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Thursday, March 17,1988 □ 13
Huskers aim to win on nine-day trip
By Mike Muck
Staff Reporter
Spring break will give Nebraska’s softball
team a chance to learn and gain some respect.
Nebraska softball coach Ron Wolforth said
the Comhuskers will be looking for respect
today when they begin their trip by traveling to
Houston to compete in the Houston Classic.
The Huskers will face Texas A&M Sunday in
La Porte, Texas, and will compete against
Northwestern and Pacific Tuesday in Stockton,
Calif. Nebraska will then conclude its nine-day
trip by traveling to San Jose, Calif., to compete
in the San Jose State-Bud Light Invitational.
Wolforth said the nine-day trip is important
because Nebraska, which was ranked second in
preseason polls, fell to No. 13 after compiling
a 5-3 record at the Roadrunner Classic in Las
Cruces, N.M. He said he is optimistic about the
Houston Classic because Husker lead-off hitter
Jill Rishel, shortstop Jane Kremer and pitcher
Donna Deardorff have all recovered from inju
ries that plagued them throughout the Roadrun
ner Classic.
“We are all healed up and close to 100
percent,” Wolforth said.
Wolforth said Texas A&M, the 1987 na
tional champions, Indiana and Califomia
Berkeley are the teams to beat in the Houston
Classic. The other teams participating in the
three-day tournament include Kansas, Colo
rado State, Iowa State, Sam Houston State,
Baylor, Bowling Green and Southwest Texas
Slate.
Wolforth said Nebraska will open the tour
nament by facing Baylor, Bowling Green and
Southwest Texas State in pool play. He said the
winner of the first-round play will advance to a
single-elimination championship round on
Saturday.
“A great team plays well consistently,”
Wolforth said. “Right now we are looking to
find a little bit of consistency. When we find
that level, we will be able to start separating
ourselves from other teams. We need to find our
level of intensity and play at it.”
Pacific softball coach Theresa Lowrey said
she is also concerned about her squad’s play.
She said Pacific is a young team that will
benefit from playing the Huskers because it has
seven freshmen, four sophomores and three
seniors on its roster.
“We look to gain a lot of experience by
playing Nebraska,” Lowrey said. “They are a
good team. We are going to take care of our
selves. It is an important game for us because
we have the chance to play a team that is out of
our region.”
Lowrey said she isn’t worried about
Nebraska’s national ranking because the Tigers
have five teams in the Pacific Coast Athletic
Association ranked in the top 20, including No.
2-rankcd California State-Fullerton.
“I feel there is not a whole lot of difference
between the teams in the top 20,” Lowrey said.
See HUSKERS on 14
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UNL boxer to vie for Midwest title
By Steve Sipple
Senior Reporter
Amateur boxer Greg Sabala may
be an unknown entity around Lin
coln, but when he waUcs down main
street in ScottsblufT he is easily
recognized.
Sabala compiled a 127-20 ama
teur record and won two state junior
Golden Gloves titles and three re
gional junior Silver Gloves titles
after starting his boxing career in
1977 while fighting out of
Scottsbluff. He said ms amateur
boxing success made him a notable
figure in his hometown.
“I'd be oeMhftaeeetand every
body would say, ‘Hey, that's Greg
Sabala, said oefbre a work
out in the basement of Schramm
Hall. "Even when I go back home
now, people don't ask me about
school. The first dting they ask me is
if I'm still fighting.”
Around the university of Ne
braska-Lincoln campus, he said,
nobody even knows he’s a boxer.
Sabala, 23, will attempt to gain
some notoriety when he goes after
the 156-pound tide at the Midwest
Golden Gloves Tournament of
Champions in Omaha at the Civic
Auditorium. First-round action
begins at 7 p.m. Friday, with a sec
ond round scheduled for noon on
Saturday. The finals will begin at
7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Sabala will be making his fourth
appearance in the Gloves and will be
seeking his first title. But publicity
isn't wnat drives Sabala during his
rigorous nightly workout.
Sabala said he is driven by the
fact that winning the Gloves title
would be the first step toward his
ultimate goal—a spot on the Olym
pic boxing team.
“To be realistic, it’s going to be
tough,” he said. “But I have the
ability and the skills. I just got to go
out and do it.”
A Midwest title would qualify
Sabala for the National (tolden
Gloves Tournament, which will be
in Omaha May 16-21. He said a
national Gloves title probably
would get him an invitation to the
Olympic trials, a series of bouts
before tlrit summer's Olympic
Games. The winners will gain
berths on the Olympic team.
Sabala said he's also driven by
the reality that his next loss will
probably be his last
“I set a goal for myself,” Sabala
said. “If 1 hadn't accomplished all 1
wanted by the time I’m 25, fd quit.”
And while those words have been
uttered prematurely by many box
ers, Sabala said, his decision will be
final malhly because when the next
Olympics roll around he will be 27.
“That’s not going to bea problem
for me,” Sabala said. “I know
enough to say no more.”
Sabala also said he knows
enough to realize he's capable of
winning a Midwest title this week
end. He said he proved his worth in
1986 during his Gloves champion
ship fight with Columbus' Mike
Sackett. Sabala lost a close decision
in what turned out to be Sackeu’s
last fight
“It was a really heated decision,”
Sabala said. “They called it very
close. I think I beat him, but that’s
history now.”
In last year’s Gloves, Sabala lost
a decision in the semifinals to Randy
Eckmann. He fought last year in the
147-pound class.
Sabala said training this year
with the University of Nebraska
Lincoln Boxing Club, which is
coached by Randy Neisen, has
helped. Last year he prepared for the
Gloves by training by himself in his
father’s garage in Sccttsbluff.
