NU opens spring season with sweep of Fla. Atlantic

BOCA RATON, Fla. The Nebraska volleyball concluded a week of training with a sweep of Florida Atlantic, winning a scrimmage by scores of 25-16, 29-27, 25-22 and 15-8 Friday morning.

While no stats were kept, Nebraska Coach John Cook was pleased with the performance, as the Huskers had been training in Florida throughout spring break.

"It was good to see our team in game situations and we got better and smoother as the game went along," Cook said. "Our serving, passing and defense were really strong and I was especially pleased with our serving so early in the season."

Cook said Huskers said it was a valuable week for a team which is replacing four All-Americans, as the development of young players such as Brooke Delano, Lindsey Licht, Tara Mueller and Jordan Wilberger will be a primary focus in the spring.

"We had a great week of training," Cook said of the Huskers, who return to Lincoln on Saturday. "Their effort in practice was tremendous all week. This team loves training and competing in the gym, and it showed in practice. I thought we had four great days of practice."

"This was a very important week in our preparation for the season," Cook said. "We practiced in the morning and a lot of the players played on the beach in the afternoon. We also met as a team each night and began working on the foundation for the upcoming year."

The Huskers will return to action on March 30, as they travel to Denver for a one-day tournament. NU's only home spring match is on Saturday, April 12, as they host Kentucky at 7 p.m.

NU women win Penn State Quadrangular

STATE COLEGE, Pa. - The No. 14 Nebraska women's gymnastics team finished first at the Penn State quadrangular, posting a score of 196.00 at PSU's Rec Hall on Friday night. The Huskers, who improved to 10-4 on the year, scored a 49.0 or better on vault, bars and floor and won four individual event titles. NU finished ahead of Penn State (195.725), Maryland (192.675) and Rutgers (189.475).

Senior Emily Parsons captured the vault (9.925) and floor (9.90) crowns, while senior Desire' Sniatynski took first on bars (9.925), and junior Tricia Woo claimed the beam title with a 9.90. Sniatynski (39.45) and Woo (39.25) matched their career highs in the all-around to place second and third, respectively.

"Penn State is a tough place to compete," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "We were in a battle all day long and were never out of it all day long. It was a little closer than we'd have liked, but I'm most encouraged that we had people throughout every lineup who stepped up in pressure situations.

"That's what's so great about this team. There is no quit in them. I'm proud of them, and I'm looking forward to preparing for the Big 12 Championships next weekend. There are some things we need to address on every event, but we couldn't be in a better position to vie for a Big 12 title."

Defending Big 12 champion Nebraska travels to Norman, Okla., on March 29 for the Big 12 Championships at the University of Oklahoma. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Two Husker men in Top 20 at Ron Moore Invite

GOODYEAR, Ariz Two Nebraska freshmen found themselves in the top 20 after the first round of play at the Ron Moore Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz. Friday.

Andrew Wyatt shot a three-under par 69 and Mike Coatman shot a two-under par 70. Both were career-bests for the Husker freshmen. Wyatt is the first Husker to break 70 in the 2007-08 campaign and is tied for 9th overall. Coatman, a Lincoln Southwest graduate, is tied for 19th.

The Huskers are tied for 11th in the 16-team tournament after recording a team score of 289, the lowest Husker round since the Ron Moore Invitational in 2007.

Also stepping up for the Huskers was junior Trent Price. Price shot an even-par 72, tying the best score of his junior season which he set in the opening tournament of the fall. Price is tied for 32nd in the individual race.

Rounding out the Huskers' scoring were Mark Pillen and Chris Bruening, who both shot 78.

The tournament resumes with the second round Saturday and final round Sunday.

NU men downs Southern Mississippi, 5-2

HATTIESBURG, Miss. The Nebraska men's tennis team improved to 8-9 on Friday afternoon after defeating Southern Mississippi 5-2 on the Golden Eagles' home courts in Hattiesburg, Miss. The win was the first true road win for the Huskers, and its second win in a row after alternating wins and losses for the previous five matches.

The Huskers, who going into the match were 5-0 when they won the doubles point, got the crucial point after winning two of the three matches. After the teams split wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the point was decided at No. 3 doubles, which went into a tiebreaker after the teams were tied at 8-8. The Husker duo of freshman Calin Paar and senior Karl Jones went on to win the tiebreaker 7-5, giving Nebraska a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers didn't let up in singles play, as the top of the Nebraska lineup performed very well in leading the team to victory. David Bendheim notched his fifth victory in the last six matches with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles, while Paar recorded his fourth straight win and sixth in his last seven with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles. Francois Van Impe made it five wins in his last six matches with a three-set victory at No. 3 singles, and Hendrik Stahmer won his fourth match in five tries with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles. The Golden Eagles won at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, but it wasn't enough.

"It was a good win today," said Head Coach Kerry McDermott. "The conditions were perfect here and the courts are very nice. It was a good match, and hopefully it will help get us ready for our next two matches and for the start of Big 12 play."

The Huskers will stay in Hattiesburg to take on South Alabama, which beat Nebraska earlier this season at the H.E.B. Tournament, on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Nebraska 5, Southern Miss 2

Doubles

No. 1 D. Machuca/Wessinghage (SM) def. Bendheim/Schneider (NU), 8-5

No. 2 Stahmer/Van Impe (NU) def. O. Machuca/Krstevski (SM), 8-6

No. 3 Jones/Paar (NU) def. Burmeister/Poole (SM), 9-8 (5)

Singles

No. 1 David Bendheim (NU) def. Andrew Poole (SM), 6-2, 6-4

No. 2 Calin Paar (NU) def. Jan Burmeister (SM), 6-1, 6-2

No. 3 Francois Van Impe (NU) def. Diego Machuca (SM), 3-6, 6-1 (10-8)

No. 4 Hendrik Stahmer (NU) def. Strate Krstevski (SM), 6-3, 6-4

No. 5 Oscar Machuca (SM) def. Renato Melo (NU), 6-4, 6-4

No. 6 Markus Wessinghage (SM) def. Taylor Boney (NU), 6-2, 6-0