_■ Josh Wolfe/DN
TERRY PETTIT, former volleyball coach, is getting accustomed to his new
position as a liasion for the Athletic Department. Pettit retired after the
1999-2000 season and was replaced hy Assistant John Cook.
Pettit turns attention toward
team in final season as coach
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
Terry Pettit finished his career as
Nebraska’s legendary volleyball
coach the best way he knew how -
his way.
There were plenty of opportuni
ties in his final season to tell the
world that after 23 seasons, nearly
700 victories and a national title that
it was time to step down.
He could have made a “this year
will be my final year” speech at a
preseason press conference, in which
he announced he had lured former
assistant and successful Wisconsin
Coach John Cook to become his
“Associate Coach” and heir appar
ent.
He could have said goodbye in
front of 8,000 fans - the third-largest
crowd in school history - at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center on Nov. 21,
near the end of the season, on a night
that celebrated 25 years of the pro
gram’s success.
But the always-sharp Pettit -
well-known by reporters, peers and
players to be tight-lipped when he
wanted to be - brushed aside those
opportunities, and regular inquiries
from reporters about his future, to
coach volleyball. One last time.
The 53-year-old announced his
retirement, and the passing of the
torch to Cook, five days after NU’s
season ended in an NCAA
Tournament Sweet 16 loss to UC
Santa Barbara.
“I’ve known for some time that I
was moving in this direction,” Pettit
said. “I didn’t want to go to the
University of Missouri or the
University of Oklahoma and have the
focus be that this is Terry Pettit’s last
match at Oklahoma anci Missouri.”
Instead he focused on his job, and
some believed 1999 was some of his
finest work. The Huskers endured
uncharted territory - NU’s first 0-2
start, a shocking early Big 12 loss to
Kansas State and being behind in
conference standings - to gut out the
21st conference championship of
Pettit’s career.
It was a team and a season that
reflected Pettit’s insistence to stay
quiet.
“We could have spit the bit out or
jumped ship at any point throughout
this season, but we didn’t,” Pettit said
after NU clinched its title against
Texas in the season’s last match.
What Pettit won’t be able to hide
from now is the history he made at
Nebraska - right up to the end. His
end.
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■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ - - - - - - ^
Facilities brighten future
of spring sports teams
By Samuel McKewon
Senior editor
The biggest breakthrough of the
spring sports season happened in the
city towing lot
There marked the groundbreak
ing of Nebraska’s brand new baseball
softball complex, set to be ready for
play in 2001.
Or maybe it happened just south
of the current baseball stadium.
There marked the opening of one
of the finer track surfaces in the
nation.
The spring sports, they are movin
on up, Jefferson-style. New digs. A
better rep. It’s no longer just a period
of time for practice football. Well, it
sort of is still, but it’s improving.
The facilities’ upgrade prove it.
It’s unlikely that any spring sports are
going to elicit team national champi
onships, but things are going the right
way. An update as of Friday, April 28,
on the direction of spring sports:
Baseball: Nebraska is enjoying
an encore performance of 1999’s sea
son, even without standout Ken
Harvey. NU stands at 33-12 overall,
poised for a run in the NCAA
Regionals and a shot at the College
World Series.
Pitcher Shane Komine has mowed
down opposing batters with 114
strikeouts and a 2.03 ERA.
Softball: It was a rough begin
ning, but the Nebraska softball team
has righted the ship nicely in recent
weeks, pulsing through the schedule
and ending up with a 41-18 record
right now. The team is 11 -2 in the Big
12 conference, good for second,
behind highly rated Oklahoma.
Track: Nebraska regained its top
spot in the Big 12 with indoor confer
ence titles, defeating Texas, which had
begun flex its muscles. NU has sever
al athletes in contention for national
honors in the outdoor season, includ
ing sprinter Chris Chandler, jumper
Dalhia Ingram, thrower Melissa Price
and pole-vaulter Eric Eshbach.
The Huskers lost one of its
strongest competitors earlier this sea
son when shot-putter Carl
Myerscough was asked to sit out until
an alleged positive drug test taken in
his native England had been cleared
up.
Women’s Tennis: While NU
cruised through the regular season
with its best record ever at 19-5, it’s
hard to say whether that will get the
Huskers into the NCAA Tournament,
as the team lost in the second round of
the Big 12 Championships.
But it wouldn’t put a damper on
Sandra Noetzel’s career if that bid did
n’t come. Noetzel won her 100th
career match this season and is easily
the most decorated tennis player in
NU history. She leaves many major
career records.
And things are looking up in the
program with the recruitment of two
highly touted freshmen from
California.
Men’s Tennis: In what might have
been considered a transition year for
the Nebraska, the Huskers failed to
win a Big 12 conference match. The
season ended with a 4-3 loss to
Colorado at the Big 12 Tournament in
Kansas City, Kan.
Men’s Golf: After the best season
in school history, there was bound to
be a letdown in the program, as four
key seniors graduated from the team.
Compiling a team of mostly fresh
men, Nebraska was in the second tier
of the Big 12 Conference most of the
season. The team finished last at the
Big 12 Championships.
women's gou: Lea oy Aii-tng iz
sophomore Sarah Sasse, the women’s
team finished third at the Big 12
Championships and awaits a possible
bid for NCAA regionals. Sasse helped
NU win the Susie Maxwell Beming
Classic earlier this season.
Bowling: By the time you read
this, Nebraska may very well be
national champions, as the Huskers
trailed leader Wichita State by less
than 200 points at the Intercollegiate
Bowling Championships at the
Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kan.
Diandra Hyman already has a
large trophy to add to her case after
winning Player of the Year by the
National Collegiate Bowling Coaches
Association on Wednesday.
N.A.B.A. NATIONAL ADULT BASEBALL
ASSOCIATION
The Lincoln Adult Baseball League is forming teams and will begin play starting in the
month of June. Form your own 15 player plus a manager team or join as a member
player. We will place you on a team. Better yet we will help you find a sponsor. All
teams will receive jerseys, 3 dozen Wilson NABA Baseballs, Baseball Today Magazine
for all players, $1 million liability insurance, a 10-12 game schedule and a league
championship playoff, there are many other benefits as well.
I%r more information call: “GET A LIFE - GET A LEAGUE”
League President - John Baete - 466-6301 or
League Vice President - Mike Marlar - 423-5191
orE-mailnabalincoln@hotmail.com LET’S PLAY HARDBALL.
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