HmJj _
uoyki wiison
Conference
loses a legend
in Gary Ward
Thirty-degree temperatures and
chilling winds remind me that base
ball season is right around the cor
ner —just three months away.
And though the inaugural Big
12 baseball season will mark the be
ginning of one of the top baseball
conferences, it will be missing one
great coach.
Because of reoccurring back
problems, Oklahoma State Coach
Gary Ward announced his retire
ment last week.
“I was surprised like a lot of
people were,” Oklahoma Coach
Larry Cochell said. “We knew he
wasn’t in the best of health, but we
thought he was getting better.
“He was an outstanding coach.
I think his record speaks for itself.
He’s done things that most coaches
dream about.”
Ward turned a 16-28 Cowboy
baseball team around when he ar
rived at OSU in 1978, helping the
Cowboys to a 40-22 record and a
Big Eight Conference title.
In 19 years at Oklahoma State,
Ward never coached a team with a
winning percentage below .600. He
won the Big Eight Tournament 16
straight years, including last season,
when Ward led the Cowboys to the
College World Series in Omaha for
the 10th time.
“I’m sorry to see him leave the
profession,” Nebraska Coach John
Sanders said. “Gary was a great
coach and a great competitor.”
While coaching at Arizona
Western Junior College in 1975 and
1976, Sanders competed with Ward,
who coached Yavapai (Ariz.) Jun
ior College. In seven years, Ward
led Yavapai to two national titles
before moving to Oklahoma State.
“We go way back,” Sanders
said. “We’ve had some good games.
He is a very, very competitive per
son.”
In 26 years of coaching, Ward
posted a 1,193-394 record, while
helping 116 players to professional
careers.
But despite Ward’s remarkable
career, Sanders said he was not sur
prised with Ward’s decision.
He s talked in private with me
regarding his back,” Sanders said.
“He really battled that back situa
tion. It finally came to a point where
he had to ask if it was worth it to
him.”
Ward’s replacement will have
huge shoes to fill.
“Anytime you have a guy that
has set a benchmark, there is a lot
of pressure on the young guy com
ing in,” Cochell said. “They’re go
ing to be measured by the standard
that he (Ward) set.”
Said Sanders: “Gary created a
monster there—and you can’t feed
the monster on a salad bar.”
Wilson is a sophomore news
editorial major and a Daily Ne
braskan staff reporter.
H L— past Buffs
Jay Calderon/DN
JAIME KRONDAK(left) and Kate Cmich dig a Colorado attack Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum. The
fifth-ranked Huskers won the match in three games.
Nebraska,
OU both in
need of win
By Mike Kluck
“ Senior Reporter
Many fans may consider
Saturday’s Nebraska-Oklahoma meet
ing in Norman, Okla., less significant
than other classic
matchups in the
76-game series.
But with a
Big 12 rule stating
that the division
champions are de
termined by over
all conference
records,
Saturday’s game
Blake will play a major
roll in deciding
the Big42 champion.
A loss by either team could elimi
nate it from representing its division
in the Big 12 championship game,
Dec. 7 in St. Louis.
The Sooners could win all their
games against South Division oppo
nents — Baylor, Oklahoma State,
Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech—
and still remain in Norman on Dec. 7.
The Sooners are 2-0 against South
Division foes but have lost to north
ern teams Kansas and Kansas State.
“If it’s what (the Big 12) wants to
do, then that’s fine with me,” OU
Coach John Blake said. “We just have
to get ready for each game we play and
try to win.”
Texas Tech Coach Spike Dykes,
whose team currently leads the South
Division with a 4-2 league record, said
he’s happy that the Red Raiders are still
in control of their own destiny.
“That rale was done by people who
spend a lot of time thinking about it,”
Dykes said. “It doesn’t matter what I
think, because you have to go by the
rales.
“Some areas are discomforting for
-.. ■■■■■■ ■ V.-■-.- •
Please see FOOTBALL on 11
Young Huskers
look for respect
Nebraska veterans to
carry experience of
an NCAA Tbumey.
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sneak
up on everybody.
