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page 16
Wednesday, October 31, 1979
daily nebraskan
Cole's weightroom straggles pay off in performance
By Shelley Smith
Nebraska defensive end Lawrence Cole said he used to
be scared to lift weights with the rest of the team.
... "When I first came here I weighed 179 pounds and I
couldn't even bench press 135 pounds. So I'd come in
early to lift weights and then leave before the rest of the
team came in," he said.
"1 didn't want them to see me struggling at 135
(pounds)," he added with a smile.
Lately, he's had a lot t5 smile about.
.Cole, the Huskers' senior defensive captain, has racked
up 3 1 total tackles, nine of which were sacks for a total
loss of 38 yards.
And the little skinny kid in the weight room is now
6 feet, 2 inches, 206-pounds, and bench presses 325
pounds.
"I guess I've worked out a little bit since I came here,"
Cole said.
"I'm much smarter with the game. I've got my funda
mentals and my plays down. I worked pretty hard this
summer studying plays and working out to get ready for
this season," Cole said.
THE WORK MUST have paid off because Cole leads
the defense in tackles for losses, and is second to Derrie
Nelspn in linemen total tackles.
However, Cole said football 'has not always been this
bright for him.
"When I was a sophomore I weighed 190 pounds and
there were a lot of more experienced seniors ahead of me.
I knew I had to wait my turn, but it was really dis
couraging," he said.
What discouraged him most, he said, was playing so
well in high school (he was All-American in football
his senior year at Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio)
and then being shot to the bottom of the chart his first
game out of his redshirt year.
"I talked a lot with a coach named Glenn Potter who
told me to let all that high school stuff go and build a new'
foundation," Cole said. , .
And things started to pick up.
In 1978, as a junior part-time starter, Cole had 6 1 total
tackles, including 31 unassisted, and four tackles behind
the line for a loss of 13 yards. He recovered a fumble,
intercepted a pass, broke up a pass and blocked a punt
which led. to a score.
. COMING OUT OF football practice last spring, Cole
was a sure starter for the Cornhuskers this fall.
And, "although he has started each of Nebraska's seven
games, one day during practice Cole, pulled on a yellow
jersey instead of the familiar blackshirt symbolizing a first
fx. ... v ... .. . . - - ' ' J --' "
T, ye g
Daily Nebraskan Photo
A Colorado lineman hooks the leg of Nebraska defender L.C. Cole (81) in an illegal block, but it wasn't enough
to keep the defensive end from reaching the ballcarrier. Safety Russell Gary (9) also defends. . ,
team defender.
"I didn't have a good practice that day and my coach
told me that I would share the number one spot. I didn't
think I deserved it," he said. ' .
. "When we were playing those passing teams (Utah
State and Iowa) with all of those formations, I was kind
of confused," he said.
Cole said he was tense and nervous about the first
game this year, and being captain didn't make it any
easier.
"When you're a captain you always have to be on the
job and setting the example for the younger players,"
he said.
But Cole overcame his first couple of game jitters, he
said, by realizing that he wanted to leave Nebraska with a
good feeling about himself. - ;4 v , , 'J' ;
Now, he said he worries about the team becoming too'
overconfident because of the praise it's been receiving
lately. '. ' -
"There's a lot of newspapers and people praising us
and saying we're going to the Orange Bowl, but talk is
cheap, he said. "It scares me a little bit because we can't
overlook one game. Sure a national championship is in
the back of my mind but I've got to try to keep the team
based to one week at a time.", ' .
Continued on Page 17
Soccer team goal is defense Nation's top teams await
squad in L. A.
By Paul Martin The Huskers have yielded an average of
1.1 points per game to their opponents
The Cornhusker football team is not the while compiling a 3-2-2 record,
only team on campus that has displayed a
strong defensive unit this fall. Soccer club president Phil Strevey, who
, r plays forward on the team, attributes
the defensive stability to two factors.
When defending Big Eight conference
champion Colorado nipped the UNL soccer ; "We have an excellent goalie in Paul
team 1-0 last Saturday, it marked the first Hornby," Strevey said. "And we have four
time in four games that the club has been strong, aggressive fullbacks."
scored upon. Continued on Page 17
volleyball
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Photo by Jerry McBrkU
Nebraska's Jim Sanders, left, appears to boogie as he attempts to steal the ball from
Colorado's Mike Gerst in a Saturday soccer match in Memorial Stadium. Colorado,
however, got the last dance, winning 1-0.
By Ron Powell
Nebraska assistant volleyball coach
Lynn Luedke might be more excited about
the team's trip to Los Angeles for the
National Invitational this weekend than the
team members.
Luedke will be returning to where she
played collegiate volleyball at the Uni
versity of Southern California. .
"I can't wait to get back," Luedke said.
"It's going to be great to see some sunshine
and warm weather again."
Luedke was an All-American on the
1976 USC team that won the national
championship. She also has competed on
the Junior National team and on the U.S.
Olympic volleyball team.
Luedke said the National Invitational
will be the toughest meet to date for the
Huskers, and will feature the top 24 teams
in the country.
"All the teams that will play in the
national (championship) meet will have
played in this meet," Luedkesaid.
The tournament will begin with pool
play on Friday and Saturday. The top two
teams from each of the four pools will
advance to the quarterfinals.
In pool play Friday, the Huskers, 36-4,
will play the University of Pacific and
Florida Central.
Although official college volleyball
rankings have not been compiled'this year,
Luedke said volleyball experts label Paci
fic as one of the top ten teams in the
nation. Florida Central is the defending
AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Ath
letics for Women) Division II national
champions last year with a 59-0 record.
On Saturday, the Huskers will face
Utah, Big Ten champion Michigan State
and host school UCLA in pool play. The
Huskers 'defeated Michigan State earlier
this season and UCLA is one of the top
four teams in the nation, Luedke said.
"We are to the point we can play with
the top competition," Luedke said. "Last
year, we couldn't play with them. If we
play well, we can win, but it's going
to take team play."
"I've tried to engrave in their minds
since the beginning of the season that they
can play with the best teams in California,
Luedke added. .
Last weekend,, the Huskers won their
fourth consecutive Big Eight title, and
Luedke said the Huskers played their
best volleyball of the season.
"I think they played very well as a
team which Is what well need this week
end," Luedke said. "You could tell
they really wanted that fourth title."
Luedke said the team is preparing a lit
tle differently for this meet than others.
"We're working on some new defensive
moves and some new plays to try this
weekend that should help us," Luedke
said.
She said she feels the Huskers can im
prove their 17th place finish at last year's
national meet, but added she can't predict
the team's finish.
The invitational "won't tell us exactly
where well end tin nntinmiiv i ..,;n
ct us know what it will take to finish high
ly there," she said.
