Doubles team
gives boost
to Nebraska
By Vince D’Adamo
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska doubles tandem of
Adrian Maizey and Dinko Verzi has
provided a glimmer of light in a dis
appointing season for the Comhusker
tennis team.
Both Maizey and Verzi have per
formed like seasoned veterans.
The 6-13 Huskers have struggled as
a team this year, but many of their de
feats have been by narrow margins.
Maizey and Verzi, however, have not
been to blame for Nebraska’s
struggles.
The duo has a chance to qualify for
the NCAA Championships, May 24
June 1 in Athens, Ga.
“The team comes first over any in
dividual titles,” Coach Kerry
McDermott said. “But if that happens,
it’s a feather in their cap.”
McDermott has tried several
doubles combinations throughout the
season. The Maizey and Verzi combi
nation, playing at the top spot, often
has found success.
Verzi, from Hamm, Germany, is one
of five freshmen on the Husker roster.
Maizey, a junior, is from Waterkloof,
Pretoria, South Africa.
“I wish I would have paired them
together sooner,” McDermott said.
“They communicate really well.
Dinko’s got a big serve, and he vol
leys real well. Adrian’s able to move a
lot, and he’s got a good top spin lob.”
They extended their unblemished
Big Eight record with wins over Okla
homa and Oklahoma State on Satur
day and Sunday in Lincoln. Maizey
has battled back from a slight elbow
injury. He said a trip to the NCAA
Championships would be bittersweet.
Maizey and Andy Davis, last year’s
top singles player, barely missed quali
fying for the NCAA Championships.
“This is the best team that I ’vc been
on, but our record does not show it,”
Maizey said. “Every team we’ve
played, we’ve been in the match. Go
ing to nationals would bring some
thing out of the season.”
Verzi agreed with his teammate.
“Our team record is not good,”
Verzi said. “If we go to nationals, we
would have individual success and it
would help for confidence next year.”
The key to success, Maizey said,
is the duo’s teamwork on the court.
“We don’t let anyone dictate to us,”
he said. “We carry each other so well.
They know we’re not going to give
them anything. We’re not going to give
them the easy volley.”
Players return
to practice field
From Staff Reports
Cornerbacks Michael Booker,
Mike Fullman and Jerome Peterson
returned to football practice Monday
at Memorial Stadium.
Also returning to practice was Will
linebacker Ryan Tcrwilliger and I
backs Damon Benning and James
Sims. Osborne said Benning and Sims
probably would play in Saturday’s
spring game.
Fullback Brian Schuster was held
out Monday with a sore hamstring and
is questionable for Saturday.
Bartlett, Huskers
aim for Super Six
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
It would be an understatement
to say that Nebraska gymnast
Shelly Bartlett has a busy schedule.
Her typical week involves vol
Ijams
unteer work at
the Red Cross
and for her so
rority house
and meetings
with the Ex
ecutive Educa
tion Board and
the Mortar
Board.
But she took
time out this weekend to place sec
ond in the all-around at the NCAA
Midwest Regional in Salt Lake City,
tying the school record with a
39.375.
Bartlett helped the Comhuskers
to their second-highest team score
in school history, a 195.3. Nebraska
finished in third place behind Ari
zona (195.75) and 1995 national
champion Utah (196.675).
With that score, the Huskers
earned the eighth seed in the NCAA
Championships, April 25-27 in
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
A junior from Spokane, Wash.,
Bartlett finished fourth in the floor
exercise (9.925) and eighth in the
balance beam (9.8).
Bartlett was recently named to
the 1996 academic All-Big Eight
team, and she maintains a 3.82
grade-point average in education.
Bartlett said she thought confi
dence was the key to the Huskers’
success this weekend.
“It really felt good to compete,”
she said. “We had a great warmup,
and wc all felt really confident.
There were some things that wc
normally don’t do, like take little
steps on landings. But now we’re
used to that kind of atmosphere.”
The Huskers will have to elimi
nate those extra steps from their dis
mounts if they expect to make the
Super Six at the NCAA Champi
onships.
The Huskers will face Georgia,
Michigan, UCLA, Brigham Young
and Penn State in the even-num
NU golf team
in first place
after first day
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska men’s golf
team has an eight-stroke lead
after the first two rounds of the
Wichita State Shocker Classic in
Wichita, Kan.
The Comhuskers have a two
round score of 598 and lead
Drake, which has a 606. Iowa
State is third, 10 shots behind
Nebraska.
Freshmen Steve Friescn and
Josh Madden are tied for second
place at 146, two shots behind
the Cyclones’ Chris Peterson.
Junior Jacques Paiement is in
fourth place with a 149.
The final 18 holes will be
played Tuesday.
bered side of the championship
bracket.
In the other bracket, ton-ranked
Alabama will square off against
Utah, Arizona, Florida, Oregon
State and Stanford. Alabama set a
new NCAA team scoring record in
the Central Regional, scoring a
198.075.
The top three teams from each
bracket will advance to the Super
Six.
“That would be the biggest ac
complishment in my gymnastics
career —in my life, really,” Bartlett
said.
