NU Continues Challenging Schedule at NFCA Classic

Lincoln -- The 12th-ranked Nebraska softball team will continue to its challenging schedule when it travels to Columbus, Ga., Feb. 22-24 for the seventh annual NFCA Leadoff Classic. The 24-team tournament field includes four teams that qualified for the 2001 Womens College World Series, 18 teams that competed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament and 13 teams that are currently ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 poll.

The tournament consists of six four-team pools, Following pool play, the top team from each pool, along with two at-large teams, will advance to the Gold Championship Bracket. The remaining four second-place teams, along with four at-large teams, will be placed in the Silver Championship Bracket. Every other team will be assigned to the Bronze Championship Bracket. Each team will play a minimum of five games (three pool play, two bracket play).

Nebraska (6-4) opens pool play Friday at 11 a.m. vs. Illinois-Chicago. The Huskers will also face No. 4 LSU for the second time this season at 6:30 p.m., Friday. NU concludes pool play Saturday against New Mexico at 11:30 a.m. before learning its bracket assignment.

The Huskers fell one win short of the programs best 10-game start since 1996 with a 2-3 record at the 2002 UNLV Classic last week. NU struggled defensively at times over the weekend, committing six of its eight errors in 2002, and the Husker pitching staff gave up 26 earned runs after allowing just nine in five games at the Fiesta Bowl/ASU Classic Feb. 8-10. Nebraska lost to two top-five teams in No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 LSU and suffered a 9-7 upset loss to unranked BYU Feb. 16. But the Huskers rebounded on the final day of play in Las Vegas, defeating No. 18 Oregon State, 3-1, and ending the Beavers 12-game winning streak.

Junior catcher Amber Burgess provided the Huskers with a bright spot in Las Vegas, as she continued to lead NU at the plate. Burgess is hitting .346 (9-for-26) with two home runs and eight RBIs on the season.

Nebraska vs. NFCA Leadoff Classic Pool Play Opponents
The Huskers are 1-1 vs. LSU and lost to the Tigers, 4-2, Feb. 15 at the 2002 UNLV Classic. NU is 4-8 all-time against New Mexico, but all eight losses were before the 1993 season. Nebraska has never played Illinois-Chicago. A quick look at Nebraskas weekend opponents follows:

• Illinois-Chicago (6-3)
  Illinois-Chicago is coming off a successful weekend after claiming the Mizzou Round Robin championship. The Flames were led in tournament play by senior outfielder Amber Stachura, who went 6-for-14 at the plate with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
  
  Stachura is one of six players on the 2002 squad who hit .300 or better last season. Counted among that group are 2001 All-Midwest Region Honorees senior Edel Leyden (.383 BA, 6 HR, 41 RBIs) and sophomores Amanda Rivera (.354, 13 HR, 50 RBIs) and Jacque Vaca (.318 BA, 6 HR, 45 RBIs).
  
  The Flames are led by first-year co-head coaches Tom Gray and Saray OMalley-Fischer. The pair served as assistants under former coach Mike McGovern, who posted a .726 winning percentage in 12 years at UIC.
  
  
• No. 4 Louisiana State (8-3)
  A 2001 College World Series participant, LSU is 8-3 after going 3-2 at the 2002 UNLV Classic Feb. 15-17. The Tigers, who defeated Nebraska, 4-2, Feb. 15, suffered their first back-to-back losses of the season two days later, as they were shut out by California and UCLA.
  
  Senior outfielder Trena Peel, a former ASA teammate of Huskers Amber Burgess, Briana Bates and Nicole Trimboli, leads LSU with a .441 average, a .513 on-base percentage and four triples. Peel was 2-for-3 with a double against NU Feb. 15. Sophomore pitcher Kristin Schmidt is 3-1 with a 0.89 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched.
  
  LSU Head Coach Yvette Girouard leads the 2001 NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year. Girouard, who spent 19 years at the helm of Louisiana-Layfayette before taking the reigns of LSU last year, owns an 821-263 (.758) all-time record. Her career-winning percentage ranks fifth in NCAA history.
  
  
• New Mexico (2-3-1)
  The Lobos are 2-3-1 in 2002 with wins over Sacramento State and Cal State-Northridge. Four New Mexico players are hitting .400 or better, led by Kelly Glass. The junior outfielder owns a .450 (9-for-20) average and a team-best .500 on-base percentage.
  
