-
ing to play where, we can start to get
it together as a team."
Wisconsin, although considered
to be one of the weaker teams in the
Big Ten, surprised the Wolverines
with its improved play. This devel-
opment, combined with sluggish
play from Michigan, allowed the
Badgers to capture the second and
third games of the match.
"We didn't play as well as we
could have. I don't think we were
mentally prepared for the game be-
cause they weren't a very intense
team last year; they didn't have that
competitive spirit." Lee said.
At this meeting, the tables were
turned. Michigan's greater talent
should have allowed it to defeat the
Badgers in three or four games, but
its lack of intensity stretched the
match to five.
"I don't know why, but we
started real slow," Wolverine co-
coach Pam Griffin said. "It should
never have been a match that went
five games."
Sophomore Paul Kosir agreed.
"We were a lot better team than
Wisconsin; we proved that in the
first game. We slowed down, play-
ing to the level of our competition.
The enthusiasm wasn't there.
Everyone was pretty quiet on the
floor; no one was really pumped up.
We knew we would win, so it was
just a matter of time."
Immediately following their vic-
tory over the Badgers, the
Wolverines faced a strong Purdue
team. Although Michigan charged
forward to capture the first game, the
Boilermakers then responded by
winning the next three in a row.
Griffin said the team unraveled
because it abandoned its game plan.
"We had restructured our hitting
and defense for Purdue from the last
time. In the second game they forgot
all that. It was a combination of that
and people being sore and tired.
Purdue is just a better team. They
had us beat in every position."
The Boilermakers often earned
points due to Michigan mistakes.
"One of the main factors was that
we weren't consistent; we had a lot
of unforced errors. We should have
taken it more to them. We didn't
give ourselves a chance to play at
their level."
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Chicano History Week 1993
Feb. 2 - Feb. 11
Tues. Feb. 2, Keynote Address. 8:00 p.m. Trotter House.
'The Future of Empowerment of the Chicano and
Latino Community"
Keynote speaker, Mr. Andy Hemandez - Southwest Voter
Registration Education Project
Understanding our Indigenous Heritage Today
"Achievements of Indigenous People in 1992"
speaker, Huetochtli, Cristino Perez, Aztec Spiritual Leader
I
w
t
r
i
f!
A
Michigan's Kelly Carfora performs on the balance beam last weekend in a
meet against Illinois in Cliff Keen Arena.
1677 Plymouth Rd. 665-7688
Located in the Courtyard Shops
North Campus Plaza
10 I eutfStu ns
s
ae
COW
University of Michigan
Winter Blood Drive
The American Red Cross is in dire need of your blood. The
sick andinjured of Southeastern Michigan are depending on
U-M students. Giving blood is easy and takes less than an
hour. Please take time to give the gift of life-
PLEASE DONATE BLOOD!
(Note: You are eligible to donate blood every 56 days)
M Feh 1 Mnrth Camnus Commons 12-5:30 pm
Fri. Feb. 5 1iGran Baile!!
join us and dance to some super hot Mexican Rhythms
"EL GRUPO ESTILO"
(also hear Salsa, Merengue, Reggae, and Rap during breaks)
Thurs. Feb. 11. "Yo Soy Chicana" 7:00 p.m. Nat Sci. Aud.
Chicana Perspectives through Film and Poetry
"How else Am I Supposed to know I'm Still Alive"
"Tanto TIempo"
Induding discussion with Ms. Cheryl Quintana Leader, director
of "Tanto Tiempo"
Presented by: The Socially Active Latino Student Association (SALSA)
Sponsored by: The University of Michigan Office of Minority Affairs
FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION CALL: 763-9044
OR STOP BY: Minority Student Services, 2304 Michigan Union
-rWe encourage all people to join us to celebrate
Mexican-American history
i