Tennis gets
boost from
Ijomah win
BY VINCE KUPPIG
Trailing 3-4 in the third set,
Ndali Ijomah knew she had to
keep fighting for the Nebraska
women’s tennis team.
Already going into the third
set earlier Saturday morning,
Ijomah, NU’s No. 2 player, knelt
down after each point looking
for any bit of energy to finish the
match.
Ijomah found enough to
win the next three games to
defeat Eastern Michigan’s
Simone Duhme, 2-6,6-2 and 6
4, in a two hour thriller that
highlighted NU’s 5-2 win over
die Hawks.
witn an tne otner singles
matches completed against and
NU leading the team race 3-2,
NU’s lone senior said her team
mates helped her find the extra
energy she needed to go on.
“(My teammates) were all
out here, and I could see their
faces,” Ijomah said. “I had to do
it for them. They were like,
’Come on, you can do it’
“Doing it for my coaches'
and teammates, it was easy to
find that energy.”
Ijomah has been in situa
tions like that before, Coach
Scott Jacobson said, and she
knows howto handle them.
“I think in her mind she real
izes that she needs to step up,
and in those types of situations
understand that die team looks
to her leadership and her com
posure. She definitely excelled
at her highest level.”
With the Comhuskers’ vic
tory sealed by Ijomah’s win, NU
went on to sweep EMU’s three
doubles teams to win seven of
nine matches.
NU’s No. 1 duo of Katarina
Balan and Rose Ketmayura
rebounded from its first loss of
the year earlier in the morning
to defeat EMU’s 31st-rankecT
duo of Lisa D’Amelio and
Rebecca Hawkins, 8-4.
“(Balan and Ketmayura)
played great together,”
Jacobson said. “When they get
the momentum and they feel
the energy, they can rip right
through some people.”
Leslie Harvey and Elissa
Kinard prevailed over EMU’s
No. 2 doubles team, also ranked
in the top 50 at 49th. For the
year, NU’s doubles teams are
23-1.
The lone doubles loss came
to Drake, a dual NU won 4-1,
with two matches suspended
on Saturday morning. NU also
defeated Montana 7-0 on Friday
afternoon. All matches were
held at Woods Tennis Center.
Despite losing at No. 1 and
No. 3 singles, Jacobson said the
match against EMU, who has
two nationally ranked individ
ual players, was the team's best
performance of the year.
With the wins, NU improved
to 8-0 on the year. Up next for
the 61st-ranked Huskers is a trip
down south to face No. 5 Texas
and No. 30 Texas A&M, NU’s
first top 75 opponents of the
year.
“(The wins) give us a lot of
confidence going into Texas,
because they’re going to be real
ly good,” Ijomah said. “I think
we will need to play out there as
a team.”
In men’s tennis action, NU
defeated Denver 5-0 and
Northern Iowa 7-0 on Saturday
in Des Moines. NU improved to
5-1 and will return to action at
home against 20th-ranked
Baylor on Feb. 23.
Credit over CU
BUrrSfrompagelO
Belcher credited Ffriend
with stepping up as of late.
“He's just realizing it’s that
time,” Belcher said. “He is really
taking over games now. We real
ize tjiat too, so we are just trying
to get it into him and I think his
post play is great because he is
starting to get seals lower in the
paint”
Ffriend’s newfound posi
tioning helped him shoot 10-14
from the field. But Ffriend just
wanted to credit his teammates
after the game.
“They are starting to make
an effort to get the ball inside,”
Ffriend said. “We are going to
cause problems for opponents
because our strength is down
low.”
NU had to work it in under
the hoop on Saturday asi it was
n’t firing well from outside.
Starting forward Brian Conklin
and guard Cary Cochran, the
Huskers’ main three-point
I Earnhard killed at Daytona
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—
Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time
Winston Cup champion and one
of the most beloved stars in auto
racing history, died Sunday from
head injuries in a last-lap crash
at the Daytona 500. He was 49.
Earnhardt, known as The
Intimidator for his aggressive
driving, had to be cut out of his
car after slamming into the wall
at about 180 mph on the final
turn of the race while fighting for
position.
"This is understandably the
toughest announcement I’ve
ever had to make. We've lost Dale
Earnhardt,” NASCAR president
Mike Helton said. Earnhardt died
instantly of head injuries, said
Steve Bohannon, a doctor at
Halifax Medical Renter who also
works at die track.
“There was nothing that
could have been done for him,”
he said.
