Nel^ra&kan
Friday, April 19,1991
Huskers
to battle
Missouri
By Nick Hytrek
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska baseball team will
be playing a ranked opponent for the
second straight week when the Mis
souri Tigers come to Lincoln this
weekend.
The Tigers are ranked 20th by
Baseball America.
“We’re really anxious to get started
with a Big Eight home scries,” Coach
John Sanders said. “We haven’t had a
conference game at home yet.”
Sanders said the team is in high
spirits after winning two out of four
games at No. 19 Oklahoma State last
week. With that series, the Comhuskcrs
rose to 2-6 in the Big Eight, staying
four games behind the Cowboys in
the conference race. Nebraska is 25
13 overall.
“We certainly feel that we’re right
back in it,” Sanders said. “There are
still 16 games left in the conference
and that’s a lot of ballgames, so we’re
in good shape.”
Missouri enters the series second
in the Big Eight with an 8-4 record,
30-7 overall.
The scries will likely be a pitching
dual. The Tiger pitchers lead the Big
Eight in team ERA at 3.42 and have
pitched 11 complete games, includ
ing all four games against Iowa Stale
earlier this season. Nebraska is sec
ond with a 3.94 ERA.
Sanders said Josh Bullock, 3-3,
will start the 7 p.m. game at Buck
Beltzer Field. Mike Zajcski, Trey
Rutledge and Chris Eckley will start
the other games, he said, but he wasn ’t
sure in what order.
The two teams will play two seven
inning games Saturday, starting at 4
p.m. and one nine-inning game Sun
day starting at 1 p.m.
NU softball team
to play ISU, MU
Nebraska softball coach Ron
Wolforth is seeing two different ver
sions of his team.
The first version he sees is prac
tice. The other is in game situations.
“I see this team practice, and we’re
good. Our fielding stats rank near the
top of the NCAA,” Wolforth said.
“But there’s something missing when
we play, and it’s hard to put a finger
on it.”
The Cornhuskers, who are 14-13
after splitting a doubleheader with
Wichita State Wednesday, will play
two games each against Iowa State
and Missouri Saturday and Sunday in
Columbia, Mo. The doublcheader
scheduled for tonight against Mis
souri-Kansas City has been rained
out.
The Huskers are 0-2 in the Big
Eight, with both losses coming to
league co-leader Oklahoma State.
Missouri is is 4-0 in the Big Eight and
Iowa State has a 3-1 conference rec
ord.
— John Adkisson
William Lauar/DaMy Nabraskan
Nebraska’s Kevin MHIer hurdles an obstacle during
the steeplechase.
Huskers hit the road
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Comhusker track and field ath
letes will be scattered across the
country this weekend, but Nebraska
coach Gary Pepin is hoping their
performances all come together.
Eighteen Huskers — men and
women — will travel to Walnut,
Calif., for the Mount San Antonio
College Relays, while the rest of
Nebraska’s teams will compete at
the Kansas Relays at Lawrence,
Kan.
Hundreds of athletes from all
over the world will compete at
Mount SAC. The athletes are in
vited to compete in the event, which
will be delay-televised by ABC.
“It’s a chance for the athletes to
compete in a national-class meet,
in front of great crowds, at a great
facility,” Pepin said. “This is the
largest group of athletes we’ve ever
takenout there,and I believe you’ll
see some outstanding marks tu med
in by our athletes.”
In past years, Nebraska has sent
only three or four athletes to Mount
SAC. This year is different, Pepin
said, because the organizers of the
meet are paying air fare for the
athletes. Until this year, the schools
had to pay the way for the athletes.
Three of the Huskers traveling
to Mount SAC are California na
tives. Two-time All-American dis
cus throw er Jeff Hooper and sprinter
Jerry Marsec from the men’s team
and women’s hurdler Kwani Ste
wart will compete in front of their
home-state crowds.
Despite the prestige of the Mount
SAC meet, Pepin said the Kansas
Relays shouldn’t be overlooked.
“The Kansas Relays and its rich
tradition is well-documented,” he
said. “The level of competition there
will be very high.”
Pepin said he wants to sec im
provement from athletes at both
meets.
“The conference meet is still a
month away, but it’s important that
we keep building on the progress
we’ve made the last two weeks,”
he said. “We’ve got a lot of areas
that we need to continue working
in to be ready for the conference
meet.”
The main concern for Pepin is
improving in the technical events,
such as the jumps and throws. He
said he would also like to see ath
letes who have a chance at qualify
ing for the NCAA outdoor champi
onships to have good meets to build
confidence and improve technique.
“Right now, it’s all like a big
puzzle, and we’re trying to put the
pieces together by a certain dead
line. That deadline is the Big Eight
and NCAA meets.”
Rec Scoreboard
Results from Tuesday’s and Wednes
day's games.
Cc-rse softball
AB
Chi Phi by forfeit over VoUeybatters;
SPE/Alpha Omciron Pi 13, Volleybatters
1; FCA 9. Delta Tau Delta 4; LCA/Alpha
Chi Omega 9, Pure Athletes 8; Sigma Nu
#1 17, LCA/and friends 2; SPE/Alpha
Omicron Pi 15, Alpha Gamma Sigma/
A2D0; Beta Sigma Psi 10, Chi Phi 3; Bad
Habit 18, Prichard s dry riders 2; ATO/
Alpha Phi 24, Jugheads 0; Law 44 11,
DU/Kappa Delta 1, Gamma Phi Beta 11,
Beta Sigma Psi 5; Alpha Gamma Sigma/
AZD 7, Triangle 5; Abel 2 by forfeit over
Wranglers; Mustangs by forfeit over
Whitebread
BC
Goa's Gophers, Knite's Knights
double forfeit; The Trash Cans by forfeit
over Beta Theta Pi # 1; Goa's Gophers by
forfeit over Beta Theta Pi #1; Goa s
Gophers 8, Ambassadors 4; Selleck Just
tor Fun 14, Sigma Chi/Phi Mu 7; Sheers
18, The Dry Keg 2; Abel 8 by forfeit over
Delta Upsilcn/AOPi; Ambassadors 12,
Knite's Knights 2; Harper 5 by forfeit over
S&D; Demon Bunnies 12, B>gsticks 5;
Bruins 13, Bohunks & Babes 5; AgMen
14, Schramm ll/BWA 10; Alpha Tau
Omega by forfeit over Phi Delta Theta
Gymnast’s new faith
lifts her performance
By Erik Unger
Staff Reporter
Lisa McCrady said she has had the
best year of her gymnastics career
this season because she is competing
and walking along with someone.
