Andrew Strnad
NU baseball
fans need to
be patient
It's almost time.
1 say almost because there's at
least a foot of snow on the ground.
Can't you smell the peanuts
roasting'.1 How about the brats on the
grill? "
There isn't a better sound than
the crack of the bat on a lazy summer
day.
I'm ready for baseball.
Too bad for baseball fans in
Nebraska, because we're just going
to hav e to wait awhile.
This weekend was supposed to
be Nebraska's first Big 12
Conference home stand of the sea
son. as it was to entertain Kansas. It
was canceled due to weather
Next Thursday, Chicago State is
scheduled to visit Buck Beltzer
Stadium — we'll see.
By some work of God, the
Huskers were able to sneak in three
games in late February against anoth
er weather-stricken school.
When the Huskers took three
from Wisconsin-Milwaukee in their
only three home games thus far, it
was the first time the Panthers had
been outside all season.
Getting three games placed in
February is pretty remarkable.
NU Head Coach Dave Van Horn,
a lifelong southerner, was just as
shocked as 1 was to see his team
wearing short sleeves in February.
But thanks to last weekend's
snowstorm, it's back to reality in
Nebraska for Van Horn, as the 7-6
Huskers take the weekend off.
Last week NU managed to play
one game in Waco, Texas, against
Baylor, as rain and “cold” weather
postponed the final two games.
If— I stress if— the Huskers get
their game in against Missouri next
Tuesday in Columbia, the Huskers
will have played just three games in
the first 17 days of the month.
The last thing Van Horn needs is
to take an untested team into the heart
of the Big 12 Conference schedule.
Good thing for the Huskers
spring break is around the comer.
Nebraska will travel to Honolulu
wnere mey win piay in ine nawan
Rainbow Easter Baseball
Tournament.
There the Huskers will play seven
days before coming back and resum
ing Big 12 play April 1.
That’s good for them, but where
does that leave the fans?
I suppose we could get on a plane
to Phoenix and check out the big
boys of summer at our favorite cactus
league camp.
If that’s not feasible, just wait until
the Huskers return to beautiful Buck
Beltzer Stadium on April 10 when
they host Texas A&M.
Weather permitting.
Andrew Strnad is a senior
broadcasting and political science
major and Daily Nebraskan staff
reporter.
Huskers fall short in NCAAs
■ Arkansas overcomes a
10-point 2nd-half defecit
to end Nebraska’s season.
By David Wilson
Sports Editor ■
BOISE, Idaho - Troy
Piatkowski broke the silence that
filled the Nebraska locker room by
smacking the back o f h i s head
against a locker.
The few who spoke whispered.
Obviously, this wasn’t the end
ing that the Cornhuskers (20-12)
envisioned.
Nl! ended its season Thursday
w ith a 74-65 loss to 16th-ranked
Arkansas in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament before 12.159
fans at the Boise State University
Pav ilion. The
loss was the
program's
sixth tourna
ment loss in as
main chances.
The
H u s k e r s
entered the
tournament
with a do-or
d i e attitude.
They played Lue
aggressive, scrappy basketball and
handled the Razorbacks’ pressing
defense in the first half.
But Arkansas changed the pace
I
in the second half, implementing a
zone defense, as NU watched its
40-33 halftime lead slowly deteri
orate.
“The minute we started the sec
ond half, 1 saw the fatigue,” said
NU Coach Danny Nee, who lost
his fifth tournament game.
Nebraska junior point guard
Tyronn Lue, who scored a team
high 18 points, said just qualifying
for the tournament wasn’t enough.
The Huskers had not qualified for
the NCAA Tournament since
1994.
“I wanted to win," Lue said.
“There’s no pride for me. We were
up by 10. We just gave it away.”
The Razorbacks took the lead
for good at 63-61 with 2:55
remaining in the game, but
Nebraska had its chances in the
final seconds.
The Huskers called a timeout at
the two-minute mark, and NU cen
ter Venson Hamilton followed
with a dunk to end a 9-2 Arkansas
run and cut the Razorbacks' lead
to 65-63.
On Arkansas' next possession,
forward All Thompson made the
second of two free throws, and the
Razorbacks got the ball back on an
Please see NCAA on 8
Sanderford readies
Huskers for tourney
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Senior Reporter
Sore muscles and tired minds
plagued the members of the
Nebraska women's basketball team in
the three days before they boarded a
plane for Virginia and their first
round NCAA Tournament game.
Sore vocal cords plagued their
coach.
