NU wins, places at indoor New pitch, new motion
INDOOR from page 8
Sophomore Dave Riggert finished
sixth in the event.
Senior Benji Prebyl helped the
Huskers ice the victory as his leap
of 51-1 in the triple jump, gave him
the conference title.
"We came in here expecting to
win. and I'm glad I was able to add
to the team effort, because that’s
what this meet is all about in the
first place," Prebyl said.
Defending champions Byron
lopps and Shane Lavy were both
disappointed with their efforts, but
were able to help NU in the overall
standings.
Lavy, a junior, finished fourth
in the high jump; and Topps. a
senior and two-time defending
champion in the 55-meter dash, fin
ished second.
"I'm very disappointed," Lavy
said. "But. the main focus is the
team, and it's about contribution to
the team"
The Huskers also scored points
in several distance areas and in the
pole vault, where NU vaulters fin
ished fourth and sixth
Nebraska scored 106.5 points,
just ahead of Texas A&M w ith 69
points and Texas with 93 points.
“A heck of a team victory."
Pepin said. “They had to get it done
in a lot of areas to win the meet.”
The Cornhusker women weren’t
so fortunate as they were unable to
match the sprinting corps of Texas.
The Longhorns were favored
going into the meet and scored
enough points in just fiv e ev ents to
outscore NU for the women's
crown, denying Nebraska its 19lh
consecutive indoor track title.
Texas' 156 points surpassed
runner-up Nebraska ( 101 ) and
third-place Kansas State (70).
"That was a really good meet
for us" NU Head Coach Gary
Pepin said of the women’s perfor
mance. “The score really shows
how good Texas really is"
NU managed to place second
despite lacking an individual cham
pion for the first time since 1979.
The Huskers were propelled by
Matt Miller/DN
NEBRASKA POLE VAULTER Scott Nachtigal vaulted to a personal-best 17
feet, % inch for a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Indoor Track
Championships in Ames, Iowa. The NU men’s team won its fifth consecutive
conference title.
a group of distance runners, includ
ing senior Christina Blackmer, who
finished second in the 3,000-meter
run and third in the 5.000 meters.
“Everyone’s putting their best
efforts out there, and that's all we
can ask for,” Blackmer said. “It’s
sad that we're not going to win the
meet, but we’ve certainly done our
best and left everything out on the
track."’
Freshmen Amy Wiseman and
Kate Centerwall finished fourth
and sixth, respectively, behind
Blackmer in the 3.000 meters.
Wiseman also finished sixth in the
5,000 meters.
Huskers eke out Classic title
Coach maintains home streak despite ‘bad day’
By Darren Ivy
Assignment Reporter
The streak is over.
Coach Dan Kendig is no
longer undefeated at home.
That is what
the No. 19
N e b 1 a s k a
women’s gym
nastics team
thought after it
finished the
final routine -
the floor exer
cise - at the
Masters Classic
Saturday at the Wilkinson
Bob Devaney Sports Center.
But the Cornhuskers were in
for a surprise when the final
scores were announced, indicat
ing NU had eked out a 193.35 to
193.30 win over No. 17 Michigan
State. No. 8 Kentucky finished
third with a score of 192.35, and
Rhode Island was fourth with
190.075.
“I was just as shocked as any
one else when they announced us
as champions,” Kendig said.
Career-best scores by Nicole
Wilkinson and a season-high
floor exercise score helped the
Cornhuskers (9-4) offset foui
falls on the uneven bars en route
to claiming their fourth straight
Masters Classic title.
By winning the title, NU
extended its home winning streak
u
/ vtm ywAt as shocked as anyone else
when they announced
us as champions.”
Dan Kendig
NU coach
to 21 matches. It also kept
Kendig undefeated at home as a
Nebraska coach.
The streak seemed all but over
after NU gymnasts missed four
bar routines and scored a 47.70.
The only two gymnasts who did
n’t fall off were Nicole Wilkinson
and Laurie McLaughlin.
“It was a freak thing,” said
Wilkinson, who tied McLaughlin
for first place on the bars with
scores of 9.90.
But NU recovered with solid
beam routines - led by freshman
Amy Ringo’s career-best 9.85. A
beam score of 48.375 brought the
Huskers within 0.40 points of
first-place Michigan State.
