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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1990)
Sports First female DN sports editor visits campus By Darran Fowler Senior Editor June Bicrbower, the Daily Nebras kan’s first female sports editor, was the editor at a time when women reporters were forbidden from the press box at Memorial Sta dium. Bierbowcr, who turns 70 this summer, was the DN’s sports edi tor for two years Bierbower from 1938 to 1940. She was in Lin coln and toured the DN on Friday while attending her 50-ycar class reunion. Bierbowcr said she never covered a Nebraska football game because it was “tradition not to let women in the press box.” Instead, she watched the game from the stands where she said it was “too tough to take notes outside.” She compensated by writing a column about the game later in the week, she said. Bierbower, who retired eight years ago after spending 33 years in public relations at Washington State Uni versity in Pullman, Wash., said she was never bitter about being kept from the press box. Most women today would be sorry to hear this attitude, she said. “At that time I don’t think I fought it or anything,” she said. “I wasn’t a bit unhappy. It didn’t bother me at all.” ‘ ‘ I knew most of the people (in the press box) and they were nice about it. It didn’t phase me. I got a good seat at the game and I wrote about it after wards. I just had a lot of fun.” Bierbower, who stepped into the DN job after another editor quit, did have a run-in with the sports editor at the University of Califomia-Berkeley. When the editor (she couldn’t recall his name) got wind of her position he wrote a “scathing” column about it, she said. Bierbower countered with a col umn of her own. “His was pretty bad,” she said. “Mine was snottier still.” Not long after her reprisal, she said, the two resorted to exchanging Christmas cards and he wrote a letter telling her he was “just kidding.” As a form of reconciliation, he got Bierbower a one-time position with the San Francisco Chronicle to cover the 1941 Rose Bowl between Ne braska and Stanford — from the press box. He never went to the game him self. She said she did not personally meet him until the 1960s. Bierbower graduated in the fall of 1940 and was unemployed, making it easier to find time to cover the Huskcrs’ 21-13 loss to Stanford. “I really appreciated him giving me that chance,” she said. Her first job was with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce before see sawing between the Lincoln Journal and Omaha World-Herald as a sports reporter from 1952 to 1954. She took the position at Washington State in 1957. Being a sports editor in college helped her land a job at Washington State, she said. “They thought that was really something and that’s why they hired me,’’ she said. Bierbower, a sports fan at heart, said sports reporting lost its zeal after graduation. She likes to cheer, she said, something reporters can’t do at sporting events. She said sports reporters have to work loo hard before, during and af ter. “I just decided that’s not for me,’ ’ she said. “Sports, to me, has got to be fun. It was fun as a kid, but when it came to a career I wanted to do some thing else.’’ “Besides, it’s so hard for me to keep my mouth shut. When I go to a game I get mad a lot of times. You have to live under too many con straints when you write sports.” Washington State defeated Ne braska 19-10 at Memorial Stadium in 1977. Bierbower attended and rooted for the Cougars during the game, but afterwards she had a change of heart, she said. ‘‘When I saw how devastated the crowd was as they left the game, I nearly cried myself,” she said. ‘‘They were so dejected.” Bierbower did finally sec a game from the Nebraska press box, but only as an observer. In 1982, while visiting her sister, she wanted to attend the Nebraska-Iowagamebutcouldn’tgct a ticket. However, Don Bryant, Ne braska sports information director, got her a media pass to the press box. She said her and Bryant were ‘‘friendly rivals” when she wrote for the Lincoln Journal, and he worked at the Lincoln Star. ‘‘That was so nice of Don Bryant to let me go to that game,” she said. ‘‘I couldn’t thank him enough.” UNL golfers hope for stronger season By David Moyer Staff Reporter Nebraska women’s golf coach Robin Scherer said she saw the mak ings of a belter team in her squad, which finished fifth in the Big Eight, ranked 32nd nationally. “If we played up to our potential, we were a top-20 team, but at other limes we weren’t quite there,” Sch erer said. “I’mextremely happy with the way they played overall, though. ’ ’ Two Huskcrs, Ann Guibcrson and -4 4 — I would really like to make it into the top 15 next season. . . Scherer NU women’s golf coach -f f - Joanne Brooks, earned top-100 rank ings this season. Guibcrson, a junior from Monument, Colo., finished the year ranked 79th. Brooks, a sophomore from