Almost too late,
women athletes
earn recognition
This is the way it should be. An
entire National Women in Sports
Month to shed light on the accom
plishments of women athletes.
But for the past 11 years, the first
Thursday of February has been set
aside as National Girls and Women
in Sports Day with this year's event
celebrated on Feb. 6.
It’s a day when thousands of
sports educators, coaches, athletic
directors, corporate sponsors and
others sponsor events honor the
achievements of women in sports,
and also look at the issues that face
) female athletes still in society today.
Now it’s an entire month.
J NGWSD was started in 1987 as
a day to honor u.Y Olympic vol
leyball great Flo Hyman for not only
her success on the court, but her
work to establish equality for
women's athletics.
Hyman was an incredible player
who helped lead the U.S. team to a
silver medal in the 1984 Olympic
games. It was the first time a U.S
women's sports team won any
medal in an Olympic games.
She went on to play for a club
team in Japan before suffering a fa
tal heart attack during a match in
1986.
The day originally set aside for
one great athlete now honors all
women.
Through the years the NGWSD
has developed a three-step mission
plan. The first step is to call atten
tion to positive influences in sports;
the second is to acknowledge past
and present sports achievements of
women in sports; and third, to ad
vance the struggle for equality and
access for women in sports.
In the past 11 years there have
uecn many auvancemenis 10 neip
women gain stronger and equal
standards in athletics.
Through the court system and
government regulation in the form
of Title IX — which celebrates its
25th anniversary in June —
women’s athletics are on a more
even playing field with men’s
sports.
This past year some Nebraska
high schools added softball pro
grams to give girls more chances to
participate in extracurricular activi
ties.
At Nebraska, soccer has been
added to give more opportunities to
women athletes. Within the next two
years, bowling will be added to help
provide even more chances.
NGWSD has helped push
these changes to the forefront and
make people realize the discrep
ancies women athletes faced in
the past.
One day, we won’t need a spe
cial day because every day will be
a successful reminder that women's
sports programs can flourish on
their own.
Kluck is a graduate journal
ism student and a Daily Nebras
kan Senior Reporter.
Huskers scrape past UNI
Hamilton scores 16
points and grabs 17
rebounds in NU’s win.
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Two
years ago. Northern Iowa’s basketball
arena — the UNI-Dome — collapsed.
Thursday night when given the chance
to do the same, Nebraska did not.
By fighting off a late UNI run to
prevail 77-69 on Thursday, the
Comhuskers won on an opponent's
floor for the first time since Dec. 11.
And although the Missouri Valley Con
ference Panthers aren’t exactly a Big
12 power, a win is a win. Coach Danny
Nee said, and Nebraska’s happy to take
it.
“We just needed a win,” Nee said
after the game played before a crowd
of 3.210 magnified by the UNI
Dome’s unorthodox acoustics. “North
ern Iowa is a quality basketball team.
They played with a lot of confidence
and they cause a lot of trouble.”
Nebraska improved its record to
13-11 after a one-game conference hia
tus, but must quickly focus its atten
tion on Texas, which brings a 14-7
record into Lincoln on Sunday.
“We knew we had to win this
game,” said Husker forward Venson
Hamilton, whose monster first half
carried NU to a 33-31 lead at the break.
“I hadn't had a good game in a long
time.”
Hamilton, who scored 16 points
with 17 rebounds, two blocked shots
and two steals, notched a double
double in the first half. Hamilton said
he was inspired to play well after
Nebraska’s dismal performance Mon
day night in an eight-point loss at Kan
sas State.
“I was so mad,” he said, “so I took
it out on Northern Iowa.”
During a 21/2-minute stretch late in
the first half that left the Huskers lead
ing 31-24, Hamilton recorded two
dunks, a turnaround hook shot in the
lane, three rebounds, one steal, one
blocked shot and an acrobatic save of
Matt Miller/DN
KIM DEHAAN competes on the uneven bars earlier this season. NU plays host to Denver Saturday night at 7.
NU won’t overlook! >enver
Women gymnasts
start three-meet
homestand.
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
Even though the University of
Denver isn’t known as a women’s
gymnastics powerhouse, the Ne
b r a s k a
women’s team
isn’t planning
on overlook
ing the Pio
neers Satur
aay mgnt.
The
sixth-ranked
Cornhuskers
(8-1) play host
Bartlett toDe (4.
1) Saturday
night at 7 at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center in the first meet of a
three-meet homestand.
Nebraska Assistant Coach Rob
Drass said the Pioneers are not a
pushover.
