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22 Named to University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame Inaugural Class

Posted on March 17, 2015

The University of Nebraska proudly announced the inaugural class of the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame on Tuesday, March 17. A total of 22 distinguished student-athletes will be enshrined this fall in conjunction with the Huskers’ season-opening football game with BYU on September 5th, 2015.

The creation of the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame serves to honor Husker Athletics programs and student-athletes who have won 25 team national championships, captured 156 individual NCAA titles and lead the nation with 315 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 17 NCAA Top 10 Award winners. The inaugural Hall of Fame class includes one inductee from every current Nebraska sport, plus an honoree from the men’s swimming program, which was a recognized varsity sport from 1921 to 2001.

“The University of Nebraska has an outstanding history and tradition of excellence in athletics, and our talented student-athletes have played a pivotal role in forging this reputation,” Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “Therefore, it is with great enthusiasm and respect that we have created the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame and now proudly honor an elite group of student-athletes.”

The distinguished student-athletes who make up Nebraska Athletics’ inaugural Hall of Fame class include: Steve Friesen (men’s golf); Alex Gordon (baseball); Charlie Greene (men’s track and field); Jim Hartung (men’s gymnastics); Penny Heyns (women’s swimming and diving); Karen Jennings (women’s basketball); Steve Jung (men’s tennis); Joe Kirby (men’s cross country); Christine Latham (soccer); Liz (Mooney) Shaffer (women’s tennis); Eric Piatkowski (men’s basketball); Adam Pine (men’s swimming and diving); Shannon Pluhowsky (bowling); Merlene Ottey (women’s track and field); Dave Rimington (football); Sarah Sasse-Kildow (women’s golf); Bill Scherr (wrestling); Richelle Simpson (women’s gymnastics); Lori Sippel (softball); Fran (ten Bensel) Benne (women’s cross country); Amanda (Trujillo) Scrivner (rifle); and Allison Weston (volleyball).

The highly decorated class of 22 combined for eight national player-of-the-year awards, 127 All-America certificates, 32 individual NCAA titles and 11 team national championships. Hartung was a part of four men’s gymnastics national championship teams, Ottey (women’s track and field) and Pluhowsky (bowling) each led three Husker teams to national titles, and Weston was a member of Nebraska’s first national champion volleyball team in 1995. In the classroom, the inductees produced a total of three CoSIDA Academic All-American-of-the-Year accolades, seven Academic All-America honors and two NCAA Top 10 Awards.

The inductees also excelled internationally and in the professional ranks. Eight members of the inaugural Hall of Fame class were Olympians, competing in a combined 19 Olympic Games and winning 15 Olympic Medals, including five Gold Medals. Among the major professional sports, Gordon, Piatkowski and Rimington were all first-round draft picks. Gordon enters his ninth year in Major League Baseball in 2015 as a two-time all-star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner. Piatkowski enjoyed a 14-year NBA career, while Rimington played seven seasons in the NFL.

Several members of the inaugural class have been enshrined in other halls of fame. Rimington and Jennings are members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, while Rimington is also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Greene is a member of the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, and Hartung has been inducted into the United States Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. Heyns is enshrined in the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Pluhowsky in the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Sippel in the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame. Greene, Hartung, Heyns and Pine are proud owners of Olympic Gold Medals, while Ottey participated in nine Olympic Games, winning three Silver and six Bronze Medals.

The inaugural class was selected by a 12-person committee consisting of seven members of the Nebraska Athletics staff and five prominent former Husker student-athletes: Nicole Ali (women’s track and field); Frosty Anderson (football); Karen Jennings (women’s basketball); Janet (Kruse) Sellon (volleyball); and Al Maxey Sr. (men’s basketball).

“We greatly appreciate the Hall of Fame Committee for the hard work and thoughtful consideration in putting together this inaugural class,” Eichorst said. “With the number of exceptional student-athletes who have matriculated at Nebraska, limiting the first class to just one inductee per sport was no easy task. We are especially grateful to our five former student-athletes who volunteered their time for this worthy endeavor. They helped establish Nebraska’s tradition through their achievements as student-athletes and now have played a significant role in building the legacy of our Hall of Fame.”

Criteria considered for the Hall of Fame included: 1) the nominee must have completed his or her Nebraska athletic career at least 10 years prior to the current academic year; 2) the nominee must have demonstrated exceptional performance in his or her sport(s) and earned at least one varsity letter; and 3) the nominee must have demonstrated good character and citizenship.

