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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1997)
NU hopes to surprise field By Sam McKewon Staff Reporter Picked to finish fifth at today’s Big 12 Conference Golf Championships in Hutchinson, Kan., the Nebraska men’s golf team looks to fully use its role as an underdog. “Most of those teams don’t have anything on us,” NU Coach Larry Romjue said. “We are ready to play and I think we’re going to make some noise.” It has been has been 60 years since the Comhuskers have won a confer ence championship in golf, dating back to 1936 when NU won the Big Eight crown. The Huskers will be hard pressed to pull of that feat at the Prairie Dunes Golf Course with the No. 2 Oklahoma State in the field. The Cowboys boast four of the top six golfers in the con ference, including die top two. Romjue said OSU will be a tough team to catch over the 54-hole tour nament. “They are a little separated from the field,” Romjue said. “They are a consistent team in a tournament set ting.” Beyond that, Romjue said NU will contend with every other team. One advantage, Romjue said, will be the tournament site. Prairie Dunes Country Club is ranked among the top 30 courses in the country by Golf Di gest and features punishing prairie grass for its rough. NU has played at the course before, while newcomers Texas and Texas A&M—both picked to finish ahead of Nebraska — have yet to be tested at Hutchinson. “It really helps that we’re going to be able to play a course that we al ready really know,” senior Jacques Paiement said of the 6,593-yard, par 70 course. “Especially a course that it is tough as that.” One player who needs to lead the way for the Huskers is sophomore Josh Madden. Madden is seventh in the conference in scoring with a 73.74 stroke per round average. The closest Husker behind Madden is fellow sophomore Steve Friesen at 24th with a 75.10 stroke average. Romjue said NU is peaking at the right time for the tournament. “We feel like we’re getting our game together just at the right time,” Romjue said. “We looked good in the practice round and we’re confident.” The underdog role suits Paiement well. “We know we’re not supposed to win this tournament,” he said. “That’s why we’re excited to prove people wrong.” U.S. team outlasts Huskers 2-1 SOCCER from page 9 support.” The fan support also drew rave re views from Husker midfielder Kari Uppinghouse. “The crowd was just awesome,” Uppinghouse said. “It shows that we have dedicated fans.” What the fans saw was a dominat ing performance by the Under-20 team — which is made up of the best high school and college players in the na tion—for the first 80 minutes of play and a frantic comeback by NU in the final 10. The Under-20 team scored first when midfielder Michelle French, a sophomore from the University of Portland, scored to give the U.S. a 1 0 with 19:52 into the first half. For the match, the Under-20 team outshot the Huskers 15-5 — 10-1 in the first half. At the 54:40 mark, a goal by Meredith Florance off an assist from Angela Hucles doubled the U.S. lead to 2-0. But the Huskers finally came to life. At the 81:07 mark, forward Lind say Eddleman looped a shot inside the far crossbar from 15 yards out to cut the lead to 2-1. The goal seemed to raise the Husker intensity. They were able to generate two other scoring opportu nities — one a point-blank shot by Isabelle Momeau—after Eddleman’s goal only to be denied by U.S. goal keeper Siri Mullinex. “Playing teams like them is the only way we’re going to get better,” NU Coach John Walker said. “I was really proud of the way we fought and battled. We’re a lot better than we were in the fall.” The Huskers played with only three strikers because Kristen Gay missed the game to attend her grandmother’s funeral, Walker said. After playing three 1996 Final Four teams and the Under-20 squad, Nebraska midfielder Sharolta Nonen said the Huskers have a clear idea of where they stand after a 2-2-2 spring. "“We came out with nothing to lose,” Nonen said. “This game helps because we can try new things. We just have to work on holding the ball un der pressure.” Uppinghouse said the team has some work to do before the fall sea son begins in August, but NU is not too far away from where it needs to be. “We’re getting there,” Uppinghouse said. “We showed that we could match up with them posi tion by position.” Loss to OSU eliminates Huskers OSU from page 9 “They’re leading the nation in home runs for a reason,” Sanders said. “And they showed it today. The long ball beat us, big time.” OSU sophomore Billy Gasparino led off the game with a solo home run to left off Husker lefty Kenny Duebelbeis. The dinger, which cleared Avery Avenue, was the second baseman’s 17th of the season and sec ond of the series. Gasparino also opened Friday’s game with a solo shot to left. The Huskers responded with a run in the bottom of the second produced by two infield singles. Junior Cliffton Durham knocked freshman Ken Harvey in from second on a blooper that was mishandled by OSU