SportsWeekend
Huskers prepare for top competition
■ NU faces defending
champions North
Carolina tonight.
By Brian Christopherson
Staff writer
North Carolina sits at the head of
the women’s college soccer table, the
very spot Nebraska is scrapping
toward.
Tonight, the worlds of champion
and challenger collide in a match at 7
at the Abbott Sports Complex.
The Tar Heels carry the title of
defending champion on their backs
into this spring exhibition season.
North Carolina wop 2-0 against
Notre Dame in the NCAA
Championship game last fall.
; Last year’s success was nothing
new to UNC. Its Final Four appear
ance was the program’s 18th consecu
tive.
“They have a standard of excel
lence in soccer,” Nebraska Coach
John Walker said. “We’re excited and
looking forward to playing such
great opposition.”
However, the Comhuskers are far
from intimidated by the women in
baby blue. ■
NU is 2-0-1 in the spring season
and has been on the edge of greatness
themselves. The Huskers were a
shoot-out away against Notre Dame
from the Final Four last season.
“We respect them, but we also
know that we can compete with any
one out there,” freshman Kori
Saunders said.
Walker said he is also confident
in his team, especially after such a
n successful start to this spring.
“The games have gone really
well, with probably the least impres
sive showing coming against Iowa,”
Walker said.
The least impressive win against
Iowa that Walker mentioned was a 6
Please see SOCCER on 15
Heather Glenboski/DN
FRESHMAN CHRISTINE LATHAM and the rest of the Husker soccer team will be challenging defending champion North Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. at the
Abbott Sports Complex. The team is currently 2-0-1 In the spring season.
NU looks for confidence
4.
■ Baseball team tries for
much-needed wins against
Big 12 foe Kansas.
By Dane Stkkney
Senior editor
When the Nebraska baseball
team faces Kansas this weekend, it
will have some much-needed confi
dence.
After losing three close games to
Baylor last weekend, the
Cornhuskers pounded Northwest
Missouri State 18-6 Tuesday.
The team hopes the offensive
explosion will carry over to this
weekend’s three-game series against
the Jayhawks, NU Coach Dave Van
Horn said.
“This is a big series for us, and if
our offense gets consistently solid,
we could sweep,” Van Horn said.
“But our hitters have been up and
down in the past few weeks.”
Kansas is 19-15 on the season
after an emotional 10-5 win against
Wichita State on Tuesday.
The win, which was in front of
the fourth-largest home crowd in KU
history, marked the first time the
Jayhawks beat the Shockers in six
years.
Van Horn said the Jayhawks are a
solid team.
“They’re a good team,” he said.
“They’ll come in here believing
they’re going to win two out of
three.”
Third baseman Brant Vlieger
said this weekend’s series must go
well for the Huskers (7-8 in the con
ference) if they expect to compete in
the conference.
“We’re under .500, so every
game from here on out is huge,”
Vlieger said. “We’re not where we
Please see BASEBALL on 15
NU hosts meet at refurbished stadium
” It’s like having
a great car, like a
’32 Ford, and not
having any
upholstery or a
paint job.”
■ i ' ' :
Gary Pepin
NU track coach
By Jamie Suhr
Staff writer
The athletes competing in the
Husker Open on Saturday will
receive a unique luxury.
Saturday’s competition of more
than 1,000 athletes is the first meet in
three years on the newly refurbished
Ed Weir Stadium Track.
Competitors from 20 different
institutions will be represented
including Iowa State, Northern Iowa
and other athletes without any school
affiliation.
“It’s very exciting to open a new
stadium,” shot-putter Leann
Boerema said. “We’re fortunate to
have a first-class facility and open up
against some good competition.”
But many top Husker athletes will
be held out of competition in order to
rest for more important meets. The
women’s 1600-meter relay team
members Jelena Stanisavljevic,
Lesley Owusu, Cheryl Harmon and
Stella Klassen will watch from the
stands, and high-jumper Carrie
Braness may sit out because of ten
donitis in her knee.
“If I jump, it’ll be more like a
practice session,” Braness said.
Please see TRACK on 15
Creighton stops
NU winning streak
By Sean Callahan
Staff writer
OMAHA - Long-lasting
records stand for a reason.
By taking a 2-0 loss to
Creighton (20-13) on Thursday
night, the Nebraska softball team
(27-16) missed out on a chance to
add to their season-best winning
streak of 14 games.
But the big streak that was bro
ken was the chance at the all-time
win streak of 17 games that goes
all the way back to the 1983 sea
son.
NU Coach Rhonda Revelle said
she felt the Bluejays played with
much more fire than the
Comhuskers.
“I’m going to tip my hat to
Creighton,” Revelle said. “I thought
they wanted it more than we did
tonight.”
Revelle said the fact that the
game with CU has become more of
a rivalry over the last couple of
years really made her question why
Creighton played with so much
more passion than Nebraska.
In saying this, Revelle said she
was not trying to bring her team
down, she just thought it looked
obvious the Bluejays wanted it
more.
” I’m going to
tip my hat to
Creighton. I
thought they
wanted it more
than we did
tonight.”
Rhonda Revelle
NU softball coach
“This is an in-state rivalry, and I
felt they were more hungrier than
we were,” Revelle said.
The Huskers didn’t give sopho
more pitcher Leigh Ann Walker
much support offensively, accumu
lating one hit.
In taking the loss, Walker (11-5)
gave up no earned runs and only
three hits.
CU scored its first run in the
fourth inning by scoring off a run
with runners on first and third with
two outs.
Creighton pitcher Marie Gieron
Please see SOFTBALL on 15