The 22 members of the inaugural class will be enshrined at a private ceremony on Friday, September 4th, before being recognized in Memorial Stadium during Nebraska’s season-opening football game against BYU the next day.

The University is in the process of constructing an Athletics Hall of Fame plaza to serve as the permanent home honoring the Hall of Fame members. When completed this fall, the plaza will be accessible to the public every day of the year at no charge. The plaza will be located on a renovated walkway, stretching from the columns above the Ed Weir Outdoor Track and Field Stadium and continuing to the historic NU Coliseum. The University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame plaza will serve as a grand entryway to the Ed Weir Stadium and will complement Memorial Stadium’s East side. The plaza will recognize each annual Hall of Fame class and will also highlight the history and successes of Nebraska’s athletics programs.

Following this year’s class, a new Hall of Fame class will be selected annually. While the inaugural class includes an inductee from every sport, future classes will seek to recognize the most distinguished student-athletes regardless of sport and future classes will be limited to fewer inductees.

Inaugural 2015 Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame Class

Steve Friesen, Men’s Golf (1996-99)

Alex Gordon, Baseball (2003-05)

Charlie Greene, Men’s Track and Field (1965-67)

Jim Hartung, Men’s Gymnastics (1979-82)

Penny Heyns, Women’s Swimming and Diving (1993-96)

Karen Jennings, Women’s Basketball (1990-93)

Steve Jung, Men’s Tennis (1986-89)

Joe Kirby, Men’s Cross Country (1987-90)

Christine Latham, Soccer (1999-2002)

Liz Mooney, Women’s Tennis (1983-86)

Eric Piatkowski, Men’s Basketball (1991-94)

Adam Pine, Men’s Swimming and Diving (1997-2000)

Shannon Pluhowsky, Bowling (2001-02; 2004-05)

Merlene Ottey, Women’s Track and Field (1980-84)

Dave Rimington, Football (1979-82)

Sarah Sasse, Women’s Golf (1999; 2000-03)

Bill Scherr, Wrestling (1981-84)

Richelle Simpson, Women’s Gymnastics (2002-05)

Lori Sippel, Softball (1985-88)

Fran ten Bensel, Women’s Cross Country (1989-92)

Amanda Trujillo, Rifle (2000-03)

Allison Weston, Volleyball (1992-95)

For more information on the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame please go to: http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=209958590#top

Husker Wrestling Heads to St. Louis for NCAA Championships

Posted on March 17, 2015

The Nebraska wrestling team concludes its season at the NCAA Championships, Thursday through Saturday, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Nine Huskers will compete at the national tournament, including top-seeded Robert Kokesh at 174 pounds. Kokesh and three-time All-American James Green (157) will each be making their final appearance in a Husker singlet. Kokesh, a two-time All-American, is 33-0 this season heading into the NCAA Championships.

The ESPN family of networks will broadcast the tournament. All six sessions will be streamed on ESPN3, while the semifinals and finals will be shown on ESPN. Sessions I, II, III and V will be televised on ESPNU.

Nebraska’s NCAA Qualifiers
125: Tim Lambert
133: Eric Montoya
141: #9 Anthony Abidin
157: #4 James Green
165: Austin Wilson
174: #1 Robert Kokesh
184: #16 TJ Dudley
197: #15 Aaron Studebaker
HWT: Collin Jensen

Huskers Claim Fourth Straight NCAA Bid

Posted on March 16, 2015

Lincoln – Nebraska’s four seniors became the first class in school history to lead the Huskers to four straight NCAA tournaments, when they were included in the field of 64 for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Monday, March 16.

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Committee announced its bracket during the NCAA Selection Show televised live by ESPN. The Huskers, who gathered with athletic staff and supporters at the Hendricks Training Complex, celebrated after hearing that they were traveling to Columbia, S.C., as a No. 9 seed for the NCAA first and second rounds.

The Huskers (21-10, 10-8 Big Ten) will begin tournament play against Syracuse (21-9, 11-5 ACC) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT). It will be the first meeting in history between the Big Red and the Orange. Nebraska’s game will be televised nationally by ESPN2, with first-round whip-around coverage. Additional coverage will be available on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app.

First-round play at South Carolina will begin with the No. 1-seeded Gamecocks taking on 16-seed Savannah State on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT).

