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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1990)
Sports Golf team shoots for regional bid in Dallas meet From Staff Reports A regional bid will be at stake when the Nebraska men’s golf team competes in the Hyatt Bear Creek Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Dallas. Nebraska men’s golf coach Larry Romjue said the invitational is important because the Com huskers still have a shot at quali fying forthe seven-team regional competition later this year in Columbus, Ohio. Nebraska cur rently is seeded ninth in the 10 team regional and must move up at least two places if it is going to earn a regional berth. Romjue said he is optimistic about Nebraska’s chances of competing in the regional. He said the Huskers will have to out dual Wichita State, Kansas State and Iowa Slate if they arc going to qualify. The region’s top six spots are held by Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Kansas, Missouri and Colo rado. “We’ve just got to start play ing better,” Romjue said. “With a few more low numbers and fewer scores in the ’80s, we can still make (the regional).” Romjue said Nebraska needs to make its regional move prior to the Big Eight championships on April 24-26. “If we can’t get ahead of the other regional teams before the Big Eight tournament, it’s going to be very hard for us to earn a seventh-place ranking,” he said. Teams prepare for outdoor season uy Bara Bauaer Staff Reporter The Nebraska track teams will be stronger and better in the outdoor season than they were indoors be cause of added events and time to recover from injuries, according to Comhusker coach Gary Pepin. The first chance that Nebraska has to show its strength in an outdoor meet will be March 30-31 at the Flor ida Relays in Gainesville, Fla. Team scores will not be kept at the meet, and Pepin said only a small number of Nebraska athletes will make the trip. “We’d like to take more, but it’s a real expensive meet to go to so early in the season,” he said. “We are taking people in events that we feel need to get started early in good weather and against good teams.” Most of the athletes going to Gainesville will be throwers, sprint ers and hurdlers. He said a few dis tance runners will go, and maybe one jumper. Pepin said one of the biggest ad vantages the Huskers have in the outdoor season is the addition of the discus and javelin. He said the discus and javelin, which are not contested in the indoor season, are events in which the Huskers should do well. Jeff Hooper, a junior from Carmichael, Calif., is an important returning thrower, Pepin said. Hooper earned All-American honors in the discus last year by finishing 10th at the NCAA outdoor championships. Sophomore javelin thrower Roddy James also should perform well for the Huskers, Pepin said. James, who qualified for the national meet last year as a freshman, will continue to improve, Pepin said. “The older you get, up to a certain point, the better you can become,” Pepin said. “Most guys should be stronger and better as a senior in col lege than they were as a freshman, unless they have injury trouble or something like that.” For the women, Heidi Helm will be a strong competitor in the shot put and discus, while Nora Rockenbauer leads the women in the javelin, Pepin said. Pepin said the Huskers also should improve in the sprints. Mark Perry, a senior from Omaha who had used up his eligibility for the indoor season, will return to compete outdoors. Last year, Perry qualified for the NCAA indoor finals in the 55- and 200-meter dashes. Many athletes have recovered from injuries sustained during the indoor season and will be ready to go out doors, Pepin said. He said All-Ameri can sprinter Ximena Restrepo will be back for the outdoor season after missing the NCAA indoor champion ships with a hamstring injury. He said sprinters Kim Walker and Beth Webster have had time to re cover from being a “little banged up” after the indoor season, although sprinter Ethel Edwards still has a stress fracture. Jumper Joanne Gomez and sprinter/ hurdler Susan Hedrick are going to redshirt this year because of injuries that have bothered them all season, Pepin said. Gymnastics team seeks Big Eight title By Chuck Green Senior Reporter Like the men’s team, the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team is favored to win the Big Eight championships. Unlike the men’s team, Nebraska’s coach isn’t predicting a hands-down Huskcr win. Coach Rick Walton said he knows the conference championships, which will be at the Bob Dcvaney Sports Center on Saturday, will be a difficult meet for the three-time defending conference champions. But, he said, the fifth-ranked Husk ers are performing well. “Right now, we’re on track for where we want to be at this time of year,” Walton said. “But things can always be improved.’’ Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma are all rated among the nation’s top 12 teams, and Iowa State is on the verge of earning an NCAA Central Region berth, Walton said. “No less than three of the four conference schools will be in post season tournaments,and if IowaState turns in a good score, four teams will be in theregionals,” Walton said. “If 75 percent of the teams in your con ference make it to the postseason, that speaks well of the Big Eight. “I hope this meet lives up to all the expectations.” Walton said he hopes the Huskers improve up to his expectations, too. “We’ve added a lot of difficulty to our routines,” he said. “When you do that, you have to make sure every thing is perfect. (The team members) call it nitpicking, but little things add up.” Walton said that if each of the Huskers made mistakes that cost them one-tenth of a point, it would add up enough to cause problems. “I’ve seen national championships lost on less than a point,” he said. “Wc don’t want to become one of those statistics.” Last Saturday, Nebraska beat Iowa State 192.30-186.55. Walton said the Huskers’ performance was “excel lent.” ‘ ‘This meet is going to be the same old stuff for us,” he said. “Our pur pose is to (perform well on) as many routines as we can. We obviously want