Page 10-- The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 1, 1991 Blue and Gophers: a battle of futility Homecoming Fry makes return trip to mountains o W. Virginia by Jeff Cameron, Mike Gill, and R..C. Heaton by Matthew Dodge Daily Basketball Writer The teams of 10,000 losses will meet in the land of 10,000 lakes tonight as the two worst teams tipoff in the Big Ten women's bas- ketball production of "The Abyss": which is where both Michigan and Minnesota are headed. The Wolverines (8-9 overall, 1-6 Big Ten) are in desperate need of a salve for their wounds, and there is no better prescription than the down- and-out Gophers (4-13 , 0-7). The two tenants of the conference base- ment will play tonight at 7:30 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. And if Michigan can walk into the city that brought us losers such as McGovern and Mondale with any confidence at all, it will be more op- timistic, than its lowly hosts. "We've been getting beat by a lot (of points) by a lot of people," Min- nesota coach Linda Hill-MacDonald said. "If I had to pick out a strength now, it would be very difficult; it would be so tough to pick even one. " This tone suggests that the Go- phers may be the right team at the right time for the Wolverines, who haven't won a road game in two months. "I hope it will be a chance for us to win," Hill-MacDonald said. "We are a very young team in a very tough conference. This is very dis- couraging for the players and the coaching staff- "To me it's just another game. We've been putting together good first halves. Our goal is to put two good halves together. There is so much inconsistency.- After taking on Minnesota, the Wolverines will venture into one of the conference's loudest arenas to play Iowa Sunday afternoon. The na- tionally-ranked Hawkeyes will be a vast contrast to the Gophers, espe- cially playing at home in Carver- Hawkeye Arena, home of the Big Ten's largest crowds. Iowa tied for first place in the Big Ten last year and finished the season ranked tenth in the nation. Head coach C. Vivian Stringer brought in the nation's top recruiting class to surround returning standouts Felicia Hall and Stephanie Schueler and the Hawkeyes are again in the hunt for the league crown. Stringer's Hawkeyes continue to play with a trademark full-court in- tensity that has carried them to their current place among the nation's elite teams. "We will look to have an up-, tempo game offensively," Stringer said. "In the defensive column, we'll still look to press. Our first aim is to have a great defensive team." Daiiy Sports writers During the 1970's television series The Waltons, a special two hour movie entitled The Homecom- ing brought loveable character John- Boy back to the Blue Ridge Moun- tains of West Virginia. Now it's the1990's. And while Michigan gymnastics coach Beverly Fry may be loveable, her homecom- ing to West Virginia is destined not to draw high Nielson ratings. But it's a homecoming. And it's West Virginia. But she's not exactly going to be welcomed the way Ralph Waite (Mr. Walton) opened his arms when his eldest son returned home. Now, Fry is the enemy when she heads down to her old stomping grounds, made famous in John Den- ver's classic, "Country Road." The Wolverine gymnast will compete against West Virginia and William and Mary in Morgantown, WV, on Sunday. Fry competed for the West Vir- ginia gymnastics team for three years where she earned all-conference honors. She went on to become an assistant coach, before making her way to Ann Arbor to take over the helm for the Wolverines. "At West Virginia,the facilities are good; the arena is nice; and the judges are good," Fry said. "I can prepare the girls, because I know what it is like." Even though Fry is bringing her gymnasts into a wonderful atmo- sphere, the competition will be stiff. The Mountaineers were a top 20 team last year, and they scored a 186 last week. William and Mary is a very strong team capable of register- ing high scores. "It will be a three way race; I think we may have the edge because we're at home," West Virginia coach Linda Burdette said. "We're glad to have coach Fry come down. She's coached some of our gymnasts that will be competing for us; it's goin to be exciting." The Wolverines are coming off an impressive, school record setting performance against Big Ten cham- pion Illinois. They scored a 185.1 and