University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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; ophomore Sarah Cain performs her balance beam routine. Cain was selected as a NCAA First-Team All-American for her performances on the J uneven bars for the 1997 season. photo courtesy of Sports Information Front Row: Christine Michaud, Karina Senior; Row 2: Sarah-Elizabeth Langford, Bridget Knaeble, Brianne Fuller, Kate Nellans; Row 3: Lisa Simes, Kristin Duff, Nikki Peters, Sarah Cain, Kathy Burke; Row 4: Heather Kabnick, Beth Amelkovich, Lauren LaBranche. SCOREBOARD Overall: 9-5 Big 1 9 at Ohio State 1 17 at Minnesota 1 23 Utah 1 25 at Georgia with Arizona 1 31 State Classic Michigan State Central Michigan Western Michigan 2 7 UCLA Invitational UCLA Stanford Cornell 2 15 Kentucky 2 28 Georgia 3 6 Michigan State 3 14 Massachusettes 3 21 Big Ten Championships Michigan State Minnesota Iowa Illinois Penn State Ohio State 4 4 NCAA Regionak 4 16 NCAA Championships scores not available at press time Ten: 3-1 W L W Second First Second Third Fourth Third First Second Fourth W L W The Lady Wolverines sing Hail to the Victors while standing on the champions ' platform after winning the Regional Title at the 1997 NCAA Central Regionals. ThewinpropelledMichigan ' swomen ' sgymnastics program into the NCAA forefront. 180 Sports

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liens. Gymnastics Wolverines Timbl Toward - By Jaime Weitzel One-third of the way through the season, the University men ' s gymnastic team had competed in three meets. At the first of these, the Windy City Invitational, the team finished in the middle of the pack, a major achieve- ment in theeyes of Coach KurtGolder. In only his second year with the team he had been enlisted to rebuild, Colder was equally pleased with their performance at a triangle meet with the University of Iowa and Penn State. When Kurt Colder had walked onto the scene in 1996, the team was 0-8. Colder remarked of his new strategy, We choose to compete against tough teams. Our schedule is stronger than most people expect but the team is headed for growth and we want to set high standards by scheduling top opponents. In time our win-loss record will come back more favorable. The highlight of the season was finishing in the middle and beating several Big Ten opponents, an noteworthy accomplishment for this team in transition. Certain individuals helped the men ' s gymnastics team bounce back with Golder ' s guidance. The team boasted Kevin Roulston, Thefiit te veiy -Coat the 2 ranked freshman all-around gymnast. Tim Nagra, a senior, was expected to repeat as an All-American. Kenneth Keener, a freshman, was nationally tied for sixth on the rings. Many fans of the sport had great expectations for sopho- more Jose Lalo Haro. Randy D ' Amura ' s leadership skills stood out as influencing the growth of the team as well. This season the team was relatively young. Next year the team will be even younger, predicted Colder, But it will be stronger. The major goal of the team in the following season was to finish in the middle of the Big Ten. The future for this team looks very bright, the proud coach commented. We have a good solid foundation. In a couple of years we will be in national contention. The Wolverines came away from a meet in Illinois with a third place finish. Michigan ended the meet with 223 points and was edged out by Illinois (226 points) and Penn State (224 points). The meet in Illinois proved to be a showcase for the abilities of Kenny Keener with his top performance on the rings (9.7) and Justin Toman with his personal best floor excercise (9.15). photo courtesy of Sports Information Front Row: Head Coach Kurt Colder, Kevin Roulston, Kenny Kenner, Randy D ' Amura, Jose Lalo Haro, Bryan Pascoe, Justin Toman, Trainer [en Nauman Row 2: Undergraduate assistant coach Jason MacDonald, darn Hattersley, Chris Peyton, Ethan Johnson, Tim Dehr, Assistant Coach Mike Burns, Jesse Coleman Row 3: Edwin Ledgard, Tim Lauring, Tim DeGraw. PIERRE LECLERC SCOTT PONTO JEROME POYNTON HUCK STILLERMAN raoi V pARRELL YEE ,1982 ' KAUFMAN MC KEE BROC 1 wire scor s photo courtesy- of Sports Information enior Tim DeGraw shows his flexibility in the team ' s dual meet against Iowa. DeG raw earned the title of All-American after his junior season in Ann Arbor. Men ' s Gymnastics 179

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Sports Information By Michelle McCombs Starting the season on the road against rival Ohio State, the women ' s gymnastic team took its first win - defending both the Big Ten Conference and NCAA Central Regional titles. The Wolverines were pegged as the preseason favorites to win both crowns and ranked fourth in the preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. In the 1996-97 season, Michigan won its sixth consecutive Big Ten Champi- onship and proceeded to break the school record .scoring a 197.70 team total to claim the NCAA Central Re- gional Championship. Heading into the season Michigan viewed Minne- sota, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State as its biggest challengers for the Big Ten title. Afterthe Wolverines ' firstwin against the Buckeyes, Michigan Head Coach Bev Plocki stated, We have plenty ' of room for improvement, but I was pleased with the victory considering this was our first meet of the year. Add the fact that this performance came on the road, while integrat- ing new gymnasts into the lineup and competing without the services of Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Sarah Cain at full strength and Nikki Peters not competing at all. We achieved a team victory and overcame some big obstacles. We achieve! andovercai stacles. Michigan suffered its first defeat to Minnesota, the team ' s first loss to a Big Ten team since losing to the Golden Gophers on Mar. 1, 1996 at the Shanica Invitational. Injuries prevented senior Heath er Kabnick to compete against Minnesota and restricted sophomore Sarah Cain to perform only on the uneven bars. Freshman Bridget Knaebleshined at the competition, finishing first in the all-around with a 38.500 score. During the State of Michigan Classic Kabnick won her second all- around title of the season, scored a season-best 9.925 to win the floor exer- cise, placed second on the vault and tied for fifth on the uneven bars. Junior Lisa Simes was the runner-up to Kabnick for all-around, carrying two season-bests of a third-place finish on the floor exercise and a fourth-place performance on the uneven bars. Play- ing through a heel injury, Cain won the vault competition with her first action vault of the season and tied for fourth on the floor. The Wolverines were faced with the difficult task of defend- ing the titles the team had earned in the previous season. With a title to defend, Michigan focused their efforts on success. photo courtesy of Sports Information ienior Heather Kabnick shows off her floor excercise routine at the UCLA Invitational meet. Kabnick won Ail-American honors for her floor exercise routine as well as being named Big Ten Champion for her vault and floor excercise program. Q; Uf Big :esy of Sports Information photo courtesy of Sports Information unior Beth Amelkovich performs a handstand on the balance beam at the Big Ten Championship meet. Amelkovich won Ail-American honors for her balance beam performance and also garnered the ig Ten Championship on the beam. Women ' s Gymnastics 181