The Cornhuskers are making
their first NCAA appearance in two
years, and NU's first-year Coach Paul
Sanderford didn't take this week's
preparation lightly.
The Huskers received some of
their hardest workouts of the season
courtesy of Sanderford, who
expressed his displeasure with NU's
recent performances at the Big 12
Tournament and in practice. The
ninth-seeded Huskers play No. 8
New Mexico Friday at 5 p.m. in
Norfolk, Va. The game will be tele
vised statewide by the Nebraska ETV
network.
“Practices haven’t been fantas
tic,” Sanderford said, “but I think
«
The team that is
resilient... is going
to win
Paul Sanderford
NU coach
they’re just tired of hearing me and
seeing me in their faces all the time.”
For Sanderford, things couldn't
be any other way during March
Madness.
He always roars at this time of
year, he said. Sanderford calls him
self a "tournament coach,” and his
record supports his claim and his
vocal cords. Sanderford is making his
16th tournament appearance as a head
coach after leading his former school.
Western Kentucky, to 15 NCAA
Tournament appearances.
Please see TOURNEY on 8
Matt Miller/DN
NU SENIOR EMILY THOMPSON leads the Huskers against New Mexico tonight
at 5 in Norfolk, Va.
I--————
NU sends eight to NCAA track finals
By Andrew Strnad
Staff Reporter
How things have changed.
When the Nebraska track team travels to
Indianapolis this weekend for the NCAA Indoor
Championships, they’ll be sending just eight ath
letes.
That’s quite a difference from the Comhusker
squad that sent 24 athletes to the RCA Dome in
1996.
The NU men finished second that year, and
the Husker women finished in fourth place.
This year, with only four men and four
women competing, a top ten finish is highly
unlikely, NU Head Coach Gary Pepin said.
“If you aspire to be a national power, then you
need to be able to get great athletes,” Pepin said.
“Now we have a good all-around team, but we
don’t have great athletes in specific events, which
is what it takes to win the national title.”
Among the four Husker women who qualified
for the championships, senior Meka Rembert is
the only athlete to compete in two events.
Rembert, a Kentucky transfer, will run in the
55-meter hurdles, as well as the 400-meter dash.
In the pole vault,, junior Kim Stewart will
become the first Husker woman ever to compete
in the event.
Stewart’s vault of 12 feet, IVi inches at the
Husker Invite on Feb. 13 is the fourth-highest
mark in the nation this season.
“Going into this year, Coach (Tom) Williams
and I thought that (Stewart) was a young lady that
could be a top jumper, and she is.” Pepin said.
The other two NU women competing are
senior Christina Blackmer in the 5,000-meter
run, and 1997 All-American sophomore Dalhia
Ingram in the triple jump.
The Huskers’ best chance at winning an indi
vidual championship comes from the men’s side.
All four NU men are returning All
Americans, including senior long jumper Chris
Wright.
Wright’s jump of 26 feet at the Big 12
Conference meet is the third-best mark recorded
this season.
Last year, Wright finished seventh at the
NCAA meet, but he believes this is the year for
him to finish near the top.
“I’ve done everything necessary this year to
make myself a champion,” Wright said. “With
God on my side, there’s no way I can lose.”
Also returning to Indianapolis in search of a
championship is junior high jumper Shane Lavy.
Lavy has finished fourth and sixth at the
championships and currently shares the third
highest jump in the country at l-AVi.
Senior Scott Warren will try to better his
fifth-place finish at last year’s NCAAs in the 35
pound weight throw, while Byron Topps returns
for the third time in the 55-meter dash.
Topps, a senior from Decatur, 111., was an All
American at the 1996 meet, finishing in tenth
place.
From a team standpoint, the Southeastern
Conference is expected to dominate the meet,
with Arkansas looking to win the men’s crown for
the 14th time in the last 15 years.
The Razorbacks are a clear favorite to win the
NCAA Championships and are ranked No. 1 in
the nation according to Trackwire, a track and
field newsletter.
The Husker men are ranked 25th in the
Trackwire poll.
The Louisiana State women’s team has won
the last six national titles, but a seventh is not a
lock.
Big 12 Conference Champion Texas enters
the meet as a slight favorite over the Lady Tigers.
A win for Longhorn Head Coach Bev
Kearney would give Texas its first NCAA indoor
title since 1990.
“It would be nice to win because I’m really
getting tired of going up there and hearing the
chants of S-E-C, S-E-C,” Kearney said.
The Husker women are not ranked in the
Trackwire top 25 and will likely finish outside the
top ten for only the second time in 12 years.