D»vid Martinez, Sabala’s brother
m-iaw, was hiscoraermeiHXiee they
got to Omaha.
Sabala often spars with Trevor
Lakes-Nieman, who finished sec
ond in the 139-pound class in last
year’s Gloves.
“It’s nice to come down here and
be a part of a team and have someone
to spar with,” he said.
Sabala, who is in EUs first year of
college after spending two years in
the Marines, said his love for boxing
will make it tough for him to <|uit
“I iust love the sport,” Sabala
said. I like to stay in shape. I’m a
physical education major and 1
don’t drink and I don’t smoke.
There’s a lot of discipline in
volved.”
Other UNI. club members fight
ing this weekend include super
heavyweight Doug Carroll of
Piattsmouth, 201 -pound Marc
Grimminger of Ainsworth and 141
pouoder Jim Lovely of Omaha.
Gymnast Schiefelbein likes
becoming a Comhusker
By Richard Cooper
Staff Reporter
It took a tough work ethic and a
personality conflict with his former
coach, but Nebraska gymnast Mark
Schiefelbcin is finally a Comhuskcr.
Schiefclbcin,a
junior transfer
student from New
Mexico, said he
came to Nebraska
because the Husk
ers practice four
hours a day, two
hours longer than
the workouts in
stituted by Lobo gymnastics coach
Rusty Mitchell. Schicfeibein said a
strenuous schedule and the presence
of All-America teammates Tom Sch
lesinger, Kevin Davis and Mike Ep
person make him a better gymnast.
Schiefelbein said he realized he
had to work hard when he arrived at
Nebraska because the Hnskers have a
talented lineup. He said because of
that talent, Nebraska has earned three
straight runner-up finishes at the
NCAA Championships.
1 ve worked out in a lot of gyms,
and this is the most competitive one in
the country,” Schiefelbein said. “The
way the workouts are, it doesn’t look
like your average college gym be
cause everybody is an all-arounder.”
Schiefelbein said his decision to
transfer to Nebraska was also influ
enced by a personality conflict with
Mitchell.
“When I walked into the gym I
knew I wanted to come here,”
Schiefelbein said. “I saw all the
names you see in the magazines. Most
of these guys have been on the na
tional team since they were 10 years
old, so I knew this was the place for
„ . ft
me.
Schiefelbein said he has always
been behind his peers in ability be
cause he started competing when he
was 14, Most national-caliber gym
nasts start competing when they are
10, he said.
Schiefelbein said he tried to catch
his peers by moving to Mesa, Ariz.,
when he was 17 so he could work out
at the Arizona Flares Ciub. He said
the move paid off because he made
the U.S. Junior National Team in
1985, which surprised him, he said.
“I’ve come a long way since those
days back in Fountain Valley,”
Schiefelbein said. “I never thought I
would get this far in gymnastics, but
those days in Mesa really paid off.”
After graduating from Corona Del
Sol High School in Tcmpc, Ariz., in
1985, Schiefelbein waited a year to
attend college. He was then offered a
scholarship to New Mexico.
Schiefelbein proceeded to become
the Lobos’ No. 2 all-aroundcr and
finished 19th in the all-around at the
1987 NCAA Championships.
Schiefelbein said he wanted to
leave New Mexico after his freshman
season, but Mitchell convinced him
to stay. Schiefelbein said he made his
decision to transfer after his sopho
more year at New Mexico.
acmetcibein saia nis immeaiate
goal is to compete in the all-around
competition at the NCAA Champion
ships April 14-16 in Lincoln. He said
his favorite event is the high bar be
cause people love to watch it.
Nebraska men’s gymnastics coach
Francis Allen said Schiefelbein has
become a better all-around gymnast
since transferring to Nebraska. He
said Schiefelbein’s best events are the
high bar, vault and floor exercise.
Schiefelbein said he realizes it is
going to take time for him to make an
impact on the Nebraska program.
But, he said, he knows he can
contribute to the Huskers because of
his hard work and dedication to
gymnastics.
“I owe it to myself and Francis to
keep working hard and keep getting
better,” Schiefelbein said. “When
I’m done with gymnastics, I want to
be able to look back at my career and
say I accomplished something.”
NU sets records in meets
By Lori Griffim
Staff Reporter
Five team and one individual rec
ord fell when the Nebraska gymnas
tics team faced four ranked teams in
triangular meets last Thursday and
Saturday nights.
The No. 8-ranked Comhuskers set
a season-high and school record for
team scores Saturday night at Tucson,
Ariz., while competing against Ari
zona and California State Fullerton.
Nebraska finished second to the
Wildcats with a score of 189.05,
which broke the previous record of
187.40 set last season against Okla
homa.
On Thursday, the Huskers finished
third in a triangular meet at Tempe,
Ariz., losing to Arizona State and
Alabama.
Nebraska student assistant coach
Dan Schermann said the final margin
of Saturday’s meet was not decided
until the last event. The meet was tied
at the completion of the flow exer
cise, but Arizona coach Jim Gault
used two petition scores to win the
meet by .10.
Schermann said the Huskers, now
8-8, were hampered by injuries
throughout the triangular meet. He
said Michele Bryant did not compete
in Tempe because of a sprained ankle,
and Angie Burdette is out for the
season after breaking her right foot
while attempting a double back
mount on the floor exercise.
Schermann said the loss of Bur
dette is a big one because Nebraska
was hoping to have the sophomore
from Greeley, Colo., compete in the
floor exercise at the NCAA Champi
onships April 22-23 in Sait Lake City.
He said Burdette can take pride in
knowing she helped get the Huskers
where they arc now.
In Saturday’s meet, Nebraska
freshman Lisa McCrady tied an indi
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