If the Huskers advance past the first round, they will play on Sunday, March 22 in Columbia, S.C., at a time to be announced later. The Columbia sub-regional is paired with the Chapel Hill, N.C., sub-regional in the Greensboro (N.C.) Regional, set for March 27-29. The NCAA Women’s Final Four will be held in Tampa Bay, Fla., April 5-7.

Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said the Husker seniors showed their leadership, character and resiliency by getting the Big Red back in the Big Dance despite a mid-season injury to junior All-America point guard Rachel Theriot.

“I am really proud of this team for showing the ability to overcome adversity throughout the season,” Yori said. “The seniors set the tone and found a way to get it done. We had a lot of young players go through injuries early in the season, and then we were hit hard by Rachel’s season-ending injury. They are a mentally tough group of young women, and they overcame all those challenges to go 4-3 against some really good competition down the stretch. They definitely earned the right to play in the NCAA Tournament again.”

Yori, who is in her 13th season at the helm of the Huskers, will be leading her seventh Nebraska team to the NCAA Tournament, with all seven appearances coming in the past nine seasons.

Nebraska seniors Emily Cady, Brandi Jeffery, Tear’a Laudermill and Hailie Sample, led the Huskers to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament after becoming the first class in school history to record four straight 20-win seasons. Nebraska is one of just 21 NCAA Division I teams around the nation to earn four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. Twelve schools that had advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2014 had streaks snapped in 2015.

The Huskers, who are making their 13th overall NCAA Tournament appearance, will be searching for their ninth NCAA Tournament victory when they take on Syracuse, which tied for fourth with Duke in the final ACC regular-season standings.

The seniors have notched three of those victories, defeating Chattanooga in the first round in College Station, Texas, in 2013, before beating Texas A&M on the Aggies’ homecourt. The win over A&M sent the Huskers to their second NCAA Sweet 16.

Last year, Nebraska earned a No. 4 seed before defeating Fresno State in the opening round in Los Angeles. The senior class is 3-3 in its three previous NCAA appearances.

Nebraska was one of seven Big Ten Conference teams to earn bids to the Big Dance, joining No. 1 seed Maryland, No. 3 seed Iowa, No. 5 seed Ohio State, No. 7 seed Northwestern, No. 8 seed Rutgers and No. 8 seed Minnesota.

The Big Ten Conference has not lost an NCAA Tournament first-round game the past two years, going 6-0 in 2013 and 5-0 in 2014. Maryland, which was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference the past two seasons, also won both of its first-round NCAA Tournament games the past two years.

Nebraska’s senior class has established school records for total wins (96) and winning percentage (.733, 96-35) over the past four seasons. The group needs one more NCAA Tournament win to match the previous school best of four NCAA victories set by the 2013 class of Lindsey Moore and Meghin Williams. The 2013 class advanced to NCAA Sweet Sixteens in 2010 and 2013.

While the seniors will try to add an impressive legacy at Nebraska, several freshmen have stepped up to play major roles in Theriot’s absence this season.

Natalie Romeo has played the largest role of the group with 11 starts in Big Ten play, including nine in place of Theriot. Romeo averaged a team-leading 20 points in Nebraska’s two Big Ten Tournament games, March 5-6. She also connected on 11 three-pointers in the two games, tying the Nebraska career record for three-pointers in conference tournament action. Her seven threes against Illinois tied a school record.

Freshmen Chandler Smith, Jasmine Cincore and Emily Wood also have seen increased playing time down the stretch for the Huskers, while sophomores Allie Havers and Esther Ramacieri and junior Anya Kalenta continue to provide valuable contributions.

Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament
First appearance: 1988
Total appearances: 13
(1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
NCAA Tournament Record: 8-12
NCAA First-Round Record: 6-6
NCAA Sweet Sixteens: 2 (2010, 2013)
Highest Seed: No. 1 (2010)

Huskers Enjoy Warm Weather on Monday

Posted on March 16, 2015

Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska football team completed its sixth practice of the 2015 spring season Monday afternoon. With temps reaching 90 degrees, the Huskers enjoyed beautiful weather in Lincoln as they practiced outside at the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields for just over two hours in full pads.

NU defensive coordinator Mark Banker met with media members following the conclusion of practice, mentioning that the new Blackshirt defense has basically been fully installed.

