Derek Lippincott/DN
NU gymnast Jason Hardabura competes on the parallel bars on Friday night against
Iowa.The men's gymnastics team lost the meet 206.575-202.575.
Men's gym reeling
■Two losses on the weekend,
onea blowout to No.10U, leave
the team picking up the pieces.
BY KRISTEN WATERS
The men’s gymnastics team
was looking for something to
build on after a weekend of
tough competition with No. 7
Iowa and No. 1 Oklahoma.
Instead, after two losses, NU is
looking for ways to forget
about the duals.
“We’re just going to have to
regroup after this,” Coach
Francis Allen said.
The Huskers started a
weekend of disappointment as
they fell to the Hawkeyes
206.575-202.575 in their first
home meet of the season
Friday night at Pershing
Auditorium.
"We hoped to get momen
tum from Friday night’s meet
to go into OU on Sunday,” Allen
said.
“But it was not a good step
ping stone for us tonight.”
Momentum proved to be a
factor as Nebraska went on to
suffer a 215-200.95 slaughter
ing by Oklahoma on Sunday.
Despite a disappointing
performance by the Huskers
this weekend, they recorded a
team season-high score of
34.475 on floor as well as on
vault with 35.800 against Iowa.
Leading the way for NU this
weekend was senior Jason
Hardabura, who finished sec
ond in the all-around against
both Iowa and Oklahoma. He
recorded a score of 50.850 on
Friday night and a 51.30 on
Sunday.
Junior Martin Fournier fin
ished third in the all-around
against Iowa with a score of
50.200 by placing first on pom
mel horse with a score of 8.650
and third on parallel bars with
8.450.
Freshmen Steve Friedman
helped the cause by finishing
third in the all-around against
Oklahoma with the help of a
third-place finish on the floor.
He also recorded a second
place finish on rings against
Iowa.
Softball barely falls
to No. 10U, No. 5 Cal
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The 15th-ranked Nebraska
softball team once again faced
several of the nation’s best this
weekend at the NFCA Leadoff
Classic, and while the results
rm—:-s—iwere the same
3 a* before-a 2
NgwMgdoD Q tournament
record, with all
three losses coming to top-10
opponents - the Huskers did
give those top-ranked oppo
nents a run for their money this
time.
Nebraska dropped close
games to No. 2 Oklahoma 6-5,
No. 5 California 2-1 and No. 10
DePaul 3-1. Nebraska won 8-3
against Long Island, and also
defeated New Mexico 3-0. The
tournament dropped the
Huskers to 2-7 against ranked
teams and 7-7 overall.
The Huskers’ first win of the
tournament came against
unranked Long Island on
Friday. The Huskers trailed 3-0
at one point, but battled back
and scored eight unanswered
runs. Katie Decker was the win
ning pitcher for NU, shutting
out Long Island in her three
innings of work.
Nebraska lost for the second
time this season to undefeated
California on Friday. Big 12
Player of the Week Leigh Suhr
scored the only NU run with her
second home run of the season.
The Huskers trailed 5-1 to
Oklahoma on Saturday night,
but rallied to tie the game in the
sixth inning. Oklahoma went on
to win in extra innings.
Against DePaul earlier
Saturday, Leigh Ann Walker
gave up only five hits and struck
out nine, but took the loss.
The Blue Demons scored
the game’s winning run on a
Nebraska error and went on to
the victory.
Nebraska also blanked
unranked New Mexico 3-0 on
Sunday. Walker struck out 10
and gave up only three hits in
the shutout victory.
Senior Day ends badly for women
BY JOHN GASKINS
To shine a bright spotlight on
the three Nebraska women’s bas
ketball seniors playing in their
final home game, the lights in the
Bob Devaney Sports Center went
-i.:-c7lout before tip
57 off Saturday.
77 For the
Huskers, maybe it would have
been better if the lights would
have just stayed off.
That way their parents, their
5,150 screaming fans and their
coach wouldn't have had to see
the 77-57 loss to No. 24 Baylor -
their sixth blowout home loss to a
top-25 Big 12 foe this year.
The setback was NU’s sixth
loss in its past seven home games
and continued the frustration of
Coach Paul Sanderford.
“I’m used to winning,” he said
on Saturday. “This is my first los
ing season I've ever had in 23
years, and tonight ensured that.
But I'll be here tomorrow work
ing. I’ll be here Monday working,
and I’m going tasmile at all ofyou
when we turn this thing around.
We’re going to get it done.”
With one game left in the reg
ular season followed by a Big 12
tournament featuring six ranked
teams, the Huskers (12-16,4-11)
aren’t turning much around this
year.
But after a conference season
of torment, they looked like they
were doing just that in two
straight wins over Kansas State
and Kansas and in racing to a 24
18 lead in the first half against the
Bears. Passes were crisp. Shots
were falling. The other team
turned the ball over.
Then the late-season wheels
NU was getting came right back
off. NU managed four field goals
in the final 9:29 of the first half (BU
led 35-31 at half-time) and first
4:42 of the second.
Baylor (19-7,8-7) went on a
28-10 run in that span, spear
headed by 11 of junior transfer
Sheila Lambert’s game-high 22
points. Lambert a shoo-in for All
Big 12 guard, also finished with
game-highs in steals (five) and
assists (eight).
“We just shot ourselves in the
foot,” said NU senior Amanda
Went, who scored three points on
l-of-8 shooting in her final home
game.
Fellow senior and NU’s lead
ing season scorer Casey
Leonhardt managed five points in
just 20 minutes, sitting much of
the game in foul trouble. NU's
other senior, Monique Whitfield,
scored four. Freshman Shannon
Howell led NU with 11 points.
