daily nebrssksn
Wednesday, epril 7, 1976
u
huster
n
7:1
i wo gymnasts end careers
while fwoBfart blossoming
By Scott Jckcs
For two Husker gymnasts, last week's NCAA meet was
the culmination of a successful career. For two ethers, it
was just the beginning.
The fear-Gene and Kurt Mackie, Steve Dickey and
Larry Gerard-have been selected Husker athletes of the
week.
At Philadelphia, seniors Dickey and Gene Mackie
probably competed in their last meet after years of
practice. UNL placed fourth in that meet.
"It was a lot of hard work, Dickey said, "but after I
got off the award stand, it was worth it.
Dickey and Gerard, a Lincoln sophomore, earned Alt
American honors by finishing in the top six in an event.
Dickey, a Lincoln Northeast graduate, was fifth in his
.
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Dsa Wearer, Ixsccha sopassaere, wca Lis srs ts3 daciles matches as the UNL teams team blanked
Washburn University 9-0 Monday to rase its record to 7-5. The team next hosts the University of
Nebraska at Omaha Thursday at 2 p Jta. ca the courts east of the Coliseum.
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CificinnQfi's crown ' infocf
By Jim Zslew&ki
With the professional baseball season expected to open
Thursday as scheduled, another set of predictions is due.
1 hope these are more accurate than my basketball fore
casts. With caution thrown to the wind and my copy of
Street and Smith's Baseball Yearbook in hand, I see the
pennant winners as follows.
The Cmcinnati Reds are defending champs, and I see
no one taking their National League (NL) Western
Division crown. The Los Angeles Dodgers lost Andy
Messersmith and may have been taken in the Jimmy Wynn
trade. Atlanta, with a virtually new outfield of Wynn and
Ken Henderson, figures to finish third. With effective
frontline pitching, the Braves could be a darkhorse.
The San Francisco Giants have the best young mound
staff in the majors, but the rest of the team is a couple of
years away. Last year's trade for Bobby Murcer looks
better every day.
The Houston Astros have made some notoriously
bad deals but still have two of the game's better hitters
in Cesar Cedeno and Bob Watson.
In the NL East, sentiment leads me to tab the St. Louis
Cardinals, but instead IT! go on record as picking the
Philadelphia Phillies. They landed two frontline pitchers
in Jon Kaat and Ron Reed and did not lose any starters
spo
Ij5
y
UNLs crew won one of four 20G(kneter races Sunday
at the University of Nebraska Invitational Regatta at
Omahas Carter lake. UNL finished ahead of Kansas State
University to win the women's varsity eight in 8:22,
while Yale University rowed to victory in the other three
races.
Yales winning time in the women's novice eight
was 8:155 UNL was third in 8:29..
Yale also won the freshman men's eight in 7:33.8,
UNLs "A team was seond in 7:52.8.
Yale won the feature event, the varsity mens eight, in
7:0 1 .4. The Huskers were second in 7: ! 6.2.
'
The UNL women's softball team now 3-1, has away
gmts tisst Concordia Teachers College at Seward
todiy and ciinst Wayne State College Thursday. The
Ifcers return heme for a doubleheader against
Northwest llsssari Stite College Saturday. The home
2ses at the Women's Physical Education Elg. field start
tt land 2:30 pxk
in the process. Any attack featuring Greg Luzinski, Mike
Schmidt and Richie Allen has to be murder on a left
handed pitcher.
I see the Redbirds as the runner-up, but if Pete
Falcone, obtained from the Giants, can win 17 to 20
games, watch out. The Cards added Don Kessinger, and
minor league player of the year Hector Cruz will have a
lot of pressure at third base.
The Pittsburgh Pirates added Doc Medich, but I dont
think the Bucs" bats will be enough this year. The New
York Mets have the best starting pitchers in baseball, but
not much else. The Chicago Cubs, featuring Jack
Brickhouse on Sunday afternoon telecasts, again figure to
edge the Montreal Expos in their annual battle for fifth
place.
It will be a good three-team race in the American
League (AL) East. The Orioles pulled a major coup in
landing Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman. If Jackson
signs, 111 take Baltimore. If not, I like the New York
Yankees. They have traded wisely and still have the
game's best pitcher, Catfish Hunter. Boston has my
favorite player in Fred Lynn, and they've added Ferguson
Jenkins as a hurler, but I think the magic has left Luis
Tiant's dancing act on the mound.
I figure the Milwaukee Brewers to finish fourth. They
have gome good young arms and may trouble contenders.
Cleveland lacks pitching but retains a good nucleus of
young ballplayers. It remains to be seen whether they can
make up for the loss of Oscar Gamble's hair. And yes.
Bob LaPorta, the aging and "speedy" Detroit Tigers
will finish in the cellar.
The AL West has been called baseball's weakest
division, and I won't argue. Unless Paul Mitchell, obtained
from Baltimore in the Jackson trade, turns out to be the
next Cy Young, I think the Oakland A's finally will
succomb to the Kansas City Royals.
The rapid development of third baseman George Brett
and the revitalization-of John Mayberry have vaulted
hopes in Kansas City. The Chicago White Sox, racy
uniforms and all, figure to finish third.
