NU gymnasts try
to fight injuries
■ Chances for national
championship slimmer after
Nelson re-injures left knee.
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
Rarely does Nebraska Gymnastics
Coach Francis Allen have rock bottom
moments.
They are not supposed to happen
to a man or a team that has been so
deep, so dominant, so confident for
the last 25 years. Certainly, it was not
supposed to happen anytime this sea
son.
Allen and the Corhhuskers had an
even cockier swagger than usual com
ing into this season, and for good rea
son. NU finished third at the NCAA
Championships without three-time
individual champion Marshall Nelson
in the lineup.
Nelson was completely recovered
from his November 1998 tom anterior
cruciate ligament injury and ready to
compete in 2000. Defending NCAA
All-Around Champion Jason
Hardabura was bound to only get
tougher as a junior. The team was talk
ing national championship.
But just a couple months later, if
there was ever a time to doubt such
assurance and optimism, it would be
now.
And if there was ever a moment
that felt rock bottom for Allen - an
eight-time coach of national champi
ons - for the first time in a long time,
it was at the end of NU’s meet at
Oklahoma on Jan. 28.
The Huskers had already been
stumbling, on their way to a 222.975
score, which was almost five points
less than the Sooners - which consti
tutes a blowout in men’s gymnastics.
At the very least, Marshall Nelson
was not only healthy, he was having
another pristine performance on his
comeback trail. Nelson had tied the
school record on the high bar for the
second straight week and won his
third pommel horse title in three
events.
In NU’s final event of the meet,
the parallel bars, Nelson was the
Huskers final performer. The 1997
and ’98 NCAA Champion in the event
was about to land what had been a
“near perfect routine.”
Then rock bottom hit. Nelson
could feel his left knee -the same one
he spent a whole year rehabilitating
blow out right as he landed. He fell to
the ground, was carried off the floor,
and later was told he had tom his knee
again.
Essentially, Nelson’s hopes for
competing and contending for a
national championship, along with his
career, are over. And without him, the
Huskers’ national title hopes are sig
nificantly slimmer.
“Marshall was our shining star
that night, and now he’s gone,” Allen
said. “That was the last straw right
there.”
And the last thing Allen’s 2000
season needed.
Several key gymnasts have been
nursing injuries, including Hardabura
(lower back, limiting him to zero
action in the first two events), senior
All-American Derek Leiter, senior
All-American Blake Bukacek, sopho
more Martin Fournier and sophomore
Grant Clinton.
1 ve had this many gymnasts
injured before, but not this many key
gymnasts,” Allen said Tuesday.
“We just have to clean up our act.
The unfortunate thing in we don’t
have too many actors left.”
Through all the problems, his
gymnasts said, Allen is not pushing
the panic button and not acting down
and out. That wouldn’t be his style.
“For the first four years I was here,
we were last in the league, last in the *
country,” Allen said. “And I still went
to work every day.”
Said Nelson of Allen’s attitude so
far this season: “He seems to just roll
with tlje punches? no matter what hap
pens. Sure, he’s disappointed. We
wish he could wave a magic wand. But
unfortunately, that’s the sport. There’s
going to be injuries. He’s always had a
good attitude.”
Dutton ith
DUTTON from page 12
She taught English and Sunday
school classes, visited hospitals and
taught the gospel. And because she
speaks Spanish fluently, she translat
ed for the others on the mission.
“I would hope people would
devote their time to worthy causes
like this,” she said.
She was allowed to call her fami
ly and Ben Dutton only three times
during her 18-month stay: on
Christmas and Mother’s Day.
The couple tried to make up for
that lack of communication by writ
ing each other often.
“It was tough,” Ben Dutton said.
“Writing letters, you can?t tell how
the person really feels.”
Doubts crept into his mind about
his future with her.
Those doubts left as soon as she
returned in January of 1999. They
were married March 13, 1999.
***
Because she arrived back on
campus after the semester started,
she was unable to enroll in classes -
meaning she couldn’t compete with
the team last season.
She said the possibility of quit
ting crossed her mind a few times,
but her competitive nature took over.
“The talent never left, and the
work ethic never left,” she said.
“Without it, I would have never made
it.”
Janet Dutton said her return was
met with mixed reactions.
“Some people still had a lot of
faith in me and knew I could do it,
and some people doubted I would be
able to make it back to form,” Janet
said. “So that kind of hurt my feel
ings a little.”
Jessica Thompson, a Husker
high-jumper, said she heard some
teammates doubt Janet Dutton’s
comeback.
“You heard the talk around the
track,” Thompson said.
“But knowing her competitive
nature, I knew she’d come back. I
knew how hard she was willing to
work.”
Smith said Janet Dutton was
pretty close to regaining her form,
but because she couldn’t train during
her mission, she needed to work on
her endurance.
While her endurance isn’t where
it needs to be, Smith said it was get
ting better in some events.
“She’s just a very tough, dedicat
ed person,” Smith said.
“She’s not shaken by anything.
She’s anything but weak in the heart
and mind.”
Janet Dutton said she learned a
lesson about being a role model a
long time ago.
“You’re always watched by those
around you,” she said. “You can
choose whether you want to be a
good example or a bad example.”
Brink’s perfect 10 helps Nebraska
BRINK from page 12
around. Lamb used a 9.925 on the
floor exercise, which tied her career
best and tied Brink for first, to accu
mulate a 38.70 in the all-around.
Junior Amy Ringo used a 9.825
score on the vault, a career best, to
crack into the top five in the all
around. Her score of 38.125 placed
her fourth.
. .
Freshman Julie Houk used a
career high 9.90 score to place third in
the floor exercise. Houk also placed
second in the uneven bars with a
9.875 showing.
Another freshman set a career
high. Laura Goss scored a 9.875 on
the vaults, placing second behind
Brink. Goss also placed fifth on the
balance beam with a 9.825.
Freshman Jen French tied her
career best on the balance beam with
a score of9.850, giving her a share of
second place in that event.
Coach Kendig said he was very
pleased with his team’s ability to per
form under pressure.
“The biggest shame of the whole
night, this place wasn’t packed to the
gills,” Kendig said. “Shame on those
that weren’t here because they missed
a spectacular meet.”
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