Sports
NU swimmers continue title domination
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
A decade of dominance continued
Saturday when the Nebraska men’s
swimming team captured its 10th
consecutive Big Eight title.
Nebraska coach Cal Bentz said the
Comhuskers used balance and an
improved performance to wrap up the
team title before 669 fans at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center. He said
Nebraska claimed its title by turning
in its strongest performance of the
three-day meet on Saturday.
The Nebraska men tallied 655.5
points to outdistance Kansas, which
finished with 560. Iowa State fin
ished 3rd with 407.5 ooints, while
Missouri was 4th with 217.
In the women’s competition,
Kansas won its second straight Big
Eight title by tallying 703 points.
Nebraska finished 2nd with 626
points, while Iowa Stale was 3rd with
355. Missouri finished 4th with 208
points.
Bentz said the Nebraska men have
become accustomed to winning Big
Eight titles. He said that familiarity
led to a post-meet celebration that
sent all the Huskers leaping into the
water after they received their cham
pionship trophy.
“Ten in a row - another champi
onship,” Bentz said. “It’s like a
game. You have to take them one at a
time and do what you have to do.”
Bentz said the challenge now for
Nebraska is to “sharpen up” in
preparation for the NCAA champion
ships. The NCAA championships
will be staged March 30 through
April 1 in Indianapolis.
“In terms of a team, the Big Eight
meet is always going to be impor
tant,” Bentz said. “But as we get
better we’re going to have to focus on
the NCAA’s as well.”
Nebraska women’s swimming
coach Ray Huppert said his team also
needs to focus on the NCAA’s. He
1 said he is confident about Nebraska’s
chances at this year’s competition
because the Huskers grew up during
the Big Eight championships.
“We took a giant step forward in
becoming experienced,” Huppert
said. “We’re a much more mature
team.”
Huppert said he could not fault his
team for its 2nd-place finish.
“We did a hell of a job,” he said.
“I told them it’s too bad there has to
be a 2nd-placc team because I
thought we were winners.”
Huppert said the Nebraska women
were led by Jcne!l Garcia and Carole
Johnson. Garcia won the 200-yard
butterfly in 2:02.41 minutes, while
Johnson claimed Big Eight titles in
the 100 and 200 backstrokes.
Huppert said Johnson is a fierce
competitor.
“She’s the kind of kid you want on
the free-throw line with no time
left,’ ’ Huppert said.
Garcia said she was happy with
her performance. But, she said, her
individual title was not enough to
overcome the sour feeling she had
because of Nebraska’s 2nd-placc fin
ish.
“It’s really tough because I think
we out-swam Kansas,” Garcia said.
“We out-performed them.”
Garcia vowed Nebraska would
beat Kansas next year.
“Next year will be a great year,”
she said. “We get a few freshman in
and get them going, and we’ll be
ready.”
Kansas coach Gary Kempf said he
was pleased with the performance of
the Jayhawk women. He said they are
“on a roll” that will carry into next
season.
Kempf said the Kansas men were
plagued by bad breaks. He said they
lost several close races to Nebraska,
and also were victimized by disqua®
fications resulting from false starts.
“We weren’t overmatched,”
Kempf said. “We just had a couple
bad breaks.”
The Nebraska men were led by
Scan Frampton, Mark Nieuwcnhuis
and divers Lewis Meyers and Law
See CHAMPIONS on 8
Shaun Sartin/Daity Nebraska?
Members of the Nebraska men’s swimming team display their trophy while celebrating their
Big Eight championship.
Weekend brings ‘last chance’ NU qualifiers
By Darran Fowler
Staff Reporter
Phenomenal.
That was Nebraska assistant and
middle distance coach Dave Harris’
assessment of sophomore Dieu
donne’ Kwizera’s record-setting per
formance at Saturday’s last chance
qualifiers meet at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
Kwizera, a native of Bujumbura,
Burundi, qualified for the national
indoor track meet by setting a school
and Sports Center record in the 800
meter run despite being ill on Friday
night. His time of 1:48.37 bettered
the mark of 1:48.97 set by former
Husker Scott Poehling in 1979.
“Literally, he just came out of
bed, warmed up and ran,” Harris
said.
Kwizera was one of three indi
viduals and two relay teams who
qualified over the weekend for the
NCAA meet. The meet will be March
10 and 11 at the Hoosier Dome in
Indianapolis.
At a qualifying meet at
Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, the
Nebraska women’s 1,600 relay team
of Ximena Restrepo, Beth Webster,
Tanya Lidy and Linetta Wilson
qualified for nationals with a time of
3:39.47.
After failing to surpass the quali
fying standaid in the long jump at the
Hoosier Hills Classic qualifying meet
in Indianapolis on Friday, junior
James Morris returned Saturday to
qualify at the Sports Center with a
leap of 25 feet, 4 inches.
