20A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 13, 1997 --- 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 - m - E 0 v i .n, Join Pat Harris Leading Expert in the Nation on Law School Admissions University of Michigan 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 Ui U - - I t =- - ___ NOW mU..