Sports
Home state motivates
Husker for big day
By Todd Cooper
Senior Reporter
Outside linebacker Trev Alberts
barely knew what hit him Saturday in
Nebraska’s 38-13 victory over Iowa
State.
But he did know that he hit Iowa
State quarterback
Kevin Caldwell,
as Alberts dropped
Caldwell four
times behind the
line of scrimmage.
“A lot of times
the quarterback
was scrambling
and (the defensive
line) would flush
him out,” Alberts Alberts
said. “And, basically, I just ran into
him.”
sive coordinator Charlie McBride said.
“Well, he’s from Iowa — 1 think
that’s a little motivation,” McBride
said. “But he really did play well.”
Alberts said he wanted to impress
the approximately 20 family mem
bers and friends attending the game
from Iowa.
“They told me, ‘Don’t get all tight
because we’re here. Just go out there
and have fun,”’ Alberts said. “So I got
out there and I was feeling pretty
loose. I wanted to make some big
plays because they were there.”
Alberts said he had the same mind
set last year against Iowa State. He
recorded three tackles behind the line
for 27 yards in losses in Nebraska’s
45-13 victory in 1990.
“That was about the whole year,
right there in that game,” Alberts said
of his first year. “I got half of my
tackles in that game.”
Alberts, who grew up watching
Iowa and Iowa State, said he just
naturally gels motivated against Iowa
State.
Basically, Alberts ran into Caldwell
four times for 28 yards in losses Sat
urday. Alberts had six tackles on the
day, almost matching his previous
best — seven tackles against Iowa
State last year.
Alberts gave the credit to Nebraska’s
defensive line for Saturday’s output
— especially tackles John Parrella
and Kevin Ramaekers and middle
guard Pal Engelbert.
“There were a couple of times
where they did all the work for me,”
Alberts said. “I got the credit for it.”
But, he said, Nebraska’s defensive
line is playing “about the best as a
group” against the run that Alberts, a
sophomore, has seen.
“As far as those big strong guys,”
Alberts said, “you haven’t seen a lot
of just straight-do wn-our-throats types
of deals. When they can do that, it
forces (quarterbacks) outside to us
and hopefully we can hold up our end
of the bargain.”
With a little motivation from home,
Alberts, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa,
held up his end well Saturday, defen
“Come Monday, when ii comes to
the Iowa State week, I just really get
focused,” Alberts said. “I wish I could
do this every week — be this focused
— but things just seemed to fall in
place (Saturday).”
Alberts said his knowledge of the
defense has settled as well, since being
named the Big Eight freshman-of
the-year last year.
“Last year, I was clueless,” Al
berts said. “I knew the dime (defen
sive) package and that was it. This
year, I’m getting comfortable with all
our different schemes.”
Alberts said his technique has
improved. And, ultimately, that re
sults in games like Saturday’s.
“My technique is getting a little
better every week and technique is so
important,” Alberts said. “I’ve still
got a long ways to go but I’m happy
with how things arc going.”
Student athletes hoping
to disprove stereotypes
By David Moyer
Staff Reporter
Discrimination and biases in
American society have caused many
people to feel like they arc always
climbing a steep mountain. Overcom
ing extreme adversity and the pres
sures of dispelling myths in other
peoples’ minds can seem a tireless
and never-ending battle.
In college athletics, coaches, ath
letes and counselors arc trying to dispel
many of the biases that have been
labeled on the sludcnt-athlclc in the
past and that have stayed with them
through the years.
Problems with the Oklahoma foot
ball team and the UNLV and Ken
tucky basketball programs have added
to the tarnished image of college
athletics, and recent books that tell of
alcohol, drug and sexual abuse as
well as athletes graduating illiterate
have made breaking stereotypes harder.
Bui this is an age ol NCAA re
form, and Nebraska alhlelic coun
selor Keith Zimmer said he believes
the student-athlete has evolved into
one who stresses academics first. And
he wishes people would begin to real
ize the changes.
"It is unfortunate people arc still
buying into some of the stereotypes
that existed 10 and 15 years ago,” he
said. “I think it is definitely student
first and then athlete. Coaches, coun
selors, conferences and the NCAA
have worked very diligently to over
come these things.” Cornhusker I
back George Achola also agreed with
Zimmer.
“You look at our football team
alone, you have guys like (Mike)
Sligge, Pat Engelbert and Pat Tyr
ance last year,” he said.
“These arc people who can make it
anywhere. It is very important to dis
pel the myth that we arc all here to
just play football and not to gel a
degree because a lot of us arc very
successful at doing both.”
Nebraska recently placed eight
players on the Academic All-Big Eight
football team, and Nebraska leads the
nation in GTE football academic All
Americans as well as all sports com
bined.
