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Py Jim Zslcwski
The remaining weeks in March are pure heaven for the
basketball addict. With the state high school tournament
in town and the NCAA regional getting under way Satur
day, a "fix" of basketball excitement can be obtained
either personally or by watching the tube.
At this point, the season is all on the line. Secret strate
gies employed by coaches, or teams departing from their
regular playing style rarely succeed. Analysts mention key
Gymnasts qualify
for rQQionol moof
ByScottJcr.es
The UNL women's gymnastics team stepped up the
ladder of progress by qualifying for the regional tourna
ment Thursday and Friday in Brookings, SJD.
That step took five years to accomplish. The next
step, qualifying for the national meet, almost certainly
will have to wait until next year.
"I think some day we wi3 (qualify), but not this
year," said coach Karen Balke. "We're just not ready
yet."
The Huskers qualified for the regional tournament by
averaging 7934 points in their best three meets. The
qualifying standard is 76.
To qualify for the national meet, UNL must win the
12-team regional meet or score 98 points. UNLs 7954
average score ranks 11th of the 12 teams, behind leaders
Southwest Missouri State University (106.66) and
Grandview College (101.72).
Although a team berth is unrealistic, Balke said, some
individuals, especially Peggy Newport, could qualify for
nationals.
Newport's 8.45 balance-beam score is the team high
this season. To qualify for nationals, the Lincoln
sophomore must finish in the top three and score at
least 9j0 at regionals.
Newport said she is more concerned with doing her
best than going to the national meet.
"I just want to hit a solid routine because I could hit
my best routine and still get twelfth," she said.
"I'm just going to go and have a good time.
Everytime I go up there and smile and have a good time
instead of getting nervous, I do better."
Newport said that making her routine more difficult
would help, but that takes time. ,
"If you want to be first in these meets you almost
have to have an aerial in your beam routine,' said
Newport, who lacks the somersault-like move. "It's
stupid to put something in if you miss it all the time."
In addition to Newport, Balke said Sandy Czaplewsld,
Grand Island sophomore, may score in floor exercise.
"She's really been on the up and up all year," Balke
said, adding that Czaplewsld ended the regular season
with her best performance while winning the floor
exercise against South Dakota State University Feb. 27.
Other possible scorers include Omaha sophomore
Kathi Ruddick on the uneven parallel bars and freshmen
Mary Scott of Omaha and Yield Newport of Lincoln in
vaulting.
All-arounder Ruddick and Carol Lundeen, Holdrege
junior all-arounder, both have recovered from injuries
(neck and toe, respectively) and will compete.
SOOJtS
i
Kansas State University, the Big 8 Conference's second
place basketball team, was among six schools invited
Monday to complete the 12-team National Invitational
Tournament (NIT). The Wildcats finished with a 20-7
overall record and 11-3 in the Big 8, one game ahead of
UNL. With the announcement, the Huskers officially were
shut out of a postseason bid.
Other teams named to the NIT field were North
Carolina State University, the University of San Francisco,
Holy Cross University, St. Peter's College and the Univer
sity of North Carolina at Charlotte.
;
The two qualifying rounds of intramural basketball
golf are tonight in Women's Physical Education E2dg.
313 from 8 to 10 pxa. The final two rounds will be
Thursday from 7:30 to 9 pjn. in the same location. The
top two scorers will receive T-shirts. For more inform
ation, contact Gale Window, 472-3457.
Weigh-ins for the intramural wrestling meet will be
Friday at the Fkldhcuse from 3 to 5 pan. Weight clones
are: 118, 126, 134. 142, 150. 158, 167. 177. 190 lbs.
and heavyweight. Competition begins Monday. T-shirts
will be presented to the top tsro in etch weight class, and
a trophy will go to the flrst-pliae team. For mere inforrn
, alien, contact Gale Wfcdow, 472-3467.
: .
I . Several current and former UNL students placed hih
I in a $550 foosbaH tournament last Sunday in Hastings.
1 Marshall Kchtz and Rich Ham won the $2C0 first prize,
"while brothers Tom and Jerry Luth won S1C0 for placing
r second. Scott Keogh and Larry Smisek finished third and
jwen S0. - ,
points to watch, such as tempo, bustle, movement and
match-irps.
But it all comes down to basically one key-talent. The
winners will display it; the losers will cite strategic plays
snd rnvmble something about next year.
Trying to predict the teams with talent this year is ex
tremely difficult. Any of ten teams could win the NCAA,
not to mention the. usual mayhem of the state tourney.
Rutgers' Purple Uriels
In the NCAA Eastern regional, I like the unbeaten Pur
ple Knights of New Brunswick, Rutgers University. Led
by aH-American Phil Sellers and Mike Dabney, Rutgers
has amazing overall team speed. Chief opposition should
be the University of Virginia, which somehow snuck off
with the Atlantic Coast Conference tourney -title. First
round: the University of Tennessee over Virginia Military
Institute, "Virginia over DePaul, Rutgers over Princfton
and the University of Connecticut over Hofstra.
I believe the next NCAA champ will come from the
Mideast, and I favor coach Al McGuire's Warriors from
Marquette. They have astounding defensive rebounding
deadly shooting accuracy an$l a virtual player-coach on
the floor in Lloyd Walton, of whom McGuire said, "the
next open man he misses will be his first." Unbeaten In
diana University will take Marquette to the wire in a nail
biter. If the officials let things get rough, Ifocsier coach
Bobby Knight's gestapo tactics underneath may prevail.
