Weather
concerns
coaches
Five ranked baseball
teams enter first year
of league play.
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
Nearly all of the baseball coaches
in the Big 12 Conference agree a later
start to hie season would be a major
benefit to the
league.
Spring
road trips mean
missed classes for
athletes, NU
Coach John Sand
ers said, and a
later start will
generate more
revenue from
ticket sales for the
northern schools who have trouble at
tracting crowds for cold February
games.
Take Nebraska for instance.
The Comhuskcrs defeated Wayne
State 6-5 on a 50-degree day Feb. 1 at
Buck Beltzer Field in the First game
played by a Big 12 school. The game,
which was scheduled to take advan
tage of a rare warm day, drew a crowd
of 250 people.
Two days later, the field was cov
ered by four inches of snow. Now the
Huskers’ game Feb. 18 against the
University of Nebraska at Kearney is
questionable. But weather is some
thing that the southern schools rarely
have to deal with, Iowa State Coach
Lyle Smith said.
“I don’t know if they know what
ice is like in Texas,” Smith said. “It
affects your practices and your indi
vidual preparations.”
Beginning this year, the round
robin play of the Big 12 conference
will bring the southern schools to the
north early in the season. Since prac
ticing outside in January can be diffi
cult for northern teams, Kansas State
Coach Mike Clark said it’s important
to have as much game experience as
possible before the conference play
begins.
“We’ve always tried to play early
here in Manhattan,” Clark said. “You
try to get six or seven games in under
your belt before conference play.”
At Iowa State, that’s not always
possible, Smith said.
“Looking at our schedule for next
year,” Smith said, “we’re supposed to
play our first Big 12 series against
Oklahoma the first week of March in
Ames. Unless we equip our grounds
crew with flame throwers and hand
grenades, we’re not going to get that
in.”
But the difference in weather is not
the only problem of the new confer
ence. Of the 11 teams that have base
ball programs, only six make the con
ference tournament at the end of the
regular season.
Five Big 12 teams—Texas A&M,
Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas and
Texas Tech—begin the season ranked
in the top 25.
After finishing 42-21 last season
and earning a trip to the College World
Series, Oklahoma State enters the sea
son under new coach Tom Holliday.
Holliday replaces Gary Ward who re
tired after 19 years as the Cowboy
coach.
“I feel relaxed and comfortable
with this situation,” Holliday said.
“I’m just a different guy in the same
uniform.”
Texas A&M Coach Mark Johnson
said he is unsure if the Aggies are
worthy of their No. 18 ranking. Texas
A&M finished 37-21 last season.
“We have a lot of unanswered ques
tions,” Johnson said. “I like high
rankings, and I like that challenge, but
you wouldn’t get me to stand up and
say we’re the eighth best team in the
nation.” -
liiiiiiMWiFw r —I___HT
Matt Miller/DN
CATCHER JENNY SMITH throws the ball at softball practice Tuesday. NU opens the season Thursday.
Tbumey doesn’t scare NU
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
♦ The idea of opening the season
in a tournament with 12 ranked
teams — seven of which are in the
top 10 — doesn’t frighten Ne
braska Softball Coach Rhonda
Revelle.
Add to the mix the fact that
Revelle takes a team to the Coca
Cola Classic in Tempe, Ariz., made
up of more newcomers (nine) than
returnees (seven) and only a few
outside practices.
But she is not grabbing for a
package of Alka-Seltzer. Instead,
Revelle is packing her suntan lo
tion for the Comhuskers’ season
opener Thursday in Tempe.
Revelle said she is looking for
ward to the tournament so a young
NU team can learn where it stands
right away.
“Our focus is to take one game
at a time and find out what we are
all about,” Revelle said. “Our team
views this as a win-win situation.
If we don’t do as well, then we ab
solutely know what we have to
work on because we are going to
be playing against the best.”
If Nebraska—who won the Big
12 Fall Classic — does well, she
said, it will strengthen the idea that
they are on track to become a good
team this season.
