18A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 18, 1999
Olson leads
individual
title charge
TURF
Continued from Page 14A
finals of the Big Ten tournament - an expe-
rience that Logan said will help him at
NCAAs.
"It's good experience," Logan said after he
lost. "It's definitely not something you want
to feol again, though."
Seniors Corey Grant and Frank Lodeserto
are going for their last shot at glory.
~Grant, a former walk-on and four year
starter, has drawn the praise of Bahr recently.
"He's been a real surprise for us, but he just
needs to wrestle to his ability," Bahr said.
.Freshmen Andy Hrovat and Matt Brink
round out Michigan's qualifiers. Both are
ranked in the top 20 in the country in their
respective weight classes.
The NCAA Championships mark the last
meet in the 25-year career of Bahr, but if the
meet goes anything like Big Tens, Bahr will
be relieved when it's over.
"I'm happy it's done' Bahr said at the con-
clusion of Big Tens. "It's such a pressure-
packed weekend, with 30 or 40 major ups and
dpwns."
Minnesota, coming off a Big Ten team
championship, is considered the favorite. But
th e, Gophers aren't taking anything for grant-
Blue, State look to top
last weekend's thriller
r 4w -
DAVID ROCHKIND/Deify
Although many think the NCAA Wrestling Championships will be dominated by three teams,
Michigan is hoping to surprise some people at this weekend's event.
my- D1 Dingorso
Daily Sports Writer
For the second straight week, the Michigan men's
gymnastics team will face intrastate rival Michigan
State. The Wolverines are coming off their best per-
formance of the season, a meet where they edged
the Spartans by only 1.1 points.
That meet was in Ann Arbor. This weekend,
Michigan will have to travel to East Lansing to try
to repeat the feat.
On Sunday, the two teams treated the fans to one
of the best shows of the season. Both teams record-
ed their top score of the season - both were also
some of the top scores in the nation this year.
Despite the high scores - and because of the
intricacies of the ranking system that factors road
performances differently than home performances
- the teams' rankings changed little. The
Wolverines dropped a spot to fifth in the country
and the Spartans gained one spot, moving in behind
Michigan at No. 6.
Although Michigan State had its top score of the
season, coach Rick Atkinson thought that his team
could have performed better and should have won
the meet.
"We've got them next weekend, and we're going
to be in our house," Atkinson said. "We're going to
be fine. That was our best score of the year, and it
should have been better."
Michigan will have to face the Spartans on senior
day, and Michigan coach Kurt Golder will have his
team prepared for the intense battle.
"I think that they are going to come back even
harder this time," Golder said. "They lost by a point,
and I'm sure that they can find a point to make up.
They're going to be at their emotional high. If we
take them the least bit lightly, they could slip by us."
All signs point to Michigan State being prepared
ed.
"We're taking everything in stride, it's not
over yet," Minnesota coach J Robinson said.
"We can only worry about the things we can
control."
Nebraska coach Tim Newman thinks that
looking at only the top three teams is being
short-sighted.
"Oklahoma wrestled phenomenally at Big
12's," Newman said. "I think you really have
to look at them."
Oklahoma shocked then top-ranked
Oklahoma State at the Big 12 Championship.
Jim Zalesky, head coach at Iowa, said that
Oklahoma State's loss won't mean much this
weekend.
"I still think that there are three clear
favorites," Zalesky said.
Even though Michigan may not be a strong
contender for the team title, anything can hap-
pen over the course of three days.
And at the end of it all, seven weary and
wounded men will leave Penn State, perhaps
with a national title or two.
Seven men who worked their body to the
point where it could give no more.
Seven men who won't have to do it again
until next season.
for the Wolverines and having a strong meet. In
addition to handling the Spartans, Michigan has
another distraction to deal with.
The meet will not be a traditional dual meet
because the women's teams will also be competin
"(The women's meet) is a distraction for us, anV
it's good," Golder said. "They can learn from this
experience. Someone might raise their hand to sabt
their routine when the music starts blasting for the
women's floor exercise.
"You never know when there is going to be a
huge cheer in a championship meet."
The meet against the Spartans is the last regular
season meet for the Wolverines. In two weeks, the,
team competes in the Big Ten Championships, fol-
lowed by NCAA regionals.