  The Lobos pitching staff has struggled this season, allowing 25 earned runs in 44.2 innings for a 5.04 ERA. Opponents have hit .321 collectively against New Mexico.
  
  New Mexico is led by Susan Craig, who is in her 25th year at the helm and owns a 618-533 record.

2001 NFCA Leadoff Classic in Review
Nebraska went 2-3 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic last season, losing three games to top 10 teams by a combined four runs -- including an eight-inning one-run loss to No. 2 Oklahoma. The Huskers were led in tournament play by Amanda Buchholz, who went 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles. On the mound, Leigh Ann Walker posted a 1-1 record and a 0.89 ERA in 15.1 innings while striking out 26 of the 54 (48.1 percent) batters she faced.

Stepping Up
With junior left fielder Lisa Wangler sidelined at times by nagging injuries to her right calf muscle and right hand, NU Coach Rhonda Revelle has turned to sophomore utility player Liz Lawhorn to step up offensively. The Muscatine, Iowa, native has not disappointed. Lawhorn has started two games as NUs designated player and four games in right field. Since going 0-for-2 in her first start against UCLA, Lawhorn has gone 6-for-17 (.353) with a double and two RBIs. Lawhorns two multiple-hit games are tied with four others for first on the team, and she was one of only two players to notch two hits against Louisiana State pitcher Britni Sneed, a 2001 NFCA First-Team All-American. Lawhorn ranks third on the team with a .316 average in 2002.

Lawhorn transferred to Nebraska in August after a successful freshman season at Division II Nebraska-Kearney. A first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection, she led the Lopers with five home runs and ranked third on the team with a .309 average.

The Need For Speed
The 2002 squad is perhaps the quickest group ever at Nebraska. The Huskers broke program testing records (which have been kept since 1996) in both the 10-yard dash and the 40-yard dash with team averages of 1.94 and 5.68 seconds, respectively. Freshman utility player Anne Steffan set a record in the individual 40-yard dash with a time of 5.20 seconds, followed by junior center fielder Kim Ogee (5.36) and sophomore outfielder Briana Bates (5.39).

Nebraskas speed has already been evident on the base paths this season. The Huskers have stolen 27 bases in 10 games this season. NU stole 14 bases on 16 attempts at the Fiesta Bowl/ASU Classic Feb. 8-10, led by Ogee, who posted four stolen bases on four attempts, and Bates, who stole three against New Mexico State Feb. 10. At the 2002 UNLV Classic Feb. 15-17, the Huskers stole 13 bases on 14 attempts, as four NU players recorded at least two steals, and eight had at least one.

If Nebraska continues at that rate of production during what would be, at minimum, 48 regular-season games, it will break the 12-year-old record of 124 set by the 1990 squad.

Individually, Ogee ranks third on the career stolen bases chart after upping her total to 55 with three in Las Vegas last weekend. Ogee is on track to break Jennifer Lizamas (1997-2000) record of 91 career stolen bases.

In Good Company
Junior catcher Amber Burgess was among those honored Feb. 13, at the Giant Steps Award Banquet and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony hosted by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports. At the event, which took place at Disneys Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., Burgess was recognized as one of six Giant Steps Award winners, along with Tampa Bay All-Pro Linebacker Derrick Brooks, former T.C. Williams High School Coaches Herman Boone and William Yoast, Dr. Richard Astro of Drexel University and soccer player Dirceu Hurtado of Farleigh Dickinson University.

The NCAS also inducted former NBA star Julius Erving into its Hall of Fame at the ceremony.

A 1999 graduate of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., Burgess addressed 70,000 people attending the Columbine Memorial Service alongside then Vice President Al Gore. Since the tragedy, Burgess has dedicated her life toward making a difference in the lives of others and honoring the lives of her fallen coach and classmates, participating in numerous community and NU athletic department service programs.

Looking Back: 2002 UNLV Classic
Nebraska posted a 2-3 record at the 2002 UNLV Classic Feb. 15-17, defeating Kent State, 5-2, and No. 18 Oregon State, 3-1, but falling to No. 2 UCLA, 11-2, No. 4 LSU, 4-2, and unranked BYU, 9-7.

