Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1981)
page 1 2 daily nebraskan friday, april 3, 1981 Huskers hold 280.50-279.85 lead over Sooners By Kim llachiya The Nebraska Cornhuskcrs led the fieJcl Thursday night at the opening round of the 1981 NCAA gymnastics championships. The Huskers scored a 280.50 in the compulsoncs to lead the field of 10. Okla homa is in second place with a 279.85 and UCLA is third will) a 278.00. Iowa Slate is fourth at 270.95. The high point of the meet was a pair of 9.85's scored by Phil Cahoy and Jim Har tung on the pommel horse. UNL Assistant Coach Jim Howard said, "ending up competition like that on the pommel horse was just superb. It gives us good momentum for tomorrow. It's really important to start on an up note." Head Coach Lrancis Allen agreed. "We're really happy we're ahead. It's o cry trN) rk I V , v : " yf of f 1 - ' ltJ,J J a good incentive for tomorrow. We knew if any event would make or break us.it would be the pommel horse. "We have the best pommel horse men in the nation. Maybe even the world." Cahoy said the pommel horse was his best event for the swing. "I felt pretty confident." he said. "It's (9.85) my best pommel horse compulsory ever. I just wanted to hit six for six (all the routines) solidly. I think I did that but some were kind of shakey." Cahoy did start out shakey scoring a 9.20 in the rings, a 9.25 in the vault and a 9.3 in the floor exercise. "The floor exercise compulsory are a little harder this year. There are lots more parts for deductions. The hold parts are harder and it's easier to fall," Cahoy said. Howard said the entire team started zontal bar. "They started getting into the comp etition, loosened up and did their routines like they were supposed to," he said. All-arounder Scott Johnson, competing at nearly full strength after an ankle injury, said he was really nervous going into the pommel horse competition. "I had a need for that score (9.5) because I had to set up for tomorrow's meet. Johnson also scored a 9.65 on the horizontal bar to finish in 1 0th place in the all-around with a 55.90. Jim llartung led the all-arounders with a 57.80, scoring a (.75 on the high bar, 9.6's in the floor exeicise and rings and 9.5 's in the vault and parallel bars. Okla homa's Bart Conner who is second in the all-around with 57.60. scored a 9.8 on the high bar. UCLA's Peter Vidmar is third in the all-around with a 57.20. Cahoy is out tight but loosened up at the hori- fourth with a 56.90. UCLA 's unnoticed gymnast looks for national limelight Photo by Mitch Hrdlicka Nebraska's Phil Cahoy performs on the pommel horse at Thursday's NCAA meet. Cahoy scored a 9.65 in the event. The meet will continue tonight with the optionals beginning at 7 p.m. Classless comment typical By Cindy Gardner The limelight of this weekend's NCAA Gymnastic finale is focused on the all around duel between Nebraska's Jim llar tung and Oklahoma's Bart Conner. No one would deny that Conner and llartung must both be considered favorites, but waiting somewhere in the shadow of all their pub licity is a gymnast who, according to his coach, should not be forgotten. UCLA's Pete Vidmar is aware he's been somewliat overlooked. Vidmar said: "Yea, 1 know but 1 don't really care. I just want to do the best I can for the team. I'll worry about the individual stuff at USGF (United States Gymnastics Federation)." Of course, Vidmar realizes the best way to help the Bruins is to score consistently high in all Ids events. He claims this con sistency is something he's had a little trouble with this season. "I need to hit 12 for 12," he said. "Often in a meet I'll miss on just one event." For Vidmar, the most consistent meet this season was the Pac-Ten Championship. The Bruins premier gymnast won the all around title with a combined score of 1 14.25. That score would have fallen right between the 114.4 score by Conner and the 114.05 achieved by llartung at the Big Light Championships. Vidmar says all went well at the Pac-Ten meet except his optional high bar routine. "I missed my Hip catch," he explained. Coincidental!)', llartung and Conners also had trouble on their high bar routines at the conference championships. Conner, too. missed a catch while llartung had dis mount trouble. Vidmar seems to admire both llartung and Conner, and he said he feels they de serve all the publicity they've been given. "They've consistently been the two best gymnasts in the nation," he said. Vidmar's coach. Art Scherlock, said his No. 1 -gymnast has to be considered a con tender to place in the all-around. Conner's coach, Paul Ziert. called Vid mar a "very, very good gymnast." Ziert said of Vidmar: "If he's healthy, he has to be a contender. 