Gymnasts try again in Georgia

By Richard Haddad

Daily Sports Writer

Tomorrow night, the Michigan women's gymnastics team gets another chance. In the second installment of a home-and-home series, the Wolverines travel to Georgia to take on the perennial power house Gym Dogs for the third time this season.

In falling to Georgia at Crisler Arena last Friday, 195.700-196.725, No. 3 Michigan "had an opportunity and let it slip through our fingers," coach Bev Plocki said. Come Saturday, the Wolverines hope to achieve immediate redemption.

The Wolverines have never beaten the Gym Dogs, but are just as good of a team as Georgia is this season.

But the Gym Dogs' advantage lies in the mental aspect of the sport.

"The fact that it's Georgia is in the back of everyone's minds," senior captain Sarah Cain said. "As much as you want to say it doesn't matter who you're competing against, and that you're competing for yourself, for your own team, it's still Georgia."

And for the young Wolverines, that is the problem.

Correcting that problem is "just a matter of getting the kids to understand that they cannot look at these competitions differently," Plocki said. "If they're looking over their shoulder because it's Georgia, they're setting themselves up for failure."

Michigan's faults in the last three regular meets against Georgia have involved the balance beam and falls. The nature of those problems points directly at mental lapses.

"I don't want our falls Friday night to affect our confidence for the rest of the year, because we are a very good beam team," Plocki said. "We can't get caught up in the competition. We need to stay focused on ourselves and not allow other factors to distract us."

On the other hand, Georgia, the reigning back-to-back national champion, epitomizes mental toughness. The Gym Dogs have never fallen to the Wolverines in ten attempts.

"It's something Michigan can't get past," Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said. "They're so good, they're so talented, they know they're as good as anyone in the country. But beating Georgia and winning a national title, those two hurdles have eluded them. It's like a carrot out there dangling that they can't reach."

To finally take a bite out of that carrot, Michigan must perform to its full potential. The Wolverines are the more talented and deeper team, but talent alone does not win contests in any sport.

"My kids are well aware they can be a better team than Georgia," Plocki said.

All that is left is to prove it.

Sam Hollenshead/Daily

Michigan wasn't consistent on the balance beam last Friday night, but coach Bev Plocki still believes the Wolverines are a "beam team."