NU opens the tournament with
Illinois State on Thursday and then
plays national powers Florida State,
Fresno State and Arizona on Fri
day. Saturday the Huskers face Cal
State Fullerton and Utah.
Revelle said the Coca-Cola
Classic also gives the Huskers a
good idea if they are headed in the
right direction toward reaching
their ultimate goal of making the
College World Series. Nebraska
hasn’t been to the CWS since 1988.
The past two seasons, NU has
advanced to NCAA Regional s be
fore being knocked out. Also last
season, the Huskers won 42 games
and finished second in the first Big
12 Tournament.
If Nebraska is to return to the
NCAA Regionals and possibly the
College World Series, Revelle said
the Huskers are going to need
steady pitching throughout the sea
son — starting with this weekend.
“Our pitching has to be consis
tent,” Revelle said. “What I mean
by consistent is that each member
of our pitching staff, whatever their
individual strengths are, needs to
be ablf to go out and pitch.”
Kevene said ner pncning corps,
which includes two new arms, is
the best she’s had in her five years
at Nebraska.
Junior Angela Blackwood and
senior Melanie Raimondi are
joined by freshman Jenny Voss and
junior college transfer Christie
McCoy.
Blackwood finished last season
with a team-best 2.31 eamed-run
average while Voss had an 0.83
ERA and pitched four shutouts
during the fall season.
Voss, a Fast Pitch World All
American who threw 16 no hitters
at Ankeny (Iowa) High School,
should come in and make an im
mediate impact for the Huskers,
Revelle said.
Along with Voss, freshman Jen
nifer Lizama should also see con
siderable playing time batting in
the lead-off spot. In the fall, Lizama
hit .423 and led the Huskers with
Nebraska Softball
Roster
Pos Name Yr. B/T
iMm—■■
IF 5 Cindy Roethemeyer Fr. R/R
.mm
C 7 Jenny Smith Jr. R/R
- mwL
P/DP12 Christie McCoy Jr. R/R
■"liHiiiiiPi- - siiiii
P 14 Jenny Voss Fr. R/R
shmp; : mm
OF 18 Sarah Sinclair Sr. L/R
UT 20 Jamie Funkhouser Jr. R/R
UT 23 Jessica Robbins Fr. R/R
" Sr. R/R
P 25 Melanie Raimondi Sr. R/R
18 runs scored, 23 hits, eight sto
len bases and a .712 slugging per
centage. She also had two triples
and three home runs.
The stability and leadership for
the Huskers should remain with
junior shortstop Ali Viola. Viola,
who was a second and first-team
All-American her first two seasons
is trying to become the first Husker
to earn All-America honors three
consecutive years.
“Ali just needs to be Ali,”
Revelle said. “She needs to stay
within herself and play her game.
Ali has taken a real leadership role
for us, which is really going to help
the team.”
The Huskers open their home
season April 3 with a double
header against Creighton.
Oxford fights to make lineup
OXFORD from page 10
get back to full strength, Oxford said.
Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig
agreed.
“I think Misty got off to a slow start
this year and realized that she was
going to have to work her butt off to
get back,” he said.
Oxford said she began to regain her
intensity in practice after the first two
meets. Her results have been impres
sive since.
In the Huskers’ Feb. 1 home
opener against Oklahoma, Oxford
dazzled the crowd at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center with a 9.95 score on the
vault. Her score broke the old school
record of 9.925 set by Martha Jenkins
in 1995.
Setting the record was a dream
come true.
“To get the 9.995, 1 don’t know
how to explain it,” she said. “It’s just
a dream that I’ve had for a long time.
Being the best I can be and getting
that record — it proves that coming
in every day is actually paying off.”
At Southeast Missouri State Jan.
27, Oxford tied Nebraska senior Shelly
Bartlett and Nicole Duval for the
school record on the beam with a 9.9.
Assistant Coach Rob Drass said the
beam is where Oxford has improved
the most this year.
“She attacks beam now,” Drass
said. “She doesn’t go up to just do well.
