Sports
Wednesday, April 17,1996 Page 7
Big 8 ^
Notebook
The beat goes on for Nebraska
center fielder Francis Collins.
Collins extended his hitting streak
to 22 games Tuesday night against
Kansas, marking the third-longest
streak in school history and 11th
best in Big Eight history.
Collins owns the longest current
streak in league play. Kansas State’s
Chris Hess had a 25-gamc hitting
streak snapped earlier this season.
Missouri entered Tuesday
night’s game against Kansas State
with 26 victories, four more than
last year’s Tiger output. It is not
difficult to figure out why Missouri
has made such a turnaround. The
Tigers arc second in the Big Eight
in camed-run average at 5.03 and
third in the conference in batting
average at .309. Missouri ranked
last in the conference in both cat
egories a year ago.
* * *
Last week was a big week for
Nebraska shortstop Ali Viola. The
Novato, Calif., native went 11 for
18 with two home runs and three
doubles in five Husker games,earn
ing the honor of Big 12 softball
player of the week. The second of
Viola’s home runs came in the M)th
inning Sunday against Texas A&M
to give the Cornhuskers a 4-1 vic
tory over the Aggies. Viola has
seven home runs and 46 RBI, lead
ing Nebraska in both categories.
* * *
Kansas’ standout point guard
Jacquc Vaughn was named the male
athlete of the year by Black Issues
in Higher Education. The award is
one of several given by the publica
tion as part of its annual Arthur
Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Awards
Program. 'Hie All-American point
guard piloted the Big Eight cham
pion Jayhawks to the NCAA West
Regional finals.
Kansas will be the host univer
sity for the first and second round
of the 1997 NCAA Tournament at
Kansas City’s Kemper Arena,
March 14 and 16. The Big Eight
was scheduled to play host to the
subregional, but because the Big
Eight becomes the Big 12 in Au
gust, a host change was necessary.
* * *
The Oklahoma State men’s golf
team kept its No. 1 spot in the latest
Collegiate Rankings released by the
College Golf Foundation. Two
other Big Eight teams have a top 50
ranking, Oklahoma at No. 16 and
Colorado at No. 45.
On the women’s side, five Big
Eight teams are ranked in the top
50, Oklahoma State at No. 20, fol
lowed by No. 36 Oklahoma, No. 38
Nebraska, No. 42 Missouri and
Iowa State at No. 45.
* * *
Nebraska teams continued their
excellence in the classroom by plac
ing 10 members of the Husker ten
nis teams on the academic All-Big
Eight teams. The Husker men
named to the team were senior
Adrian Maizey, junior Fredrik
Riesbeck, sophomores Markus
Bergerheim and Henrik Andersson
and freshman Peer Goepfrich.
The Nebraska women honored
were senior Michelle Waldhauser,
juniors Annie Yang and Kristie
Bilecky and sophomores Lisa Hart
and Jennifer Thoste.
Notebook compiled by staff reporter
Vlace D’Adamo.
* V ,
NBA looks at Strickland, Boone
* a
By Trevor Parks
Senior fteporter
Former Nebraska basketball player
Erick Strickland spent one day with
the Comhuskcr football team earlier
this month, which was one day too
long, according to advice Strickland
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound
Strickland, whopracticed with the foot
ball team on April 8, said at that time
he would try football for one week. He
did not return for the final two prac
tices of the week.
On Tuesday, Strickland said his
practice with the football team did not
go over well with the NBA. But he did
not rule out a possible return next fall.'
“I talked to some scouts and I
talked tofiiy dad, and they didn’t think
it was a good idea,” Strickland said.
“They thought I might get hurt some
how.”
Strickland, who hopes to hear his
name called in the June 26 National
Basketball Association draft, said he
was looking to find an agent, but had
not signed with one yet.
Nebraska basketball coach Danny
Nee saidhe wasn’t sure of Strickland’s
motives for trying football. But Nee
said he didn’t discourage the move.
Before strapping on the shoulder
pads, Strickland took part in a Ports
mouth, Va., college all-star camp, in
which he was asked to stay an extra
day because of an injury to a player on
another team.
Former Husker Jaron Boone, a 6-6,
195-pound guard, was invited to the
29th annual Desert Classic NBA try
out camp, in Phoenix this week. The
camp, sponsored by the Phoenix Suns,
began Monday and will run until Fri
day.
Strickland was not invited to the
Phoenix camp, Nee said.
“It’s very unusual to have two play
ers from the same team asked to go,”
Nee said.
A good camp, Nee said, will help
Boone’s draft status greatly. At the
1994 Desert Classic, former Husker
Eric Piatkowski was named the most
valuable player. Piatkowski later was
selected in the first round of the NBA
draft by the Indiana Pacers. He was
then traded to the Los Angeles Clip
pers, for whom he now plays.
“Eric had a great tryout, and that
certainly left a good impression,” Nee
said. “Jaron can do the same thing.”
Marty Blake, director of scouting
for the NBA, said both players had a
chance to be selected in the draft.
