SportsThursday
NU fails as spoiler to MU
■ Huskers play Tigers close in
first half but wilt as Mizzou
makes late second-half, 13-0 run.
By Joshua Camenzind
Staff writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Nebraska men’s
basketball team talked on Monday about relishing
the role of the hunter.
On Wednesday night against Misourri, the
Comhuskers failed to fulfill that role as they fal
tered in the second half and lost 86-72 in front of
10,591 fans at the Heames Center in Columbia.
NU played the
TIGERS 86 Tigers close in the
ui iqitcdc -70 first hatf ^ after a
HUSKERS 72 three-pointer at the
buzzer by Matt
Davison, it trailed only by two, 44-42.
Davison, who was booed all night in the town
of his miracle catch in the NU football team’s 45
38 overtime win over MU in 1997, welcomed the
pressure.
“I would have been disappointed,” Davison
said. “I have heard so much about the fans down
here. I guess if I didn’t hear anything I would have
been disappointed”
But Nebraska has not played well in the sec
ond half of any of its road games, and playing
against Mizzou on Senior Night was no different.
“It’s like always,” Forward Louis Truscott
said “We play good in the first half and in the sec
ond we fall apart. I am not sure what die problem
is. I thought we should have made some changes
by now, but evidently we didn’t. I don’t know
what to say.”
Kimani Ffriend, who led NU with 21 points
and 11 rebounds, cut the Tiger lead down to eight
with 8:48 remaining on a dunk.
Mizzou responded with a 13-0 run and, from
that point on, held NU scoreless and forced five
turnovers in the next 3:58.
The tigers biggest lead was 21 points, and
they cruised from that point on.
But the final score did not indicate NU’s
effort. The Huskers had Mizzou on the ropes for
the first half, backed by 55 percent shooting.
The Tiger’s biggest lead was 11 in the first
half, and NU did manage to tie it up at 39 on a
Trescott dunk.
All three Nebraska post players managed to
reach double figures for the game. Trescott and
Steffon Bradford had 12 to compliment Ffriend’s
post play.
Mizzou was led by Kareem Rush, who had 23
points and Clarence Gilbert who had 19, 14 of
which came in the second half. Gilbert hit four
threes between the 18:36 mark and 13:17.
NU Coach Danny Nee said the Huskers tried
many different defenses and Gilbert forced them
out of the zone defense that worked so well in the
first half.
“When he hit two, we stopped and went to the
a It’s like always. We
play good in the first
half and in the second
we fall apart. I am not
sure what the problem
is ... I don’t know what
to say.”
Louis Truscott
NU forward
box in one,” Nee said. “And then he hit two more,
and we got the hell out of the zone quick and
stayed out of it.”
All Nebraska players interviewed said the
tight game gives NU hope going into the Big 12
Tournament, despite winning only one game
away from home this season.
“We can use this as a positive,” Davison said.
“We have one more game and then the tourna
ment. We might see Missouri again.”
Game Notes:
NU Starting Point Guard Danny Walker was
suspended from the game for disciplinary rea
sons.
Huskers win without No. 1 player
Lydia S. Gonzales/DN
KAI RIEKE returns a volley in a doubles match against Drake. Rieke teamed up
with Ryan Haith for an 8-6 match win against their Drake opponents.
■ Men’s tennis team take five of six
singles matches without Lance Mills for
the second straight match.
By Mike Callahan, Jr.
Staff writer
No Lance Mills, no problem.
That’s the mindset the No. 63 Nebraska men’s tennis team
must sport for the remainder of the season.
For the second straight match, the Comhuskers handled
the reality of their No. 1 player’s being out just fine.
On Wednesday afternoon at the Woods Tennis Center, NU
i (4-3 overall, 0-1 Big 12)
HUSKERS 6 took care of a stubborn visit
BULLDOGS 1 ing Drake (3-3) squad, win
ning6-l.
Nebraska was victorious in five of six singles matches,
along with a two-to-one margin in doubles play to nab the
win.
Coach Kerry McDermott seemed thoroughly satisfied
with his team’s performance.
“Our team played real, real well, and I felt like Drake was
a very dangerous team,” McDermott said. “The doubles point
gave us a lot of momentum going into the singles, and the win
by our No. 6 seed (Ryan Haith) was pretty convincing.”
NU’s only singles defeat was in the No. 1 match for Jorge
Abos Sanchez. In three sets, Drake’s Stephan Killian
scrounged up the Bulldogs’ only team point, winning 6-2,6
7,6-4.
Despite Sanchez’s setback, McDermott was quick to
defend his play.
“(Killian’s) style of play is tough to get used to, and Jorge
really responded pretty well,” McDermott said. “But he just
played a little better on the big points, and Jorge is still adjust
ing to the reality that everybody is very good at the No. 1
spot.”
