pegs 14
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, february 13, 1980
Congers put conference murk on line in Stillwater
By Pat Beecham
Nebraska will put its 7-3 conference mark on the line
tonight .when the cagers invade Gallagher Hall in Still
water. Okla. to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Even though the Cowboys have a 2-8 conference mark
and an 8-14 overall record, Acting Head Basketball Coach
Moe Iba said they are a good team and should give
Nebraska a stern test. .
"I really respect Oklahoma State's material," Iba said.
They've got great scoring with Odom and Youman and
they're getting more scoring out of their other people."
Iba was referring to Mark Connolly, Jon Moorehead
and Randy Wright. In Oklahoma State's recent upset win
over Oklahoma, Wright, Odom, Youman and Moorehead
all scored in double figures to lead the Cowboys in what
OSU basketball Coach Paul Hansen said was "our best
I 1
Greg Downing has carried his share of the load on
the Husker basketball team this year. The freshman
has been a pleasant addition to the UNL squad.
Wrestlers to need
new eastern flair
By Joni Kramer
The Husker wrestling team will have to develop an
eastern flair when it travels to New England this weekend,
according to Coach Bob Fehrs.
"Eastern teams have certain moves and rolls which are
prevalent, and we need to know how to defend these
moves so we don't get caught by surprise," Fehrs said.
Saturday, the Huskers face Maryland and the Univer-,
sity of West .Virginia in a 'double dual at Maryland, Sun
day, at the U.S. Naval Academy they meet William &
Mary, East Carolina and Navy.
According to Fehrs, this will be the first time in several
years that Nebraska has been up against East Coast teams,
and said there will be some unfamiliarity with the
opposing team-for both sides.
The competition this weekend is balanced, with Navy
being the toughest of the five, according to Fehrs.
"We're capable of beating all five teams. It will depend
on how well practices go before the meets. Some meets
will be close, but we shouldn't win any of them by a land
slide," Fehrs said.
Although the team has had some ups and downs, the
strength of the middle-weight classes has helped carry the
team through the season, according to Fehrs, and should
do the same this weekend.
"I feel that our mid-weights have had a good perfor
mance this season.. The weights of 118 and heavyweight
are also wrestling decently, and are improving. At 167,
Tim Neumann is doing very well, and should wrestle well
this weekend," Fehrs said.
Fehrs added that two of the teams Nebraska wrestle
this weekend have their best wrestlers at 167, so these
meets could be a personal test for Neumann.
' This year's team has put an emphasis on a strong finish,
Fehrs said.
'Our primary goal is to come out of the cellar in the
Big Eight at the end. of the season," Fehrs said. "Our duals
are a type of preparation for end of the season tourna
ments." Getting "out of the cellar" may not be easy because
five Big Eight teams are ranked nationally.
The Huskers' dual record is 14-6 with four more duals
. to go before the Big Eight meet.
These meets could be important to Nebraska as far as
eastern seaboard recruiting is concerned. Fehrs said this
trip is needed to give Nebraska exposure to better schools
all over, which will be a step towards the goal of establishing
. national prominence
basketball game of the season.
After their upset of Oklahoma, the Cowboys traveled
to Manhattan, Kan. to take on league -leading Kansas
State, giving the Wildcats all they could handle before
bowing to an 82-72 score. .
Although OSU hasn't won many games this year,
Hansen said they have "played well in games at home, but .
have lost some close ones." Hansen also said he thinks a
good home crowd could "pick us up."
Iba said he isn't too excited about playing the Cow
boys at home.
"It's the smallest place in the league to play," he said.
"The crowd is right on top of you. It's always been the
hardest place for us to play ."
Both coaches agree that defense will be the key factor
in the game.
Hansen said the Cowboys must "shut down Andre
(Smith) and keep (Jack) Moore off the line" for an OSU
victory, but doesn't think the Cowboys will enjoy any real
height advantage against the Huskers.
"We're going to have to play the best defensive game
we've played all year," Iba said. "They're very, very good
at a transitional ball game. They pass the ball three or four
times before they shoot," he added.
If the Huskers are going to stop Oklahoma State they
will have to shut down Odom, the league's leading scorer
with a 24.1 per game average and Youman who is averag
ing 16.8 points a game. They have led the Cowboys to
the third highest point total in the Big Eight this year.
"Oklahoma State is playing right now as good as any
one in the conference," Iba said. "They're playing excel
lent." The Huskers will return home to host the Colorado
Buffaloes at the BobDevaney Sports Center Saturday
night.
Downing pleasant surprise at UNL
ByTadStryker
Husker forward Greg Downing has surprised Nebraska
in more ways than one .
Last week, against both Kansas arid Iowa State,
Downing sank crucial one-andone free throws and
grabbed an important rebound to preserve a narrow
Husker lead with little time left on the clock. Throughout
the season, he has carried more than his share of the load
as a freshman.
Last year, not many in Lincoln knew anything about
Greg Downing. Husker recruiters had their eyes on Lance
Berwald of Washburn High in Minneapolis for quite a
while. But when they went to watch Berwald at the
Minnesota state . tournament, they accidentally saw
Downing,
"I had some real good games," Downing recalled
Recruiters saw the 6-2, 164-pounder lead his team, Duluth
Central, to the Class AA Large School Championship,
Downing was honored as Co-Mr. Basketball for the
state of Minnesota at the season's end. He also was named
the number one athlete in the state by the Hertz
Corporation.
Downing's hometown is officially listed as Duluth , but
that hasn't always been the case.
