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Women tumblers set for regionals

Some schools at this weekend's NCAA Central Regional Women's Gymnastics Championships are happy just to be able to compete in the national qualifying event. Michigan, though, is expected to be there, and nothing would make the Wolverines happier than to win their first-ever regional title at the Baton Rouge, La., meet.

"We have a desire to win it, not just make nationals," senior Wendy Marshall said.

To bring a smile to the Wolverines' faces, the five-time defending Big Ten champions will have to defeat defending regional champion, Alabama.

One might say that this task is easier said than done. Alabama, a perennial powerhouse, is currently ranked second in the country behind Georgia, after holding the No. 1 spot for two weeks. At the regionals, No. 4 Michigan will be ranked second behind the Crimson Tide.

In their last meeting, at the 1995 NCAA championships, Michigan tied Alabama for second with 196.425 points. After the Wolverines completed one of the toughest schedules in the country -- facing five ranked teams in the top seven, including the No. 1 Bulldogs -- Michigan should be well prepared to take on one of the most difficult regions in the country.

"More teams out of our region than usual could qualify for nationals," Marshall said.

The seven-team field that Michigan must face contains six schools ranked in the top 20. Among them are Michigan State and Minnesota, both of which have beaten the Wolverines this year.

"MSU is the third seed and, if they can hit, they can give a run for our money," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "The most competition will be between Michigan and Alabama."

With all of the talk centered on the top two seeds, the real issue at hand for most of the teams will be who gains an invitation to the prestigious 12-team field at the NCAAs.

The winners of the five NCAA regionals, which will all be held this weekend, receive automatic bids. Of the 30 teams remaining after automatic bids are handed out, the seven best national scores will qualify.

Even if they don't win their region, the Wolverines will most likely not be left out of the elite group that will compete for the national title.

In each of the past three years, Michigan has qualified for the NCAAs despite coming in fourth in 1993, third in 1994 and second last year. To qualify this season, though, the Wolverines will have to stay focused as well as come close to perfect on nearly all their routines.

Michigan knows that a lapse of concentration could mean the difference between winning and losing after last week's Big Tens.

At the conference championships, the Wolverines faltered on their final event, the balance beam, right after their record-breaking bars performance. Their bars score of 49.525 was just enough insurance to cover Michigan's poor beam score of 47.1.

"It was a lack of mental preparedness," Plocki said. "I don't think they pinched themselves after the bars. They have to prepare and focus on the event they are competing on."

While the gymnasts will be focusing on their routines, the judges at regionals will be paying close attention to flaws and imperfection. In national meets such as this, there is little room for error.

"As you get closer to nationals, they have to find ways to differentiate because the teams are so close together," Plocki said. "They start taking deductions compositionaly, but it should not affect us. Other teams that don't have the level of difficulty won't be as competitive."

Michigan also has one other advantage over all other teams -- depth. The freshmen class is the primary reason for this advantage. At Big Tens, four freshmen won individual events, including the all-around.

"Most teams don't want to have to count on the freshmen in do-or-die," Plocki said. "Our freshmen have come through with flying colors."