That’s what the Nebraska
women’s basketball team is going
to have to do once again this sea
son —just like it did last year.
The Comhuskers finished third
in the Big Eight, won 19 games and
made the school’s third NCAA
Tournament appearance, all mild
surprises to members of last year’s
squad.
The burden of coming from no
where again wiD be placed on die
shoulders of NU, The Huskers were
picked sixth in the preseason Big
12 media poll.
(The Texas schools) probably
don’t know much about us,” guard
Jami Kubik said Wednesday at the
Women’s Big 12 Basketball Media
Day in Kansas City. “They just
know that we went to the NCAA
last year. They probably don’t get
too much involved in finding out
about us.
“It will be a little surprise when
they see our style of play and see
that we can play, too. We may have
gotten overlooked.”
Once the season begins, it may
be difficult to overlook this team.
Led by preseason second-team
All-Big 12 pick Tina McClain, a
forward, and guard Anna Depoige,
NU returns 59 percent of its scor
ing and 66 percent of its rebound
ing from a year ago. Nebraska loses
center Pyra Aarden, guard Lis
Brenden and guard Kate Galligan,
three players who played a big part
Women's^
Basketball
, X* WkJm. ■
Iowa St 95
Oklahoma 36
South Division
in last season’s success.
The Huskers also return the ex
perience of making the NCAA
Tournament. Colorado State beat
Nebraska 66-62 in the tournament’s
first round in Stanford, Calif., the
Huskers first NCAA Tournament
appearance since 1993.
Coach Angela Beck, beginning
her 11th season on theHusker
bench, said although NU is young,
it will field a team capable of fin
ishing in the top half of the confer
ence.
“Our strength is probably our
toughness,” Beck said. “We know
- -■ - - • •• ; _ •• -
Please see HOOPS on 11 ^
NU relies on serving
and passing to sweep
Colorado again.
By Jay Saunders
Staff Reporter
The fifth-ranked Nebraska volley
ball team got a lift from an unexpected
place Wednesday night.
A strong serving performance, in
cluding five service aces, led the
Comhuskers to a 15-4, 15-5, 15-11
sweep of Colorado before 3,154 fans
at the NU Coliseum.
The Huskers, who have struggled
with their serve in some matches this
season, were propelled by the serving
of the entire team. Senior Maria
Hedbeck tallied three serviceaces and
outside hitter Lisa Reitsma added two.
“We drove the ball hard and deep
tonight,” NU Coach Terry Pettit said.
“We had them on their heels to start
with.”
Please see CU on 11
Saindon: NU
will contend
in December
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
Colorado Volleyball Coach Brad
Saindon knows volleyball is a simple
game of serving and receiving.
? Unfortunately for Saindon, his
Buffaloes didn’t do either well in a 15
4, 15-5, 15-11 loss to Nebraska
Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum.
“That was the story of the match,”
Saindon said. “We never got our pass
ing going. Our passing confidence
went one way and their serving confi
dence went the other.
“They served the shit out of the
ball.”
Nebraska’s game plan was to serve
the ball deep against Colorado, mak
ing work difficult for CU setter Kelly
Campbell, who had a season-low 22
assists.
The Buffaloes had 24 kills, while
making 20 hitting errors and hitting
.043. CU’s team leader in kills, Rachel
Wacholder—averaging 4.1 per game
— did not have a kill in the first game
and had only seven kills in the match.
“When we can’t pass,” Saindon
said, “and we can’t get into our offense
and we give the kind of easy balls to
the Huskers that we gave them, it’s like
beating a rock, because they just ham
mered balls in all directions.”
Saindon, who is in his 10th season
at CU, said his team may have been
intimidated by the NU Coliseum. Only
Wacholder and Alison Koepke have
played matches at the coliseum before
Wednesday.
Even though his team suffered its
lOtb-straight loss in Lincoln, Saindon
said the Huskers would be in the na
tional-title picture come December.
“I don’t think my opinion matters,
but I think the Huskers are going to be
heard from before this thing’s all over,”
Saindon said. “I think a lot of people
are counting them out of this thing, and
I’m not one of them.”
