Gymnasts
By Gregg Madsen
StnfF Hortnrtor
braska women
knocked off Oklahoma 195.25-187.85
while the men lost to the Sooners
227.575-226.15.
Women’s Coach Dan Kendig said
he was surprised at the Comhuskers’
margin of victory.
Swimmers
thrash MU
in dual meet
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
There were no surprises Satur
day during the Nebraska men’s and
women’s swimming and diving
team’s dual
against Mis
souri at the
Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
The
Cornhuskers
were expected
to dominate,
and they did.
Both the men’s
and women’s
teams posted
wins in 12 of 16 events on the way
to establishing several season-best
marks.
NU Coach Cal Bentz said he ex
pected nothing less from the Husk
ers.
“It wasn’t a strategic thing to
try and dominate them,” Bentz
said. “We wanted to swim faster
than we have been. That was the
most imnortant thine to us eoine
into this meet.”
Both the 15th-ranked women
(5-2) and the No. 16 men (8-2) ac
complished that goal posting final
victory margins of 183-114 and
177-118.
Senior Julia Russell, a member
of the 1996 South African Olym
pic Team, tied her season-best in
the 100-yard breaststroke with a
time of 1:01.73. Russell also
clocked in at 55.29 in the 100-yard
butterfly, a career-best mark that
places her third on the all-time NU
chart.
On the men’s side, sophomore
Danny Bergman won both the one
and three-meter diving events with
scores of 320.47 and 352.5.
Bergman now has posted victories
in 19 of 21 competitions this sea
son.
Junior All-American Alex
Shleifinan was also impressive for
the men winning both the 50-yard
freestyle (20.04) and the 100-yard
backstroke (51:27).
Sophomore Josh Mathias —
who won the 200-yard freestyle
with a time of 1:41.07—said NU’s
dominating performance might
have surprised the Tigers.
“Last year it came down to the
last relay, and we had to place 1
and 3 to win the meet,” Mathias
said. “But obviously we’re a much
better team this year.”
The men’s and women’s teams
return to action Feb. 9 when they
play host to Kansas at the Devaney
Center.
“I didn’t expect it to be this bad,”
Kendig said. “Things started out pretty
well and then it snowballed.”
NU claimed the top three indi
vidual places in every event but the
floor exercise.
Freshman Heather Brink won the
all-around setting a new school record
with a score of 39.4. Senior Shelly
Bartlett was second in the all-around
at 39.25 and freshman Nicole
Wilkinson was third with a 38.85.
Brink won the balance beam
(9.875), was second on the vault
(9.925), third on the uneven bars
(9.85) and fifth in the floor exercise
(9.75).
Brink, a Lincoln native, has spent
the last five years training at the Dy
namo Gymnastics Gub in Oklahoma
Gty.
“I haven’t performed in Lincoln,
or even Nebraska, in five years,” Brink
said. “It was great being home again
and having the crowd behind me.”
Bartlett joined another senior, Kim
DeHaan, to finish 1-2 on the uneven
bars, sewing a 9.9 and 9.875. Bartlett
also won the flow exercise (9.875) and
was third on the vault (9.85).
Misty Oxfwd won the vault with a
school record 9.5. Oxford, a sopho
more from Kelso, Wash., was third on
the balance beam (9.7) and fourth on
the floor (9.8).
The Huskers, 8-0, have not been
defeated in the Devaney Center since
they finished second behind eventual
national champion Utah in the 1995
NCAA Midwest Regional.
For the men’s team, it was an
evening of missed opportunities.
Coach Francis Allen said the
Huskers could have won the meet had
they hit their routines more consis
tently.
“There were times in the meet
when we had a chance to hit the rou
tine, and we didn’t,” Allen said.
Nebraska led the Sooners 76.05
75.17 after the first two rotations. But
on the third rotation, the Huskers lost
their sum lead with a dismal jo.4 per
formance on the still rings. Oklahoma
jumped ahead 113.12-112.45 and
never relinquished the lead.
Allen said not having senior Ted
Harris at full strength took away the
Huskers’ sewing potential on rings..
Harris, the 1996 NCAA runner-up on
the rings, was hampered by a shoul
der injury.
Despite the disappointing perfor
mance on rings, the Huskers did claim
the top two spots in the all-around.
Junibr Bill Mulholland was first with
a 56.625 and freshman Derek Leiter
was second 56.325.
“I’d rather see the team win,”
Mulholland said. “I’m happy that I
improved my all-around score, but I
want the team to improve even more.”
Leiter won the pommel horse
(9.65) and was fourth on the parallel
bars (9.625).
Sophomore Marshall Nelson won
the pommel horse (9.7) and was sec
ond on the high bar with a 9.6.
