Page 10-The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, March 13,1991
'M' flies past
Owls Broncos
by Charlie Wolfe
Daily Sports Writer
As if directly in sync with nature's recent spring
growth spurt, the Michigan men's gymnastics team
seems to be budding into a contender at an odd, yet
much welcome, moment.
Last night, the Wolverines continued their tear as
of late by scoring a 275.45 at Cliff Keen Arena,
easily outdoing visiting Temple, 270.80, and Western
Michigan, 267.35.
The Michigan squad arrived at the arena poised
and excited in their final home meet of the season,
and displayed that confidence by leading from start
to finish. But even though the squad dominated the,
competition and won handily, many team members
were not entirely satisfied at the end of the meet.
"We blew it on the last event," Mike Mott said.E
"We had a tremendous meet, one of our best of the
season, until that final event."
The dreaded final rotation stop that gave the'
Wolverines such fits was the high bar, an event that
saw many a break in routine by Temple and Western
as well. Following the vault, Michigan held a score
of 232 and was eagerly anticipating a serious boost
in their regional qualifying average. But a lapse in
concentration cost them at least two whole points off
their final score, and the 275.45 will not be enough to
raise their position for the east regional competition.
"The opportunity was staring us right in the face,
we just didn't get after it on high bar," said Michigan
coach Bob Darden. "It was a rock solid meet,
otherwise."
Adding to the emotion of the competition was the
fact that it was Matt Harrison's final home
performance as a Wolverine. Taking part in the all-
around, the senior was all smiles afterwards.
"We started really well, cruising for a great score,
but our minds lapsed on the high bar," he said. "It's
sad knowing I'm not ever going to compete here
again, but I'm excited for the team. They're a young
*FULL CO U RT
PRTESS
by Albert Lin
Daily Basketball Writer
The Michigan women's basketball team finished its
season last Thursday. Entering the '90-'91 campaign,
the squad was without the services of five seniors, in-
cluding four starters, from last year's team, which
earned a first-round victory in the NCAA tournament.
A rebuilding year was expected, but no one thought
it would be this tough. The Wolverines were picked to
finish sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, but were
never able to maintain a high level of play for an
extended period of time, finishing ninth with a 4-14 Big
Ten record (11-17 overall).
Coach Bud VanDeWege's lineup may have appeared
steady, with three players starting all 28 games but, in
reality, it was a unit that never played together long
enough to establish a true team chemistry. Five players
rotated in the final two spots, none ever stepping into a
role that she kept.
It's easy to second guess decisions, but with the way
the year was going, more changes should have taken
place in search of that perfect lineup. A 7-3 mark
against non-conference foes may have given the team a
false sense of security, but after losing six of its first
seven Big Ten games by an average of 15 points,
VanDeWege should have reevaluated his rotation. What
could he have done?
The two constants on the team were Carol Szcze-
chowski and Trish Andrew. Szczechowski brings, most
of all, desire and heart along with her game. She started
all 30 contests in the '89-'90 season playing point
guard, and that is where she should have stayed this
year. While she can hit the open jumper, she is more a
penetrating, slashing player, and her size and ability to
post up would present matchup problems for the
opposition. In addition, not having to guard the other
team's shooter would have given Szczechowski more
freedom to roam the court on defense, where she could
have added to her team-leading 80 steals.
Andrew is the team's finest outside shooter. How-
ever, she is out of position playing in the low post.
She is not physically strong, and by her own admission
prefers not to take so much punishment on the blocks.
Her height enables her to shoot over defenders of all
size, and bringing her outside as the primary option
would have allowed her to take more shots.
Andrew's shot-blockingspeaks for itself, but her
overall defense needs improvement. Once again, her lack
of strength hurts her on this end of the court.
The other starters would be Michelle Hall in the
middle, Jen Nuanes at off-guard, and Nikki Beaudry at
the three spot.
