NU swimmers expect pressure
By Jay Saunders
Assignment Reporter
In the last meet until winter break,
both the Nebraska men’s and
women’s swimming and diving teams
will continue to face some of the
4 country’s highest ranked teams this
weekend in the Texas Invitational in
Austin, Texas.
The No. 16 men’s team will go up
against six other teams in the top 25 in
the country, including No. 5
Tennessee and No. 3 Texas. The No. 7
women’s team is one of six ranked
teams in the women’s field.
Even with all the talent at this
event, NU Assistant Coach Rick
Paine said the Cornhuskers are not
looking to have a season-best perfor
mance at this particular event.
“We have tried to peak before at
this meet,” Paine said. “We aren’t
doing that this year. We have not
taken anything away from our train
ing for this meet.”
Both the men’s and women’s
teams have swum against several of
the teams that will be in Texas this
weekend. The men’s team fell to
Texas, which Paine said will probably
challenge them for the national cham
pionship, at the Big 12 relay meet in
the beginning of die season. NU was
able to beat No. 8 Southern Methodist
in a dual meet in November.
“The men have seen Texas and
Tennessee,” Paine said. “This will be
a good measuring stick on how we
can perform later.”
All-American Adam Pine is once
again swimming personal-best times
in both the 50- and 100-yard butterfly.
Pine set a record in the 50-yard but
terfly in the Husker Shoot Out.“Our
men are usually good in-season,”
Paine said. “I think that is because of
the way we train here at Nebraska.
Adam Pine sure takes care of the but
ifro
terfly.”
The women’s team is also familiar
with some of this weekend’s competi
tion. NU has already swum against No.
13 UCLA and fellow Big 12 member,
No. 24Texas A&M, both of whom will
be competing this weekend.
One team that the Huskers have
not swum against is No. 5 Arizona.,
whom Paine said is probably the best
team in this weekend’s field. Paine
said NU will probably be able to use
this weekend as a barometer of where
they stand if the Wildcats don’t shave
and taper.
“If (Arizona) comes in shaved
and tapered,” Paine said, “they will
probably come in ahead of us. If not,
that will give us a chance to see where
we are at with them.”
♦V';’T
Coach urges team
to forget about polls
POLLS from page 7
gories, including rushing, scoring
and pass efficiency defense.
“We just have to go out like we do
every week and shut down the run,”
Wistrom said. “They pride them
selves on playing physical. It’s going
to be a physical game.”
A win Saturday would earn
Nebraska an Orange Bowl berth, but
the Huskers will not be able to play
top-ranked Michigan (11-0), which
will play in the Rose Bowl as the Big
Ten champion. The Wolverines own
58 of 62 first-place votes in the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll and
all but one first-place vote in The
Associated Press Poll.
All Nebraska can do is go out and
concentrate on winning its final two
games, Osborne said.
“I’ve talked to them quite a bit
about forgetting the polls and forget
ting all that other stuff,” Osborne
said. “Just play. This week, we have
our hands full. We have to try to win
this game and play well enough to get
it done. I think maybe way too much
is made of that poll thing. At some
point in the season, you just have to
try to play well enough to win.”
NU quarterback Scott Frost agreed.
“All we can really control is what
we do on the field,” Frost said.
“Thinking about Michigan isn’t going
to do us any good this Saturday.”
Notes:
The student lottery for bowl tick
ets will begin Monday and continue
throughout the week, NU Ticket
Manager John Anderson said. If
Nebraska wins Saturday in the Big
12 Championship against Texas
A&M, the Huskers will earn an
Orange Bowl berth and tickets will
be available for $80 each.
“If it’s not the Orange Bowl, there
probably won’t be much demand,”
Anderson said.
If the student ticket demand
exceeds the supply, Anderson said, a
lottery system would be used. Only
11 student tickets were sold for the
Big 12 Championship.
Nebraska offensive guard Aaron
Taylor was named the offensive line
man of the year by the Touchdown
Club of Columbus, Ohio.