The Bears - who went 7-20
last year and have pulled off Div.
I’s second-greatest turnaround of
2000-01 - out-rebounded NU 53
34 and forced the Huskers into 19
turnovers and 33 percent shoot
ing.
KU battles
back to
beatNU
BY JOSHUA CAMENaND
Nobody questioned Kansas
center Jeff Carey when he said
guarding Nebraska’s post players
is a dirty job. Carey had five or six
scratches across his nose and
both cheeks to prove it
The battle wounds, sustained
early in the first half, were just
some of the obstacles Carey and
his fellow Jayhawk big men over
came to elevate KU to a 78-74
road win over NU.
On a day when they were
without injured sophomore phe
nomenon Drew Gooden, the
foul-ridden Jayhawks dug deep
down and persevered.
Example No. 1 was Carey, who
came up big with Eric Chenowith
in foul trouble. The 6-foot-11 jun
ior came into the game averaging
only 1.8 points per game and 2.2
rebounds, but had seven points
and four rebounds in the first half.
“The shots I took just came to
me,” Carey said. "I usually don't
look to force anything and I usual
ly don't look to score. But if it’s
right there in front of my face, I am
going to take it”
KU Coach Roy Williams knew
foul trouble would be an issue he
would have to confront at some
point in the game. Williams just
hoped it would be later rather
than sooner.
"I knew we wouldn't finish the
game with all three of them alive,”
said Williams, whose club
improved to 21-5 on the year. "But
I was hoping we could get by with
just one of diem fouling out and
we were able to do that”
The Jayhawks were able to
keep Chenowith and Nick
Collison alive. Collison led KU
with 22 points, while Chenowith
hit three big buckets down the
stretch to kill NU’s momentum.
As good as it felt to overcome
the adversity of winning without
Gooden, Collison and Carey
agreed it would be good to get
him back.
“It will help out a lot - both
offensively and defensively,” said
Collison of his fellow sophomore.
Golfers struggle in opener
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The Hyatt Bear Creek Golf
Course in Dallas, Texas, wasn't
the friendliest to the Nebraska
women’s golf team in its spring
opener at the Midwest Classic.
With the players fighting the
wind and cold throughout the
tournament, the results weren't
very friendly either.
The NU women finished the
tournament in 11th place with
an overall score ot 952.
Junior Sarah Sasse, who was
only four shots off the lead com
ing into the final day, stumbled
and shot a nine-over 81 to fall
into a tie for 14th.
Senior Amy Roux, however,
did finish strong on Sunday, as
she shot an even-par 72 to finish
in a tie for 30th place.
Nebraska’s next meet is the
Betsy Rawls Invitational on
March 12-14 in Austin, Texas.
Gaffigan, Burns help propel Huskers
TRACK from 10
said. “I was just hoping to get fifth
and pick up some points. It's just
such a shock.”
The distance events don't
receive the fanfare that sprints
and jumping do, but the perform
ances of Gaffigan and Bums were
just as much responsible for the
title as the Owusus and Chandlers
of the team.
In a competition full of super
stars that were breaking records
by the minute, Gaffigan and
Burns were a few of the crowd
favorites. For them, standing on
the platform receiving that Big 12
medal was just a little more spe
cial
Waving to the crowd, the
exhaustion that was so evident
only a few minutes before was
now gone.
“I'm not tired," Bums said. “I
could go again. I feel good.”
Tennis teams fall to high-ranked foes
BY VINCE KUPPIG
Lance Mills provided the Nebraska men’s ten
nis team’s lone spark in a 6-1 loss against 21st
ranked Baylor (5-2) on Friday afternoon at Woods
Tennis Center.
Mills defeated Csongor Bibza, 7-6 (7-1), 5-7,6
4, despite injuring his back on his first serve of the
first set tie-breaker. The junior No. 1 player gritted
through the pain to take the final seven points of
the tie-breaker and win the set.
“It just tightened up on me,” Mills said. “I
couldn’t move; my legs were really slow. Going into
the third set, it felt like my whole body just wanted
to shut down.”
With the win, Mills improved to 8-0 in duals,
including three consecutive at the No. 1 spot.
The 6-1 final team score was not indicative how
close the dual actually was with four winnable
matches, Coach Kerry McDermott said.
"Baylor played a little bit better when they
needed to on the big points,” he said.
At the No. 2 spot, Jorge Abos Sanchez dropped
a close three-setter to Baylor's Mark Williams, 3-6,
7-6, 6-4. Adnan Hadzialic lost a tough match to
BU’s Reiner Neurohr, 6-4,6-4, at the No. 3 spot, and
the Bears' Matias Marin escaped with a 7-6, 7-5
decision over Ryan Haith at the No. 5 spot
At No. 1 doubles, Sanchez and Mills nearly
upset the top-10 ranked duo of Neurohr and
Williams, losing 9-8.
“It was very close,” Mills said of the Baylor dual.
“This team’s due for an upset.”
The unranked Huskers will have another
chance at an upset next weekend when they trav
els to top-20 Oklahoma State. The duals at San
Diego and San Diego State this weekend were not
played because of weather.
In women’s tennis, 61st-ranked NU nearly
ended fifth-ranked Texas’ nation-long conference
winning streak but came up short in a 4-3 loss.
The Longhorns (6-0) extended their streak to
117 matches, with only 10 decided by one point.
The Huskers picked up wins at No. 4, No. 5 and
No. 6 singles but dropped the first three spots and
all three doubles matches.
The NU women return to action at home next
weekend with matches against Missouri and
Southwest Missouri.
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