The Michigan Daily-Thursday, April 18, 1991 - Page 11

tf't Gymastic

Netters slam Spartans, 6-3
Women's tennis team wins second straight in Big Ten

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Five Blue
gymnasts
to tumble
at NCAAs
by Charlie Wolfe
Daily Sports Writer
This is it. A time for hope, a time
for desire. The quest for achieve-
ment, and reaching just a little bit
higher.
Tonight, months upon months of
tireless training will reach an apex
as five of Michigan's male gymnasts
begin competition in the NCAA
Championships held at Penn State.
While Wolverine participants will
,ot be a new sight at nationals, this
will be the largest contingent of
Michigan gymnasts to reach the
NCAAs in quite some time.
"We've had guys going to na-
tionals every year that I've been here
at Michigan," coach Bob Darden
said, "but this time it's five, and it's
only going to get better."
On top of that, besides the
* schools that qualified for team
competition, the Wolverines have
the most individuals going to na-
tionals of any program in the nation.
Preliminaries for both the team and
individual competitions will be
held this evening, with team finals
Friday and individual finals
,aturday.
The Wolverines venturing into
the den of the Nittany Lions consist
*of two juniors, Glenn Hill and Jim
Round, and three first-year phe-
noms. Hill, Michigan's outstanding
performer on the pommel horse, is
making his third trip to nationals,
and co-captain Round will make his
first appearance in the NCAAs to
compete on the still rings.
But of special delight has been
the development and achievement of
*~the team's rookies. Ben Verrall will
be the only Wolverines taking part
Jn multiple events, qualifying in
loth the floor exercise and vault,
while Jorge Camacho joins Verrall
on the floor and Royce Toni will
perform on the parallel bars.
Darden noted that it should be a
"power packed" weekend, and said
that although there was the possi-
bility his team could become a bit
wrapped up in the excitement of na-
tionals, he didn't think his team
would have a problem focusing on
their performance.
"They're doing what they've
been training for all these months,
and it's pretty much just a mental
game now. By this point in the sea-
son, and going to nationals, every-
body feels pretty much bulletproof
anyway," Darden said.

by Adam Miller
Daily Sports Writer
Now that's tennis.
Michigan (4-3 in the Big Ten, 15-
5 overall) extended its Big Ten
winning streak to two with a sound
6-3 defeat of Michigan State yester-
day afternoon at the Huron Valley
Tennis Club.
"State gave us a good match, but
I thought we looked real good and
played well," Michigan coach Bitsy
Ritt said.
Michigan's No. I singles player
Christine Schmeidel (1-3, 6-7)
missed her third straight match due
to illness, but should return this
weekend for the conclusion of the
Wolverines' regular season.
Senior co-captain Stacy Berg (4-1,
10-6), who normally plays at No. 2'
made the most of her temporary
promotion to the top spot, as she
cruised by Alex Hilbert, 6-0, 6-0.
"State is always real psyched up
to play us," Berg said. "Sometimes
in the past, we've been pretty ner-
vous. But, I think we played pretty
well today."
Michigan took four of six sin-
gles matches. Junior Kim Pratt (4-1,
9-5) defeated Kelly McDonough, 6-
3, 6-3, at No. 2. Sophomore Kalei
Beamon (3-2, 11-5) crushed
Michelle Hurrelbrink, 6-1, 6-2, at
No. '3, and junior Jennifer Lev (3-2,
10-4) knocked off Dona Applegate,
6-2, 6-4, at No.6.
The match of the day came at No.

4 singles, which pitted Wolverine
Amy Malik (0-3, 10-4) against
Spartan Molly Poffenberger. Malik
took the first set, 6-2, but the second
set went to Poffenberger, 6-3.
Malik twice fought off elimination
in the third set, overcoming 5-4 and
6-5 deficits, to send the match to a
winner-take-all tiebraker.
"Everybody on the team works
very hard, and coming back like that
just shows it," Malik said. "I did it,
'Everybody on the
team works very
hard, and coming
back like that just
shows it'
- Amy Malik
No. 5 singles player
and everyone on the team would,
too. That's the kind of effort you
need."
Poffenberger jumped to a quick
5-1 lead in the tiebraker, but then
Malik made a tremendous comeback.
After breaking Poffenburger's serve
and holding her own, Malik hit a
deadly top-spin lob to tie it at 5-5.
But her comeback came up just
short, as Poffenberger won the next
two points to win the tiebraker, 7-5,
and the match in three sets.
Junior co-captain Freddy Adam
(2-1, 4-1) almost pulled a giant up-