to win the conference champi onship, but wc want to improve our scoring average for the regional and national meet.” The NCAA Midwest Regionals will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April6, and the NCAA championships will be April 20 in Corvallis, Ore. Last week against the Cyclones, Husker senior Michele Bryant be came the first gymnast in school his tory to break the 38-point mark in the all-around competition, scoring a 39.00 to win the competition. Bryant aver aged 9.75 in each event. “Michele had a good meet and her scores showed it,” Walton said. Walton said Tami Bair also had a good meet against Iowa State, scor ing a school-record 9.85 on the bal ance beam. She also earned a 9.70 on the vault and a 9.80 on the uneven bars. Nebraska’s team also includes seniors Angie Burdette and Jane Clemons, who have been on all three of Walton’s conference champion ship teams. “This meet is going to be for our seniors,” Walton said. “It has been four years since we last hosted a Big Eight meet, and this will be a great way for them to finish their careers.” Walton said this year’steam is one of the best he’s coached at Nebraska. “The seniors on this year's team have given the freshmen a chance to find roles on the team,” he said. “In terms of experience, this is the deep est team we’ve ever had. ” Major leagues need to start season of a positive note It’s time for Major League base ball to pull itself up by the bootstraps. After the deaths of commissioner Bart Giomatti and Billy Martin, the World Series earthquake, the Pete Rose scandal and this spring’s lock out, America’s pastime has limped into spring training. So it is imperative for baseball to make it through at least one season John Adkisson without any major catastrophes. No drug scandals, no pine-tar controver sies and no more George Steinbrcn ner antics. Just plain baseball. And to start this season off on a positive note, here’s a division-by division look at the 1990 season. A.L. EAST - Milwaukee clearly is the class of the division. With American League MVP Robin Yount and the addition of designated hitter Dave Parker, the Brewers have the experience it takes to win the East, which has turned into one of the weaker divisions in baseball. Toronto, which won the pennant last year, will provide stiff competi tion for Milwaukee. The Jays have the sluggers, but the starting pitching is suspect. Look for upstart Baltimore to once again make a bid for the title with New York and Boston also con tending. A.L. WEST - World Series cham pion Oakland lost Parker and Storm Davis, but the A’s still have what it takes todefend their A.L. Wcstcrown for a fourth straight year. Kansas City made some key ac quisitions in the off-season and has the strongest pitching staff in the league, but the Royals need better offensive production to stay with the A’s in 1990. N.L. EAST - Can Chicago pull off another miracle this year? Proba bly not. The Cubs have the youth with Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith are two of the best young players in the league, but stopper Milch Williams is too erratic to rely on for another title. St. Louis’ speedsters and pitching may be enough to bring the Cardinals another N.L. East title, but the Cardi nals lack hitting power. The pick here is New' York. The Mels got rid of aged veterans Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez, but Kevin McRcynolds and a drug-free Daryl Strawberry have what it takes to go along with an above-average starting rotation. N.L. WEST - San Francisco will have trouble repeating because of a lackluster starting rotation. The Giants have the league’s best player in Will Clark, but Kevin Mitchell will have trouble duplicating last year. Joe Carter will add a big bat to San Diego’s lineup and bring the Padres their first title since 1984. Los Angc les will rebound following a dismal performance last year, and perennial bridesmaid Cincinnati also must be watched. Even Houston and youthful Atlanta will contend, making this baseball’s most competitive division. As for postseason play, look lor Milwaukee to upset Oakland in the American League in a bitter seven game series. The National league will also be a nail-biter, with the Padres taking the Mets in six games. And in a battle of World Scries losers from last decade, take Milwau kee over San Diego in six games. Adkisson is a freshman news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan sportswritcr and col umnist. David Hansen/Dally Nebraskan NU pitcher Doug Tegtmeier pitches in relief March 8 in the Cornhuskers’ victory over Wichita State. Cornhuskers lace final tests before conference play From Staff Reports _ The Nebraska baseball team will continue to climb the ladder towards the upcoming Big Eight season when it travels to Colorado. Nebraska baseball coach John Sanders said the Cornhuskers’ games against Colorado State and Northern Colorado are important because they are the final tests his team will face prior to the start of the Big Eight season. Nebraska will open its con ference schedule by facing Kansas on March 30. Sanders said Nebraska’s games against Colorado State and Northern Colorado will not cause the Huskcrs to lose sight of their approaching Big Eight tests. Nebraska, 17-7, will face Colorado State in a pair of single, nine-inning games Sunday and Mon day in Ft. Collins, Colo., and will square off against Northern Colorado in a pair of seven-inning contests Tuesday in Greeley, Colo. “We arc continuing to climb the ladder, and our focus remains on up coming Big Eight action,” Sanders said. “We are experimenting with a lot of different combinations both offensively and defensively. The purpose of our non-league schedule is to provide us an opportunity to ex plore all options.” Nebraska continues to be led of fensively by infielder Bill Vosik, a Kearney native whose batting aver age is .388. Teammate Kevin Jordan has a .376 average, while Kevin French has a .375 mark. In the pitching department, Dave Matranga leads all Husker hurlers with a 1.75 earned run average. Junior Mike Zajeski is next with a 4-0 record and a 3.60era, while Doug Tegtmeier has a 2-1 and 6.65 mark.