The 6-foot-1, 305-pound senior
all-American, who is also an Outland
Trophy candidate and was a
Lombardi Finalist, has helped to lead
the Huskers to a No. 1 ranking in
rushing, averaging 397.8 yards per
game.
NU hopes to dominate with defense
By Jay Saunders
Assignment Reporter
Nebraska continues its march
through the Missouri Valley
Conference tonight when the
Hu skiers face Wichita State at 7 in
the ffrst round of the Insight.com
Women’s Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
No. 12 NU (7-1) has already
defeated MVC teams Creighton
and Bradley.
But tonight’s game against the
Shockers features a 0-3 Wichita
State team that played in last sea
son’s conference championship
game and is expected to return this
season.
“I’v? seen them on film,” NU
Womens Basketball Paul
Sanderford said. “They have a
good, solid post game and play
some zone and man-to-man. They
mix it up a little bit.”
The Huskers used a balanced
offensive attack to defeat Creighton
80-59 and Bradley on Wednesday
night 80-66. Against the Braves, the
Huskers shot a season-high 62 per
cent from the floor and had five
players score in double figures.
Sanderford said while the
offense has stepped it up, two of the
Huskers’ trademarks have fallen by
the wayside.
“1 like to see balance,”
Sanderford. “We are going to go
back now and rebound and play
defense a little bit.”
The Shockers, who have lost to
No. 20 Arkansas and Arkansas
State, are led by guard LaTeesha
Hill, who is averaging 8.7 points
and 5.3 rebounds a game.
WSU Coach Linda Hargrove
said the Huskers provide the
Shockers with a good opportunity,
but she is more interested in a victo
ry than in using a measuring stick:.
“We really need to win a ball
game and get back home,”
Hargrove said. “We are struggling a
little bit with our confidence. We
need a win bad.”
If the Huskers defeat Wichita
State, NU will play in the champi
onship on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Nebraska could get a shot against
No. 11 Arizona.
The Wildcats are 2-0 and return
all five starters from last season’s
team.
Sanderford is no stranger to the
Wildcats. In each of the last two
seasons, Arizona beat Sanderford’s
Western Kentucky teams.
Last season, Arizona beat
Sanderford and the Hilltoppers in
the fits'! round of the NCAA
Toiirhhnfeiit.' " 1
“I would love to play another
top team on the road,” Sanderford
said. “We have to take care of busi
ness first, though. If we don’t beat
Wichita State, we can kiss No. 10 or
11 in the country goodbye.”
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ire's
NU helped Reitsma realize dream
REITSMA from page 7
College, a small Christian school
close to her home. A shy, quiet person,
Reitsma was not heavily recruited and
struggled to choose between
Nebraska and Dordt.
“It was for personal reasons,”
Reitsma said. “I was just raised that
way. But I know that I’ve become the
best player I can be here.”
Husker setter Fiona Nepo does not
dispute Reitsma’s claim. The two share
a special relationship, Nepo said,
because they fill two important leader
ship roles forNU. The extroverted Nepo
often plays the part of the Huskers’
vocal leader, while it’s easier for the qui
eter Reitsma to lead through example.
“Reitsma’s sophomore year, we
had everybody,” Nepo said. “We had
(Allison) Weston and Christy
(Johnson), but she just put everybody
in awe. Her talent and her presence on
the court are amazing.”
I
No matter what happens for
Reitsma during her final tournament
run with the Huskers, her final act at
Nebraska will not be the last of her
career. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter plans
to join the: U S. National Tdam at
Colorado in May. And standing on the
court before her final regular-season
home match last Saturday, listening to
the applause of appreciation as the fans
honored her in a special ceremony, it
was a decision Reitsma does not regret.
“It was the most emotional
moment I’ve had since I’ve been
here,” Reitsma said. “Just knowing
that I had the crowd and my parents
and coach behind me.
“You always have the dream but it
doesn’t seem real. Nebraska made it a
reality for me.”
.
NebrasketbaH
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NU Man vs. UNC Wilmington
Friday, Dacambar 5 at 6:30 pm
Championship
Saturday, Dacambar 6 at 8:16 pm
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