The team's lone senior stood majestically before the Rec Hall crowd last Saturday at his final home dual meet. With his senior blanket draped over his shoulders, gymnast Jim Delaney fittingly resembled royalty. But in his one moment to steal the spotlight, his thoughts were on the team.

"All he thinks about is the team," junior Lee Ricketts said. "He thinks about (his routines) when he's competing, but the only thing he's worried about is the team doing well."

As team captain, Delaney's responsibility reaches beyond a contribution in score. On Saturday, he sat on the sidelines warming up for his routines, yet his attention was focused attentively on the Lion competitor. Instead of immersing himself in his own preparation, he shouted encouragement as his teammates performed, and greeted them enthusiastically after their dismounts. He is the epitome of what a captain should be, Ricketts said.

But when Delaney raises his hand for a judge, it's safe to bet that he will perform well.

"He's like the Prudential Rock --he's just like a rock," freshman Tom Ellefson. "When your down or whatever, you can count on Jim for hitting a good routine and bringing you back up again."

Throughout a gymnastics career filled with injuries, Delaney has worked at perfecting his routines. He performed his career best, a 9.75, on the horizontal bar on Jan. 22.

"Now that he's a senior, he's shown that even though his body doesn't want to cooperate every day, he's willing to work with it and get himself where he needs to be," Coach Randy Jepson said.

Despite physical breakdown, he has remained a dependable performer. Delaney's presence and versatility will be missed on every event next year.

"We're going to miss his consistency," Ricketts said. "You can always guarantee that he's going to hit on all pieces."

As Delaney learned when he was a sophomore, there are no guarantees. While washing dishes, he reached into the sink, grabbed a knife and spent the 1991 season recovering from surgery to repair the severed tendons in his hand. No one could promise a full recovery.

"I knew I'd be able to come back at least on floor and vault, probably pommel horse," Delaney said. "But I never knew if I'd be able to get back on the other events, with the actual grabbing onto the parallel bars and high bar and rings."

Despite not knowing, he never considered quitting. During his season off, Delaney found motivation in what easily could have been devastation.

"I was stronger mentally after the whole incident," said the Milltown, N.J., native. "I had something to prove to myself, as well as fans and whatnot, that I could come back."

Delaney has worked diligently to get where he is now.

"He gets to practice and he knows what he has to do and he does it --bam," said Mike Masucci, team coaching assistant and Delaney's roommate. "No complaining, just goes right to work."

He may train intensely, but rarely does he exclude fun. When the gymnasts are down, Delanley adds a touch of humor to make them laugh. It boosts morale, Masucci said. Delaney uses a hint of drama in a funny way to vent his anger.

"He'll get mad, and he'll scream at the pommel horse, and you think he's going to beat it up," junior Dave Riordan joked. "You get scared for the pommel horse."

As Riordan pointed out, Delaney always does something "Jim-like" to make others smile. It's part of the way he carries himself. Outside the gym, the operations management major has been able to balance academics, sports and a social life. How does he do it all?

"Magic," he revealed.