friday, november 30, 1979
P2Q3 10
daily nebraskan
Grapplers open
with double dual
By Shelley Smith
Although Nebraska wrestlers might get beat along the
way, they're not going to roll over and just let it happen,
Coach Bob Fehrs said Thursday,
'There has been a definite change in the team since last
year," Fehrs said. 'They're confident. They know they're
tough."
The Huskers open their home season this afternoon
with a double dual meet against St. Cloud State and
Central Missouri at 2 in the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Fehrs said both schools "are not complete pushovers
by any means." '
However, he added that he would be extremely dis
appointed if the Huskers don't beat both of them.
BOTH SCHOOLS finished in the top 20 of the NCAA
divisions last year, and should have some tough competi
tion for the Huskers in several weight classes, Fehrs said.
"Central Missouri should be good at 126 and 190
(pound weight classes). St. Cloud will be tough at 118,
126, 167 and possibly at heavyweight," he sadi.
Because of the Nebraska-South Dakota State' basket
ball game Friday night at the Sports Center, there will be
matches on two mats at the same time," Fehrs said.
"This will be a fast moving situation, People will be
able to see a couple of matches in over an hour of time,"
he said.
The atmosphere of the meet also should be different,
Fehrs said. Because it is the Huskers' first dual of the
season there is more pressure for a team win, he
explained,
The Huskers' last two meets have been open meets and
team scores were not tallied, he said.
"There's a different pressure on them now. They -know
it's a team tournament and that a team win is at stake,"
he said.
. "OVERALL, they should handle the pressure well.
They're ready to go, " he said.
Last weekend in North Dakota, the Huskers took three
firsts, one third and one fourth. The year before, they had
only two thirds and one fourth,
Fehrs said he is excited about the Huskers' apparent
improvement.
"It makes me feel that we're doing what we should be
doing," he said.
Starting for the Huskers Friday should be:
118-pounds John Scherer, a freshman from Omaha
126 Rick Whitehead, a sophomore from
Iowa
134 Bayard Closser, a sophomore from Ohio
142 Billy Selmon, a junior' from Ohio
150 A! Freeman, a sophomore from Iowa
158 Judd1 Norman, a sophomore from
Chadron
167 Tim Newman, a senior captain from
Wisconsin
177 Jim Kinsey, a freshman from Omaha
190 either Eric Hoffman, a freshman from
Iowa or George Mink, a senior from
Nebraska
Heavyweight Darrell Meyer, a sophomore from York ,
4 r3
ri y x
What goes up
must come down
Husker center Andre Smith (40) goes
for the blocked shot against an unidenti
fied Kansas player. Smith, a junior, is
expected to see a lot of action this week
end at the Bob Devaney Sports Center as
the Cornhuskers open their season against
South Dakota State tonight, Portland State
tomorrow night and Eastern Washington
on Monday evening. Tipoff for all three
games is 7:35 p.m.
Daily Nebraskan Photo
Swimmers face tough weekend meet
The 1979 Husker Invitational Swimming and Diving
meet, possibly the best invitational meet for women this
year, will be Friday and" Saturday at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
"Other coaches have told me that tlus is the finest
meet offered women swimmers in the nation this year,"
Husker Women's Swimming Coach Ray Huppert said,
The eight-team meet will include defending invitational
champion Florida State, which defeated the Huskers 82-56
in a dual meet Wednesday.
Also competing will be AIAW region VI champions
Minnesota and Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and
Missouri. 4 .
Huppert said Wednesday's loss to Florida State will not
have an adverse effect on the Huskers this weekend.
"We were in every race except at the very end.
State had rested for this 'meet," Huppert said. "It was
their fifth dual and only our second,
"We made a few mistakes, like strokes, turns and starts,
but that's going to happen when a majority of your team
is freshmen and it's only your second meet."
Huppert said four or five Huskers had lifetime best per
formances in that meet,
"We have to be concerned with winning the meet. But
right now that's not the first thing," he said.
Huppert said he will take that philosophy into the invi
tational this weekend, hoping to place well, but with the
main emphasis on improving times.
"We've listed our priorities from A to Z. Winning is one
of our top priorities, but improving our times would have
to be at the top," he said.
Although Huppert has picked Florida State to win the
invitational, he said he hopes the Huskers can equal or
better last year's fourth place finish.
He added that many of the, other teams will have
tapered for the meet, putting their-swimmers in skin suits
for faster times. But Nebraska will not, saving that phase
of training for February and the Big Eight meet.
Huppert said a number of swimmers at the meet will be
competing at the Olympic trials and will provide keen
competition.
Preliminary events begin at 1 1 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m.
Saturday, Finals start at 7 p.m. both nights with all diving
competition on Saturday.
"People who want to come early for the basketball
game Friday or Saturday night can get into the meet free
with their basketball ticket stub," Huppert said. Admis
sion per session is $ 1 for students and adults. . '
Ghost of season past haunts 'Ratings Game9 violations
With the college football regular season winding down,
instead of football predictions, we'll offer a few observa
tions on the season past and the upcoming basketball
campaign.
Last week's predictions turned out to be the season's
best, as this columnist hit on 19 of 21 games for 90 J
percent. Only Billy Sims' one-man show over Nebraska
and an Arizona field goal, as time expired to beat Arizona
State, spoiled chances for a perfect mark. The season total
stands at 270-96-8 for 74 percent. -
A final football prediction column on the bowls will
appear later.
Since nearly everyone except TV's Quincy has per
formed ah autopsy on the Nebraska-Oklahoma game, we
won't bother. But in light of Nebraska's seemingly annual
loss to the Sooners, we'll pass along the latest anti-Big Red
football joke making the rounds in Lincoln: "What do a
new car and the Nebraska football team have in
common?" . . . "They both have an automatic choke."
. " ,
The Huskers fall to 7th in the AP sportswriters'poll and
to 8th in the UPI coaches' poll should come as no sur
prise, since Nebraska broke two of the three cardinal rules
in the "Ratings Game" in their loss to Oklahoma.
First, they lost at the end of the season. An early
season loss (like last year's setback to Alabama on open
ing day) doesn't have nearly the impact a late-season loss
does.
Second, Nebraska lost on television. Many poll voters
only get to see a handful of teams in person, so they'rely
heavily on TV to see how the rest of teams are doing.
The third rule in the "Ratings Game" is to blow out
every opponent you get a chance to, something the
Huskers never got to do in the last five weeks of the
, season.
It appears that Nebraska's best possible finish in the
polls, with a victory in the Cotton Bowl, will be 5th,
moving ahead of the Oklahoma-Florida State and
Alabama-Texas losers.
The Husker basketball team warmed up for the start of
its regular schedule by swamping Windsor, Ont, in an ex
hibition, Saturday and scoring 113 points in the process
(which is roughly equivalent to the total number of points
scored by Nebraska in the last three years added
together). -
Yes, the schedule does get a little tougher, with
Purdue, Minnesota and Cfeighton on tap. But not much
tougher when , yoa see it also includes Eastern
Washington, San Angelo State, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, South
Dakota State and California-Bakersfield.
However the Huskers aren't alone in the "soft" non- '
conference scheduling department.
Iowa State has St. Cloud State, Roosevelt, Eastern
Montana and MacMurray, Colorado lined up Adams State,
U.S. International and Redlands University. Missouri
meanwhile tackles Southwest Texas State, Butler and St.
Louis University.
In other words, for the best of college basketball, check
y.0UI1.TY.Ii.stin8.s for Sunday afternoons this winter, not
the Big Eight schedules
