Sports
‘Enforcer’s’
physical play
suits coach
by jen binger
Senior Reporter
Nebraskans tend to be character
ized as hard workers who don’t al
ways receive the recognition they
deserve.
So it shouldn’t be any surprise that
of the four regular starters on this
year’s Comhuskcr men’s basketball
team, Bruce Chubick, the lone Ne
braska native of the foursome, fits the
anonymous label well.
Chubick, a 6-foot-7 forward from
Atkinson, is known as a physical player
who worries more about helping his
team pul numbers in the win column
than aiding his own personal statis
tics.
And this “team” attitude is what
the Huskers arc counting on from
Chubick throughout the season, in
cluding their final exhibition game
against Marathon Oil at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday at the Bob Dcvancy Sports
Center.
Chubick said he wanted tocontrib
ute in his own way, not only Saturday
night, but throughout the year.
“I hope that when people sec me,
they sec someone who’s aggressive
and docs the little things,” Chubick
said. “In two words: blue collar.”
This year’s Nebraska media guide
calls Chubick “a hard-nosed power
forward from the northern Nebraska
plains.Xhubick said he wants to live
up to this billing.
“Hard-nosed to me means that
you’re not afraid to get a little dirty
some of the lime—then if that’s hard
nosed,then yeah,that’sme,”Chubick
said.
Nebraska basketball coach Danny
Nee said Chubick blended in well
with the other players on the Husker
team.
“We call him our enforcer,” Nee
said. “He’s o6r rebounder and our
screcncr; he’s our most physical player
and he’s a very important part of our
program.”
- a
I hope that when
people see me, they
see someone who’s
, aggressive and does
the little things. In two
words: blue collar.
Chubick
NU forward
-99 ~
This year’s Nebraska team, which
made school history by earning a pre
season ranking at No. 25, is com
prised of many budding collegiate
superstars.
Center Derrick Chandler is thp Big
Eight’s top shot blocker, forward Eric
Piatkowski is a f nalisl for the Wooden
Award, point guard Jamar Johnson
was the team’s MVP last year and a
trio of freshman recruits have been
called Nebraska’s best freshman class
ever.
So does Chubick worry about not
receiving a lot of publicity?
“I don ’t care about the spotlight—
I don’t need it, I don’t want it,’’Chubick
said.‘Tmncvcrgoingto bcaguy who
somebody picks out as the star of the
team — and that really doesn’t bother
me.’’
He said good play, not attention,
was most-gratifying for him on the
court.
“The satisfaction I get is that I did
my job and that I helped the team,”
Chubick said. “As long as I do what’s
expected of me and as long as I’m
satisfied with what I did after a game,
then that’s what’s pleasing to me.’’
Chubick pleased many Husker fans
last year by averaging 7.1 points and
5.7 rebounds per game to accompany
his 23 blocks in the 1991-92 cam
paign.
ButChubick’sbiggestachievemcnt
last season came when the Huskcrs
Nebraska forward Bruce Chubick attempts a dunk in the
Cornhuskers’ exhibition game against the Cuban National
Team. Last season, Chubick averaged 7 points and 5 re
bounds for Nebraska.
played No. 3 Kansas in his first career
start.
Wi th one second left in a tied game
against the Jay hawks, Kansas’ Alonzo
Jamison drove for an apparent win
ning basket when Chubick came from
behind Jamison and used his team
best 32.5 inch vertical jump to block
the Shot and send the game into over
time. The Huskers went on to upset
the Jayhawks 81-79.
Chubick said those arc the only
situations that you’ll usually sec him
gaining notoriety.
“I doubt you’ll see me in the spot
light,” he said. “If you do, it will be by
chance.”
N U wrestlers bring home nine titles
Talent-rich teams
ready to collide
at Vegas tourney
By Derek Samson
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska wrestling team look
another necessary step toward its goal
Saturday at the Omaha Open.
The Cornhuskers took home nine
individual titles and won six of the
nine weight classes in the open divi
sion.
Nebraska, which won 11 individual
titles the week before at the Cowboy
Open in Laramie, Wyo., looked better
in its second meet of the season, said
Huskcr coach Tim Neumann,
“From Wyoming last week, we
improved 25 percent,"Neumann said.
“We made the improvements dial were
necessary over the week.
“We arc just about where I thought
we needed to be heading into a big,
national meet like Las Vegas.”
Neumann will take his team up
against many of the country’s best
Dec. 4-5 in Las Vegas.
At the Omaha Open, held at the
UNO ficldhouse, Husker senior Rick
Coltvct earned his First tournament
win in his career at Nebraska.
Coltvct captured the 150-pound
title with a win over Brent Loken of
Augustana.
Another win thatplcascd Neumann
was senior John Buxton, who won at
126 pounds. Buxton beat Kerry
Bauman of the University of Mary to
cam the title.
“It was nice to see Buxton come
back to form and at a good lime,”
Neumann said.
Other winners included 158-pound
senior Malt Lindtand who pinned
Keith Massey in 45 seconds, Tommy
Robbins at 167 pounds, Corey Olson
at 177 pounds and heavyweight Rulon
Gardner.
Olson, the two-time All-Ameri
can, pinned all four opponents and
received the award for the most falls
in the least time, with four pins in
8:27.
“1 was really pleased,” Neumann
said. “Our starters went 44-4, so it was
a good day.”