The Huskers were led in tournament play by junior catcher Amber Burgess, who hit .364 (4-for-11) with a home run and two RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Peaches James went 2-2 in the tournament with a 3.00 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. James also recorded her first career home run against Kent State. Nebraskas best performance came against Oregon State. The Huskers received a clutch RBI single from an unlikely source in Anne Steffan in the top of the fifth. The freshman utility player, who was hitting .071 entering the contest, plated Cindy Roethemeyer with a two-out shot to center for the go-ahead run. Nebraska continued its success on the base paths and stole 12 bases over the weekend to bring their season total to 26 in 10 games, which is well ahead of school-record pace.

Huskers 12th in USA Today/NFCA Coaches Preseason Poll
Nebraska was voted 12th by the coaches in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association 2002 preseason poll released Jan. 12. The Huskers finished the 2001 season ranked 14th.

The coaches tabbed defending national champion Arizona first in this seasons preseason poll, as the Wildcats received 20 first-place votes. Second-ranked UCLA, the 2001 national runner-up, collected the other seven first-place votes. Stanford, Louisiana State and California rounded out the top five. No. 7 Oklahoma was the only other Big 12 school ranked in the top 25, while Texas was among the teams receiving votes.

NU is scheduled to play nine games against six teams ranked in the preseason poll in 2002, including No. 2 UCLA (twice), No. 3 LSU (twice) No. 7 Oklahoma (twice), No. 10 Cal State-Fullerton, No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 18 Oregon State. The Huskers will also play two games each against Texas and Wisconsin, which both received points in the poll.

Roethemeyer Returns For Sixth Season
Cindy Roethemeyer will be competing as a sixth-year senior in 2001-02. She did not compete in the 1997 season after tearing her ACL in winter conditioning, then came back to start all of Nebraskas games in 1998 and 1999 at third base. Against Stanford, in the sixth game of the 2000 season, Roethemeyer tore her ACL again and did not compete the rest of the year, receiving a medical hardship.

Cline Joins Staff
Former Washington assistant coach and U.S. National Team member Jennifer Cline takes over as the Huskers No. 2 assistant after Terry Schweikert (1999-2001) left to take the top assistant job at Cal State Fullerton. While at Washington, Cline, 27, helped guide the Huskies to four NCAA College World Series appearances and a 215-61 (.805) record. Before serving as an assistant, Cline had a successful run as a player for UW. Cline still holds 11 school records, including career RBIs (227) and career home runs (43).

Rocky Road
The Huskers 2002 schedule is one of the toughest in the nation. Nebraska will play at least 12 games against 10 different teams that qualified for the 2001 NCAA Tournament, including a total of six contests against No. 1 seeds UCLA, Louisiana State and Oklahoma. NU will also play at least eight games against teams that ended the 2001 season ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll, including No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Louisiana State, No. 5 Oklahoma (twice), No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 12 Cal State-Fullerton, No. 15 Florida State and No. 20 Oregon State.

Theres No Place Like Home
This year marks the NU softball team's inaugural season in its new stadium at Haymarket Park. Located on 32 acres one-half mile west of the UNL campus, Haymarket Park is a one-of-a-kind facility financed by the City of Lincoln, the university and Nebco, Inc., for the Nebraska softball and baseball teams and the Lincoln Saltdogs, a Northern League professional baseball team.

The 6,000-seat baseball stadium, which was completed in June, and the 2,500-seat softball stadium were built with a SubAir system. The system can both heat and cool the field, allowing green grass to be grown nearly year-round. Haymarket Park is one of only two facilites in the country equipped with the SubAir system. The other is Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver.

The $29.53 million complex also includes medical and laundry facilities, coaches offices and team lockers and lounges.

The softball team played its last game at its former home, the NU Softball Complex, May 6, 2001. The Huskers defeated Iowa State, 7-0, to clinch the Big 12 Conference title. Nebraska compiled a 186-41 record in 19 years at the NU Softball Complex.

Nebraska on the Radio
Pinnacle Sports Production is in its sixth year of producing live broadcasts of University of Nebraska sporting events. The network has traditionally aired broadcasts of football, volleyball, mens and womens basketball and baseball, but will add softball for the 2002 season. Ten softball home games to be announced will be broadcast live my announcer Mike Nelby on either KLIN 1400 AM or KOOL 105.3 FM. KRNU, the University of Nebraskas campus radio station, will also air selected home games on 90.3 FM. For the latest on softball radio broadcasts, please refer to huskers.com.

