The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - February 10, 1997 3B 'M' gymnasts roll in record-setting day SPRTSod By Nita Srivastava Daily Sports Writer The crowd at Cliff Keen Arena went wild yesterday as the Michigan women's gymnastics team set a record for the most points in a Michigan meet. The Wolverines scored 197.3, defeat- ing Nebraska (195.575) and Illinois State (189.8). 4Michigan's point total was not the only record broken in the competition. Michigan freshman Sarah Cain finished with her all-time high and first-place fin- ish of 39.825, tying Beth Wymer's record set in 1994. . The Wolverines dominated the compe- tition, finishing first in three of the four apparatuses. Cain scored a perfect 10 on both the floor exercise and the balance beam, a significant improvement from her disappointing scores of 9.350 and 9.375 on the floor and the beam, respec- tively, against Ohio State last Thursday. Cain's score on the beam was the first perfect score in Michigan history on the apparatus. "I tried to concentrate and work a lit- tle bit harder" Cain said. "I just want to do whatever I can to help out the team." Michigan fans roared when sopho- more Nikki Peters shook her arms after sticking a solid landing on the uneven bars, scoring a perfect 10. It was her third such performance this season. Peters said that the strong perfor- mance by sophomores Cain, Beth Amelkovich and Lisa Simes helped give her the confidence she needed to finish with a perfect score. "It really helps when your team is on," Peters said. "We're getting back our con- sistency, and that's what we need." Michigan coach Bev Plocki stresses focus and hard work in her gymnasts' routines. "I try to get my kids not to pay atten- tion to other teams, because it's a distrac- tion," Plocki said. "The reason we're successful is because we didn't let down until the meet was over." The vault was Michigan's downfall yesterday. Nebraska grabbed the top two places, and Peters and Simes tied for third place with a score of 9.90. In past competitions, the Wolverines have been more successful on the vault. The poorer performances on vault had little effect on the Wolverines' overall score - they still managed to grab the top two spots in the all-around. Amelkovich finished second, helping the Wolverines capture the meet. "I was really pleased with the way we performed this afternoon, especially in the all-around," Plocki said. "We just have to stay healthy and continue to take things one at a time, and we should do really well:' III f> ..:.: .,<; . ":.,<;;. rap erg tro r.:::::.v::::" -.. . tate v ofl Iiana .. } :: By Tracy Sandier Daily Sports Writer It's probably safe to say that the No. 11 chigan wrestling team loves the state oT Indiana. It destroyed the Hoosiers on Friday night, 28-10, and Purdue, 21-12, on Saturday night. Against Indiana, Luiey Haddad wres- iled at 142 pounds in place of Teya Hill, who along with Bill Lacure, Otto Olson and Jeff Catrabone, was bumped up one weight class. Despite the changes, the Wolverines dominated the meet, starting with 118- und Chris Viola's third consecutive by major decision to beat Indiana's Derek Moscovic, while Catrabone, wrestling at 177 pounds, pinned the Hoosiers' Aaron Del Mar. Michigan continued its hot streak by boiling Purdue the next night. Again, Viola started the Wolverines off with an 8-3 win over Tim Dernlan' Hill did not wrestle, due to a sprained knee he suffered against the Hoosiers. Haddad, wrestling in his place, beat two- time All-American Frank Laccone, 6-4, in an overtime match. "We had Indiana and Purdue so tired," Catrabone said. "Every kid was so tired. Win or lose, we walked off the mat with our heads high. They walked off the mat with their heads dragging." Going into the weekend's meets, the Wolverines were determined not to let anything mentally disrupt their strategy. "We wanted to dominate the two matches," Viola said. "We were going to give up nothing. We wanted to wrestle our match, not theirs." The Wolverines' current hot streak can be attributed to a strong mix of health, strength and leadership. "Within the last three, we've had good training and good conditioning in," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "We've also stayed fairly healthy, avoiding the flu. We also don't have BARRY SOLLENBERGERr Sollenberger in Paradise 3 4 Wolverines' Bik Ten drought a bh' ridiculous E leven years have passed since Michigan last won the Big Ten. Eleven years. In that time, the Wolverines have had four consensus All- Americans, six first-team All-Big Ten selections and eight players selectedin the first round of the NBA Draft. Still, there has been no Big Ten title. Despite the Rumeal Robinsons, Terry Mills and Fab Fivers who Steve Fisher has coached in his eight full seasons, the Wolverines have remained Big Ten-titleless. So what's the point? That Fisher should be fired? No. Well, at least not now. He's accomplished too much. In fact, the Big Ten title is perhaps the only jewel missing from his crown. Fisher has won a national championship. He's coached