The accident happened a
half-mile from the finish of the
NASCAR season-opener, won by
Michael Waltrip.
Earnhardt, running fourth,
grazed Sterling Marlin’s car,
crashed into the fourth-turn
wall, and was smacked hard by
Ken Schrader.
“NASCAR has lost its greatest
driver ever, and I personally have
lost a great friend,” NASCAR
chairman Bill France Jr. said.
Earnhardt, who won the 1998
Daytona 500, was the leader
among active Winston Cup driv
ers with 76 career victories. He
also had the most wins (34) at
Daytona ' International
Speedway.
r f
Newsmakers
Dale Earnhardt, winner of 76 Winston
Cup races and seven Winston Cup
points championships, died Sunday in a
crash on the last lap of the Daytona
500. Earnhardt was 49.
Pitching troubles hand NU loss
FROM SWF REPORTS
Only a late inning collapse
prevented the No. 10 Nebraska
baseball team from a perfect
1 weekend at the Applebee’s
Baseball Fiesta in Albuquerque,
N.M.
As it was, the Cornhuskers
bookended a 7-6 loss to Utah on
Saturday with a 15-7 win over
host New Mexico on Friday and a
14-0 blasting of Nevada Las
Vegas on Sunday, evening its sea
son record at 3-3.
On Saturday against the Utes,
NU rode a three-run first-inning
homer from John Cole to an early
5-1 lead before watching it
shrink to 5-4 by the sixth, when
Utah's Brit Pannier hit a two-run
home run off reliever R.D. Spiehs
(1-1) to take the lead for good. •
NU trimmed a 7-5 deficit to one
in tne bottom ot the ninth, but
with Matt Hopper on second,
Dan Johnson struck out swing
ing to end the contest
Nebraska Coach Dave Van
Horn said the loss indicated poor
starting and middle relief pitch
, ing, evidenced by Jamie
Rodrigue’s inability to hold a big
early-inning lead and Spiehs’
breakdown in the one and one
third innings he pitched in which
he gave up three runs.
“I’m disappointed in our
pitching staff,” Van Horn said.
“Utah swung the bats well, and
you have to give them credit but
our starters have not given us a
chance to be comfortable after
we get the lead. Even in our wins,
we have not finished teams off
early. That is something we have
todoalotbettet”
Both Friday’s and Sunday's
games were Jar easier events.
Against New Mexico,
Nebraska hammered Lobo
pitcher David Young for six runs
in the first inning, and after UNM
had cut the lead to 6-4, four more
off Young and Mike Semprivivo
in the sixth. Shane Komine was
n’t exactly sharp in his second
start of the season, giving up six
earned runs and eight hits, still
picked up the win to even his
record at 1-1.
Sunday, all the tools came .
together against UNLV, as four
pitchers combined for NU’s first
shutout since May 8, 2000.
Redshirt freshman Justin
Pekarek went four innings and
allowed one hit. NU scored six
runs in both the second and
fourth innings, as Jeff Blevins (4
for 5) and Hopper (3 for 5 with 4
RBI) paced Nebraska offensively.
Men s gymnastics team
places first at triangular
FROM STAFF REPORTS
After four weeks of no com
petition, it is obvious that the
men's gymnastics team has not
missed a beat.
The Huskers improved their
record to 2-1 after placing first at
the UC-Santa Barbara triangular
over the weekend.
The Huskers ran away with
the team title by posting a score
of 207.100, bettering second
place finisher No. 20 UC-Santa
Barbara by nearly seven points.
“We needed this meet,"
Coach Francis Allen said.
Senior Jason Hardabura
walked away with the all-around
title with a score of 52.350.
Hardabura finished first in the
pommel horse for the second
time this season with a score of
8.900 and grabbed a first place
finish in the vault with a season
high score of9.200.
With a new average of
52.025, Hardabura is ranked
fourth in the nation in the all
around.
Senior co-captain Grant
Clinton made an impressive
comeback competing for the
first time this season after suffer
ing a knee injury early in the sea
son. Clinton won the rings title
with a team season-high score of
9.200 and finished second on the
high bar with an 8.900.
Junior Martin Fournier fin
ished second in the all-around
with a season high score of
51.350. Fournier scored a 9.0 on
the high bar to capture the title
and an 8.650 for a second place
finish on the’vault
Sophomore Ryan Sneed fin
ished fourth in vault after hitting
a personal best of 8.950, while
freshman Josh Rasile finished
second on the floor with a score
of9.050.
