Sports
Missouri coach says
NU ‘good as anybody’
By Jeff Ape!
Senior Reporter
A victory that Nebraska fans
criticized drew nothing but praise
from Missouri coach Woody
Widenhofer.
Widenhofer said Nebraska’s
63-42 victory against Oklahoma
State earlier this season in Lincoln
convinced him that the Com
huskers are the best team in the
country. He said a 21 -point victory
against the 12th-ranked Cowboys
is “incredible.”
7 think Missouri
is capable of
giving every
body in the
country a very
difficult assign
ment.'
— Osborne
“That’s devastating,” Widen
hofer said. "Right now I haven’t
seen anybody as good as Nebraska
Nebraska is as good as anybody in
the country.”
Widenhofer said Nebraska has
made great strides of improvement
since the beginning of the season.
He said he doesn’t know if the
Tigers, who are 2-4-1 overall and
1-2 in the Big Eight, can stop the
Huskers when they meet Saturday
at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
“They’re tough to stop,”
Widenhofer said. “They’re big and
strong.”
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said he is equally concerned about
Missouri. He said the Tigers are a
good team that has lost some tough
games.
Missouri opened its season by
defeating Utah State 35-21 and
then dropped a 31-7 decision to
Houston. 'Hie Tigers tied Indiana
28-28 and suffered a 55-0 setback
to Miami prior to defeating Kansas
State 52-21 and losing to Iowa
State 21 -3 and Oklahoma State 49
21.
“I think Missouri is capable of
giving everybody in the country a
very difficult assignment,”
Osborne said. “Missouri is a team
that has the same kind of players we
have. They have good personnel
and a good football team.”
Nebraska senior outside line
backers Broderick Thomas and Jon
Marco said they are confident the
Huskers’ defense can contain Mis
souri. They said the Nebraska de
fense has improved since it surren
dered 28 first-quarter points in a
41-28 loss to UCLA earlier this
season in Los Angeles.
Osborne said Nebraska’s Big
Eight statistics prove it can play
defense. The Huskers lead the
conference in total defense while
allowing opponents an average of
284.5 yards a game. The Huskers
are second to Oklahoma in rushing
and scoring defense.
“Hopefully, that will alleviate
some of the anxieties of some of
our faithful fans who don’t think
we can play a lick of defense,”
Osborne said.
Marco said the key to the im
provement has been the play of the
defensive line. He said the defen
sive line has been improving all
season long.
“As long as we continue to do
that, we’ll be all right,” Marco said.
Marco said the Nebraska de
fense needs to stop the run in order
to contain Missouri. He said the
Huskers are confident that Mis
souri won’t hurt them with its pass
ing.
See TIGERS on 9
Douj^5non/u5»yN«bra8ki<n
Nebraska outside linebacker Broderick Thomas chases Kansas quarterback Kelly Donohoe
during the Cornhuskors1 Oct. 8,63-10 win.
Ex-Husker to help NU volleyball
By Jeff Apel
Senior Reporter
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry
Pettit will receive help from an old
friend while the Comhuskers prepare
for their matches against Notre Dame
and Western Michigan this weekend.
Pettit said Cathy Noth, a former
Nebraska All-American who just re
turned from the Olympics in Seoul,
South Korea, will spend the next two
weeks in Lincoln relaxing and acting
as a consultant for the Nebraska vol
leyball team. Noth was the starting
setter on this year’s U.S. Olympic
Team.
Pettit said he welcomed Noth’s
addition.
“Anytime we have one of our for
mer players here we welcome them
with open arms,” he said. “Everyone
really looks up to her.”
Pettit said Noth’stutelagecouldbe
a key this weekend because the Husk
ers, who are now 18-3 overall and 7
1 in the Big Eight, are an untested
road team. Nebraska will face Notre
Dame Friday in South Bend, Ind.,
then will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich.,
to face Western Michigan on Satur
day. The Huskers’ match against
Notre Dame will begin at 7:30 p.m.
and the Western Michigan match will
start at 6:30 p.m.
Pettit said the Notre Dame and
Western Michigan matches will tell
him how well Nebraska can play on
the road. He said he can’t tell now
because the Huskers have played too
many of their road matches on neutrfl
courts.
Nebraska is 5-1 in matches played
on such courts this season, with its
only loss coming against San Diego
State in the championship match of
the Cal State-Fullerton Titan Invita
tional earlier this season in Fullerton,
Calif. The Huskers are 3-2 in road
matches, with wins against Kansas,
Missouri and Iowa State and losses to
Oklahoma and Illinois.
