Trammell returns to Tigers Thirty-seven year-old veteran Alan Trammell announced in a news conference yesterday that he will return for his 20th season with the Detroit Tigers next year. Trammell, who wore a first baseman's glove to the conference, was also guaranteed an unspecified role within the organization once his playing days are over. A Page 8A Thursday, January 25, 1995 w Loss at Injuries give 'M' limited Indrna-, No need to panzi yet B LOOMINGTON - Don't touch the panic button. That's a message for Michigan fans after Tuesday night's 99-83 loss at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers. The Wolverines' loss hurt them, no question. It dropped them to third place in the Big Ten; it may well have hurt their confidence. The road ahead of BRENT Michigan is a McINTOSH tough one. To McIntosh compete for the Classics Big Ten, sophomore Maurice Taylor needs to rediscover the dominance he displayed early in the season. Forwards Albert White and Willie Mitchell need to hit their shots. The Wolverine big men need to quit traveling on every third post move. But these are not reasons for Michigan fans to hibernate the rest of the winter. Losing to the Hoosiers isn't exactly great for the Wolverines, but they shouldn't abandon the campaign just yet. Here's why: Losing in Assembly Hall is no shame. Before Maceo Baston came calling in Bloomington last year, Indiana coach Bob Knight's troops had won 50 consecutive games on their home court. Assembly Hall is not exactly See McINTOSH, Page 9A a options against UMass Third-ranked tumblers host No. 11 Minutewomen By Nancy Berger Daily Sports Writer The count of the injured among Michigan gymnasts after just two meets depicts the de- pleted state of an army that hasjust emerged from a bloody battle rather than a gymnastics meet. In the aftermath of their loss to Minnesota, the Wolverines' roster has shrunk while theirdisabled list has accumulated a rapidly increasing list of casualties. "As of right now we have seven healthy people and we are using seven healthy people," Michi- gan gymnast Dianna Ranelli said. As coach Bev Plocki leads her athletes into their third battle of the season, she will have little time to retreat and regroup her troops. The bruised and battered Wolverines will have to bandage up their wounds in time for Friday night's meet against No. II Massachusetts. The Minutewomen travel to Cliff Keen Arena after scoring a school-record 191.775 points in their dual meet victory over Rhode Island. If Michigan is to emerge victorious in their dual against UMass, the gymnasts remaining will have to step up to the plate and come out swing- ing, especially those without meet experience. "We will focus on the people that will have to step up," Plocki said. The range of Plocki's focus will be broad, as she has to fill the shoes of five talented gymnasts. The most recent casualties are freshman Nikki Peters and sophomore Heather Kabnick. Both gymnasts were sidelined while doing their floor routines against Minnesota. Freshmen Kristin Duff and Lisa Simes re- main inactive. Simes is nursing a stress frac- ture in her shin while Duff is plagued with a sore shoulder. Junior Autumn Donati will join her teammates on the sidelines as well with two broken toes. Plocki will adjust her lineup according to these losses, with many of the gymnasts finding them- selves in events that they would not normally be competing in. Sophomore Lauren LaBranche, who has only competed on the beam this year due to a back As of right now, we have seven healthy people and we are using seven healthy t people" -- Dianna, Ranelli: Michigan gymnast: ailment, will participate in the floor event. Fresh man Kathy Burke, who, prior to this meet hasn competed on the vault and beam, will find herself in every event but the beam. Fellow freshman Beth Amelkovich will be mak- ing her debut in the all-around. Even though Michigan looks more like tho walking wounded than a third-ranked team, the Wolverines are consistently ranked ahead of Mas- sachusetts in both the team and individual rankings. In the most recent women's gymnastic rankings, Michigan holds a commanding lead on~ the balance beam with a No. 1 ranking, whit Massachusetts comes. in at No.13. The Wolver- ines are also in the top three in the vault, whiles being ranked No. 10 in the bars and No. 17 in the' floor.