J Women swimmers aiming for Big Eight title
I By Jeff Apel
Senior Reporter
and Rich Cooper
Suff Reporter___
The bitter taste of a 2nd-place fin
ish in last year’s Big EightChampion
ships still lingers with Nebraska
women’s swimming coach Ray Hup
peiL
Huppert said he blames himself for
the Comhuskers’ 2nd-place finish to
Kansas in the 1988 conference Cham
pionships at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center in Lincoln. The loss ended
Nebraska’s reign of three-straight Big
Eight Championships.
“It was my fault that I didn’t have
the team prepared,” Huppert said.
“(But) we’ve made some changes in
training am! we’ll be ready for this
year’s meet.”
Huppert said last year’s squad
didn’t swim well late in the season. In
addition to finishing 2nd to Kansas,
the Huskcrs finished 39th at the 1988
NCAA Swimming and Diving
Championship’s and failed to score at
the U.S. Senior National Champion
ships in Orlando, Fla.
Huppert is counting on abundance
of experience to avoid another disap
pointing finish. He said this year's
team returns 24 swimmers, all of
whom are balanced performers. The
strengths of the squad will be in the
butterfly, backstroke and diving
events, he said.
Huppert said Nebraska's top re
turning performer is Kristen Neuen
feldt, a sophomore from Wayzata,
Minn. He said Neuenfeldt is a versa
tile swimmer who can swim a mul
tiple of events.
Neuenfeldt proved her versatility
last season by scoring 33 points at the
Big Eight Championships. She fin
ished 3rd in 200-yard individual
medley,4th and 5th in the200and 100
freestyle events and was a member of
Nebraska’s 200, 400 and 800 frees
tyle relay teams.
Huppert plans on giving Neuen
feldt the opportunity to swim as many
events as she wants this season.
"She is so talented,” Huppert said.
“She can do anything for this team
and give a quality performance.”
Huppert said Deanna Wilbourn
and Mindy Maihcny join Neuenfeldt
as lop sophomore returnees.
Wilbourn, from Barstow, Calif.,
shattered the Big Eight record in the
100 backstroke by recording a 57.77
clocking en route to winning nine of
her first 10 races last fall. Huppert
said Wilbourn cooled off in the the
spring because she developed prob
lems in her left shoulder that later
required surgery.
‘It was my fault
that I didn’t have
the team pre
pared. (But) we’ve
made some
changes in train
ing and we’ll be
ready for this
year’s meet.’
— Huppert
Matheny was Nebraska’s leading
scorer at last season’s 1988 Big Eight
Championships with 38 points. In
addition to winning the 50 freestyle at
last year’s conference meet, she fin
ished 3rd in the 100 freestyle, 5th in
the 100 backstroke and was a member
of the Big Eight champion 200 med
ley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Huppert said Nebraska’s top re
turnee in die butterfly is Allison
Barker, a junior from Cambridge,
England. He said Barker has the po
tential to develop into one of the top
butterfly swimmers in the world. The
only factor that kept Barker from
Huppert said Janell Garcia adds
depth in the butterfly events. Garci?
missed qualifying for the butterfly
competition in this year’s U.S. Olym
pic Trials by five-one-hundredths of a
second.
The top returnee in the
breaststroke is junior Terri Long,
Huppert said. Long is the Big Eighths
defending 200 breaststroke cham
pion.
Huppert said diving will be the
strongest area of the team as Nebraska
returns sophomore Amy Aar sen and
senior Julie May,
Aarsen was the Big Eight runner
up in the one and three-meter diving
events last year while May returns
after redshirting in 1988. May won
the one-meter diving event and fin
ished 2nd in the three-meter diving
competition at the 1987 Big Eight
Championships.
Huppert said this year’s crop of
recruits is led by Tammy Custer, a
freshman from Edmonds, Wash.
Custer was two-time Washington
state champion in the butterfly
events.
Huppert said his top di ving recruit
is Julie Handren. Handren finished
2nd in the one-meter diving competi
tion and 3rd in the three-meter event
at the 16 to 18-year-okl junior na
tional meet last year.
Huppert said die race for this
year's Big Eight championship will
once again be between Kansas and
Nebraska. He said Kansas will enter
the season as the favorite to win this
year's title.