“We have pretty much finished up our base package, as far as what we are going to put in except for a couple things down in the red zone, just because we have not been there,” Banker said. “On Friday, Saturday we started a little nickel, but it was really just replacing a defensive back for an outside linebacker and start evolving from that standpoint.”

According to Banker, the Huskers are looking at using an experienced duo for the nickel position in 2015, with senior Byerson Cockrell taking snaps with the first team, while sophomore Joshua Kalu has been working with the second team.

After having two split teams at practice for the first week, Nebraska practiced as one team for the second straight practice, with the coaching staff split into two groups to help provide more individual coaching.

“Today we divided the staff and had myself, two of the graduate assistants that work with the defensive line and the secondary—we were over on one field with the ‘white’ group and then Coach Stewart, Coach Bray and Coach Hughes were on the other field with the ‘red’ group.”

Banker reiterated, “We try to get as many eyes on them in practice to make some of the instant corrections on the field, but then most of it obviously, like the specifics and details will be done up in the film room.”

A player that has stood out to Banker so far this spring has been redshirt freshman cornerback Trai Mosley. Mosley, a Texas native has been impressing so far this spring with his dynamic quickness and great ‘ball hawking’ skills.

“Based on the last practice, it’s not like he was 100 percent with what he was doing, but in the back end Trai Mosley all of a sudden showed up a little bit. I do not remember seeing him much on film or at practice, I probably should have, because him and I have a similar stature,” Banker said of the 5-10 Mosely.

Nebraska returns to the practice field on Wednesday for its seventh workout of the spring. Check back at Huskers.com for updates.

Huskers Continue Homestand with Visit from Sycamores

Posted on March 16, 2015March 16, 2015

With five games of its 16-game home stand in the books, the Nebraska baseball team (12-6, 0-0 Big Ten) welcomes the Indiana State Sycamores (8-7, 0-0 Missouri Valley) for a two-game series starting on Tuesday, March 17 at 4:05 p.m. The teams will also meet on Wednesday, March 18 at 1:35 p.m.

Tuesday’s meeting will be the first-ever game between the two teams, and the Huskers will look to add to their five-game winning streak.

The Eagles are 4-7 in games away from Bob Warn Field, including an 1-3 record in true road games. The Sycamores started the year with a 11-6 win at Louisiana-Monroe, while their three road losses came in Atlanta when they were swept by Georgia Tech.

The Huskers will start a pair of freshmen right handers for the second straight week during the midweek, with Garett King set to start on Tuesday and Zack Engelken scheduled to go on Wednesday.

The Sycamores are scheduled to start a pair of left handers, staring with senior David Stagg on Tuesday. The 6-3 Stagg is 0-1 on the year with a 9.20 ERA over four starts. He has struck out 16, but walked 17, in 14.2 innings of work.

Sophomore Trent Lunsford is scheduled to start on Wednesday, and will be making his first start of the season after seeing six appearances out of the bullpen. Lunsford has a 5.14 ERA over 7.0 innings of work.

Tuesday, March 17 (4:05 p.m.)

Probable Starters: RHP King (1-0) vs. LHP Staff (1-2)

TV: None

Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Wednesday, March 18 (1:35 p.m.)

Probable Starters: RHP Engelken (1-0) vs. LHP Lunsford (0-0)

TV: None

Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: HuskersNSide

Radio: Husker Sports Network

This Week in Nebraska Athletics

Posted on March 16, 2015

Monday, March 16 Women’s Basketball NCAA Selection Show (ESPN) Hendricks Complex 6 p.m.

Tuesday, March 17 Baseball Indiana State Hawks Field 4:05 p.m.

Wednesday, March 18 Baseball Indiana State Hawks Field 1:35 p.m.

Thursday, March 19 Men’s Golf at Denver Desert Shootout Goodyear, Ariz. 9 a.m.

Thursday, March 19 Wrestling at NCAA Championships St. Louis, Mo. 11 a.m.

Thursday, March 19 Swimming & Diving at NCAA Championships Greensboro, N.C. 12:45/6 p.m.

Thursday, March 19 Sand Volleyball vs. USC Honolulu, Hawaii 3 p.m.

Friday, March 20 Men’s Golf at Denver Desert Shootout Goodyear, Ariz. 10 a.m.

Friday, March 20 Women’s Golf at Mountain View Collegiate Tucson, Ariz. 10:30 a.m.

