New rankings stick 'M' at No. 6

For the Daily

After it seemed like it might only be a bad dream, the Michigan women's gymnastics team soon realized its early season loss to Minnesota, by the tiniest of margins (193.050-193.550), was enough to awaken the beast - also known as the NCAA ranking system.

To their dismay, the same Wolverines who once enjoyed a lofty, pre-season ranking of seventh in the nation, were immediately dropped to No. 12 overall.

Yet each day brings a new dawn. And today, Michigan awoke to find itself sitting comfortably atop the Big Ten.

Before today, the rankings were based on each school's highest team score each school had.

"As of this morning, the rankings go to total averages," Michigan women's gymnastics coach Beverly Plocki said.

"This is good for our team, because we have been consistently scoring in the 194-range."

And when the smoke cleared, like after one of the many high-fives by Michigan teammates this season, these scores were good enough to land the Wolverines in quite an enviable position. The women currently find themselves ranked sixth in the nation, first in the region and first in the Big Ten.

This Saturday, the Wolverines look to defend these newfound honors. Michigan welcomes conference rival Ohio State, and first-time opponent Rhode Island to Cliff Keen Arena.

With both visiting schools at 2-1 to begin the 1999 season, some would consider No. 22 Rhode Island to be a not-too-worthy opponent for the Wolverines. This, perhaps, could be due to the fact that their only two victories have come to unranked foes Brown and Kent. Plocki explained the circumstances of such a matchup at this point in the year.

"Some smaller schools want to compete against us for their own experience," she said. And as Rhode Island is in competition with the Wolverines for the top spot in the fifth Region, the Rams are certainly going to be looking to butt heads.

No. 16 Ohio State is a different story. "They have made a lot of strides in the last three years," said Plocki.

And with their only loss on the season coming to No. 5 Alabama, in which they got rolled by the Tide - 195.075-190.275 - the Buckeyes have shown some hops. They already bounced Michigan State and No. 10 Bowling Green.

And although Michigan got the better of the Buckeyes by taking them in both meets last season - as well as closing the gap in the all time record to 20-18 in favor of Ohio State - the Buckeyes are looking to spring to new heights.

They're off to a good start and are sixth in the nation with a score of 48.500.

Despite such notable competition, Plocki wants to attract attention to issues closer to home. "Our key focus is that we need to be more consistent," she said.

All in all, with its strong early season rebound, Michigan has displayed enough promise to keep the Wolverine faithful loyal. And with the progress they've made in practice, they have hopefully honed their skills to razor sharp. At least sharp enough to Ram some Buckeyes this Saturday.

01-28-99