—■——j— in. —
Women Huskers to face
OSU, fight for Big 8 lead
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Reporter
The Big Eight women’s basket
ball standings show a three-way tie
for first place between Kansas State,
Oklahoma State and Nebraska.
That will change Sunday.
Nebraska, 14-6 overall and 5-2 in
the Big Eight, will travel to Stillwa
ter, Okla., to face 16-4 and 5-2 Okla
homa State in a 3 p.m. game.
Kansas State will play host to
Missouri, winless in the conference,
on Saturday, so the Lady Cats are
likely to go 6-2. The next day, either
the Comhuskers and the Cowgirls
will become 6-2 with at least a share
of the lead and the other will become
5-3.
Nebraska coach Angela Beck said
the Huskers’ 76-67 win at Missouri
Wednesday night earned them the
right to play the Cowgirls.
“I thought if we didn’t win, we
might as well not show up,” Beck
said. “We had to win at Missouri to
jockey us into position to compete
with Oklahoma Slate.”
Now, Nebraska has to earn the
win.
The Huskers, who defeated Okla
homa State 67-64 earlier in the sea
son, have not won in Stillwater since
1986, but that isn’t bothering Beck.
“'ITiere are a lot of ‘nevcr-haves’
that we’re doing,” Beck said, ‘‘be
cause I think these kids think they can
win anywhere.”
Wednesday’s win was the first for
the Huskers under Beck at Missouri.
And the Huskers have already won
twice as many road games (four) as in
the last two seasons combined.
A big part of that success comes
from the Husker leaders on the court.
Beck said the presence of seniors Ann
Halsne, Kristi Dahn, Kelly Hubert
and Shawn Taylor has given Nebraska
“a little more maturity on the floor.”
Both teams can score. The teams
are first and second in the Big Eight in
scoring and in field goal percentage.
The two teams are not mirror
images, however.
Nebraska, led by Karen Jennings’
18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds a game,
has only one other player averaging
in double figures.
All five Cowgirl starters, led by
See WOMEN on 8
Record scares coach
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Oklahoma’s wrestling team is in
the middle of one of its worst seasons
in years, and that has Nebraska coach
Tim Neumann scared to death.
The Sooners, 3-11, include at least
six freshmen on their starling roster.
Neumann’s teams are 3-0-1 in their
past four meetings with Oklahoma,
including two wins — 29-12 and 28
11 — against the Sooners last season.
The Comhuskcrs are ranked fifth,
and Oklahoma is nowhere to be found
in the latest Amateur Wrestling News
coaches’ poll.
Neumann still is worried.
“It’s going to be scary to go down
there,” he said. “It’s been a dismal
year so far (for them), and their guys
are going to wrestle us with no pres
sure at all.”
Nebraska still is recovering from
injuries suffered in the past three weeks.
In one match two weeks ago, Ne
braska had only Sonny Manley still in
the lineup from the start of the season.
In 24 duals last season, Husker
starters missed 13 matches because
of injury or illness. Through 12 duals
this season, starters have missed 29
out of 120 matches.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been around
a team that has been hit with the
injuries like this one,” Neumann said.
But the injured Huskcrs are return
ing. All-American Scott Chcnoweth
came back from a rib injury last week,
and Corey Olson also will return against
the Sooncrs.
“It’s like ever)' time we’re able to
get someone back, it’s another shot in
the arm,” Neumann said.
Neumann said the Sooners arc aware
of the injuries.
“They know we’re beat up, even
with Chenoweth and Olson in there,”
he said. “They’ll look at this dual as a
little of a salvation if they can beat us.
It would make a bad season a lot
better for them.”
Neumann said his team’s morale
is good heading into the dual — the
first meet in nine days for Nebraska.
“There have been so many times
we’ve gone to Oklahoma just hoping
to survive, let alone win,” he said.
“We have no intention of looking
past them, because they might be a
little down this year. It’s still Okla
homa, and one of the things we have
tried to accomplish with our program
is to make it competitive with the top
programs in the country.
“I think we’ve done that, but we
can’t just sit back and be satisfied.”
Nebraska's probable lineup:
118 — John Buxton(16 4 1, ranked No. 7in
the country)
126 — Jason Kelber (22-2, No. 2)
134 — Matt Lundquist (6-6-2)
142 — Layne Billings (4-4)
150 —Todd Enger (16-11-1)
158 — Jamie Penning (5-13)
167 — Scott Chenoweth (9-3)
177 —Corey Olson (19-3, No 2)
190 — Tommy Robbins (10-8 3)
Hwt. — Sonny Manley (13-8-1)
Effects of budget cuts remain uncertain
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Almost a month after the NCAA
Convention, Nebraska athletic depart
ment officials remain uncertain of
how new rule changes and budget
cuts will affect Comhusker athletics.
Gary Fouraker, assistant athletic
director for business affairs, said his
main concern is how much money
actually will be saved.
“I don’t know overall that it’s going
to make a major difference finan
cially,” Fouraker said. “It will cer
tainly help, but I don’t know for sure
what the effects are going to be.”
The changes that will affect Ne
braska’s athletic department the most
include budget cuts in recruiting and
coaching staff size.
One change is a 10 percent, across
the-board reduction of scholarships.
Effects
of the
NCAA
Convention
Division I football scholarships will
be reduced from 95 to 85 by 1995.
The number of evaluations and
personal contacts of recruits by coaches
also was reduced.
Coaches currently are allowed to
contact a recruit off-campus 14 times
a year in football and six times in all
other sports. Coaches also are permit
ted to visit high schools as often as
they wish for evaluation of players.
