The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 29, 1996 - 9A Women tumblers gear for ig Tens SNancy Berger Daily Sports Writer Professional baseball players won't be the only athletes participating in spring training in the month of March. Whilemajorleaguerspolishtheirskills for the regular season, the women's gym- nastics team will be doing some spring training for its postseason. The Wolver- ines hope to be in peak condition by the time Big Tens come around at the end of 'xt month. Michigan's preparations seem to be going smoothly. "We are on the right path to recovery," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. The Wolverines will be competing against some major league competition astheybegintheirMarch schedule. Michi- gan won't be heading south for spnng training, though,but out westtoCorvallis, fire: for the Shanico Invitational. Begin- ingwith this weekend's meet, Michigan will spend threeweeks competing against four teams who participated in the 1995 NCAA Championships. The flrst ofthese teams is the host ofthe invitational - No. 5 Oregon State. The Beavers, who took sixth atthe 1995 NCAA Championships, will be the only ranked team to compete against No.6 Michigan. Minnesota will be the only team at the invitational who has defeated Michigan s season. The Golden Gophers aren't the only Big Ten team in this weekend's field of competitors, though, as Penn State and Ohio State will be an attendance as well. Even though Michigan will be compet- ing against numerous conference foes, the invitational will have no impact on the final conference standings. "The win-loss record is not important. It has no bearing on the championship *cept that you never want to give your opponent an advantage," Plocki said. Having already beaten Michigan once, Minnesota may have more confidence than some of the otherBigTen teams who will face the Wolverines. ' Plocki said that Michigan won't be looking to avenge its loss to the Gophers but will instead try to use this meet to its psychological advantage. "Ithinkitisamental edgeforourkids," ocki said. With the Wolverines' training becom- ingintense, they will be lookingto call up some oftheir freshmen who are currently in the individual events, to compete in the all-around. The most recent rookie to get the call to compete in the all-around was Kathy Burke in last weekend's meet in Ne- braska. Burke turned in career perfor- inantces on the uneven bars and balance am en route to a fourth place tie with fellow freshman Beth Amelkovich. Burke's performance looks to be the first step on Michigan's road to a full recovery later in the season, while the Wolverines will depend on the freshman to add the much needed strength and depth that has been running low. Plocki looks to deepen the depth chart even further in about two weeks, as an- otherfreshman, LisaSimes, isonherway rck from a stress fracture in her shin. ithSimesenteringthe all-aroundlineup, this trio of freshmen will prove to be vital to the team. "Simes, Burke, and Amelkovich'sper- formances have been key to our team," Plocki said. Looking to join her fellow gymnasts is freshman Nikki Peters whose muscle tear injury is the biggest question mark due to the little amount of documentation on the ury. Peters has been competing on the un- even bars but has been unable to do her double-layout dismount. Peters will be working hard in the coming month to make up the ground that she has lost due to the injury. "I have been out for a while - I am working on my endurance," Peters said. Sophomore Heather Kabnick, out with apossible stress fracture, is expectedtobe j. the lineup in a few weeks. Blue gymnasts look for 1st win By Sharat Raju For the Daily Ahhhhh, spring break - a college institution. What could be better to do during this fun time than to take a trip to Utah? How about one to New Mexico? Well, that's exactly where the Michigan men's gymnastics team will be, but it won't be skiing or hiking. For them, spring break means flipping, vaulting and tumbling. The Wolverine tumblers have two meets during break, one March 7 at Brigham Young in Utah, and the other March 9 in New Mexico. In addition to the host schools, Michigan's op- ponents will include Michigan State and Penn State at BYU, and Penn State again at New Mexico State. The team hopes to return from "vacation" with a newfound confidence and maybe even a good suntan. Michigan coach Bob Darden knows the impor- tance of this break. "Historically, March has been a real turning point for our program," Darden said. "The scores we use to qualify for regionals usually occur in March. "It gives us a little bit of time to focus on training and get into a competitive frame of mind without quite the academic pressures." The Wolverines have struggled as a team this season. They are currently 0-4, but are still ranked No.23 nationally. The most recent loss came at the hands of Michigan State Saturday. The Michigan gymnasts are not dismayed, how- ever. "We realize we are still a young team," senior Kris Klinger said. "We are starting to get optimis- tic, and we feel we're getting things together to perform better in meets." Klinger and senior Chris Onuska, junior Flavio Martins and junior Jason MacDonald are among the individuals who have performed brilliantly in spite of the dismal team start. "Right now it is the individuals building into the team concept," Darden said. "We're having the strength of the team driven by the individu- als." Between taking a dip in the pool and relaxing in the sun, the Wolverines will have to contend with some strong gymnastics programs. Penn State is ranked fourth, New Mexico is No. 6, BYU is No. 10, and Michigan State is No. 14 nationally. The Nittany Lions are particularly tough in the floor exercise and the high bar, where they are ranked No. 1 and No. 4 as a team, respectively. An opponent list like that couldbe disheartening. "If we go in with the attitude that we'll fare well against good teams, that will help the younger guys and give them confidence," Klinger said. "If we put in a good performance, we feel we can compete with any tough opponent, like competing against (top-ranked) Ohio State did for us (earlier this year)." For the tumblers in maize and blue, an enjoyable spring break will be a successful one. "This spring competition week is very pivotal," Darden said. The