The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, August 31, 1994, Page 9, Image 9

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    Sports
Wednesday, August 31, 1994 Page 9
Shaun Sartin/DN
Nebraska freshman midfielder Stephanie Vacek heads the ball away from
Bellevue College’s Kristin Epps during the Comhuskers’ 7-1 win over the Bruins
Tuesday night.
Women’s soccer team kicks off
first-ever season with victory
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska women’s soccer team began
its inaugural season by defeating Bellevue Col
lege 7-1 in an exhibition game at Whittier Field
Tuesday night.
The Comhuskers’ frst goal came 10 minutes
into the game when freshman midfielder Tanya
Wright put a shot past Bellevue goalkeeper
Victoria Martin.
Two minutes later, freshman Danielle Boswell
scored the first of her three goals on the night to
give Nebraska a 2-0 lead.
Freshman striker Jamie Riley scored two of
the Huskers’ next three goals, scoring in the 25th
and45th minute,giving Nebraska a 5-0 halftime
lead.
In between Riley’s goals, freshman defender
Kristina Ritterbush scored Nebraska’s fourth
goal in the 32nd minute.
Walker said with a new team playing an
exhibition game, he didn’t know how things
were going to go.
“It’s important to get a trial run under your
belt,” Walker said.
The Bruins got on the board when Kelli Orr
scored on backup goalkeeper Gina Conyers
seven minutes into the second half to end the
Huskcrs’ shot at a shutout.
The only Huskcr to score in the second half
was Boswell.
Boswell scored in the 18th minute to give the
Huskcrs a 6-1 lead.
In lhc45th minute Boswell completed the hat
trick, scoring when Martin dropped the ball in
the goalie box. Boswell then knocked it home for
the final score.
Walker said it was good to sec production
from other people instead of the team relying on
Tanya Franck, a transfer from Arkansas-Little
Rock, and Kim Ratliff from Marquette.
The Huskcrs have until Sept. 6 to get ready
for the season opener against Creighton, and
Walker said there still needs to be a lot of
improvement.
“All of them did some good things, but there
arc still some things we need to work on too.”
Frazier wants championship,
says Heisman talk premature
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
After the Kickoff Classic on Sunday, Ne
braska coach Tom Osborne made sure
Tommie Frazier got a few words in.
“I’m going to move aside so Tommie can
make a speech now,” Osborne said. “He’s
good at that.”
Frazier not only was good at making a
speech on Sunday but also was good on the
football field.
Frazier was named Most Valuable Player
for his performance in Nebraska’s 31-0 win
against West Virginia in East Rutherford,
N.J.
Two other Cornhuskcr quarterbacks have
been named MVP of the Kickoff Classic. In
1983 current Nebraska quarterback coach
TumerGill won the award, and in 1988 Steve
Taylor did the same.
By rushing for three touchdowns and
throwing for 100 yards and a touchdown,
Frazier tossed his hat into the ring to become
Nebraska’s third Heisman trophy winner.
Former Huskcrs Johnny Rodgers and M ike
Rozier earned Heisman trophies in 1972 and
1983, respectively.
However, Frazier isn’t getting too excited
about the possibility of being the nation’s top
collegiate football player.
“I never dreamed of it,” said the junior
from Bradenton, Fla.
Winning the Heisman may be a possibil
ity, but Frazier knows that 11 games remain
in the season.
“I’m not worried about the Heisman,”
Frazier said. “Right now I’m worried about
winning week in and week out.”
He said he would rather return to the
Federal Express Orange Bowl and play for
the national championship than win college
football’s most prestigious award.
“I always dreamed of playing in a college
football championship,” Frazier said. “Now
my dream is to win one, and if that doesn’t
happen, that’s fine too.”
j/v» ivi niuHCCS
winner Charlie Ward and
Heisman hopeful Tommie Frazier in their
respective appearances in the Kickoff Classic.
m
"5§
Comp-Att. Yds. TD
10-28 194 0
RusItNl..,.,..
Carries Yds. TD
4 0 0
azier
Comp-Att. Yds. TD
8-16 100 1
Carries
12
Yds. TD
130 3
DN graphic
Although Frazier may be in the hunt for
the Heisman now, he did throw two intercep
tions to hurt his early season cause.
“I had a couple of turnovers, but that is
something I can iron out,” he said.
Even with the two interceptions, Frazier
was being compared to Major Harris, a former
Mountaineer quarterback, and Gill, who al
most led the Huskcrs to the national title in
1983.
Both quarterbacks played for the national
title in their collegiate careers, and both came
up short.
Frazier is hoping to outdo both Harris and
Gill.
