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

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Men ' s Final Record Unavailable 1 16 at Windy City Open 3rd vs. Iowa L 224.050-226.675 vs. Ohio State L 224.050-225.000 vs. Illinois W 224.050-223.400 vs. Michigan State W 224.050-223.200 at Illinois-Chicago W 224.050-221.050 vs. Iowa W 224.050-216.550 1 23 1 29 Illinois-Chicago W 228.475-219.700 Illinois W 227.550-222.950 Ohio State L 227.550-228.325 2 5 2 12-13 2 20 2 27 3 6 3 14 3 20 3 26-27 4 10 4 22-24 at Penn State L 226.175-226.500 at Winter Cup Challenge Massachusetts at Iowa at Santa Barbara Invitational Michigan State at Michigan State at Big Ten Championships at NCAA East Regional at NCAA Championships Gymnastics I Freshman Scott Vetere displays his strength during his routine on the pommel horse. Vetere captured a sixth place finish in the all-around at the Windy City Open to begin his career. Junior Jose LaLo Haro finishes his Senior Randy D ' Amura shows off his crowd-pleasing floor routine. Haro finished second on the vault and third on the parallel bars at the Windy City Open. vault routine. D ' Amura was the only senior on this predominantly fresh- men and juniors squad. Shelley Skopit Sports 153

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by Jaime K: Nelson Josh Levin cc he does the splits as part of his still ring routine. Levin scored a 9.0 on the rings against the top ten ranked Flames of the University of Illinois-Chicago. ith only one returning senior, the men ' s gymnastics team looked to its new recruiting class to step up this year. We have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, said senior co-captain Randy D ' Amura. We are expecting a lot from the freshmen and have high expectations this year. We lost three seniors and gained five freshmen but we gained talent overall. With head coach Kurt Colder in his third year at the University, this was the first year the team consisted mainly of his recruits. Right now is the first year in the Colder era, said sophomore Kevin Roulston. The next two years are our best chances to be a power house in the Big Ten. The new class accepted the challenge put forth by the team. They were ready to step up during competition even though it was their first year competing at the college level. We look to do very well this season. It feels great to be a part of a great recruiting class. I want to do well and work hard for the team, said freshman Scott Vetere. I feel really confident about the reputation of our class, said freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong. There is a lot of talent on our team so that we think we could take the NCAA title. The strength of our team lies in its unity, everyone is behind everyone else 100%. Together with the new class, the returning team members were united by dedication to accomplish a goal. Before the season, the team set clear objectives for competition. We want to win the Big Ten championship and have a shot at the National Title, said sophomore co-captain Justin Toman. We are much more focused as a team this year. Although the new class faced high expectations, team members still looked up to their captains for leadership. Both coaches and players agreed that the captains served a vital role in team cohesiveness. We all look up to Randy, our only senior, he is always the first one in the gym and stays the latest. He makes us work harder because we see how hard he works, said Vetere. LaLo Haro and Kevin Roulston were leaders on the team because of their talent and competition experience, said D ' Amura. Together as a team, we have lofty expectations for men ' s gymnastics this year. High Expectations New faces asked to step up and contribute to make the season successful 152 Men ' s Gymnastics

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team receive recognition for their stel- lar performances. The team found it- self on the winner ' s platform numer- by Caelan Jordan ous times - The balance beam. The uneven bars. The vault. The floor exercise. Throughout the season, the women ' s gymnastics team found that, in competition, it was necessary for the team to be strong in many athletic arenas. The season opened in December with an intrasquad meet in Ann Arbor. Then, the season officially opened with a meet in Gainesville, Florida, against Florida and Illinois. Our first intrasquad went really well. It was just a chance to show the crowd how hard we ' ve been working and to please the crowd, said freshman Melissa Peterson. Because the team finished in the top ten at the NCAA championships each of the previous six seasons, with an eighth place finish in 1998, team members looked to a successful season. We are going to have a great year, said senior tri-captain Kristin Duff. We have six new freshmen, and combined with the experience of the seniors, juniors, and sophomores, we are definitely on the way to a championship. Team members fought for improvement in their best individual areas in order to come together as a team and perform successfully in competition. Personally, I am going to concentrate on the beams and bars. With the great coaching on this team and the experience level of the team, there is no way I can ' t improve, said Erin McWatt, a first-year student. During the season, the team faced schools such as UCLA, Georgia, and Michigan State. Despite the strong records of these competitors, the University gymnasts were optimistic about the team ' s chances for success. We are competing against strong teams, but we ' re up there with them. We are going to make it a challenge for them to compete against us, said junior tri-captain Sarah Cain, a 1998 All-American. Throughout the season, the women ' s gymnastics team performed in their individual events to come together as a team, looking to please the crowd and go on to a successful season. Balancing a Tough Wolverines aim for another successful season and another NCAA top ten finish i 54 Women ' s Gymnastics