The Huskers also fared well in the
freshman/sophomorc division of the
tournament. Jason Reitmeier won the
134-pound weight class, Justin Ware
took the 142-pound crown and Tolly
Thompson won at heavyweight.
“That whole freshman class gets
mad if they don’t win it,” Neumann
said.
He said he was happy about where
his team stood after Saturday’s com
petition.
‘‘The guys took the positive steps
forward to be where we want them to
be,” he said.
Now, Neumann said, the Huskers
would turn their attention to perform
ing well at Las Vegas, a tradition-rich
tournament filled with good wres
tlers.
Huskers
sidestep =
ISU upset,
win title
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
It wasn’t pretty, but the Nebraska
volleyball team swept through an
other Big Eight season unscathed.
The No. 7 Cornhuskers beat Iowa
State 15-13, 18-16, 15-11 in Ames,
Iowa, Saturday to finish their confer
ence season a perfect 12-0.
The Cyclones outhit the Huskers
.159 to .149, and Iowa State held
Nebraska’s senior tandem of
Stephanie Thaler and Eileen Shannon
to .097and .111 hitting,respectively.
Huskcr outside hitter Allison
Weston had one of the best Nebraska
hitting pcrcentagcs at .231 with seven
kills in 26 attacks.
Weston said a combination of good
Cyclone play and Huskcr anxiety kept
the match close in all three games.
“(Iowa State) played tremen
dously,” Weston said. “We came out
a littLe tense and we couldn’t get
calmed down in all three games.”
Fellow Nebraska outside hitter Kim
Tonnigcs agreed.
“We didn’t play very well,”
Tonnigcs said. “They outplayed us
and they were working harder than we
were.”
The Huskcr players said the four
hour trip to Ames might have affected
their play.
seems like when we lake a bus
ride and play the same day, it’s some
times harder for us to get up to play,”
Weston said.
Tonniges said it was tough playing
away from the NU Coliseum.
“You don’t want to look Tor ex
cuses, but that probably had some
thing to do with it; it’s the not the same
as playing at home,” Tonniges said.
More than 300 fans watched the
match at Iowa State’s Physical Edu
cation Building, making it one of the
Cyclones’ largest home crowds of the
year.
Even though the Huskers were held
to a season low in hitting percentage,
they were able to win their 57th straight
Big Eight match and go through a
fourth consecutive conference season
without a loss.
One of the players that helped
Nebraska increase its streaks was
freshman outside hitter B il lie W insett.
Winsctt, who entered Saturday’s
match hilling .034 on the season,came
through against Iowa State by regis
tering nine kills in 22 attacks for a
.273 hitting percentage.
The Huskcrs ended the regular sea
son with a 20-4 overall mark, but
Tonniges said she expected Nebraska
to play better than it did against the
Cyclones in time for this weekend’s
Big Eight tournament in Omaha.
“It’s frustrating for us, because this
is the time when we want to play well
for the (Big Eight) tournament,”
Tonniges said. “We’re definitely not
going to let this happen again.”
Jyu coach hopes for surprises at NCAA Championships
oy i im rearson
Staff Reporter_
Nebraska cross country coach Jay
Dirksen said he was surprised that his
women’s team won the District V
meet last weekend.
Dirksen is hoping for the same
kind of surprise at today’s NCAA
Championships.
“I think, realistically, we should
place 15th, give or take a few places,”
Dirksen said. ‘‘You never know. I
didn’t think we would win districts,
but we did.”
Last year’s women’steam finished
12th at the NCAA Championships.
Dirkscn said this year’s team had the
potential to do the same.
“We could be just as good as last
year,” he said. “We’re not a contender
for the national title, but we’re a good
team. We’ve achieved a lot this sea
♦*
son.
Dirkscn said he hoped that runn ing
in meets against a lot of runners dur
ing the season would bcnefilthc Husk
ers at the national meet.
“This team may do well because
of their experience of running against
a lot of people,” he said. “Our athletes
may be able to handle running in the
big meets better.”
Fran ten Bcnscl will try to improve
on last year’s 17th-place finish at the
national meet.
Dirksen said ten Bcnscl had a shot
at winning the individual title.
“Fran is one of six that have a
chance to win the individual title,” he
said.
Ten Bcnscl, an All-American the
past two years, will be shooting to be
the highest Nebraska finisher ever.
Dirksen said the fact that ten Bcnscl
had run at the national meet twice
before could only help her.
“Experience is vital,” he said.
“She’s been there before, and she’s
physically good enough to win."
Dirksen also said that Theresa
Stclling had a chance to make All
American this year.
Beyond ten Bcnscl and Stclling,
Dirksen said, the rest of his team is
inexperienced in NCAA meets.
“We’re a little short on experience
in the fourth and fifth running posi
tions.”
David Iteffa was the only Husker
men’s runner toqualify for the NCAA
meet.
Dirksen said lleffa had a good
chance to be an All-American this
year.
To make All-American, Iteffa must
be one of the lop 25 American finish
ers.
This will be Iteffa’s first race at
the national meet. Even though it is
his first race, Dirksen said, he expects
Iteffa to run well.
“He runs the second half of the race
really well,” Dirksen said. “He’s run
ning at his best right now, and he runs
so intelligently.
“Potentially he could be the best
we’ve had here.”