Michigan in two other NCAA title games. He was the architect of the most famous recruiting class ever. Still, Michigan hasn't won the Big Ten since 1986. With the talent Fisher's had,- that's ridiculous. Perhaps this is why he is a lightning rod for many Michigan fans. You've heard all of the complaints before: His players aren't disciplined. They stand around on offense. They don't block out on defense, etc., etc. In fairness to Fisher, the Big Ten isn't easy to win. Still, Fisher has had talent. Too much talent to go this long without a title. And yet, the title almost surely will slip through his grasp again this season. Despite Maurice Taylor, Maceo Baston, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock - four players who helped make up top-ranked recruiting classes in 1994 and 1995 - the Wolverines are all but out of the race, trailing Minnesota by three games in the loss column with seven to play. The Big Ten drought burns Michigan fans. Still, Fisher isn't about to change his style - even if there are always 13,562 coaches at Crisler Arena. "People that say things at games, most of the time, don't know what they're talk- ing about, to be honest," Fisher said. "That's not disrespectful to them. I know what I'm doing and ... I think we're doing things the right way." He might sound bitter, but he's usually right. Fisher didn't just fall into this job. When his mentor, Bill Frieder, left Michigan before the 1989 NCAA tournament, Fisher stepped in as interim coach and led the Wolverines to six victories and the NCAA title, For his efforts, Fisher certainly deserved the permanent job. But college basketball is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately? world. Lately, the Wolverines and Fisher have been moving farther away from the Big Ten title. Three years ago, they finished second in the conference. Two years ago, they fin- ished third. Last year, fifth. Currently, they are mired in fourth place. Why this disturbing trend? Perhaps its due to Fisher's emphasis. "I would much rather have this ring," said Fisher, speaking about his 1989 nation- al title ring, "than the ones I have in a drawer from '85 and '86 when we won the Big Ten titles." Fisher is right to concentrate more on the NCAA toumament than the Big Ten. But that doesn't explain why Purdue has five league titles to Michigan's none since '86. But, Fisher's job isn't in jeopardy. Michigan isn't about to fire a coach who has the third-best winning percentage in the NCAA tournament among active coaches. "Steve Fisher has done an outstanding job," Frieder said. "I think you have to rank it a solid 'A."' Well, he deserved highest marks for that first season, but since then, Fisher hasn't made the grade. In fact, some Michigan fans think Fisher should be booted now. That the success he's had with recruiting is based more on Michigan's name than on anything he's done. This talk is a little premature. But Fisher has had a lot of time and talent to capture the Big Ten. If he doesn't do it soon, say, in the next two years, one thing is for sure, The "Fire Fisher" chants will be right on the money. - Barny Sollenberger can be reached over e-mail atjsol@umicll.edu. The Michigan wrestling team continued to roll with wins over Indiana and Purdue. the injuries from the early season, so our lineup has settled down. Also, someone always steps up." In the past couple of weeks, Viola has been coming through for the Wolverines, which is important considering that the Wolverines are 9-0 when he starts a meet off with a win. "I got over the mid-January slump," Viola said. "It's getting to be the time when you need to pick it up. I've realized that in the last couple of weeks." Aside from Viola, 190-pound Frank Lodeserto has also picked up his tech- nique for the team, defeating Indiana's Jason DeVries, 6-4. "With three All-Americans (Catrabone, Lacure and Richardson) and a solid Chris Viola, we have four big winners," Bahr said. "All we need is one more person to go even with any team and two more to beat them. That's helped us get over the hump the last four weeks." . hEMIRE Continued from Page 1B progress and looked forward to the Big Ten schedule. But she would have to wait to play in her first Big Ten game. Her season ended prematurely in practice on Dec. 18, the day before a home game against Houston. "I was so excited to be here and be a member of the team," Lemire says. "It was a good feeling to be part of the team. *as really looking forward to the rest of the season. "We were doing some simple drills when it happened, and it was a big shock when I found out what it was." It was an injury that would wipe out the entire season for Lemire, who had enjoyed four relatively injury-free years at Frankenmuth. Meanwhile, the Wolverines struggled hout her, winning only three games, le bowing out in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, losing to Northwestern. Immediately, Ann's focus shifted from improving her play to simply being able to play. After having surgery in early January, Lemire began rehabilitation on her knee. She immediately set goals for the summer in the hopes of being 100 percent at the start of this season. "My first and foremost goal was get- my knee really strong," Lemire says. 