_ _ _ _The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 7, 2000 - 3B
J1o. 2 women tumblers roll to victory
By Sarah Ensor
Daily Sports Writer
KALAMAZOO - University Arena
on the campus of Western Michigan is a
sparkling new facility full of amenities,
but lacking history and tradition.
Yesterday, the fans in the brown and
ld building got a taste of spunk, suc-
cess and tradition - maize and blue
style - courtesy of the Michigan
women's gymnastics team.
The No. 2 Wolverines won the State
of Michigan Classic with a score of
196.425 -- easily outdistancing in-state
foes Michigan State, Eastern Michigan,
Central Michigan and Western
Michigan - and setting the arena
record for all-around team score.
On the surface, this meet bore little
%nificance, because for the first time
all season, Michigan faced an unranked
opponent.
However, the Wolverines finished
second in the Classic last year, losing to
an undermatched but extremely deter-
mined Central Michigan team. Thus,
this victory marked a revenge of sorts,
and allowed the Wolverines to escape
the embarrassing shadow left behind by
t year's upset loss.
"Since we lost last year, it was nice to
bring it back this time,' senior captain
Sarah Cain said. "It's another meet on
the road and another win for us, so it
was good"
Michigan coach Bev Plocki agreed to
the importance of not underestimating
the value of her team's win.
"We redeemed ourselves from losing
to Central last year," Plocki said. "This
time it was especially important to win
event"
That said, the lower caliber of the
competition also allowed the
Wolverines to experiment a bit.
Michigan toyed with its lineup and per-
mitted its two all-around competitors,
Cain and junior Karina Senior, to each
sit out one event.
"We competed no all-arounders, gave
a couple of people some breaks, and
were able to get (freshman) Cami
(Singer) in on a couple of events, and
even in the alternate positions were able
to warm up a few extra kids who
haven't had the opportunity before,"
Plocki said. "It was very good. Overall,
I'm pleased with the athletes' perfor-
mance."
Cain won all three events in which
she competed, setting the standard on
the vault, bars and beam with scores of
9.950, 9.875, and 9.925 respectively.
Senior won the floor exercise with a 9.9.
Other top Wolverine performers
included sophomore Shannon
MacKenzie, who tied for second in the
beam with a 9.875, and freshman
Janessa Grieco, who tied for second on
the floor exercise with a 9.85. At least
two Michigan gymnasts finished in the
top three in every event, demonstrating
once and for all the Wolverines'
supremacy within the state.
Heading into this week's matchup
with No. 3 Georgia, Michigan hopes to
demonstrate a similar dominance over
national foes. The Wolverines agreed
that despite the relaxed nature of yester-
day's meet, it was the perfect stepping-
stone to Friday's battle.
"We did really well as a team," Singer
said. "It was a nice way to go. We hit
everything, and that builds up our con-
fidence for Georgia."
T~J.
BERKA
Teeing Off
x>
:
Pro sports: A handful-
o f bad apples can'
spoil the entire bunch
SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daily
Sophomore Melissa Peterson's 9.775 on the floor exercise helped the Wolverines
avenge last season's loss to Central Michigan in the State of Michigan Classic.
Michigan Classic affords
experience for everyone
t's something that has been
debated for a couple of decades.
Ever since professional athletes
have been playing for multi-million
contracts, their accountability has
been challenged.
Are professional athletes role
models? Should they be held to a
different standard then everyday
people in society? Are they repre-
sentative of people in society?
These questions have cropped up
periodically during the past couple
of months. Since November, there
has been a hockey player (Kevin
Stevens) arrested for drug posses-
sion and soliciting a prostitute and a
baseball player (Bobby Chiounard)
taken in for domestic abuse.
But that's just the tip of the ice-
berg. In the NFL this season, there
have been two players (Rae Carruth
and Ray Lewis) arrested for murder,
one (Steve Muhammad) arrested for
beating up his pregnant girlfriend,
another (Fred Lane) taken in on
drug and weapons charges and still
two others (Bam Morris and
Tamarick Vanover) who were the
subjects of a federal drug probe.
