Sports
Huskers hope
to go tumbling
to nationals
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter "
Nebraska women’s gymnastics coach Dan
Kendig knows how important seniors are to
success.
And his team is no exception.
Seniors Jennifer Hawkinson, Martha Jenkins,
Nicole Duval and Kristi Camp will try to help
Nebraska qualify for the NCAA Champion
ships for the first time since 1990 at the NCAA
Midwest Regionals this weekend.
i lie i o ui-i diiR.cu
Comhuskers, 16-4, play host
to the regional 6 p.m. Satur
day at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
I Those four seniors are a
major reason why Nebraska
is in the position it is now,
Kendig said.
“Our four seniors are mak
mg up luui-atvtmua ui uui
Kendig team scoring,” Kendig said.
“The fact is they have not been to nationals, but
they deserved to be there last year.”
Last year, injuries plagued the Huskers’
chances.
Jenkins was injured, and Duval did not com
pete on the floor exercise at the Midwest
Regional.
Kendig said injuries were the major factor.
“If those injuries didn’t happen, we’d have
been there last year,” Kendig said. “We’ve been
a better competitive group this year and handled
pressure a lot better.”
One person who survived last year’s injury
bug is Hawkinson.
Hawkinson finished second in last year’s
NCAA Midwest Regional all-around with a
score of 38.725 and was the lone Husker to
qualify for the NCAA meet.
But Hawkinson probably won’t compete in
the all-around Saturday.
Hawkinson said she was disappointed, but
she was more concerned that the team made
nationals this year.
“Going in as an individual compares very
little to what it would be like as a team,”
Hawkinson said. “It would be really special for
us, especially since we haven’t qualified as a
team.”
The Huskers will be competing with seven
gymnasts this weekend. Shelly Bartlett, Duval,
Jenkins and Joy Taylor will compete in the all
around. Kim DeHaan also may compete in the
all-around, but she has been nursing a sore back.
Nebraska won’t feel any added pressure per
forming at home, Hawkinson said.
inis is our last meet at Devaney, so maybe
that aspect will push us a little more,” Hawkinson
said. “Maybe there is something in our hearts
that makes us give a little bit extra.”
That extra heart has shown throughout the
season as Nebraska had a school-record score
of 194.45 at the Big Eight Championships.
Kendig said since that performance, his team
had been gunning for this weekend.
“We’ve been ready since Big Eights,” Kendig
said. “We felt we could have done better. But if
we’d have topped out in every event, it would
have been tough for us to get back in the gym.”
Hopefully the improvement will show against
this weekend’s competition, Kendig said.
Seven of the nation’s top 18 teams will be
competing, including defending NCAA cham
pion Utah.
Utah comes into the meet 16-1 this year and
ranked No. 2.
Also, eighth-ranked Arizona State, 10th
ranked Arizona, 14th-ranked Utah State, 15th
ranked Oklahoma and 18th-ranked Brigham
Young will be competing.
Kendig said any of those teams could put up
a good score.
“There’s not a team coming into this meet
that if they hit four events won’t have a shot at
making nationals,” Kendig said.
NOTE:
• Tickets for the NCAA Midwest Regional
are $6 at the door for adults and $2 for children
12 and under.
Spike!
Jon Waller/DN
Nebraska’s Christy Johnson sets the ball during practice on Wednesday.
The Huskers are in the middle of spring practice in preparation for next
season.
Huskers warm up for fall
with spring practice, games
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
It’s only April, but the Nebraska volley
ball team is already piling up the wins.
Only problem is, these wins don’t mean
anything-—unless you’re a big fan of spring
volleyball.
The Nebraska volleyball team spent its
spring break in Tucson, Ariz., participating
in a tournament involving Texas, Arizona,
Arizona State, Northern Arizona and New
Mexico State. The Huskers swept the field.
This weekend at the NU Coliseum, Ne
braska will play host to its own spring invite
featuring Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State
and UNO.
The Comhuskers, who return all but three
members of last season’s 31-1 team, have
been practicing five times a week since March
12. Spring practice, Coach Terry Pettit said,
is a time for the Huskers to sharpen their
skills and concentrate on the tactical side of
the game.
Spring drills conclude with a Big 12 tour
nament, April 15-16 in Manhattan, Kan.
Pettit said eight of the future conference ’ s 12
teams would participate.