1 understand he's been doing well." The question of Vidmar's health refers to an ankle injury he received last summer. The Bruin gymnast now says the ankle is at 100 percent. "The only problem is I haven't been able to get the level of difficulty I'd like in my routines because I've been letting my ankle heal," Vidmar said. "It's healed now and I think I've peaked for this meet. If I hit all my events I'll have no right to complain." OU can't defeat NU gymnasts with their mouths It's conflict time again. Oklahoma and Nebraska will once again clash, perhaps for the national title, in gymnastics. Although they are only two of 10 teams competing, I'd be willing to bet that most of the conflict and controversy generated by the NCAA championships, scheduled for this weekend at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, will involve the Huskers and the Sooners. i r" sfryEier The Sooners, bless em, have managed to direct more ill feeling toward them selves in this state. Oklahoma Coach Paul Ziert has taken the latest pot shot. Ziert was quoted by Al Carter of the Daily Oklahoman about the mental differ ences between his and Francis Allen's squads, as well as saying Allen has used in juries as an alibi. The quote also was noted by the Omaha World-Herald's Wally Provost. It said: "There's really a philosophical differ ence between us. Our guys are bright guys. Their guys are just what you'd expect from Cornhuskers. There's no refinement to them at all." Wait. Ziert "s not through yet. Rambling onward "Nebraska is feeling a lot of pressure they weren't expecting to feel," Ziert said. "All of a sudden a lot of their guys are starting to come back from injuries. Suddenly, there's a lot of cortisone going around." That type of quote is typical of Okla homa players or coaches the last few years. They are always making Karl Marx state ments classless. That's quite a way to rally the troops, but apparently it's what the "refined" Sooners respond to best. Barry Switzer has been known to ruffle some Nebraska feathers as he goes about his business, but it seems to work for his teams. They always play their best ball of the season at bowltime and Huskertime. The Sooner gymnasts, on the other hand, are adept at winning the Big Eight crown, but haven't had as much success when the more important national champ ionship meet rolls around. The Sooners beat the Huskers in Big Eight competition in 1979, but the picture on the next Nebra ska press guide showed nary a single Soon er on the victory stand at the nationals in Baton Rouge. La. Nebraska won the No. 1 spot last year, too, in case anyone has forgotten. If the Sooners want to break that string, they'll have to remember they can't do it with their mouths. criticizing him, not even the ones who have graduated. To me. the real class of the Hoosiers is sophomore guard Isiah Thomas. Thomas is a unanimous All-American and gets all kinds of media attention, and yet he seems to be as friendly and unassuming as your best friend. DePaul Coach Ray Meyer is like that. too. They both have a glow of warmth around them. When tough college basketball confer ences were discussed a few years ago. the Missouri Valley did not rank very high. But now. considering Indiana State's second place finish in the NCAA tournameiu two years ago and the good showings of Wichita State in the Midwest Regional and Tulsa, the NIT champion, it looks like "the Valley" is moving up quickly. shorts Random Shots: Bobby Knight of Indiana may not be the classiest guy in the world, but you don't hear his players The UNL men's rugby club will travel to Lawrence, Kan., this weekend to participate in the all-college regional qualifying tournament. Coach Vince Powers said this will be the team's most important event of the season. Oklahoma in back -to-back double-headers this Saturday and Sunday. Games will begin at 1:30 p.m. both days at Buck Beltzer Field. The UNL soccer team begins its spring season tomorrow against Kansas State. The game will begin at 2 p.m. at Mabel Lee Field. Nebraska will compete in the Emporia State women's Softball tourna ment today and tomorrow. The Husker baseball team will host The UNL men's track team will compete in the Sunangle Classic at Tempe. Ariz.. Saturday. Tickets are still available for the re maining sessions of the NCAA gymn astics meet. Optional competition will be tonight and the team and all-around champion will be decided tomorrow afternoon. The individual event champ ions will be decided tomorrow night.
