BUR THE MICHIGAN DAILY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1954 )URTIlE 1!HCHIGAN DAILY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1954 VOLVERINES FINISH SECOND: Michigan Tennis Team Has Successful Season M Gymnastics Season Marred By'; Injuries and Ineligibility r By ALAN EISENBERG A few days before May vanished I small group of hopeful Michi- :an athletes journeyed to Cham- aign, Illinois, in the hopes of ringing back a title-a title that iad eluded Wolverine tennis teams ince 1945. They were the underdogs, they :new it, and it made them more letermined. And while they talked if the final exams they were miss- ng and would have to make up when they got back to Ann Ar- or, they harbored thoughts of ppping a crown, a crown That rould oring a little light to a omparatively shoddy year for ichigan athletic teams. The experts gave them a good hance to dethrone Tndiana. Wol- erine enthusiasts and tennis an- lysts, alike, pointed to the fa';t hat Michigan had held the Hoos- ers even before the rains came nd washed out their match dur- tg the regular season. But Coach Dale Lewis and his ndiana netters were not to be lenied their second successive Vsetern Conference champion- hip. Never in any trouble, and al- Try FOLLETT'S First USED BOOKS ot BARGAIN PRICES ways holding the dominant posi- tion, the Hoosiers were in control from the opening match. Michigan performed admirably, finishing second, five points ahead of the third-place Michigan State outfit. The 1954 edition was one of the most successful tennis teams in recent years. It bettered the third place finish of the '53 squad, and equalled the position of the run- ner up team of 1951. The dual meet record of Bill Murphy's crew was a splendid 11 wins, three defeats, and one tie. Early Indications An early indication that Michi- gan would have a good year was given in April, during the Easter vacation, when the netters went on their annual southern tour. The Wolverines captured three of four matches; the only loss being a 9-0 lacing at the hands of Tulane, one of the best if not the top collegiate outfit in the nation. The Maize and Blue swept by Alabama, 8-1, with Al Mann, in the number one singles position, sub-par physically due to illness, suffering the only loss. The Wol- verints blanked Spring Hill, 9-0, and topped Loyola, 5-3. The training record is exception- al when it is remembered that the net men'were playing outdoors for the first time. All practice sessions up to the tour had been held on the wooden floor of the Intramur- al Building, and there is a consid- erable difference between the way a ball bounces on wood and grass or clay. Rain Interferes Late in April, after two weeks of intensive practice in which Coach Murphy worked his squad hard to get them in shape to meet the con- ference champions, Michigan bat- tled Indiana to a 2-2 tie in a match that was curtailed by a heavy shower. A good-sized crowd was happily surprised to see the Wolverines hold the Hoosiers even. In fact, the-home team was slightly ahead when the rains came. Bob Mitchell was ahead of Indiana's Dick Ben- nent in the number five singles, 2-0, and Bob Sassone led 1-0, in the sixth singles slot. Michigan's two victories were both upsets. The greatest surprise was Bob Paley's win over John Hironimus, 1953 conference champ in the number two slot and holder of 28 wins in 34 outings over the previous two years. Paley took charge early in the match and won easily, 6-2, 6-3. The other victory was supplied by Pete Paulus who stopped Duane Gomer, 7-5, 6-3. With the contest all even at five games apiece in the first set, Paulus broke through Gomer's service and then held his own to win the set. With the score tied at 3-3, Paulus ran out the last three games in the second set to capture the match. Successful Road Trip Michigan went on a two game road trip and chalked up a pair of victories. The netters whipped Notre Dame, 6-3, and trampled Northwestern, 7-2. The two soph- omores on the Maize and Blue squad were particularly impressive. At South Bend, Mitchell blasted Don Kennedy, 6-3, 6-1, and Sas- sone outfought John Stuldreher to win, 7-5, 6-3. In doubles, the duo combined to win, 7-5, 6-3. Against Northwestern, the new- combers had a field day. In sin- gles Sassone won, 6-1, 6-1, and