I Rucker picked by Panthers
By Darren Ivy
Senior staff writer
In mock NFL drafts, former
Nebraska defensive end Mike
Rucker was
picked to be a
mid-second
round selection.
In the real
draft Saturday,
those predic
tions became a
reality as
Rucker was
chosen as the
38th pick by the
■WBWKfflWWh.ttS
Rucker
Carolina Panthers. Rucker got the
news at his parents’ home in St.
Joseph, Mo., from new Panther
Coach George Seifert.
“Everybody could tell what it
was when the phone rang and with
the way I was talking,” Rucker said.
“There are a lot of people here, a
whole house full. It got real quiet.”
“(Seifert) just asked me if I was
ready to go after it and I said, ‘Yes,
sir.’” ?
Rucker was the first Comhusker
picked in the 1999 NFL Draft, and
the only one taken m the first three
rounds, but Joel Mackovica, Jay
Foreman, Jason Wiltz, Chad Kelsay,
Kris Brown and Sheldon Jackson
were taken in later rounds.
By going to Carolina, Rucker
will join a Panther team that already
includes three former NU standouts:
Donta Jones, Mike Minter and Jason
Peter.
The other former Nebraska play
ers will be a big help, Rucker said.
“That’s good because it makes
you feel a little more comfortable,”
Rucker said. “And they’re all on
defense, so they can show me the
ropes.”
After Carolina drafted Rucker,
Seifert told ESPN that he liked
Rucker’s athleticism.
“As with any great athlete, he
does appear to have great move
ment,” Seifert said. “It will take time
to see where his strengths fit in the
overall scheme of things.”
Mackovica was the first player
chosen Sunday, going to the Arizona
Cardinals as the 86th pick. The 5
foot-10, 245-pounder was the fifth
player the Cardinals drafted. Arizona
took David Boston with its first
round pick.
Last season, the Cardinals fin
ished 9-7 and made the playoffs.
Seven picks after Mackovica, the
New York Jets took Jason Wiltz.
Wiltz, at 6-foot-3, 308 pounds,
impressed scouts with his massive
size and strength.
Foreman watched from
Washington, D.C., as his former NU
teammates were drafted.
Then his time came. He received
a call from the Buffalo Bills a minute
before the 146th pick was announced.
“I’m finally glad the wait is over,
and I know where I will be next year,”
Foreman said. “The program has a
winning tradition. They have a great
coach and good team.”
Jackson was also taken by
Buffalo in the seventh round, where
he will play tight end. Lonnie
Johnson and Jay Riemersma are cur
rently the No. 1 and No. 2 tight ends
for the Bills.
Kelsay and Brown were both
taken in the seventh round by the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Brown was one
of three kickers taken in the draft,
with Martin Grammatica of Kansas
State and Jeff Hall ofTennessee taken
before him. Brown will likely com
pete with veteran Norm Johnson.
Lavy gets automatic mark in California
By Josh Camenzind
Staff writer
Trips to Long Beach and
Claremont, Calif., proved to be success
ful as the field event teams had a field
day.
The Ponoma-Pitzer Invitational saw
high jumper Shane Lavy set his first
automatic qualification of the year
when he jumped 7 feet, 4*/2 inches for
the meet and track record.'
Joe Erakamp finished sixth in the
discus with a toss of 184-3 and his
fourth provisional qualification of the
season. Aaron Gumm and Cory
Lehman threw 213-11 and 212-6
respectively in the javelin to finish fifth
and sixth.
Scott Warren traded in the javelin
for the hammer throw this weekend and
finished ninth with a throw of 191-0.
The women were led in Claremont
by sophomore Angie Prebyl, who won
the triple jump with a jump of 39-7. A
vault of 11-5% earned Kim Stewart sec
ond in the pole vault. Jessica Thompson
and Carrie Barnes cleared 5-8% and 5-7
respectively to finish fourth and sixth in
the high jump.
The 400-meter dash saw Lesley
Owusu finish third with a time of 53.84
seconds. Becky Beachler finished sixth
in the shot put with a heave of 47-6%
and Candi Peirano mustered a ninth
place finish in the javelin with a throw
of 135-6. Rene Pretorius finished in
14.43 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles
for a seventh-place finish.
Saturday, the Huskers were in Long
Beach for the Long Beach Invitational.
The highlight of the day was when two
Husker women came away with provi
sional qualifications. Melissa Price
gained one with a first-place throw of
190-4 in the hammer throw, and Erin
Wibbels snatched the other with a throw
of 181 -4 for third place.
Doreen Heldt and Brandy Trofholz
dominated the shot put and discus by
finishing 2-3 in both events. Heldt got
second in the shot by throwing 44-43/4
and third in the discus with a throw of
147-9. Trofholz placed third in the shot
by throwing 42-10 and second in the
discus with a mark of 150-5.
Pretorius finished seventh in the
100-meter hurdles for the second day in
a row with a time of 14.25. Cheryl
Harmon ran the 200 meters and fin
ished fourth at 24.8. Stella Klassen fin
ished second in the 400 meters with a
time of 53.63 and teammate Seneik
Saavedra finished seventh, timed at
56.27.
Williams, Johnson to leave NU
ByAdamKlinker
Senior staff writer
The Nebraska basketball program
will most likely be losing an integral
part of its coaching staff as Associate
Head Coach Jimmy Williams
announced that he is looking for a head
coaching position for the 1999-2000
season and may leave the Comhusker
squad.
Williams, who has been an assis
tant at NU for seven years under
Coach Danny Nee, said the career
move is on his own terms and that he
bears no ill will in choosing to leave the
program.
