page 10
daily nebraskan
thursday, march 20, 1980
Se)7fe
UML diver-gymnast Elliott takes a rare time-out
By Ron Powell
Monday and Tuesday, UNL's diver
gymnast Steve Elliott did something he
hadn't done for a long time-rest and
study.
Despite the fact that the NCAA gym
nastics meet is only two weeks away and
there i. still a possibility that Elliott could
dive in the NCAA meet in Boston March
27-29, Elliott didn't work out at the be
ginning of the week.
"I missed two days of school last week
(because of the NCAA Regional Diving
Meet in Austin, Tex.) and I've probably
missed about 40 percent of my classes
this semester traveling to meets," Elliott
said. Tve also been training very hard go
ing into the meet last weekend, so my
body needs a rest before getting ready for
the national gymnastics meet."
Elliott finished seventh in both the one
and three meter events, but only the top
six in each event qualified for the NCAA
meet. The Huskers' Scott Hinrichs quali
fied in the three meter event finishing
sixth.
So close
"I was disappointed I didn't qualify, be
cause I had set that as one of my goals, and
I came so close to qualifying," Elliott said.
"'In that situation, finishing 12th would
be the same as finishing seventh.
"If I were going to lose to someone
though, I'd rather have it be one of my
teammates. I think Scott will do well at
nationals."
Elliott is an alternate in both the low
and high boards in case one of the divers
from the region does not compete. Husker
diving Coach Jeff Huber said one of the
Texas divers that qualified rnay not com
pete at nationals because the Longhorns
could insert a swimmer in his place. The
number of entries per team is limited in the
national swimming and diving meet.
Even if Elliott does not dive at nation
als, it was still a successful year diving for
the sophomore from Amarillo, Tex. Elliott
defended his three meter title and finished
second in the one meter event at the Big
Eight meet.
In the Mid-Winter Invitational here in
January, Elliott defeated both Rick Theo
bald of Southern Illinois and Brent Borg
sten of Minnesota. Borgsten finished eighth
last year in the NCAA meet. Theobald ear
lier this season beat Carlos Giron, an
Olympic diver in 1976.
Early peak
"Steve (Elliott) probably peaked a little
early, looking at the people he beat,"
Huber said. "But on any given day, Steve
can dive with the best and beat them.
"Had he been diving in the Big Ten
(who sends 14 divers to the NCAAs), he
would have qualified. SMU and Texas were
both in our region and are top diving teams
in the country."
Although Elliott has done well diving,
he might be better known for his accom
plishments in his other job-gymnastics.
Before coming to Nebraska, Elliott was the
third-ranked tumbler in the world, and
the best in the United States, and Elliott
has put those skills to use for the Huskers
in the floor exercise and vaulting events.
"When I came here, I didn't expect to
compete for the team," Elliott said. "I just
wanted to stay in shape and work out once
in a while. Both Jeff (Huber) and Francis
(Allen, UNL gymnastics coach) have been
flexible. It's nice to be able to compete for
both teams."
Although Elliott said he spent more
time this season working on his diving,
Elliott still has had some exciting moments
in the gym.
Busy man
After winning the floor exercise during
the Colorado dual here in January, Elliott
had to pull out of the vaulting because he
had to compete in the three-meter diving
at the Mid-Winter Invitational in the Bob
Devaney Sports Center at the same time.
But, between dives, Elliott grabbed his
gymnastics suit, and in wet hair and all, hit
Correction
Daily Nebraskan columnist Brent
Robinson inadvertently left out the
Baltimore Orioles and the Texas
Rangers from his American League
predictions column. Robinson picks
defending American League Champ
ions third behind the New York
Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers
in the Eastern Division. He picks the
Rangers fourth behind Kansas City,
California, and Oakland in the West
ern Division.
a 9.9 vault. After the vault, Elliott went
back and won the three meter event.
"At first, I thought about maybe getting
in a vault between dives, but only
jokingly, " Elliott said. "But when I saw I
could do it, I decided I'd give it a try. It's
something 111 never forget."
The next weekend after that feat,
Elliott dove on Friday against Kansas and
then flew back to Lincoln to spark the
Husker gymnasts to a victory over Iowa
State and Oklahoma in a triangular.
Elliott said he would have liked to do
the same thing two weeks ago during the
Big Eight Swimming and Gymnastics
meets.
"If I would've known I didn't Jiave to
dive Friday night, I think I would've tried
to fly to Ames and help the gymnastics
team out," Elliott said. "I don't know if
the coach (Huber) would have let me. The
thought never occurred to me until after
the meet, because I was concentrating so
hard on diving."
Elliott said competing in two sports has
caused a lot of pressure to be put on him.
"With two sports and school, sometimes
it's hard to maintain," Elliott said. "Both
sports expect so much out of me. I re
member now Francis told me how he
needed me for the Iowa State and Okla
homa meet. That was a big meet, but I
also had to dive that weekend too. Luckily,
things worked out.