“They both have a chance,” Blake
said Tuesday from Phoenix. “But all
these guys down here are prospects,
Mil waiting
Travis Heying/DN
Damon Benning was Nebraska’s No. 5 leading rusher last season as a junior. Injuries have
plagued the l-back throughout his career and continue to bother him this spring.
Benning battles injuries
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
When Nebraska I-back Damon
Benning injured his right shoulder
during the Cornhuskers’ second
spring scrimmage two weeks ago,
he felt fate was playing a bad joke
on him.
Benning, who has been ham
pered by injuries over the last two
years, finally had a chance to leave
an impression on the Husker
coaches.
But during the scrimmage, in
which he ran for 40 yards on six
carries, Benning bruised his shoul
der and missed the following two
practices and last Saturday’s third
spring scrimmage.
“He really got off to a great start
this spring,” Nebraska running
backs coach Frank Solich said. “He
was doing things very strong, and
to a high rate where I was really
satisfied. He was really playing his
best football prior to getting hurt.”
Injuries are becoming a habit for
Benning, a 5-foot-ll, 210-pound
senior-to-be from Omaha North
west High School.
Nebraska’s No. 2 I-back behind
Ahman Green, Benning missed
most of 1994 spring drills with a
“All I can do is go in the weight room and
prepare, and hope I can start catching some
breaks. ”
DAMON BENNING
Nebraska l-back
bruised bone in his right foot. He
missed 1994 winter conditioning
with a pulled hamstring and 1995
spring drills with a sprained ankle.
With Lawrence Phillips sus
pended and Clinton Childs out with
an injury last season, Benning
earned a start against Pacific. In
only his third start of his career, he
rushed for 173 yards and three
touchdowns on 10 carries.
The following week against
Washington State, in his second
start of the season, Benning had 63
yards on 20 carries before pulling a
hamstring.
His injury allowed Green, a
freshman last season, to take over.
Green kept the starting duties until
Phillips returned to start the Fiesta
Bowl.
“I’m through with that,” Benning
said of the injuries. “I’m going to
come out here and get some things
accomplished. I know that I have
had some bad luck, but that’s part
of it.
“I just have to adjust. All I can
do is go in the weight room and
prepare, and hope I can start catch
ing some breaks.”
Battling back from injury after
injury is disheartening for a player,
Solich said.
“It gets discouraging for a player
when he has a series of injuries,”
Solich said. “But sometimes that
can be part of the game, and you
have to work your way through it.”
Bcnning said the thrill of com
petition and his teammates’ sup
port had helped him continue to
fight through the injuries.
Although Benning’s shoulder
still is not 100 percent, he will play
in Saturday’s spring game.
“I love the game,” Benning said.
“I want to be out there and help my
team. I can’t do that by sitting on
the sidelines and being hurt.”
and you have no idea where these guys
are going to be selected. There could
be eight or nine guys chosen as the top
pick.”
Twice before, Nebraska has had
two players selected in the draft. In
1968, Stuart Lantz went to Houston in
the third round, and Tom Baack went
to the Detroit in round No. 10. In 1971,
Marvin Stewart was picked by Phila
delphia in round No. 2, and Leroy
Chalk was Boston’s 13th-round pick.
Blake said he knew that Strickland
thought about playing football, but
didn’t know why Strickland decided
to call it quits.
Blake, who was at the Portsmouth
camp, said Strickland appeared tired
after playing a 3 5-game season, which
ended with the National Invitation
Tournament championship. Strickland
See STRICKLAND on 8
Kansas
squeaks
past NU
By Todd Walkenhorst
Staff Reporter
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Ne
braska baseball has finally found a
diamond in the rough in its pitching
staff.
Junior Pat Driscoll pitched his third
complete game of the season Tuesday
night at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium in
front of a crowd of 507. And despite
allowing no earned runs, five
Comhusker errors gave Kansas a 3-2
win in 10 innings. »
“It hurts to lose like that,” said
Driscoll, who struck out five and al
lowed eight hits. “Our team commit
ted a few errors and I committed a
couple myself. But otherwise it was a
good effort.”
The Huskers fell to 17-20-1 overall
and 6-10 in the Big Eight. Kansas, in
snapping its seven-game losing streak,
improved to 17-20 and 7-12.
See KANSAS on 8
Berringer
eager for
NFL draft
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
Turkey season could not havecome
at a better time for former Nebraska
quarterback Brook Berringer.
Berringer
W lth the start ot
the season April 8,
Berringer has been
able to escape to the
solitude of the
woods near his
home in Goodland,
Kan.
Away from the
hunt, Berringer also
has to worry about
when and where he
will be heading after Saturday s Na
tional Football League draft.
“I’m looking forward to this pro
cess getting over with,” Berringer said.
“And it will be nice to have a little
direction on where I’m going.”
Draft experts have disagreed on
Berringer’s potential. He has been fore
cast to be chosen everywhere from the
third round to nowhere at all.
Ken Kremer, Berringer’s agent and
vice-president of Team Sports for In
ternational Management in Kansas
See BERRINGER on 8