Sports
Thursday, February 16,1995 Page 8
NUgymnasts
are strong
for ISU meet
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter “ :
After setting a season-high score, the Ne
braska women’s gymnastics team will face
another high-scoring team tonight.
The 7-1 Comhuskers travel to Ames, Iowa,
in a meet against Iowa State at 7 tonight.
Nebraska scored a season-high 192.225
Saturday at the Hearts Invitational, in Raleigh,
N.C., while the Cyclones are coming off a
triangular win with a score of 191.025 last
weekend.
That score was the second-highest in school
history.
Husker coach Dan Kendig said last week’s
performance was just another step for his team.
“We seem to be getting stronger,” Kendig
said. “We’re going into tomorrow’s meet, and
we might download things a little.”
One reason to slow things down a bit is
because of NU senior Nicole Duval’s nagging
foot injury.
Kendig said she may not participate in any
events tonight. Even if she could compete, her
only event would be in the uneven bars.
Kendig said the team’s health was top pri
ority.
“I hate to lose, but our health and well-being
is more important right now,” he said.
The 3-7 Cyclones are a young team, but
Kendig said Nebraska was lucky to beat them
last year. Last year the Cyclones finished with
a 3-13 record.
This year Iowa State has eight freshman,
four sophomores and two juniors.
Kendig said with the way the Cyclones had
done this year, he wouldn’t expect another
close meet.
“It would be funny if we would lose to Iowa
State and Missouri and beat Oklahoma, who
we consider to be the best in the conference.”
The Huskers are 1-1 in the conference with
a win over the Sooners Feb. 4 and a loss to
Missouri Jan. 27. Iowa State is 1-0 in the
conference.
Kendig said the reason the meet was moved
from Friday to tonight was because the Hilton
Coliseum had various athletic events going on
this weekend.
But Kendig doesn’t mind the move.
“It’s going to be great to have the weekend
off,” Kendig said. “The weather is supposed to
be great, and that is the proper medication for
any aches and pains.
“This meet’s close enough that we only have
to miss one day of class and our team seems to
do well in the classroom.”
The Huskers will have 10 days before their
next meet when they play host to the Masters
Classic Feb. 26 at the Bob Devaney Sports
- Center.
Sales pitch
Damon Lee/DN
Nebraska coach John Sanders addresses the media during a preseason press conference Wednesday at the Baumann
Baseball Building. Sanders’ Husker team is hoping to better last year’s 32-28 record.
Baseball team armedwithpitchingdepth
ByJeff Griesch
Senior Reporter
Nebraska baseball coach John Sanders
threw out his opening pitch to the media
during a preseason press conference at the
Baumann Baseball Building Wednesday.
Sanders, entering his 18th season at the
helm at Nebraska, said an improved pitch
ing staff could end a decade-long NCAA
regional drought.
The Huskers have not earned an NCAA
Regional Tournamentbidsince 1985,when
they finished 45-24, but Sanders said things
could change this year.
“We are focused on playing more con
sistently this year and minimizing our val
leys so we can head into the Big Eight
Tournament with not quite the panicked
feeling we’ve had the past couple of years,”
Sanders said. “We want to have a regional
bid already secure, so we can relax and play
in the Big Eight.”
See BASEBALL on 9
' ___ - * 1.
Tournament win depends on a Pike-likep>erformance
While Eric Piatkowski is
spending his time traveling with
and sitting the bench for the Los
Angeles Clippers, Nebraska is
looking for him.
Or at least a season-ending
performance like his.
The Comhuskers won six of
their last seven conference games,
including the Big Eight Tourna
ment last year, thanks largely to
Piatkowski’s heroics.
After dropping to 16-8 overall
and 3-6 in the Big Eight with its
91-68 loss to Kansas Tuesday,
Nebraska may have to repeat as Big
Eight Tournament champions to
make its fifth-consecutive NCAA
Tournament appearance.
And for that to happen, the
Huskers could desperately use a
Piatkowski-like performance from
someone for the remainder of this
season.
If that’s going to happen, it will
likely come from guard Jaron
Boone.
While Boone needs to average
37.8 over the Huskers’ minimum
six games that remain to match
Piatkowski’s 21.5 average, the
junior from Salt Lake City is
quietly putting together one of the
better seasons in Husker history.
Boone has scored 419 points,
averaging more than 17 points a
contest, but more importantly, he
has averaged more than 20 points a
game against Big Eight opponents.
Boone, who is 83 points shy of
breaking into the top 10 for single
season points in school history, has
scored 20 or better in five of his last
six outings.
But Piatkowski, who saw
Nebraska in a similar situation last
season after it dropped to 4-6 in the
conference, raised his play to an
even higher level.
Piatkowski averaged just fewer
than 27 points over Nebraska’s
final eight games last season.
Coincidentally, the Huskers went 6
2 during that stretch.
Boone said he felt he could also
improve on his 17.4 average if he
played at the shooting guard
position the entire game.
Derek Samson
“When I’m at the point, I don’t
get the opportunity to rebound like
I want to because I have to get back
on defense,” Boone said. “A lot
depends on the position. When I’m
at the two (shooting guard), I think
I get more into the flow — run the
floor, get the boards, kick it,
whatever is needed.”
Since Boone is not likely to
average 27 points to finish off the,
season, the Huskers must look for
other ways to produce a similar
end-of-the-season run.
They shouldn’t need to search
any further than their own bench
and two of their starters.
Nebraska’s three veterans —
juniors Erick Strickland, Terrance
Badgett and Boone — have actually
produced comparable numbers to
last year’s trio of veterans —
seniors Jamar Johnson, Bruce
Chubick and Piatkowski.
Badgett, Boone and Strickland
combine for more than 41 points a
game, while last year’s three
veterans averaged 44 points a
contest.
That turns the finger on the
Huskers’ younger players — they
can no longer be labeled as inexpe
rienced after 24 games.
Last year, Badgett, Boone and
Strickland were the younger players
and averaged 12, 10 and eight
points a game, respectively.
This year, with the exception of
transfer Tom Wald’s 10 points a
game, the younger players are
almost invisible.
In the loss to Kansas, the
Jayhawks had 10 players score, four
in double figures. Nine players
scored in the first half.
The Huskers had six players
score, and Badgett, Boone and
Strickland combined for 47 of
Nebraska’s 68 points.
Badgett said the difference in
bench play Tuesday night was
obvious.
“They have depth, and that’s
what really gave them the edge,”
Badgett said. “We have depth, too.
But in some positions, if we get in
foul trouble, we don’t have the
extra players to come in.”
In Nebraska’s case, the extra
players’ production doesn’t seem to
match that of its opponents.
So if the Huskers expect a fifth
straight trip to the “Big Dance,”
they may have to shuffle their way
to a Big Eight Tournament champi
onship.
And for that to happen, Boone
win either have to average about 27
points a game for the rest of the
season, or the younger players will
have to start contributing some big
numbers.
Good luck.
Samson Is a Jaaior news-editorial major
and a Dally Nebraskan senior reporter.