West Virginia coach Don Nchlcn said
there were some differences between Harris
and Frazier.
“Majorwasalitllebiggcrthan Frazier, but
Frazier is a little quicker.”
But Osborne said wouldn’t compare
Frazier to any other quarterback.
“I don’t like to compare quarterbacks,”
Osborne said. “Tommie is Tommie.”
Beck to emphasize leadership,
team unity among young players
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter
Nebraska women’s basketball coach Angela
Beck will be without a star player this season.
But for a coach who has seen such players as
Karen Jennings, Mcggan Ycdscnaand Nafccsah
Brown leave her program in the past two years,
she is very optimistic.
“It seems like about 80 percent of the time,
we have a first-team All-Big Eightcr,” she said.
“Nobody sticks out this year. It’ll be exciting to
sec who steps up.”
What Beck has tried to instill in her young
team is that the team needs to step up together.
“I know we were lacking in unity last year,”
she said. “I didn’t realize it at the time. Nobody
wants to admit that. We were individually mo
tivated, and sometimes wc set too many individ
ual goals."
Nebraska finished 17-13 last season but was
not invited to the NCAA tournament.
“Wc focused so muchon winning that wc lost
sight of what it took to get to that point,” Beck
said. “Wc didn’t focus as much time on team
unity, and wc didn’t necessarily sacrifice for the
good of all.”
Beck said she studied former UCLA coach
See BECK on 11
Rivalry could end as Sooners head south into Big 12
Where in the world is Barry Switzer?
Oh yeah, please don’t remind me.
But as the Big Eight draws closer to
its expansion into the Big 12 (less than
two years), someone needs to speak up
for Oklahoma.
The Sooners will be playing with
the six bottom teams—I mean the six
southern teams—and except for three
nonconfcrcncc games alternating
schools every year, Oklahoma won’t
be seeing much of its old conference
foes.
Neither will Oklahoma Stale, but
who cares?
What matters is Oklahoma and
Nebraska may meet only every other
year beginning in 1996, which would
put an end to one of the best rivalries in
college football.
Everyone hates to sec it happen —
almost everyone, that is.
Sooner coach Gary Gibbs told the
Big Eight Skywriters more than a week
ago that he didn’t mind the idea of the
rivalry ending.
“When the Big 12 was created, we
all knew it would be changed,” he said.
“You can’t maintain the status quo
forever.”
1 don’t think we would ever hear
Barry Switzer—who performed Soon
er Magic to end Nebraska’s hopes so
many times during his reign at Okla
homa — say such a thing.
It was Switzer and his magic that
made the rivalry a great one and made
the scarce Nebraska wins over OU
during that time so much sweeter.
Gibbs came into a program on pro
bation, produced a 38-17-2 career
record and should be commended for
keeping that program’s head above
water.
Derek
Samson
But Gibbs’ record against the
should-bc rivals proves that his atti
tude about the rivalry differs from that
of Switzer’s.
The sixth-year coach is 2-12-1
against Nebraska, Texas and Colorado
— only 1-8-1 against CU and NU.
No wonder he wants to see less of
the North Division.
In his second year, it looked as if
Gibbs would fill in just fine as the next
hated Sooner coach in Nebraska.
Leading 42-10 over the Huskcrs,
Gibbs elected to kick a field goal late
in the game to give OU a 45-10 victory
instead.
“Yes,” Nebraska fans thought.
“That salt in the wound will be plenty
for us to hate Oklahoma even more.”
That’s what the rivalry was about
— hatred and respect.
But that was the extent of Gibbs
spicing things up, and the signs of a
heated rivalry are gone.
And since then. I’ve actually caught
myself cheering for Oklahoma to beat
Colorado and Texas A&M.
What have you done to us Husker
fans, Gary?
We used to hate everything about
Oklahoma, and now we don’t even
think about Oklahoma.
I even admitted last year that Okla
homa had cool uniforms, and 1 no
longer go into convulsions anymore
when the OU band plays “Boomer
Sooner.”
It’s obvious Gibbs is content with
his new six-team mini-conference and
doesn’t mind not seeing Nebraska on
his schedule the day after Thanksgiv
ing every year.
It might not be until Nebraska and
Oklahoma meet in the Big 12 champi
onship game—ifthcrcevcn is one—
that they rekindle a little of that old
hatred and respect.
If not, we might finally have to
make Colorado coach A1 Bundy —
a.k.a. Bill McCartney — happy and
accept the Buffs as our rivals.
Please come back, Barry.
Samson is a junior news-editorial major
and a Daily Nebraskan senior reporter.