No. 2 Ohio State has second chance at Blue

By Adam McQueen

Daily Sports Writer

Coming off victory at the Windy City Invitational, the No. 1 Michigan men's gymnastics team returns home this weekend to face No. 2 Ohio State.

Saturday's meet will open the Wolverines' 2001 home schedule at Cliff Keen Arena.

The two teams faced each other last weekend in Chicago, with the Wolverines taking the first-place title and the Buckeyes placing third in the competition.

Michigan outscored the Buckeyes in four of the weekend's six events with Ohio State placing ahead of the Wolverines in only the vault and high bar.

Saturday's best matchup between the two top-ranked teams appears to be in the still rings. Michigan's Scott Vetere and Ohio State's Daren Lynch tied for first in the event last weekend. Senior Buckeye Jamie Natalie will also be tough on the floor exercise. He took first in the event in Chicago.

The teams met four times last season, splitting the series 2-2. The Buckeyes took both regular season meetings, and the Wolverines prevailed during the postseason competitions.

Making things even more difficult for the Buckeyes, they must perform two nights in a row, opening their home season Friday against Illinois-Chicago.

Both Michigan coach Kurt Golder and senior tri-captain Tim Dehr stress the fact that the team is focused on having fun, which will prevent the No. 1 ranking from posing a distraction.

It proved to be a successful strategy last weekend, influencing all of the gymnasts to step up their routines. Dehr turned in a surprising win on the parallel bars to counteract the unexpected faltering of All-American Kris Zimmerman in that event.

"With all of the preseason injuries we have had, it was good to see everyone come together and open up with a win," Dehr said. "We stepped up on a number of events. It was a good sign of things to come."