Friday, March 20 Women’s Tennis Indiana Lincoln, Neb. 11 a.m.

Friday, March 20 Wrestling at NCAA Championships St. Louis, Mo. 11 a.m.

Friday, March 20 Swimming & Diving at NCAA Championships Greensboro, N.C. 12:45/6 p.m.

Friday, March 20 Sand Volleyball at Queen of the Beach Challenge Honolulu, Hawaii 1 p.m.

Friday, March 20 Men’s Tennis at Wisconsin Madison, Wis. 3 p.m.

Friday, March 20 Softball Michigan State Bowlin Stadium 5:30 p.m.

Friday, March 20 Baseball Michigan Bowlin Stadium 6:35 p.m.

March 20-23 Women’s Basketball NCAA First & Second Rounds 16 Campus Sites TBA

Saturday, March 21 Men’s Golf at Denver Desert Shootout Goodyear, Ariz. 10 a.m.

Saturday, March 21 Women’s Golf at Mountain View Collegiate Tucson, Ariz. 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 21 Wrestling at NCAA Championships St. Louis, Mo. 11 a.m.

Saturday, March 21 Women’s Gymnastics at Big Ten Championships Ann Arbor, Mich. 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 21 Sand Volleyball at Queen of the Beach Challenge Honolulu, Hawaii 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 21 Softball Michigan State Bowlin Stadium 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 21 Baseball Michigan Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

Sunday, March 22 Baseball Michigan Hawks Field 11:05 a.m.

Sunday, March 22 Softball Michigan State Bowlin Stadium Noon

Sunday, March 22 Men’s Tennis Minnesota Lincoln, Neb. Noon

Sunday, March 22 Sand Volleyball vs. California Honolulu, Hawaii 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 22 Sand Volleyball vs. Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii Midnight

Huskers Win 3-2, Sweep Eagles In Front of Record Crowd

Posted on March 15, 2015

Lincoln – The Nebraska baseball team (12-6, 0-0 Big Ten) polished off a three-game sweep of the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (8-12-1, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) and improved to 5-0 at home this season with a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon.

Husker fans posted a three-day attendance of 17,083 during the series, which easily broke the previous facility record of 14,885 for a non-conference series at Hawks Field. The previous mark was set in 2006, when the Huskers opened their home schedule with a three-game series against Alabama.

Sophomore Derek Burkamper improved to 2-1 on the year with 6.0 innings of work, while Josh Roeder notched his fifth save of the season. After Burkamper retired the Eagles in order in the sixth, Jeff Chesnut, Colton Howell and Roeder each tossed a perfect inning of relief, as the Huskers retired FGCU’s final 12 batters of the game.

With Ryan Boldt and Blake Headley each out of the lineup with illness, the Huskers need contributions from other players and got it. Freshman Scott Schreiber was 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a RBI. The Menasha, Wis., native scored NU’s first run of the game after leading off the fifth with a double and then drove in the eventual game winning run in the sixth with a two-out single after Ben Miller tied the game with an RBI triple.

Freshman Jake Meyers, who was making his first start in the field after making five appearances on the mound, drove in NU’s first run of the game in the fifth with a one-out single.

The Huskers had to rally on the day after the Eagles took their first lead of the series with a pair of runs in the fourth. The Huskers didn’t score until the fifth after scoring in the first inning in each of their last five games.

The Eagles notched all five of their hits in the first four innings and tallied just two base runners after the fourth frame. On the other hand, Nebraska had just one hit through the first four innings, before notching six total hits over the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

The Huskers will take Monday off before getting back to their 16-game homestand with a two-game series against the Indiana State Sycamores. Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 4:05 p.m., and Wednesday’s game is set for 1:35 p.m.

Huskers Clinch Series Against FGCU with 8-2 Win

Posted on March 14, 2015

Lincoln – With over 6,000 fans in the seats at Hawks Field for the second straight day, the Nebraska baseball team (11-6, 0-0 Big Ten) clinched a series win over the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (8-11-1, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) with an 8-2 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Huskers will go for the sweep tomorrow at 12:05 p.m.

With a series attendance of 12,285 through two games, the mark already ranks fourth among non-conference series crowds at Hawks Field. NU’s series with Alabama in 2006 ranks first with a three-day attendance of 14,885. The Huskers need 2,601 fans tomorrow to break the mark.