"I've lived there only since high school," he said, "My
father was in the Air Force, and we've lived all over the
place."
Downing was born in Illinois, but at various times in
his life, has called Maine, Michigan, Texas, and even
Okinawa, Japan his home.
"I like to move around a lot," he said, but added that
the hardest part was leaving my friends behind every
time," He said his varied cultural experiences have helped
him adapt to university life with no trouble.
Downing has four sisters, (two younger and two older)
and a younger brother. He is a "distant cousin" of Husker
I-back I.M, Hipp.
Downing started his high school career with a bang as a
sophomore. .
"My first two or three games, 1 did real well, but then I
settled down. I played consistently throughout the whole
year, and had a pretty good season ," he said .
His junior and senior years were nothing short of
exceptional. Downing pointed to a 35-point game and' a
43-point effort in tournament play as a couple of his
better games, but recalled with relish two others.
"One game I had five slams," he said, "and then later
that year, at state, I had three in one game."
Downing averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds a game
in the state tournament as a senior, and then went on to
become the Most Valuable Player in the Minnesota
Indiana Prep All-Star game, where he faced Eric Williams,
now his present roommate.
Because he stayed in training for the All-Star game
after the season ended, Downing didn't visit many college
campuses, "The only two I went to were Nebraska and
Minnesota ," he said. "Villanova recruited me real heavy,
though , and so did Indiana , Utah and Utah State ,
Downing picked Nebraska, even though he hailed from
Big Ten country, where discussion of Big Eight basketball
ranks right up there with body surfing as a daily pastime.
"I knew nothing about Big Eight basketball "admitted
Downing. With nearly a full season behind him, however,'
he said the conference is hetter than most nennie oive it
... -..
creait tor.
VI think it s improved a lot even trom the start ot the
conference season ," he said , ' ' v
Downing has started the Huskers'Jast two games, but
hinted that, at this point in his career, he feels more
comfortable coming off the bench. "It's nice to start," he
said, "but what counts is finishing the game."
Last Saturday night, Downing found himself on the
razor's edge near the end when he missed a layup the
Huskers needed to stop a late Iowa State charge. But he
recovered the ball and fed Andre Smith for an easy two.
"I was caught in between," he said, recalling the play.
"I tried to dunk it at the last second, but it slipped out of
my hand. I was lucky to get it back, Then I just wanted to
get the ball back out to set it up, when I saw Andre
coming down the lane, and I said,'. 'Hey, that's two
points.'" . . . , . ,
Reisdorff ill, still plans to compete
By Ron Powell
If UNL gymnast Renee Reisdorff shows up at the Big
Eight meet Friday in Stillwater feeling ill, she probably
won't get any sympathy from the other competitors.
Despite a severe case of bronchitis, Reisdorff set a
school record last Friday at Kansas, scoring a 36.1 in the
all-around competition, and led the Huskers to a 136.65
94 .35 victory. v
Reisdorff won three out of four events for the Huskers,
scoring a 9.1 in both the balance beam and floor exercise
and a 9.4 in the vault.
Reisdorff said she began feeling ill Thursday night, and
said she didn't feel like going to the meet.
"I was hoping the meet would get snowed out," Reis
dorff said. "But I slept on the way down, and I felt a little
better when we got there. I thought the meet was a good
chance for a good score so I gave it everything I had."
The 136.95 team score was the second highest for the
Huskers this season, and Reisdorff said the presence of the
Husker's men's gymnastics team at the meet was a definite
help. . '
"
Own rooting section
"We were definitely psyched," Reisdorff said. "We had
our own rooting section there. We might have had more
fans there than they (Kansas) did. They were really
rowdy."
Even more surprising about Reisdorffs performance
was that it was her. first all-around competition since in
juring a wrist in warm-ups in a meet at Bringham Young
University Jan. 12, Reisdorff said the wrist still bothers
her, but added it is getting stronger.
For now, Reisdorff is more concerned about her bron
chitis than her wrist injury, Reisdorff is still on antibiotics
with the Big Eight gymnastics meet set to begin Friday in
Stillwater.
Reisdorff was second in last year's Big Eight all-around
competition. With last year's winner, Colorado's Debbie
Wilcox taking a redshirt year, Reisdorff said she is confi
dent of winning the all-around. She added she is confident
she can break her own school record, despite her illness.
"Last weekend, I gave away a point on errors on the
uneven bars and the balance beam," Reisdorff said, "With
the routines I'll be doing at Big Eight, I don't think it will
happen again."
Huskers will win
Women's Gymnastics Coach Judy Schalk said she is
confident the Huskers will win their third consecutive Bic
Eight title. . 6
"We've been planning and working hard for the meet,"
Schalk said. "There's no reason why we shouldn't win it.
Only sickness, injury or death could keep us from winning
it -
Schalk said she is hoping the team can score 140 points
this weekend, and is hoping the return of senior aU
arounder Patty Carmichael-Gerard will help achieve that
goal. Carmichael-Gerard sprained both of her ankles in the
meet against Missouri Jan. 18, and this weekend will be
her first all-around action since then.
hcC J Htai 1Jobblin8 around, but she's going to gut it
out, Schalk said. e
Schalk said she also is hoping the Huskers score high in
ai a wCtl n ri V U?e ?e scorcs t0 helP WW to the
AIAW National Meet in Baton Rouge, La. April 3-5. To
qualify lor nationals, a tinm mutt .ir.i . i
, , . ' , "" viuiwi wui mcir regional
meet or take an at-large berth based on team averages.
