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 a. y '-p. ,. ',:. Y_" 'I w"ยข 'i' . f . "i ..4 i +^ W S . .S =a~urur a 1