page 14
daily nebraskan
monday, march 10, 1980
torybook' swimmers rale
B. " l J 0 "B ji
lisj i llllili JOL i3
By Shelley Smith
Sports Editor
After two years as Nebraska's men's swimming coach,
Cal Bentz finally got wet.
Donning a new pair of nose plugs, Bentz swain SO
yards-fully clothed-and celebrated Nebraska's first Big
Eight Swimming and Diving championship since 1937
with a team who, at the end of the meet, fooked like a
bunch of kids at YMCA camp.
"We performed. We knew we could; it was just a
matter of getting out there and doing it," Bentz said.
Nebraska, led by triple event winner Anders Rutqvist
and clean sweeps in the one-meter and three-meter diving
events, downed defending champion Kansas 426419 in
front of about 1 ,000 frenzied fans.
For Nebraska, the ending capped a storybook tale
written in the three-day event at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
The Huskers led after Thursday and Friday's events,
but Kansas was only 12 points back heading into Satur
day's finals.
Kansas ad
As expected, and much to the hysteria of the KU
cheering section, Kansas pulled ahead after placing first,
third and ninth in the 200-yard backstroke. With only two
events left, Kansas led Nebraska by 37 points.
Fortunately for Nebraska, one of those two events was
three-meter diving. Heading into the final three dives,
Huskers Steve Elliott, who was the defending champion,
Lance Green and Scott Hinrichs held the top three spots,
but Nebraskan Todd Bendkowski had slipped to eighth.
The four divers looked tense but confident heading
into the final dives. Each sensed the pressure-but no one
sensed it more than Bendkowski. His finish in the event
would be crucial to the outcome of the meet.
Bendkowski never gave up, Husker Diving Coach Jeff
Huber said, and Bendkowski scored high enough on his
second dive to pull him up to a fifth place finish.
"I'd like to have every event like diving," Bentz said.
Victory lapr
But even with Nebraska's 51 points scored in diving,
compared with Kansas' 11, the Jayhawk threat still
loomed as the final event-the 400-yard freestyle relay-remained.
Nebraska qualified last during Saturday afternoon's
preliminaries. Assistant Coach Pat DiBiase explained that's
exactly where the Huskers wanted to be.
"Because of the two empty lanes next to us, other
teams wake wouldn't be a factor. Besides, in that lane,
we were closest to our fans, and you don't know how
much that helps," he said.
All the Huskers had to do was finish ahead of Kansas in
the relay to clinch the team title, and when the team of
Mike Hayhurst, Jeff Korff, Tim Boyd and Rutqvist
stopped the clock second to Kansas' fourth,
pandemonium broke loose in the packed swimming area.
"There aren't any better fans in the country than right
here today," Bentz said while drying off from his victory
plunge.
"We're going to keep giving them th.'s type of perfor
mance too," he added.
Yet, through all the hysteria and happy confusion,
Bentz remembered the road to that championship title
had been a long and tough one for the Huskers.
From 1933 to 1937 Nebraska either won outright or
tied with Iowa State for the title every year except 1934.
The best the Huskers had finished since 1937 was second
in 1963, led by an interim coach fresh out of collge-Cal
Bentz.
I . ' '
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1 : lAf - .V-r-"'V';
Photo by Colin Hackley
UNL's Bill Booth "flies" to a second place finish in the 200-yard butterfly finals. David Berg from Missouri won
the event, but Nebraska won its first Big Eight Swimming and Diving Championship since 1937.
o"
1 'f 1
1
Allen 's gym team takes
BigEig.
htch
The Nebraska men's gymnastics team,
led by Jim Hartung, Phil Cahoy and Scott
Johnson, gave itself a present not one of
the gymnasts on the team has ever
received .
A Big Eight Championship.
The Huskers held on to a slim lead over
Iowa State, with Hartung winning the
all-around competition, Cahoy finishing
second, and Johnson finishing sixth to give
the Huskers their first conference title
since 1975-76.
Nebraska beat the Cyclones by only
.6 points, with defending champion Okla
homa finishing third, Colorado fourth,
and Kansas fifth.
Husker Coach Francis Allen said he was
pleased to win the championship, but
would have liked to have set a national
scoring record. He said he also was pleased
that the Huskers proved they could win
without the points from floor exercise
and vaulting star, Steve Elliott.
Elliott was busy last weekend defending
ampmmhip
his Big Eight title in the three-meter diving
competition in Lincoln, and placing second
in the one -meter diving event.
Allen was particularly satisfied with
Johnson's sixth place finish, because of his
previous shoulder injury.
However, Johnson's finish, and the
Huskers' title did not come without some
heavy pressure.
In the parallel bars, Husker Chuck
Chmelka fell twice in his routine, and the
rest of the team knew it had to perform
well after that, Johnson said.
"We could hear the loud roars of the
crowd so we knew Iowa State was hitting
their high bar routines. We knew we had to
hit our routines," he said.
'The intensity was the worst I've ever
been through," he said.
The Huskers' next task will be to defend
their national title April 3-5 in Lincoln.
Allen said the team will be working hard
until then, hoping to improve on
consistency.
fhoto by Mich HnHkfca
Husker Jim Hartung dismounts from the high bar during the Big Eight champion
ship, meet this weekend at Iowa State.
UNL third; record falls
Husker sprinter Merlene Ottey won the Normalee Murray, Janet Bates, Julie Sea-
300-meter dash and set an intercollegiate ton and Jennie Gorham finished fourth,
record with a time of 37.13 seconds to Sharon Burrill finished second in the high
kad Nebraska to a i third place tie with jump by clearing 6-2 and the Huskers
Georgetown in the AIAW National Indoor 4x220-yard relay team of Muriay. Cindy
Track and Field Championships in Colum- Tatum, Gorham and Ottey finished sixth,
bia, Mo. 7
Ottey also finished sixth in the 60-meter Texas-EI Paso won the team title with
dash and Nebraska's mile relay team, of 40 points.