6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 12, 2001 Elise Ray reunited with Olympic mates at home 'By Chris Burke Daily Sports Writer This wasn't the usual women's gym- nastics meet. One glance at Michigan's Elise Ray's beaming face as she grabbed former Olympic teammate Jamie Dantzscher of UCLA following the Bruins' win was all it took to see that. "I've been looking forward to this meet for so long," Ray said. "When I first heard that they were coming, I was really excited" While Friday night's meet between No. 8 Michigan and top-ranked UCLA was important on the national gymnas- tics picture, it paled in comparison to the real reason there was added excite- ment in the air. The meet reunited three 2000 U.S. Olympians - Ray of 'Michigan with Dantzscher and Kristen Maloney of UCLA. And while UCLA came away with a close 197.700-197.125 victory, it seemed apparent that the three ex-team- mates were content with being together again. "It was just really good to see her," Dantzscher said of Ray. "It's kind of w weird competing against her after the Olympics, being on a different team than her" Maloney agreed: "It was really excit- ing just to be able to compete with her again." The Sydney Olympics ended in late September, giving the three athletes very little break before they began school and training for the collegiate gymnastics season that started in January. It has been a difficult schedule for the gymnasts to maintain. "It's been hard for them to compete as much as they have," UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field said of the former Olympians. "They're kind of working past it and getting that connection again. That was really something that everybody needed." The addition of Ray to the Michigan team has amplified interest among fans in the program to an extent that it has not seen in the past. Bringing together Ray with Dantzscher and Maloney for Friday's meet raised that interest even more, bringing a Michigan regular season record crowd of 3,864 and another swarm of media attention that the gym- nasts haven't had to deal with since leaving Sydney. It would have been easy to lose focus, but none of the gymnasts appeared to do so. "I think she's used to it," said Michigan coach Bev Plocki of the atten- tion paid to Ray. "With the Olympics, I'm sure she had cameras in her face and reporters with every different angle for the last year, so I wouldn't think that BRANDON SEDLOFF/Dail Despite their best efforts, Calli Ryals and her Michigan teammates weren't able to knock off top-ranked UCLA on Friday night. The Bruins prevailed, 197.7-197.125. this would have distracted her." The fact that so much attention was paid to the Olympians overshadowed, to an extent, the fact that UCLA is the best team in the country. With that in mind, it's entirely possible that Michigan and UCLA will meet up again, with slightly higher stakes - the national champi- onship. "We haven't hit our peak meet yet and we want to peak at the right time," Dantzscher said. "But I think, right now we're the team to beat." Still, the evening's competition tooka backseat to the gathering of Ray Dantzcher and Maloney. For one nigh at least, winning was definitely not th only thing. "We're not supposed to watch each other, but I couldn't help it," Ray said "It just made it a lot more fun having them here." Blue sends eight to. East Lansing meet By Adam McQuowi Daily Sports Writer With the hopes of fine-tuning its routines, No. 2 Michigan met gymnastics sent eight individuals to compete against No. 5 Michigan State and No. 6 Iowa in East Lansing on Saturday. The results did not count toward a team score for the Wolverines as they did not enter a full six-person rotation in any of the meet's six events. Michigan State rolled to an easy victory over Iowa, outscoring the Hawkeyes 214.550 to 211.200 and notching its highest team total of the season. The meet gave a number of Michigan athletes, including junior Scott Vetere and senior tri-captain Kevin Roulston, a week off in preparation for the impending postseason. The gymnasts who did compete were given the chance to upgrade and master their routinR "We got a chance to rest some guys," said junior Brad Kenna." wanted to add new skills to make our routines more difficult." Attempting to further the team's goals, Kenna was going to attempt a more challenging skill in the floor exercise but reverted to a different skill when the time arose. The last-minute switch was of no consequence as Kenna equaled ly his season high in that event with a score of 9.350, good enough for a first-place tie. "It was a good routine," Kenna said. "I just didn't do what I hod v, expected." Sophomore Daniel Diaz-Luong turned in an impressive pert a mance as well, recording a second-place finish on the still rings y, (9.350) and third place on the pommel horse (9.300). it Two other underclassmen, sophomores Jamie Hertza and Conin e Parzuchowski, completed successful routines as well. Hertza received fourth-place honors on the pommel horse and Parzuchowski h tied for second 'on the still rings. 