UNK track teams finish third in RMAC indoor meet

KEARNEY The Nebraska-Kearney track and field teams each finished in the third place at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Saturday in Cushing Coliseum.

The two-day event saw the Adams State women win their seventh straight title, and 15th in last 16 years, by scoring 195 points, well ahead of runner up Western State (143.50). UNK, improving one place and 50 points from last year, was at 131.

On the men's side, Western State pulled off a small upset by winning the title (184), ending Adams' four-year reign (155.50). UNK scored 126 points, an improvement from a fourth-place effort last season.

The men were a bit short handed in this meet, minus top hurdler Darrel Branz and sprinter Jake Wissing of Wood River due to injury.

A pair of Kearney High graduates picked up some hardware after the meet as junior Kelli Dring was named the Female Track Athlete of the Year, as well as the Female Athlete of the Meet. She won the long jump Friday night (19-2.50), won the triple jump (37-4.50) and high jump (5-5) today while also placing third in the 60 hurdles (8.97) this afternoon.

All this helped Dring score 36 team points and make her the first Loper, male or female, to ever win three individual events in at an RMAC meet (indoor or outdoor).

Blake Millsap earned RMAC Freshman of the Year honors as he was victorious in the high jump (6-7.50). He actually tied Shawn Marshall of Western State, but earned the first-place nod on judge's decision.

Bartlett senior Andrew Smith scored 4,377 points to place third in the heptathlon.

On the women's side, UNK scored 24 points in distance events. Dannebrog junior Kaci Lickteig was fourth in the 3,000 (10:38.52).

Finally in the throws, UNK had four in the top eight in the shot put. Another freshman, Julie Davis of Palmer, was second with a heave of 43-8.75.

* SOFTBALL

Timely hitting sparks Nebraska past Syracuse

COLUMBUS, Ga. Junior Crystal Carwile hit her second home run of the weekend and fellow junior Amanda Duran delivered a clutch two-run, pinch-hit double, as the Nebraska softball team defeated Syracuse 8-3 Saturday night at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

Earlier in the day, the Cornhuskers lost 6-3 to No. 23-ranked North Carolina.

In the nightcap, Nebraska built an early 3-0 lead on the strength of Carwile's two-run shot and led 5-1 before a two-run inning for Syracuse cut the lead to 5-3 going into the bottom of the fifth. That set the stage for Duran's two-out, two-run double that essentially sealed the game.

The win improved Nebraska to 4-7 on the season and ensured the Huskers would finish this weekend's five-game schedule with a winning record. Coach Rhonda Revelle was pleased with the effort of her team after the Huskers struggled in Saturday's earlier loss to No. 23 North Carolina.

"It was a tale of two teams," Revelle said, contrasting Nebraska's play against Syracuse and North Carolina. "I thought (starting pitcher) Alex (Hupp) had a really gutty performance and we came up with some timely hits."

Those timely hits made a winner out of Hupp (2-3), who won her second straight decision. Hupp threw a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out six.

Chanel Roehner (0-5) took the loss for Syracuse, which remained winless on the season, falling to 0-12. Roehner was tagged for five runs (three earned) on six hits in 3.2 innings.

Grand Island freshman Heidi Foland recorded the first RBI of her career with a run-scoring single up the middle to put the Huskers in front 8-5. She finished 2-for-3 at the plate in the game.

In its first game Saturday, the Nebraska softball team fell victim to missed opportunities in 6-3 error-plagued loss to 23rd-ranked North Carolina.

A season-high five Nebraska errors the mostsince March of 2005 led to four unearned runs, while indecision also cost the Huskers in the field and on the basepaths. Offensively, Nebraska scored just one run with the bases loaded and no outs in the second inning and also left the bases full in the fourth.

Junior right-hander Molly Hill (1-1), making just her second appearance since undergoing knee surgery four weeks ago, took the loss for Nebraska (3-7).In six innings of work, Hill surrendered a career-high-tying six runs (two earned) on eight hits, while walking four.

* GOLF

Huskers men lower team score; still in 18th place

DADE CITY, Fla. The Nebraska men's golf team recorded a season-best team score of 302, but the Huskers still found themselves in 18th place at the 18-team Ron Smith/USF Invitational, with a total team score of 607.

Freshman Andrew Wyatt continued his strong spring with a one-over-par 73, which puts him at three-over-par for the tournament. Wyatt is tied for 28th overall. After scoring no rounds lower than 75 in the fall season, Wyatt has recorded four-straight rounds of 74 or better.