'Tworked a lot over the summer - I think I worked hard at getting in shape and getting my shot back" And although it wasn't a pleasant experience, Judith believes that it was an important experience for Lemire. "It was something that I prayed would never happen to Ann, Judith says. "But ,she handled it reall '. It was a matter of taking some" le that hap- pd and turning it into a positive force. I think that it was an important learning experience for her." The Wolverines were also undergoing changes, with Roberts' resignation at the end of last season and the arrival of inter- im coach Sue Guevara. Lemire would have to prove herself to the new coaching staff, and more important, get back to being comfortable with her game: After starting off slowly at the begin- of the season, Ann scored 17 points o -of-12 shooting in Michigan's near upset of top-ranked Stanford at the Hawaiian Air Wahine Classic in Honolulu. The game against Stanford was the turning point for Lemire. "I was a little apprehensive at the beginning of the year, wondering if my shot was going to be on," Lemire says. "I think I was a little rusty, and it took me three or four games into the season b re I felt comfortable. The Hawaii tournament was a big boost for me and for the team:' Lemire earned her first start of the season against Minnesota and led the team in scoring for three consecutive games, including a career-high 26 points in Michigan's 93-87 victory against Illinois on Jan. 12. Her improved play on both ends of the court are, in part, the reason Michigan is enjoying more success this season than in the past. The addition of freshman guard Stacey Thomas and the return of Lemire has helped Michigan to its best record since 1989-90, with a 12-9 over- all record. The Wolverines also have more Big Ten wins than they have had in the past two seasons combined. Her improved play has earned her the respect of opposing team's coaches. Purdue coach Nell Fortner said after the Boilermakers' win yesterday that Lemire was one player they looked to contain. "I think that (Michigan) has three key players -- Lemire, (Pollyanna) Johns and Thomas," Fortner says. She is versatile on offense, switching frequently between point and off-guard. She can also create scoring opportunities off the dribble, faking out Michigan State guard Tamika Matlock so convinc- ingly in their Jan. 19 contest, that Matlock ended up falling down. Left open, Lemire drained a short jumper at the halftime buzzer. She also likes the role of playmaker as well as shouldering part of the scoring load. "I don't think there's ever a game when a player doesn't think that they need to score," Lemire said. "But it might be more important for me to take charge and be the playmaker." This season has seen ups and downs for the Wolverines and for Lemire per- sonally, but the team is better off with her than it is without her. Her 10 points per game average ranks third on the team, and she has connected on 31.4 percent of her 3-point attempts. Recently, Lemire violated team rules and was removed from the starting line- up. She has struggled during the demo- tion, including a two of 16 shooting effort in her last two games. She has not reached all of her goals, but she is work- ing hard toward them. But Judith thinks that Lemire will bounce back, stronger than before, much like she bounced back from her knee injury. "She's making her mistakes, but she's learning from the mistakes," Judith says. "That's all you can expect. You can want the best for your kids all the time but when they make mistakes, you help them get back up and make something positive out if it. "As (Ann's) mother, there's a lot to be proud of." Students are welcome to Meditative worship for Campus and Community A service of Scripture, prayer, silence, meditative singing of music from the Taize Community, imposition of ashes and Holy Communion February 12 7:00 p.m. First Presbyterian Church 1432 Washtenaw Ave. 662-4466 waa. S * ..... .r Thike our UurIs! Think sunny days on the beaches of Lake St. Clair, rollerblading to Metro Park, mailing at Lakeside and picking up some transferable credits from Macomb Community College this summer! That's right! For just $51 per credit hour*, you can put some of your academic requirements behind you as a guest student at MCC. Take classes in core subjects like: accounting, biology, economics, English, French, history, humanities, math, psychology, Spanish and a whole lot more at one of the nation's leading community colleges. What better way to get a jump on fall than by doing your homework at home this summer! Call (810) 445-7999'today for a Summer Guest Student packet with all the information you'll need to apply, register and transfer courses. Or e-mail us at answer@macomb.cc.mi.us. We look forward to having you as our guest! Sponsored by Presbyterian, Reformed, Episcopal, and Lutheran campus ministries. - a