Team shoots for title
NU gymnasts hope to keep undefeated record
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska men’s gymnastics
team will be trying to preserve its
undefeated record while aiming for
its third consecutive Big Eight title
this weekend.
The Big Eight championships will
be Friday and Saturday at the Lloyd
Noble Center in Norman, Okla.
After completing the regular sea
son with a 19-0-1 overall record and a
7-0-1 dual mark, the nation’s top
ranked Comhuskcrs will be looking
to win the first of what Nebraska
coach Francis Allen hopes will be
three season championships.
The other two include the Mid
west Regionals, which will be in
Norman, Okla., April 7, and the NCAA
championships, scheduled for April
19-21 in Minneapolis.
The Huskcrs were 6-0 this season
against Oklahoma and Iowa State and
are favorites to win the conference
title.
But, Allen said, the Huskcrs need
to concentrate on performing their
routines well and not about what the
results were earlier this year.
“Our guys respect both Oklahoma
and Iowa State,” Allen said. “I think
we’re out of both of their reaches as
far as the team races goes, but we
don’t want to lose an individual or
team event cither.”
Nebraska closed its regular season
last Saturday by beating Houston
Baptist 279.85-274.30. The Huskcrs
were without the services of fresh
man all-around performer Trent Dimas,
who suffered from a serious throat
infection.
The H uskers ’other fresh man, Josh
Saegcrt, replaced Dimas and scored a
54.75 in the all-around.
It was Saegert’s first collegiate
all-around competition.
Dimas probably will compete this
weekend, Allen said.
“Josh did a heck of a job in a
substitute role, but Trent’s 56-plus
all-around is tough to replace,” he
said. “Trent seems healthy, but some
times it’s hard to predict how a strength
zapping illness like he had might affect
him.”
Last year, four Huskcrs finished
among the lop six in the all-around
competition in the B ig Eight champi
onships in Ames, Iowa. Nebraska won
the meet with 282.15, easily outdis
tancing runner-up Iowa State, which
scored 264.90.
Huskcr senior AU-Amcricans Pat
rick Kirkscy and Mark Warburton
both are returning conference cham
pions. Kirksey won five individual
titles in his career, including the all
around, floor exercise, pommel horse
and parallel bars last year.
Warburton has won ihe still rings
competition the last two years.
Another senior All-American, Bob
Steller, placed in all six events at last
year’s conference championships,
including a second-place finish in the
all-around.
Allen said the Huskers must focus
on winning the conference champi
onships before looking ahead to the
regional and national meets.
“We’re pretty sure we can win the
Big Eight,’’ he said. “We also want
(to finish with the top four) in the all
around.
“This team is ready for a good
meet and a good score.’’
Finishing among nation’s top five teams
goal of Comhusker women’s golf team
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
The Nebraska women’s golf team
will shoot for a top-five finish when it
competes in the South Carolina invi
tational this weekend in Columbia,
S.C.
Nebraska coach Robin Scherer said
she would be satisfied with a top-five
finish because nine teams enter the
thrcc-day competition ranked ahead
of the No. 36-rankcd Comhuskcrs.
Those teams include an abundance of
East Coast schools, all of which will
have an advantage entering the invi
tational on the par-72 Woodlands
Country Club.
Scherer said Nebraska will have to
overcome the tournament's tough field
and the challenge of having to adjust
to a South Carolina-based course if it
is going to finish in the lop five. She
said courses in South Carolina pres
ent special challenges because they
arc lighter and have thick grass that
docs not let the ball roll as much.
Those rolls could hurt Nebraska,
High Hopes
Continued from Page 15
mcnt, said his injury look away some
of his moves against Cross.
“Since I was hurt in practice, I
didn’t drill for the right moves,” Kclbci
said of the match. “My liming wasn’t
there for the shots, and I lost some of
my reaction time.”
But, Kclbcr said, “I’m sure I’ll sec
him again” at the NCAA tourna
ment.
“We’ll be on the same side of the
brackets,” he said. “Whoever wrestles
the best there will be in the champi
onships.”
The Huskcrs arc one of four teams
that will enter the meet with nine
qualifiers in the 10 weight classes.
Oklahoma State, the defending na
tional champion, and Penn Slate each
have qualifiers in every class.
Along with Nebraska and top
ranked Arizona State, Oklahoma and
Iowa Stale each have nine qualifiers,
while third-ranked Iowa has wres
tlers in eight classes.
“Going in, you have to look at the
teams with the most potential for
finalists, and then the difference be
tween potential and probable final
ists,” Neumann said.
“It looks like Arizona State has
the edge in that they could realisti
cally have four finalists, and they also
have good supports at other weights.
Oklahoma State will figure heav
ily in the final team scores, too,
Neumann said.
“Oklahoma State is probably the
most balanced team in the tourna
ment,” he said.
Nebraska’s best chances for final
which will be matched against a tal
ented field that will be preparing for
the NCAA championships later this
year in Hilton Head, S.C. The teams
in the competition that arc ranked
ahead of the Huskcrs include No. 7
Georgia, No. 13 Duke, No. 14 Fur
man,No. 16Indianaand No.23Soulh
Carolina.
Twcnty-ninth-rankcd Oklahoma,
30th-rankcd North Carolina-Wilming
ton, 33rd-rankcd Florida State and
35th-rankcd James Madison also will
compete. The remainder of the invi
tational’s field includes Memphis Stale,
Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio
State.
Scherer said the tournament’s field
is causing her to take a realistic ap
proach towards the competition. That
approach will be tested Friday, when
the invitational begins.
“Normally you wouldn’t be satis
fied with a top-five finish because
you always like to win,’’ she said.