“Kansas had a excellent recruiting
year and (is) stronger than us in div
ing," Huppert said. “The shoe is on
their foot now.
“I think our girls learned a lot from
last year's championships and we’re
going to be ready diis year few them.”
Huppfert said this year’s schedule
is the toughest he has ever put to
gether for his team, in addition to
traveling to Tempe, Ariz., to compete
in the Sun Devil Classic, Nebraska
will compete in the National Dual
Meet Invitational in Tuscaloosa,
Ala., which will feature NCAA run
ner-up Florida and No. 5-ranked
Clemson.
'The Huskers will begin their 1989
season Oct. 28, when they compete in
the Big Eight Invitational at Ames,
Iowa.
leam needs maturity against OSU
GREEN from Page 15
and are ranked 10th in the nation. The
Huskers, with then somcumcs
sloppy, always-coachless defense,
will need to score often against the
Cowboys to win the game. It could be
ugly.
Against the Jayhawks, Nebraska
coaches could provide invaluable
experience for their younger skill
players, and not just for this season.
And lei’s lace it, Nebraska can’t
lose to win less Kansas even if they
try.
Maybe Husker coaches can
stumble into a new offensive phase.
Kansas is the perfect opponent to try
something new on.
That doesn’t eliminate the prob
lems the Huskcrs have experienced
this year. But experience can ease any
uncertain situation. If not for the
remainder of this season, then for
seasons to come.
It certainly can case the piessure of
the challenges yet to come from two
schools in Oklahoma that are belter
than Nebraska this year.
Green is a news-editorial and criminal
justice major, and is the Daily Nebraskan’s
copy desk chief and First Down Magazine
editor.
DavW Fahlesoft'Da'iy Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Virginia Stahr bumps the ball during the Husker’s 15-9,15-11,15-8 win against
Kansas Stats wsdnasdav niaht at the NU Coliseum.
NU volleyball team picks up team
in straight-set win over Wildcats
VOLLEYBALL from Page 15
to 13-9, but Nebraska used an ace
serve by middle blocker Carla Baker
and a kill by outside hitter Sue Hesch
to post the 15-9 victory.
In the second game, the Huskers
used a kill and two tips by Virginia
Stahr and a kill by Novak to take a 9
2 lead, then held off a Kansas State
rally with akill by Barsness to post the
15-11 victory.
Nelson said Kansas Slate’s first
two games were frustrating because
the Wildcats lowered their intensity
level when the games were on the
line.
“It was hard tochew gum,” he said.
"When you throw gas on a fire it
doesn’t help your cause ”
Nelson said Kansas State took a 3
0 lead in the third game because
Nebraska appeared to relax.
But he said Nebraska showed “the
mark of a championship team” by
rallying from the deficit for a 15-8
victory. Baker had a pair ofkill spikes
late in the game to seal the match.
Nebraska’s next match will be
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Colo
rado at the NU Coliseum. Admission
will be free to all University of Ne
braska-Line oln students who display
their student l.D.’s.
Huskers, Jayhawks replace injured
NEBRASKA — Tyreese Knox
will play behind starter Ken Clark at I
back this weekend after the loss of
Terry Rodgers to a tom ligament in his
left knee, Coach Tom Osborne said.
Knox, who moved to fullback two
weeks ago when starter Sam Schmidt
broke an ankle, will be prepared to
move into that position il the Corn
huskers lose another fullback to in
jury, Osborne said.
KANSAS — Injuries are also
plaguing the Kansas Jayhawks.
Coach Glen Mason said he did not
expect flanker Willie Vaughn to play
Saturday against Nebraska. Vaughn,
who accounted for three of the Jay
hawks' touchdowns Saturday against
New Mexico State, is recovering from
a sore knee.
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Good Luck Comhuskers!
Experience the Jayhawk fans at their best
*******************************
And after the game....
We'll see you at Lawrence's
Premiere Night Club
I I
from the stadium:
Go south to 23rd Street. We're located
inside the Southern Hills Shopping Mali
between Naismith and Iowa. Look for
Arby's and Perkins in the mall parking lot.
Get here right after the game
We expect to reach our 600 capacity
early!