That’s when things got wild.
For the final rotation, MSU,
18-3, competed on the balance
beam and NU was on the floor.
Jess Swift got NU off to a
good start on the floor with a
9.65. Swift and her teammates
scored a season-high 49.00 while
claiming rtte top three spots.
Misty Oxford was first with a
9.90, Courtney Brown was sec
ond with a career-best 9.85 and
Wilkinson was third with a 9.80.
Although the Huskers scored
well, they were afraid the
Spartans had held on for the vic
tory.
MSU’s final four gymnasts
had perfect routines, but they
couldn’t score well enough to
make up for falls by their first
two gymnasts. The result was a
score of 48.55, which put them
0.05 points behind NU.
“I was so proud of how the
team fought back,” Kendig said.
“I told them they still had a
chance to win heading into the
floor exercise, and our five gym
nasts came through for us.”
Wilkinson won her first all
around with a 39.175. Brink fin
ished second with a 38.875.
Wilkinson said that although
NU struggled, the meet would
help down the line.
“It gave us confidence that we
can beat good teams even if we
have a bad day.”
help Olson save career
TUCSON, Anz. (AP) If time took
the hop off Gregg Olson’s fastball, it left
his curve alone and gave him a keen
i sense of how to keep his career alive.
While changing his pitching motion
last year to reduce the strain on a perpet
ually sore elbow, the Omaha Northwest
graduate also picked up a changeup that
increases his chances of making the
Arizona Diamondbacks as a setup man.
“He doesn't hav e some of the great
stuff that he used to have,” Pitching
Coach Mark Connor said. “But his fast
ball is still 90 mph; and better, his curve
ball is still an out pitch, and the change
up has really helped him out. I think it's
going to prolong his career."
Olson was a bullpen star for the
Baltimore Orioles, who chose him No.
4 overall in the 1988 amateur draft. The
next season, he was the AL rookie of the
year after setting the league record for
saves by a rookie (27). He had at least 20
saves in each of his next four seasons,
the first major leaguer to do so, and
became the Orioles' all-time save leader
(160) in 1993.
But then came elbow trouble. The
Orioles told him to have reconstructive
surgery, but Olson opted for rehabilita
tion. By the end of the season, Olson
was nearly back to form, but his years of
playing for Baltimore were over.
“1 think 1 hurt my elbow through
overuse," Olson said. “I was worn out."
From 1994-97. he plavedffor five
different teams. 1 le was with the Royals
l'or the second time last year when
coaches noticed a forward lean that w as
affecting his motion. After correcting
his mechanics in June, Olson went 4-3
with a 3.02 eamed-nin average.
Now he has a new lease on his
career. In his first appearance with the
Diamondbacks Saturday, he pitched a
perfect inning against the Chicago
White Sox.
“A lot of people think this guv is 40
years old." Manager Buck Shovvalter
said. “He's only 31, and if his arm
comes back like it did last year, we'll
have a very usable piece."
Read and earn credit
at your pace this summer
Add hours to your schedule while you:
■ Take course work with you to summer destinations.
■ Study at home at your own pace.
Check it out March 11:
■ Meet instructors 5-6:30 p.m.
March 11 at the Summer Reading
Courses all-program meeting.
Location: Clifford Hardin Nebraska Center for
Continuing Education, 33rd and Holdrege streets.
■ Choose from 32 undergraduate
courses in 13 departments. Read the
Wednesday, March 4, Daily Nebraskan for a full listing of
courses, instructors and alternate meeting times.
Call for your Reading Course catalog:
472-1392
cvn
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Division of Continuing Studies
Department of Part-Time Student Services and Degree Options
UNL is a nondiscriminatory institution.
Sergio & Odair
Guitar Duo
Tuesday, March 3
8pm
utavnam of nmuuka-unooln
LIED CENTER
FOR PERFORMING ARTS
LIED CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Tickets 402-472-4747 or 800-432-3231.
Box Office Hours M-F llsm-5:30pm.
Lied Center programming is supported by the Friends of Lied and grants from the
National Endowment for the Arts, Mid-America Arts Alliance and the Nebraska Arts Council.
