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Pp 10
daily nebresk&n
Wednesday, cpril 27, 1977
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By Mike McCarthy
Coach Tony Sharps and his baseball
team are not exactly in the catbird seat
with a 2-6 Big 8 Conference record.
The Huskers might not even be in any
seat for the conference playoffs if they do
not beat' Iowa State University this
weekend.
The Huskers will prime for the weekend
test against Missouri Western State College
(MWS) today on the UNL diamond.
"I really don't know anything abou
them (MWS)" said John Sanders, UNL
assistant coach. "I do know they are well
drilled."
Sanders said strategy prior to baseball
games is not important.
"Most of the baseball strategy is on-the-field
adjustments," he said. "We just go out
and play hard and try our best."
Sharpe said the Huskers will be throw
ing their "down-the-line pitchers" against
MWS and throw the top pitchers against
Iowa State.
The Huskers will meet the Cyclones for
four games Friday and Saturday,
UNL and Iowa State currently share
the cellar in the Big 8's eastern division.
The top two teams in the conference's
eastern and western divisions will travel to
Oklahoma City April 29 and 30 for the
conference championships.
In the eastern division, UNL and ISU
share the cellar slot with 2-6 records. The
University of Kansas holds down second at
5-3 and the University of Missouri already
has claimed one of the two eastern division
qualifying spots at 7-1.
"It's very possible we can qualify,"
Sanders said. "We're very capable of it."
Sharpe added that the Husker's qualifi
cation hinges on the four Missouri-Kansas
games this weekend.
If Missouri can beat the Jayhawks three
times, and the Huskers win all four from
soorts shorts
Sharon Meir, the coordinator for
women's sports at Loup Center YWCA in
Chicago, will be the featured speaker at the
UNL Women's Athletic Banquet May 3 in
the Nebraska Union.',
For all those interested in playing field
hockey next fall, there will be a meeting
Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. at 3315 "R".
For further information call Harriet Gould
at 784-6461.
Randy Hisey, a UNL junior law student
and Lincoln's top-seeded player, recently
took 2nd place in the Nebraska State
Singles Handball Tourney played at the
Lincoln YMCA. Hisey lost to Rich Hill of
Omaha in the finals 21-18, 21-10.
Sigma Chi fraternity raised $500 for the
Wallace Home for Minimally retarded
children in Colorado from its first All
Greek Fight Night Boxing Tournament Fri
day night.
Bill Kottas, Sigma Chi fraternity
member, said that from 800 to 1,000
people attended the 13 bouts in the
National Guard Armory. -
Fraternity members from the UNL cam
pus competed in the tournament. Kottas
said Sigma Chi plans to sponsor a similar
tournament next year.
He said there may be a possibility of
fraternity and residence hall members
boxing next year.
The winners of the 13 bouts were: Don
John of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity;
Dave Dale of Sigma Chi; Todd Peterson of
Kappa Sigma, Russ Hoffbauer of Tau
Kappa Epsilon; Jay Darce of Phi Delta
Theta; James Doyle III of Alpha Gamma
Rho; Doug Wright of Kappa Sigma; Scott
Hoffman of Kappa Sigma, Mike Elanc of
Theta Chi, Andy Fitzmorris of Kappa
Sigma, Rich Villars of Phi Kappa Psi and
Jack Lanowski of Chi Phi.
ISU, UNL and Kansas would be dead
locked at 6-6. But UNL would qualify
because when the two teams met last
weekend, the Huskers won the first game
of the series, Sharpe said.
"We'll have to win at least three games,"
Sharpe said. "We'll have to catch it, hit it
and pitch it and just hope things go all
right down at Missouri."
But Sharpe said things have not been
going right for the Husker's defense.
"Our defense has fallen down," he said.
"'Earlier in the season, our pitching and
defense carried us, but now our hitting is."
Against Kansas last Sunday, the Huskers
won the first game 10-9, while collecting
15 hits. UNL took the second game 15-6
and pounded out 13 hits.
"Maybe the kids are thinking about
hitting and are forgetting they have to
catch the ball," Sharpe said.
' "You couldn't believe the foolish
errors we had at Kansas," he added. "We
could have won so easily but we didn't
catch a few balls.
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, Photo by Kevin Histey
UNL's softb&n team travels to Grssha today to play the University of Nebraska
at Omaha. The Huskers, who take a 7-6 record into today's games, also wEJ
play Friday and Saturday at the state tournament in Omaha.
ooressive, touo
Dy Jim Kay
An aggressive style of defense and plenty of tough
players are two things that assistant football coach John
Melton said would greet him on his return to coaching
linebackers at UNL.