1. The late addition of this meet to the Michigan schedule affordod g the gymnasts a chance to get more practice and experience in the ending weeks of the regular season. The team is now set to take on Michigan State on Friday at honie, in what will be the final meet for the Wolverines before the Big n Championships. Coming off their best performance of the seasonl Saturday, the Spartans will be looking to continue their current suc- cess. "We'retrying to be as consistent as possible while continuing 'to have fun,"said Kenna. With an impressive overall record of I1-1, Michigan must be pre- pared to face the challenges of the upcoming weeks. Everyone will be looking to knock the Wolverines from their current first-place position in the Big Ten. Increasing the difficulty of their routines will give the Wofverines a better opportunity to accumulate greater team totals, a neces come Big Ten and NCAA Tournament time. The health of the team is also a big factor. The well-needed res of the Wolverines top performers this past weekend should put them in a prime position for future events. As the season switches gears, Michigan must remain focused and determined to solidify its position among the top teams in the nation. Ca iforna rip Ual 1 Ills w , \ ' '. I . x sb ._ Beam looking better for Friday night, the Wolverines scored a 49.125 on the'balance beam, their highest team score of the season for the event. The team eclipsed its previous high against Southeast Missouri State by .05 of a point. Here are the six Wolverines that competed on the beam and their scores. Wolverines MICHIGAN STUDENT UNION March 5, 9, 12-14 11-4pm March 6-8 10-6pm U of M grad fair Personalized announcement orders wi;l be taken March 5-14: 2 m NAME Janessa Grieco Shannon Mackenzie (right) Melissa Peterson Elise Ray Calli Ryals Karina Senior By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Writer SCORE 9.800 9.850 9.850 9.825 9.800 9.800 schooled' on When the No. 12 Michigan women's water polo team hopped on its five-hour flight to California, it expected a breakout week - a chance to earn the respect of the water polo world. Instead, the Wolverines ran into some unexpected turbulence during their trip, leaving California with just one overtime victory over fellow No. 12 California-San Diego. "Right now, it's mostly experience level," Michigan coach Amber Drury-Pinto said about her team's struggles on the west coast. "Most of the girls in the California schools have played a lot more games. We're getting that experience, and we don't get that level of competition on a weekly basis. They can go 20 miles to get that competition, but we need a five-hour plane ride." The Wolverines (10-9-1) are just 1-9 against teams from the Western Conference. Against No. 1 Stanford and No. 3 Southern California, the Wolverines have lost three games by U 3 ---- -- w_,;.; ., :- . _ p. .#r . ° . : ,~ , . . _, _ . ,, . '4, 1 J,.& x d + ' 'S SSSS . .J H 4 ' H e .. A /e r w a r - _. s i, a s V R d i 'k " 4 .. r L y. a , .. r .,. . k 3 W . ki , >' . Y . a M- i Peace Corps career opportunities await you! It's a simple calculation: TI -CREFs low expenses mean more money Business Advisor English Teacher Health Educator Agro-Forester k ; 'R YYqq,, b % t w 1t \ S Lr d r?' , ,_ ^Mar T r ''Q. Y working for you. The equation is easy. Lower expenses in managing a 4und can equal better oerformance. How much? Just take a look at the chart. Then call us. We'll send you a free, easy-to-use expense calculator so you can see for yourself that no matter what your investment, you'll benefit from low expenses. And CREF variable annuity expenses range from just 0.28% to 0.34%. For decades, we've been committed to low expenses, superior customer service and strong performance. Add it all up and you'll find that selecting your retirement provider is an easy decision: TIAA-C REF. r re expnse University of Michigan Information Meeting & Video CE Monday, March 12, 2001 7:00 -9:00p.m. International Center Michigan Union, Room 9 www.peacecorps.gov (800) 424-8580 i a combined score of 45-8. Even after being dominated 6 these teams, captain Melissa Karjala is confident that the Wolverines will be competitive eventually. "We can beat a lot of them," Karjala said. "Girls from Stanford, UCLA, and USC have been around the program a lot longer. They're very well established, and they're a lot more physical. They've just b doing what they do a lot longer ti we have." But it wasn't just lack of experi- ence that kept Michigan from beat- ing the California schools. The Wolverines didn't execute their plays, and didn't anticipat9 like the upper echelon teams during their west coast trip. "They're a lot more aggressive," Karjala said. "They just know where to be, and how to mess with you-so that you can't do something. T" just seem bigger and stronger" Michigan knows that these strug- gles are all a part of being a first- year program, and that it must learn everything it can from the great teams. Coach Drury-Pinto "told us if they do something and they totally school you at this end of the pool, go and try it at the other end on them or aga the next team we play' Karjala saw. Michigan has a two-week break before it resumes action when host- ine the Southern Division Tournament. Drury-Pinto plans on using this time off to push the team in its training and do some film review to make sure the players remember their mistakes. Sophomore Stephanie Morse is ready to prepare for their next meet- ing with the Western Conferee teams. "Going out there and getting beat in those games is motivation to come back here and work hard so that the next time we play them we can play a better game," Morse said. From the opposition in its first year as a varsity sport,* the Michigan women's water polo team has raised some eyebrows around the country: "They have a number of players who compete really well in set situ- ations. They looked much better (the second game) in terms of THE IMPACT OF EXPENSES ON PERFORMANCE $215,000_ Low-Cost Account $176,000- High-Cost Account FXPENSES 2 Total accumulations after 20 years based on initial investment of $50,000 and hypothetical annual returns of 8%. Total returns and principal value of investments will fluctuate, and yield may vary. The chart above is presented for illustrative purposes only I m