thursday, february 1, 1979
page 10
daily nebraskan
Controversy arises over women's tennis program
By Jack Shockley
Nebraska's women's tennis program is being victim
ized by a lack of support from the Women's Athletic
Department, a former team member said Tuesday.
Joyce McVicker, who played for the Husker women
from 1975 until last season, called women's tennis at UNL
a "token" program that takes a back seat to other sports,
especially basketball.
McVicker said the problem is rooted in Women's Ath
ietic Director Jay Davis's ambition to emphasize basket
ball at the expense of other sports, particularly tennis,
and the athletic department's lack of interest in the tennis
team.
Davis denied the allegation.
"I think you just have to look at the program to see
that we're not centering our program around basketball,"
Davis said. "Every program has had the opportunity to
succeed."
Overall success
She cited the recent overall success of the entire
women's athletic program, which has won Big Eight
championships in three different sports, including tennis,
during the past year. That record would not have been
possible without the Women's Athletic Department's
"administrative and financial support," she said.
The women's tennis team has had four coaches in the
past four years. Skip Salzenstein recently resigned to ac
cept a higher-paying job in Illinois. Mark Ziegenbein has
been head coach since 1976.
The turnover rate is the result of the low salary, $6,000
a year, said team member Dee Pavelka.
"In reality, it's a part-time position," Pavelka said.
"The pay isn't anything. You really have to have another
job," she said.
Davis echoed Pavelka's sentiments.
Continuity difficult
"It's difficult to establish continuity in a program with
out a full-time coach," she said. "Hopefully, we'll be able
to change that and offer a full salary for the coach."
But the women's athletic budget is presently too tight
to raise the women's tennis coach's salary, she said.
McVicker, a graduate student, said that under Davis's
administration, the team has had to contend with pro
blems stemming from athletic department apathy towards
women's tennis.
A lack of publicity was one problem, she said.
"Team schedules never came out on time. The season
started in March and they didn't come out until April."
she said.
At the Big Eight Tournament last year. Nebraska's
team picture didn't appear in the program because it was
mailed too late, McVicker said.
Nebraska won the Big Eight Women's tennis cham
pionship two years ago, and was co-champion last season,
but the titles went widely unnoticed due to the absence of
publicity, she said.
In addition, Nebraska's women's tennis team quali
fied for the NCAA national meet last season, but "1 never
read a word about it in the papers," according to Mc
Vicker. That information should have been disseminated to the
local media, Davis said.
"Sports information is given top priority in our depart
ment," she said.
There presently is no information available on the
women's tennis team at the Sports Information Office.
David said this was due in part to the recent coaching
change, which delayed the completion of the team's
schedule.
Limited finance
McVicker said a further obstacle confronting the team
was the limited financial backing it received from the
Women's Athletic Department.
Because of the lack of money, no equipment was
furnished to team members other than tennis balls, she
said.
Players had to supply their own shoes, racquets and
strings and wear their own warm-ups, she said.
"Last year, the Lincoln Service Club donated our uni
forms," McVicker said.
She acknowledged, however, that the situation has im
proved slightly this season, as the Women's Athletic
Department has bought uniforms and warm-ups for the
team.
"But the racquets and strings are the most important,"
she said.
Equipment is "something we couldn't afford in the
(women's tennis) program," Davis said.
"Each year, the coach will submit a request tor what
the team needs, and if there is money in the budget, we'll
do our best to try to get it," Davis said .
However, the Women's Athletic Department has only a
$471,000 annual budget, which must finance nine sports,
Davis said .
Of that figure, about one half goes for salaries, she said.
Disorganization existing within the Women's Athletic
Department also was responsible for problems, McVicker
claimed.
She said that when the team was in Missouri for a meet
last season, it had its motel reservations cancelled
because the check had been mailed to the motel only the
day before. The motel owner had not yet received the
money by the time the Nebraska tennis team arrived, and
had given the rooms away, she said.
And last year, McVicker said, "They scheduled us in a
tournament in Minnesota the weekend before finals
week. Finals began on Monday, we wouldn't have gotten
back until Sunday afternoon, and the team refused to
go," she said.
Learning of the team's decision, Davis cancelled the
remainder of the team's season, McVicker said, a decision
that prevented the team from competing in nationals.
Davis said the cancellation "was the coach's decision,
and I supported that decision."
McVicker, a three-time state champ, was critical of on-the-air
remarks Davis made during a recent telecast of a
women's basketball game.
