IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Doctors replaced Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable’s left hip Thursday and said the operation was successful.
“He is doing well. The nursing supervisor I spoke to said he is not in any pain,” said Diana Lundell, a spokeswoman for University Hospitals and Clinics.
Gable, in his 21st season at Iowa, has been on crutches the past six weeks. The surgery by Dr. Lawrence Marsh took two hours and Gable could be hospitalized for five to seven days.
“He could be out sooner,” Lundell said.
Gable, who has coached Iowa to 14 NCAA championships, will miss the Hawkeyes’ dual meet tonight against visiting Minnesota.
Jim Zalesky, in his seventh season as Gable’s assistant, will coach the two-time defending national champions. The Hawkeyes also will be without Gable for Saturday’s dual at Wisconsin and possibly their Feb. 1 meet at Northwestern.
Iowa football player suspended
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa football player Zeron Flemister has been suspended indefinitely following his second drunken-driving arrest in seven months.
The suspension would prohibit Flemister, a freshman tight end, from participating in spring practice and games, Iowa athletic director Bob Bowlsby said.
Flemister was arrested last Friday in Le Mars on charges of drunken driving and driving under a suspended license.
Last July, Flemister, 20, was charged with drunken driving, eluding police and reckless driving in Sioux City. The legal drinking age in Iowa is 21.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder from Sioux City is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 28 on those charges.
Along with the suspension, Flemister is subject to athletic department protocol for substance abuse cases.
“I think he’s a young man who can benefit from an education and our environment,” Bowlsby said.
According to police records in Le Mars, Flemister was stopped at 2:38 a.m. last Friday when an officer noticed the registration sticker on the car he was driving had expired. The car was registered to Vernon Sitzmann of Le Mars, police said.
The police report said Flemister refused to take a breath test.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6 at the Plymouth County courthouse in Le Mars.
Even without Flemister, Iowa would have four tight ends on scholarship next season — junior Chris Knipper, sophomore Austin Wheatley and redshirt freshmen Kyle Trippeer and Matt Markway.
Flemister was Knipper’s backup last season, when he played in 11 of the Hawkeyes’ 12 games and caught five passes for 66 yards.
Kansas swimmer dies at pool
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Seth Dunscomb, a senior swimmer at Kansas, died while practicing the sport that brought him a state championship and a college scholarship.
Dunscomb, 21, of Sullivan, Ill., collapsed during swim practice Wednesday and died a short time later. The cause of his death was unknown. The Douglas County coroner made a brief examination Wednesday night and planned a complete autopsy late Thursday.
“We thought he was having an asthma attack when he got out of the pool,” said Kostaki Chiligiris, Dunscomb’s teammate at Kansas. “When he got out he just lay on his back. And then he died, right there at the pool.”
Kansas coaches and emergency medical personnel tried to revive Dunscomb, a 1993 graduate of Sullivan High School. But he was pronounced dead at 5 p.m. at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Chiligiris said Dunscomb had blacked out in the pool once before during swim practice this season, before Christmas break. But he had been cleared by doctors to continue swimming, Chiligiris said.
“He was in such great shape and he was so strong. He was a Division I athlete, he had to be in great shape,” Chiligiris said. “He had a month left to swim, and he would have been fine. He would never have had to exercise like that again.”
Dunscomb was majoring in mechanical engineering at Kansas.
At Sullivan, Dunscomb excelled in both track and field and swimming. But it was in swimming that he had his greatest success, winning a state title in the 200-yard individual medley in 1993 in an Illinois record time of 1 minute, 51.81 seconds.
At Kansas, Dunscomb was captain of the 1995-96 swim team. He placed fourth in the 200 individual medley and eighth in the 200 butterfly at the Big 12 conference championships that year.
Kansas cancelled its scheduled swim meet at Iowa today.
Wake Forest 65, Clemson 62
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — No. 4 Wake Forest stopped Clemson’s 12-game winning streak, beating the No. 2 Tigers 65-62 Thursday night behind 16 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks from Tim Duncan.
The Demon Deacons (14-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coming off a loss to No. 7 Maryland at home last week, withstood a second-half surge by Clemson, which closed a 12-point deficit to 63-62 with 15.1 second left.
The Tigers (16-2, 5-1) lost their chance to go ahead when Andrius Jurkunas was called for charging.
After Duncan made a free throw, Jurkunas missed a 30-footer at the buzzer.
Greg Buckner had 14 of his 19 points in the second half for Clemson.
Tony Rutland finished with 15 points for Wake, including a 3-pointer with 1:02 left that gave the Deacons a 62-57 lead. It was also Rutland who stepped in front Jurkunas to draw the foul.
Duncan’s effort had Wake Forest in control. He scored three points at the start of the half, blocked four shots and opened the outside for Wake’s shooters. Trapped deep in the corner by two defenders, Duncan lofted a pass to Joseph Ammonet, who’s 3-pointer gave Wake a 50-38 lead.
However, Buckner scored Clemson’s next nine points, part of a 15-5 run that made it 55-53.
It was back and forth after that until the final seconds.