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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 1988)
Nel>raskan Tuesday, March 14,1988 Beck hoping for player’s quick recovery By Tim Hartmann Senior Reporter Without guard Amy Stephens, the Nebraska women’s basketball team’s “machine” would spend a lot of time in the repair shop. Nebraska coach Angela Beck said that is why she is hoping Stephens will recover soon from injuries from an m automobile accident she was in Sunday night. Stephens was treated for neck and back pains after she ran into a light pole while driving her car on West A Street. Beck said she Stephens thinks Stephens will return to practice Wednes day, three days before the Comhuskcrs face Southern California in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at California State-Dom inguez Hills University in Carson, Calif. The game begins at 7 p.m. “Knowing Amy Stephens, she’ll be back,” Beck said. Beck said Stephens’ return is critical be cause the 5-foot-8 junior is “like the chassis” of Nebraska’s offense. She said Stephens teams with Maurticc Ivy to give the Huskcrs a power ful offensive threat. “Ivy is the spark plug of our team,” Beck said. “She supplies the offensive power and she’s a flashy type of player. Amy keeps things working, and without her, our engine wouldn’t run.” .Stephens is the only player to start in all 28 of Nebraska’s games this season. She leads the Huskers in steals with 72 and ranks second in scoring with an average of 15.9 points per game. She has also connected on a Big Eight leading 86.2 percent of her free throws this season. Those performances earned Stephens sec ond-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season this year. Stephens said she is happy to be recognized as one of the top players in the conference, hut she is more concerned with Nebraska’s suc cess. “All the individual honors — whether they’re for myself, Maurticc, Kim (Harris) or Coach Beck—arc nice, but the team is the most important thing,” Stephens said. “They’re just icing on the cake.” Stephens said she had to make a difficult change since becoming a Husker three years ago. She said the change occurred when former Nebraska coach Kelly Hill resigned and Beck replaced her. “It was just one of those things that you had to adjust to, but most of the change has been I or the better,” she said. Stephens said she is not surprised by Nebraska’s success this season. The Huskcrs, who finished with a 16-13 mark last year, captured their first Big Eight title and earned their first NCAA Tournament bid this year while compiling a 22-6 record. ‘She has something that a lot of players haven’t got. Most players either have a little desire and a lot of ability or great desire and a little abil ity, but Amy has both. ’ —Beck i§ mu imi mhhmi mm i i 1i “We knew we we’re going to be a lot belter lhan last year,” Stephens said. “We have a lot more depth; we have a lot more players that can come in and play. Plus, our inside game is much stronger.” Stephens said the Huskcrs are excited about playing in the 40-tcam NCAA tournament because it means the team has accomplished almost everything it’s hoped to. She said Ne braska wanted to win the Big Eight’s regular season title and the conference tournament and receive an NCAA bid, but the Huskers lost lo Kansas 87-84 in the semifinals of the Big Eight tournament, ending their hopes of accomplish ing all three goals. Stephens said the loss to the Jayhawks isn’t a big deal because the Huskers have reached the NCAA tournament. “That’s the final step: to go to the NCA A’s,” Stephens said. Beck said she is confident Stephens will finish this season strong because of the inten sity and hard work she puts into her game. “She has something that a lot of players haven’t got,” Beck said. “Most players cither have a little desire and a lot of ability or great desire and a little ability, but Amy has both. Because of this, Beck said, Stephens is a pleasure to coach. “She typifies the Nebraska work ethic,” Beck said. Beck said Stephens usually covers the opponent’s best offensive player because she is a hard worker and is fundamentally sound. “1 like to play defense,” Stephens said. “I find it challenging and I do my best to slop them.” Husker baseball team splits doubleheader By Steve Sipple Senior Reporter A weekend split with nationally ranked Arkansas left the Nebraska baseball team angry. Nebraska split a doublcheadcr with the Razorbacks Sunday in Fay etteville, Ark., losing the first game 7-4 and winning the second 8-5. “I heard some of our guys after the second game say that we should have won both games,” Nebraska coach John Sanders said. “That’s the atti tude we had.” Sanders said the Comhuskers, who improved to 12-1, played solid baseball. “I’m not pleased with the fact that we split, but I’m pleased we played well in both games,” Sanders said. Sanders said one reason he wasn’t totally satisfied was that Nebraska had a chance to record a sweep. The Huskers led 3-1 after the first game’s first inning behind Marcel Johnson’s double and Shawn Buchanan’s triple. Nebraska carried a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning of the seven inning contest. But Arkansas exploded for six sixth-inning runs to seal the victory. Husker pitcher Joel Sealer started the first game and pitched the first five innings of the second game, giving up only one run on one hit. Phil Goguen began the sixth inning and yielded a solo home run to Greg D’Alexander. After a walk and a groundout, Bill Dawson pounded a single to pull the Ra/orbacks to 4-3. Dale Kistaitis then relieved Gogucn and gave up a run on an error by Husker second baseman Bruce Wobken. After working Arkansas’ Randy Bobb to a two-ball, no-strike count, freshman Mike Zajeski came in and gave up a two-run double to Bobb. Kelly Zanc then smacked a solo home run to give Arkansas a 7 4 lead. Kistaitis, now 0-1, took the loss for Nebraska, even though he yielded an unearned run. Ray Harris, 3-0, earned the victory. Husker pitching coach Tom Pratt said he remains confident with all his relievers. He said Gogucn, who en tered the game with a 2.57 earned run average, will bounce back. “It’s just one of those things,” Pratt said. “That’s baseball. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and we’re going to put him right back in there.” In the second game, Pat Leinen went the full nine innings and gave up five runson eight hits. Leinen, now 2 0, struck out four and walked six. Last season, Leinen started two games and pitched 18.2 innings, compiling a 6.75 ERA. This season he has already started three games and pitched 16 innings with a 3.38 ERA. Pratt said Leinen has improved because of increased physical and mental maturity. ‘‘I’ve just seen a big improvement in hisovcrall growth,” Pratt said. “He has worked hard and hasn’t given up. He’s a winner - that’s all there is to it.” Bobby Edwards, 2-2, took the loss for Arkansas. Offensively, the Huskers were led in the second game by catcher Tim Pettengill. Pcttengill, a senior from Carmichael, Calif., had three hits in five at bats, scored one run and knocked inanolher. Johnson,a junior from Vallejo, Calif., went 2-for-2, scored a run and had two RBIs in the first game. Nebraska moved from No. 20 to No. 14 in this week’s Collegiate Bascball/ESPN national poll. Arkan sas fell from No. 8 to No. 15. The Huskers will play Kearney State today at 1:30 p.m. in a nine inning game at Buck Bcllzcr Field. Sanders said Nebraska can ’ t afford to look past the Antelopes because they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. “We’re very mindful of that against non-Division I teams,” he said. Eric Oragory/Daily Nebraa*an residence hall room. fc # Accident gives skier new life goal By Mike Kluck Staff Reporter A 1986 skiing accident that al most tore Susie Shane’s leg off i convinced the University of Ne Ibraska-Lintoln junior to begin bicy cling. Shane, who just returned from a National Cycling Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colo rado Springs, Colo., said her left leg was hanging by patches of skin and Itlie femoral artery after she suffered an accident during the FIS Down hill Skiing competition in January 1986. She said the accident oc curred while she was skiing 70 miles per hour. Shane said the accident caused her to give up skiing and take up bicycle racing because of the reha bilitation process involved. She said the injury forced her to live on pain killers for nearly a year be cause she had to undergo two recon structive operations. Shane, from Morgantown, W. Va , decided to give up skiing dur ing a drive from California — wnere she originally went to reha bilitate her knee — to her parents* house in Omaha. She said the deci sion ended 22 months of depression brought on by the accident “I really think my accident was a blessing in disguise,” Shane said. “My accident made me find out who i was and I have grown from the experience. It was an incredible feeling to realize that at any mo ment, I couldn’t be attached to sports any more.” Shane said the accident in creased her interest in medicine because it taught her how to respect and take care of her body. It also made her mentally lough for bicy cling, she said. “I believe in living on the edge and when I do anything, I throw everything in at once,” Shane said. “In one split second, you can lose everything. I don’t take anything for granted, and I have learned to live life to the fullest. It was a traumatic event to realize some thing terrible really isn’t so terrible. I have also learned that if I want something there is no excuse to not getting it and just to go out and do Shane said she was originally invited to Colorado Springs last October. Because she had only been cycling for two months, she said, she was shocked to be invited and even more surprised by her sixth place finish that earned her a repeat trip there. Shane, a former gymnast who competed with Mary Lou Retton when she was 9, said the cycling camp was beneficial because eve rybody worked together. The expe rience she gained from working with other Olympic hopefuls was incredible, she said. Shane said she overcomes not having a cycling coach by training and building her confidence on her own. She said the strategy has a ,o1 about race tactics. “A person doesn’t have to be the | fastest bicyclist in the field to win a race,” Shane said. “If a person is a smart racer, they can beat out a person faster than them. If a person knows when to stay in the pack or when to break out and if they arc a smart rider, they can win the race. “This is something that is hard to learn.” Shane’s current training sched ule includes riding 30 to 50 miles per day. She said she doesn’t mind training in cold weather, but wind, discourteous Lincoln drivers and a lack of decent roads make her an gry. Shane said she hopes to compete on the U.S. Bicycling Team in the 1992 Olympics. She said that al though she had the same dream while she was skiing, her goals as a bike lacer exist for a different rea son. “I am not so attached to bicy cling as I was skiing,” Shane said. “Bicycling has become a means of expressing myself. My dream now is a (beam of expression of myself.” Shane plans to transfer to San Diego State University at the end of this semester so she can train and obtain her degree in premedic ine and psychology. She said she wants to enter medical school after she obtains her undergraduate degree so she can become an orthopedic surgeon or a sports medicine reha bilitator. “I love to challenge myself to the fullest,” Shane said. »,tm\ i'it n i .iii ’