The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 13, 2003 - 11A

MCCOLLOUGH
Continued from Page 8A
that, and go back to the blue-collar
mentality that has propelled them to
the top of the standings.
Michigan has lost its last three on
the road, and in order for the Wolver-
ines to ... well, you know ... they will
have to win at least one more game
(probably two) away from their
stronghold, Crisler Arena.
Blanchard's prescription: "We
need to watch film and listen to
what coach has to say."
But Blanchard and the Wolverines
won't get what they need from
Amaker. It's going to take each play-
er in that lockerroom looking each
other in the eye, and listening to that
familiar little voice inside their head.
J Brady McCollough can be reached at
bradymcc@umich.edu.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
MICHIGAN (49)

'M' gymnast duo excited to make an impact

By Albert Kim
Daily Sports Writer
Last year, Michigan sophomore gymnasts Kara
Rosella and Lauren Mirkovich had to watch from the
sidelines. Rosella was used sparingly, while Mirkovich
had a torn ACL.
This season, the two have become major contribu-
tors, impressing the Michigan coaches and teammates.
Rosella had a relatively quiet freshman year, posting
good scores as a beam specialist. But with the help of
the new $3.2 million training facility added last April
- a building more conducive to gradually working
more difficulty into routines - Rosella has blos-
somed into a three-event gymnast.
"I've said from the beginning that I've been so
impressed with Kara," Michigan coach Bev Plocki
said. "Her improvements have been extraordinary."
Mirkovich, on the other hand, has travelled a long
and painful road on her way to actually competing in
college. Because of injury, she hadn't competed before

this season. But she has made enormous strides this
year, competing in every meet, winning two titles on
the bars and performing on vault and beam. She has
practiced well, and hopes her success will carry over
to competitions.
"Every week we've been impressed with how her
development has been occurring," Plocki said. "We
hope that we'll see the effects of how well her prac-
tices have been going more in competition too."
But after 10 months of rehab, Mirkovich is just try-
ing to get used to competition.
"I'm shaking off the cobwebs," Mirkovich said.
"Right now I'm just excited to be out competing."
For Rosella, an Ann Arbor native with close ties to
the University (her mother and sister are both alumns),
putting more practice hours in and developing more
consistency has paid off. She feels that the mental
aspect of her game has improved.
"I feel like mentally, I'm more relaxed," Rosella
said. "I can really key in on my technical work versus
actually being nervous."

Despite the emergence of Mirkovich and Rosella,
Michigan isn't getting any healthier. The coaching
staff breathed a sigh of relief after stress fracture tests
on freshman Becca Clauson (back) and sophomore
Chelsea Kroll (fibula) came back negative, but both
are still experiencing pain at practice. Elise Ray and
Kallie Steffes remain out.
The Wolverines are also trying to bolster their con-
fidence on the bars. Michigan has found it difficult to
hit bar routines the last two weekends, posting season
low scores. Tuesday's bar practice could only be
described as bewildering, as the Wolverines couldn't
seem to stay on, but they came back yesterday with
solid routines.
"(Confidence) is always an ongoing issue - it
doesn't totally resolve itself in a matter of a couple of
days." Plocki said. "They can't lose confidence in
themselves to be able to do bars."
Depth can help confidence, and the Wolverines will
need Mirkovich and Rosella to continue their success
as they get into the thick of their schedule.

REBECCA SAHN/Daily
The women's gymnastics has had depth
problems all season.


Abram
Robinson
Blanchard
Brown
Horton
Harrell
Groninger
Hunter
Bailey
Totals

MIN
34
35
37
27
36
3
11.
10
7
200

FG
M-A
1-7
5-11
3-13-
49
6-12
0-0
0-0
1-2
1-2
21-56

FT
M-A
0-0
0-0
2-2
0-0
0-1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-2
2-5

REB
0-T
1-3
2-7
2-7
2-8
0-1
0-0
0-2
0-0
2-2
9.31

A
0
1
1
0
4
0
0
1
0
7

F
2
1
4
4
2
0
1
2
1
17

PTS
3
10
8
8
16
0
0
2
2
49

FG%: .375. FT%: .400. 3-point FG: 5-13, .385 (Hor-
ton 4-4, Abram 1-3, Blanchard 0-5, Robinson 0-1).
Blocks: Horton 1, Hunter. Steals: 5 (Abram 2, Blan-
chard 2, Horton). Turnovers: 13 (Blanchard 4, Hor-
ton 3, Abram 2, Robinson 2, Brown, Bailey).
Technical fouls: none.
Indiana (63)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Moye 26 2-4 1-0 4-8 0 5 8
Newton 36 7-15 6-1 3-10 4 3 20
Coverdale 33 3-9 0-5 2-6 4 3 7
Wright 34 7-12 4-0 1-5 0 0 21
Strickland 29 2-9 2-2 1-5 2 1 6
Leach 11 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 2 2
Perry 13 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kline 4 1-1 0-1 0-2 0 0 2
Hornsby 14 0-2 0-1 1-1 1 0 0
Totals 200 23-55 13-1812-40 11 14 63
FG%: .418. FT%: .722. 3-point FG: 4-17, .235
(Wright 3-5, Coverdale 1-3, Strickland 0-4, Perry 0-
2, Moye 0-1, Newton 0-1, Hornsby 0-1). Blocks: 9
(Newton 4, Leach 3, Kline, Strickland). Steals: 4
(Moye, Coverdale, Wright, Strickland). Tumovers:
10 (Newton 3, Strickland 3, Moye, Wright, Leach,
Hornsby). Technical fouls: none.
Michigan...........................31 39 - 49
Indiana .....................29 33 - 63
HOOSIERS
Continued from Page 8A
The Wolverines managed to
improve in the second half, in which
they tied the Hoosiers in scoring at 31
apiece. A 10-3 run by Michigan
helped cut the lead to eight with
10:24 remaining in the game as the
Wolverines appeared to be playing in
sync for the first time all game. It was
during this stretch that the Wolverines
showed the fire which has been char-
acteristic of them since they turned
their season around following a 81-59
loss to Duke.
Two consecutive three-point plays
and a Bracey Wright jumper helped
the Hoosiers stretch the lead to 14.
From that point, the Wolverines never
got closer than 10, as they returned to
the mental lapses and "every man for
himself" attitude which had pervaded
them in the first half.
Indiana decided to use a smaller
lineup by going with three guards and
moving power-forward Jeff Newton
to the center position. Davis said he
went with the smaller lineup because
he thought it would give his team a
better opportunity to penetrate against
Michigan's big men.
But what he could not have expected
was that his smaller team would out-
rebound and out-hustle Michigan on
the boards 40-31 and grab 12 offensive
rebounds. The Hoosiers also blocked
nine Michigan shots and limited the
Wolverines to 22 points in the paint.
The matchup of Newton on Gra-
ham Brown was also favorable, as the
power-forward used his finesse to put
up 20 points on the slower center.
Aiding Newton was a shoulder
stinger, which limited Michigan's
agile center Chris Hunter to just 10
minutes.
If there is a silver lining to yester-
day's game it is that co-Big Ten leader
Purdue lost at Northwestern, a place
Michigan won earlier this year. Wis-
consin joins the deadlock atop the
Big Ten at 7-3.
A look at the
underside of U of M
www.universityseerets.com

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