10
Tuesday, April 5, 1933
Daily Nebraskan
n
.Sports
oon Omnia
By Barry Trcvarrow
After spending a prolonged weekend in Manhattan,
Kan., the Nebraska baseball team travels to Omaha today
in an attempt to break an eight-year-old record.
The Cornhuskcrs were scheduled to take on the Kansas
State Wildcats in doubleheaders last Friday and Saturday,
but the weather changed those plans. After two rainouts,
the Huskers managed to sweep the Wildcats 5-2 and 3-0
Sunday in makeup games. The team got permission
to stay Monday to finish the series, but rainy conditions
forced them to return.
The two victories raise the Ilusker record to 24-0.
which equals the B:g Eight conference record for consecu
tive wins of 24 set by Oklahoma in 1975. Today's double
header against the UNO Mavericks is scheduled to begin
at 1 :30 p.m.
Pitching was the key Sunday as Huskers Anthony
Kelley and Bob Sebra each threw complete games. Kelley,
a junior right-hander, pitched nine innings in the first
game to push his record to 5-0. Kelley allowed only five
hits and two earned runs while striking out five batters.
Right-hander Sebra also recorded his fifth victory in the
seven-inning second game. Sebra, a junior, struck out
seven and walked none while allowing five hits.
Nebraska collected 12 hits in the first game. Third
baseman Ben Amaya went three-for-five and left fielder
Dave Bailor hit twice in four attempts while scoring once
and batting in another. Nebraska made three double plays
in the contest.
Second baseman Kurt Eubanks collected two of the
Huskers' six hits in the second game. Nebraska left ten
men on base in the low scoring affair. Nebraska is now 2-0
in the Big Eight.
"Our pitching was stable and our defense was good,"
Husker Coach John Sanders said. "We thought it would be
low-scoring with the cold."
UNO, a NCAA Division II school, lost to the Huskers
last year by scores of 7-1. 2-1, 9-4 and 18-8. Hie
Mavericks post a 1-6 record, but Coach Bob Gates is look
ing forward to playing the country's fifth-rated team.
"We were right in every game except one." Gates said.
All six of UNO's losses came at the hands of Murray
State. "Playing Nebraska really benefits our program and
gets us ready for the season."
Gates, whose Maverick club is a member of the North
Central Conference, said defense is probably his team's
strength. He added that catcher Rick Stanbaugh and
pitcher Mark King have been steady performers for the
team.
"Wc don't really have any individuals who have con
sistently been leaders at this point," Gates said. .
Gates said the main difference between "major"
schools like Nebraska and smaller colleges is the amount
of scholarships available. Nebraska is allotted 13 scholar
ships while UNO gets only three.
"We have to depend on people in the immediate area,"
Gates said.
Nebraska will return home Wednesday to play . reign
ton and continue Big Eight play this weekend against
Iowa State at Buck Beltzer Field.
Split ends will be ready G-Jusker cagers steal spring spotlight
if aerial game is needed
Editors note: This is the first of a nine-part series on a
position-by-position outlook for the 1983 football sea
son. The Comhuskers are currently engaging in spring
drills.
By Kevin VVarneke
Although the Nebraska Cornhusker football team has
been known to rely on the run more than the pass, the
1983 split-end corps will be ready if passing is needed.
While Nebraska has sported such fine ball carriers as
Jarvis Redwine and Roger Craig in the past and will
include Mike Rozier this year, receiver coach Gene Huey
said his receiving squad will be ready to meet any
challenges that fall in its path.
;Gone from last year's group of split ends is three-year
starter Todd Brown. Brown will be missed.
"lie was one-eleventh of a very fine offensive unit,"
Huey said. "He was a starter for three years and any time
you lose that kind of experience you certainly miss that
i kind of a player."
Although Brown is no longer around, his memory
still lingers on.
"I learned a lot from Todd," receiver Scott Schoett
ger said. "I really benefited from having Todd around."
Schoettger currently is listed on the depth chart on
the second team behind Ricky Simmons and Scott
Kimball, who share the No. 1 split-end position.
Both Kimball and Shoettger said they were not sur
prised with their ranking on the depth chart.
"I came into fall camp on the second team, the
third man in the line," Kimball said. "With Todd not
around, I moved up."
"That's the way we were last fall and usually you go
from there," Schoettger said.
Although Simmons has the most experience of the re
turning split ends, Huey said the position is still up for
grabs.
"We have made no clear-cut decision on who will be
the starter," Huey said. "All are striving to be the starter
or at least get in a lot of playing time."
But whoever is tabbed as the starter and the backup,
Huey said he feels confident, that he can do the job.
"We have people in the top three positions, possibly
the top four, that have the ability and talent, also the
speed and quickness, to play football," Huey said.
Kimball and Schoettger both said that they will be
ready when the season begins but added that they hope
the season will produce numerous occasions when the ball
is thrown in their direction.
"I definitely hope that we'll pass more tliis season but
to answer that question you'll have to talk with Tom Os
borne," Kimball said. "Nebraska is a running team, but
the split-end position is important."
"Obviously, as a receiver, I would like to see the ball in
the air, but Nebraska's traditionally been a running team,"
Schoettger said. "I'd like to see more passing but I also
like to win.