Melton coached linebackers under former head coach
Bob Devaney from 1967-72. He then moved to the wing-'
back-tight end coaching job when Tom Osborne became
head coach in 1973. Melton returns to his old coaching
grounds with the arrival of new assistant coach Gene Huey
from New Mexico State University.
"The position hasn't really changed that much," Mel
ton said. "When you coach offense you're looking at de
fenses all the time too."
He added that the style of play at UNL has changed
somewhat tills year in that the linebackers will be more
aggressive.
, Aggressiveness is one thing Melton said he looked for
in his linebackers.
"That and speed," he said. "Not flat out speed, but
speed in reacting quickly. Also you have to be pretty
tough to play linebacker."
Two new players are running with the first team at
linebacker. Jeff Carpenter is starting at weak side line
Jjacker where graduated all-Big 8 player O.ete Filien
played last year. Sophomore Lee Kunz is at the other line
backer position in front of two-year starter James Whit
man. "I think we've come up with a good set of lineback
ers," Mtltcc said. 2arpenter and Kunz have looked good
" and Wightman is proven. And Tom Vering is looking
pretty good, too. The young guys like John Ruud, Willie
Young, Greg Olson and Kim Baker are coming along."
In moving to a new position, Melton said, he started
evaluating all the linebackers this spring from the same
starting point.
"We've taken away the Black-shirts and really started
from scratch," he said. "The races are still wide open.
We grade them every scrimmage and those grades are the
basis for their standing on the team." -
He added that all the linebackers have had good mo
ments this spring. . .
"There isn't one of them who hasn't been aggressive,"
Melton said. "It's a different brand than they're used to
playing. They're going forward for more play on the lin
than going slipways or dropping fcsck. But I think they're
ill pretty well adjusted by now." '
Ths Uizzi depth chart lists Ruud behind Kunz jkI '
Wl'tilmn at itrortsiie ' linebacker. Behind Ruud are .
n players
-:ct D-n LsFevct ti tcphcinors Rcgsr Adams.
Cc.-7cr.r an.i Vering z:t r-SLsitg cnMuo at the ether
oree i coac
linebacker spot, followed by junior Bruce Dunning,
Young, Baker and Olson.
Depth chart listings could change Saturday during
the annual Red-White football game at Memorial Stad-
h on hs return
ium. The Spring game begins at 1:30 p.m. One I tusker
starter who will miss the game will be defensive back
Ted Harvey. The Lexington senior will be taking an all
day entrance exam to dental school.
Husker kicking compe
' v: . ' -I ' 9 - i
as eigni vie tor top
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By Jirri Kay
-Cletus Fischer may sometimes wonder if he's coaching
spring football drills at UNL or conducting a punt, pass
and kick competition.
Fischer, who handles the kicking game for the Huskers,
started spring practice with eight unproven kickers vying
for starting jobs.
The top two punters, Randy Lessman and Russ
Vanous, and the top two placekickers, Al Evelan'd and
Ron Vandemeer, were graduated from last year's team.
But Fischer said the. kickers have improved this spring.
"They're starting to come along pretty good," Fischer
$aid.-MI think the cream is starting to rise to the top.
Especially in punting. We've limited the field to four in
both punting and placekicking."
Fischer said several players have shown promise with
their punting skills, including left-footed junior college
transfer Billy Todd.
"He's doing both punting and placekicking at the pre
sent time " Fischer said of Todd. "And he's doing a very
good job. He looked good at Sunday's scrimmage. Tim
Smith is doing pretty well, and Scott Gemar has been a
real surprise. He's showing some great promise."
Fullback Steve Davics and Scott Mensing are the other '
punting candidates this spring.
Smith, also a split end, and Davies will have their
work cut out for them in playing two positions, Fischer
said. '
"They have meetings with their other coaches before
practice so they miss a lot of punting time," he said.
They're going to have to do a lot of punting this summer
to keep up."
The placekicking picture is a little more clouded,
Fischer said, mainly because of the lack of work on the
kicking game in the spring. , :
"It s tougher to work on in the spring because we
don't devote much time to it," Fischer said. "The diffi
cult problem is not punting but the field goal and point
after touchdown kicking in scrimmage conditions. We did
kick some PAFs Sunday but there aren't many chances to
kick if you don't score touchdowns."
The other kickers trying for the top spot besides Todd
are sophomores Tim Bergkamp and Rod Dixon and
redshirt sophomore Dean Sukup. 4 .
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