| Sports Weekend
Friday, February 10,1995 Page 9
Huskers must overcome ISU’s home court
SSf^S.’8 MelVin Br00kS (34)*nd fora rebound during the Cornhuskers’ win overOHM
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» By Derek Samson
m Senior Reporter
|
H When Nebraska travels to Ames,
| Iowa, on Saturday for its 12:45 p.m.
game against Iowa State, it appears
that two teams heading in different
directions will meet.
Nebraska, after dropping three
straight and falling to 1-4 in the Big
Eight, has won its last two games,
including a conference road win at
Colorado.
The Cyclones, however, began the
season 17-2, but have now lost four
consecutive games to fall to 3-5 in the
Big Eight.
But Nebraska coach Danny Nee
said he wasn ’t expecting the Cyclones
to be waving a white flag yet.
“I personally think they’re going
to be very determined and focused,”
Nee said. “With the games they’ve
lost and how they’ve lost them, I
know they’ll be determined and ready.
I don’t think they can pout. They have
to try to do like we did — dig down
and win at home.
“I think us, Iowa State and Okla
Ihoma are going to be battling right
down to the wire for those fourth,
fifth and sixth spots (in the Big
Eight).”
I Iowa State coach Tim Floyd said
the Cyclones had improved during
their four-game skid.
j “I knew we were hitting a difficult
I part of our schedule,” Floyd said.
1 “We didn’t like the timing that our
schedule had because we weren’t get
ting much preparation for some very
l "i^lSee CYCLONES on 11
Men gymnasts
tumble toward
weekend wins
By Todd Walkenhorst
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team
is looking to build on its victory over
Oklahoma last weekend when they face
Penn State this weekend.
Coach Francis Allen said he thought
it would be a little tougher to score on the
road as his team traveled to Pennsylva
nia.
“Scoring at home is a little easier,”
Allen said.
The Comhuskers should be used to
competing on the road. All of the Husk
ers’ meets, except last weekend’s against
Oklahoma, have been on the road.
The gymnastics team will hit the East
Coast this weekend to compete in meets
at Penn State and William & Mary in the
next three days. Having two meets with
only one day of rest is unusual for his
team, Allen said.
See ALLEN on 11
•-T;-----r-n ;; -J
Hawaiian VB recmit set to join Huskers
ay Mncn snerman
Senior Reporter
Three of the four high school seniors who
make up the 1995 Nebraska volleyball recruit
ing class fit into a category that Comhusker
coach Terry Pettit calls normal.
Renee Saunders, Jaime Krondak and Lisa
Avery each have attended Husker volleyball
camps in past years. They are the type of recruit
that Pettit said Nebraska “would have had to
mess up” not to sign.
The Huskers’ fourth recruit does not fit into
the same category. In fact, Pettit said, if it
wasn’t for Saunders, Krondak and Avery, Ne
braska probably never would have been ex
posed to Fiona Nepo, the 1994 Hawaii player of
the year.
“(Saunders, Krondak and Avery) were in a
dorm room at a national elite camp discussing
about where they were going,” Pettit said.
“Fiona came into the room and said, 'Where
are you guys going?”’
The three Husker recruits told Nepo they :
were headed to Nebraska.
“And then (Nepo) said, 'Why don’t they !
recruit me?”’
So the Huskers began pursuing the 5-foot-9 i
hitter/setter from Honolulu University High
School.
“I’ve always heard about Nebraska, and that they have a great
program. ”
FIONA NERO
Nebraska volleyball recruit
“We did so somewhat cautiously,” Pettit
said, “because traditionally, great Hawaiian
players play for the University of Hawaii. But
when we found out that she was interested in
engineering and that she would visit Purdue
and Georgia Tech, I think that confirmed in
our minds that she was serious about the pos
sibility of leaving Hawaii.”
Nepo — Nebraska’s first-ever recruit from
Hawaii—said it was Krondak, a 6-foot outside
bitter from Lincoln East, who first told her
about Nebraska.
“I’ve always heard about Nebraska,” Nepo
aid, “and that they have a great program. I was
alking to Jaime. She told me all about the
arogram, and I got excited and thought it
vould be great.”
Pettit said Nebraska rated Nepo as one of the
op three setters in the nation.
When she arrives in Lincoln in August,
'fepo said she she was willing to sit on the
sidelines for a while in order to learn the
Husker system. She was looking forward to
working with Nebraska setter Christy Johnson.
“I see myself as a setter,” she said, “but it
might be a little time before l am ready. I know
that I can learn a lot from Christy.”
Johnson was a first-team All-American last
year, and she was a member of the U.S. Junior
National Team while at Millard North in
Omaha.
Nepo, who was also a member of the 1994
U.S. Junior National Team, said her decision
to leave Hawaii for the mainland was not
difficult. But choosing Nebraska over Purdue,
Georgia Tech and Clemson took some time,
she said.
“I knew I wanted to go away,” she said.
A third-team Mizuno All-American, Nepo
said she visited Nebraska in the fall, but did not
get an opportunity to see the Huskers play at the
NU Coliseum.
bevigne Invite could pave
the way to championships
By Tony West
Staff Reporter “ ' -
Nebraska track and field coach Gary Pepin
said that this weekend’s Frank Sevigne Husker
Invite could possibly provide the right atmo
sphere for more NCAA national qualifying
performances.
The Sevigne meet, which will consist of 871
athletes from 50 schools, should draw big
crowds on botfr Friday and Saturday.
“Historically, this meet was designed to
give athletes a chance to qualify fof nationals,”
Pepin said.
Last season at the Sevigne meet, 86 athletes
had automatic or provisional qualifying marks
for the national meet.
And at this point in the season, the
Cornhusker men have five provisional and
three automatic NCAA qualifiers, while the
Husker women have five provisional and one
automatic qualifier.
Four past NCAA champions are scheduled
to compete this weekend, including Nebraska
triple-jumper Nicola Martial and the women’s
national record holder in the shot put, Dawn
Dumble from UCLA.
Nebraska’s Petar Malesev and Sheldon Car
penter, who are currently ranked No. 1 and No.
2 in the national high jump rankings, and the
defending indoor shot put champion from
UCLA, John Godina, are also expected to be
some of the highlighted performers on the
men’s side.
“It will be very competitive,” Pepin said.
“It’s always one of the best collegiate meets in
the nation.”
Last week, Pepin decided to hold out some
‘It will be very competitive. It's always one of the best collegiate
meets in the nation. ”
■
GARY PEPIN
„ Nebraska track and field coach
Nebraska athletes from the quadrangular in
Illinois because of minor nagging pains or
soreness. He said he wanted them to be well
rested for this weekend’s meet.
Pepin also said this meet should get the
Huskers ready for meets later in the season.
But Pepin said being at home and having the
Nebraska supporters should help the Huskers
do well.
“That’s always an important factor to the
athletes,” Pepin said. “It definitely makes a
difference.”
The field events are scheduled to begin
today at 4:30 p.m., while the running events
are scheduled for a 5 p.m. start. On Saturday,
field events are scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
and the running events at 1 p.m.