But the award that has been most
impressive, Zimmer said, is the NCAA
top-six award given to the best stu
dent-athletes in the nation.
In the past two years Nebraska
has won two out of the six awards
each year. He believes this year’s
nominees, Janet Kruse and Mike Petko,
also have a good chance to receive
the award.
But student-athletes arc involved
in other activities besides studying
and sports. Monday marked the be
ginning of a week of activities in
which Nebraska athletes work with
Golden Key members to promote the
importance of education to junior and
senior high school students. It is all
part of the 70th observance of Ameri
can Education Week, Nov. 17-23.
Once again student-athletes will
be put on a pedestal, but this time as
real people. Zimmer hopes the week
will be the start of a changing opinion
of the present-day student-athlete.
“Everyone is aware of the Husker
football team and how many con
secutive bowl games they’ve been to
and how many 100-yard games Derek
Brown has,’’ Zimmer said. “Very few
people know our program impacts
60,000 people on a yearly basis.”
See OUTREACH on 8
j
Shaun Sartin/DN
Nebraska’s Cris Hall spikes against Oklahoma in Saturday’s match. Barring an upset,
Nebraska will be hosting the NCAA Mideast Regional tournament for the third straight year.
Hall and teammates Stephanie Thater, Janet Kruse, Eileen Shannon and Debbie Brand have
played in each of them.
Lincoln likely site for tournament
By, John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
It’s looking like Lincoln, again.
The Nebraska volleyball learn,
ranked first in the NCAA Midcasl
Region, will likely play host to the
four-team regional tournament which
decides the region’s Final Four par
ticipant, according to coaches of top
ranked teams which may have to face
Nebraska on its home court.
Nebraska has played host for re
gional finals four limes since 1985,
and three of those limes the Corn
huskers have advanced to the Final
Four. Last year, Nebraska played host
to the regional and advanced to the
national semifinals with a win over
Penn Slate.
The 22-3 Huskers arc ranked first
in the Midcast Region followed by
Ohio State, Colorado, Penn State and
Pittsburgh.
The NCAA first round will be the
weekend of Dee. 7-8, and the Midcast
Regional will be the following week
end. The Bob Dcvancy Sports Cen
ter, home of the volleyball team this
season, is free on both weekends except
fora 2 p.m. women’s basketball game
on Dee. 8.
Nebraska leads the nation in atten
dance, averaging 3,373 fans per match.
That mark includes an NCAA record
crowd of 11,032 for a match with
UCLA earlier this year.
According to Donna Noonan, di
rector of championships for the NCAA,
regional sites are selected according
to various criteria including rank of
team, projected attendance and past
experience in playing host for region
al.
Nebraska women’s athletic direc
tor Barbara Hibner said she forwarded
a bid for both a first-round match and
the regional to the NCAA early last
week.
Ohio Slate Coach Jim Slone, whose
Buckeyes arc 23-3 and averaging 1,293
fans per match, said his school didn’t
make a bid for the regional because of
arena commitments with the Buck
eye basketball teams.
-
I think Nebraska de
serves to host. It’s a
place we’re familiar
with and I think our
kids would love to play
there again.
Saindon
Colorado volleyball coach
-ff -
Stone said he wouldn’t mind coming
to Nebraska to play the Huskers.
“I know that the fans there arc
knowledgeable and that a lot of people
have worked hard to build that pro
gram to where it is now,” Stone said.
Colorado Coach Brad Saindon has
the third-seeded team in the region
with the No. 16 Buffaloes. Saindon
said Colorado also had basketball
commitments, and didn’t bid for ei
ther the first round or the Mideast
Regional.
“I think Nebraska deserves to host,”
Saindon said. “It’s a place we’re
familiar with and I think our kids
would love to play there again.”
Penn State Coach Russ Rose, whose
undefeated Lady Lions lost to Ne
braska last year in the regional finals,
said he and his team wouldn’t mind a
return trip to Lincoln.
“I’ve always believed that the
regional should go to one of the two
top-ranked teams,” Rose said. “Last
year, I think we could’ve beaten
Nebraska if we would have played in
Wisconsin.
“This year, 1 don’t think we could
beat them at Nebraska, at Ohio Stale
or even at Penn State.”
Penn State has made four NCAA
tournament appearances in Lincoln,
more than any other team.
Rose said that in the past, Ne
braska has done a good job in playing
host.
“The fans, the community and the
team arc leaders in doing new things
with the sport,” Rose said. “I think
Lincoln’s as good a place as any.”
• Nebraska will face either Okla
homa or Iowa State in the first round
of the Big Eight Tournament at Civic
Auditorium in Omaha Nov. 29. Colo
rado and Kansas have already se
cured spots in the tourney, and will
play in the other semifinal match.
The final will be Nov. 30.
l