Jayhawks escape Husker charge
KU from page 8
him feel any better, but after the game
I said to Danny that they played bet
ter than we played.”
Lue, who scored a game-high 26
points with eight rebounds and five
assists, directed Nebraska’s comeback.
Kansas led 36-26 early in the second
half before a 614-minute draught with
out a field goal.
Nebraska, which last led 24-23
with three minutes to play in the first
half, cut the lead to 59-56 on a 12
foot baseline jumper by Lue with 2:10
left in the game. Lue hit two more free
throws to cut the lead to one, and af
ter a LaFrentz free throw, Hamilton
tied the game at 60.
Husker forward Larry Florence
then stole the ball from B.J. Williams,
and Nebraska called a timeout with
23 seconds to play. With the clock run
ning down, Lue misfired into a fero
cious Jayhawk defense from behind
the 3-point arc, sending the game to
overtime.
“Coach Williams did a good job of
sending two or three people at me,”
said Lue, who committed 10 of
Nebraska’s season-high 28 turnovers.
“I think they knew the ball was going
to be in my hands.”
Kansas scored on every possession
in overtime, taking advantage of mis
matches in the paint after Moore and
Hamilton fouled out 70 seconds into
the period. LaFrentz scored 11 of his
20 points after regulation, and KU
didn’t commit a turnover in the extra
frame.
„ i:9 - «-+ .
Nebraska still managed to close to
80-77 on a Lue 3rpointer with 15 sec
onds to play, but two Jacque Vaughn
free throws sealed the KU victory.
“This is definitely a confidence
builder,” Lue said, “but you can’t say*
it’s a moral victory. We had a chance
to win the game, and that’s all you can
ask for.”
Pierce scored 17 points for KU,
Jerod Haase contributed 15 and
Vaughn had 10. Hamilton added 12
points and 12 rebounds for the Husk
ers, who play No. 18 Colorado
Wednesday in Lincoln.
“We’re going back to Lincoln, and
we’re going to look at the tape,” Gar
ner said. “We’re going to grow from
the things we didn’t do well and try to
use them Wednesday night against
Colorado.”
Huskers collapse against Kansas
WOMEN from page 8
the lead to eight and ignite a 29-10
Jayhawk run.
Dixon, who said she was at best
70 percent, scored 10 of the Jayhawks’
29 points in the final nine minutes.
More importantly she directed Kan
sas as they scored on 16 of 20 posses
sions during that same period. Dixon
finished with 17 points on 3 of 13
shooting.
“We weren’t sure whether she was
even going be able to play,” Kansas
Coach Marian Washington said.
“She’s the gamer that we know she is,
and I want to compliment her on her
effort.”
But Beck said Nebraska’s problem
wasn’t Dixon but freshman forward
Lynn Pride.
Pride scored a career-best and
game-high 19 points including 11
points during the final nine minutes.
“The point is that Kansas isn’t
Dixon,” Beck said. “That’s what ev
erybody has to realize. I had said be
fore the game that if one person goes
off besides Dixon, we’re in trouble.
You can’t let anybody have a career
night, and I think Pride did. That’s
probably what killed us in the game.”
After a Dixon 3-pointer with 8:48
left, which cut the Huskers’ lead to
eight, Nebraska turned the ball over.
Kansas capitalized when Pride scored
and was fouled by Charlie Rogers on
a jump shot.
Pride, a 6-2 freshman from Arling
ton, Texas, — who Beck said the
Huskers recruited aggressively —
completed the 3-point play to cut the
Nebraska lead to 49-44 with 8:18 re
maining.
“They got those two key 3-point
plays back-to-back, and it kind of
broke our backs defensively,” said
DeForge, who scored 11 points.
“Those two plays were big changes in
the game.”
DeForge is averaging 17.3 points
per game, but in the past four games
she has averaged 26 points.
It wasn’t just the KU offense in the
final nine minute push, it was the
Jayhawks’ defense that also stepped
up. Kansas limited NU to just three
field goals in that span. Nicole Kubik
scored all three NU field goals on 3
pointers. Kubik, a freshman from
Cambridge, finished with five 3-point
ers and a career-best 16 points.
Despite losing the Big 12 North
Division lead, Beck said the Huskers
still can accomplish their goal of win
ning the conference.
“Don’t count us out yet,” Beck
said.
Munson salvages Nebraska win
ISU from page 8__
a 6-4 win at 126 pounds over the
Huskers’ Jeramie Welder. Welder was
up 3-1 but lost on a takedown in the
final minute.
“It came down to exactly what we
thought it would come down to, a
takedown in the third period,”
Neumann said. “They got it, and we
didn’t”
After that, NU won the next two
matches to tie the dual at seven. No.