Unfortunately for NU, Mills, the projected No. 1 player
Please see TENNIS on 17
NU swimmers
look to hook
No. 1 Texas
By Brian Christopherson
Staff writer
Say the prayers, spout out all the cliches
that light fires within athletes’ souls and visu
alize being conference king every night before
hitting the switch.
The Nebraska men’s swimming and div
ing team needs to do all of that. The 18th
ranked Comhuskers find themselves in a con
templative situation.
For Texas, the No. 1 team in the water
nationwide, is planted directly in the middle of
the Huskers’ path to a conference champi
onship.
” They are
really good.
They’re
rested and
shaven, and
I am sure
they will be
ready to
tf
go
Michael Windisch
NT I swimmer
NU is on a
roll, winning its
last four dual
victories of the
season, so per
haps an outsider
might think this
is the year for
Nebraska to
hook the Homs.
H u s k e r
senior co-cap
tain Michael
Windisch said
no. Throw that
idea back on the
train it came in
on, because the
trophy will in all
probability
wind up in the
hands of UT.
win,” Wind]
They’re rest
will be reach
Nebrask
Longhorns1
confident tl
with Texas n
“You ha1
to be ready t
“We’re g
as many pe
come as clos
ing ahead of
Windisc
both his you
weekend.
“This is
for our fresh
see how the>
didn’t lose r
year’s team.’
Keeping
also an impo
said. The A$
the country
Huskers in a
“I was ir
other people
really are fo
second spot.
Windis<
return as Bij
Pine, Valery
Pie
i am pretty
sure they will
sch said. “They are really good.
;d and shaven, and I am sure they
r to gO.”
a Coach Cal Bentz agreed that the
vould be tough to topple but was
lat his team is ready to perform
ot being the target point.
/t to be realistic, but we’re going
) swim and dive well,” Bentz said,
oing in to do as well as we can, get
ople qualified for NCAAs and
e to Texas as we can, while finish
everyone else in the conference.”
a was expecting big things out of
lg and veteran NU teammates this
the first shaven and tapered meet
men, and it will be interesting to
perform for us,” he said. “And we
aany of the key figures from last
pace ahead of Texas A&M was
rtant goal for Nebraska, Windisch
;gies boast the No. 15 ranking in
rnd own a 68-47 victory over the
dual meet earlier this season,
jured, and we were missing a few
in that meet,” Windisch said. “We
:used on at least finishing in that
:h is one of four Huskers who
; 12 champions, including Adam
Kalmikovs and Anthony Rogis.
ase see LONGHORNS on 18
Veteran, pair of freshmen provide offensive punch for Husker softball
By Sean Callahan
Staff writer
Looking at the statistics of the No.
23-ranked Nebraska softball team, a
familiar name is at the top of most bat
ting categories: senior All-American
Jennifer Lizama.
But not far behind Lizama are two
freshmen - Amber Burgess and Kim
Ogee. Currently the duo combines for
23 of Nebraska’s 70 total hits.
Ogee, a walk-on outfielder from
Millard West High School in Omaha,
is second for the Cornhuskers in hit
ting with a batting average of .385. She
also is second in RBI (7) and leads the
team with two triples.
Burgess, a catcher from Littleton,
Colo., is right behind Ogee with a .361
batting average and ranks second in
total hits with 13.
Husker Coach Rhonda Revelle
said she was not surprised Burgess and
Ogee were putting up such great num
bers in their first-ever seasons of colle
giate softball.
“I thought that they both had
potential to see a lot of playing time
coming in,” Revelle said. “So they
haven’t surprised me with their overall
numbers.”
Ogee had to walk on because NU
only had one scholarship available this
season, Revelle said. But she’ll get one
in the future.
“It was a situation where we only
had one scholarship, and our priority
for the position was a catcher,” Revelle
said.
Still, Revelle could not remember
any other time in her coaching career
where she had a non-scholarship
freshman who started at the beginning
of the season.
Not having a scholarship didn’t
matter, Ogee said. Neither did individ
ual statistics. She was more concerned
at getting 5-6 Nebraska off on the right
track.
“Really, it’s not about being on top
statistically,” Ogee said. “I just want to
come out and do what I can. It doesn’t
matter what I do statistically wise.”
Burgess carried the same attitude
as Ogee. She came in not really know
ing what to expect, she said. Her main
goal was to add depth to the line-up.
Burgess admitted she was a little
intimidated coming into the fall sea
son but .said she felt completely com
fortable now.
“When you watch college softball
on TV, it looks completely dominate
mg,” Buigess said. “It was just a mat
ter of getting involved with it.”
The slow start of NU doesn’t con
cern Buigess. She knows that the team
is coming around.
“Were a much better team than our
record shows right now,” Buigess said.
“Its just a matter of us going out and
playing our game and not buckling
down to pressure.”