All of these instances have made
Sportscenter look like a police blot-
ter these days. Day after day; the
lead story seems to be about how
some athlete has run afoul with the
law. This surplus of athlete crime
notes has led to a public outcry
against athletes and athletics in gen-
eral. People are sounding off, blam-
ing the sports for the behavior of
their athletes.
But are things really that bad in
sports? Are professional athletes
really that out of control? Have
sports turned their athletes into
humans who have no respect for the
law and for the people around
them?
Despite all the instances that have
appeared on television and in the
newspapers lately, I really don't
think athletes are any worse than
they were 20 or 25 years ago.
I believe that athletes are no
worse than the society in which they
play sports in. Honestly, do you
think that the percentage of athletes
that have committed crimes is high-
er than the percentage of normal
citizens that partake in them?
Its not even close.
Take the six most recent offenders
from the NFL. While it seems like
six people in one sport being
accused of crimes is quite a bit, you
have to take into account that there
are 61 players - 53 active and
eight on the practice squad - on
every NFL team.
So if Carruth, Lewis, Muhammad,
Lane, Morris and Vanover were on
the same team, roughly 10 percent
of the team would be accused of
serious crime, which is a lot.
But consider that there are 31
teams in the NFL, making for 1,891
players in the league. When you
compare the six accused against the
nearly 1,900 players that are
employed by the National Football
League, the number of criminals in
the league is miniscule.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not con-
doning the alleged actions of the six
accused football players - or the
actions of Chiounard and Stevens
for that matter. I just think that the
public is getting a little too critical
of the NFL and of sports in general.,
We live in a society where vio-
lence and crime are sometimes part
of the total overall package. No
matter where you go there will be
things going on that aren't necessar-
ily right.
But when you are a, professional,
or to a lesser extent, a college ath-
lete, you are living under a micro-
scope. Everything you do - even if
its not a part of your overall person-
ality - will be brought out into the
public sphere.
Is that fair? No, of course not.
But for every one of the million
dollars that an athlete makes, the
scrutiny increases exponentially. So
any instance such as Carruth's,
Lewis' and Stevens' brings about
many questions and concerns.
It also brings about hesitation
from fans about whether they
should support these sports. But for
every Carruth, there is a Steve
Smith, who donated a couple of
million dollars to help his alma
mater, Michigan State.
As the adage goes, a bad apple
can spoil the bunch. I just don't
think that one Carruth should be
able to spoil the enjoyment that
comes into watching professional
sports.
- T. Berka can be reached V1ia
email at berkat@umich.edit.
By Richard Haddad
D~Ayi Sports Writer
KALAMAZOO - Every NCAA Division IA
women's gymnastics program in the state of
Michigan was present at Sunday's Michigan Classic
at Western Michigan.
And every school brought along its own faction
and its own fan support. But although residents of
every corner of the state were in attendance, as
expected, a single school thoroughly dominated the
competition.
It shouldn't be hard to guess which team provid-
ed the domination.
Competing against Michigan State, Eastern
Michigan, Central Michigan and Western Michigan
- none of which are currently ranked - No. 2
Michigan proved that as women's gymnastics in the
state of Michigan goes, it is in a class by itself.
The Wolverines didn't need Sunday's meet to
arrive at that conclusion. Sharing the mat with the
weakest opponents of the season, Michigan coach
Bev Plocki took advantage of the opportunity to rest
her top gymnasts and spread competition experi-
ence among those for whom it is usually scarce.
Michigan did not enter a single gymnast in the
all-around competition, and 13 of the 15 active
gymnasts saw action.
In light of these facts, the Wolverines' convincing
victory and third-best score of the year is a testa-
ment to the team's remarkable depth.
"It felt good to sit down a little," said Michigan
captain Sarah Cain, who was able to watch an event
be contested while wearing warmups for the first
time this season. "I got to see everyone compete
really well without me, so it was a lot of fun. It gave
me some rest and it gave experience to those who
don't compete all the time."
But as indicated by the results, its captain's
absence in the floor-exercise lineup did not have
any negative effects on the team's performance.