“I have really enjoyed my stay at
Nebraska and my partnership with
Coach Nee,” Williams said. “I just feel
I have to step back and analyze my sit
uation. It’s always been one of my
dreams to be a head coach.”
Williams specialized in honing the
skills of the Husker big men. He said
thus far in his search, nothing has
panned out in the way of a head coach
ing position. He said if nothing come
of that search, he would entertain ideas
of a lateral move and remain an assis
tant at another program.
“It’s very up in the air right now,”
Williams said regarding a definitive
decision to leave the NU program.
“But chances are that I will leave,
depending upon what situations arise
with different positions.” ,
In addition to Williams’ possible
departure, it was reported in the
Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln
Journal Star that NU guards Todd
Smith and Chad Johnson have decided
to leave the Husker squad.
Johnson averaged 6.8 points and
3.0 rebounds per game last season.
Smith played sparingly in the Husker
program. The two join Joe Holmes,
who is quitting with back problems,
and Brant Harriman, who departed last
semester, as NU players who have left
the program.
Huskers take two from Cyclones
From staff reports
It would have probably preferred a
sweep, but the No. 19 Nebraska base
ball team will have to settle for taking
two of three games from Iowa State over
a weekend series.
The Comhuskers (27-11 overall)
won the first game of the series 11-9,
benefiting from six errors and eight
walks.
Iowa State (14-25) struck in the sec
ond game, which was part of a double
header Sunday, with a 16-inning, 6-5
victory that took 4 hours and 40 minutes
to complete. Shane Komirie picked up
the loss for NU.
In the rubber match, the Huskers
belted out 18 hits and scored three runs
in the top of the ninth inning en route to
a 9-6 victory.
Nebraska first baseman Ken
Harvey hit his 15th home run of the sea
son, while Jeff Hedman added his 10th
of the year. Dave Schneider picked up
his second win of the season.
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MONDAY, APRIL 19,1999 ■ DAILY NEBRASKAN ■ PAGE 11
NU men beat Sooners
to close Big 12 season
By Jake Bleed
Staff writer
In the season’s last home match, the
Nebraska men’s tennis team won its
fourth conference victory of the season
Sunday against Oklahoma State 5-2.
The victory at the Cather-Pound ten
nis courts, the first outdoor meet of the
season, was NU’s second of the week
end. The Huskers beat Oklahoma
Saturday 6-1. The Comhuskers will fin
ish at least .500 in the conference, the
best the team has done since 1993.
NU picked up a rare doubles point
over the Cowboys, winning in the No. 2
and No. 3 positions.
Jorge Abos-Sanchez and Lance
Mills beat Jeremy Ewert and Jacques du
Toit 8-3 in the No. 2 match. Ryan Haith
and Kai Reike followed, taking OSU’s
Gordan Ryan and Marc Paulik 8-6. The
No. 1 doubles team of Dinko Verzi and
Andrew Wiese lost to Rob Howarth and
Matthew Prentice 8-5.
In singles play, Verzi fell to Howarth
in straight sets 6-1,6-1. The conference
loss was Verzi’s first. He’ll travel to
Texas 6-1 in Big 12 play.
“It was just one of those days, I
guess,” Verzi said. “Nothing worked.”
Sophomore Abos-Sanchez respond
ed, beating Prentice in straight sets 6-4,
6-2. Abos-Sanchez claims the best
record of any No. 3 in the Big 12 at 16-3.
Mills scored next for NU in No. 2
singles, beating Ewert in straight sets 6
3, 6-3 and bringing the Huskers one
point from victory.
Icing the victory fell to No. 4 singles
Reike, who beat Paulik 7-5,2-6,6-1 in a
match dominated by multigame runs.
“I lost five games in a row and I real
ly don’t know why,” he said.
“I broke him right away in the first game
(in die third set) and that gave me confi
dence.”
No. 6 singles Wiese picked up
another point against Ryan in a long,
tough match 7-6(3), 5-7,6-0. No. 5 sin
gles Juan Hamdan fell not long after to
duToit 6-3,5-7,6-2.
Women drop
two matches
to end season
By Jake Bleed
Staff writer
The regular season drew to a
close for the Nebraska women’s
team this weekend. The Huskers
dropped two tough matches to high
ly ranked Big 12 conference oppo
nents in Lincoln.
The No. 66 Huskers finished 16
9 overall and 4-7 in the Big 12.
Saturday’s match against No. 41
Baylor started on a very bright note
forNU, as No. 1 singles Sandra
Noetzel dominated the Bears’ Katja
Kovac 6-0,6-0. Kovac is ranked 57th
nationally. The victory was Noetzel’s
76* career win, a Husker record.
Only No. 6 singles Amy Frisch
was able to follow however, beating
Claudia Aguilar 6-3,3-6,6-2.
NU needed all three doubles to
win and every doubles match was
suitably hot. The Huskers lost the
No. 1 and No. 3 matches 9-7 and the
No. 2 match 9-8 (9-7).
“We had our matches,” Coach
Scott Jacobson. “Baylor was proba
bly the closest 7-2 I’ve ever been
involved with.”
Sunday’s match against No. 37
Colorado also ended in a 7-2 NU
loss. Noetzel won again against
Jessica Garrow 4-6,6-2,7-5.
“I would win five games and
then I would lose five games,”
Noetzel said.
Katarin Balan won a defaulted
point, while every other Husker lost
their singles match. Nebraska went
on to lose very doubles point, as well
for Colorado’s final maigin of victo
ry Sunday.
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