Freshman middle distance runner
Fran ten Bensel and the men’s 1,600
relay were successful in their at
tempts at qualifying at the Hoosier
Dome. Ten Bensel qualified in the
800 with a lime of 2:09.23. Freshmen
Mark Jackson and Ken Waller
teamed with seniors Regis Humphrey
and Dale Burrage to finish third be
hind Auburn and Oklahoma in
3:09.04.
In setting the qualifying time in
the relay, Humphrey, who also has
qualified in the 800, pulled a groin
muscle in the first 100 meters during
his sprint of the relay.
With Humphrey’s injury, Harris
said Kwizera’s qualifying became
beneficial to Humphrey and the relay
team. He said a relay team is allowed
one alternate, but if that alternate has
not already qualified in another
event, the athlete that is replaced then
becomes ineligible to compete in any
other events.
By qualifying, Harris said Kwiz
era could run in the relay and
Humphrey could still compete in the
800.
“Regis can now afford to do
whatever he feels he needs to do,”
Harris said.
Kwizera said he couldn’t sleep
Friday night because his entire body
ached from his sickness. But he for
got about his problems after he heard
the news about Humphrey.
“The first thing I did this morning
was I called the track office and I told
coach (Mark) Kostek that I didn’t feel
very well. He told me not to run if I
See QUALIFY on 8
NU finishes regular-season play by losing to Sooners
By Nick Hodge
Senior Reporter____
It was the pace of the game that concerned
Nebraska men’s basketball coach Danny Nee.
Nee said Nebraska needed to do a better job
of slowing down the tempo during its 103-76
loss to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at the
Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.
‘ ‘I think the big thing is that we can’t play at
that pace,” Nee said in his post-game radio
broadcast. 4‘I think Oklahoma got Nebraska
playing at a pace that is not where we can play
at. Then it’s just a matter of time before we get
done in, and that’s the problem.”
Nee said he was disappointed by Nebraska’s
performance.
“I thought we played them tough, but this
team could be in a post-season tournament,
he said.4 ‘This team can play better. We have to
do better. We got caught at that pace.”
The Comhuskors ended theirregqto season
with a 16-14 record overall and a 4-10 league
mark. Meanwhile, Oklahoma improved to 26
4 and 12-2.
Nee said Nebraska can’t play the same style
of basketball that the 4th-ranked and 1989 Big
Eight champion Sooners can play.
“They just have a different type of athlete
than we have,” Nee said. * ‘They really can run
the floor. They’re quick. Then they are deep
besides that. You just have to be smart enough
to play at your tempo and the way you want to
play.”
Nee said the Huskers missed the presence of
sophomore guard Clifford Scales. Scales
didn’t make the trip because of sore ribs and a
thigh injury.
“Short handed a guard, we just can’t match
up with their foot speed and their three-point
snots,” Nee said, “Eventually, they’re going
to get you. It you start turning the ball over and
making mistakes it’s eventually do oi die.”
The Sooners hit 9 of 32 three-point shots,
white • Nebraska; made 4; ;pf; • 10. Oklahoma
forced the Huskers to commil 20 turnovers.
Nee said the first-half tempo caught up with
the Huskers in the second half.
‘ ‘We got caught running a sprint pace when
we’re in a mile race,” Nee said. ‘‘We didn’t
have the poise at the beginning of the game to
pace ourselves. I wanted to have the gas tank
filled for the second half and we didn’t. We’ve
got to work at that.”
Despite playing at a pace far quicker than
Nee liked, Nebraska stayed with the Sooners
through the first half.
Husker senior forward Pete Manning’s bas
ket with 14:24 left in the first half pulled
Nebraska to within 13-12, but the Sooners
scored 10 unanswered points and led 23-12
after a layup by Oklahoma senior center Stacey
King with 13:33 left in the half.
A three-point shot by Sooner senior guard
Mookie Blaylock with 4:52 left in the first half
increased Oklahoma’s lead to 45-32.
Nebraska battled back and outscored Okla
homa 10-4 the remainder of the first half to cut
the Sooners’ advantage to 49-42 at halftime.
Blaylock hit two shots in the opening min
ute of the second half to propel Oklahoma’s
charge. Th Sooner press and a fast-pace^,
transition game wore Nebraska down. Okla
homa converted Husker turnovers into quick
points and gradually pulled away for the win.
Nebraska sophomore forward Beau Reid
led the Huskers with 17 points. Junior center
Richard van Poclgcest and Manning scored 12
and 11 points, respectively.
Husker freshman forward Dapreis Owens
had a career day. Owens scored a career-high
11 points and pulled down a team-high eight
rebounds.
The Sooners were led by Blaylock and
King. Blaylock scored a game-high 22 points,
including 19 in the second half. King scored 19
points and pulled down a game-high 11 re
bounds.
Nebraska’s next game is on Friday, when
the Huskers face Missouri in the opening round
of the Big Eight Tournament. The game begins
at 6 p.m. at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.