s H
■ The Cornhuskers may
have the best teams ever,
says NU swimming coach
Cal Bentz.
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
As the temperature rises next
spring, the Nebraska men’s and
women’s swimming and diving teams
should be sibling
The teams ended the fall semestei
on fire. With NCAA qualifiers in
most events, this could be the greatesl
Comhusker team in the 23 years Cal
Bentz has been head coach.
“These could be the best two
teams we’ve ever had,” Bentz said. “It
remains to be seen how good we can
be, but we’ve come together as a
team. They have performed greater
than the sum of all of their parts.”
Qualifiers already for the NCAA
Championships in March include
freshmen Emma Johnson and Janna
Brock, sophomore Shandra Johnson
and juniors Adam Pine, Christine
Troy, Terrie Miller and Beth Karaica.
As for the rest of the season, the
Huskers head to Florida for winter
camp.
Then, they will compete in dual
meets with the goal of preparing
themselves for the Big 12
Championships at the end of
February and the NCAA champi
onships in March.
Karaica sees the NCAA champi
onships as the light at the end of die
tunnel.
“From here on out it’s just going
to be hard training,” Karaica said.
“The focus will be on the NCAA
Championships with dual meets in
the midst of hard training.”
Pine also believes the NCAA
championship is the key to the sea
son. Pine has a realistic chance get
ting an individual national title.
“I want a ring,” Pine said. “If that
means winning the conference or
NCAA Championships individually
that’s what I’ll do.
“My job as captain is to look for
ward to die NCAA and Big 12 cham
pionships. We have to set goals that
make us better now so we do better
there.”
Diver Eric Cook has stepped up
this season after battling nagging
injuries for two seasons.
He set the school record this fall
in the 3-meter, narrowly edging out
teammate and All-American Danny
Bergman.
Based on early-season results,
Diving Coach Jim Hocking said this
is his most talented and cohesive
group ever.
As for the swimmers, Coach
Kelly Nordell said the women have a
realistic chance of finishing in the top
10, and the men could finish in the
top 15.
Coach Rick Paine went one step
further, saying the women could
eventually challenge Texas, a team
they beat in last year’s Big 12
Championships.
“This is the best women’s team
we’ve ever had,” Paine said. “And if
everything falls into place the men
could scare the hell out of No. 2 Texas
at the Big 12 Championships.”
This year’s team stacks up well to
past NU teams, even those that
included past Olympians Penny
Heyns and Peter Williams.
“This is the same old Nebraska
team,” Karaica said. “But we’re
adding more depth every year.”
Paine offers another reason.
“The big difference is we’re a lit
tle more mature on both the men’s
and women’s team,” Paine said.
“We’ve also added some fresh
man home-run hitters like Janna
Brock, Emma Johnson and Anthony
Rogis.”
All in all, the spring semester is
coming up rosy for the Huskers.
“I’m the luckiest coach in the
country,” Hocking said. “The quality
of the athletes is outstanding. They
have great personalities and seldom
complain.
“As for the swimmers as a whole,
this is the most focused and progres
sive group that I have seen in my 10
years here.”
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Florence leads NU to win
FLORENCE from page 10
medicine with a full-court press.
“We tried to let their four and five
men bring the ball up the court and
deny the ball to (Ryan) Sears, because
that way they couldn’t get into their
offense,’’ Belcher said.
It worked, as Creighton turned the
ball over 18 times and scored 23 points
linHpr ifo or/arona
“They said, ‘Last year wasn’t a
fluke,”’ Hamilton said. “That got a lot
of guys fired up. I know I was fired
up.”
That was Nee’s intention when he
posted the highlighted story on the
locker room door. He knew how
important a win was.
“Everyone has been intense this
week, especially Coach,” Florence
_: J MTT-L 1__
Meanwhile, NU
blitzed the Bluejay
pressure for numer
ous fast-break dunks
and layups.
“The key was we
attacked their press,”
said Nee, who used
six players on defense
this week in practice
to simulate
Creighton. “We did
n’t want to go lateral
ly north and south.
..._X_ J X__x _
66
Everyone has
been intense this
week, especially
Coach”
Larry Florence
NU forward
oaiu. iiv o i/vvil Mil
us since day one. He
was drilling it into
us how big of a
game this was.”
The Huskers
came out and led
14-7 at one point in
first half before
trailing 35-32 at the
break. The second
half was a different
story, as NU
outscored the
Bluejays 44-25.
"v namw iu gv t/aai aiiu weal.
The easy baskets helped the
Huskers shoot 50 percent for the game
and post more than 70 points for the
first time in the last five games.
Inside, Venson Hamilton, posted
20 points on five-of-eight shooting
from the floor and 10-11 from the free
thrbwline.
“He came up big when he had to,”
Nee said.
Hamilton said he was motivated by
what the Creighton players said in
Wednesday’s Omaha World-Herald.
v^rcignion went aown iz points out
managed to cut the lead to 57-55 with
6 minutes, 52 seconds remaining.
Within 3:19, NU increased the lead
back to 11 points.
“We got a couple of big plays to
open up the game,” Nee said.
NU also made seven of nine free
throws, and Florence scored nine
points in the last 6:52.
“The way we played tonight was
how we were expecting to play all
year,” Florence said. “It’s up to us to
continue it”
NCAA void gives gymnasts focus
uiM from page 10
The Huskers add four freshmen,
and Dillman returns. ;
Dillmap, Who attended practices
and watched from the sideline last
year, has been a welcome addition
back to the team, Swift said.
“It’s going to mean a lot to us to
have her back,” Swift said. “When
die sees you doing something wrong,
she’s not afraid to give you a little
kick in die butt.”
But Dillman is not sure how much
she will be able to contribute. She re
injured her knee in September and is
just starting to work out with the team
again.
Another question mark for the
team is Wilkinson. Her wrist has been
in a cast for six weeks, and doctors
won’t know if she can compete until
me season starts.
“I’m the eternal optimist,”
Kendig said. “I hope she is able to
compete.”
The Huskers also will have some
new leadership. Rhonda Faehn
Tetreault replaces Teresa Ijams as an
assistant coach. Faehn-Tetreault, an
Olympic gymnast in 1988, comes to
Nebraska from Maryland, where she
was the top assistant coach. Last year,
she was named the Northeast Region
assistant coach of the year.
“She’s made a big difference,”
Dillman said. “She’s a lot more stem.
You can tell she wants io make us
good. She has given us a lot more
input.”
The Huskers will continue to
work through December so they can
be ready for their first meet Jan. 15 in
Ames, Iowa.
1
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