20A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 13, 1997
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Shoulders separate 'M' wrestlers .
Although injuries
have hindered the
Michigan
wrestling team
this season, the
Wolverines will
send five people
to next week-
end's NCAA
championships.
The participants
are Jeff
Catrabone (167
pounds), Bill
Lacure (150
pounds), Airron
Richardson
(heavyweight),
Chris Viola (118
pounds) and Teya
Hill (142
pounds).
JOHN KRAFT/Daily
By Tracy Sandler
Daily Sports Writer
And the hits just keep on coming.
Literally.
It's been a tough year in the injury
department for the Michigan wrestling
team. The trouble started in August
and hasn't let up since.
Shoulders seem to be the primary
area of concern.
Junior All-
American Brandon
Howe (126 pounds)
had shoulder
surgery in August,
ending his season.
Next in line was
freshman Damion
Logan. Logan's sea-
son was over when
" 'Zate 'aa
is bothered by his shoulder.
"In 19 years I've had one shoulder
injury, (now volunteer assistant coach)
John Fisher," Michigan coach Dale
Bahr said.
"Now, all of a sudden, I've got
Logan with a shoulder operation,
Howe with a shoulder operation, and
Lodeserto and (Viola) all have shoul-
der injuries.
"And I've never had shoulder
injuries like that before, so it seems
like when you get a rash of a certain
injury, it seems to run through the
team, and that's what's happened right
now."
Other injuries have not been spared,
either. Brian Aparo (134 pounds) had
elbow surgery in September. Last
weekend 158-pound Otto Olson suf-
fered a separation in the collarbone
area, where the bone meets the ster-
num, according to Bahr.
"He's still in a sling right now and
will be for a few days," Bahr said.
HIP LACURED: All-American Bill
Lacure (150 pounds) strained his hip,
during his Big Ten Championship loss
to Iowa's two-time NCAA champion
Lincoln Mellravy, 19-7. The injury
should not hinder him at next week-
end's NCAA Championships.
"It's sore but nothing too terrible,"
Lacure said. "My body's falling apart.
J always hurt something, but every-
body's hurting at this point in the sea-
son."T
THREE GUYS A CHARM: Big Ten
finalists Lacure, Jeff Catrabone (167
pounds) and Airron Richardson
(heavyweight) marked the largest
number of Michigan wrestlers in the
finals since 1991.
The tri-captains and All-Americans
each finished second in their respec-
tive weight classes.
PARTY OF FIVE: At next weekend's
NCAA Championships in Waterloo,
Iowa, the Wolverines will be sending
five participants.
Due to their appearances in the Big
Ten finals, Lacure, Catrabone and
Richardson received automatic bids,
while Viola was voted in as a wild-
card. 142-pounder Teya Hill iS going
as an alternate.
he injured his shoulder at the Las
Vegas Classic on Dec. 8. He had
surgery Jan. 22.
At last weekend's Big Ten
Championships 190-pound Frank
Lodeserto separated his shoulder in
the first minute of his first match.
Meanwhile, Chris Viola (118 pounds)
0 0
Wolvenines to try to balance Aggies
By Sara Rontal
Daily Sports Writer
It is believed that religious prayer can help
out with a team's performance.
After competing at Brigham Young last
weekend, and with a meet against Utah State
this weekend, the Michigan women's gymnas-
tics team may want to join the Mormon
Church.
The Wolverines, who lost to the Cougars,
rhay need the spiritual help in defeatir.g the
Aggies at Cliff Keen Arena at 7 p.m. on
Sturday.
Utah State poses a potential threat to the
Wolverines, scoring as high as 197 on the road
at Texas.
But the Wolverines have scored higher than
the Aggies in practically every event.
Last weekend against BYU, Michigan
scored a 49.65 on the vault. Utah State, in its
meet, scored only a 48.925 - almost an entire
point less.
"It doesn't matter what their scores are
because we can't prepare for that," Michigan
coach Bev Plocki said. "Their scores have
fluctuated all season."
"We have to just go out there and do our
best."
Amen.
Although the meets over spring break were
a disappointment to Michigan, the Wolverines
are practicing as hard as ever and are even
adding new moves to their floor exercises.
"We have been outstanding in the floor late-
ly," Plocki said. "We have added difficulty in
the floor, and we have landed everything.
"I am happy with this event."
Hallelujah.
As happy as the Wolverines are about the
floor, they scored low on the bars at Brigham
Young.
"We just need to be more consistent and
train like we have been training," Plocki said.
"Scores are not evident that we have prob-
lems."
And it is evident that lower scores last week
will not affect Michigan's performance on
Saturday.
In fact, even with a few mishaps in Utah
over the break, Plocki is still happy with
Michigan's performance.
"Our break didn't come out like we would
have liked it to," Plocki said. "But I am terri-
bly optimistic. It is almost impossible to win at
Utah and we completed 24 out of 24 routines
there."
And the Wolverines seem to be at a compa-
rable level with other top teams such as
Georgia, which they competed against over
the break as well.
"Seeing these other teams compete is
increased motivation for the girls," Plocki
said. "But we know how good we are, we don't
need other teams to prove it."
Even a few falls on the balance beam didn't
affect Michigan's performance last weekend.
"We've done fairly well,' Plocki said. "The
fall on the balance beam didn't count, and
another little break we had didn't count as
well.
"Overall, the beam has been good."
Another blessing the Wolverines have had is
the health of two of its stars, Beth Amelkovich
and Kathy Burke, who were feeling a bit sick
on the trip.
