Num - ber - one!
The phrase has a nice ring to it. It's a number commonly shouted, sung and chanted by exhausted and teary-eyed yet triumphant men and women after winning championships.
If all goes well for the top-ranked Michigan women's gymnastics team at the NCAA championships in Gainesville, Fla. this weekend, the Wolverines will be the ones weeping happy tears with their index fingers in the air.
But two major factors could plug the champagne and prevent Michigan's celebration Friday night - Georgia and Michigan sophomore Nikki Peters. Both dilemmas appear to be out of the Wolverines' hands.
It's too bad that defense isn't allowed in women's gymnastics, because Michigan coach Bev Plocki might be able to devise a nifty zone defense in hopes of preventing the Bulldogs from doing what comes natural to them.
Georgia, however, struggled at the Southeast Regionals.
Michigan heard the best news of its season over the phone, in the form of 195.725 - Georgia's low regional score. That, along with Michigan's record-breaking all-around score at the Central Regional, gave the Wolverines added hope for a national title.
"We gained a great deal of confidence last weekend," Plocki said. "The kids are high, and I know that for the first time they really believe that they can win a national championship."
But will lightning strike twice?
After scoring 1.535 below their season average, the Bulldogs may be a volcano waiting to erupt and any early shaking of the ground could wake the Wolverines from a dream - a dream of their first national title.
But after suffering through its worst meet since early January at the Southeast Regional. Georgia is primed to redeem itself.
The '97 campaign has been a dream season for the Bulldogs, and anything short of a national championship would be a disappointment for Georgia.
For Michigan to win the national championship, the momentum of both teams will have to continue. But the Wolverines aren't allowed to play any defense, and they can only hope to continue their success.
Michigan has been on an amazing run over the past month. After winning the Big Ten championship by a landslide at Minnesota and stealing Alabama's 10-year crown at the Central Regional, the Wolverines enter Gainesville on a dead sprint.
But ankle injuries tend to slow sprints into jogs, and then limps.
That's where Peters comes in.
If the Michigan sophomore walks out onto the floor today with her ankles wound up in athletic tape, it could give the Bulldogs another edge. Peters sprained both ankles in practice only days before the regionals, and was only able to compete in one event.
Michigan was let off the hook as Andrea McDonald, Kathy Burke, Kristin Duff and Kate Nellans filled in nicely at Crisler Arena, but the problem may not solve itself so easily a second time.
Michigan is a team led by four solid gymnasts, but without Peters, the Wolverines must fill in the remaining slots with the same spot starters.
The culmination of the season will wait until tomorrow night when the six teams, which escape tonight's preliminary round, will compete for the national championship.
More than likely, those six will include the Wolverines and Bulldogs, who won't face each other in the same bracket tonight. But defending champ Alabama, last year's runner-up UCLA and Utah all have outside shots.
JONATHAN SUMMER/Daily
Heather Kabnick and the rest of the Michigan gymnastics team are teetering on the brink of a national championship. NCAAs begin today in Gainesville, Fla.