juries rob
women of
Senior Nights
usual glory
orger
D y Sports Writer
If things had gone as planned this sea-
son, senior gymnasts Dianna Ranelli and
Tina Miranda would have competed in
theirlasthomemeetat Michigan's annual
Senior Night this Saturday. As the season
and their luck would have it, the two
seniors' plans werechanged. Both Ranelli
and Miranda's seasons ended about two
months early, and the only thing that the
nt i veterans will be doing is receiving
gnition and a farewell gift.
If the seniors were to have their way,
they would probably be glad to trade in
theirgiftforthe opportunity to compete in
the last home meet of their collegiate
career. Standout Wendy Marshall is the
only senior to have things go the right way
- she is the only senior that will be able
to receive a judge's score in Michigan's
meet against No. 5 Brigham Young.
is more disappointing than ironic that
one of the three seniors will be able
to compete on a night honoring their
contributions to Michigan gymnastics.
"It is going to be a little sad, because
two of our three gymnasts won't be able
to compete," Michigan coach Bev
Plocki said. "It is not going to be as
much of a high for the gymnasts as
usua1."
:The sadness that they will feel in not
competing will probably be just as pain-
as the injuries that they suffered that
ded their season.
1or Ranelli, her season came to a halt
when she tore her anterior cruciate liga-
rent during the floor exercise against
Utah. Her injury required surgery and
extensive rehabilitation.
Miranda was stricken earlier in Feb-
ruary by a serious knee injury, which
confined her to a wheel chair.
The time that would have been nor-
ly used to practice in the gym was
replaced by intense rehabilitation, due
to the severity of the injuries.
"They have been very much con-
sumed with the rehabilitation," Plocki
said. "Both have been working dili-
gently."
Even though Ranelli can help her
team out in other ways, she is well
aware that her days as a competitive
gymnast are over.
"Dealing with my knee injury made
realize that I will never compete in
gymnastics again," Ranelli said.
Despite the fact that her days as a
competitor are over, her gymnastics
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 14, 1996 - 9A
Miebigan gymnasts look to
snap losing streak at Penn St
By John Friedberg
For the Daily
Donuts are usually good things. Just ask the
local police. But don't ask the Michigan men's
gymnastics team. The Wolverines find them-
selves with an all-too-familiar shape in the win
column: 0. While most Michigan students were
partying, skiing or just lounging around eating
donuts on spring break, the Wolverines were
searching for the consistency that has been miss-
ing this season.
"We are still struggling," said Michigan coach
Bob Darden said after the two meets over break.
"We are just not showing the consistency (the
coaches) are expecting at this point in the sea-
son."
The upcoming opponents are not the easy wins
that Michigan needs, but rather formidable foes.
The Wolverines travel to Penn State, ranked
sixth in the country, Friday. Joining the Wolver-
ines in Happy Valley will be the Black Knights
of Army. Army comes into the meet ranked 18th
in the country.
Penn State should look familiar to the Wolver-
ines: They placed second in the Lobo Invita-
tional over break - the same meet that found
Michigan in sixth. Penn State also came in sec-
ond at a meet in Provo, Utah, against the Brigham
Young Cougars, the Michigan State Spartans
and Michigan. Michigan struggled as a team in
both of these meets, but there were some indi-
vidual highlights for the Wolverines.
The still-24th-ranked Wolverines tied their
season-high on the vault with a 36.1 team score
in the Lobo Invitational. Michigan's score was
highlighted by the effort of sophomore Tim
Lauring, who earned a career-best 9.35. The
meet was also the best of the season for Randy
Gymnast Wendy
Marshall will be
the only Michigan
senior competing
Saturday in the
Wolverines' annual
Senior Night meet.
The team's other
seniors, Dianna
Ranelli and Tina
Miranda, both (Wouldn't
were injured
earlier this Anybody
season. We're a drivi.
times. Pro shop. The lates
d All-American sta- for men and wom
bars in 1993, while Stop by dvrin
1l-American on the
same year. Marshall
ll-American on the
m and all-around.
seniors take a final
e home crowd, they
ve one more thing: a-Carp
for the memorable
e the crowds at Cliff
D'Amura. The freshman from Austin, Texas,
posted a career-high 9.4 on his floor exercise
and had his most solid meet overall. His 9.4 tied
a team season high in the event, which was also
equaled by junior Jason MacDonald in the same
meet.
"For Randy, it was the best meet of his career
(at the Lobo Invitational)," Darden said. "We
are happy to see him put it together."
There may be a silver lining in the Wolver-
ines' losses, though. In addition to the top per-
formances by D'Amura and MacDonald, the
battles against three of the top teams in the
country at the Provo meet provided a measuring
stick for the Wolverines. Michigan's experi-
ence should motivate it to make the necessary
adjustments that could make it a top team by the
end of the season.
Penn State is led by Roy Malka, who placed
second in the all-around at the Lobo Invitational.
Malka's consistency came through as the Lions'
top man, as he did not post a score of less than 9.05
in any ofthe events. Fellow Lion Steve McSparren
scored a meet-best 9.85 on the floor exercise. The
Nittany Lions as a team scored a meet-high of38.9
on the floor. Penn State also made a strong show-
ing in both the parallel bars and the vault, captur-
ing the team victory in both of these events.
In the last two meets, the Nittany Lions have
exhibited the consistency that Michigan desires.
Their 222.5-point effort in the BYU meet was
followed up by a 225.575 in the Lobo Invitational.
A sense of urgency is starting to become apparent
for Michigan as the Big Ten Championships are
fast approaching at the end of the month.
Overall, Michigan has its work cut out if it is
going to change its donut into a cinnamon twist
on Friday.
NOPPORN KCHANANTHA/Dariy
career at Michigan isn't finished just
yet.
"Personally, I was finished at Utah,"
Ranell i said. "My career isn't over until
nationals. My career ends when my
teammates end."
For Ranelli and her fellow seniors,
their careers at Cliff Keen Arena do
come to an end on Saturday. When the
three veterans say good-bye, however,
the gifts that they will receive won't be
as meaningful of a rememberance as
the memories and great moments that
occurred at their home facility.
"Looking around at the meet at Geor-
gia with the sellout crowd, the whole
atmosphere at home is what I am going
to miss," Ranelli said.
The amount of talent that will be lost
in these three gymnasts deserves men-
tion. Since their first year competing in
1993, all three have earned letters every
year and have so far won three straight
Big Ten championships. They are look-
ing to be the second class to finish their
careers at Michigan by winning the Big
Ten team title four
Miranda achieve
tus on the uneven1
Ranelli was an A
floor exercise thes
has been named A
vault, balance bean
As these threes
bow in front of th
will probably recei
standing ovationf
moments they gav
Keen Arena.
r
Find *,e world's most comprehen~sive
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L.ASE ;ENEWAL P ROC RA
PEACE PL.Ai
"[On-campus housing assists] in expanding [one s]
education into those areas which must be cultivated
if [one] is to become a citizen of the world..."
In Other Words...
Although you might have the opportunity to interact with others in class, once
it's over, you're out of there. When you engage in casual conversations back
at your residence hall, it's an opportunity to really find out about those who are
different from yourself. Now we're not suggesting that you can solve the
World's social problems by living in the residence halls. What we're suggesting
is...well, umm...actua, we ARE suggesting you can solve the World's
social problems. hat's our Plani
Considering
that Housing
charges no
extra fees we think
to attain our Plan is
WORLD PEACE, pretty impressive.
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