“But in this case, a lop-five finish
would be an accomplishment because
(the invitational) is going to be a
isis hinge on wrestlers who have led
the Huskers all season, including
Kelber, Scott Chenoweth at 167 and
heavyweight Joe Malccek. Kelber and
Chenoweth earned All-America status
last season, and are coming off of Big
Eight tournament finishes they called
“disappointing.”
Chenoweth finished third at the
conference meet.
But Neumann said the NCAA
tournament is a “good place for re
demption.”
“Until the Big Eight finals, I was
-4 4
Oklahoma State is
probably the most
balanced team in the
tournament.
Neumann
wrestling coach
-1 * “
sure Jason would be the lop seed (at
the NCAA tournament),” Neumann
said. “But I’m sure that after losing
to Cross, people may have some
doubt.”
Kelber, though, will be tough to
beat this weekend, Neumann said.
“Jason is a powerful wrestler who’s
focused now,” he said. ‘ The only
way that (loss to Cross) hurt was in
the seeding. I think it helped him
refocus on what he needs to do to win
the tournament.”
Chenoweth suffered the biggest
upset of the Big Eight meet when he
lost his semifinal match to Iowa State’s
Matt Johnson, 4-3. The loss dropped
him into the consolation bracket and
halted the Huskers’ early meet mo
challenge.”
Scherer said the invitational will
provide Nebraska with a unique op
portunity.
“It provides us an opportunity to
show how good we are,” Scherer
said. “We could make a good im
pression.”
Scherer said the Huskers need to
get better production out of the bot
tom part of their lineup if they’re
going to make a good impression.
She said the lower portion of the
Huskers’ lineup has been inconsis
tent throughout the spring season.
“It’s not that they don’t have the
talent,” Scherer said, “it’s just they
need a little more experience.”
One golfer who has plenty of ex
perience is Joanne Brooks, a sopho
more from Tauranga, New Zealand,
who recorded a second-place finish at
the Peggy Kirk-Bell invitational two
weeks ago in Winter Park, Fla.
Brooks has been Nebraska’s top
golfer throughout the fall, and is ranked
56lh in the individual collegiate rank
ings.
menlum.
But Chcnowcth, a junior, responded
with two straight technical falls in the
consolation round of the meet
“Scott has had a great season,”
Neumann said. “He just didn’t wrestle
well in the semifinals at the Big Eight
meet.”
Neumann said he thinks Chc
noweth, like Kelbcr, will be refo
cused for the national tournament.
“I think he’d be disappointed if he
wasn’t in the finals,” Neumann said.
Malecck, the Big Eight’s heavy
weight champion, has a good chance
at the national title, too, Neumann
said.
4 ‘The key for Joe is that he’s wres
tling better now than he has in his
enure career,” Neumann said. “That’s
not a guarantee in this meet, but you
have to feel good about his chances.”
For four of the remaining six Huskcr
qualifiers, it will be their first NCAA
meet.
John Buxton, the conference cham
pion at 118, and 177-pound runner
up Corey Olson arc freshmen ranked
12th and seventh, respectively. Sopho
more Chris Nelson is No. 4 at 190,
and transfer Todd Engcr, a junior at
150, was a Division III 142-pound
All-American.
Dave Drocgcmucllcr (134) and Paul
Herrera (142) arc making their sec
ond NCAA appearances. Herrera is
ranked No. 6.
Neumann said he is happy with the
way his team has performed through
out the season.
“Wc had talked about next season
being the year because wc will have a
lot of people coming back,” he said.
“But now that we’re here, wc don’t
want to let the opportunity go to waste.”
fin-te£—
Osborne expects televised opener
Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne said that the Ncbraska
Baylor game “almost certainly’ ’ will be televised.
Nebraska’s game against the Bears, which will be in Memorial
Stadium, tentatively is planned to be moved to Sept. 1 to accommodate
the national broadcast by ESPN (cable channel 23). The game origi
nally was scheduled for Sept. 15.
“I can’t really make an official announcement on the game until we
hear a definite approval from ESPN,” Osborne said. “But we have
agreed, and we understand that we have an agreement from Baylor.’
Nebraska’s share of the $300,000 promised to each team would be
two-ninths ~ $66,666. The other shares would be divided among the
seven Big Eight teams.
Osborne said he doesn’t foresee problems with moving the game to
an earlier date, “other than it makes the summer a little shorter.”
Baylor returns 18 starters - nine each on offense and defense -- from
last year’s 5-6 team.
UNL rugby team earns important win
The University of Ncbraska-Lincoln men’s rugby team accom
plished an “unheard of” task when it defeated the Omaha GOATS 19
13.
Nebraska’s Jim Wiggs said the win was a big one because the
GOATS -- which stands for the Greater Omaha Area Touring Side - arc
a formidable opponent.
“Beating the GOATS is unheard of by a collegiate side,” Wiggs
said. A side is the name for a team in rugby.
Nebraska recorded its win against the GOATS by using a penalty
kick by Mark Palmer to lake a 15-13 lead, then used a try by Brian
Chaffin to score its final points. Wiggs said the try was a big one
because it showed that Nebraska was a superior team.
The try was set up when, after Palmer converted Nebraska’s penalty
kick, the Comhuskcrs kicked to the GOATS. In rugby, the team that just
has scored normally is kicked to, but Wiggs said Nebraska elected to
kick to give the GOATS one last chance to prove that they were a better
team.
That effort was in vain, as the GOATS quickly committed a turnover
and Chaffin recorded his try.
Wiggs said Nebraska cherished the score by Chaffin.
“We basically took it and rubbed it in their face,” he said.
Wiggs said the win, which raised Nebraska’s record to 2-0, was a big
one.
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