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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1996)
NU gymnasts seek individual honors By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter For the first time in 17 years, the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team will not be competing for the national title at the NCAA Championships. And even though five Husker gym nasts qualified individually to travel to Stanford, Calif., for the championship meet today through Saturday, Coach Francis Allen and the Comhuskers are unsure how it'will feel to have no chance of a team title. The Huskers, slowed by injuries to sophomore all-arounder Jim Koziol and freshman J.D. Reive, finished fourth behind California, Stanford and Oklahoma in the April 13 NCAA West Regional at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. “I’m over feeling sorry for myself,” Allen said, “but I have no idea how it is going to feel. For the past 17 years, I never even worried about the indi vidual finals, but now I am.” All of the Husker qualifiers have a chance to finish in the top five of their event, Allen said. The best chance for an individual national title may be junior Ted Harris in the still rings. Harris is ranked sec ond in the nation in the event this year. “It will be different,” Harris said. “I won’t be motivated for the team, but I’mstill goingtodo the best I can.” Senior Jason Christie and sopho more Bill Mulholland will compete in the all-around. Husker gymnasts Ri chard Grace and Dennis Harrison won the last two all-around national titles. “The whole year, I didn’t really have individual goals,” Christie said. “So after last week I kind of changed my goals to being able to hit my rou tines.” Christie said the team had still been able to set one goal. The Huskers want to have the best team score in the pommel horse, where four Huskers qualified. The NCAA does not award championships for team events, but Christie said it would still be a great accomplishment. If Nebraska does have the top team score in the pommel horse, Marshall Nelson will be partially responsible. The freshman from Greeley, Colo., will compete on the pommel horse and the horizontal bar. Sophomore Don Kinison, a quali fier in the floor exercise, also could finish in the top 10, Allen said. Kinison scored a 9.6 on the floor at the West Regional. Gymnastics’ big three aim for national title By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Sarah Patterson, the coach of the Alabama women’s gymnastics team, has high goals for her team. One of those goals is to win the national championship this weekend. The other goal is a little bigger. “We’re tryingto make this the gym nastics capital of the world,” she said. Patterson often speaks to state and community groups, and at the end of every speech, she makes the same of fer. “I tell them that if they come to one of our home meets and don’t enjoy it,” she said, “I’ll pay for their ticket. I’ve never had to buy one back.” As the host of this week’s NCAA Championships, Alabama is one of the favorites to capture the national cham pionship. Alabama has become a women’s gymnastics dynasty in the 18yearsthat Patterson has coached here, winning titles in 1988 and 1991. And earlier this month at the NCAA Central Re gional, the Crimson Tide set a new NCAA record with a score of198.075. Since the NCAA began to sponsor women’s gymnastics in 1982, Utah has won nine national titles and Geor gia has won three. No team outside the big three has ever won a champion ship. “It’s only a matter of time until a team breaks through this Alabama, Georgia, Utah thing and wins,” Utah coach Greg Marsden said. “There are teams here that are capable of doing it if one of us makes mistakes.” Marsden, Patterson and Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan agreed that this year’s field was one of the tough est ever. No. 1 seed Alabama will face No. 3 Utah at 7 p.m. today in the odd-seed bracket, while No. 2 Georgia will com pete in the even-seed bracket, which begins at 1 p.m. The top three finishers in each bracket will advance to the Super Six, Friday at 7 p.m. Alabama will be led by senior all arounder Kim Kelly, who won the all around at the Central Regional with a ,39.75. A strong challenge for the crown could come from No. 4 Michigan, which shared the 1995 national run ner-up spot with Alabama. The Wolverines, who defeated Utah earlier this season, have battled inju ries to seven of its top 12 gymnasts, but Coach Bev Plocki said her team was poised to make a run at the top spot. Gym Continued from Page 9 fill the hole for Nebraska on the bal ance beam. That event has been a weak spot for the 16-3 Huskers all season. But Husker assistant coach Rob Drass said the team was ready to put together a flawless performance on . the beam. “I’d say the last three or four meets we’ve been really been putting bal ance beam together,” he said. “We haven’t been able to have it in the meets, but we’ve been doing it in practice.” Kendig said the Huskers had a good practice Wednesday and were relaxed in the championship setting. McLaughlin agreed. “We’re all pretty calm,” she said. “We know we’re going to do good, so were not nervous.” Junior all-arounder Shelly Bartlett said the pressure at the NCAA meet is not as bad as the pressure at the April 13 Midwest Regional. Bartlett was second in the all around at regionals, tying Joy Taylor’s two-week-old school-record perfor mance. Peter Continued from Page 9 decision to release him. In a telephone interview from New Jersey, she said her son wasdoingwell considering the roadblock thrown into his professional football plans. Peter is staying with his parents near Locust, N.J., but was not home Wednesday evening. His mother said he was notified about the Patriots’ decision by his agent, Ralph Cindrich. “Unfortunately, we did not have in formation regarding Christian Peter’s record at the time we made our draft selection,” said Bobby Grier, the Pa triots’ player personnel director. His mother said the Patriots had to know about her son’s criminal inci dents. “I think that was pretty widely pub licized,” she said. “I don’t know who would not have known about it. It’s all been discussed. We’ve all been pretty open about it.” Peter, 23, pleaded guilty in 1994 to third-degree assault of Natalie Kuijvenhoven, a former Miss Ne braska, and served 18 months on pro bation. He also has been arrested on suspi cion of disturbing the peace, trespass ing, urinating in public, refusing to comply with the order of a policeman and third-degree assault for threaten ing to kill a parking attendant. 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