‘It’s a challenge to
play two very
good teams on
me road. They’re
both real tough.’
“It’s a challenge to play two very
good teams on the road,” Pettit said.
“They’re both real tough.”
Notre Dame volleyball ccach Art
Lambert said he doesn’t know if the
homecourt advantage will help his
squad. He said the Irish have played
too inconsistently to benefit from any
advantages this season.
“We*re kind of a Jekyll and Hyde
team,” Lambert said. “If you ask me
how my team has been playing, it
depends on the week you’re talking to
me.”
Lambert said Notre Dame is look
ing forward to facing the Huskers,
who are ranked sixth in the latest
NCAA and American Volleyball
Coaches Association polls. He said
die 11-8 Fighting Irish are anxious to
see if they improved since they
dropped a 15-3,15-1,15-9 decision to
Nebraska last season in Lincoln.
“The Nebraska program has been
around a long time and Terry has done
a good job,’' Lambert said, “but we
think it’s going to be a good match.”
NUswim teams to open season today
By Lori Griffin
Staff Reporter
After eight weeks of practice, the
Nebraska men’s and women’s swim
ming and diving teams will begin
their seasons this weekend at Uhe Big
Eight Invitational today and Saturday
at Ames, Iowa.
The meet will be at Beyer Hall on
the Iowa State campus and will begin
at 5 p.m today and 9 a.m. Saturday.
Nebraska women’s swimming
coach Ray Huppcrt said he is looking
forward to getting his team’s season
started.
“We have been practicing since
the first of September and are getting
anxious to swim,” Huppert said. “We
are ready to work and build off of
that.”
Huppert said he is hoping a major
ity of the members of his team will bfc
able to compete this weekend.
“We hope to swim a lot of people
in a lot of events,” Huppert said. “But
our main goal is to sec what our depth
is like in every event
“We need to know what athletes to
pul in what events. We arc going to
make sure we swim everybody in
every event, not just their l>est ones.
We arc doing this so we have a chance
to sec what we are capable of doing in
a meet environment.”
Huppert said Kansas should pro
vide the biggest challenge for the
Comhusker women. Kansas is the
defending Big Eight champion.
“Year in and year out, the race is
between Kansas and Nebraska,”
Huppert said. “Iowa State is im
proved this year and Missouri is
working hard and becoming better,
but Nebraska and Kansas should be
the favorites coming in.”
Huppert said the Huskers will be
looking for leadership from their
team captains. This year’s team cap
tains will be senior diver Julie May,
junior Carole Johnson and sopho
more Kristen Neucnfeldt, he said.
“We are looking lor the captains to
help show the leadership,” Huppert
said. “We have a lot of great leader
ship in our program, but we are defi
nitely looking for the leadership from
our three captains.”
Nebraska men’s swimming coach
Ca! Bent/ said he is looking for his
team to perform like it has been dur
ing practice.
“We want them to perform at the
level that they have been working for
the past eight weeks to get to,” he said.
Bent/ said he is more interested in
See OPENER onlO
Reed returns
to Lincoln
as Nets’ coach
Willis Reed will make his
first appearance in the Bob
Devaney Sports Center arena
since the 1983-84 season Friday
night when he leads the New
Jersey Nets against the Chicago
Bulls in a National Basketball
Association exhibition game.
But Reed will have to share
the spotlight with the Bulls’ all
star Michael Jordan. Tipoff for
the game is set for 7:30 p.m.
Reed is a former coach at
Creighton, which lost to Ne
braska 63-56 in Lincoln during
the 1983-84 season. Creighton,
led by Los Angeles Clippers
center Benoit Benjamin, also
lost to the Comhuskers 56-54 in
the National Invitational Tour
nament at the Omaha Civic
Auditorium.
Reed is in his first full year as
the Nets’ coach. He also spent
time as an assistant coach with
the Sacramento Kings and the
Atlanta Hawks.
But Reed’s appearance will
likely be overshadowed by Jor
dan, a 6-foot-6 guard, who was
named the leagues' most valu
able player during the 1987-88
season. He averaged 35 points a
game for the Bulls, who fin
ished with a 50-32 record.
The Bulls advanced to the
second round of the playoffs for
the first time since 1980-81, but
lost to the eventual Eastern
Conference-champion Detroit
Pistons.