"So whatever it takes to win I'll be happy with."
Spring arrived in the Cornhusker State two weeks ago,
but Ncbraskans weren't talking about spring football or
the opening of the baseball season.
They were discussing the Nebraska basketball team
and its rise from a preseason choice for sixth place in the
Big Eight Conference to that of an NIT semifinalist.
Not even the loss to DePaul in New York City can
detract from the progress made this season by the
Huskers. However, the loss indicated what needs to be
Stu Pospisi
done by Coach Moe Iba and his staff before Nebraska can
truly join the nation's basketball elite.
It is evident that Iba must recruit a quality power
forward to give center Dave Hoppen and forward Stan
Cloudy rebounding help. DePaul, with its much taller
lineup, unceasingly crashed the boards against Nebraska,
scoring several times on offensive rebounds.
Hoppen will be undoubtedly stronger and more
confident in his sophomore season, but teams will,
continue to double- and triple-team Nebraska's leading
scorer unless a tall forward can draw attention away from
the middle.
The Husker bench must also be restocked since seniors
Eenard Johnson and Terry Smith have used up their
eligibility.
Redshirts John Matzke, Mike Martz and James Moore,
all 6-foot-6 or taller, will help at center and forward, but
at least one of the guards Iba recruits must develop early
next season to relieve David Ponce and Eric Williams in
the backcourt.
The biggest change necessary, however, has already
taken root in Nebraska's strategy, thanks to the NIT's
30-second clock. The shot clock was used in the four
tournament games and Nebraska averaged 75 points in
victories over Tulane, Iona and TCU.
On offense, the players seemed more relaxed operating
under the time limitation than when Nebraska ran its
"Slow Moe-tion" offense during the games' last four
minutes. On defense, the pressure applied by Husker
defenders forced numerous turnovers that led to Nebraska
dominating the transition game.
The slower offense is effective in certain instances,
but until the past season. Iba was forced to use it ex
clusively because of player limitations. Now that Nebraska
is a quicker team, with an agile center, the offensive
tempo should pick up, especially if the NCAA okays a
45-sccond shot clock for next year.
If Iba is able to accomplish all of this, then the Bob
Devaney Sports Center should house a sellout crowd
for every game next season. It appears that Nebraskans
will become both fair- and Cloudy-weather fans, and their
support could be rewarded by the Huskers appearing in
the 1984 NCAA Tournament in Lincoln.
Speaking of tournaments, the adventure that sports
editor Bob Asmussen and I had in driving to New York
for the NIT would make the American Automobile
Association auto club cringe with disbelief.
Loading up my little Sunbird car with all the essentials
needed for such a journey, we set off from Omaha in the
middle of a blizzard.
As we passed Benson High School, Dave Hoppen's
training ground, the car's front end lurched forward and
to the left. Oh, oh. Flat tire.
It took 90 minutes at a nearby service station for Max,
the mechanic, to throw on another tire, but we were on
the road again, hoping that the weather would clear by
Des Moines.
Well, the snow fell faster and faster, and we drove
further into Iowa. Cars sliding into ditches, trucks jack
knifing and yet Bob told me to keep going, that
conditions would improve. That is, until the left rear
tire blew out as we approached a rest area.
Sensing our luck was about to run out for the night,
we pulled the Sunbird (such as ironic name for the car)
into the snowbound rest area and called the auto club.
After a two-hour wait, a tow truck finally arrived. We
knew we were in trouble when the tow truck's operator,
whom I shall call Jim, promptly announced he was tired,
hungry and his truck was nearly out of gas.
Continued on Page 1 1
va
I R
ao and raus voiieys draw praise
By Mark Quandahl
Nebraska tennis player Ashwin Vasan remembers the
exact date that he first stepped on a tennis court -Nov.
3, 1973.
"And when I first picked up a tennis racket, 1 had no
intention of going as far with it as I have," Vasan said.
Vasan was introduced to tennis by a neighbor who owned
a private club in his native city of Bombay, India. Vasan
said he got caught up in the sport and eventually became
ranked in his state.
"It's been a steady progression," he said, "And you
know what they say : ambition feeds on success."
Nebraska Tennis Coach Kerry McDermott said that
Vasan, who is on the number three doubles squad and
is the number five singles player, has become a team
leader in his First year at Nebraska.
"Especially towards hard work, and reaching a goal,"
McDermott said. "He practices more than everyone else."
McDermott said he learned of The Indian athlete by
contacting a tennis academy in Florida that Vasan atten
ded, and Vasan decided to come to Lincoln.
"Truthfully, I was skeptical, because it meant playing
indoor tennis," Vasan said. "But actually, now I feel
playing indoors helps your game because you get accus
tomed to playing in a variety of situations."
McDermott said he is especially impressed with Vasan's
12-2 singles record.
"He's a real good, real tough match player," McDermott
said. "He's always in every match - even the matches
he lost."
Ashwin is always striving to improve. He has a good
all-around game, but if there's anything that's weak,
that's his serve."
Vasan acknowledged that his serve might be a bit
weak, but added that it was a big improvement from past
years. v
"Two years ago I had a nonexistent serve," he said.
Since that time 1 ve improved it 150 percent. In the past
two years 1 ve been making minor adjustments and tiny
improvements. J
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