Senior Kyle Kubat went 7.0 innings in the win and improved to 3-0 on the year. It was Kubat’s third start this season of at least 7.0 innings this season, and the lefty was efficient in his work as he needed only 10 pitches in an inning four times during the game to retire the Eagles.

Offensively, sophomore Ben Miller led the way with a 3-for-4 performance, while Tanner Lubach was 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Ryan Boldt also notched a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3, after recording three hits in the series opener.

For the fifth straight game the Huskers scored in the first inning, taking a 3-0 lead on Lubach’s three-run home run, his second of the season. Jake Schleppenbach started the frame with an infield single and after a sacrifice bunt by Luis Alvarado, Boldt worked a four-pitch walk. Lubach then put the Huskers on the board when he launched a 2-2 offering from FGCU starter Devin Smeltzer off the left-field foul pole.

With Kubat in control on the mound, NU’s offense pushed across another run in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Boldt led off the inning with a single, but Smeltzer cleared the bases with a 6-4-3 double play. Blake Headley and Miller started a two-out rally with a pair of singles, and then Headley scored when Smeltzer uncorked a wild pitch with Scott Schreiber at the plate. It proved even more costly three pitches later when Schreiber popped out to end the inning.

The Huskers plated three more runs in the fifth on three hits, increasing NU’s lead to 7-0 for Kubat. Miller notched his third hit of the game with an RBI single and Schreiber also recorded an RBI with a sacrifice fly.

After being shutout for the first five innings, the Eagles got on the board in the top of the sixth. FGCU loaded the bases with no out on three straight singles and were poised for a big innings, but Kubat was able to limit the damage to just two runs. NU’s offense got one of the runs back in the bottom of the frame when Boldt delivered a two-out RBI single that scored Wes Edrington from second base, who led off the inning with a single.

Kubat tossed a 1-2-3 seventh inning, while Jeff Chesnut pitched a perfect eighth inning and freshman Nate Fisher finished off the game with a shutout ninth inning of relief.

A reminder that tomorrow’s finale has been rescheduled to 12:05 p.m., it was originally set to start at 1:05 p.m.

Nebraska CB Charles Jackson Out for Spring with Knee Injury

Posted on March 14, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska defensive back Charles Jackson will undergo minor arthroscopic surgery on his knee and will miss the rest of spring practice.

Coach Mike Riley also announced Saturday that cornerback Daniel Davie probably would miss a week of practice with an ankle injury.

Jackson and Davie were injured on consecutive plays during coverage drills on Wednesday. Riley said Jackson will be ready for summer conditioning.

Jackson was in line for work as a nickelback last fall but missed the entire season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Davie is a returning starter.

Huskers Complete First Full Week of Spring Drills

Posted on March 14, 2015

Nebraska completed its fifth practice of the spring on Saturday with a two-hour workout under sunny skies and spring-like temperatures in Lincoln. The Huskers worked in full pads on Saturday, and for the first time this spring the entire roster practiced simultaneously.

Nebraska had practiced in two groups for the first four workouts of the spring, but worked as one unit on Saturday, beginning the practice with special teams work. Head Coach Mike Riley said the Huskers will follow a similar practice schedule on Monday when Nebraska returns to the practice field, and evaluate the practice format for the remainder of the spring.

With the completion of Saturday’s practice, the Huskers are a third of the way through spring practice. Riley said the learning curve in the first year of a job is different than being entrenched at Oregon State for a dozen years, but he applauded the work of this team.

“After the first third of spring practice, it hits you right between the eyes what being at a place for a long time means,” Riley said. “We could roll the balls out on the first day and here it was kind of starting from scratch. But the work and attention to detail of these guys is very good, and I think we have some outstanding character leadership on this team.”

Riley also complimented the transition being made by four true freshmen defenders who joined the Husker program at semester. Avery Anderson, Eric Lee and Aaron Williams are working in the secondary, while Dedrick Young has impressed at linebacker.

“Those are mature young men,” Riley said. “The biggest compliment I can give them is that at students in college and as football players they kind of blend in.”

Riley updated the injury status of defensive backs Daniel Davie and Charles Jackson. Davie (ankle) is expected to return to practice later in spring ball, while Jackson (knee) will undergo minor surgery, but should be at full strength for summer conditioning and the season.

Nebraska returns to the practice field on Monday for the first of three practices next week. The Huskers will also work out on Wednesday and Friday before departing for Spring Break.