“Denver’s got a good team,”
Drass said. “They scored a 195 at
home last weekend, and any time a
team can do that, you know they’ve
got some talent.”
The Pioneers upset No. 8
Washington in Denver last week
end, scoring a school-record
195.225 to the Huskies’ 194.150.
Denver also set school bests on the
vault (49.025) and the balance
beam (49).
Senior Shelly Bartlett said the
Huskers can’t ignore Denver’s suc
cess.
“They’re going to be a difficult
team to beat,” Bartlett said. “We’ll
have to hit on all of our routines
and do well to beat them.”
The Pioneers are led by sopho
more Robyn King and freshman
Jennifer White, who placed second
and third in the all-around against
Washington.
White has won the all-around
in two of the Pioneers’ five meets
this year, and won the floor exer
cise in their last three.
King scored a 39.3 in the all
around against Washington, a score
nearly as high the 39.375 Bartlett
scored at Michigan.
Bartlett’s score tied her per
sonal best and earned third place
against the Wolverines. The Spo
kane, Wash., native also set a per
sonal best on the vault with a 9.925
and tied senior Kim DeHaan for
second on the floor exercise with a
9.9.
The loss to Michigan — the
Huskers’ lone loss of the season —
hasn't hurt Nebraska’s confidence,
Bartlett said.
“Actually, we were pretty proud
of how we did,” Bartlett said. “I
mean, we counted one fall on bars
66
They’re going to
be a difficult team
to beat.”
Shelly Bartlett
NU women’s gymnast
and none on beam. We were pretty
excited.”
Drass said NU will again rely
on a balanced attack Saturday. The
Huskers have scored over a 49 or
better on each event this season,
and Drass said he expects NU’s
scores to improve.
The Huskers might be without
freshman Heather Brink in the all
around, Drass said. Brink injured
her foot against the Wolverines,
and Drass said she may compete
in every event except the floor ex
ercise.
Sophomores Courtney Brown
and Amie Dillman will compete
Saturday night, but Drass said the
two were still are not at 100 per
cent. Drass said the team is excited
about performing at home.
“We’re getting healthier,”
Drass said. “We’re not healthy yet,
but we’re to the point where we can
feel a lot more comfortable about
where we are.”
I !
I_I
a loose ball falling out of bounds.
But without the torrid 20 minutes
from NU’s 6-foot-9 sophomore, the
Huskers may have been looking at a
large deficit heading into the second
half. Center Mikki Moore picked up
three fouls in four first-half minutes
and played only seven minutes the en
tire night, posting four points and two
rebounds.
“Mikki might as well have stayed
on the bus,” Nee said. “He didn’t show
up tonight.”
Jason Daisy certainly showed up.
Please see UNI on 10
Longhorns
need win for
tourney run
By Jay Saunders
Staff Reporter
Texas Men's Basketball Coach
Tom Penders knows what his team
needs to do to accomplish its goal of
reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Penders said his team probably
needs to win at ieast two of its final
five reguiar season games to make the
field of 64 for the fourth straight sea
son.
The Longhorns (14-7 overall and
8-3 in the Big 12 Conference) visit Lin
coln to take on Nebraska (13-11 and
4-7) in a 1:07 p.m. televised game at
the Bob Devaney Sports Center on
Sunday.
“We feel we need a couple of more
wins," Penders said of his team’s
chances to make the NCAA Tourna
ment. “The faster we can get them the
better ”
Texas gets its shot at the first win
Penders desires Sunday against the
Comhuskers, a team the Longhorns
defeated earlier this season.
NU and UT played its season-open
ers against each other in a non-confer
ence game at Austin. Texas. The Long
horns held off a late NU rally to earn
an 83-81 overtime win as Tyronn Lue’s
30-foot shot at the buzzer timed out.
Twenty games later, the Longhorns
and Huskers have gone in different di
Please see PENDERS on 10
Men's Basketball
Starters
Sunday, 1:07 p.m.
Devaney Center
Nabnska 13-n (4-7)
F 4 Venson Hamilton 6-9 240 So.
F 5 Larry Florence 6-5 225 So.
C 32 Mikki Moore 6-11220 Sr.
G 30 Cookie Belcher 6-3 200 Fr.
G 10 Tyronn Lue 6-0 170 So.
T6X8S 14-6 (8-3)
F 3 Gabe Muoneke 6-7 230 Fr.
F 15 Kris Clack 6-5 205 So.
C 50 Dennis Jordan 6-9 210 Sr.
G 32 Reggie Freeman 6-6 205 Sr.
G 31 DeJuan Vazquez 6-4 210 So.