Sports
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NU women gymnasts motivated for OU dual
/
By Jeff Apei
Senior Editor
Nebraska women’s gymnastics
coach Rick Walton doesn’t have to
look far to find motivation for his
team entering its dual meet against
Oklahoma.
Walton said Nebraska knows Okla
homa is a dangerous team because
the Sooners finished ninth in last year’s
NCAA championships. He said that
caught the attention of Nebraska, which
finished fourth at the same meet
“It’s going to be a big meet,”
Walton said. “It’s a great rivalry.”
Nebraska will try to handle the
mystique surrounding the rivalry when
it travels to Norman, Okla., to face
the Sooners on Sunday. The meet
begins at 2 p.m.
Walton said he isn’t overly con
cerned about the outcome of the
Oklahoma dual.
‘‘If we score 191 points and lose,
we’re still getting to where we need to
go,” he said. ‘‘The central focus for
us right now is on nationals. And if we
score that high, we’ll be progressing
towards them.”
Walton said he doesn’t have any
major concerns entering the dual. He
said he isn’t worried about a letdown,
even though his team is coming off a
tough win in the Masters Classic last
Sunday.
The field in the Masters Classic,
which Walton described as one of the
premier meets in the country, included
perennial powers UCLA, Cal State
Fullerton and Washington.
Walton said Nebraska’s perform
■I I !■■■■! I IIIMH III I I
ances in Big Eight meets ease his
concerns entering the Oklahoma dual.
The Comhuskers have not lost a
conference meet since they dropped a
decision in the 1986 Big Eight cham
pionships.
“We seem to handle all the situ
ations we encounter,” Walton said.
“I don’t know that I’m really ever
concerned.”
Walton said Nebraska proved it is
capable of performing on the road
when it defeated Missouri 190.50
188.30 earlier this season in Colum
bia, Mo.
“We went down to Missouri, and
we turned in a good score,” he said.
“That was a pretty good test for us.’ ’
Nebraska’s battle against Oklahoma
will be led by Tami Bair, Angie Bur
dette and Michele Bryant. The trio of
seniors lead the Huskers in4he vault
and balance beam competitions. Bair
and Burdette also team with fellow
senior Jane Clemons and junior Lisa
McCrady to form Nebraska’s all
around attack.
C ^t ra
- Butch Ireland/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska's Terris Charney glares at himself as he squats some weights in the new addition of
the Nebraska Strength Complex.
Epley says expansion makes
weight room world’s largest
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska strength complex
flexed its muscles Thursday by un
veiling a new addition which turned it
into a hulking mass.
Nebraska strength and condition
ing coach Boyd Epley said the 17,000
fool addition turned theCornhuskers’
weight room into the largest strength
facility in the world. He said the new,
30,000-square fool area contains
several features which were not con
tained in the old complex, including a
connecting hall and a reinforced wall.
The weight room expansion was
completed as part of a remodeling
project on the west side of Memorial
Stadium. The SI.7 million project,
which also expanded the Hewit Cen
ter for student-athletes, was financed
from Nebraska’s participation in the
1988 Kickoff Classic and through
private donations. No tax dollars were
used.
Epley said the new weight room
has unlimited potential.
“We now have the finest strength
training facility in the nation,” he
said. “Our philosophy is to give the
student-alhlete all the tools possible
to have a successful career here. We
believe that all the tools have now'
been provided.”
The new features of the weight
room include a hall which is con
nected to the Hewit Center. Epley
said the hall is a big addition because
student-athletes no longer have to go
outside to get from the weight-train
ing area to the study center.
Epley said the area also includes a
reinforced wall that allows student
athletes to develop their coordination
and agility by hurling a heavy medi
cine ball into it. A strip of Astroturf,
which is used for short-distance speed
drills also is included.
The expansion also contains an
aerobic area which houses rowing
and biking machines. Epley said the
area will be used by athletes who arc
undergoing rehabilitation or are on a
modified workout program.
Epley said student-athletes will have
an advantage in the new weight room
because it provides separate areas for
different parts of the body. The room
will be used by student-athletes in
See STRENGTH on 8
Basketball teams prepare for talented Missouri teams*
Gifted guard to test NU
when team takes on Tigers
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
When Nebraska men’s basketball
coach Danny Nee looks at Missouri
sophomore guard Anthony Peeler, he
sees a lot of simi
larities to Mi
chael Jordan.
But when
Missouri coach
Norm Stewart
looks at Peeler,
he sees a young
talent whom he
kl_ hesitates to com -
N®® Dare to one of the
greatest players in the history of the
National Basketball Association.
Stewart said he is reluctant to
compare Peeler to Jordan because the
two players are in different stages of
their careers. While Jordan is a domi
nating player for the NBA’s Chicago
Bulls, Peeler has led his team to a 21 -
1 record overall and a 7-0 mark in the
Big Eight by averaging 18.9 points,
6.3 rebounds and 5.©assists per game.
Those numbers awe Nee, who said
Peeler and Tiger forward Doug Smith
will join an elite group that includes
Jordan by becoming NBA lottery picks.
