By Jim Franz
Sports Editor

Team Wisconsin had just run into a buzzsaw from Ohio in the finals of the Team World Horseshoes Tournament, yet there wasn't a great deal of disappointment.

If there was ever a team that was just happy to be there, the Wisconsin entry was it.

After all, it took a colossal effort from Randy Rein for the Wisconsinites to get that far. Climbing the step-ladder finals, Rein found himself head-to-head with three-time World champion Dale Lipovsky of defending champion Minnesota. All three other matches had been completed.

Rein not only had to defeat Lipovsky, he knew by how much, too.

``My teammate, Dan Kangas, came over during a shoe measure and told me I had to win by eight points just to tie,'' Rein said. ``Tell me that's not pressure. But it gave me a reason to concentrate, too, knowing we were still in it.''

Rein did it, too, beating the 17-time Minnesota state champion, 31-19, to lift his team into the final match for the first time ever. Wisconsin edged Minnesota, 87-83.

In the finals, however, the balloon burst in a hurry for Rein and his team. Only Lorraine Sternberg managed to win her match. She defeated Amy Francis, 30-28.

Ohio's five-time World champion Alan Francis, who hit 39 ringers out of 40 in one tourney game, edged Wisconsin's Clayton Gage, 24-20. Bob Graber defeated current Wisconsin state champion Dan Kangas, 31-25.

The pivotal match, however, belonged to Ohio's Tina Tonnous. She knocked off Rein, 36-18.

``I was confident in myself,'' said Tonnous, who lost only one game in the entire three-day tournament. ``We expected to see Minnesota in the finals. It wouldn't have mattered to me if we had. I still would have had a good time.

``Alan, his wife and I were on the same team last year. We picked up a couple of new people and it worked out well.''

Rein simply hit the wall.

``The Minnesota game drained me,'' he said. ``That game was very emotional. This was the first time we got this far. We didn't choke. We held in there.''

NOTES: First place was worth $1,800 to Ohio. Second-place Wisconsin earned $700. ...Francis posted the best ringer-percent for a game at 97.5. ...Rounding out the top seven teams were Ontario in fourth, Missouri I in fifth, Illinois in sixth and Indiana in seventh. ...The tournament, in its ninth season, was hosted by the Beloit Horseshoe Club.