“Last year, I wasn’t walking with
Christ yet,” she said. “I didn’t know
the meaning of living for Christ.”
She said she used to compete just
for herself. Competing for herself,
she didn’t make the individual finals
of last year’s NCAA women’s gym
nastics championships, finishing 22nd.
“God taught me a lesson,” she
said. “Instead of feeling sorry for
myself, it made me count on Him.”
McCrady has returned to nationals
and will compete tonight. She has had
an all-around average of 38.77 this
season, the highest of her career, and
has hit 38.85 four times.
But she will be the only Com
husker competitor this weekend at
Tuscaloosa, Ala., a position she said
can be difficult.
McCrady will be competing in the
various events along with Alabama.
The Crimson Tide has done a lot to
make her feel welcome, she said,
including sending her a telegram
wishing good luck.
“I’ve got a lot going for me,”
McCrady said.
Alabama is one of the team favor
ites. McCrady and the Crimson Tide
will end on the floor exercise,
McCrady’s best individual event.
McCrady tied for first on the floor
exercise in last season’s Midwest
Regional with a 9.8.
Nebraska coach Rick Walton said
McCrady has had the best season of
her career.
“She is more consistent than ever,”
Walton said. “Last year, there were
four or five meets where she was on.
This year, there was one meet she
wasn’t on.”
McCrady said a lot of her success
has come because she has remained
injury-free her full career at Nebraska.
McCrady said she doesn’t plan to
make any dirastic changes in her rou
tines for the NCA As. Walton said she
is working on a double backflip on
the final pass of her floor routine and
a pike front that she would use on her
Gymnastics team
finishes 7th of 8
From Staff Reports
Plagued by a slow start Thurs
day night, the Nebraska men’s
gymnastics team finished sev
enth out of eight teams in the
NCAA championships.
UCLA, Oklahoma and Penn
State, the top three teams from
Thursday’s competition, will
compete tonight for the NCAA
championship.
“We ended with a respect
able score after not doing well
in the first half of the meet,’
Coach Francis Allen said. “Every
time we needed something, we
had a setback.”
Despite the setbacks, the
Huskers scored a season-high
282.2 points.
Freshman Dennis Harrison
finished 12th in the all-around
competition with a season-high
57 points and will advance to
Saturday’s all-around finals.
Harrison will be joined by fresh
man Sumner Darling, who fin
ished 18th with a season-high
56.3.
Harrison also tied for first in
the vault and Brad Bryan tied
for eighth in the floor exercise.
Both will advance to Saturday
night’s individual event finals.
second vault.
McCrady said she plans to use her
regular routine in the preliminaries,
but if she finds herself in the finals,
she will incorporate the new tricks.
She said she was going to have a
good year even before the season
started.
“This year I knew I was in better
shape, was in a good position because
of new tricks and faster progression,
and was more confident.
“This year, I had a full life with
Christ," McCrady said.
When she competes tonight, she
said, she will have Philippians 4:13 in
her head: “I can do anything through
Him who gives me strength.”
I--SPORTS BRIEFS
Men’s tennis to take on struggling CU
The Nebraska men’s tennis team
is rooting for Colorado to stay in its
slump.
“Colorado hasn’t been scoring
the points they should be,” Ne
braska coach Kerry McDermott said
“I hope they don’t start this week
end.”
Nebraska will play at Colorado
on Saturday in the Comhuskers’
regular-season finale.
The Huskers’ conference title
hopes are probably over after a 7-2
loss to Kansas on Sunday.
“I don’t see a whole lot happen
ing to get us back into the Big Eight
race,” McDermott said. “I can only
be optimistic for so long.”
Senior David Moyer will re
enter the lineup, playing at No. 3
doubles with Steve Barley in place
of Karl Falkland.
After this weekend, the Huskers
will compete at the Big Eight cham
pionships April 25-26 in Oklahoma
City, Okla.
— Jeff Singer
Women’s tennis eyes winning record
The Nebraska women’s tennis
team has a chance to end its season
with a winning record with a win at
Colorado on Saturday. Nebraska is
3-3 in the Big Eight and 6-6 over
all.
“I think the match is going to be
tough,” Nebraska senior Nancy
Tyggum said. ‘‘We’ve always
struggled going to Colorado.”
Tyggum said Nebraska can’t play
the Lady Buffs like they played
Kansas State on Monday. The
Comhuskers needed a doubles
sweep to take a 5-4 victory.
“We sat back on our heels against
Kansas State,” Tyggum said. “We
can’t do that against Colorado.”
The Huskers will play in the Big
Eight championships April 27-28
in Oklahoma City, Okla.
— Jeff Singer
Fight Night returns to state fairgrounds
Sigma Chi Fight Night will re
turn to the 4-H Building on the
state fairgrounds tonight at 7 p.m.
Tickets for Fight Night, which has
been held since 1977, cost S3.50 in
advance or $4 at the door.