are capable of performing even better in the future. "We won't let up at all this weekend," sophomore all-arounder Ali Winski said. "Every score is i portant to qualify for regionals, s we give it our all every meet." Sophomore Eva Gordon will not be competing this weekend because - of a back injury. First-year gymnast Stacy Shingle will replace her on thoj uneven bars and on the floor exer- cise. "If we focus on our routines an hit, we will do well," sophomor/ all-arounder Debbie Geiger said. "We have the potential to go 187." You know Giants' quarterback Jeff Hostetler will enjoy a nice homecoming when he returns to West Virginia. But of course, Major Harris left the Mountaineers. And somewhere in between the two stands Beverly Fry. She came she left, and now she's back home. She just wants to get out of town quickly -- with a good score under her belt. JOSE JUAJDaRly Michigan forward Char Durand leads the Wolverines into this weekend's contests with Minnesota and Iowa. Michigan and the Golden Gophers are tied for last place. Class of '91 grows by four for Mo by Adam Lutz With the national signing deadline still a week away, Michigan is already close to fulfilling the number of football scholarships it can offer. Through the middle of this week, Michigan added to its already impressive class of 13, four extremely productive high school standouts. With these latest announcements, it is conceivable that Michigan has captured the premier class in the country. Monday, the Wolverines received word that defensive lineman, Jason Horn (6-foot-5, 240-pounds), rated as the 20th best player in The Detroit Free Press' Best of the Midwest decided to attend Michigan. The Lafayette native completed a sweep for Michigan of the Midwest's top three defensive lineman. Horn had 313 tackles, 28 sacks and 10 blocked kicks in his career. Michigan added an impressive threesome Tuesday, including two players from the South. The lone local recruit among them, Michigan native Eddie Davis (5-foot-9, 190- pounds), is a fast tailback, which helps explain the 2,623 yards paired with 25 touchdowns that he amassed last season for Detroit Martin Luther King. Davis, rated the seventh-best player in Michigan, was desperately coveted by the coaching staff who has high aspirations for him. Felman Malveaux (6-foot, 170- pounds), who was ranked by many as the second best receiving prospect in the South, became the first receiver to commit to Michigan. It's a long way from home for this Texan, who led his team last season with 49 catches, 1,139 yards and 16 touchdowns. Finally, Michigan received a commitment from its second top linebacker, Damon Southward (6- foot-3, 215-pounds). This punishing tackler utilized his size and quickness, a 4.7 40-yd dash, to Compile 140 tackles, 9 sacks, and eight fumble recoveries in his final year. 'M' gymnasts to clash - with unbalanced MSU * Two 'M' baseball players named All-American e DENTAL HEALTH DAY SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 U OF M DENTAL SCHOOL 9:00 - 12:00 PM FREE ORAL CANCER SCREENING FREE X-RAYS FREE DENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION ALL AGES ARE WELCOME ALL SERVICES ARE FREE THE STUDENTS AND FACUL'IY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN WILL HOST THEIR ANNUAL DENTAL HEALTH DAY PARKING IS AVAILABLE IN THE FLETCHER ST. PARKING LOT THE SCHOOL IS LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF N. UNIVERSITY AND FLETCHER ST. PUBLIC MAY ENTER THROUGH ENTRANCE OFF NORTH UNIVERSITY, OR ENTRANCE OFF FLETCHER ST. Junior third baseman Tim Flannelly and pitcher Russell Brock have both earned pre-season All- American honors for the Michigan baseball team. Flannelly, a second team All- American in 1990, was selected by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball on their 1991 pre-season teams. He lead the Wolverines in hitting last season with a .402 batting average and was the team's most valuable player. Brock, who was 6-4 in 1990, was named to Baseball America's pre- season All-American team. Kickoff DinnerSet The Michigan Baseball Kickoff Dinner will be held on Feb. 7, at Schembechler Hall. Bill Frechan's Michigan baseball program will honor former Wolverines Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin and Hal Morris of the World Champion Cincinnati Reds at the reception and dinner. "It's great to have former players that want to