11 134-pounder Brad Canoyer won by
a major decision over Frank Kisley 17
7 to give the Huskers their first four
points. Husker 142-pounder Dusty
Morris added three more points with
a 6-5 win over David Moldonado.
Second-ranked Chris Bono major
decisioned Husker Ryan Bauer 19-6
to put the Cyclones ahead 11-7. But
NU’s Jason Kraft answered back pull
ing NU within one with a 4-3 deci
sion of John DeLeon.
The Cyclones then started to roll.
ISU won at 167 and 177 to gain an
18-10 advantage going into 190
pound match. Iowa State’s Bart
Horton beat Monte Christensen 7-2 for
three points for ISU. At 177 pounds,
top-ranked Barry Weldon added four
team points with a 13-5 major deci
sion over Charles McTorry.
Then Munson saved Nebraska. NU
finished with the two wins at 190 and
heavyweight to improve its dual record
to 11-4.
Neumann said he was worried af
ter Christensen lost at 167.
“I thought when we lost at 167, we
were in trouble,’’ he said. “We planned
to win that one.”
Entering the dual, both coaches
agreed that each team would win three
weight classes. Nebraska would win
at 134,158 and heavyweight and ISU
at 126, 150 and 177. The other four
matches were toss-ups.
Douglas said even after winning two
«——
You pin a guy from
Iowa State to win
the dual meet...
that’s pretty huge.”
Tim Neumann
NU wrestling coach
of the toss-up matches at 118 and 167,
he knew the dual was still wide open.
Munson, a sophomore from Ar
kansas City, Kan., said Neumann gave
him a pre-match pep talk as he waited
for his match.
“He (Neumann) said ‘Go out and
do your best. Try for the win,’”
Munson said. “Then, he cracked a
smile and said ‘because we need it.’”
Men’s track
team stuns
Razorbacks
By Vince I^Adamo
Staff Reporter
Although the Nebraska men’s
and women’s track and field teams
both won Saturday, NU Coach Gary
Pepin believes
both teams still
have some
work to do be
fore the
Cornhuskers
become a well
oiled machine.
How
ever, less than
a well-oiled
Pepin machine may
not be too bad
for the NU men.
Nebraska stunned the top
ranked Arkansas men 137-132, a
team Pepin said would win the
NCAA indoor championships by
more than 40 points.
Division II Abilene Christian
finished third with 127 points,
while Kansas State was last with
84 Saturday in the Nebraska Qua
drangular in front Of 1317 fans at
the Bob Devaney Sports Center
track.
The women topped the compe
tition with 129 points, pasting Kan
sas State (79 points) and Abilene
Christian (67 points).
“It was a heck of a meet,” Pepin
said, “but we didn’t do well in the
men’s long jump at all. But in most
other areas it appeared as though
we made some progress.”
The NU men’s squad netted five
first-place finishes.
The time was just right for
sprinter Tom Fish to bite. Fish, a
senior from Hastings, Won the 60
meter dash with a time of 6.8 sec
onds and won the 200-meters with
an NCAA provisional qualifying
and personal indoor best time of
21.55.
“I don’t feel like I’m running
to my abilities yet,” Fish said. “I
feel real confident coning up to the
end of the indoor season.”
Scott Warren topped the 35
pound weight throw with a school
record toss of 66 1/2 feet. In the
60-meter hurdles, junior Charles
Reid beat Kansas State’s Travis
Livingston by an eyelash. Reid’s
NCAA provisional qualifying time
of 7.9 beat Livingston by .01 sec
onds. Shane Lavy scaled 7-1 3/4
to earn first place in the high jump.
The NU women’s team notched
victories in nine events. Angee
Henry dominated the action win
ning three of those nine. Henry cap
tured the longjump with a Devaney
Colter record leap of 21 -8. She also
posted provisional marks en route
to winning the 60-meter dash
(7.48) and 200-meters (24.38).
Henry teamed with La’Tisha
Croom, Stella Klassen, and Jill
Myatt to gamer first place in the 4
x 400-meter relay. Croom also won
the 400-meters with a provisional
qualifying mark of 55.08 seconds.
Croom, a junior from Bellevue,
said she hopes her outing is a sign
of future success.
“I was excited about winning,”
Croom said, “but hopefully it
proves to me that I can do better.”
Tressa Thompson dominated
the shot put with a toss of 56-6 out
distancing Monique Kuenen of
Abilene Christian by more than 10
feet. Kerry Doetker triumphed in
the high jump by scaling a provi
sional qualifying mark of 5-1014.
Nora Shepherd was victorious
in the 3,000 meter run in a time of
9:50.29. Myatt notched first place
in the 800-meters with a marie of
2:12.92.
“We had a lot of good perfor
mances for this early in the year
against a lot of good competition,”
Pepin said.