Which means that this weekend is the last chani,
for Michigan to perfect its routines in a competthi
situation before the championships.4.
One concern for the Wolverines is their pefor-
mance on the road. All year the team has had olid.
scores on the road, but it has not matched its h me
showings.
"We just need to be a little more consistent,,,
Golder said. "If we can get super-consistent in prag-
tice, then we will be able to do it on the road."
Aiding the Wolverines in their performancehis
weekend will be their improving health.
Brad Kenna, Tim Dehr and Justin Toman may
compete in events that they have been forced to
miss the entire season. Also, the team hopes to hve
Kevin Roulston and Jesse Coleman back from.,
injuries.
With the increased health of the team and thi
confidence gained in recent weeks, the team looks
like it is ready to perform on the road. A top perfor-
mance in East Lansing would be a sweet ending to
the regular season.
' individuals could bring home hardware
SURF
Continued from Page 14A
California are all expected to compete for
the title as well.
"It's a wide open meet." Richardson said.
"First through fifth all have the potential to
win the championship."
The first race of the meet, the 200-yard
frestyle relay, could provide the most
exciting competition of the championship.
.PThe three top teams in the event,
Uorthwestern, Michigan, and Southern
Methodist, are separated by just .04 sec-
ends.
At the Big Ten Championships,
Northwestern beat Michigan by just .02
seconds to post the two fastest times in the
country. The Wolverines will certainly be
16oking for some revenge over the Wildcats
t6night in Athens.
In individual events, the Wolverines' best
chance for a national title comes from
junior Shannon Shakespeare in the 200
iMdividual medley.
Shakespeare defended her Big Ten title
this year and posted the fourth-fastest time
in the country, making her a viable title
threat for Michigan.
Another race that is sure to provide plen-
ty of excitement, the 200 freestyle, features
three-time defending champion Martina
Moravcova of Southern Methodist.
Moravcova has won the last three NCAA
titles in the event and is poised for a run at
her fourth.
But upstart freshman Sarah Tolar of
Arizona has posted the fastest time in the
country in the event by .02 seconds.
Shakespeare could also be a factor in the
race, as her time is the fourth-fastest this
year.
"Moravcova is swimming even better this
year than in the past," Michigan assistant
coach Stephanie Kerska said. "If anyone
has a chance to beat her, though, it's
Shannon. You can't underestimate her."
Also in singles competition this evening
will be senior Jen Eberwein.
Despite a two-month illness that kept her
out of the pool most of the season,
Eberwein won the Big Ten Championship in
the 50 free and posted the seventh fastest
time in the country.
She will almost surely post her fastest
time of the year in the event tonight and
compete with junior Rebecca Cronk of
Virginia and senior Erin Maher of Texas for
the national title.
One of Michigan's best chances to score
big points in the meet will come on the
final day in the 100 free.
Shakespeare, Eberwein, and sophomore
Missy Sugar swept the event at Big Tens.
Shakespeare also has the third fastest time
in the country this year.
The Wolverines' hopes for a top 10 finish
lie mostly in the ability of their relay teams
to come out on top.
The relay races are worth more points
than individual races and give teams the
chance to score big by winning a single
race.
"We are going to have to swim a great
meet for a top 10 finish," Richardson said.
"Four of our five relay teams are in the top
eight in times this year. We are going to
need to be firing on all cylinders."
We're number what?!
If you read the men's
gymnastics story in yester-
day's Daily, you might. have
been surprised to learn that
Michigan had sneaked up
on the gymnastics world by
climbing atop the national
rankings.
Well, the rankings printed
in yesterday's paper were
for the floor exercise, an
event in which Michigan
does, in fact, lead the
nation.
The correct overall team
rankings are listed at right.
i
Men's gymnastics GymInfo Top 10
Rankings as of March 15
,"
Team
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3 Iowa
4. Illinois
5. Michigan
6. Michigan State.
7 Oklahoma
8. Nebraska
9. Brigham Young'
Pts.
228.250
228.037
227.887
227.512
227.175
225.650
225.575
223.700
223.500
>,
10. California
222.c
900
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