set at No. 5 singles. Her opponent,
Alicia Leone, was 20-1 overall, 1110
at No. 5, going into today's match.
Adam won the first set, 6-3, and tied
Leone at 5-5 in the second. But
Leone's strength proved too much as
she went on to take the next two
games and the third set for the win,
3-6,7-5,6-3.
"Amy (Malik) and Freddy
(Adam) both played well, taking
the first set of their matches," Ritt
said.
While the Wolverines hid
struggled in doubles play early in
the season, yesterday's doubles cop-
tests were icing on the cake, .as
Michigan took two of three to seal
the victory.
Berg and Lev teamed up for a
3-6, 6-2 win over Poffenberger ad
McDonough at No. 1 doubles, as
Berg's strong and accurate serve and
Lev's aggressive net play paved the
way for the victory.
Pratt and Beamon defeated
Hurrelbrink and Molly West in
straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2r
the Wolverines' other doubles vic-
tory. Malik and Adam lost -to
Hilbert and Leone at No. 3, 6-4, 6-3.
"I thought our doubles were real
strong today," Ritt said. -r
Michigan's regular season foad
to Madison and the Big 'Ten
Championships concludes this
weekend in home matches against
Minnesota and Iowa.

Michigan's No. 1 singles player Christine Schmeidel hits a backhand in a
previous match against Purdue. The Wolverines defeated Michigan
State yesterday, 6-3, without Schmeidel, who is out with an illness.
'M' tennis blanked
byFighting Irish, 

by Jason Gomberg
Daily Sports Writer
Not even Richard Steele could
have saved Michigan's men's tennis
team (10-4) from 19th-ranked
Notre Dame (17-10) yesterday, as
the Fighting Irish scored a swift, 6-
0, knockout over Michigan's men's
tennis team in South Bend, Indiana.
The meet was so decisive that the
two squads chose not to answer the
bell for the doubles matches.
The shutout marked the second
consecutive occasion in which the
Wolverines failed to capture one
victory. The team had arrived in
South Bend on Monday evening in
order to get accustomed with the
tennis courts, but in all, they
managed to capture only two sets.
Once again, Notre Dame was led
by junior David DiLucia. Ranked No.
3 in the nation, he outlasted
Michigan junior David Kass (18-8)
in a three-set battle, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
Kass, No. 11 in the country,
extended his current losing string
to three matches, while DiLucia has
now won 22 in a row, with an
overall record of 42-4.
At the No. 2 singles position,
Wolverine frosh Dan Brakus (17-
10) was confronted with the
unenviable task of facing his second
straight ranked opponent. After
dropping the first set, 6-3, Brakus
took 97th-ranked Irish sophomore
Chuck Coleman to a second-set
tiebreaker before falling, 7-6.
Mitch Rubenstein (15-6) had

been a Wolverine on a mission la-
tely, as he had won 11 straight in the
No. 5 singles position. That streak
was put to rest yesterday. Notre
Dame's Andy Zurcher defeated the
quick-working junior, 6-3, 7-6.
Also on a tear had been Michigan
sophomore, and No. 3 player, Scott
Cuppett. However, the Irish's Will
Forsyth cast him aside by a 6-3, 6-2
count.
At No. 6 singles, rookie John
Lingon of Michigan put up a valiant
effort against Notre Dame's Ron
Rosas. The first two sets were split
in tiebreakers. In the finale, Lingon
faded, losing at love.
Finally, Wolverine senior John
Karzen lost to Notre Dame's Mark
Schmidt, 6-3,6-3.
With this victory, the Region IV
tennis picture is becoming clearer.
Michigan coach Brian Eisner be-
lieves that there are five teams with
legitimate shots at earning the one
regional invitation to the NCAA
Tennis Championships. The Irish
have posted a 8-1 mark within the
Midwest Region, and appear to be
the favorite for the bid.
Michigan's record in the
Midwest stands at 6-2, however its
two losses have come at the hands of
top-twenty caliber teams.
The Wolverines will look to
find their winning touch again this
Friday, as they travel to
Minneapolis to face Minnesota this
tomorrow.

Wolverine John Karzen returns a shot against Indiana Saturday. Yesterday versus Notre Dame, the senior
dropped his No. 4 singles match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, as the Michigan squad fell to the Irish, 6-0.

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