-Spores
Hws&eim prepare for College WorM Series
By 4etf Kcrbellk
In the Nebraska softball press guide, first year
coach Wayne Daigle said his 1984 goals for his team
included playing in the Big Eight conference cham
pionship game, and "anything else, like the NCAA's
will be just icing."
Icing it is as Nebraska and seven other teams will
be in Omaha this week competing in the NCAA
championships (College World Series) beginning
Wednesday at Seymour Smith Field. The Buskers
will open against the Northwest regional winner
Fresno State, Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
The Buskers, 37-1 1, qualified for the World Series
after defeating third-ranked Oklahoma State in the
Midwest regional, a team they had beaten twice two
weeks ago for the conference crown. Nebraska won
the best of three series with two extra-inning games,
an 18 inning 3-2 victory Saturday, and a 14 inning
2-1 victory Sunday.
Daigle said playing the extra inning games did not
UNL heptathlete Clark
aims to win at NCAA
By Mike EeiBey
Experience is a precious commodity in college
athletics today, but in the case of Nebraska heptath
lete Deb Clark, it isn't necessarily a prerequisite for
success.
Clark, a freshman from Woodstock, Conn., had
never competed in the heptathlon until winning the
Kansas Relays this spring. Ber first ever heptathlon
score ranked second in the nation among collegiate
women.
"My high school was never competitive in any
thing like the heptathlon," Clark said. "But last
summer I attended the Lake Placid Olympic Devel
opment Camp and began training for it up there."
Clark's initial performance in the heptathlon
earned her a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Champion
ships June 2 in Eugene, Ore.
.Winning the NCAA meet is the initial goal Clark
set for herself. "If I can't win it, I'd at least like to
place in the top three," she said. "My real goal is to
make the Olympic team."
Nebraska Bead Track coach Gary Pepin was quick
to praise Clark's first season with the Buskers.
"Deb has excelled above and beyond where she
was when the season started," Pepin said. "She
attained a really high level for a freshman."
Besides Clark, ten other individuals and two relay
teams will represent Nebraska at the NCAA Cham
pionships. The Nebraska women's track team, which breezed
to a first place finish at the Big Eight Outdoor
Championships, will be relying heavily on sprinters
Angela Thacker and Rhonda Blanford, who have,
each qualified in three events.
Thacker and Blanford have both qualified in the
100 and 200 meter runs. Blanford is eligible to com
pete in the 1 00 meter .hurdles while Thacker is a long
jump qualifier. Both athletes run a leg on the 4 x 100
relay team which will be competing in Eugene.
Coach Pepin said he is uncertain whether his
dynamic duo will enter all of the events they have
qualified for. "I'm not sure where Angela and Rhonda
will be competing," said Pepin. "We haven't decided
on our entries yet." .
Jennie Badami, Marcia Tate and Nicole Ali are
qualifiers in the 400-meter run. Badami and Ali
established qualifying marks while finishing third
and fourth, respectively, at the Big Eight Champion
ships. Beather Smith will represent Nebraska in the high
jump and the 4 x 400 meter relay team, which shat
tered the Big Eight record with a 3.40.25 clocking,
will also be at the NCAA meet.
Pepin feels the Busker women could be m the
thick of the race for the national title. "I hope our
women's team can get into the top ten," Pepin said.
Individually, Pepin said the Buskers have the
potential to garner some gold medals. "I think Deb,
Angela, Rhonda, and our 4 x 1 00 relay team all have
a shot at winning," Pepin said.
The men's team, which finished second to Iowa
State at the Big Eight. Championships, will send four
athletes to compete in three events at the NCAA's.
The Buskers will be sending Ed Ross in the 110
meter high hurdles, pole vaulter Glen Loontjer, and
high humpers Darrin Burton and Jeff Loescher to
Eugene.
Pepin said the men's team will focus more on
individual performances than team scoring. "We
really haven't qualified enough men, but we hope to
get some individuals to score some points for us," he
said.
Tuesday, May2Z 1984
wear his team out for the upcoming tournament.
"Actually it did us good to play in a couple of
pressure games," he said.
Daigle said he doesn't know who he will pitch
against Fresno State; it depends on the scouting
reports he gets back. Be said either senior Sandy
Wolterman, who has been plagued by a shoulder
injury most the season but is healthy now, or Mori
Emmons, 22-4, will get the starting assignment.
Fresno State will be one of three California teams
participating in the World Series. The others are
UCLA and Cal-Poly Pomona. Texas A&M, Adelphi,
Northwestern, and Utah State round out the tour
nament field.
Texas A&M earned an at large berth after they
defeated Cal-State Fullerton, a team that held the
number one spot in the ratings all year long.
Nebraska has lost to A&M four times this spring, but
beat them once early in the fall. If the Buskers
should win Thursday night's game they will meet the
winner of the Texas A&M vs. Cal-Poly Pomona game.
Daigle said he believes that the Buskers can win
the Series and that the team is feeling great after
winning the regional.
"They are on cloud nine right now and we'll let
them stay up there a few days until Thursday," he
said.
Daigle said by having the tournament in Omaha
he hopes it will serve as an advantage. Be said he has
been pleased with the support his team has received
this year.'
All year long Daigle has been asked if he has been
surprised by the team's performance this season,
especially after last season when trouble arose
between the players and last year's Coaching staff.
"Of course, I'm surprised," he said. "I don't think
anybody wouldn't be surprised."
Daigle said the reason for the turn around lies in
the attitude the women have.
"They are close and they have been through a lot,"
he said. "Their attitude has carried them through in
the close situations."
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. Daily Nebraskan
Rhonda Blanford, like several Busker tracksters before her, clears national qualifying hurdles.
high m
With their seasons drawing to a close, UNL sports
teams took their conference "finals" and received
several passing grades.
Conference and regional tournaments saw Ne
braska finish first in women's softball and track,
second in men's track and third in baseball.
The defending outdoor champion, UNL's women's
track team held on to their title by beating Kansas
State 156 points to 108.
Rhonda Blanford received the highest marks for
her performance, as the junior from Denver raced to
five gold medals.
Nebraska also placed first in the long jump, where
Angela Thacker jumped 22-4 VS and in the Heptath
lon as freshman Debbie Clark accumulated 5,540
points.
The UNL softball team, which defeated Oklahoma
State for the Big Eight title on May 5, swept the
Cowboys in two games to qualify for the College
World Series in Omaha.
Nebraska's men's track team finished second to
Iowa State, 146-105, in the Big Eight finals. Buskers
Daily Nebraskan .
Glen Cunningham and Ed Ross captured the only
first place medals Jor Nebraska. Cunningham won
the 800-meter run, while Ross took the 110-meter
high hurdles.
The Nebraska baseball team entered the confer
ence post-season tournament with a 45-18 record
and a national ranking. But after stopping Okla
homa 15-7 in the opening game of the tournament.
UNL dropped the next two games 7-3 to Oklahoma
State and 5-3 to Oklahoma to bow out of the double
elimination tournament.
"Busker catcher-relief pitcher Bill McGuire earned
All-Big Eight honors at both positions and was
joined on the All-Big Eight team by teammates Mike
Duncan (first base) and Scott Hooper (third base).
Nebraska finished their season 46-20 but failed to
receive a bid to regional competition to qualify for
the College World Series.
The Nebraska doubles team of Jim Carson and
Craig Johnson made it to the qualifying round of the
NCAA men's tennis championships in Athens, Geor
gia. But the two fell to Steve Bickhan and Tim Cass of
New Mexico 6-2, 6-2.
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