Tau ranga, New Zealand, ended the sea son 28th, with a chance to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The only woman who could possibly beat her out for the last regional spot is ranked 34th, Brooks said - so her chances look good. Brooks said her problems came in her short game, mainly putting. She will try to work out those kinks this summer. “I would really like to make it into the top 15 next season, but that will take a lot of hard work practicing,” she said. As the women swing into the fall season, they hope to look 4 ‘as good as if not better than this year,” Scherer said. With Brooks and Guibcrson leading the returnees and one or two recruits coming in, Scherer said the Huskcrs hope to improve on their national ranking, and get a chance to “putt” themselves atop the Big Eight. AS SchcbetuDaHy Nebraskan University of Nebraska-Lincoin student Geri Bush massages the leg of marathoner Terry Streamer on Sunday. Morning run in marathon is math break By Chris Hopfensperger Senior Reporter University of Nebraska Lin coln professors Roger and Sylvia Wiegand spent Sunday morn ing running the streets of Lin coln. The husband-wife combina tion competed in this year’s 13th annual Lincoln Marathon. They are professors in UNL’s mathe matics and statistics department. Sylvia, who competed in her 11th Lincoln Marathon, finished the marathon in just over three hours and 40 minutes. Roger, who has competed in more than 200 road events since starting 18 years ago, ran the 13-mile half-marathon, finishing in 1:37.53. “I’m pretty pleased,” Sylvia said. “I’ve run in all but two of these (Lincoln Marathons), and I hope that if I were in good shape I might have been faster, but I know that I ’ m not. For the shape I’m in, this is good.” Roger said time constraints limited his training for the run. “It’s about 20 minutes slower than I used to be able to run it, but hey, wc all get older,” he said. “These days I’m lucky to get in 30 miles a week, but I’ve been training enough that I thought I could handle ^with out too much pain and I'm trying to lose some weight. “I thought if I could run this ata 7:30(per mile) pace it might inspire me to take off 115 pounds. I need something,” he said. ihe desire to control his weight is one reason he took up distance running, he said. Wolforth disappointed with teams early exit in tourney By Darran Fowler Senior Editor The Nebraska softball team never got out of the starting gate at the Big Eight tournament in Oklahoma City this weekend. It was two-and-oul as the No. 2 seed Comhuskers lost to Oklahoma State 4-2 Friday in the opening round and were eliminated by No. 1 seed Kansas 2-0 Saturday afternoon in the loser’s bracket. Kansas lost a first round game to Missouri. The early exit means the Huskcrs blew a potential at-large bid into the NCAA post-season tournament. Husker coach Ron Wolforth said the 31-19 Huskers needed to finish second 10 have any chance of getting a bid. An automatic bid is extended to the tournament champion. ‘‘I don’t think it’s even a possibil ity now,” Wolforth said. The fourth-year coach said Satur day night that he probably was more disappointed with the outcome than the players. He said they were dc joctcd immediately following the game with Kansas, but regrouped quickly after that. He said he was glad to sec the players bounce back and forget about the losses, hut added “maybe they ■didn’t take it serious enough.’’ “It would have taken him longer to get over the losses if he were a player,’’ Wolforth said. “Everybody wants to win, but it comes down to needing to win,” he said. Not that the Huskcrs weren’t close to winning. “We had Oklahoma State on the ropes and we didn’t take advantage of it, he said. Nebraska led Oklahoma Slate 2-1 in the sixth inning, but mistakes helped the Cowgirls to come back. “We didn’t take care ol the ball,” Wolforth said. “We made a couple bad pitches, some wrong decisions on defense and that’s all she wrote. We actually were seven outs from beating them but 1 guess that’s why we play 21 (outs).’’ Stephanie Skcgas pitched the loss, finishing the season with a 21-6 rec ord. Marie Bowie, 10-12, gave up a two-out, bascs-loadcd single in the top of the seventh inning against Kansas. Wolforth said Bowie was ahead on the count-no balls, two strikes but delivered a “flat” pilch dial scored Kansas’ two runs. “Wc didn’t play poorly,” he said. “Wc just didn’t play well enough to win either one of them.” Production from the third through sixth batters would have helped in both games, he said. Those bailers went hitlcss in the tournament. “When you do that you stand a chance of losing and we did,” Wolforth said. He added that this season the Huskcrs lacked the competitiveness and intensity to be more successful. “As I look back 1 did everything I could to cultivate that in them and it just wasn’t possible to bring it out or 1 just didn’t push the right buttons.”