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Nebraska
gymnasts
take first
in regional
Huskers advance
to championship
By Tony West
Staff Reporter
Afteracomeback win in the NCAA
West Regional, the Nebraska men’s
gymnastics team is looking toward a
showdown with Ohio State at the
NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Nebraska won the regional
Saturday at Norman, Okla., scoring
285.375 and outscoring second-place
Stanford (282.80) and Oklahoma
(282.775).
Ohio State, which won the East
Regional, appears to be Nebraska’s
main hurdle to winning a national
championship at Albuquerque, N.M.,
in less than two weeks, according to
Comhuskcr coach Francis Allen.
At the West Regional, Oklahoma
had threatened Nebraska after three
events and had taken the lead on the
pommel horse. But Nebraska
responded with a meet-high 48.5 out
of a possible 50 points on the high bar
to walk away with the team title.
“We were in control the whole
way,” Allen said. “The thing I like
about the team is that they responded.
We had a tremendous meet.”
The meet improved the Huskers’
record this season to 22-0.
Allen said Nebraska received a
slight edge in the competition when a
Stanford athlete went down with an
injury in a floor routine.
The injury cost the Cardinal at
least two points, Allen said, and will
give the Huskers a slight edge over
Stanford at the NCAA meet.
“We arc going to be the team to
beat,” he said. “We have a pretty good
control of the national championship.”
Allen, whose team includes eight
letter winners from last season’s
national runner-up team, said he would
be looking for the experience to pay
dividends at the national meet this
season.
“I am looking to (score) 286,” said
Allen, whohascoachcd seven national
championship teams at Nebraska. “I
want to do an impressive job.”
Allen said the Huskers even have
moreontheline than justabid for this
season’s team national championship.
He said they arc also hoping to host
the NCAA Cham pionships next season
in Lincoln.
“We are bidding for the national
championship next season and a strong
performance will strengthen that bid,”
Allen said.
Miey iimporioy/uiN
Austin Wertz, left, tries to run down Jason Fisher during the first scrimmage of the spring Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Defense prevails at scrimmage
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
Defense dominated the Nebraska
football team’s first scrimmage of
the spring season.
And the quarterbacks knew it
The offense was held out of the
end zone for most of the first hal f of
the scrimmage, and by the end of
Saturday, quarterbacks Tony
Veland and Brook Berringer were
knocked out of action by the
Blackshirts.
Veland suffered a leg bruise and
Berringer a groin strain as the
Cornhuskcrs finished their first
week of practices in the spring.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said as spring practices continue,
the quarterback depth chart might
be a little slim.
“We’re going to be a little banged
up at quarterback,” Osborne said.
But, Osborne, said, he is
optimistic that the quarterbacks will
return soon.
“1 don’t think we had any real
serious injuries, but we had a lot of
guys who may not be feeling real
good tomorrow or Monday,” he
said. “But hopefully, nobody will
be out for any great length of time.”
The offense stalled through most
of its initial scries with quarterbacks
Tommie Frazier, Ben Rutz, Veland
and Berringcr running the offense,
and the Huskers didn’t score until
fifth-string Matt Turman was able
to connect with wingback Riley
Washington on a 43-yard
touchdown pass.
Osborne said it was tough for his
offenses to get on track against the
defense.
“The defense was very
aggressive today; I thought they
did a good jotj,” Osborne said.
“Offensively, we got untrackcd a
little bit as time went on. With only
four practices, it’s awful hard to
look real good offensively.”
The quarterback who posted the
best numbers while being able to
avoid injury was Rutz. The
freshman, who sat out last year as a
redshirt, completed three of five
passes in his first spring scrimmage
as a Huskcr.
Rutz said he was happy to get
back onto the field.
“It was fun just to gel used to
things and gel back in the groove,”
Rutz said. “It’s kind of like getting
out of jail.”
Notes:
•Players who didn’t play
Saturday due to injuries included I
back Calvin Jones (sore hamstring),
wingback Abdul Muhammad
(sprained ankle) and linebacker Ed
Stewart (groin).
•Nebraska will have a
scrim mage every Saturday up until
the annual Red-White game on
April 24.
Two players win Lifter of the Year Award
By Susie Arth
Senior Reporter
Although the Nebraska defense
outshined the offense in the first
football scrimmage of the spring
season, they tied in the awards
presentation.
For the first time since 1986,
two Comhuskers will share the
Lifter of the Year Award.
Outside linebacker Donta Jones
and fullback Cory Schlesinger were
named co-winners of the award,
which is voted on by the players.
Jones, a sophomore from La
Plata, Md., said he worked hard
during the off-season to improve
his strength.
