The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 29, 1996-13
Jce, ice, baby: Pipe
burst delays games
Women tumblers seek 5th staight tide
By Danielle Rumore
Daily Sports Writer
CINCINNATI - From all of the commo-
tion inside Riverfront Stadium yesterday, no-
body would have guessed that the Division I
cekey championships were being played.
The two semifinal games were played to
determine which two teams would face-off in
the championship game tomorrow, but for a
while that seemed to take a back seat to the
commotion concerning the ice surface.
The conditions of the rink were more condu-
cive to casual skating than to a national cham-
pionship. The brine pipe (a coolant) cracked
before game one during a routine procedure to
fix the holes for the net moorings.
In order to contain the spill, which seeped
Wto the ice around the crease, the cooling
system needed to be completely turned off.
"It was a fluke thing that happened," said Rick
Comley, chairofthe Division I Men's Ice Hockey
Committee. "(The pipe) was just nicked and
that's all it took. The experts did atremendousjob
getting the building back in order."
The first semifinal game between Vermont
and Colorado College started 40 minutes later
thah scheduled and went into double overtime.
0 t the end of the first overtime, the Colorado
am was so soaked from the pools of water on
the ice that they needed to change their under-
wear during intermission.
The game ended with pools of water over the
entire ice surface. ': ,
The cooling system v
was still unable to
be turned back on
because of the
cracked pipe. The
Michigan and Bos-
ton University semi-
final game was close
to being cancelled -.
due to the two prob-
lems and to the
length of the first q
game - the NCAA
did not count on the
first game going to
double overtime,F
which ate into the FraNtic repairs prevented
time they had to fix the problem.
"It was just a question of the rink people
fixing it, but it was fixed and it got better and
better as the night went on,"Comley said. "We
had to get it fixed and then we sprung a second
leak, and we tried to get both coaches calmed
down and believing that the quality of the ice
was not going to affect the game.
"We probably would have played at 2 (Fri-
day and the same time Saturday). Now, in
retrospect the day off is critical."
The pipe was mended and the cooling sys-
tem was turned back on in time for the game,
but the Wolverines and Terriers still faced off
By Nancy Berger
Daiy Sports Writer
Over the past four years, it has become a habit
for the Michigan women's gymnastics team to
lead the Big Ten conference. The Wolverines hope
this year will be the same as they strive for their
fifth consecutive Big Ten title.
At last year's Big Ten championship, Michigan
left the rest of the field behind in a cloud of their
chalk dust. Michigan's record-breaking score of
196.500 not only gave them their fourth consecu-
tive conference championship, but was also more
than three points ahead of their closest opponent,
Michigan State.
At this year's Big Ten championships, the rem-
nants of the Wolverines'cloud will surely have
cleared for some of the conference teams.
With the rest of the Big Ten having dusted
themselves off, Michigan will be looking at a
much improved and more competitive field.
"It is getting better every year," Wolverine
coach Bev Plocki said. "(This year), we have a
handful of teams that are going to be in the mid-
190.0 range."
Minnesota,Michigan State and Penn State are
the teams that Plocki is watching out for. The
Wolverines twice lost to the Gophers and once to
the Spartans earlier in the season.
Michigan is no stranger to tough competition.
Currently ranked No. 4 nationally, Michigan
has beaten the defending national champion, Utah,
while coming close to beating No. I Georgia. In
their last home meet against No.5 Brigham Young,
the Wolverines turned in their second best team
performance ever, scoring 197.00 points. Against
Utah and BYU, Michigan established school
records on the uneven bars, balane bam and-
floor exercise.
While most, ifnot all of Michigan'sbest puefor-
mances have come at home, its last met at hon.
State was its best away score of the season.
"Ourlastmeet gave us alot ofconfidenwoitour
away score," freshman Kathy Burke said.
While the 195.925 posting is more than a ilIl
point off their season high, Plocki believes tat.
her gymnasts can score well within the teach of
the 197.000 points mark.
"We went just under 196 at Penn State,"Ploaki
said. "We did not have Heather Kabnick and we
counted a fall. We very easily could haer added a
point on to our score."
Whether Michigan has Kabnick back for the
Big Tens is still in question. The sophomore has
been battling a chronic injury that causesswalliog
in her ankles.
"Heather had an injection in her ankle,"Plki
said. "She has sprained her ankles so many times
that her ankle has thickened."
Despite these irritations, Kabnick has men-
aged to practice on the vault and floor exercise.
Other than Kabnick's injury, Michigan seems
to be in good shape after a never-endingsturngof
injuries that riddled its lineup.
The late-season return offreshmen Nikki Peters
and Lisa Simes have strengthened the squad -
anchored by senior Wendy Marshall, junior An-
drea McDonald and freshman Beth Amelkovich.
All that is really left for Michigan to do is to
clean up the mistakes in their routines while they,
wait to defend their Big Ten title.
"We're trying to keep it low-key,"Burke said.