Basketball stressed
According to McVicker, Davis, who was serving as
color commentator, said during the broadcast that he
planned to build UNL's women's athletic program around
the basketball team.
"To me, it's funny that an athletic director would
come out and say something like that," she said.
"I don't see how she expects to have any excellence in
the other sports if she's not going to support the
programs.
"Face it, tennis is a minor sport, but you don't tell
people that," McVicker said.
Davis denied making the statements.
"1 have at no time said that UNL is putting all of its
eggs in one basket, that basket being basketball," Davis
said.
"We see basketball as one sport that in time can
become revenue-producing, and contribute to the other
sports," she said.
"And I have never had the attitude that there are
minor sports in our program." Davis said.
She said examples of the Women's Athletic
Department support toward sports other than basketball
include the opening of a new women's training room and
an improved tennis schedule for this spring. In addition,
she said that track, not basketball, has the most scholar
ships to offer.
McVicker said that "when Aileen Swafford (Davis's
predecessor) was here, we were told that if we produced,
we'd be rewarded for it.
"Well, we produced. We won two Big Eight champion
ships, and we got nothing for it."
Davis again pointed to the department's tight budget.
"It takes time," she said. "We're not going to be able
to have the things the men's teams have overnight."
Frosh-laden NU grappling team faces UNO on Friday
By Sara Martens
It may look like a freshmen meet when the UNL
wrestlers host UNO Friday.
Eight of 10 weight classes will be occupied by fresh
men when the meet begins at 7:30 in the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
"With so many young people wrestling, we are a little
unpredictable " Coach Bob Fehrs said.
This problem was evident in the Drake match where the
team wrestled poorly, but came back the next day to beat
South Dakota State, a team that looked better on paper,
he said.
Fehrs said UNO, with a 134-1 season record, is the
obvious favorite in the match.
"Both teams have weights they will win and others
that will be a toss-up. If we can stay close, those toss-up
matches will be a factor," he said.
Victory in the first two weight classes will be critical
to a Husker win, he said.
The match with UNO is one of five remaining duals for
the Huskers. Winning three of these five matches would
put UNL at .500 for the season, a pre-season
team goal. Fehrs said. The Huskers currently are 7-8.
Injuries could also hinder the Huskers chances.
Agron Vasha, 134, aggravated a minor injury in a meet
with Colorado on Jan. 11 and is doubtful for this week
end. Fehrs said. His replacement then separated a should
er so Rick Hotz, who usually wrestles 126, will fill in.
Injuries also have hit the 167 pound class. Kirby
Trump has had injury troubles this season and will be
replaced by Joe Scarpello, a freshman who has performed
at various times during the season. Fehrs said.
Big Eight difficult
With the combination of injuries, inexperience and
competition, the Big Eight race looks difficult for the
Huskers Fehrs said.
Four of the six Big Eight teams with wrestling pro
grams are rated in the top twenty. Iowa State, second.
Oklahoma State fourth, Oklahoma, seventh and
fourteenth-rated Missouri will provide tough competition
for the team, Fehrs said.
Colorado, which completes the field, beat the Huskers
in a dual earlier this season.
UNL has been last for the past three years but Fehrs
sees the possibility of a fifth place finish
"Hopefully we can catch Colorado. If we can get our
injuries under control we could sneak in and take at least
fifth," he said.
Freshmen Rich
Rich Whitehead, at
matches.
Lenker, at
126, will be
118 pounds and
wrestling in those
More incentive
Lenker, 8-6, said this added reliance helps his perfor
mance. "The added pressure can go either way. It helps to give
me a little more incentive, not just to win for myself but
to help the team," he said.
The inexperience of the freshmen wrestlers is a
problem that will turn into a major asset in a couple years.
Fehrs said the team relies on conditioning and good
attitudes rather than experience to win.
"If we win the first two matches, we'll have a good
chance in the meet. If not, we'll be in trouble. They have
an excellent heavyweight and a good 190 pounder," he
said.
UNL's George Mink has improved at the heavyweight
position, Fehrs said, and Daryl Meyer, another freshman,
went 3-0 last weekend after a slow start early in the
season.
"But I don't want to rely on it coming down to the
end. If we're going to do something, it needs to be started
in the beginning."
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Photo by Jerry McBrkte
UNL wrestler Dary l Meyer takes on an unnamed opponent during practice.