The number of personal contacts
was cut to three per year and evalu
ations to four per year, with only one
during the May football evaluation
period and no more than one per week
at any time.
In addition, die size of the coach
ing staffs will be reduced for many
sports.
A1 Papik, assistant athletic direc
tor for compliance and administra
tive services, said the first step in the
staff reduction is to meet with Ne
braska’s coaches and decide what
measures need to be taken.
Combining positions and redefin
ing coaching titles are among the
possibilities, Papik said.
One problem with the budget cuts,
Fouraker said, is that they are di
rected at the big-revenue sports, like
football and men’s basketball, and
that they appear to be unfair to some
programs with smaller budgets, like
wrestling and gymnastics teams.
Papik agreed, but said he had heard
more optipiistic stories at the conven
tion.
“1 was educated a little at the con
vention,” he said. “Some athletic
directors said the budget cuts were
the only thing that saved some of their
non-revenue sports programs. For
example, one guy told me that be
cause they arc going to cut 10 schol
arships from football, they’ll be able
to keep the baseball team (which al
lows 14 scholarships).”
Papik said he knows of only a
handful of Division I schools whose
athletic departments aren’t experi
encing financial problems.
Fouraker said he was pleased over
all with the cuts, but that more obvi
ous cost-reduction measures could be
initialed.
“One thing that nobody talks about
is the complete squad size,” he said.
“I’ve been leaning toward cutting the
size of the squads — like the football
team — by a few players.”
Papik said he expects more aca
demic issues to surface at next Janu
ary’s convention, along with more
financial issues, particularly concern
ing student-athletes’ income allow
ances and permission to hold some
form of part-time employment.
Overall, Papik said, he thinks the
cuts arc keeping athletics in the right
direction.
‘‘This year’s convention showed
that the NCAA is right in that if
college athletics truly arc educational,”
he said, “athletic departments should
try to have broad-based programs with
several sports, rather than just one
team that carries the weight of all the
others."
I
Basketball standings:
Oklahoma State 5-2 16-4
mam**;• 5-2 ••14-6
Kansas State 5-2 12-6
Kansas 4-3 13-6
Iowa State 4-3 9-10
Colorado 3-4 12-8
Oklahoma 2-5 8-12
Missouri 0-7 7-13
Basketball standings:
Nebraska 4-1 18-2
Missouri 4-1 12-6
Kansas 3-2 14-4
Oklahoma State 3-2 14-4
Oklahoma 3-3 14-6
Colorado 2-3 12-6
Iowa State 2-3 8-13
Kansas State 0-5 10-8
Nee: OSU strength
in physical defense
By Todd Cooper
Staff Reporter
The Comhuskers will host one of
the toughest visitors in the nation
Saturday.
Tied for second behind Nebraska
in conference road wins, Oklahoma
State comes to Lincoln for the 1 p.m.
tip-off after winning at Colorado on
Wednesday, 76-66. The Cowboys, 14
4 overall and 3-2 in the Big Eight, are
tied for third in the conference, while
the 11 th-ranked Huskers are leading
at 18-2 and 4-1.
“Just because we’re playing at
home, you can’t expect that we’re
going to win,” Husker coach Danny
Nee said. “One of the better road
teams in the country, they play the
same way on the road as they do at
home.”
And that’s physical, Nee said.
“They’re one of the most physical
teams in the country,” Nee said. “They
played very good man-to-man de
fense, and they have one of the best
players in the country inside in Byron
Houston.”
The6-foot-7,235-pound Houston,
who averages 24 points and 10 re
bounds a game, had a career-high 35
points against Nebraska a year ago.
Husker center Rich King says Hous
ton might be better this year.
“He’s 6-feet-7 but he plays like a
package of dynamite,” King said.
In fact, he may be as explosive as
last year’s Big 8 player of the year,
Doug Smith, King said.
“Doug Smith is taller than him,
but he can play just as rugged and as
tough as Smith, if not more,” he said.
With four returning starters, Hous
ton’s assist man, newcomer Sean
Sutton, may be the difference be
tween this year’s and last year’s team.
“They’ve put a person at the point
guard spot that knows what the coach
wants.” Nee said.
Probably because that coach is his
dad, Eddie Stitton. Sutton is in his
first year at Oklahoma State after
coaching at Creighton, Arkansas, and
Kentucky.
“They’re an improved basketball
team,” Nee said. “The addition of a
coach that’s been to the Final Four,
See MEN on 8
NU track teams
face injuries,
stiffer opponents
By Matt Herek
Staff Reporter _
The competition in Saturday’s track
and field triangular will be a step up
from what the Cornhuskers have faced
so far this season, according to Coach
Gary Pepin.
Nebraska will host men’s teams
from the University of Washington
and Kansas Slate University and the
women will entertain teams from Rice
University and Kansas State.
Pepin said the Huskers will be
facing several national-caliber ath
letes as well as some All-Americans.
Another hurdle the Huskers will
have to overcome in order to rack up
points will be injuries.
Sprinter Tamas Molnar, who is out
with a pulled hamstring, may com
pete, but on a limited basis, Pepin
said.
The injuries of Molnar and others
will cost the Huskers points, but Pepin
said the team could go all out to win
the meet at the risk of people being
hurt. He said the team has not entered
athletes in events because this meet is
not a major focal point in the season.
The Huskers are not under a lot of
pressure to win, but he said the team
will perform well alongside some tough
head-to-head competition.
Nebraska’s John Buxton struggles to escape from Wyo
ming’s Lanny Schneider in a match last week. With Corey
Olson returning to the Nebraska lineup Saturday, Buxton
will be moving back to his normal weight class, 118 pounds.