"Sarah needed a rest, and we're fortunate enough
to have enough depth to switch in and out between
9.7's and 9.8's," said Cami Singer, who took Cain's
place on the floor and flipped and pirouetted her
way to a solid 9.775.
But the desire to spread meet time presented a
problem for Plocki. While she was eager to allow
some of her rarely-used athletes to compete, the
team still had a No. 2 ranking to maintain. When
taken into account that rankings are determined by
averaging a team's scores from each meet, Plocki
was faced with a moral dilemma.
"It's important to be able to give other kids expe-
rience, but every coach has it inbred to want to have
the best score possible," Plocki said. "When you're
giving up Sarah's 9.9 on the floor or Karina's 9.9 on
the beam and putting in an unknown in their place,
it's nerve-wracking"
Cain and Senior affirmed the gravity of Plocki's
sacrifice, as Cain took first place in each of the
three events she did compete in, and Senior won the
only event that Cain didn't.
"I have to keep reminding myself that rankings
throughout the season doesn't mean anything as
long as we stay in the top category," Plocki said.
"We need to get ourselves prepared for the postsea-
son, and that's what I tried to do today."
SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daly
Michigan sophomore Amy Kuczera scored a 9.75 on the
t ...
uneven bars at Western Michigan on Sunday.
tantin breaks hallowed barrier
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA,
GUADALAJARA SUMMER SCHOOL
IN MEXICO SINCE 1952
2000
By David Mosse
Daily Sports Writer
It was Deja Vu all over again for
senior distance runner Jay Cantin, who,
for the third consecutive year, put on a
w at the Meyo Invitational. Cantin's
Torts headlined an impressive weekend
for the Wolverines in South Bend.
In what was perhaps the most impres-
sive individual performance by a
Michigan runner this season, Cantin
captured first place in the mile with a
with an eye-popping time of 3:59.90.
Cantin's time, a personal best, is the
second highest mark in the nation this
season, and tops in the Big Ten
Conference. Cantin'sperformance quali-
f4him for the NCAA Championships.
I felt good all week,' Cantin said. "I
was looking forward to running in this
meet."
There is no truth to the rumors that
Notre Dame plans to rename its track
building the Jay Cantin Center. Yet it
wouldn't be entirely inappropriate as
Cantin has feasted on the track through-
out his career. Two years ago he set the
track record in the 1000 meters, a mark
ot still stands. Last year, Cantin also
qualified for the National
Championships at the Meyo Inviational.
"That track has definitely been good
to me," Cantin said. "It fits my style per-
fectly"
Cantin won't be the only Wolverine
for the NCAA Championships. Fellow
distance runner Mike Wisniewski, who
had already qualified in the 3000 meters,
qualified on Saturday in the 5000 meters
with a time of 14:08.65.
Wisniewski's time, the fourth best in
the nation, was not even the high mark
on his team. Senior Steve Lawrence gar-
nered first place in the 5000 meters with
a time of 14:06.76, third best in the
nation and the best in the Big Ten.
For the second straight year at the
Meyo, the Wolverines received an inspir-
ing performance from a. sick competitor.
Last year, sophomore Robert Arnold
captured first place in the high jump
despite being stricken with mononucleo-
sis: This year, it was Ike Okenwa's turn to
shine under less than ideal conditions.
Suffering from a serious head cold,
Okenwa was undaunted and managed a
pair of top five finishes. Okenwa fin-
ished second in the 200 meters and fifth
in the 60 meters.
The often overshadowed field of
events posted another strong perfor-
mance withthree top 5 finishes. For the
second time in three weeks Charles
DeWildt won the pole vault to cap off an
all-around day for a Wolverines' team
that looks to be rounding into shape for
the Big Ten tournament, and after this
week, will be well represented at the
National Championships.
Cantin sets RECORD
Jay Cantin's triumph of the mythical
four minute barrier is only the latest in
a four year career of track excellence.
2000: Personal record (3:59.90) in the
Mile run and an NCAA birth.
1999: Big Ten outdoor champion in
the 1500 meters and NCAA qualifier.
1998: Broke NCAA record in 1000
meters.
1997: All-American in Distance med-
lev relay.
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