"The anticipation is there."
WAERVANDK
a postponement of the Michigan hockey game.
1 1/2 hours later than scheduled.
"An hour and a halfdelay wasn't expected,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We
didn't know if we'd play or not."
The two teams switched ends of the ice
halfway through the first period because of
the soft ice around the crease. The second and
third periods were played in the normal 20-
minute intervals even though the ice did not
begin to harden until the third period.
"The ice got better as the game went on,"
Michigan goaltender Marty Turco said. "In
the third period, it was dry and normal and not
as much water hanging around."
Track begins
anew in
Eunshine
State meet
By Kim Hart
For the Daily
Whowouldn't look forward tospend-
ing the wep~kend in Gainesville, Fla.? A
trip there means sunny skies, beaches
Od temperatures above 65 degrees. If
you were a member of the track team
though, you might have some hesita-
tions about heading to the Sunshine
State.
The men's and women's track teams
open their outdoor seasons this week-
end at the Florida Relays with a slight
disadvantage.
The weather is cramping the Wolver-
ines' style. Only the distance runners
tve spent quality time practicing out-
ors.
The sprinters, hurdlers and field event
participants are still working out in-
doors, praying for a break in the cold.
Preparation forthis weekend hasteam
members all over the place. Some are
running outside around Central Cam-
pus, others are inside at the track and
tennis facility, and some are taking trips
to Eastern Michigan University's out-
sor track to practice hand-offs.
The cool air is a little too much for
hurdler Neil Gardner, who hails from
Kingston, Jamaica. He was reluctant to
practice outdoors on Tuesday and
donned several layers of clothing be-
fore heading out.
"The climate puts us a little behind
some of the southern schools, but it's
the same as any other northern school
headed down there," men's assistant
coach Ron Warhurst said. "We are go-
down there on a wing and a prayer,
so we will use this more as a chance for
conditioning for the rest of the outdoor
season."
A couple of familiar Michigan faces
will not be in Florida or even participat-
ing in the 1996 outdoor season. Kevin
Sullivan and Scott MacDonald have
decided to redshirt the outdoor portion
O this year. The Wolverines are using
s as an opportunity for the younger
ddle-distance and distance runners
to gain more experience. Several run-
ners will compete in two events to get
the members maximum use of time-
outside.
The Florida Relays combines a day
of relay events and a day of invitational
events. The coaches are hoping forsome
strong performances during Saturday's
invitational portion. Trinity Townsend
had some practice outdoors and is
oking to do well in the invitational.
The Wolverines are also looking for
strong performances in the high jump,
thejavelin and the 4x 1,600 meter relay.
"We hope to do well this weekend,
but with this weather we just can't get
outdoors and get the practice we de-
sire," Warhurst said. "We are taking 23
guys, and all we can do is pray for the
best."
This guy can't stop thinking about summer.
I never thought of Northwestern as
a summer hot spot, but the campus
is right on Lake Michigan. They've
got beaches, intramural sports, arts
and crafts workshops, wine-tasting
and pottery making minicourses,
basketball and volleyball tourna-
ments, campus musicals and the-
Northwestern's study abroad programs sound great. Prague, Czech
Republic; Alexandria, Egypt; and South Africa... They'd all be great oppor-
tunities to earn college credit, and they're all places I'd like to visit. They've
changed so much in recent years. With the three- or six-week program in
Prague, I could learn about Czech politics from the inside, visit parts of
4
atrical performances, outdoor
movies, and hiking and canoeing
trips in Wisconsin. All with
Northwestern Summer
Session '96... Pretty cool.
Summer in the Windy City
sounds like a great time.
Chicago has jazzfests, blues-
fests, and gospelfests, Cubs and
Sox games, some of the best
museums and art galleries in
the world, and ethnic festivals
all summer long... I'd have
plenty to do, and it's all just
minutes from the
Northwestern campus.
Bohemia and Moravia, enjoy Czech pubs and restaurants, and experience the
renaissance city's world-renowned architecture. Then again, six weeks in
Alexandria, Egypt has its advantages. A five-day Nile cruise, a visit to Cairo's
Great Pyramids, and all the festivals, beaches, and bazaars. Can't forget
South Africa. The wildlife viewing in Durban is supposed to be incredible,
and the program also includes the Kalahari dessert, Cape Town, and
Johannesburg. 1996 will be a hot summer!
0
0
0
D
0
0
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I could use some extra credit
this summer, and I think
Northwestern's the place to go.
Summertime means smaller
classes and better access to some
of Northwestern's most popular
professors. They even have a
course on the Beatles, and if I
get ambitious, I can earn a fll-
year of college credit with
Northwestern's eight-week
intensive course sequences in
physics, chemistry, and nine lan-
guages. It'd be nice to go back to
school in the fall with a few
extra credits on my transcript.
He must have read our catalog...
Northwestern
University
Summer
Session
'96
a
rr.