The Universities of North Carolina and Alabama also are
very good, making this easily the toughest regionaL First
round: North Carolina over Alabama, Marquette over Wes
tern Kentucky, Western Michigan over Virginia Tech and
Indiana over St. John's.
The Midwest regional features some tall timber impor
ted from the Pacific Northwest, and the college player
of the year. The University of Washington Huskies, fea
turing the towering frontline which Husker fans may well
remember from the Dec. 6 game, are my choice to over
come the Adrian Dantley4ed Irish of Notre Dame. The
University of Missouri could be a real sleeper here. First
round: Texas Tech over Syracuse, Michigan over Wichita
State, Washington over Missouri and Notre Dame over
Qncinnati.
Calculators vs. pencils
In the West, the defending-NCAA champion UCLA-
husker Bad luck
gJFjf just ask
By Dennis Onnen
'Wait until next year would be an appropriate slogan
for swimmer Pat DiBiase, Husker athlete of the week.
Two years ago as a freshman at the University of Kan
sas (KU), DiBiase took second in the Big 8 Conference
meet in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke. Ik lost to the"
University of Oklahoma's John McLintock in both events
by a total of 29 second.
Last year, the junior from Omaha had to sit out after
transferring to Nebraska.
Then at last weekend's Eig 8 meet it appeared DiBfase's
fortunes were changing. Friday he won the 100-yard
breaststroke in 593 seconds with the second-place
finisher .4 seconds behind. Ia Saturday's 200-yard breast
stroke preliminaries, the physical education major record
ed the fastest time of 2.1 1 .
Then came the bad news. DiBiase was disqualified from
the 200-yard breaststroke finals.
"The judge at the far end felt I had done an illegal
dolphin kick at the turn," he said. "I did not make a dol
phin motion to do that, you have to bend your knees."
' Both the Oklahoma State University coach and Husker
coach John Reta were at that end of the poo! and tried to
convince the judge he was mistaken, DiBiase said, but the
judge wouldn't budge. . r
Felt sick and bad
KUs Tom Compton eventually won in 2:09.17, a Big
8 record, but DiBiase said he could have gone as much as
a second faster. He has never lost to Compton and had a
dual win earlier this year.
"I can't tell you how sack, how bad I felt," he said.
"Sunday I woke up and went out and just drove around
two or three hours. -
"After working a whole year, I was very disappointed
since I felt that was my best event.
He said his season is geared to the Big 8 meet and that
the duals are relatively insignificant. Nevertheless, he re
mained unbeaten this year until the final dual at Okla
homa State, where he finished second in the 200-yard
breaststroke to teammate Bryan Moss. DiBiase had the
fastest conference time in the event (2:12.76) entering the
Big 8 meet. '
He said he began concentrating on that meet two or
three weeks in advance, and added he repeatedly visual
ized the race in his mind-even visualizing his times for
each lap.,
Ia dares, "I was just there physically, he said. "I
was thinking about the meet.
NCAA q'sallllcatiass
IHs time of 593 in the IGO-yard breaststroke is above
the qualifying mark of 53.8 for the NCAA meet March 25
through 27, but he said only a few swimmers will break
that standard. He and Moss, who went to the national
meet last year, have a good chance of being invited to fill
the 40-man field, ks
Bruins wO encounter resistance from upstart University
of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels, who defeated
the University of Hawaii-IIlo 164-, caused the intro
duction of calculators instead of pencils at the scorer's
table. They think a stall is something bad that happens to
a car, and when they're on, they run better than a team
on Ex-lax. They must' be considered the darkhorse of the
tourney. However, I think UCLA st3 has enough talent
and court savvy to take the regional. First round: Mem
phis State over Pepperdine, Arizona over Georgetown,
UNLV over Boise State and UCLA over San Diego State.
In the nationals, I see Ularquette (or the Mideast
winner) knocking the Brums off the throne.
ReaHy-sticb'cg-my-neck-oat department: In the state
tourney, TO go with Omaha North, Omaha Ryan, HoweCs
and Adams. By Saturday night, all of my picks probably
will have been eliminated and you'll all call me crazy. But
what fun is a tournament without some predictions,
second guessing and postgame discussion? IH enjoy it,
even if my favorites falter. So sit back, fellow zddictit and
enjoy the games to come.
risbraskan
really a bum trip
busker swimmer
He also is preparing for the national AAU meet in
April. He has broken the 100-yard breaststroke qualifying
rime of 59.9 for that meet and wO try to break the 200
yard breaststroke time of 2:10.5 in a meet at Lincoln East
Igh School March. 20.
As captain jhis year, DiBilse said one of his respon
sibilities was keeping up the team spirit. And although the
12-maa team finished seventh in the Eig 8, DiBiase said he
remains optimistic about the future.
Te didn't beat that many teams, but we had a close
team, he said. "It's going to help us in the long run.
Other athlete-of-the-week nominees were trackster
Peggy liddick, freshman from Lincoln; basketball guard
Kathy Hawkins, junior from Omaha; and basketball
seniors Larry Cox from Denver. Jerrv Fort from Chicsn
ana &teve w from mc
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