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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1996)
- yLi., Friday, February 23,1996 Page 10 --L-L- i Gregg Madsen NU gymnasts deserve more crowd support There was a fierce intensity this week in the practice room of the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team. On Monday, freshman Jess Swift practiced the final pass of her floor exercise routine. The only thing harder than the triple full twist she attempted was the missed landing that followed. She picked herself up, tried again and fell again — this time even harder. Another pass produced an other fall, but the look on her face showed only determination. On her fourth try, she nailed the landing. That same determination was ra diating from everyone in the prac tice facilities at Mabel Lee Hall. Senior Joy Taylor and freshmen Amic Dillman and Misty Oxford labored to perfect their balance beam routines. Junior Shelly Bartlett’s voice shouted encouragement to her team mates as she and freshman Quirtney Brown worked on the uneven bars. And after putting their bodies through the stress of twisting double backs, punch rudis and reverse hechts, the gymnasts moved through 12 conditioning stations, four of which required stomach crunches that would make an “Abs of Steel” video look like “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.” i ue uqjeci ui uus lurious prepa ration was the Masters Classic, Sun day at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The meet will showcase some of the top gymnasts in the country, and Nebraska coach Dan Kcndig said he hoped to see a large, vocal crowd at the meet. “Their attitudes have been great,” Kcndig said, “and I feel like they work way too hard not to get people to come out and cheer them on and appreciate the beauty of our sport.” The seventh-ranked Huskerswill play host to No. 3 Michigan, No. 9 Washington and No. 19 Ball State. Last weekend, Michigan de feated two-lime defendingnational champion Utah, scoring a 196.575, the third-highest score in school history. Michigan coach Bev Plocki said her team had been decimated by injuries this season, and those same four gymnasts who missed the meet against Utah, including senior co captain Dianna Ranelli, would miss the Masters Classic. Michigan’s top three healthy all arounders all have scored over a 38.3 5 thi s season, and senior Wendy Marshall scored a perfect 10 in the vault against Massachusetts. Any Michigan lineup, when combined with the talent of the Huskers, will provide an eveningof fast-paced excitement — all from some of the hardest-working ath letes in the nation. Madsen is a sophomore news-edito rial major and a Daily Nebraskan staff reporter. V Matt Miller/DN Amie Dillman is one of five freshmen gymnasts to crack the Nebraska lineup this season. Dillman will lead off for the Huskers in two events Sunday night in the Masters Classic at the Devaney Center. Freshmen gymnasts gain experience By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter When asked about the future of the Nebraska women’s gymnastics pro gram, a smile spreads across Coach Dan Kendig’s face. “Yeah, 1 really think we’re at the start of something special here,” Kendig said. The causes of the third-year coach ’ s grin are five freshmen gymnasts. Amie Dillman, Courtney Brown, Misty Oxford, Jess Swift and Laurie McLaughlin have made their presence felt in the Cornhusker starting lineup this season. And they all agree that their success has been a collective ef fort. Swift, a native of St. Cloud, Minn., said having such a talented class of freshmen made keeping a starting spot difficult and constant improvement a must. “You know there is always some body right behind you ready to take your spot,” she said, “and you have to perform when you’re out there. You can’t make any mistakes.” Kcndig said Swift had stepped in for injured teammates several times this season. “1 can’t speak highly enough of her,” Kendig said. “She’s came through every time we’ve asked anything of her.” On Sunday at 7 p.m., Swift will lead off for the Huskers on the uneven bars at the Masters Classic at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The seventh ranked Huskers will be competing against No. 3 Michigan, No. 9 Wash ington and No. 19 Ball State. In the Huskers’ Feb. 9 dual against Boise State, Swift filled in for Oxford, who sprained her ankle on the vault. Oxford, whohas been the only fresh man to compete in the all-around this season, said the team had become a family this season. “If you have any kind of problems, you know you can talk to the older girls because they’ve been through the same thing,” Oxford said. “That’s why we’re so successful, because we’re so close.” Last Friday at Arizona State, Ox ford scored a career-high 38.250 in the all-around. She had personal bests in vault (9.9) and floor exercise (9.725). “We felt we recruited well in the sense that we recruited some smart athletes that were doing the right things and were clean on their routines,” Kendig said. McLaughlin, who redshirted last season because of a knee inj ury, scored a career-best 9.9 in the uneven bars against the Sun Devils. NU seniors to be honored By Jason Brunz Staff Reporter ~ The Nebraska women’s basket ball team will finish its regular sea son tonight against Iowa State at theBobDevaney Sports Center. The Comhuskers, 17 8 overall and 7-6 in the Big Eight, will play the Cy clones, 17-8 and 5-8, at 7. The game will beCK mark tnc tinal regular-season games for seniors Lis Brenden,Pyra Aardcn and Kate Galligan. They will be honored before the contest. Beck said the team received a brief pep talk Wednesday from Bob Dcvaney, Athletic Director Emeritus and former football coach at Nebraska. Nebraska will be looking for re demption after its 79-77 overtime loss to Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, earlier this season. “They are the type of team that “We’re looking for them to give us a good test. ” ANGELA BECK NU women’s basketball coach really challenges everybody on the road,” Beck said. “We’re looking for them to give us a good test.” Nebraska needs a victory to take a winning league record into the Big Eight Tournament, which will be played March 2-4 in Salina, Kan. The Huskcrs are fourth in the con ference, and even with a loss to night, Nebraska has secured a seed no lower than fourth. But if Nebraska beats Iowa State, and third-place Oklahoma State loses its final two games, Nebraska will finish third in the conference. Beck said the team was not worry ing about anything other than win ning its game tonight. Kansas sits in first place in the league with a record of 10-3. Colo rado is second at 8-4, and Okla homa State is 7-5. The Cowgirls play at Missouri tonight and at Colo rado on Sunday. Beck credited Nebraska’s recent turnaround — the Huskers have won four of their past six games— to the home court and an increased confidence level. After losing road games at Kan sas State and Kansas, Nebraska has defeated Missouri and Colorado at the Dcvancy Center. Datingback to Dec. 30, the Huskers have been stuck in a pattern in which they win two straight games and then lose two games. A win tonight would end that pattern. “We’ve had a pretty good sea son overall,” Beck said. “The prob lem with the first half was that we had most of our games on the road. I’m really proud of the way we’ve been performing.” Standing between Nebraska and its first three-game winning streak in two months is Iowa State for ward Jayme Olson. The 6-foot-1 sophomore leads Iowa State with 16 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. See FRESHMEN on 11 Track teams look to witi Big 8 titles By Andrew Strnad Staff Reporter If history repeals itself this week end, then nobody will be shocked if both the Nebraska men’sand women’s track and field teams capture another Big Eight title at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Cornhuskers play host to this year’s Big Eight Championships, which will be the last for the confer ence. The conference expands to the Big 12 next season. The meet begins today at 9 a.m. with the women’s pentathlon and the men’s septathlon. Fielcf events begin at 3 p.m with the women’s long jump. Competition resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. with the women’s 20-pound weight throw. Running events begin at 2 p.m. The men’s 4 x400-mctcr relay at 4:35 p.m is the final event of the two-day meet. See TRACK on 11