Diaz-Luong leads nation, 'M' freshmen

It is rare when an athlete can begin competing in a major collegiate sport as a freshman and make an impact. The Michigan men's gymnastics team is lucky that it has such athletes.

Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong has not only made an impact, but because of his performance two weeks ago against Illinois-Chicago, he is now leading the nation in the most important category of the sport - the all-around. His score against the Flames was the best recorded in the nation up to that point.

He won the meet with a score of 56.950, edging out his fellow Wolverine, Scott Vetere who recorded a score of 55.975. Diaz-Luong's performance included first place honors in two events - the pommel horse and the vault - a second place on the horizontal bar and a third place finish on the parallel bars.

Diaz-Luong received more honors for his efforts, including the Big Ten athlete of the week award. After only a month of competition, Diaz-Luong has placed himself among the nation's top 10 in three events. He is also top 10 in the all-around, which is a compilation of the six events that the gymnasts compete in.

"I had hoped that I would be able to come in here and compete," Diaz-Luong said. "What made things easy was that I had fourteen other guys pushing me from the day that I got here."

With his early success, Diaz-Luong has overshadowed the success of his other freshmen teammates, including Vetere. Vetere has shown his own ability, though.

Vetere finished just behind Diaz-Luong in the all-around competition in the first two meets of the season. Twice he has won first-place honors in individual events, and finished in the top five in several others.

The two share things other than their freshman status. They are both from Pennsylvania, and they are roommates. The two said they enjoy living together, and enjoy the rivalry that they are quickly developing.

"I think that it does help me, seeing him do well. It makes me want to do better," Vetere said.

Another freshman who has led the Wolverines' charge to the top of the rankings is Josh Levin. Levin won the pommel horse event in the competition against Ohio State and Illinois with a score of 9.8. He has notched his highest scores in the pommel horse, but has performed consistently on all events.

The other two freshmen on the team, Louie Levine and Brad Kenna, have only seen limited action so far this year, but hopes are high for the future.

Although it may seem surprising that Michigan's freshmen are having such an impact, it is something that coach Kurt Golder has needed to ensure the Wolverines' early season success. Combined with the team's lack of experience was a rash of injuries that forced the healthy gymnasts to raise their level of performance.

Golder was impressed with the performance against Illinois-Chicago, and actually did not expect his team to reach so high that early in the season. Even as the team recovers, it will be important for the freshmen to continue to excel if Michigan is to advance into the championship rounds of NCAA competition.

02-02-99