Hall would give Michigan its only physical player
on the court. But because of the tendency of her game to
fluctuate, rookie LaTara Jones, whose game finally
started to materialize in the last month of the season,
would also receive ample playing time. Neither player
has accomplished post moves yet, so each would be
used to body up, rebound and play tough defense. In
addition, Hall gives the added dimension of a high-post
passer. More backdoor cuts would have taken better
advantage of this ability.
Nuanes is the Tony Tolbert of the women's team.
Lack of change
leads to losses
Her mentality is score, score, score, and she showe
March 3 that she could fill that role. Against Min
nesota, she hit for 13 points in 15 minutes, including
three of four treys, but consistency is also her problem.
Nuanes is Michigan's best conditioned athlete, which is
evident throughout practice, where even after two hours
she continues to pace the team in its running drills.
However, Nuanes may also be the Tony Tolbert of
the women's team off the court. She served a two-week
suspension last month for temporarily leaving practice,
but according to VanDeWege, "She's come back with a
wonderful attitude and perspective, and we think nothin*
more off it"
File Photo/JOSE JUAREZ
Jim Round propels the Wolverines to an early season
victory with his performance on the horizontal bar.
and growing team, and I'll be waiting for them to eat
up the Big Ten next year."
But next year is a long way off in the eyes of the
current team members, with Big Ten Championships
in a week and a half and the east regional
competition not long after. And they want to end the
season on their best note yet.
NCEIfI Iockey
1991 Hobey Baker Finalists
The Hobey Baker fiward is given annually to the top
college hockey player in the nation. The winner will be
announced Saturday, March 30 in St. Paul, Minn.
Scott Beattie, Northern Michigan
Peter Ciaraglia, Harvard
Jim Dowd, Lake Superior State
David Emma, Boston College
Denny Felsner, Michigan
Greg Johnson, North Dakota
Joe Juneau, RPI
Shawn McEachern, Boston University
Jean-Yves Roy, Maine
Brad Werenka, Northern Michigan
::ss
"' >
1991 NCEIE
Hockey Playoffs
- Round One -
Friday. March 15
7:30 p.m.,
Yost Ice Arena
Saturday. March 16
7:30 p.m.,
Yost Ice Arena
Sunday, March 17
(if necessary)
Tickets available at the
Michigan Ticket Office
8:30 to 4:00 daily.
:'J.
Beaudry and Char Durand are very similar players.
While Durand is a better open court player, and, like
Szczechowski, is a slasher with the ability to post up,
Beaudry has the more traditional offensive game and is a
better rebounder. Both hustle and work defensively.
VanDeWege should have given the starting nod to
Beaudry because Durand's explosive style of play would
have had a greater impact coming off the bench.
Joining Durand and Jones as the primary member of
the second team would be whichever point guard the
situation warranted. Leah Wooldridge is a halfcourt
player and a good shooter when given time to set up for
her shot. Stacie McCall is an uptempo creator who has
the tendency to play faster than the rest of the team.
Additional frontcourt help would come from Rhonda
Jokisch, a banger, and Jill VanStee, another solid-
shooting six-footer, neither of whom received much
playing time this year.
VanDeWege's squad did the best it could in a tough
year. Playing time was based on daily work at practice,
and not flashes of brilliance, according to the coach.
With only three seniors, the experience gained by this
edition of the Wolverines should prove valuable next
year. But one can't help wonder if this year could have
been a little more fun, for the team and the fans.
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Rewards
Teamwork
This newly created awar'd
celebrates student team contributions to
the campus community and recognizes
outstanding accomplishments.
One student team from our campus
which best embodies the spirit of
Saturn will be awarded $1,000. The
winning team becomes eligible for
a national award of $5,000 presented at
Saturn.
For your application or more
information stop by:
Michigan Union/Student
organization Development Center
2202 Michigan Union " 763-5900
N C AP UProudly Presented in Association With:
The University
of Michigan
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