The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 18, 1999 - 15At Gymnasts not concerned by State By Nita Srivastava aily Sports Writer The Michigan women's gymnastics team heads into its final meet of the regular season this weekend against Michigan State. The competition will take place in the Jenison Fieldhouse in 4 bansing at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Wolverines are coming off of their season high score of 197.4 in last weekend's meet against UCLA and Rutgers. They also posted season highs in the balance beam (49.200) and the floor exercise (49.500). "We hit six for six routines on the balance beam last weekend, and that builds our confidence immensely," junior co-captain Sarah Cain said. "And the vault keeps getting better and b ,r - the little things are all coming together." Michigan is presently focusing on the details of its performance in com- petition. According to senior Lisa Simes and Cain, confidence has been building throughout the season, and the Wolverines are now looking to put everything together in their last meet and in the post season. "Ultimately, we need to worry about the things that we have control over, and that is our own routines," Simes said. "What we have been working on is not just that we hit our routines, but how well we hit them - when we hit, our scores will show through." The Wolverines have an advantage entering the meet against Michigan State as the Spartans are plagued with a great deal of injuries and may not be able to compile full lineups for all of the events. Michigan is also ranked No. 6 and Michigan State is unranked. The two teams have already compet- ed once this season in the State of Michigan Classic in February. It was the seventh consecutive victory that the Wolverines had over the Spartans. "If we can do what we have been working on in practice and in previous meets, we should have another high scoring meet this weekend," Cain said. "But the scores that we get are com- pletely dependent upon us - they (Michigan State) may be having seri- ous problems, but we need to focus on what we are doing." The pressure is, however, being felt by the Wolverines as they enter into the final stretch of their season, despite their consistently strong performances. Last year, Michigan lost the Big Ten Championships, and while they made it to NCAA's, they did not qualify for the "Super 6." According to Cain, Michigan is try- ing to take each competition one at a time and it is trying not to look too far ahead into the future. After this week- end's meet, the focus will be directed towards regaining the Big Ten title. "We know that we cannot afford to make any mistakes,' Simes said. "As long as we can relax, focus and keep our momentum, we should be fine, and we need to grab those extra tenths of points that we are still letting slip away." DANA LINNANE/Di The Michigan women's gymnastics team is riding the momen- tur of a stellar performance last weekend as they wrap up the regular season against Michigan State on Saturday. Softball back in action after two-week layoff By Dena Krischer For The Daily It's about 20 degrees outside, the clouds do not appear to be friendly, and it will probably start snowing at any minute... Scraped knees are being bandaged, sore shoulders are being iced, heated, then iced again, and weak ankles are being wrapped... It's a beautiful day for softball. This time last year, Michigan's softball team was rejoicing over an 18-3 start, opening what would soon become its most successful season yet. The team finished with 56 wins and seven losses, tying for fifth-place in the NCAA Women's College World Series, and taking second place behind Arizona (67-4) in the NCAA Softball Statistical Rankings. This year, the team had a difficult start, losing the first three games. . "At first, we just weren't operating on all cylinders," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "We just needed to build confidence and momentum." And they did. Since then, the Wolverines have been playing remarkably well. The team sits at a non-conference record of 15-5 after winning 10 straight, the last eight of which land- ed the team first place in the Speedline Classic Tournament in Tampa, Fla. two weeks ago. "Everything is really starting to come together now," said senior co- captain and first baseman Traci Conrad. "We're starting to play like a team, and it really showed in the last tournament." The team has been enjoying a two- week hiatus, which will end this upcoming weekend when it travels to Sacramento, Calif. for the Capital Classic. The Wolverines will play against unranked teams Baylor, Southern Illinois, and Portland State. Michigan has one more tournament the following weekend, the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind., where it will again face unranked teams Indiana State, Loyola (Ill.), Bradley, and Central Michigan. The team will begin fighting for its fifth straight Big Ten Conference title, on April 3 in Columbus against Ohio State. The following week it will con- clude a five-day road trip in West Lafayette against Purdue, and will return to Ann Arbor to host the Minnesota Gophers in a double head- er starting at 1 pm on Saturday, April 10 at Alumni Field. Unfortunately, the team will be playing without All-America and All- Big Ten junior catcher, Melissa "Skeeter" Gentile, due to recurring back pains. Last season, Gentile set Michigan season (13) and career (19) home run records, before having surgery in late November on two herniated disks'in her lower back. Schedule Au taes EST tam~e games in CAP$ Runners ready for freshar, outdoor invlte Women kick off season Friday By Arun Gopal Daily Sports Writer Out with the in, and in with the out. That's the mindset of the Michigan women's track and field team. The Wolverines concluded the indoor portion of their season at the NCAA Indoor Finals in Indianapolis March 5 and 6, and after a two-week siesta, the team will now begin the outdoor season at the Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee this weekend. As the first meet of the outdoor season, the Florida State Invitational will give Michigan a chance to work out some kinks from their extended layoff. The meet will also be an opportunity for the team to get reacclimated with running in natural conditions after spending the winter months training and competing exclusively on indoor surfaces. "We're not looking for anything special this weekend,* Michigan coach James Henry said. "We had a chance to get rested during the break. We want to get some folks' started in their events and see where they are at this point.! Henry said the Wolverines needed to