Nebraska grapplers headed for national meet

ST. LOUIS Eight Nebraska wrestlers will represent the No. 5-ranked Cornhuskers at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis from Thursday through Saturday.

Juniors Paul Donahoe and Brandon Browne, along with sophomore Jordan Burroughs, earned automatic berths by winning their respective weights at the Big 12 Championships in Stillwater, Okla., on March 8.

Burroughs also earned Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet honors by recording a technical fall and major decision in his two wins. Sophomores Craig Brester and Stephen Dwyer placed second to also automatically advance to nationals. Senior Jon May, junior Vince Jones and sophomore Kenny Jordan earned wild-card selections to the NCAA Championships in a vote of the conference coaches.

Nebraska placed five wrestlers in the finals of the Big 12 Championships, and three Huskers came away with first place, to help NU match its best-ever finish at the event with second place as a team. Nebraska's three individual champions are the most since 1995 as NU finished with 62.5 team points, the most the Huskers have ever totalled since the start of the Big 12 in 1997.

The Huskers are picked to finish fifth in the NWCA's pre-tournament poll, as Nebraska will attempt to better their highest finish of third in 1993. Fans can catch live updates of all the action on Intermatwrestle.com, while ESPNU will broadcast sessions three, four and five live. ESPN will air Saturday night's finals live, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

* COLLEGE WOMEN'S GOLF

Huskers in hunt at Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invite

AUSTIN, TexasElli Brown fired an opening-round 78 to lead the Nebraska women's golf team to a sixth-place team standing after the openingday of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitationalat the University of Texas Golf Club on Monday.

Brown, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, closed the day in a tie for 19th place to help the Huskers to a first-round team total of 319. Sophomore Kate White added an opening-round 79 to sit in a tie for 24th place heading into Tuesday's second round. Allison Stewart and JC Stevenson both managed scores of 81 in rugged scoring conditions on the 6,344-yard, par 72 layout at the UT Golf Club.

"We struck the ball pretty well today," Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. "The wind really made the course play tough with winds gusting around 30 mph. I do feel like we are in good position heading into tomorrow, although they are forecasting storms so wejust hope to get the round in."

In a 17-team tournament field that includes 14 teams ranked among the GolfStat Top 50, Nebraska sits just two strokes behind fifth-place Notre Dame. The Huskers are just eight shots back of sixth-ranked Arkansas, which finished strong to close the day in fourth place at 311.

New Mexico enters the second round on top of the team leaderboard at 303, two strokes ahead of second-place Florida at 305. The hosts from Texas enter Tuesday's action in third place at 308.

Although the Huskers are all alone in sixth, they own just a one-shot lead over four teams that enter the second round in a tie for seventh at 320. TCU and Ohio State are not far behind in a tie for 11th place at 321.

"This is a really quality field and we are right in the thick of things," Krapfl said. "I thought we left a lot of strokes on the course today with our short game, especially our putting, but I also thought we played with a lotmore confidence today. Hopefully we can clean some things up tomorrow on the greens and keep improving our scores throughout the tournament."

The Huskers are scheduled to play their second round at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on Tuesday with tee times beginning off 1 and 10 at 8:15 a.m.

* BASEBALL

UNK to host Dakota Wesleyan in game Tuesday

KEARNEY Nebraska-Kearney will play Dakota Wesleyan in a single nine-inning game beginnig at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Memorial Field.

Later this week, the Lopers (9-13, 5-7 RMAC) will host New Mexico Highlands in a four-game RMAC series. Because of the Easter Holiday, the Lopers and Cowboys will play the series Thursday through Saturday.

* SOFTBALL

UNK games with West Texas A&M canceled

KEARNEY The Nebraska-Kearney/West Texas A & M softball games scheduled for Tuesday in Hays, Kan., have been called off due to weather and will not be made up.

UNK (7-11, 6-8 RMAC) will host Colorado State-Pueblo this Friday and Saturday at Dryden Park. The series is moved up a day due to Easter Sunday.

This past weekend, the Adams State Grizzlies clubbed 12 home runs to sweep the Lopers (7-6, 8-3, 9-3, 8-0) in a four-game RMAC set. Omaha sophomore Laura Gormley did bat .615 (8 for 13) in the series with junior college transfer Hannah Liming (Kirk, Colo.) going 3 for 8 with two home runs.

* SHOOTING

Three Huskers named All-Americans

WEST POINT, N.Y. Three Huskers were honored as All-Americans at the NCAA Championships, the National Rifle Association announced Saturday. Senior Kirsten Weiss earned second-team honors in smallbore, while sophomore Amanda Jeffries and freshman Elisha LaFond took second-team accolades in air rifle.

Weiss had previously earned a pair of All-America honors from the last two seasons, and the Cornwall, Pa., native now has a career total of three. The awards are the first for Jeffries and LaFond.

The All-America award, created by the NRA in 1936, honors top collegiate shooters in the rifle, pistol, and shotgun disciplines, and winners of All-America awards are selected by NRA's Collegiate Programs Committee.

Nebraska finishes fourth at NCAA Championships

WEST POINT, N.Y. The Nebraska rifle team totaled an aggregate score of 4,625 at the two-day NCAA Championships, finishing fourth on Saturday at Army's Tronsrue Marksmanship Center. The Huskers finished just two points behind third-place TCU (4,627), while host Army took second with a total of 4,652. Alaska-Fairbanks won its third consecutive NCAA title with a score of 4,662.

The Huskers opened competition on Friday with team and individual smallbore, notching a 2,308. Senior Kirsten Weiss led the way with a 584, followed by sophomore Christine Costello's 578. Sophomore Amanda Jeffries and freshman Elisha LaFond matched scores of 573.

Weiss' 584 qualified her for individual smallbore finals held later that day, where she earned a 90.9 to place sixth (674.9).

The Huskers sat in fourth heading into Saturday's air rifle competition, where Costello and Jeffries tied with a pair of 582 scores. LaFond notched a mark of 578, while freshman Ryann McGough rounded out NU's squad with a 575. NU finished with a sixth-place air rifle total of 2,317.

* CORRECTION

GINW's Johnson to compete in football and track

A brief in Thursday's edition of the Independent reported that Grand Island Northwest's Devin Johnson has committed to play football next fall for Doane College. Johnson will play football and also compete in track and field for the Tigers.