“It’s been a goal of mine since
the sixth grade. I’ve always looked
at the Super Six as the best gym
nasts in the country. To be a part of
that would be great.”
Bartlett said she was confident
Nebraska could advance to the fi
nal round.
“It’s gonna be a run for the
money,” she said. “Really, a run for
who can stick landings. And it’s not
just the landings, it’s getting to that
whole other level. I think we can
do that.”
Huskcr assistant coach Teresa
Ijams shared Bartlett’s optimism.
“The atmosphere at Alabama is
going to be out of control,” she said.
“If we hit 100 percent, we could
score a mid or high 196. I really
think they can do it. It’s what they
work so hard for every week.”
Ijams said Bartlett brought an
extra element into the gym every
time she competed — flair.
“Overall presentation is just a
finishing touch,” Ijams said, “and
that’s what wins meets. If you have
two teams and they both hit, but one
looks better, that can make the dif
ference.”
In her first year of coaching,
Ijams said she had seen Bartlett
improve her consistency and pre
sentation in each event, especially
on the balance beam and the floor
exercise.
“I always feel really good when
she comes up on beam at a meet”
Ijams said. “It’s great for a coach
to not have an uneasy feeling when
someone is on an event.”
Wiggins
Continued from Page 10
Before the spring, Wiggins was
listed along with Lance Brown and
Sean Wieting on the depth chart be
hind No. 1 wingback Jon Vedral.
Wiggins gained 16 pounds over the
last year, decreased his pro agility run
from 4.43 seconds to 4.16 seconds and
increased his vertical jump by three
inches.
“Even though we are a little inex
perienced and some of those guys
haven’t played a lot,” Coach Tom
Osborne said, “they’ll be good play
ers.”
No matter where Wiggins ends up
on the final spring depth chart, he
will play quite a bit in the fall, Brown
said.
“I have big expectations of him,”
Brown said. “Right now, he’s in a po
sition where he and Lance Brown are
battling for tfye No. 2 position. I ex
pect both of them to be along in the
running to go along with Jon Vedral.”
Kansas
Continued from Page 10
club. We started to feel like we could
win.”
Pitching has been the key for
Nebraska’s last seven wins. Husker
pitchers have combined to strike out
58 opponents in their last 72 innings.
“We’re starting to get some pitch
ers who have come to the call.They’re
ready to play,” Meyer said. “When you
have a guy up there that will throw
strikes, you just have confidence in the
field. And then your bats are confident,
and that leads to a win.”
Nebraska will pit its two aces
against the Jayhawks.
Junior Pat Driscoll, who was slated
to start in Sunday’s game that was can
celed because of snow, will take the
mound today for the Huskers. In his
only two starts this season, Driscoll
has thrown two complete-game wins
and held opponents to just four runs
on 12 hits in 18 innings.
Junior Steve Fish, who also has
earned wins in his last two outings,
has held opponents to a .237 average
and needs just five strikeouts to sur
pass Jonas Armenta’s team-leading
total of 50.
“It all depends on pitching,” Ne
braska coach John Sanders said.
“That’s the bottom line. We’re going
to be depending on our pitching as we
come down the stretch.”
Jayhawkjunior Mario Opipari will
start for Kansas today. Opipari owns
a 10.80 eamed-run average and has
allowed four homers in 11 2/3 innings
pitched.
Senior Josh Belovsky will start on
the mound for the Jayhawks on
Wednesday. Belovsky, 4-5, has a 5.66
ERA and has struck out 42 batters in
55 2/3 innings.
Kansas, which is 10-7 in Lawrence
this season, is looking to break a
seven-game losing skid. The
Jayhawks have lost 11 of their last 14.
They lost last Friday and Saturday to
Iowa on Saturday by a combined four
runs, and their game scheduled for
Sunday against the Cyclones was
snowed out.
Join the Husker
Football Recruiters
+r
Students, help the Husker Football
team and coaches recruit
student-atheletes.
Call Kim at 472-3116 by April 23 for details
and to set up an interview.
HuskerVision is Hiring!
<S
Broadcast journalism students,
Here is your opportunity to work in the athletic
department with state-of-the-art equipment by joining
the HuskerVision staff. Freshmen and sophomores are
particularly encouraged to apply. Experience is not nec
essary!
Work will include: Football game days with the
HuskerVision big screen crew. The Tom Osborne Show,
the Danny Nee Show, and the Husker Show. Also,
shoot, write and edit video highlight tapes for other
Nebraska sports.
NETWORK
3a
T
Attend an informational
and application meeting on
Tuesday, April 16th at
noon or 5 p.m. in
Avery Hall room 337.
AmericanAirlines
I fa
Win FREE round-trip tickets to any
one of American Airlines’
U.S. destination points.
You can sign up 20 (!) times for the drawing when you
come to the Nebraska vs. Northem fowa softball game.
April 17 1:30/3:30 p.m.
ADMISSION:
$2.00 - Adult
Free - UNL Student
Free - Senior Citizens (62 and older)
Scheduled game is weather permitting
and subject to change. Please call the
Ticket Office at 472-3111 for additional
information.
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