Pago 8
Daily Nebraskan
Tuesday, September, 25, 1984
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fjo fF f ,-1 -
Osborne iiKmlses HuJ i
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IClrJs Alexander recovers a blocked pimt in ths f econd
qtisrter. Scctt Liviriptcn rasde the tickle. Tfee ilrnins turaed
the bill over on the nest pky.
UNL crew team sweats
lor succes
By Drud Kntm
Deify Nebrssk&n Senior Reporter
6 a.m. The "thwok" of oars
grabbing water drifts to shore a
little ahead of the ripples that
mark the passage. Four bodies
move as one, prying along in a
needle-like boat. Even as the birds
sleep, the UNL rowing team sweats
on Capitol Beach lake.
They're the folks who Clean the
Bob Devaney sports center after
everyone else has gone home, the
Gypsies rowing in the snow last
year on the corner of 13th and O
streets to raise money. Everything
they own has been begged, bor
rowed or stolen. But when it
comes to rowing, they dont kow
tow to anyone.
In 1974, they placed 5th in the
U.S. National Championships,
making them Nebraska's highest
ranked athletic team that year.
IisaRohde, Olympic silver mcd
siist in the women's quad ceullrig
e isnt in Lds Angelas tf amrsar
v23 introduced to rcwiiij cs a
Vi:U undergrade, r.te. Fetcr Xmd
L :ir,snvho rowed fm IEJL in the
c :riy 1C7Q3, w?? thi3yesrsCIyra-
coorcin
Eat ths zzcccz-i bss htm fpo
ssdic. Oprrtfc3 on a shoestring,
tl:e clubh3 HrequsRtr strugsd
to find a good coach trilling to
vQtk for zli&ozt nothing. In th-5
k,-t 14 years, the tem h :s had 1 3
coaches. Membership flced zt
cr.e point Iron a high of 75 to a
b:7 of eight. Current rnexr.bef
hir stands at a healthy 35.
The crev? had been in a slump
since 1C30, before Chipman Pur-
the former women s ro-;7i
coach at the University of West
ern Ontario came to K.Lr;.:l:;.
The 24-year-c!d Purdom hassrn
ell a two-jcar contract v.ith the
"urlxrs far better or for vorc .e.
"I'm impressed with the qur'lly
cf rc rvers at Nebraska," Purdcm
.- T 4air VA T r
7 Pr
V i A-'-. V.. Q .4f-:
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direction. My goal is to win the
Midwest Championship this
spring."
Big talk considering the team
has only pulled off that feat once,
in 1979, when both the men's and
women's lightweight varsity boats
took gold medals.
Backed into a corner, Purdom
admits there are no guarantees.
"I'm here on a two-year deal,"
he said. "Maybe these folks won't
be any better when I leave. But I
think they wilL
Purdom's strategy is what he
calls "program building," working
this year to be fast next year.
Purdom also is taking giant
strides in establishing an identity
for his crew. For the first time in
EAELY MORNING finds the
out on Capital Beacti Lake
Purdsra yells instnictiiis at
s m cnampionsnip
By Jim Hcsmussca
, Diily NebrKskan Seator Eeporter
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said Monday he knows the secret
to Harry Grimminger's strong play
in Saturday's 42-3 win against
UCLA.
"I thing Harry played so well
because he decided to rest him
self on punting plays." Osborne
joked.
Grimminger mistakenly left the
game on a fourth down situation
in the first quarter. Consequently,
Nebraska had only 10 players on
the field, and UCLA's Kevin Alex
ander.blocked Scott Livingston's
punt. UCLA recovered at the
Husker 6-yard line. The Huskers
recovered a UCLA fumble on the
next play.
Osborne, speaking at the weekly
Extra Point Club luncheon, said
Grimminger didn't offer any ex
cuses for the mistake.
"I asked Harry how that could
happen, and he said, 'I dont know,
coach, but it could happen
again.' "
Grimminger wasnt the only tar
get for Osborne's jokes. The coach
also ribbed Sports Illustrated,
which had ranked UCLA No. 1
before the Nebraska game.
"The only thing I feel certain
five years, the team is planning a
home regatta. Purdom has invited
teams from all over the Midwest
and Canada.
The regatta, scheduled for Oct
28, will be sponsored by Bud
weiser and Commonwealth Elec
tric. Lisa Rohde will be named a
commodore in the Nebraska Navy
by Lt. Gov. Don McGinlay. .
As the sun rests far in the east
ern sky casting the crew in reflecr
tion on window glass along the
lake, sleepy locals sip coffee and
peer from their kitchen blinds
yawning. Back on campus stu
dents are showering for their 7:30
classes, but for the members of
the UNL crew, it's midday.
Joel ScrtcrtD;iy Nebrsskfln
novice heavyweights worMafi
(below). At night, coach Chip
crew members.
about is that you can't believe
what Sports Illustrated tells you,"
Osborne said. "I'm sure they're
shaldng their heads a littld bit
this week."
On a more serious note, Os
borne said he was pleased with
the Huskers' effort against the
Bruins. Nebraska's philosophy i3
to play aggressive, physical foot
ball, and Osborne said his team
did just that Saturday.
"I think we were that type of
team against UCLA," the coach
said. .
The play of the Husker offen
sive line also drew words of praise.
"If you look at what our offen
sive line did and then look at
what UCLA's line did, you can tell
right there where the game was
won or lost," Osborne said.
The Husker coaches named the
starting offensive line center
Mark Traynowicz, guards Grim
minger and Greg Orton and tack
les Mark Behnlng and Tom Mor
row as the off ensive player of
the week ag.tir.st UCLA Bill Weber
got the nod as the top defender
for his nine-tackle performance.
"Bill Weber had probably his
best game in his two or three
years as a starter," Osborne said.
Osborne had good things to say
about Syracuse, Nebraska's next
i
opponent. The Orangemen own a
2-1 record, with wins against Mary
land and Temple. Rutgers de
feated Syracuse 10-0 last week
Osborne said Syracuse lost two
fumbles inside the Rutgers 1-yard
line. The Orangemen turned the
ball over seven times.
Osborne cautioned Husker fans
not to take Syracuse lightly.
"Syracuse has good athletes and
an experienced football team," he
said.
Osborne said he'd rather play
the Orangemen some other week
The fact that Syracuse lost to
Rutgers probably will fire the
Orangemen up for this week's
game, he said.
"I know their preparation will
be very good," Osborne said. "I'm
sure their crowd will be noisy and
there will be lots of enthusiasm.
It's going to be a tough ball game,
and well have to prepare well
Osborne said he's worried his
team could get complacent after
beating UCLA so badiy. Nebraska ,
doesn't have a good enough team
to take the Orangemen lightly, he
said.
"We're kind of a blue-collar foot
ball team," he said. "We're not the
type of team that can just come
out and win with sheer power.
We have to overpower teams with
hard work."
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