The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - February 23, 1998 - 7B Wrestling gains confidence boost with win over Indiana By Evan Braunstein Daily Sports Writer The schedule-makers had this one planned out. After disappointing losses to Purdue and Minnesota, *the No. 14 Michigan wrestling team was in need of a confidence boost. Conveniently, the Wolverines hosted Indiana in their last home game of the season Friday night. The Wolverines (4-4 Big Ten, 7-9 overall) disman- tled the Hoosiers, who have just one conference victory this season, by a score of 28-9. Indiana boasts only just ranked wrestler in its lineup - Mike Powell, who is seventh at 167 pounds. He suffered multiple concussions recently and was unable to wrestle. Even with Powell, though, the Hoosiers would have been hard-pressed to overtake the Wolverines. Without him, they simply were out-matched. "Winning here tonight was a great boost for this team," captain Jeff Catrabone said. "I just hope we can keep up the intensity going into the Big Ten Tournament." Joe Warren and Damion Logan gave the Wolverines an 11-3 lead with victories at 126 and 134 pounds, respec- tively. The two wrestlers have come on strong late in the sea- son to solidify the team's lower weight classes. Warren notched a 24-9 technical fall over Brian Smiley, while Logan obtained his seventh-straight victory by pinning ames Torres at 2:44 in the first period. "I thought Joe and Damion looked really good," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "Both of them are very aggressive wrestlers. Damion is looking better than any- body on our team right now. He was definitely the out- standing wrestler of this match." Another highlight. for the Wolverines came at 158 pounds, as redshirt freshman Jason Rawls won his first dual-meet match of the season. The score was tied at two in the third period when Rawls scored a takedown. He managed to prevent Jeff Weber from escaping long enough to erase Weber's riding-time advantage and secure a 4-3 victory. "It felt good to win," Rawls said. "I was getting kind of discouraged because I kept losing, but my coaches kept encouraging me." Bahr sounded almost more pleased about the victory than Rawls did. "He has been struggling all year," Bahr said. "It was nice for him to get the win. When he got the lead, it was as if he said 'I'm going to get this one. I'm not going to let it slip away on me."' Jeff Catrabone, Joe DeGain and Airron Richardson also won to clinch the victory for the Wolverines. DeGain's victory eliminated any possibility of an Indiana comeback by putting the Wolverines up 18 points with just two matches remaining. DeGain has struggled this season, but has been wrestling with more confidence in the past two weeks. "I think he reached a turning point in the Michigan State match," Bahr said. "He lost a close match there that he could have won, and it cost us the dual meet. He is less apprehensive with his shots now, and he has more determination." Despite the win, this match capped a disappointing dual-meet season for the Wolverines. They were ranked fourth in the nation at the start of the season and finished 14th. The turmoil caused by the death of teammate Jefferey Reese and injuries to starters Bill Lacure and Teya Hill contributed to the team's struggles this year. The Wolverines hope to regain their preseason status with a strong showing at the Big Ten Tournament on March 7-8. "I'm happy with where the team is right now," Bahr said. "Give us another week of practicing and condition- ing, and we'll be ready for the Big Tens." FILE PHOTO The Michigan wrestling team was in desperate need of a victory after two losses against Big Ten rivals Purdue and Minnesota. Luckily for the Wolverines, cellar-dweller indiana came to town to give them just the lift they needed. 'M' tumblers roll to second win in a row FILE PHOTO It was California Dreamin' for the Michigan softball team in a recent West Coast swing, as it won four games. Softball goes 4-1 i n an Diego games By Mark FrancescutU Daily Sports Writer The Michigan softball team traveled to San Diego on Friday, but El Niio halt- ed its games at the CaaipbelilCartier Classic temporarily. Rain delayed the start to the 1998 season, but play began after a few hours. Through the end of Saturday's competition, the Wolverines finished with a 4- 1 record and a three-way tie for second place. In the final Saturday game, host team San Diego State tried its best to come back from a 9-3 deficit after five innings, but fell just shy in six innings, 9-7. Senior