Brian Hammel has seen what his Northern Illinois basketball team can do in practice. Now he`s ready to see what it can do against some outside competition.
The Huskies open their 1991-92 season Tuesday night, playing host to the Lithuanian national team in an exhibition game at Evans Field House in De Kalb.
”We may not be as interested in winning the game as we are in finding out who can really play,” said Hammel, starting his first season as head coach. ”I think this will be a good barometer of where we are as a team.”
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Seniors Brian Molis and Mike Hidden and sophmores Mike Lipnisky and Mark Layton are expected to lead the Huskies.
Exhibition II: Coach Jane Albright-Dieterle`s women`s team opens its season Sunday against the Australian national team at Evans Field House. The Huskies went 25-10 last season and played in the National Women`s Invitation Tournament in Texas.
Way to shine: Amy Boomershine, playing just her eighth game in goal, recorded her fourth shutout as the women`s field hockey team closed its season Sunday with a 1-0 overtime victory over Michigan State. Christie Berta scored the lone goal for the Huskies, who finished 6-11-1, 2-7-1 in the Midwest Collegiate Field Hockey Conference.
20 wins again: The women`s volleyball team beat Western Illinois 15-7, 15-6, 15-11 Saturday to give coach Pete Waite his third 20-win season in four years. Finale: Coach Willy Roy`s soccer team closes the season Tuesday with a 2 p.m. makeup match against De Paul at Huskie Field. NIU (10-5-3) was passed over for an NCAA tournament bid Monday.
It`s academic: Junior offensive tackle Brad Capes has been nominated for the GTE College Sports Information Directors of America All-America Academic ballot. The 6-foot-4-inch, 273-pounder, an operations management major in the NIU College of Business, owns a 3.48 grade-point average on a 4.00 scale.