Sports
NU warms up, splits series with Cowboys
Huskers move to
5-3 in Big Eight,
23-13 overall
By Peter Theoharis
Staff Reporter
Nebraska’s baseball team used the
weather conditions to its advantage
on Sunday, as the the Comhuskers
downed Oklahoma State 5-3 to earn a
series split.
The win gave the Huskers a 5-3
record in the Big Eight, 23-13 over
all. Oklahoma State dropped to 29-9
overall and 8-4 in the conference.
Nebraska won Friday 4-3. Oklahoma
State look both games on Saturday, 7
0 and 74.
In Nebraska’s win on Friday, Mike
Zajeski threw 182 pitches and went
-li
The wind played a big
factor against their of
fense. Coach said to
throw strikes and Iqt
them hit it in the air.
— Izumi, NU pitcher
-ft -
the distance. The win improved Zaj
eski’s record to 5-3.
With the wind gusting in from
right center field on Sunday, the
Comhusker pitchers challenged
Cowboy hitters all afternoon. The
wind, teamed with the 36-degree
temperature at game lime, made it
apparent that few balls would leave
the park, which made the pitchers
more aggressive.
Husker starter John Izumi, 2-0,
earned the win, giving up three hits
and no runs in 5 1/3 innings of work.
Izumi said Coach John Sanders
told him to go after the Cowboy bat
ters.
“The wind played a big factor
against their offense,” Izumi said.
“Coach said to throw strikes and lei
them hit it in the air.”
Sanders said Izumi’s ability tc
Kiley Timperley/DN
Nebraska catcher Jeff Murphy prepares to tag out Joe Wallace of Oklahoma State in action Saturday. The two teams split the four
game series this weekend. The Cornhuskers won 4-3 Friday and 5-3 Sunday. The Cowboys swept Saturday’s games 7-0 and 7
change speeds on the Cowboys was
the key to Izumi’s success.
“His change-14) gave him a chance,”
Sanders said. “When they were sit
ting on his fastball he was able to get
them to chase the change-up.”
Izumi said he did not know if he
would start until Sunday morning. He
said he was excited to gel the starling
nod, after he struggled with Okla
homa State last season, in a 10-9 loss.
“I owed them," Izumi said. “I re
ally wanted this start."
Nebraska reliever Steve Boyd owed
the Cowboys a little payback of his
own.
On Saturday, Boyd came in with
Nebraska leading 4-3 in the seventh.
By the end of the inning, Oklahoma
State had scored four times on two
walks and two hits en route to the win.
The right-hander entered Sunday’s
game in the eighth inning with the
score 5-3. He retired all uur batters
he faced, as he set the Husker season
save record with eight.
Boyd said it was satisfying to set
the record against the Cowboys.
“This is the best team to do it
against,” Boyd said. “It’s a real good
accomplishment for me.”
Sanders was pleased with the way
Boyd came back from Saturday’s
outing.
See BASEBALL on 9
Track teams shine despite clouds
By John Gardner
Staff Reporter
It was cold. And it was very windy.
But the Nebraska track and field
teams were hot.
Attheirown Nebraska Invitational
Saturday, the Husker men and women
cruised to victory. The men scored
198 points to easily defeat runner-up
Minnesota, which finished with 91.
Southwest Missouri Stale grabbed third
with 89 points, Colorado State fin
ished fourth with 75, Kansas State
had 71 and Missouri scored 47.
The women finished first with 85
points, followed by Kansas State with
40, Colorado Stale with 38 and Mis
souri with 26.
Coach Gary Pepin said he was
pleased with the performances de
spite the conditions.
“Considering the way the weather
was today, the times were real good,”
he said. “Everyone ran real relaxed
today.”
And the 198 points scored by the
men didn’t surprise Pepin.
“We’ve got a pretty good team
there,” he said.
The Nebraska men placed in all
but one event they altered and claimed
victories in six.
Travis Grant won the 100-mctcr
dash in 10.65, anchored the winning
400 relay (40.63) and ran the first leg
of the second-place 1,600 relay
(3:14.84).