The Huskers showed an
impressive improvement from
their first meet nearly four weeks
ago. NU recorded a season-high
score in every event except vault
and is likely to secure a ranking
in the top 15.
The Huskers were previously
not eligible for national ranking
because they had only compet
ed in one meet this season.
“They need to know they can
win meets,” Francis said. “It’s a
confidence booster.”
Nebraska will next see action
this weekend as they host No.7
Iowa State at Pershing
Auditorium.
Wall Staff
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Softball goes
3-2 in Vegas
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Nebraska’s Leigh Ann
Walker threw five and two
thirds innings of no-hit softball
in NU's 5-0 shutout of Cal-Poly
on Sunday. Although she did
start out by walking four walks
in the first two innings, she
eventually struck out 13 in the
win.
The victory capped off NU's
weekend at the 2001 UNLV
Classic, in which Nebraska went
3-2 in round robin play.
NU fell to No. 7 California
(5-0) and top-ranked Arizona
(14-0). The Huskers notched
wins over No. 20 Oregon (7-0)
and Fordham (10-0).
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goes to seniors
threats, both fouled out in the
game and were a combined 2-10
from the field for six points.
Bradford helped pick up the
slack down low.
“Steffon bounced back in
yesterday's practice and today’s
game with a great winner’s atti
tude of'do what I can to help my
team win,’” Collier said. “It’s
really hard for a senior to deal
with a lineup change late in the
season.
“Now, he’s made it tough for
the coach for the next starting
lineup. But as far as I’m con
cerned, he’s back in there.”
Both teams recovered from a
dismal first half in which neither
team shot over 35 percent It was
Nebraska which capitalized
after the break, shooting 64.3
percent in the second hah and
57.1 percent in the extra session.
With the victory Nebraska
won its first overtime game on
the road since a victory at Iowa
State on Feb. 22,1997.
NU women thwart KSU
K-STATE from page 10
Leonhardt said winning was
paramount to playing well indi
vidually, however.
“It feels really good to play
well and to win,” she said. “We
needed a win, and that always
adds to it.”
Nebraska got out of the gates
quickly against KSU, making
seven of its first 10 field goals to
take a 16-11 lead early.
Leonhardt paced Nliwith seven
points in the stretch.
“They didn’t have an answer
to Casey,” Husker sophmore
Shahidrah Roberts said. “(KSU
center Nicole) Olde kept getting
on the high side, and we kept
throwing it into her.”
The Huskers recorded 20
assists including a career-high
10 from freshman point guard
Shannon Howell.
NU stretched its lead to nine
in the second half after it led by
one at the break. Leonhardt
then picked up her fourth foul
with NU leading 54-45.
“We knew we had to fight
back,” Roberts said. “With Casey
out of the game, we had to work
extra hard ... with the inside
people to get them good shots.”
Without Leonhardt in the
game, K-State put together a 10
0 run to take a 55-54 lead. But
NU withstood the rally as
Roberts hit another three
pointer.
With the score tied at 61,
Roberts, who finished with 17
points, came through for
Nebraska once again. The 5
foot-9 guard nailed a three
pointer on a set play to give NU
the lead for good.
“I had the hot hand for most
of the game, so I was like, ‘Hey, I
am going to make it no matter
what.’ The problem was getting
open.” Roberts said.
Said Sanderford: "When we
had to have a big basket, we
found a way to get one, and
when we had to have a big
rebound we got one.”
srameo mute wens otueo
and grants from the National
Endowment for the Ads a federal
agency: Heartland Aits Fund, jointly
supported by Arts Midwest and
MrcfAmeria Arts Atora; and
Nebraska Arts CoundL All events in
die Lied Center are made possible
by the lied Performance fund
tMidi has been established in
memory of Ernst F. Lied and his
wwtt Ernst Hand Ufa HIM,
B^fc University of *
wB Nebraska Lincoln
An equal opportunity educator and
employer vwth a oompretienske
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KODO
Drummers
Over the past 30 years, the KODO
drummers of Sado Island, Japan h$ve
become one of the best-known and
most respected percussion troupes in the
world. Tne group s craft is centered^
the traditional taiko drum, a Japanese
symbol of the rural community.
Wednesday, February 21,200
7:30pm
Lied Center for Performing Art
Lincoln, Nebraska
Tickets: (402) 472-4747 or (800) 432-32 i
Box Office: 11:00am - 5:30pm M-F
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