Mike Coatman, another freshman, had a better second round as well. Coatman shot a two-over-par 74 and is in a tie for 70th place, nine-over-par for the tournament.

Mark Pillen is in a tie for 41st place after shooting a second-round 76. Brett Sundberg shot 79 and Tyler Parsloe shot 82. The tournament will conclude with the final round set to begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday.

* TENNIS

Cornhusker men drop fifth straight match

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas The Nebraska men's tennis team lost its third straight match at the H.E.B. Tournament on Saturday, as they fell to the No. 61 South Alabama Jaguars 4-2. The Jaguars won despite only having five healthy players able to participate. The loss puts Nebraska's record at 4-7 for the season, and all seven Husker losses so far this season have been to ranked opponents.

"I thought we played pretty well," NU head coach Kerry McDermott said. "It might sound crazy to say since we lost. But I thought we played much better today than yesterday."

The Huskers went 0-3 on the weekend at the tournament, and have lost five straight matches. They will try to snap their losing streak next weekend with home matches against Western Michigan on Friday and New Mexico on Sunday.

South Alabama 4, Nebraska 2

At Corpus Christi, Texas

Singles

No. 1Jack Baker (USA) def. David Bendheim (NU), 6-4, 6-1.

No. 2Calin Paar (NU) vs. Marek Sramek (USA), DNF.

No. 3Robert Hodel (USA) def. Hendrik Stahmer (NU), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

No. 4R.J. Nagel (USA) def. Francois Van Impe (NU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-0.

No. 5Renato Melo (NU) def. Aaron Krisan (USA), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.

No. 6Taylor Boney (NU) won by default.

Doubles

No. 1Baker/Sramek (USA) def. Bendheim/Paar (NU), 9-7.

No. 2Hodel/Nagel (USA) def. Stahmer/Van Impe (NU), 9-8 (5).

No. 3Boney/Schneider (NU) won by default.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa Hastings College's run at a Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament title came to an end with a 76-59 loss at Northwestern (Iowa) in Saturday's semifinals.

All-American Deb Remmerde scored a game-high 23 points to lift the NAIA Division II No. 3-ranked Red Raiders (29-2) into Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. championship game against No. 2-ranked and top-seeded Morningside (Iowa), an 87-57 semifinal winner over Mount Marty (S.D.). Miranda Boekhout added 17 points and six assists, Amy Larson had 15 points and Crystal Algood had 11 points for Northwestern.

No. 4-ranked Hastings (27-5), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, struggled from the field. The Broncos shot 32.4 percent for the game, including 28.6 percent in the second half.

Ravenna sophomore Heather McKeon led Hastings with 13 points off the bench. Kim Faimon added 10 points off the pine as the Broncos didn't have a starter who scored in double figures. Hastings is expected to receive an at-large bid for the NAIA Division II national tournament.

NORTHWESTERN 76, HASTINGS 59

HASTINGS (27-5)

Lien 1-3 0-2 2, VanKirk 4-11 0-0 9, Yamashita 2-10 1-2 5, Broekemeier 3-10 0-0 9, Isherwood 2-8 1-6 5, Farmer 0-1 0-0 0, Faimon 4-7 2-3 10, Cambridge 2-3 0-0 5, Schmaderer 0-0 0-0 0, McKeon 4-13 4-5 13, Kulus 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 22-68 9-20 59.

NORTHWESTERN (29-2)

Boekhout 6-12 5-6 17, Algood 4-4 3-4 11, Larson 6-16 0-0 15, Carr 2-5 2-2 6, Remmerde 9-13 3-3 23, Hardersen 0-0 0-0 0, Koele 0-0 0-0 0, Hurley 1-6 0-0 2, Neth 0-0 0-0 0, Wedel 0-0 2-2 2, Gaudian 0-0 0-0 0, Hulst 0-0 0-0 0, Hulstein 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 15-17 76.

HalftimeNWC 38, HC 31. 3-point goalsHC 6-28 (VanKirk 1-4, Yamashita 0-6, Broekemeier 3-7, Isherwood 0-1, Farmer 0-1, Cambridge 1-1, McKeon 1-6, Kulus 0-2), NWC 5-19 (Boekhout 0-4, Larson 3-8, Carr 0-2, Remmerde 2-3, Hurley 0-2). Fouled outHulstein. ReboundsHC 43 (Isherwood, McKeon 8), NWC 34 (Carr 8). AssistsHC 9 (Yamashita, Faimon, Cambridge 2), NWC 22 (Boekhout 6). TurnoversHC 21, NWC 17. Total foulsHC 21, NWC 15. TechnicalsNone. A1,121.