TEmmis ous ED The Michigan men's tennis team hosted the Big Ten Championships last week- end only to be eliminated by their first opponent. Page 13. SPORTS Tuesday May 4, 1999 1~t Leaders and best Toman tops field in parallel bars By Dan Dingerson Daily Sports Writer LINCOLN, Neb. - The goal for the men's gymnastics team this year was to win a team national champi- onship. On April 23, the team accom- plished that. The season was not over though for the Wolverines, as the following night they had to prepare for individual championships. Michigan had 1 I routines that qual- ified for the event championships, more than any other team. Sophomore co-captain Justin Toman and freshman Scott Vetere led the Wolverines by qualifying for three events each. The competition determined not only the event individual champions, but the top six qualifiers in each event were also named all-America. During the team qualifying round, the all-around national champion was crowned. The Wolverines had three gymnasts competing in the all-around with Toman, Vetere and junior Lalo 1-aro. At NCAAs - just as he had two weeks earlier at Big Tens - Toman fell just .15 short of the title, this time with a 57.9. "It was disappointing, to finish so close again, but the team title makes up for it," Toman said. "It was like dria vu when they were announcing it it was just like at Big Tens." On April 24, Toman rebounded from the disappointment of finishing second to take the national champi- onship on the parallel bars with a 9.8375. Haro was scheduled to only com- pete in five events the previous day, but when it looked like Michigan rs certain to qualify for the team finals. coaches Kurt Golder and Mike Burns decided to give Ilaro the chance to place in the all-around competition, where he finished 13th. Vetere started strong, but finislrh" See LEADERS, Page 13 Golder n Coach oft/icsYear; Burns named topy ass istant By Dan Dingerson lDably Sportrs Writer LINCOLN, Neb. As the Michigan men's gymnastics team basked in the glory of its first national championship since 1970, one man stood out as the proudest of all. Coach Kurt Colder, the NCAA Coach of the Year, is the one person most responsible for the revitalization of the men's gymnastics program at Michigan. Although Colder would be the first to credit his gymnasts for winning the national championship, he would be mistaken if he did not acknowledge what he has done for the team in his three years in Ann Arbor. Colder inherited a team that had fall- en on misfortune after winning a corn- bited 18 NCAA championships both indisidual and team betwnseen 1963 and 1970. In that time. Wolverines wer named all-America 26 times, sine 1970, only nine times did Michigan gymnasts achieve the same. When lie took over the team, it had ust finished a season that saw Michigan go winless, finishing last in the Big Ten. General consensus amongst the holdovers was that the team might have been the worst in the country that year. Golder, who had competed for Michigan in the 1970s was coaching at Iowa at the time. He was spending a co ple of years as an assistant there, afi coaching internationally. "It was hard to see Michigan go See COACH, Page 13 Justin Toman scored a 9.8375 on the parallel bars to capture the national title. In all, five Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor with all-America honors. April 6, 1996 May 1, 1996 January 18, 1' 'M' lases to Michigan State and Coach Bob Darden resigns ater a 3-22rcord 'M' begins new era un Western Michigan; in his final two seasons. Ahtic Department owa assistant Kurt , condudes 0-16 season. considendopping progran goes on to finish sea 997 der former tGolder; ason 7-25. February 14, 1998 'M'defeats Minnesota to secure its fit Big Ten victory in three seasons. April 4, 1998 Wolveines sneak into NCAA East Regional as No. seed; conclude 8-12 season. March 20, 1999 'M' ears No. 1 ranking after defeating Michigan State with a scare of 231.85. March 26, 1999 No. 1 Michigan wins firt Big Ten championship since 1973. AprI 23, 1999 NAroNAL CHAMPIONS! Women nearly dethrone Georgia By Stephen A. Rom Daily Sports Writer SALT LAKE CITY -Michigan's hid to attain its first women's national championship fell just .300 of a point short last week at the NCAA women's gymnastics championships. That slim margin was all that stood between Michigan and last year's nation- al champion, Georgia, who won the meet 196.850 - 196.550 to secure its first back-to-back title. In addition, the Lady Bulldogs went undefeated for the second straight season, pushing their consecu- tire win streak to 64. The last time Georgia lost was at the 1997 NCAA championships when UCLA took the honors. Michigan, who had survived the opening day of compe- tition on April 22to advance to the Super Six, kept things close the whole way t t:ough. So close in fact that Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan found it necessary to keep abreast of the Wolverines' running score throughout the meet. "I have our little spy Sandi Karchlmer (Georgia's Sports Information Director) get me all the scores. I need to know," she said. Be that as it may, Yoculan must have known that Michigan was hot on the Bulldogs' heels going into the final rota- tion. Prior to that, Michigan's Christine Michaud had just hit a season-high 9.900 on the vault to give it a chance to win at the end. Senior Lisa Simes also earned that same score on the vault to help put the third-ranked Wolverines only .325 of a point behind the top- ranked Bulldogs going into the home stretch. Of all the thinrgs that Georgia's coach had to tend to at the time, one thing that she may not have been made aware of is the fact that the uneven bars - Michigan's last routine - is its best. Michigan coach Bev Plocki, however, was well aware. "I knew it was a long shot but I still thought there was a chance," Plocki said. "I'm just glad my team fought until the end" That fight was led by freshman Erin McWatt, who solidified herself earlier in the season by consistently leading off the bar routine with good scores. The cham- pionships were no different, as in the clutch, McWatt produced a 9.800 at her first Super Six appearance. Michigan's final punch was supplied by senior Nikki Peters, who had already won the uneven bar crowns at the Big Ten and Regional Championships. In what would be her final competition in See RUNNERS-UP, Page 15 Blue still in' playoff hunt after sweep By Chris Grandstaff Daily Sirorts Eitouri The Michigan baseball team enter its weekend series against riv, Michigan State with something to prove. The Wolverines still had the rot- ten taste of last Tuesday's 14-4 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame in their mouths, and they were now facing a Michigan State team who had won 10 of its last 12 games, moving it into fifth place in the conference. With a sub-par performance against the Spartans this weekend, Michigan would fall outt the fourth and final Big Ten playoff spot. See BASEBALL, Page 15 Michigan catcher David Parrish had a career day Saturday as the Wolverines swept Michigan State.