~ The loss of Peters and Kabnick will be most evident in the vault as both gymnasts are among the top five vaulters in the country. Peters' Ares: ence will also be severely missed in the bars as she is ranked in the top ten in that event as well. Even though Michigan looks like a better tean- on- paper, they have learned all too well th anything can happen when you get too compla- cent. "i "We have learned that nothing is handed to us," Ranelli said. "We have to pullI together as a team." Ranelli realizes that she and fellow co-captain Wendy Marshall will play a vital role in making sure the team doesn't fold during the meet like they did last week. "We can not let it snowball," Ranelli said. MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Gymnast Wendy Marshall will have to team with co-captain Dianna Raneill to compensate for five Michigan injuries when the No. 3 Wolverines take on No. 11 Massachussetts. -1 - - -- Top men's tennis players head to East Lansing for Spartan Invitational By Richard Shin For the Daily Last year, Michigan men's tennis No. I singles player Peter Pusztai swept through the Big Ten Singles Champion- ship before falling in the final. At this year's three-day event in East Lansing starting Jan. 27, Pusztai has a chance at revenge. The competition he will face will try to take that chance away from him. The Spartan Invitational con- sists of the top 64 singles players in the conference, which means the competi- tion will be fierce. Michigan sends six players into tour- nament play. Three earned top-16 seeds: last year's runner-up, Peter Pusztai (No. 2), John Costanzo (No. 5), and Arvid Swan (No. 9). Also competing for Michigan in the tournament are Geoff Prentice, David Paradzik, and Jake Raiton. Pusztai, Michigan's No. 1 singles player, leads a veteran team, which picked up an early season victory against Penn State on Jan. 20 in its only Big Ten contest. Also returning for the Wolver- ines is Costanzo at No. 2 singles, who along with Pusztai, forms the 29th-ranked doubles tandem in the nation. Each earned All-Big Ten Conference accolades last season and are looking to add "singles champion" to that honor. The rest of the team is even in talent, but Michigan coach Brian Eisner is optimistic. "John and Peter ... will definitely be our top guys this year," he said. "But there is very little difference in the rest of the lineup. We have experience and quality returning, and also have five new players that will press the guys who are in the top five." In the fall 1995 rankings by the Inter- collegiate Tennis Association, Michigan was listed as No. 24 in the nation, but Eisner expects more. "I hope we can move into the top 10 nationally this year," Eisnersaid. "We've got the eagerness and talent to do it." In the BigTen and home opener against Penn State, Michigan tallied a 5-2 victory with key wins by Pusztai at first singles, Costanzo at No. 2, Prentice at No. 4, and freshman William Farah in the sixth slot. Michigan also took the doubles point See TENNIS, Page 9A The Michigan men's tennis team will send its top six singles players to the Spartan Invitational to compete for the Big Ten Singles Championship Saturday in East Lansing. The Wolverines have won their only conference match this year. Women's track compete in statewide tournament By Jeremy Horeilck For the Daily Every team hates losing, though some are more used to it than others. But certainly not the Michigan women's Track and Field team, which travels to Ypsilanti Friday to compete in The Michigan Intercollegiate Track and Field Championship at Eastern Michi- gan University. And they expect to win. "On paper we probably have the best team in the Big Ten," coach James Henry said. "Unfortunately, we don't compete on paper, we compete on the track." Which is a hard fact to swallow when a team is being decimated by a flu bug. The Wolverines will carry 28 ath- letes on theirrosterto Ypsilanti to com- pete in 17 different events. Which 28 members is yet to be confirmed, as certain athletes continue nursing inju- ries and colds. So far the squad has conquered its Michigan indoor record in 1994 with a time of 4:39.31. In addition, Henry expects stellarper- formances from two athletes who helped spark the Wolverines last Saturday .- Tania Longe and Monika Black. Longe, a pentathlete, set a person best in the 55-meter hurdles last wee with a time of 8.06 seconds, earning de Red Simmons Athlete of the M'eet award. With a second-place finish in the long jump, as well as third and sixth-place finishes in the high jump and shot put, Longe demonstrated why her strength and versatility are critical to the Wolverines' future success. Black also turned in a brilliant per- formance, grabbingthehighjumpcro4 with a qualifying mark of 5 feet 10 1/2 inches, and will lead a trio of jumpers including senior Beth Gould and new- comer Nicole Forrester, Friday. A host of other first-year athletes including Katie McGregor, who earned