“I wanted to win (the award),”
he said. “I got my work ethics
together and worked hard.”
Jones said he expected his extra
work to pay off for him on the field
next fall.
“I hope I'll have more
explosiveness to make plays," he
said. “And 1 hope I’ll be more
motivated to keep the team up.”
Jones said winning the award
put him in good company.
“There’s been a lot of top
athletes who’ve won ithe said.
Jones played in all 11 regular
a ^
season games last season. He
recorded 21 tackles and two sacks.
Schlesinger, a sophomore who
played for Columbus High School,
said he also worked hard in the
weight room over the winter.
Schlesinger said he spent at least
two hours a day during the winter
trying to improve his strength and
conditioning by stretching, running
and lifting.
“I kind of felt like I deserved the
award. I lifted really hard/’ he said.
Schlesinger said he didn’t mind
sharing the award with Jones.
“I don't mind it at all,’’ he said.
“I didn’t care if all of us won it.”
Schlesingeralsoplaycdinall 11
regular season games last season.
He carried the ball 15 times and ran
for 57 yards. He scored one
touchdown in the Huskers’ 52-7
victory over Colorado.
Both Jones and Schlesinger are
listed at the top of the spring depth
charts.
Tight end Gerald Armstrong, I
back Calvin Jones and linebacker
Mike Anderson were nominated
for the award. Anderson won the
award in 1991,and defensive tackle
John Parcl la was last year’s winner.
KU sweeps Huskers m weekend tennis play
Coach says play
not disappointing
By Beau Finley
Staff Reporter
Close doesn’icount in tennis, much
to the disappointment of Nebraska
coach Kerry McDermott.
The Cornhuskcr men’s tennis team
lost 5-2 to Kansas on Sunday afternoon
in the team’s second Big Eight outing
at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln.
Me Dcrmott said he was encouraged
by ihe play of the team despite the the
difficult defeat.
“I was disappointed in the loss but
not in the effort we gave,” McDermott
said. ‘Those things happen.”
The dual included three three-set
matches, all of which Nebraska lost.
The Jayhawks also won the first point
of the dual by winning 2*1 in the
doubles competition.
McDermott said the closeness of
the match was unnerving.
“My heart fell into my shoes when
I realized we had lost,” McDermott
said.
Nebraska had taken a 2-1 lead in
the match after a default victory by
No. 1 player Matthias Mueller, but the
Jayhawks bounced back with the three
straight three-set wins over Mike
Garcia, Andy Davis and Anthony
Cunningham to clinch the dual.
The bright spot for the Huskcrs
was Mueller, who won his singles
match and also teamed with Anthony
Kotarac to record the only doubles
victory for the Huskers. The tandem is
ranked in the Top 20 nationally.
Mueller and Kotarac had lost in a
third set tie-breaker to the same
Jayhawk tandem of Carlos Fleming
and Manny Ortiz earlier in the season.
Mueller said after the team loss,
the Huskers were at a crossroads.
“We can go either way from here,”
Mueller said. “(The match) can be a
letdown or, on the other hand, we can
believe it’s not over yet.”
McDermott said he was confident
Nebraska would rebound from the
loss and be mentally ready for the rest
of the season.
“They knew that it was an important
one this week, and it’s a more important
one next week,” McDermott said.
.Kansas coach Michael Center
agreed that it was too early in the
season to relax.
See MEN S TENNIS on 8
Loss follows win
over Missouri
By Chris Hain
Staff Reporter
Effort doesn’talways equal results.
The Nebraska women’s tennis team
wasn’t short on effort in Sunday’s
match against the Kansas Jayhawks,
but they were short on victories.
After beating the Missouri Tigers
9-0 on Saturday, the women lost 9-0
to Kansas, but according to Coach
Kerry McDermott, who was filling in
for an absent Coach Craig Jacobsen,
the women competed well.
“They played a very good match,”
McDermott said. “Yesterday they
knew they would beat Missouri, and
went out and took care of things.
“I think the goals today were
changed because they were facing a
Top 20 team, and knew it would be a
tough match, but they competed as
hard as they could.”
Against Missouri, the Huskers
didn’t surrender a set all day. No. 1
singles player Zarina Galvan didn’t
surrender a game. In fact, the Huskers
shut out the Tigers in 11 of the 18 sets
during the match.
On Sunday against KU, Galvan
was involved in the only two matches
in which the Huskers won a set. In the
third set of Galvan’s singles match
against Rebecca Jensen, she held a 5
4 advantage before falling 2-6,7-6,5
7.
“Zarina had a chance at 5-4 in the
See WOMEN on 8