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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1992)
NU going for No. 1 — again Gymnasts rally, break records By Chuck Green Senior Reporter With only two events left in Thursday night’s team preliminar ies of the NCAA championships, the top-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team was firmly en trenched in fourth place. The problem? Only the lop-three finishers advanced to tonight’s team championship round. The Cornhuskcrs trailed Ohio Stale, Stanford and Minnesota, and were 1.075 points away from the qualifying range. The solution? Four career-high scores in the parallel bars, another carcor-bcst, a season-high score and one carcer-high-tying mark in the high bar to propel the Huskcrs into second place and the final step toward Nebraska’s eighth national title. The Huskers scored 286.925, compared with first-place Stanford’s 287.20. Ohio State was third with 286.80. The three will compete for the national championship tonight at 7 p.m. at the Sports Center. Nebraska coach Francis Allen was never worried about the Husk ers not making the top three. Well... maybe a little. “Actually, I had visions of fourth place,” Allen said. “I was silting over there thinking, ‘Man, 1 can’t believe this is happening.’” The Huskers began their move in the parallel bars with a school record score of 48.80, which broke the previous Nebraska best of 48.35, set in 1983. The last four of six Husker competitors — Sumner Darling, Che Bowers, Josh Saegert and Dennis Harrison — scored 9.80, 9.775,9.75 and 9.80, respectively. Richard Grace led off with a 9.65. Things didn’t drop off much for Nebraska in its last event, the high bar. The Huskers turned in a 48.55 See GYMNASTICS on 8 Burkett Powell finishes his performance on the rings during the NCAA Championship competition Thursday night. Powell scored a 9.3. UNL women to compete in NCAA championship By Robert Birkeland Staff Reporter Although members of the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team have been getting most of the attention this week, they won’t be the only Cornhuskcrs competing for NCAA gymnastics titles this weekend. Two Huskcr women’s gymnasts will compete in the NCAA champi onships, beginning today in St. Paul, Minn. Nicole Duval and Martha Jenkins will represent Nebraska in the all around competition. The Huskers turned in a season best performance at the Midwest Regional meet April 11 in Salt Lake City, but finished one spot out of the national championship meet. I'iuuiasKu women s gymnastics coach Rick Walton said the Huskers struggled early in the season and were beaten up on by Missouri and Okla homa, but finished the season strong, “The irony is that we arc the only team from the Big Eight that has representation in the national cham pionships,” Walton said. Walton said Duval and Jenkins, both freshmen, will gain valuable experience at the meet and it could help prepare them for next year. “(This meet can) establish a little reputation for yourself to carry over to the next season,” he said. Duval gave her best performance of the year at rcgionals. She said she wanted to repeat that performance this weekend. She described her attitude in prepa ration for nationals as “eternal moti vation.” Duval said she would have the same attitude as she did at rcgionals and would try to hit all four of her routines. Jenkins said she didn’t plan on competing in the national champion ships when the season began. But as the year went on, she said, she be came more consistent and then started hoping for a chance. See TWO on 8 NU hopes to claw past Wildcats By Peter Theoharis Staff Reporter__ Nebraska’s baseball team is look ing 10 rise a liulc higher in the Big Eight Conference while playing host to Kansas State this weekend. The Comhuskcrfc, 26-16, arc third in the conference with a 7-5 record after splitting a four-game scries at Missouri last weekend. “Our goal,” Huskcr coach John Sanders said, “is to pul some distance between us and the other teams in the conference.” Sanders said the series with the 24 20 and 6-10 WiIdeals should be intcr csting. Doublchcadcrs will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The scries originally was set to begin tonight, but the schedule was altered because of the snow. “We know they arc a scrappy ballclub,” Sanders said. “They will come in here and compete awfully hard.” Kansas State brings some offense along with its scrappy play. The Wildcats were leading the Big Eight in hilling earlier in the season, and arc hitting .316 entering the weekend. The Wildcats’ offense is led by Craig Wilson. The senior shortstop is hitting .442 with 51 runs balled in, along with six home runs, 17 doubles and five triples. One of the players who will be called on to silence the bats of Kansas All-Time: Nebraska leads 109-68 This season: The two teams will play another game Tuesday at Kansas State. The game will not count toward the conference standings. Last season: The two teams split the four-aame series in Manhattan, Kan. Nebraska won 18-7 and 16-12. Kansas State won 4-2 and 13-12. State is John Izumi (3-0,2.48 earned run average). The senior left-hander has provided wins in his last two starts. He defeated conference leader Oklahoma State April 12, and downed Missouri 4-1 last weekend. Sanders said he would count on other hurlcrs to step forward this weekend as well. “John’s done a fine job,” Sanders said. “We think we have other pitch ers who can do the same.” Sanders said he wasn’t set on the rotation for this weekend. The four pitchers who will get starting nods for Nebraska are pretty aeon Maurer/un certain, though. Mike Zajeski, Izumi, Josh Bullock and Jason Beauchamp all figure to get a start this weekend. No pitcher on the current Husker staff has ever beaten Kansas State. Nebraska will counter Kansas State’s pitching with a .320 baiting average, second-best in the Big Eight. Sanders said the recent play of the Huskers had pleased him. He also said he was only worried about the play of his team and not how the rest of the conference was fairing. “We arc progressing and I feel we’re gelling better,’’ Sanders said. “We’ve won some close games (3-0 Husker track teams make break for Drake Relays By John Gardner Staff Reporter___ The Nebraska track and field teams will pass the baton a lot this weekend. The Huskers will travel to Dcs Moines, Iowa, to compete in the 83rd running of the Drake Relays today and Saturday. The Husker women will try to add to their list of 25 champions, the most of any team in the meet. Coach Gary Pepin said this meet was one of the top outdoor meets of the year. “The advantage of this meet is it’s a highly competitive, very well attended meet,” Pepin said. “There’s usually about 17,(XX) spectators and it will sell out forever.” Pepin said only an elite few competed in this meet because of the stiff qualifying standards to get in. “ A lot of our people aren ’tgoing because their limes weren’t good enough to get them in,” he said. Within the meet, actually two separate competitions go on, Pepin said. On the one hand, thcro arc col legians competing against one another. On the other, several world ' - ■ - - 1 . class athletes will compete unat tached in invitational events. The Husker elite will compete in several open events. For the women, Kathy Travis will run the 100-meter dash, Kwani Stewart the 100 hurdles, Susan Rchm and Tranquil Wilson the 4<X) hurdles, Lisa Graham the 8(H) and Theresa Sidling in the 1,500. On the men’s side, Travis Grant will run the 100, Stephen Golding the 110 high hurdles, Tom Banks the 1,500 and Kevin Miller the 3,(XX) steeplechase. Nebraska will also be represented in several relays. The women arc entered in the 400, 800, 1,600 and sprint medley relays while the men will run the 800, 1,600, distance medley and 3.2(H) relays. “The relays arc definitely em phasized in this meet,” Pepin said. He also said the meet provided a chance for more Huskers to qual ify for nationals. “Hopefully, the weather will be good, and we’ll get some more people qualified for the national meet and have some continue to improve on their seasonal bests,” See DRAKE on 8