12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 2, 1998 Women'sY gymnasts ready to defend} top seed CENTRAL Continued from Page 11A We need to go into this competition prepared to perform gymnastics the. way we do in the gym," Plocki said. "We have to go in and hit our rou- tines in order to win, and we've already put Big Tens behind us." Last year, Michigan hosted the} regionals. During the competition, they broke the previous school record, posting an impressive score of 197.7. Plocki said that Michigan is not specifically looking to breakr records, because judging is very dif- ferent at each competition. At Saturday's regionals, it may be more strict. "I am just hoping that the athletes will go in and perform with consis- tency," Plocki said. "At this point, it does us no good to stress out over breaking records -the key is just to go in, be relaxed and have fun."h If Michigan claims the regional ,title, the Wolverines are guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Championships. If the Wolverines do not win, they #will have to wait to see if they are f. among the top seven scoring Teamsa - besides the regional winners - to receive an invitation. "It is a great benefit to us that we are a part of such a strong region Rbecause we have more of a chance if LOUIS BROWN/Daily we do not win the Regional," Plocki The Michigan women's gymnastics team, led by Sarah Cain, will enter the NCAA Regionals as the No. 1 said. seed. If Michigan wins the regional, they are assured a spot in the NCAA CHampionship. Men's golf out to rebound from last week's disappointing Dr. Pepper Reminded of Big Tens, men's gymnastics looks toward NCAA Regionals 9 EAST Conitinued from Page 11A two have previous regional experience. Sophonmore LaLo Haro and senior Tim DeGraw have each competed individually at the NCAA event. The remaining twelve can find solace in the fact that the meet will bear a striking resem- blaSee to the Big Ten Championships, which took place just two weeks ago at Crisler Arena. "t'll just about be a repeat of the Big Tens, but w th individuals from other teams," Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. A repeat, minus Minnesota, which failed to qualify for the field. Justlike at the Big Tens, Golder plans to give the all-around nods to Haro and freshman Kevin Roulston on Saturday. The duo finished ninthi and seventh, respectively, at the champi- onships'. Penn State's Mike Dutka, who cap- turedl the all-around Big Ten crown, is the favdritc to defend his all-around title in Amlherst. Thie Wolverines will look to freshman Justin Tonmn to'lead the way on parallel bars. Toman took top honors in the event at the Big Tens and 'also won it last Saturday when the team traveledto Michigan State. Frcshihian Kenny Keener will be key to Micliigan's performance on still rings, as he leads the team into competition with a school recoird of 9.75. Haro holds team highs on pom- mel :horse and floor exercise. Michigan has the potential to do the most damtige on vault - an event the team domi- natecd at the Bi; Tens. Haro, Roulston, senior Tim Lauring arnd sophomore Tim Dehr com- bined to give NIichigan third-, fourth-, fifth- and ,seventh-plice finishes during individual cometition. Although thd Wolverines will be accus- tomed to-all of their opponents, one particular adversary is becoming especially familiar. Michig'an has seen rival Michigan State enough times in the past few weeks to " green in the face. The teams will square off for the fourth week in a row during the regional meet. Despite so many close meetings, the last df which Michigan lost by 0.075, an expected blood-boiling rivalry has been preempted by interscholastic camaraderie. Golder said that the inevitable Michigan-Michigan State rivalry still exists but the teams' attitudes are tending towar friendship. "I don't think it's going in the direction of resent," he said. "It's a gain of respect." Maybe so, but the fact remains that only three teams will advance from the Regionals to the NCAA Championships on April 16-18. As of right now, neither team is ranked in the top three, and they will have to fight each other for a bid on Saturday. Despite the meet's importance, Golder has been keeping the practice schedule fairly con sistent this week. "We've got the machine working fine, and it's pointed in the right direction," Golder said, Right now that direction is east, to Amherst and the NCAA Regionals. No. 2 Iowa tops the region, qualifying with a three-score average of 230.174. Michigan's average is about 1.5 less than that, and that's enough to keep the Wolverines out of the top three. Complete coverage of men's and women's gymnastics NCAA Regionals in SportsMonday. 