The lottery determines which NBA
teams - and players -- strike it rich by
.being one of the first individuals se
lected.
Nee said Nebraska can’t afford tc
increase Peeler and Smith’s value when
his team faces Missouri on Saturday,
The game, which begins at 1:07 p.m,
at the Heames Center in Columbia
Mo., will be broadcast by Raycom
(channels 10-11).
Nee said he is impressed by Mis*t
souri. The Tigers have maintained
their No. 1-ranking this season while
defeating the current leaders in the
Metro, Missouri Valley, Southwest
and Southwestern Athletic confer
ences.
Missouri also has won 28-straight
games at the Hearnes Center, which
is the third-longest home winning
streak in the country.
“They have the ability to win close
games,” he said. “They just consis
tently find a way to win.” •
Nee said much of that success can
be attributed to Peeler and Smith,
who’s combined averages are almost
37 points and 15 rebounds per game.
Stewart said those numbers don’t
give media members the right to
compare Peeler to Jordan,even though
a statistical argument can be made.
During his sophomore year at North
Carolina, Jordan averaged 20 points,
5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per con
test.
“I think Anthony would think it
was a tremendous compliment to be
mentioned with Michael Jordan,’’
Stewart said. ‘‘Anthony Peeler is
Anthony Peeler. He’s a fun-loving
kid who loves to play.”
Nee said he is impressed by Peeler.
“I think Anthony Peeler is one of
the premier guards in the country,”
he said.
Nee said Peeler and the 6-foot-10
Smith are supported by a strong cast
of seniors. That cast includes guards
Lee Coward and John McIntyre and
forward Nathan Bunlin.
Nee said Coward, McIntyre, and
See MISSOURI on 8
SF ..mill.,
mutk v
MEN '
TEAM Big 8 Overall
__ record record ^
Missouri 7*0 21-1*
Kansas 6-1 23-1
Oklahoma 5-2 -16*3
Oklahoma St. 4-5 13-8
Kansas St. 2-4 12-10
NEBRASKA 2-5 9-11
Iowa State 2-5 7-12
Colorado 1-7 9-12
WOMEN
Kansas St. 8-1 16-6
Missouri 7-2 16-6
Oklahoma St. 7-2 14-7
Kansas 5-4 16-7
Colorado 5-4 12-10
Iowa State 2-7 12-10
NEBRASKA 2-7 10-12
Oklahoma 0-9 4-18
" ‘Does hoTTriclude Thursday night's MIs
sourl-Ktnsas St. geme.
■■■■■■■■■■
Coach Beck views loss
as sign ofNU’s progress
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
The seventh-place team is sup
posed to gel blown out when it visits
the first-place team.
In that light,
the 60-58 loss by
the seventh-place
Nebraska
women’s basket
ball team at Big
Eight-leading
Kansas Slate
Wednesday was
a sign of prog
Beck ress, and that's
the view Comhusker coach Angela
Beck is taking.
“This team’s as far along as any
team at this point,’’ she said Thurs
day.
The Huskers, 10-12 and 2-7 in the
conference, just haven’t been able to
win the close games. Seven of Ne
braska’s last eight games have been
decided by less than 10 points, and in
those seven games the Huskers are 2
5.
“We’ve been competitive every
night,’’ Beck said. “We haven’tbeen
capable of playing 40 minutes.”
Nebraska came out more than
dompetitive against Kansas State. The
H uskers held a 35-21 lead at halftime.
‘We were mentally ready to play,’ ’
she said. “We didn’t let them totally
dominate.”
But the Huskers couldn’t hold on
in the second period.
Beck said that against Kansas State
her team had three keys: take good
shots, and the Huskers shot 50 per
cent trom me neia; Keep me Laay ^ai
offense off-balance, and Kansas Stale
shot 33 percent; and make good passes.
The Huskers lost 32 turnovers, 20
in the second half.
Point guard SaraOffringa was sick
and did not play, and Kim Yancey
fouled out. That left Carol Russell as
the only available Husker point guard
at the end of the game.
Beck said she even had her team
slow down and concentrate on the
half-court offense to try to hold onto
the ball better.
She said her team will continue to
push the game’s tempo with a full
court press, one of the things she said
her team has been doing well.
“We have to fmd something that’s
going to work for the Big Eight cham
pionships,” she said.
The Huskers have five games left
before the conference tournament. The
first comes Saturday against Missouri
at 3 p.m. in the Bob Dcvaney Sports
Center.
The Tigers - 16-6,7-2 and second
in the Big Eight - are the only team in
the conference to beat Kansas State,
and Missouri is similar to the veteran
loaded Lady Cats.
The Tigers play one freshman with
a bunch of juniors and seniors, Beck
said. The Huskers can’t match that
experience, she said, and will just
have to look toward the summer and
build off the rough limes from this
year.
4 ‘If this team is going to work hard
in the off-season, we’ll be OK,” she
said. “Our individual skills are hurt
ing us more than the structure of the
team.”