She goes up to nail it.”
Against Oklahoma, Oxford fin
ished third on the floor exercise with
a career-best 9.8. She won the vault
against Iowa State, Southern Utah and
the Sooners.
Oxford said her high-scoring per
formances were a product of the ex
perience she gained her freshman sea
son and some improved confidence.
Last season’s Big Eight newcomei
of the year, Oxford scored a career
high 38.975 in the all-around at the
NCAA Midwest Regional in Salt Lak<
City.
But Oxford said confidence hasn’
diminished her uneven bars routine s<
far this season.
“That’s one of the major prob
lems,” Oxford said. “It’s not that I’rr
not capable, I’m just not as confident.’
Another factor keeping Oxford of]
the bars has been the Huskers’ depth
Don’t rule her out just yet, Oxford
warns.
“I think I’ll make it,” Oxford said,
“It’s just going to take a lot of work.
My routine is there. I just have a few
problem areas.
“As long as I keep working each
day and improving, I think it will be
back.”
KSUhas
new attitude
with wins
By Vince IKAdamo
Staff Reporter
MANHATTAN, Kan. — The
mood in the Kansas State locker room
Monday night after beating Nebraska
61-53 resembled
that of a third
grade class get
ting ready to go
on a field trip.
The Wildcats
were giddy fol
lowing their sec
ond straight win
after suffering
through a 10
game losing skid Asbury
— and who could blame them.
With Monday’s win, the Cats (9
12 overall and 2-9 in the Big 12 Con
ference) won twice as many games in
a three-day span than they had won
in the previous 40. But seven of those
10 defeats were decided by 10 points
or less and four were by less than six
points.
KSU had not won since Dec. 23
when the Wildcats escaped with a 69
63 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. On
Dec. 29, Kansas State lost by 41 points
at Xavier starting its losing woes.
The streak ended Saturday when
KSU edged Oklahoma 57-64 at
Bramlage Coliseum. A victory over
the Sooners was the first-ever Big 12
win for the Wildcats, who had lost
their first nine league games.
The last time KSU had won con
secutive games was when it knocked
off Coppin State and Bethune
Cookman in early December.
“Obviously we can’t undo the first
nine (conference) games,” Asbury
said. “I want my kids to feel like
they’ve accomplished something. But
no way should we sprain our wrists
patting ourselves on the back.”
KSU still has games remaining at
No. 1 Kansas and 15th-ranked Colo
rado. Home contests with ninth
ranked Iowa State, Baylor and Mis
souri are also left.
KSU players said many of their
losses were because of poor execution
down the stretch and not a lack of ef
fort. Both aspects have not been a
problem the last two games.
“We were able to maintain our
composure enough to make plays at
the end,” Asbury said. “I think we
have a lot more confidence than we
had a week ago. We were smarter de
fensively.”
Wildcat forward Mark Young
proved to be restless in crunch time
against NU. In the first half, Young
did not score and grabbed two re
bounds.
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14 points and hauled in six rebounds
—three on the offensive glass. Young
punctuated the scoring with a resound
ing dunk at the buzzer. He scored six
points in the final 3:53 when the game
was deadlocked at 50.
“When he puts his mind to it,”
Asbury said. “Mark can go to the of
fensive glass like nobody’s business.”
Young, a 6-foot-6 junior from Ba
r ton Rouge, La., said while it’s nice to
” be on the winning end, the Cats still
; have a long road ahead of them,
e “We just wanted to come out in the
second half and make the big plays,”
’t Young said. “Wejusthaye to play hard
0 and keep getting better as the season
goes on.
“Now we have to come back and
1 practice and get ready for the next
game.”
F Kansas State guard Ayome May
- has been a bright light amid the team’s
1 struggles. May scored 13 points Mon
day, the 16th time he has reached
• double figures this season.
“We just have to stay together and
1 keep playing hard,” May said. “Ev
erybody has more confidence. For a
1 while we were just hoping. Now we
; believe.”