work on getting focused now that their successful indoor season, high-, a lighted by a second consecutive Big Ten championships9 is behind them. "We have to put the Big Ten indoor title on the shelf and take our party hats off," Henry said. "The hangovei from a good party is often the toughest thing for coach es, so this meet will be about getting refocused." The complete list of team that will attend the invita tional has not yet been released. While Henry wasn't cern tam of whom the opposition would be, he did have some 4 idea of what kind of teams he expected to see irr Tallahassee. "My assumption is that there will be a number of ; northern schools who are coming down for a spring break, similar to us," Henry said. "The Florida schools,' such as Florida State and Florida International, are solid- programs and will probably also be there." Unlike the climate-controlled world that is the indoor season, the outdoor season requires the athletes to adjust on the fly to constantly changing weather conditions. Bu'i1 the coach did not feel that this would pose a major probe lem for his team. "These girls have been doing this their whole life, sdi the change from indoors to outdoors really isn't that hard' for them," Henry said. "For them, getting motivated again after a solid indoor season and a two-week layoff'° is the most difficult thing." The trip to Tallahassee will be a welcome respite for" the team after a long, cold winter in Ann Arbor and' throughout the Midwest. The team will enjoy the trip for more than just the - warm Florida breeze, though. "The indoor season is nice because we're all close together inside the track building, so it's easier for the team to cheer as a group for their teammates," Henry said. "But I think our team prefers the outdoor season.,' Outdoors is more natural. You get the fresh air, and". you're more free without the constraints of a building." The Florida State Invitational runs all day Friday and- q Saturday. m Apr3 Apr. 4 Apr.7 atOhio atOhio at Pwdue state state ,(DH) (OH) 1 pm. 1 P.M. 3 p.m. Apr. 10 Apr11 Apr 13 MIUNNE- MINNE- PENN SOTA SOTA STATE (ON) (OH) I.p.m. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. Gentile was ranked in four national statistical categories: 12th in slugging percentage (.768), 14th in home runs (0.22 per game), 20th in runs batted in (0.98 per game), and 41st in batting average (.409). Although the team will be missing the powerful offense of Gentile, this untimely loss is the least of its wor- ries. "There's no use focusing on some- thing we can't control," Conrad said. Despite the absence of its would-be starting catcher, Michigan has one of the toughest infields in the country with only one rookie, freshman sec- ond baseman Kelsey Kollen. The outfield is just as strong. Senior left-fielder and team batting average leader Catherine Davie (.373) and senior co-captain and All-Big Ten right-fielder Tammy Mika. "We won the Big Ten last year, and we have all the talent to do it again," Conrad said. "It just depends on whether we put it all together at the right times." FILE PHOTO Pam Kosanke and the rest of the Michigan softball team returns to action this weekend after a two-week break when thevtavel to the Capital Classic in Sacramento. Calif. a. ____________ is>' Crew could be frozen out of upcoming meet.. By Emily Achenbaum Daily Sports Writer "Relentless pursuit." The motto of the women's rowing team sends a clear message: hard work and determination will enable it to get past any obstacle. Unless, of course, that obstacle happens to be some big ol' chunks of ice. The site of this weekend's season- opening meet at Michigan State is currently covered with a sheet of ice - and it's going to take more than a heated school rivalry to melt it in time for Saturday's regatta. "We're hoping that this warm weather will help - we won't really know until Friday if there will be a race - we might end up doing some shorter scrimmages if we can't have an official meet," said coach Mark Rothstein. Maybe the Spartans should cross their fingers and hope their lake stays frozen, or they might find themselves in hot water. After all, the Wolverines finished fifth in the nation last year and were ranked an impres- -Is a sive third in the United States' ram. ( Rowing Preseason for nai Collegiate Coaches' Polls. l n 't In that poll, the Wolverines finished behind established rowing powerhouses Washington and Virginia. Not too shabby for a team that received official varsity status just three years ago and spent the past winter practicing on ergometers in Michigan Stadium's unheated visi- tors' locker room. The team has been preparing for its season opener since last fall. During a rigorous spring break in the Tampa Bay Channels, the n early Qualifying fionals is a fme away." - Mark Rothstein Michigan crew coach Wolverines recorded times that w e r e "faster than e v er b e fo r e," said co- captain Michelle Wolbit. T h e strength and speed, which tends tq be helpful in rowing. During their first year as a varsit . team, the Spartans sent a boat t nationals that finished ninth. Receiving varsity status only onie year after Michigan, the Spartans and the Wolverines both have young teams - yet they demonstrate, impressive maturity and depth il, their rowing. Still "it's an early race - qualify ing for nationals is a long time away," said Rothstein. Not that he tries to downplay the importance of the meet between the state rivals, especially when thic Wolverines and Spartans are suc up-and-coming forces in the actu sport itself. "Anytime you race Michig State, it's important," Rothstein sai "We want to establish ourselves the top program in the state." t e a m ' s drive, work ethic and sheer grit have earned them status as formidable competitors on the national scene. But don't expect that to scare Michigan State. The Spartans aren't wimps - they are known best for their physical t PARAMOUNT PICTURES Unless the ice that covers the site of their Saturday meet melts soon, the Michigan crew could face a problem of Titanic proportions if it attempts to navi- gatethe icy waters. ------------ I ............................... Attention Marketing and Communications majors! Are you having trouble finding a job that offers REAL business experience? The Michigan Daily has the answer...as our Circulation Manager you would be responsible for monitoring drop sites around campus, reaching out to local businesses, and expanding the Daily's reach into the University and Ann Arbor Charles F. Yocum Alfred S. Sussman Collegiate Professor of Biology and Professor of chemistry Life, Light, and Photosynthesis How Plants Make Oxygen .. .. n < .,,.