"If you don't live up to those expecta
tions, sometimes it can be a real letdown.
That's why you need a couple days to rest,
unwind, and get things back together
again."
Elliott said more than rest has helped
him handle the pressure.
"I think the biggest asset I have going
for me is being a Christian," Elliott said.
"At the beginning of each meet, I turn
everything over to the Lord. Everything
that happens is His will, and if I don't win,
I know the Lord for His own reasons, did
not want me to.
"I don't have a whole lot to worry
about when I lose because the Lord is by
my side. I just thank him for the ability he
has given me."
J . K
t f V
H3 t V oil
V. H-.. j
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Husker gymnastdiver Steve Elliott performs in the floor exercise event.
Baseball team si
By Paul Martin
Coach John Sanders picked up his 99th and 100th
wins at Nebraska as the UNL baseball team took a double
header from Wayne State, 12-1 and ll-O, Wednesday
afternoon at Buck Beltzer Field .
Sanders, in his third year at Nebraska, is now 100-37 as
the Huskers pushed their record to 15-2 on the year.
Sanders is only the third coach in the history of the Big
Eight conference to win 100 games in his first three
seasons.
First baseman Tim Sinovich and right fielder Steve
Oakley each hit homeruns and knocked in three runs to
lead the Huskers in the first game. Also hitting homers
for NU were outfielders Joe Scherger and Stan Haas.
Another one
Haas slammed another one out in the second game
while batting in four runs to pace the Husker attack in the
11 -0 victory.
In the first game, senior right-hander Ray Tromba
picked up the win, his second of the year against no
defeats. Tromba pitched only three innings to capture the
win as the Huskers built up a 4-0 lead behind his pitching.
Rick Evans and Steve Naasz each pitched two innings to
finish off WSC.
Junior Tim Burke gained the win in game two while
combining with Mike Vojtesak and Craig Dietz for a
three-hit shutout.
'We've played all the games we possibly could so far,"
Sanders said. "Our schedule has been good and has given
us an opportunity to experiment."
In the doubkheader with the Wildcats, Sanders had
ample opportunity to shuffle his personnel as Wayne
ears Wayne
State never mounted a serious challenge all afternoon.
During the afternoon the Huskers battered Wayne
State pitchers for 25 hits while yielding eight to the
Wildcats.
Helpful
While smaller college teams like Wayne State offer
little competition for his team, Sanders feels the games
are'helpful.
"While we might have been lulled to sleep a little bit
as a team, individually we've rotated so-many people in
and out it's been a big plus," Sanders said.
The losses dropped Wayne State's record to 1-14 for
the year.
For their next game, the Huskers will head west to face
Southern California College in a game scheduled for
Friday.
Lottery starts April 8
The spring lottery for football tickets will be
April 8 through April 11.
Full time students must pay $35 individually by
check, money order or cash and must present a valid
ID at time of purchase. One, student may represent
a group as long rs individual checks and IDs
accompany each ticket order.
Each student or representative will Uraw a lottery
number at the time of the purchase.
Orders will be taken at the Athletic Ticket Office
from 9 a jn. to noon and 1 to 4 pjn.
Huppert is optimistic
about team's chances
Five UNL women swimmers will be competing among
500 athletes at the 1980 AIAW Division I National
Swimming and Diving Championship scheduled this
weekend at the University of Nevada-Las" Vegas.
Sherri Hayward and Rene Sullivan are the only indi
vidual qualifiers the Huskers will send. Hayward will
compete in the 200-yard backstroke. Sullivan will be com
peting in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races.
The Huskers also will send three relay teams. The 200
freestyle relay team iof Sullivan, Ann Kennedy, Maria
Thompson, and Carol Hall qualified by setting a new
school record at the Big Eight meet with a time of
1 :38.26. The same foursome also set a new school record,
and qualified for nationals in the 400 freestyle.
. A medley relay team qualified by adding individual
times of JoPea Eckstrom, Mary- Freathy, Sullivan and
Hayward. Coach Ray Huppert is optimistic that, for the
1irst time in years, Nebraska could score.
The meet, at the Paul.McDermott Pool Complex, Is the
first Division I championship under AIAW's new three
competitive division structure. The meet starts at 1 1 a jn.
Wednesday with preliminaries. The finals will start at
7 pjn. Wednesday. The same times for preliminaries and
finals are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
One of the top individuals in the meet will be Stan
ford's Linda Jezek, a medley relay silver medalist in the
1976 Olympics, and Texas' Joan Pennington, the Ameri
can record-holder in the 50-yard backstroke.
Defending champion Florida will be one of the top
contenders for capturing the team title along with Arizona
State, Stanford, Texas, North Carolina and others. The
national meet will complete the season for the Huskers.