Mitchell was victronous by the score of 6-2, 6-0. They combined to annihilate their foes in the number three doubles position, 6-0, 6-0. Michigan, however, was not to remain long on its silver cloud. The netters were handed two straight defeats, by Western Mich- igan and Michigan State. Then the Wolverines came back and went undefeated for the rest of the sea- son, capturing six matches. Against Big Ten teams, the Maize and Blue had six victories and one tie in eight matches. Michigan State Series The highlight of the season, as it is with almost any Michigan team, were the two matches with the Spartans. The first setto went to Michigan State, 8-1, and the second to the Wolverines by a count of 6-3. The scores, however, do not show how close and how hard fought the series was. Of the nine matches in the con- test played at East Lansing, six went the full distance of three sets. Two of the matches, however, which did not go the full distance, were extremely close. In the num- ber one singles encounter, Jim Pore topped Michigan's captain, Al Mann, 7-5, 8-6. Inability to hold his own serve cost, Mann the match. This was particularly ob- vious in the second set when Pore came from a 5-2 deficit to win the match. The number one doubles match was almost as close and just as bitterly fought. Steve Britton and Dana Squire combined to stop Michigan's Paulus and Paley, 10-8, 6-3. (Continued on Page 5) .f.e." .. .... By DON LINDMAN Injuries and eligibility problems wreaked havoc with Michigan's 1954 gymnastics squad, changing the team from a potential title threat into a fortunate third-place finisher in the Big Ten meet. The Wolverines had high hopes as the season opened, but were plagued from the start by bad breaks. Harry Luchs, the 1952 con- ference parallel bars champion, sprained his thumb the day before the season opener and was side- lined for .several days. With the injury gone, Luchs was just rounding into form again when he was declared ineligible for the remainder of the season due to scholastic difficulties. With their chances for a conference title low- ered by this turn of events, the Michigan men had their hopes shattered by a wrist injury to cap- tain Mary Johnson, the top Wol- verine performer throughout the season. Sixth-place finishers in 1953, Coach Newt Loken's charges were determined to improve on t h a t mark last season. A team depth such as Michigan hadn't had in several years gave promise of mak- ing the team a dangerous threat to Illinois' hopes of retaining its con- ference title. , While Loken's men did improve on their performances of the pre- vious year, the team never quite gained the heights expected at the start of the season. Somewhat er- ratic performances coupled with an amazing string of bad breaks cost Michigan its best season inyears and a possible conference crown. Even without Luchs, Michigan had no trouble winning its season opener against Notre Dame. Lee Krumbholz, Johnson, and Bill Wink- ler, the 1955 captain-elect, led the way as the Wolverines downed the Irish, 55-41. Michigan captured five firsts, with Krumbholz scoring on the high bar, Johnson on the paral- lel bars, and Winkler on the Tram- poline. Between Semesters Break The Maize and Blue fortunes tumbled during the two weeks in- terlude between semesters, as the NEWT LOKEN ... gymnastics coach Michigan men were able to salvage only one win in three meets. The Wolverine gymnasts opened the va- cation action by trouncing Wiscon- sin, 64-32. Johnson put on one of the best performances of his ca- reer capturing every event in which he was entered. Thp versa- tile captain copped the high bar, parallel bars, flying rings, and tumbling. New Routine Unveiled Johnson unveiled a new routiine against the Badgers, a double-fly- away off the flying rings. He was the only collegiate gymnast in the nation to perform the routine. Winkler, also adding to his reper- toire, captured the trampoline win to give Michigan five victories in the six events. The boom was lowered at Illi- nois, where the Wolverines, several of whom were ill at the time, put on a performance described by Loken as being "miserable" to ab- sorb a 55-41 defeat at the hands of the Illini. The loss was the first of the season for the Wolverines. Iowa handed Michigan another defeat, this