Sara Griffin earned her second-straight victory, while the high-powered Michigan offense totaled 10 hits. In other Saturday games, Michigan pummeled Santa Clara, 8-0, with the help of a five-run fifth inning. Sophomore Jamie Gillies evened up her record at 1- I with a one-hit shutout. And in their first meeting against Louisiana State in NCAA history, the Wolverines squeezed out a 3-2 victory. Cathy Davis and Traci Conrad each doubled as the Wolverines racked up I1I hits on Louisiana State pitchers. Michigan freshman Kim Bugel went 3-for-3 in the game. Freshman Marie Barda earned her first career win, allowing just four hits. Michigan began the tournament Friday against two ranked opponents - No. 17 UCLA and No. 14 Long Beach State. The spoilers of Michigan's season at last year's World Series, UCLA could not muster enough offense against Michigan in the Bruins' 3-1 loss. Griffin held the Bruins to two hits in seven innings, and Davis hit a three-run home run. In the second game on Friday, Michigan tied the game at 3-3, but Long Beach State scored three runs in the sixth to put away the Wolverines 6-3. Michigan sophomore Melissa Gentile singled and scored a run in the loss. By David DenHerder Daily Sports Writer The ball is officially rolling. And for the Michigan men's gym- nastics team, it's not a moment too soon. After a landmark victory over Minnesota just one week ago, the Wolverines continued their winning ways Saturday with another record- high team score and a victory at No. 12 Illinois-Chicago, 227.35-224. The win represents the second vic- tory for Michigan's men gymnasts in as many years, and excitement about the possibility of qualifying for the NCAA Team Regional this April is beginning to grow. "You know, it's funny," Michigan assistant coach Mike Burns said. "You'll be sitting back thinking, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE DAILY. - REG. COPIES 20# white,8.5x11 * Collate " Staple " iWo-Sided> . High Speed Dollar Dil C O PY II N 611 Church Street Phone: 665-9200 Fm:=930-2600 'We're not having a good meet,' and then we'll come out of the thing with a school record." Along with the team score, Michigan (1-4 Big Ten, 2-4 overall) set a school record on the still rings (38.05) and ended the meet with another school record on the parallel bars (38.9). "We had some problems here and there, but finished in just outstanding fashion," Burns said. Outstanding indeed, as freshman Justin Toman led a pack of four Wolverines who scored 9.6 or better on the parallel bars. Toman, who underwent total reconstructive knee surgery last March, landed a 9.85, top- ping last week's national rankings in the event. "That was the most incredible rou- tine I've seen all year," Burns said. "He stuck (the dismount) into the ground like a land-dart. We were all just jumping up and down like a bunch of yahoos." The performance on bars concluded an impressive day for Toman, who also notched personal bests on the floor exercise and pommel horse. Clinching the all-around competi- tion for Michigan was freshman Kevin Roulston, with a personal best of 57.45. In the process, Roulston also won the floor exercise with a 9.75. On still rings, school records weren't just limited to team totals. After his fall on the rings last week had the crowd holding its breath, freshman Kenny Keener came back strong Saturday and broke the individ- ual school record with a 9.75. Michigan finished the meet with a 65-percent hit-miss ratio, but most of the misses, or falls, were dispersed throughout the competition. Since the team can throw out the bottom two scores of each event, the rela- tively low hit ratio had little effect on the overall score. "We were able to spread the misses out over a few events," Burns said. NCAA regional qualification is based on the average of three scores throughout the season. Of the six teams that qualified for the NCAA East Regional last year, the lowest average score was 227.05. With its performance of 227.35 on Saturday, Michigan looks as if it may be ready to rise to the occasion. "The guys are really putting it together," Burns said. I ' University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports 1998 MICHIGAN CLASSICS S OFTBALL Call (734) 936-0597 For Your Own Michigan Classics Softball Information Packet!! AN ARMY SCHOLARSHIP COULD HELP YOU TNR-G EIA COL The U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program offers a unique opportunity for financial support to medical or osteopathy students. Financial support includes a monthly stipend plus tuition, books, and I