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Blue gymnasts look for 1st win

Ahhhhh, spring break -- a college institution. What could be better to do during this fun time than to take a trip to Utah? How about one to New Mexico?

Well, that's exactly where the Michigan men's gymnastics team will be, but it won't be skiing or hiking. For them, spring break means flipping, vaulting and tumbling.

The Wolverine tumblers have two meets during break, one March 7 at Brigham Young in Utah, and the other March 9 in New Mexico.

In addition to the host schools, Michigan's opponents will include Michigan State and Penn State at BYU, and Penn State again at New Mexico State.

The team hopes to return from "vacation" with a newfound confidence and maybe even a good suntan.

Michigan coach Bob Darden knows the importance of this break.

"Historically, March has been a real turning point for our program," Darden said. "The scores we use to qualify for regionals usually occur in March.

"It gives us a little bit of time to focus on training and get into a competitive frame of mind without quite the academic pressures."

The Wolverines have struggled as a team this season. They are currently 0-4, but are still ranked No. 23 nationally. The most recent loss came at the hands of Michigan State Saturday.

The Michigan gymnasts are not dismayed, however.

"We realize we are still a young team," senior Kris Klinger said. "We are starting to get optimistic, and we feel we're getting things together to perform better in meets."

Klinger and senior Chris Onuska, junior Flavio Martins and junior Jason MacDonald are among the individuals who have performed brilliantly in spite of the dismal team start.

"Right now it is the individuals building into the team concept," Darden said. "We're having the strength of the team driven by the individuals."

Between taking a dip in the pool and relaxing in the sun, the Wolverines will have to contend with some strong gymnastics programs.

Penn State is ranked fourth, New Mexico is No. 6, BYU is No. 10, and Michigan State is No. 14 nationally.

The Nittany Lions are particularly tough in the floor exercise and the high bar, where they are ranked No. 1 and No. 4 as a team, respectively.

An opponent list like that could be disheartening.

"If we go in with the attitude that we'll fare well against good teams, that will help the younger guys and give them confidence," Klinger said. "If we put in a good performance, we feel we can compete with any tough opponent, like competing against (top-ranked) Ohio State did for us (earlier this year)."

For the tumblers in maize and blue, an enjoyable spring break will be a successful one.