"They were feeling a little fluish, but now
they are much better," Plocki said.
. Also lucky for Michigan is the return of
freshman Sarah Cain, who was pulled from a
few events against Brigham Young.
"I had to hold her out because she needs a
rest," Plocki said. "She can't go all-around at
every meet.
"My pulling her may have cost us the meet,
but her mental health is more important than a
win."
Plus, what the Wolverines score during the
regular season means little.
"The win-loss record means nothing,"
Plocki warns. "All we have to do is put up
good scores at the Big Ten Conference meet."
Good scores against the Aggies and a win in
their last home meet of the season may leave
the Wolverines singing like the Tabernacle
choir.
And with renewed confidence and good
performances, Michigan will be ready to real-
ize their ultimate goal- an unprecedented
sixth consecutive Big Ten title.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
After its loss to BYU, the Michigan women gymnasts are looking to bounce back against Utah State.
No rest and relaxation for Blue men's tennis
By Alan Gomez
For the Daily
While the rest of campus was getting tan during
spring break, the Michigan men's tennis team stayed
down south too long and ended up getting burned.
The Wolverines played three dual matches over the
break and lost all of them.
The first defeat came at the hands of Virginia
Commonwealth, where Michigan managed to win only
one of six singles matches. The bright spot of the match
was when freshman Brad MacFarlane and Mike Pusztai
teamed up for the first time ever and won the only dou-
bles match for Michigan.
Michigan's next stop was Tempe, Ariz., where the
Wolverines won two singles matches, but still got
smoked by Arizona State.
The last stop for the Wolverines was a tough one.
Continuing to improve slowly, Michigan came within a
point of defeating Arizona, as it lost 4-3. Freshman Matt
Wright lost a tight three-set match that was decided by
two tie-breakers.
And to add just a little more drama to the Wolverines'
spring break from hell, Brook Blain didn't make the trip
because of a problem with a disc in his back. Blain was
undefeated in singles and doubles in the regular season
and posted a 14-6 record overall. The extent of the
injury was not clear, but Blain is currently seeking a
medical red-shirt.
Michigan must now prepare for the Blue-Gray
Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
Even with the disappointing trip, there are a few
things the Wolverines can take comfort in as they get
ready for the 20-team competition.
Sophomore William Farah had a strong trip, winning
all three of his singles matches. Farah also teamed up
with David Paradzik to take two of their three doubles
matches.
Paradzik, with his one singles win while playing in
the No. I slot, tied with Farah for the team lead with 150
victories. And despite the rough time the Wolverines
have been having, they are still ranked No. 30.
Awaiting Michigan in Alabama is a tough field that
could bring back some bad memories. Ifthe Wolverines
beat No. 33 Alabama in their first-round match up, they
will face Middle Tennessee State. Michigan faced the
No. 11 Blue Raiders earlier in the season in the
O'Charley's Tennis Classic and were handed a difficult
loss to the eventual champions of the tournament.
Nevertheless, Michigan should fare better this week-
end. Before its tour of the south during spring break, the
Wolverines had not competed in a month. The effects of
the lay off were evident against Virginia
Commonwealth, but Michigan's steady improvement
showed that it could be back in the swing of things.
JOSH BIGS/Daly
The Michigan men's tennis team is off to Alabama after disappointing weekend.
.,....
Michigan golf mixed in Carolina
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Thi irriazv March 20
By T.J. Berka
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's and women's
golf teams traveled to Fripp Island, S.C.
last weekend for their spring break.
Unlike the majority of the jet-setting stu-
dent body, the golfers didn't bum at the
beach; instead, they found other ways to
celebrate their week off from classes.
"This trip was great from the stand-
point that we got nine days of real prac-
tice in,' Michigan men's coach Jim
Carras said.
The men's team took advantage of this
winter-time bonus, tying for third with
James Madison in the Fripp Island
Intercollegiate. The Wolverines finished
with a three-round total of 897 (295-
297-305), behind only Methodist (886)
and tournament champion Toledo (884).
"I was kind of down on the kids
because instead of getting better each
day, we got worse." Carras said. "We did
well considering it was our first time out
this year, but we didn't bring it home on
the final day."
The women's team also finished with
mixed results last weekend, finishing
ninth out of 17 teams with a score of 973
(325-323-325). Despite finishing in the
middle of the pack, the Wolverines feel
positive about their performance.
"Most of the team is on the verge of
playing better," Michigan women's
coach Kathy Teichert said. "We made
some mistakes on the last day which hurt
us in the final standings."
The men were guided by superb per-
formances from Michael Harris and
Kyle Dobbs. Harris, a redshirt freshman,
finished the tournament with an even-
par total of 216. Harris shot a personal-
best 69 in the first round last Friday.
"(Harris) is going to be one of the
finer Michigan golfers of all time,"
Carras said. "No one has better work
ethics."
Dobbs (72-70-75) tied ,for third with*
Jacksonville's Chris Campbell and
Toledo's Richard Elliott with a one-over-
par 217. Other Wolverines at the Fripp
include David Jasper (tied for 31st),
Isaac Hinkle (tied for '7th) and Brent
Idalski (tied for 91st).
The Michigan women were paced by
Wendy Westfall, who tied for ninth place
with a three-day total of 231. Other fin-
ishers for the Wolverines include Sharon
Park (tied for 36th), Ashley Williams
(tied for 48th), Molly Vandenbark (tied
for 74th) and Nicole Green (tied for
82nd).
Shauna Estes of second-place Georgia
took the individual title with a total of
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