time by a narrow 481- 47% score. The Michigan loss was a surprise, since the Hawkeyes had not been regarded very highly in pre-season forecasts. The new semester ,found several changes in the Michigan lineup. Luchs and trampoliner Ron Fox were declared ineligible, but their loss was balanced somewhat by the eligibility of Frank Adams, a star the previous year, and Tony San Antonio, a first semester sopho- more. Tumblers Tumble Gophers Sparked by the double victories of Adams and Johnson, the Wol- verines returned to their winning ways by trouncing Minnesota, 65 - 39%. Adams garnered laurels in the trampoline and tumbling in his first taste at competition of t he season, while Johnson captured honors in the parallel bars and flying rings. Erratic Lee Krumbholz gave one of his best performances of the season to capture the side horse as the Wolverines won five of six events. Krumbholz garnered 17 points diuring the meet, for one of the top Wolverine performances of the year. Michigan blasted Ohio State, 64-32, as Johnson once again gave a tremedous performance. The sen- sational captain finished on top on the high bar, parallel bars, and flying rings, to pace the Maize- and Blue to its. fourth win. Netting also a fourth and a tie for second, Johnson wound up the meet with 22 points. Krumbholz added 18 points, including another sparkling performance on the side horse, to the Michigan total. The worst blow of the season, Johnson's injury, hit the Wolver- ines just before their meet with Northwestern, but the weak Wild- cats were still no match for Loken's crew. With Johnson sidelined, the Michigan men eased out a 641- 302 win, with Krumbholz taking up the slack with four firsts and a third to pace the contestants. The injury to the captain turned out to be more serious than was at first expected. It was hoped that Johnson would be ready to perform against Michigan State, but his wrist refuseO. to heal, with the result that he was of only limited help the rest df the season. In the final home meet of the season the Wolverines captured their fourth straight win by beat- ing Michigan State, 56-40. Krumb- holz and the unpredictable Adams sparked the win. Adams captured the trampoline and tumbling, while Krumbholz pulled the surprise of the meet, topping Spartan star Carlton Rintz on the high bar. Michigan's seventh win of the season came at the expense of Indiana, 62-34. The Wolverines won every event in swamping th e Hoosiers, with Krumbholz d again leading the way. Once a g a i n Krumbholz pulled a sparkling up- set on the high bar, this time edg- ing Hoosier star Ron Feigl, one of the best in the country. Loken's men entered the Big Ten meet as the chief threat to Illinois' chances for a fifth straight title, but the last minute loss of Johnson was an unexpected blow. It was hoped that Johnson would be back in top form for the conference en- counter, but the injury was aggra- vated before the meet and proved to be a disastrous blow to the Wolverines. Third Place Finish The loss of Johnson plus some poor performances by other Mich- igan men dropped the Wolverines into third place, behind Illinois and Minnesota. Loken's charges fin- ished a narrow half point ahead of Michigan State, which was fourth. Krumbholz, a disappointment during the preliminaries, was the main Wolverine point-producer in. the finals, garnering a second on the high bar and additional points on the parallel bars and flying rings. The slender senior failed to reach the finals in the side horse, a big blow to Michigan's second- place aspirations. Flying rings specialist Dick Berg- man and Adams also had off days and failed to add expected points to the Michigan total. (Continued on Page 7) V. W" t rV V"flU .""rSVA...". t.. . . ... .. . ___ :: ";t'* t.. "S .n.t" "t Ys"J" tS%%%t.Vn.V1".". ".1t.". . . . . . . . ...^ .. .t1 ..":ttt:""t .'t"t :Y"Y.r ' I .I I I A New Approach N . to Fall Clothing - The Two-ply Cotton Gabardine Ix .exclusive at Van Boven's). - 4 tw-.ygbrdn. ti stldi w aua sole oesrih t4. It is our pleasure to offer you a most practical school suit ... the cotton two-ply gabardine. It is styled in our own natural shoulder model, straight hanging body lines, over-lapped seams, and hooked center vent. 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