For those who are able to get out of their sickbeds tonight and trek to Rec Hall, a reward is in store.

At 8 p.m., the men's gymnastics team faces powerful New Mexico in a 'Battle of Champions.' Three 1988 NCAA champions will square off in what should be a night to remember.

For those who simply cannot get out of bed, the meet will be featured in a delayed broadcast on cable Channel 3, at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.

For the Lobos, both Chad Fox and Paul O'Neill hold national titles. Fox last year claimed both the vault and floor exercise No. 1 spots, while O'Neill grabbed the title on rings.

"The main reason for putting New Mexico on our schedule was to have these two young men come and exhibit their talents," Coach Karl Schier said. "They are extreme artisans for their specialist-type events. The fans will see what I'd hoped they see which is really stellar performances, probably of extreme world-class level. In other words, it will be the kind of level you'd see at the Olympic games."

However, the Lobos hardly have a corner on the national-champion market. The Lions (3-0) boast sophomore Mark Sohn, the co-champion on pommel horse.

"I'm throwing a different set than I have in the past," Sohn said. "I'm doing a couple new moves that I haven't done in competition yet, so I'm pretty excited about that. Last week I felt like I was just swinging so I want to prove to myself that I can hit the good sets."

Sohn's idea of just swinging earned him a 9.65.

Although not a national champion, sophomore Adam Carton is also a threat on every event. Carton has won both all-around competitions in the Lions' past meets and last season scored in the 57 range three times. His speciality, the rings, may even give O'Neill some competition.

"Adam is planning to do a triple fly-away on the rings and at the end of a ring routine, that's pretty hard to do," Schier said. "It depends on his training and how the routine itself goes in the meet. If the routine is going easily, then when he gets down near the end, the fans better take a deep breath and don't blink."

If Carton ends his routine with that dismount, it will be the first triple somersaulting rings dismount ever performed in Rec Hall.

"I want to hit rings because I think I have a chance at O'Neill there," Carton said. "If I can do my triple I know I'll have a good chance."

Last year the Lobos outscored the Lions, 279.70-271.35. This evening the battle for individual finishes may be closer than for the team finish. New Mexico has had problems fielding a team this year, and will not be able to furnish a full lineup.

"It's probably going to be a win, but that's really not what we're worried about," junior Karl Abraham said. "We're just worried about the team getting more consistent and improving our scores."

Abraham, along with freshmen Wayne Cowden and Mike Reichenbach, will look to better their routines from last week. Reichenbach has added a new dismount from the high bar and Cowden, a new tumbling run.

Team captain Kurt Schier is still nursing an Achilles tendon injury and is not expected to compete on either vault or floor exercise. However, the senior will once again see action on the rings. Last week, Schier, who was unsure if he was able to do any dismount, landed a 9.45 on that apparatus.

Filling in for Schier on the floor and vault is freshman walk-on Doug Wilson, who netted an 8.0 and 8.75 on those two events, respectively.

"A walk-on that we thought did such a nice job for us will be back in the lineup again," Schier said. "Doug competes very well and we're very pleased with him."

The Lions, like everyone else, have been touched by the rampant flu epidemic. Sophomore Jamie Downer and junior Rob Drass, although expected to compete tonight, were unable to practice a good part of the week due to the flu.