Stephen Golding ran away from
the pack in the 110 hurdles with a
winning time of 14.20. Golding also
ran on the 400-rclay team.
Jerry Marsec won the400 in 47.44,
then placed fourth in the 200.
Mark Jackson, Albert Fleming and
Ken Waller ran the other legs in both
the 400 and 1,600 relays.
Kevin Coleman continued his
season-long domination in the shot
See TRACK on 9
Women gymnasts fall short of nationals
By Robert Birkeiand
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska women’s gymnas
tics team went into the Midwest re
gional meet on Saturday at Salt Lake
City with little national respect, but
ended up leaving the meet nationally
ranked and four one-hundredths of a
point short of a national champion
ship berth.
The Comhuskers’ score of 191.225
was a season high and the eighth
highest score in school history.
Utah won the meet with a score of
197.075 and Arizona finished second
with a score of 194.100.
The Huskers finished fifth behind
those two schools and Arizona State
(191.950) and Brigham Young
(191.500).
The Huskers where ranked 22nd in
the national rankings going into the
weekend, but when the results from
the regional meet came out Sunday
afternoon, they were ranked 13th —
one spot from the national meet.
“It would be interesting to find out
if anyone jumped nine spots in the
(national) rankings,” Coach Rick
Walton said.
“We had a good meet. It was the
the best meet of the year in terms of
score.”
Huskcr freshmen and All-Big Eight
selections Nicole Duval and Martha
Jenkins qualified for the national meet
in St. Paul, Minn., on April 25.
Duval was fifth in the all-around
competition with a qualifying score
of 38.4291 and Jenkins was ninth in
the meet with a score of 38.3208.
Walton said while Duval had her
best meet of the year and Jenkins had
an average meet, both did what it took
to get to nationals.
He said nationals would be a good
experience for the two freshmen, but
they were disappointed that the team
did not qualify.
Walton said people did not give
the Huskcrs enough credit during the
season and they were a good team
that was having trouble putting it
together.
“We were probably one or two
meets shy of having a great year,”
Walton said. “If we would have put
anything together in the month of
February we would have had the
average to go the the national meet.”
-SPORTS BRIEFS
Men’s gymnastics team wins
regional; becomes qualifier
Nebraska’s top-ranked men’s
gymnastics team look another step
toward winning another national
championship this weekend when
the Comhuskers won the West
Regional Saturday in Albuquer
que, N.M.
Nebraska scored a 286.175 to
win the 10-team regional, which
decided half of the eight-team
NCAA championships that will be
April 23-25 in the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
The Huskers’ score was the ninth
best in school history.
Stanford, which is ranked sec
ond in the country, scored a 285.275.
Brigham Young and UCLA
* a « ■ ■ +
finished third and fourth, respec
tively, and will round out the NCAA
qualifiers from the West Regional.
The top four teams from the East
Regional will also compete in the
championship.
Nebraska’s Dennis Harrison
finished second in the all-around
competition, scoring 57.97. Brigham
Young’s Liang Jing-Wei won the
all-around with a 58.47.
Husker Richard Grace was fourth
with a 57.10.
Harrison finished second in the
floor exercise, still rings and hori
zontal bar, and teammate Che
Bowers took second in the pommel
horse.
women s goir team primed
for home-course invitational
The Nebraska women’s golf learn
will be the host of the seven-team
Husker Invitational, which starts
today and ends Tuesday at the
Pioneers Golf Course.
Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl
said it was crucial for the Com
huskers to play well.
“We only play at home once a
year,” she said. “It is important to
Eut a good performance on the
oard.
The tournament field includes
Wisconsin, Northern Illinois,
Creighton, Iowa State, Missouri
Kansas City and Memphis Stale.
Today, 36 holes will be played,
and the meet will conclude with 18
holes on Tuesday.
Cold weather might be a factor,
Krapfl said.
‘It looks like the weather condi
tions will be adverse for Memphis
State,” she said.
The Huskers should have a good
chance at winning the tournament,
Krapfl said.
“It’s a pretty balanced field, but
it’s our home course,” she said.
‘‘Everybody on the team is playing
well, so I think we’re ready.” '