Nebraska Coach Rhonda Revelle
Rhonda Revelle has produced a 349-196 record in nine seasons at the helm of the Nebraska softball program. Revelle's athletes have consistently earned national and conference awards for athletic and academic excellence. During the past eight years, 11 Huskers have won All-America awards -- including nine first- or second-team members -- and 45 Huskers have garnered all-conference honors, including 27 first-teamers.

The 2001 and 1998 Big 12 Coach-of-the-Year, Revelle placed a school-record seven Huskers on the 2001 Academic All-Big 12 first team. In the past eight years, 33 of her players have earned first-team academic all-conference awards for their dedication in the classroom. In addition, Revelle has seen four of her student-athletes earn Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America awards, including Jamie Fuente in 2001.

A former pitcher for Nebraska from 1981 to 1983, Revelle was a member of the 1982 team that made the school's first-ever appearance in the College World Series and won its first-ever Big Eight Championship. Revelle is still among the school's career top 10 in saves (seven) and ERA (1.60).

A native of Eugene, Ore., Revelle graduated from Nebraska in 1984 with degrees in physical education and health. Before returning to Lincoln in 1993, she spent four years as an assistant coach at San Jose State University in California, where she earned a master's degree in human performance with an emphasis in sports management.

During the spring of 1997, Revelle and assistant Coach Lori Sippel were honored for their efforts in coaching, playing and promoting softball in Nebraska by being inducted into the Nebraska Softball Hall of Fame.

An accomplished guest speaker and respected among her peers, Revelle is serving her second term as president of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, a position she has held since December of 1998. She has also served on the All-America Committee for six seasons and was the national chair of the committee for two years. Revelle has also participated on the Midwest Regional Softball Committee.

Huskers Return Eight Starters For 2002
The Huskers return eight starters, including two pitchers, from their 2000-01 team that finished 51-15 after claiming the regular-season Big 12 Conference title and earned their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.

Nebraskas experience begins on the mound, where the Huskers return their top two pitchers from a year ago in senior Leigh Ann Walker (22-7) and sophomore Peaches James (16-7). Walker recorded a 1.39 ERA, and James posted a 1.37 mark as NU led the Big 12 with a 1.45 staff ERA.

In the infield, NU returns four players who started all 66 of Nebraskas games last year, led by senior third baseman Cindy Roethemeyer. The first-team All-Big 12 selection was second on the team with a .348 batting average in league games last season. Junior shortstop Amanda Buchholz, who ranked third on the team with a .293 average last season, senior second baseman Leigh Suhr and junior catcher Amber Burgess also return.

The Huskers will also feature experience in the outfield. Junior Kim Ogee anchors the group after starting 66 games in center field as a sophomore. Ogee led the Huskers with a .314 batting average and 27 stolen bases in the spring. Sophomore Nicole Trimboli, who played left field last season but will play first base in 2002, led NU with eight home runs last season. Sophomore utility player Briana Bates, who started 23 games for NU in the outfield as a freshman, also returns.

2001 in Review
The No. 11 Nebraska softball teams season ended earlier than it had planned as the Huskers failed to advance to an NCAA Regional final for the first time in five years. But the Huskers still accomplished several goals and achieved many successes in 2001, a year in which they:

• Earned their 12th overall and their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
  
• Earned a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed for the fifth straight year, joining Arizona, Fresno State, Michigan, Oklahoma and Washington as the only other teams to do so.
  
• Broke the school record for consecutive wins with 18 straight from March 9 to March 30.
  
• Won a school-record 47 regular-season games.
  
• Won 10 games against teams ranked in the NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll.
  
• Twice defeated defending national champion Oklahoma.
  
• Shattered the single-season strikeouts record of 453 set in 2000. NU pitchers combined to strike out 502 opposing batters in 2001.

Seven Postseasons and Counting
Nebraska softball is an elite class when it comes to postseason play. The Huskers are one of 10 teams to appear in the past seven NCAA Tournaments. Nebraska also has a strong history of earning high seeds in the tournament. For the past five seasons, Nebraska has earned a two seed or higher in the NCAA Tournament. The only other teams to accomplish that feat are Arizona, Fresno State, Michigan, Oklahoma and Washington. Overall, the Huskers have earned 12 NCAA Tournament bids, advancing to the College World Series six times.