Women's gym facing
tough Spring Break
■Hrevy oi ranxea reams
awaits the Huskers in two
tournaments next week.
BY JASON MBgWEW
As the student body flees
from die stress of day to day rig
ors, the fifth-ranked Nebraska
women's gymnastic team will
work twice as hard during
spring break.
To start the break, the
Huskers will host Big 12 foe and
llth-ranked Iowa State on
Monday.
In head-to-head action ear
lier in the season, the
Cornhuskers took care of ISU,
defeating the Cyclones 195.50
to 195.075 in Ames.
The ISU meet marks the
final time Nebraska will com
pete at home. It will also be
Senior Day, as Amy Ringo will
make her last home appearance
as a Husker.
“It’s more like another
meet,” Ringo said. “It will be
kind of sad because it is the last
time I will compete at the
Devaney.”
Ringo, a Phoenix, Ariz.,
native, will get the opportunity
to compete in front of a home
town crowd twice this week.
Nebraska travels to Tempe,
Ariz., for the Arizona State
Invitational.
The Invitational, which will
be held next Friday, brings four
ranked teams together. As well
as NU, seventh-ranked Arizona
State, 10th-ranked Iowa and
ZO^-ranked Arizona will battle
for the team tide.
Despite the stiff competi
tion, the Huskers are very confi
dent of their chances this week.
“Lately we haven't been
thinking about beating other
teams," Ringo said. "We’re more
concentrated on hitting our
routines and doing our very
best"
Coach Dan Kendig feels that
the challenge of having to face
four ranked teams in two meets
in one week will have a positive
effect on the Huskers because
the NCAA championships
involve back to back meets.
“We’re quickly approaching
our championship part of the
season," Kendig said.
Seniors'help needed against Gophers
BY KRISTEN WATERS
The No. 13 Nebraska men’s
gymnastics team will face tough
competition against No. 10
Minnesota this weekend as NU
hosts its last meet of die season at
the Devaney Center on Sunday.
“This meet will be a big con
test for us,” Nebraska Coach
Francis Allen said. “Minnesota’s a
good team.”
The 4-3 Huskers are coming
off a 206.100-196.65 win against
No. 16 Air Force last weekend that
included a strong showing from
the Husker underclassmen.
“In the Air Force meet, the
younger guys really stepped up to
the plate,” Allot said “They really
didanicejoh.”
Nebraska breezed by the
Falcons after junior Martin
Fournier placed first in the all
around while freshmen Steven
Friedmen finished second, and
senior Jason Hardabura placed
third.
Despite NU’s slaughtering of
Air Force, Allen expects the
upperclassmen to step up to play
a big role on the team this week
end
“If we can get some of the
older guys to kind of do what
they're suppose to do, which they
have all week in practice, we can
score a 210," Allen said. “That
would be a pretty big landmark
for us."
However, things won’t be so
breezy for NU this weekend.
The 5-7 Gophers are ranked in
the top ten in four events, and
boast die top all-arounder in the
nation in sophomore Clay
Strother, who recorded a 55.55
against Minnesota’s win over No.
3 Michigan Feb. 23.
"This meet will be a
big contest for us.”
Francis Allan
Nebraska coach
Nebraska will need have a
strong performance in the first
rotation in order to keep up with
the Gophers.
“If they get ahead of us after
pommel horse, it’s gonna be a
long night,” Allen said. “If we get
ahead of them, we can stay ahead
of them."
Football fans to see NU in one more game
rmjiuii Trom page iu
his first full season as the Homed
Frogs' coach. The co-Western
Athletic Conference champions
are coming off a 10-2 season but
have lost record-breaking tail
back LaDainian Tomlinson, a
Heisman Ttophy finalist, to grad
uation.
"This will be a good measur
ing stick for us,” Patterson said.
“We have been working to build
our program to get to that higher
level, and Nebraska represents
that level which we are trying to
ICdUl.
Husker notes:
In the final activity before
spring practice, the 2001 Huskers
wrapped up winter conditioning
with a battery of physical tests in
Cook Pavilion on Wednesday
afternoon.
Several testing records were
broken, including two by defen
sive back Willie Amos. Amos
recorded a 3.75 time in the pro
agility run, the quickest mark
ever by a Nebraska defensive
back. This led Amos to his posi
tions’ record-breaking overall
penormance rnaex score oi
points.
Fellow defensive back Lannie
Hopkins set a new defensive
back-record score with 675
points in the 10-yard dash.
Other records set were by
defensive back Carl Scholting,
who scored 720 points in the pro
agility run, and Curt Tbmasevicz,
who broke his own fullback
record with 685 points in the ver
tical jump.
