By Jacob Wheeler
Daily Sports Writer
It has been said that perfection is nothing more than a state of mind.
That is usually as true in women's gymnastics as it is in life.
But on Sunday at the State of Michigan Classic, Michigan's Nikki Peters found a way to be perfect on the uneven bars.
The sophomore tallied the first perfect score of Michigan's young season and equaled her career high, a perfect 10 at the Big Ten championship on the same apparatus last season.
"Getting a perfect score is very difficult," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said.
In fact, Peters is only the second gymnast in school history to record a perfect score.
Beth Wymer, who graduated in 1995, was the first Michigan gymnast to break that barrier.
Wymer was also a three-time national champion on the uneven bars.
"Beth did it several times during the course of her sophomore, junior and senior years," Plocki said. "At this point, she is the best I've ever had."
Peters' performance was inevitible at the rate she was going this year.
Her 10 at Ypsilanti followed two nines against Massachusetts and Minnesota and an 8.5 at West Virginia.
Peters also pulled down a season high 9.975 on the vault.
But once again, it was Sarah Cain who stole the show.
The freshman is doing her best to portray Elmer's glue as her high scores stick week after week.
Cain recorded her fourth straight 9.9 on the vault. That's a 9.9 in every meet of her young college career, for those of you who aren't following with a fine-toothed comb.
"Sarah has a grace and elegance that set her apart," Plocki said.
"She has the potential to do everything that Beth ever did."
Cain also captured her third straight all-around title, silencing the hopes of any other Michigan school at the invitational.
No. 15 Michigan State had a statistical edge over the Wolverines in the balance beam before the weekend, but dismal performances from Becky Robinson (9.35) and Kristin Peugeot (9.375) doomed the Spartans.
Robinson's mistakes - she's ranked sixth in the beam nationally - were especially surprising.
But Michigan, which trounced the Spartans by a gigantic 6.425 points, didn't need to rely on any Michigan State slips.
"We were really into our own performances," Plocki said. "And that's exactly what we want to happen."