4 4 By Kevin Rosenfield Daily Sports Writer After a disappointing performance last weekend that exposed some early-spring rust, the Michigan men's golf team will attempt to rebound this weekend in Lexington, Ky. at the Kentucky Invitational. The two-day tournament, held tomorrow and Saturday, features a 20-team field that includes conference foes Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue. Mike Harris, the top Wolverine scorer in both tournaments of this young spring sea- son, will look to lead a Michigan five-some that also includes Mike Reabe, Mike Affeldt and Keith Hinton. Freshman Kevin Harris - Mike's younger brother - will make his first appearance of the spring season as a replacement for Kevin Vernick, the usual starter, who will be attending a family wedding. With Michigan considered to be a bubble team for selection to the NCAA Regionals later this spring, Carras emphasized that his team needs to start performing immediately. Michigan finished a disappointing 13th (out of 18 teams) at last weekend's Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate, and with only three tournaments remaining, the next few weeks should prove critical. "We did not do what we had to do this past weekend, so the pressure is on us to perform well," Carras said. "We've got to produce these next few tournaments if we are to have a shot at qualifying for regionals." The good local weather this week has finally allowed for some much-needed prac- tice for a Wolverine squad that had gone through most of March without playing out- doors. Predictably, rust has proven to be a major concern for a team ravaged by short-game difficulties. Time, however, is running short. "We'd like to place in the top six (this weekend), but more importantly we need to beat the teams we are competing with for a spot in the Last Regional tournament," C arrais said. "In order to perform well and be competi- tive. we need to have some depth from our four and five positions. If that doesn't hap- pen soon, you'll likely see some changes in our lineup. "The time to produce is now." The Michigan gof team begins play tomorrow at the Kentucky Invitational. The 20-team field should give the Wolverines, who are considered 01 the bubble for an NCAA Regiona selection, a chance to prove themselves against strong competition. FILE PHOT Read Daily Sports Women's golf seeks consistency in Indiana .....- Attention: Pre-Med/Pre-Nursing Students Excellent opportunity to work with doctors in a camp infirmary setting, as a Camp Health Officer. We will pay for the short certification course. -& Enjoy working in a beautiful Northern Michigan seing. For more information, contact Larry Stevens/Camp Walden, ph: (248) 661-1890, fax: (248) 661-1891, e-mail: waldenmi@aol.com By Tracy Sandier D ily Sports Wiiter In athletics. consistency is often the key to success. The Michigan women s golf team will be looking for that very thing this weekend at the Indiana Invitational. The Wolverines will trav el to Bloomington to play 36 holes of golf on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. The Wolverines are hopingtto bounce back from their 13th-place finish at the March 23-24 River Wilderness Invitational, and the biggest key in accomplishing that may be gaining con- sistency. The favorable weather tihat has hit Ann Arbor in the past week has helped the Wolverines tremendously- "We haven't been that viuch on top of our game,' ?Michigan coach' Kathy Teichert said. "For preious tourna- ments, we haven't had the!opportunity to practice and play outside as much as we would have liked. But the last week has been great"' Participating in this wedkend's tourna- ment will be golfers Shanon Park, cap- tain Nicole Green, Laur Hess, Amy Talbot and Jennifer Baumann. Aside from the weather, the Wolverines have been doing individual work to improve their games. Talbot has been working on weakening her grip a bit, improving her lever system and shorteninig up her swing, Teichert said. Trish Watkins, who will not be traveling with the team this weekend, has been try- int to narrow her stance. "Each kid has something specific to work on," Teichert said. "Overall, each person is working 100 yards in, chipping around the green and putting. These are qualities we've been lacking in." Out of the 16 teams participating in Bloomington, 10 are from the Big Ten. Penn State is the only conference team that will be absent. Although it will not have much influence on Michigan's ranking, the tournament should give the Wolverines a good idea of how they stack up against the rest of the Big Ten "For us, it's just another tournament Teichert said. "It will help us to get a be ter idea of where we are versus everyor else. We want to beat a lot of Big Te schools, but realistically, it's going to b tough. There are a lot of good schools' the conference." So far, Park has been the Wolverine No. I scorer, a trend Teichert said sh expects to continue. Nonethe Teichert said she would like to see oth members of the team step it up. "We need senior leadership fro Nicole Green and Laura Hess, Teiche said. "I expect them to pick their gam up a notch. We're giving Jennifer mo of an opportunity to play. We want to s how she's going to react in pressure sit ations, so she can be prepared for the B Ten Championships." -----I . ,;..ti , ; .:: ....:...:.