Featuring Jeff Burroughs and Mike Hargrove, the Texas
Rangers should end up fourth because of a vacancy in
the bullpen. The California Angels have added Bobby
Bonds and Bill Melton, and if Nolan Ryan has a consistent
year, they could threaten. The most nameless, faceless
team in baseball, the Minnesota Twins, should wind up
sixth.
So there you have it. It's tough to forecast the
outcome of a 1 62-gime season, but at least I stabbed at
it. I hope the Cardinals win it all, but I won't predict the
World Series champ. Seeing how it is the nation's
Bicentennial, and I picked Philadelphia in the NL East,
would you believe. . JNaw, that would be too much.
pommel horse speciality, while Gerard of Lincoln South
east finished third on horizontal bar, fifth in still rings and
fifth in the all-around.
Coach Francis AEen said specialists Dickey and junior
Kurt Mackie on rings had career-best performances at the
NCAA meet.
"It's probably the best I could have done, Dickey saiJ.
As far as consistency this has probably been my best
year. I haven't missed a set, (made a major mistake) this
year and that's hard to do.
Dickey and Gene Mackie, team captain, said the meet
was the most competitive ever.
Mackie, for example, finished fourth in the all-around
last year. In Philadelphia he scored 1.1 points lower than
the previous year but fell to eighth. Teammate Gerard
placed fifth with 107.1 all-around points but was only a
point below the winner, Peter Kormann of Southern
Connecticut University.
"This is the best NCAA meet I've seen, and I've seen
the last five, Mackie said. "The program in the U.S. is
really getting better and 1 think it's got a lot to do with
coaches like Francis.
Mackie said UNLs program also is on the rise.
Mackie, an Omaha Creighton Prep High School grad
uate who sat out one year after breaking his leg, once had
Olympic aspirations, but that has changed. He is getting
married and entering University of Nebraska Medical
Center in Omaha this summer.
Psyched for Olympics
The Olympic hopes have passed to sophomore Gerard,
whose gymnastics career, like that of Gene's brother Kurt,
. appears ready to blossom.
Gerard will face his first Olympic qualifying test May
20 at the Olympic semi-Trials. The top 12 advance to the
Olympic Trials June 20 at Pensylvania State University,
where me top eight gymnasts will make the team.
Gerard labeled his NCAA performance "OK but says
he's "psyched for the Olympic trials.
"It all depends if I do a good job, he said. "I'm pretty
sure of myself though.
The younger Mackie had been expected to replace Pete
Studenski, who as a senior last year won the Big 8 Con
ference still rings title, but he injured his shoulder in
October.
CoalJ have placed scccad .
A cortisone shot two weeks before the Big 8 meet
helped heal the injury, but it came too late.
Lacking endurance, Mackie finished fourth at the Big 8
meet. However, after the compulsory and optional rounds
at the NCAA meet, he was third with an average score of
935. "
But because he was fourth at the Big 8, Mackie wasn't
eligible to try for that good set in the individual finals.
Only the top three at the conference meet qualified.
Penn State clearly was the best team at the NCAA
meet, Mackie said, but he and many of the Huskers said
they thought UNL could have been at least second.
"But we had a good year, winning the Big 8," he said.
"If you look at it according to what we could have done,
it is depressing. But we really had our best year yet.
Other athlete-of-the-week norninees were tennis player
Jeff Schmahl, sophomore from Grand Island, baseball
player Norm Glismarm, senior from Omaha, and trackster
Peggy Liddick, freshman from Lincoln.
ITG UJOGD
By Jisa Hunt
UNL's baseball team scored three runs in the bottom
of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and give the Huskers
a 5-2 victory in the first half of Tuesday's doubleheader
with the Kansas State University Wildcats (KSU).
However, the Wildcats fired back in the second game
behind the pitching of Dave Tuttle to earn a 6-2 win
and a split in the doubleheader.
The Huskers jumped to an early lead when lead-off
junior hitter Bobby Thomas opened the game with a
double and was driven home on senior right fielder Norm
GHsmann's single. ,
But, KSU retaliated with two runs in the second to
make the score 2-K The Huskers tied the game in the
fourth inning when junior left fielder Steve McManaman
singled and was driven home when center fielder Paul
Haas singled.
Haas, a junior from Lincoln, put the game out of
reach with a three-run homer in the sixth and finished the
game with two hits in three times at bat and four runs
batted in.
Boyd Batenhorst, a senior from Tilden, was the
winning pitcher for the Huskers. Batenhorst pitched seven
innings giving up seven hits while pushing his record to 3-0
for the season.
In the second game, KSlTs Tuttle struck out 13 batters
in route to collecting his fifth victory against no losses
this season.
Sophomore Steve Nagel took the loss for the Huskers.
Nagel was relieved by freshman Jeff Costello after yield
ing a three-run homer to Steve Anson in the third inning.
The Huskers were plagued with six errors in the second
.
Now 8-13 on the season, the Huskers will face Wayne
State today in a doubleheader at the UNL diamond
starting at 2 p jn.