Michigan men's gymnastics team will compete twice over spring break. The Wolverines travel to Utah and New Mexico in the hope of Improving upon their No. 23 national ranking. DIANE COOK/Daily NCAA 1st-round tickets will not be available to students By Michael Rosenberg Daily Sports Writer- The Michigan men's basketball team may or may not make the NCAA Tournament, but students' fates are already decided. No tickets will be set aside for students unless Michigan makes it to the third round. Students can, however, apply for tickets at the regional semifinals and finals, as well as to the Final Four. Applications for tickets to Regionals will be taken March 11-13 at the Michigan Athletic Ticket Office at 1000 S. State St. Final Four applica- tions will be accepted March 11-15 and March 18-20, also at the ticket office. Students must apply in person. Prices for Regionals vary from $60 to $65, depending on the site. Final Four tickets are $73 for one ticket to each game. If Michigan stumbles and ends up in the NIT, stu- weekend was four - against Ohio State and Bowling Green at the end of January-which coincidentally were the last goals given up before the 0- for-36 streak. "Up until this weekend special teams had been the key to our suc- cess," Michigan coach Red Berenson said following Saturday night's 7-3 loss. "We've never beaten as badly on special teams all season until tonight." So what happened? "They have a nothing power play," Berenson said of the Lakers. "All they do is take shots from the point and hope for a rebound in front. We gave them too many rebounds at the front of the net and (Michgan goaltender Marty Turco) didn't control the loose pucks. "A lot of times it'sjust luck and the bounces the puck takes." -Alan Goldenbach Women's basketball The Big Ten conference announced its 1995-96 women's basketball all- conference teams earlier this week, and for the first time since the 1992- 93 season, one of them included a Wolverine. Sophomore Pollyanna Johns was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team by the media panel and to the All-Big Ten Third Team by the coaches in her first conference cam- pai.gn. "It's not a big deal to me," Johns said, although she was glad to be selected. "It will probably sink in later." Her shots, though, were sinking all season long and she cleaned the glass when opponents shots weren't. The 6-foot-3 center led Michigan in points and rebounds, averaging a double-double for the season (14.4 ppg., 10 rpg.). Johns was sidelined for the Big Ten season last year with a knee injury and nobody knew what kind of impact she would have entering the season. "I didn't know what to expect," Michigan coach Trish Roberts said. But ask Johns if she thought she'd play this well and her response comes rapid-fire: "Oh yeah. Definitely." - Andy Knudsen Men's Golfs The men's golf team is back in the swing of things and they are packing their bags. The team is headed to South Caro- lina for the Fripp Island Ben Hogan Intercollegiate and is looking forward to the sunny skies. This trip involves a first for the men's golf team. It gets to practice before the start of the spring schedule. Head coach Jim Carras is very op- timistic and very enthusiastic about his team. They have eight returning players, and two promising freshmen. Freshman Mike Emanuel left dur- ing the fall season without playing in a single tournament. He had a serious case of mononucleosis and spent most of the semester at home. Mike is back and eager to play for the Wolverines. Expectations for this year's team are high, even though fall results brought the team disappointment. "This team is very talented, and the guys have a lot of ability," Carras said. "Our top players, Chris Brockway and Kyle Dobbs, must play well, and it is imperative that we all play well to make it to the Central Regionals." The University will be hosting the NCAA Central Regional Champion- ship May 16-18. -Kim Hart Women's Golf Fab freshmen seem to flock to Michigan in droves these days, and the Michigan women's golf team is reaping some of the benefits. Katy Loy of Ann Arbor, Sharon Park of Lexington, Ky., and Sarah Lindholm ofGrand Blanc, Mich., form the team's terrific trifecta of fab fresh- men that will look to make an imme- diate impact. In the Owl Preview Classic, the first tournment of the season, the top three finishers for Michigan were the freshmen - Loy in 15th place, Park in 16th and Lindholm in 18th. Over- all, the Wolverines finished fifth out of 13 teams. In the team's next tournament, the Charleston Spring Invitational in South Carolina March 4-5, Michigan coach Kathy Teichert looks for the team to improve, including the fresh- men. "We're looking to improve each time out," Teichert said. "The fresh- men have done an excellent job. They are diligent, they work hard, and they like to compete." - Richard Shin NcboigaIk Notebook dents will have an easier time getting tickets. Ifthe game is at Crisler Arena, students can buy one ticket for $5 at Ticketmaster locations. Hockey There was one simple reason why Lake Superior swept Michigan last weekend. And it wasn't just because the Lak- ers scored more goals than the Wol- verines. It was the special teams game, which Lake State decisively won. The Lakers were successful seven out of 13 times with the man advan- tage. It was the worst showing of the season for the Michigan penalty-kill- ing unit. Moreover, it followed a stretch of more than six games where the Wol- verines killed off 36 consecutive power plays. The most power-play scores Michigan gave up in a single Take a break from your studies Read Sollenberger in Paradise It's great, great, great. i Barbers 615 E. 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Call today (lim- ited openings). 1-800-348-2147, Dept. U-14. Ask for a college fleet representative. C.h it northAmerican. Don't have just books waiting for you after break. SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION LEARN ON THE LAKES! AQUATIC SCIENCES FIELD STUDIES-GS 460 May 6-June 1, 1996 Month-long field course in and around Lake Michigan, covering physical, geological, biological, and chemical processes applied to the aquatic environment. 6 credits Cross-listed in biology and NaME. Call J. Reuss (763-0488) or D. Jude (763-3183) by 3/16 for further info. I - 1 4w Aplikirow I .:: }3: : :: s:.v'r' :y r .