help support the program," Freehan said. Sabo earned All-American honors in 1983, while leading Michigan to a third place finish in the College World Series. Larkin, earned All- American honors in 1984 and 1985. Morris complied a .373 career batting average as a Wolverine, giving him the third best career batting average in Michigan history; by Charlie Wolfe Daily Sports Writer Although it may not evoke quite the fan fervor or insanity of other Michigan-Michigan State clashes, the Wolverine and Spartan male gymnasts will have no problem get- ting hyped for this weekend's intra- state battle in East Lansing. There will be no heated shouting matches between fan faithful in crowded bars, mainly because it won't even be televised. It's assumed that there will be no late night jaunts to the opposing campus, des- ecrating highly visible and beloved school landmarks. And everyone's praying that the students won't want to have another "Who can trash their own town the best" contest. But it is Michigan-Michigan State. "Michigan State is going to be a tough one," Michigan coach Bob Darden said. "They beat Illinois just as we did, so they're going to come out gunning for us right off the bat." "They know we're tough," assis- tant coach Mike Milidonis said. "They know what we did against Illinois on Sunday, so they're going to be in the gym busting their tails just like we are. I think it's going to be a great meet." After narrowly being defeated by Minnesota, last year's NCAA run; ner-up, and then beating the Fight- ing Illini handily, the Wolverine gymnasts are in charge of their own destiny. According to Darden, if the. team stays healthy and continues toc improve its consistency, it will threaten every team in the Big Ten. Veterans Ruben Ceballos, Glenn Hill, and Jim Round have given strong performances as always, but especially surprising has been the. impact of the newcomers. Namely frosh Ben Verrall and Jorge Cama- cho, who seem to post stronger and stronger scores every week. "We've gotten a real consistent effort right across the board, but there's still room for improvement," Darden said. "The guys we're really going to try and push this week are (Toni) Royce and Jim (Round). We'd love to get them back in the all- around." Both gymnasts have had injury problems, and Darden believes get- ting them back into full swing will only strengthen the squad. Milidonis pointed out the fact that the Spartans have a strong first three or four gymnasts, but their tal- ent severely dips off after that. He believes Michigan's depth will put. them over the top. "We're better. We're more consis- tent throughout the line-up and I think that's what's really going to help us," Milidonis said. "I'm not kidding, I'm pretty confident that we're going to take them, in their gym." U OF M DENTAL SCHOOL 764-1516 NE MANAGEMENT TRAINEES .. . T-SHIRT PRINTERY " QUALITY GARMENT PRINTING AT REASONABLE PRICES ONE WEEK DELIVERY ON MOST ORDERS SHOW M I.D. FOR 5% PRINTING DISCOUNT Oddt Here's The Fastest Career nrtunity eWE FEA TURE THE HANES BEEFY - T 994-1367 1002 PONTIAC TRAIL ANN ARBOR *MINIMUM ORDER 12 SHIRTS .. _ Vlaown WE On Four Wheels Here's your chance to learn hands-on management skills as your career grows. We're Enterprise, America's fifth- largest car rental company, with many locations nation- wide. Our unique Career Ladder, which provides 100 percent promotion from within, allows you to earn a substantial, expanding income as your experience and performance builds. The success of each individual employee is behind our growth - which has been an astonishing 25 percent per year. We're looking for a certain kind of college graduate - a graduate who has the ambition, willingness to learn, commitment to service, and energy to climb the Enter- prise ladder. With the Enterprise On-The-Job Training Program, college graduates can become management professionals. THE PONDS. AT GEORGETOWN A feeling of comfort... .A statement of excellence. m BEDROOM .,S 12 *X12 BATH Mwi PATiO 8ALCONY 13x.22 i i " Elegant two bedroom apartments " Clubhouse with workout facilities " 24 hour monitored intrusion alarm system " Washer and dryer " Window blinds " Basic cable included for main outlet * Two full bathrooms " Dual view " Vaulted ceilings " Microwave * Dishwasher " fia e ~ntar SUBWAY ANNIVERSARY SALE! Buy any footlong Sub and get your second FREE* I Saturday February 2 11 I