“The ball-handling tends to be not as
strong in the spring,” Pettit said. “Offen
sively, we vfere very good (playing in Ari
zona). We were very strong at the net in
terms of blocking. But our overall ball han
dling is not where it needs to be.”
Pettit said the spring was a chance for all
the Huskers to improve, some in different
ways than others. He said Nebraska’s expe
rienced players — seniors-to-be Allison
Weston, Christy Johnson and Billie Winsett
andjunior Maria Hedbeck—needed to raise
their levels of play.
“They need to be more consistent than
they are,” Pettit said. “They need to better
the ball each time they touch it.”
The less experienced Huskers — redshirt
freshman Stacie Maser, sophomores Lisa
Reitsma and Kim Legg andjunior Kate Cmich
— should take advantage of the spring to
become more accustomed to the Nebraska
offensive and defensive schemes, Pettit said.
“We are watching them,” he said, “and
trying to get them to step up. It seems to be
happening, but we have a lot of work to do in
the next two weeks. _
See VOLLEYBALL on 9
NU fired up
for rematch
with Cowboys
By Jeff Griesch
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska baseball team will take a mini
winning streak of three games to Stillwater,
Okla., for a three-game series against Okla
homa State this weekend.
The Comhuskers, 7-5 in the Big Eight and
18-11 overall, have a chance to move into a tie
for first place with a sweep of the Cowboys,
who are leading the conference with a 9-2 Big
Eight mark and 29-4 overall record.
Nebraska coach John Sanders said the Husk
ers were eager for the chance to play the Cow
boys.
“The way you jump into the limelight is by
beating good people,” Sanders said. “We are
definitely excited about the opportunity to play
them right now.”
But Oklahoma State has been streaking too.
The Cowboys, ranked No. 1 in the latest
Collegiate Baseball poll, had won 10 straight
games before losing at Missouri Wednesday.
During the streak, Oklahoma outscored its op
ponents 156-49.
And unfortunately for the Huskers, Okla
homa State has not lost consecutive games this
season.
w nne me v^owooys numoers are imposing,
the Huskers have one number in their favor.
Nebraska is 1-0 this season against Oklahoma
State.
The Huskers beat the Cowboys 6-5 at the
Arthur Gallagher Tournament in San Diego,
Feb. 26. It was the Cowboys’ first loss of the
season and ended an 11 -game winning streak.
But Sanders said he didn’t think revenge
would be on the minds of the Cowboys.
“They’ll just come out and play, and we’ll
just come out and play and have a lot of fun,”
Sanders said. “It doesn’t matter when you catch
Oklahoma State, they’re always ready to play.”
The Cowboys are always ready to hit too.
Oklahoma State is hitting .331 as a team and
has seven starters batting higher than .300.
Peter Prodanov leads the Cowboys with a
.452 season batting average to go along with
eight home runs and 49 RBI. And the senior
outfielder’s numbers are even better in the Big
Eight. Prodanov is hitting .595 with four hom
ers and 22 RBI in 11 games.
Junior third baseman Tal Light carries a .3 86
average with 11 homers'and 52 RBI. Junior
outfielder Chris Richard is hitting .359 with 53
RBI and seven home runs.
“There is never a good time to play Okla
homa State,” Sanders said. “They are one of the
best teams in the country, and we are going to
have to be ready to play a complete game.”
Softball coach
swinging for
series sweep
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter
In Rhonda Revelle’s previous two seasons as
Nebraska’s softball coach, she watched her
teams go 0-16 against Kansas and Oklahoma
State. And before this season, she knew the
eight straight games against the two conference
rivals in April could be a pivotal point for her
team.
Revelle got her first two wins against Okla
homa State last weekend when the Huskers split
a four-game home stand with the Cowgirls.
Now, Revelle has her chance to get her first
wins against the Jayhawks when Nebraska trav
elsto Lawrence, Kan., this weekend for double
headers on Saturday and Sunday.
But just getting her first win against 11-9
Kansas won’t be enough for Revelle.
“Even a split would be what I consider as
disappointing,” Revelle said. “We have to win
the series outright. I feel Oklahoma State is a
much stronger team than Kansas. Even though
we could have got one more win against Okla
homa State, I was glad to get two out of four.
See SOFTBALL on 10
