Men's Gymnastics vs. Penn State Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Cliff Keen Arena S RTS Women's Gymnastics vs. Western Michigan Tonight, 7 p.m. Cliff Keen Arena 'M' tumblers to compete * twice over weekend By TIM SMITH DAILY SPORTS WRITER When you're this good, it's hard to keep improving. The No.7 Michigan women's gym- nastics team is getting to be sogood that it can't help but think that each week's performance will never be topped. Af- ter the team dominated the field by scoring a 193.175inlastweek's Stateof Michigan Classic, it is running out of room for improvement. "What happens now is that they begin to wonder if we can continue our gymnastics at that level week after week," coach Bev Plocki said. "We can't go out there and worry about trying to match a 193. Each individual person only has to worry about trying to go out there and giving their best performance." What the Wolverines do have to worry about now is their two upcom- ing meets. The team hosts two meets this weekend at Cliff Keen Arena due to a scheduling rarity. Western Michigan (4-7) will be in * town tonight for a 7 p.m. showdown and Kentucky (1-6) comes to Ann Arbor Sunday for a meet at 2 p.m.. Coach Plocki said she doesn't think the meets being almost back-to-back will have much of an effect on the team's performance. "It really shouldn't be that bad because they have Saturday off in between," Plocki said. "They nor- mally practice five days in a row and compete on the sixth, so I don't think fatigue will be a factor." The Broncos are coming off a fourth-place finish in last weekend's State of Michigan Classic in which they finished ten points behind the Wolverines. Western will be led by Christine Evans, who scored a team season best in the overall with a score of 36.575. 0 The Broncos' coach, Brigitte Laketa, is less concerned with beat- ing the Wolverines as she is with seeing her team improve. "Our focus is on cleaning up the small parts of each person's individual .performances and on upgrading our 4eam score," Laketa said. The Wildcats, on the other hand, ,are out to prove that their record is not indicative of what kind of team they really are. The Wildcats have lost ,some close meets and have suffered a -few early-season injuries. "Kentucky is a good school. They've been competing against the .top five schools in the country," Plocki ,said. "The (Southeastern Conference) is the premier conference in the coun- dry." Kentucky finished fifth last week- end in the Missouri Cat Classic with an impressive score of 187.725. Lead- ing the team this season is reigning .1993 national overall champion, Jenny Hanson. Hanson is coming off two perfect 10's on the vault last weekend and has raised her career total of indi- .vidual titles to 52. "Hanson's a great gymnast," said juniorWendy Wilkinson, who will miss a few weeks while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. "We're Working with the No. 1 gymnast in the country (Beth Wymer), so Idon't think we're going to be intimidated. We'll be focusing so much on our team that we're not really going to have a chance tb stop and worry about what she's doing." One way the Wolverines are stay- ing focused is by keeping their minds on the team at hand instead of think- ing about who lies ahead. "Right now we're just thinking dbout Western Michigan," junior ]Dbbie Berman said. "When that's Over we'll worry about Kentucky." Blue goes for season sweep Men's basketball to take on Buckeyes in Columbus By TIM RARDIN DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER When the 11th-ranked Michigan basketball team takes the floor in St. John Arena Sunday, it will face an Ohio State squad which is consider- ably better than its 10-11 overall and 3-7 Big Ten records would indicate. Indeed, these Buckeyes, though they have compiled only three con- ference victories thus far, could just as easily have six. As if a heart- Vs. Sunday, 12 p.m., Columbus sponded with 10.2 points and 4.8 boards a game. Against the Golden Gophers, he poured in 13 points to go along with a team-high 14 rebounds. Six-foot-8 Ricky Dudley has also started the last six games while start- ing center Nate Wilbourne recovers from surgery on his left elbow. "They found another comfortable starting lineup," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "They have Simpson coming off the bench, and Watson has come in and been a good boost for them inside." With Watson, Dudley, 6-foot-9 Lawrence Funderburke and 6-foot-11 Gerald Eaker along the frontline, size should be an advantage for the Buck- eyes. However, in the teams' last meet- ing, the Wolverines bounced back from a 19-15 rebounding deficit at halftime to out-glass Ohio State, 40-33. Ohio State has tallied all three of its conference victories at St. John Arena, including an impressive 73- 57 win over Wisconsin a week ago. "They will play like crazy with Michigan coming to town. We need to make sure we control the tempo, and that includes the crowd," Fisher said. "We can't allow them any 10-2 or 10-0 runs, and you do that with good defense and rebounding." That's exactly what Michigan has done through its current five-game win- ning streak, the longest of the season. The Wolverines have held 10 of their last 11 opponents under 50percent shooting from the field. They currently lead the Big Ten in opponents' field goal percentage (42.2), and are second in scoring defense (67.9). That could spell trouble for Ohio State. All three of the Buckeyes' Big Ten victories have come when they score at least 72 points and shoot better than 50 percent from the field. Still, if any team has a chance to break the Wolverines' defensive wall, Ohio State does. The Buckeyes are currently sec- ond in the conference in both field goal and three-point percentages, be- hind Indiana. Senior Lawrence Funderburke (13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) is second in field goal percentage, pop- ping in his shots at a 58 percent clip. Sophomore Derek Anderson leads the team in points (15.4), assists (4.8) and steals (2.1). However, Fisher is mostconcerned with the offensive side of the ball. "We're playing with a lot of con- fidence right now. I like our team," Fisher said. "But we've got to shoot better, and do a better job with our own offense." In addition to his worries on of- fense, Fisher has another concern against the Buckeyes. After Michigan's blowout victory against Indiana Tuesday, he fears his team might take the Buckeyes too lightly. "It's human nature, no matter what you say, to pat yourself on the back and think that you're better than you are," Fisher said. "I'm definitely con- cerned about it." breaking 86-75 overtime loss to the Wolverines (8-2, 16-4) Jan. 13 at Crisler Arena was not enough, Ohio State has seen victory slip out of its hands twice more since. The Buckeyes watched a 12-point lead dissolve at Indiana before even- tually falling, 87-83, in overtime. Wednesday night at Minnesota, they suffered yet another narrow loss, this time a six-point margin of defeat after leading at halftime. Beginning with the Jan. 19 Penn State game, Ohio State coach Randy Ayers has opted for a bigger starting lineup, inserting 6-foot-9 junior Anto- nio Watson in place of 6-foot-1 sopho- more point guard Greg Simpson. Since the change, Watson has re- Dugan Fife and Indiana's Pat Graham contest. Michigan prevailed 91-67. JONATHAN LURIE/Daily dive for a loose ball during Tuesday's Women look for first win By BOB ABRAMSON DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER If Wisconsin assistant basketball coach Donna Freitag had her choice, Michigan would have defeated Michi- gan State Wednesday night in Ann Arbor. But the Wolverines (0-10BigTen, 3-16 overall) suffered a 78-62 loss, extending their losing streak to a mis- erable I1 games. The Wisconsin squad (3-6, 10-8) is certainly aware Michigan hasn't won in weeks as the team heads into tonight's game against the Wolver- ines in Madison. "We're hoping that Michigan ends their losing streak against Michigan State," Freitag said prior to Wednesday's game. "You don't want to play a team that is hungry for a win." Hungry doesn't even begin to describe the appetite of those seven players on the Michigan squad. Starving is more like it. The Wol- verines haven't won since its Dec. 28 victory at the University of Okla- homa Holiday classic. "I would do anything for a win," freshman forward Catherine Digiancito exclaimed. Michigan's best chance for a Big Ten victory came against the Badgers at Crisler Arena back on Jan. 19. in Big Ten Trailing 60-47 with 6:20 left in the game, the Wolverines charged back with 15-4 run, cutting Wisconsin's lead to 64-62. Fouled with 2.7 seconds left in the game, Shimmy Gray could only hit one of two free throws, and the Wol- verines fell short, 64-63. "It was a great comeback by Michi- gan," Freitag said. "No matter what the score, they kept working very very hard. We just need to play two halves Friday, and do a better job of rebounding." "So far, that was our most well- executed game in the Big Ten," Michi- gan coach Trish Roberts said. "But I know they are going to be a little more prepared for us, and it is just going to come down to the team that executes the best and plays the best defense." Since their contest in January, the Badgers, currently eighth in the Big Ten, have had their share of tough opponents. Following a victory over Illinois, Wisconsin faced the unenvi- able task of facing four teams ranked in the top 25. Although the Badgers lost to Penn State, Purdue, and Northwestern, they stunned Ohio State, 99-91, on the road. "That was a big victory for our club," said Freitag, whose team beat the Buckeyes for the only the second time in history. "We were shellshocked because we were up by 28 in the first half." Player ppg rpg apg to blks. steals 13.6 7.2 0.8 2.3 0.4 1.1' Gray Shellman Johnson DiGiacinto Kiefer Brzezinski Ross Totals Opponents 13.0 5.9 2.2 3.8 12.7 5.2 3.1 4.9 10.5 5.2 0.3 2.3 7.5 2.4 5.1 5.9 7.0 8.3 1.3 2.5 1.9 2.5 1.1 1.8 64.7 36.2 14.6 23.5 78.4 41.7 17.7 17.8 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.4 0.0 2.2 2.2 1.0 0.4 1.5 1.5 0.7 8.5 2.3 13.5 PRINTING 3IGH QUAITY SALON QLAMOUR PHOTO SHOOT Tuesday February 15 Noon till 9 p.m. * Hair styling " AVEDA make up application * Stylish Wardrobe " FREE 8x10 color photo for only $35.00 One hour necessary (CHARI SMpA 9 -0 HOUR OA M AND S (N CARE PROFESSIONALS995-0804 315 EAST LIBERTY STREET " DOWNTOWN Mon.-Fri. 9-7 Sat. 9-5 Private Parking Smoke-Free Environment You are welcome to Ash Wednesday Meditative worship for Campus and Community MARY KOUKHAB/Daily Freshman guard Amy Johnson and her teammates take on Wisconsin Friday. We have SEX... oops, we mean six machines to serve YOU! 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