short stop Cory Burton. But Burton made up for his mis hap in the top of the third knocking a solo shot to left — which didn’t clear Avery Avenue—to give the Cowboys a 2-1 lead. In the bottom half of the third, Harvey launched a 412-foot grand slam to center, putting the Huskers on top 5-2. Not to be outdone, Oklahoma State came back in the top of the fourth with a grand slam of its own. Second-string catcher Rusty Puffinbarger dropped the bomb this time — a four-run blast to left field, which cleared Avery Avenue and gave OSU a 6-5 lead. The Cowboys added two more in the inning when right fielder Rusty McNamera smoked a line drive over the left field fence — his 20th dinger of the season. Duebelbeis, who fell to 3-4, al lowed seven earned runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. Five Husker pitchers followed allowing seven runs on seven hits. NU first baseman Todd Sears, who leads the Huskers with a .442 aver age, put Nebraska within two when he doubled home Francis Collins in the bottom of the fourth. Trailing 8-6, the Huskers left eight runners on base in the fifth through eighth innings and were unable to pro duce a run. OSU lefty Elvin Nifta and righty Dave Maurer, who earned the win, combined to throw 3 2/3 score less innings. “When you don’t capitalize against the club that’s leading the nation in home runs, sooner or later that power is going to show up — and it did,” Sanders said. Oklahoma State sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the ninth and scored six runs, padding a 14-6 lead. Right fielder Ted Salhani hit the only homer of the inning, a 415-foot shot to center. Despite seeing six homers, includ ing two grand slams on Sunday, Holliday said he expected more. “Normally when we play up here, it’s a home run heaven,” Holliday said. “We hit a lot of balls today that I thought were going to get out that didn’t.” Huskers tire in loss to Cowgirls FOURTH from page 9 With one last chance to come back, NU batters Rachel Dunham, Jenifer Williams and freshman Alice Brewer all flew out. “During warmups, you could just tell that they didn’t have the enthusi asm,” Revelle said. “It’s not because they weren’t up for it, they were just tired. Losing the second one does bite a little, but I’m really proud of the team. It’s been a good 12 games.” Voss (23-14) said she was disap pointed with her play in the final game of the Huskers’ two-week stretch, but she agreed with Revelle that fatigue was a factor in NU’s loss. “I never like to admit that I’m tired,” Voss said. “But for the first time, my body just needs rest.” Die Huskers had difficulty at the plate against OSU’s Jenn Markert (12 8). Markert, a transfer from Purdue, pitched a complete game, allowing four hits and striking out eight. “We had never seen her before,” Revelle said. “We had no film on her and that worked to their advantage. She had a good mix working the cor ners. We didn’t adjust as quickly as we have been.” NU had few problems at the plate in the first game showing no sign of the fatigue that overcame them in game two. Nebraska came out swinging by driving in five runs in the sixth in ning. With the bases loaded, Dunham blasted a grand slam. Brewer — who hit her first career home run in the second game—then doubled to right center, knocking in Williams for the fifth run of the inning. By splitting both games Sunday, NU solidified a fourth-place spot in the Big 12 Tournament, held May 2-4 in Oklahoma City. The Huskers are behind first-seeded Missouri, No. 8 and second-seeded Oklahoma — whom NU split a doubleheader with 2-1 and 4-2 over the weekend — and third-seed Kansas. The Cowgirls are the tournament’s fifth seed. “I don’t think anybody would have picked us fourth after we lost (Ali) Viola and (Angela) Blackwood,” Revelle said. “I’m really proud of the team. We’ve matured a lot in the last three weeks.” NU loses to Aggies From Staff Reports The Nebraska women’s tennis team lost 5-2 to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Confer ence Tournament at Austin, Texas, Friday. NU, which one day before de feated Iowa State to advance, won matches at No. 2 and No. 4 singles. Lisa Hart held on for a three set win over the Aggies’ Vanessa Rooks at No. 2 singles. Hart won 6-3,4-6,6-3 to earn one of the two Husker team points.At No. 4 singles, Jennifer Thoste beat Monica San Miquel 6-2,6-3 to earn NU’s other point. The only other Husker to win a set was Annie Yang, who won the first game 7-5 over Lisa Dingwell at No. 3 singles but lost the final two sets 6-1, 6-3. American Heart Association-!^^ Fighting Heart Disease and Stroke I 'jjjj_ I Valentino's The Coffee House 13th & "Q" 1324 P Street Open 24 hours for your convenience! i———^ Final Special Buy One Get One FREE to the STARSHIP 9 with this coupon Monday-Thursday Expires June 1st. 1311 Q3*-t 475-9991 ^— I ^———— i IS ITTIME FOR A CHECK-UP? 4 ^..1417121714193 ^ Our preventive maintenance can keep you running for another 6 months/3000 miles. Start your engine and motor in! 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