NU Director of Athletic
Performance Boyd Epley was
pleased with the team’s results.
overall, were in good
shape,* said Epley. “*We had
quite a few guys that did their
very best on every single test.
We're fast, and our vertical jump
is outstanding (averaging 29.68
inches per athlete). That's proba
bly the best it’s ever been."
The Huskers were led in the
total performance index by
defensive lineman Jon Clanton
(2,774 points). Amos and his
record-setting finished second
followed by the 2,563 points net
ted by linebacker TJ. HollowdL
NU Softball gets breakfrom ranked foes
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Finally, a breather.
Nebraska will play its first
tournament of the season with
out facing a ranked team this
weekend.
The 17th-ranked Huskers
(10-9) will play four games at the
Creighton Spring Softball
Classic, only one of which is
against a team with a winning
record.
Nebraska has faced at least
one top-10 team in every tour
nament so far, and 11 of its 19
games have been against ranked
foes. The Huskers are 2-9 in
those games.
The tournament, which was
moved to Kansas City, Kan.,
because of expected cold weath
er and precipitation in Omaha,
opens today.
NU’s first game is against
Minnesota (12-7-1), which has
lost four of its last five.
The Gophers have only
faced two ranked teams this sea
son.
Later today Nebraska takes
the field with UMKC (0-5), who
scored only two runs in its first
four games.
Nebraska plays the last two
games of the Classic on
Saturday.
In the early game the
Huskers play Drake (3-7).
Nebraska leads the all-time
series 21-6 over the Bulldogs,
who have won two of their last
three games.
In the late game NU faces
Buffalo (2-7). The two teams
have never played before.
Before the Classic moved,
Nebraska was scheduled to play
Creighton, but the game was
canceled because of time con
straints.
NU's season ends on last-second shot
riifiu. irum page iu
Hie Wildcats also owned the
interior down the stretch, outre
bounding Nebraska 41-33 for the
game with 10 rebounds belong
ing to Reynolds and 13 to senior
center Kelvin Howell.
After Belcher gave Nebraska
its last lead at 58-56 with 2:19 left,
KSU received a put back by
Reynolds to even die score.
ms nexi DasKei, me game
winner, would be more dramatic,
sending die pro-KSU crowd into
euphoria while sending
Nebraska bade to Lincoln.
A last-ditch pass by
Nebraska’s Craig Wortmann was
intercepted by KSU’s Quentin
Buchanan.
As players milled slowly
around the locker room, NU
Assistant Coach Reggie Rankin
Dime me silence.
“Let's get out to the bus and
get outta here," he saicL
It would be the last bus ride
for Belcher, a teary-eyed trip with
memories of five years gone by.
“I had a great career at
Nebraska,” Belcher, who scored a
team-high 20 points, said. “I did
n’t want it to end tonight, but
someone's career had to.”
Chandler gets sec
ond chance at 60
Trom page io
lb compound his problems,
Chandler broke his wrist "play
ing around with friends” last
spring.
This season, Chandler has
struggled with his work ethic
and finishing races. Nebraska
Coach Gary Pepin has called
him the "mystery guy.”
It's not always easy for the
school's fastest sprinter of all
time.
But when Chandler hits cen
ter stage on die track, all die out
side issues seem to fade away.
He doesn’t have to protect him
adfc
"You got this person that’s
trying to be outrageous,”
Chandler said. "I’ve just been
trying to hold that person back.
That's die troublemaker.
"But on the track it’s differ
ent Nothing's holding me back.”
Maxwell said Chandler was
actually a shy person deep
down. Maybe so, but he blows
his cover when he steps into the
blocks. The dreadlocks on his
head begin flying, and he
becomes a new man - a man
that’s tough to beat
“In a race, confidence is the
biggest factor,” Chandler said. "I
guess it's like attitude - you
always gotta go out there think
mg you re me Dest. you gotta
stick your chest out”
Chandler's chest was defi
nitely out after the Big 12
Indoors when he came back
form a “horrible” start to capture
gold in the 60.
After checking his time
(6.63), Chandler stared down
certain competitors one last
time
“There was a lot of trash talk
ing going on, and when 1 won, I
just looked at them,” said
Chandler, who repeated in the
60 and placed second in die 200.
“They knew what (the time)
was."
Chandler's best days may be
ahead of him this spring. His rel
atively large size for a sprinter
makes him a naturally slow
starter. The longer he has to
catch up, die better off he is. For
that reason, die 100-meter in the
outdoors is his best event,
Maxwell says.
“I’d certainly be very disap
pointed if he didn’t run under 10
seconds,” Maxwell said.
But for now, this weekend is
the focus. If things fall into place
and Chandler finds himself in
the finals in die 60, the past may
all be forgotten. He may be
sticking that chest out again.
One thing is for sure. With
Chris Chandler, you never know.
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