Wrestlers young but seasoned, coach says
By Clay Short
Staff Reporter
Nebraska wrestling coach Tim
Neumann came into last season with
a young, untested team.
This year most of that young
Comhusker team returns with a full
year of experience. But one key wres
tler from last year’s team is gone.
Justin Ware, who started at 142
pounds last season as a redshirt fresh
man, is no longer at Nebraska. Ware
dropped out of school at the end of
last year.
However, Neumann is confident
he can replace Ware.
“We have 10 returning lettermen,
including an All-American from two
years ago, Mike Eierman,” Neumann
said.
Eierman had a rough season last
year and lost his starting position to
Ware after the winter break. Eierman
said last year he thought about leav
ing Nebraska.
But he’s back and will challenge
Joe Stephens for the starting spot at
142 pounds.
“Our whole starting team for this
year has started one of the past two
years,” Neumann said. “Some started
two years ago and redshirted last
season.”
This year’s Husker squad has only
one senior: Steve Baer. Baer won
three matches at last year’s nationals
and should be ranked among the top
six in the nation at 126 pounds.
The only “green spot” on the team
may be at 177 pounds, Neumann
said.
No wrestlers return at 177, but the
Huskers were blessed with the acqui
sition oftwo redshirt freshmen, Kalin
Makaiwi and Kenny Mbah.
“Kalin Makaiwi was the fourth
rated recruit in the country at 177
pounds,” Neumann said. “Kenny
Mbah was the top-rated recruit in the
nation at 190, and fortunately for us
he is able to wrestle at a lighter
we t.”
ne from the team is All-Ameri
can Frank Velazquez. Behind him is
a more than able replacement, Jason
Reitmeier, who was 16-5 as a redshirt.
“Jason Reitmeier was a top recruit
last year. He wrestled behind Frank
and earned a fourth-place finish at
the Midwest Championships,”
Neumann said.
Temoer Terry returns at 150 after
finishing second in the Big Eight as a
freshman last year. Jason Kraft, a
158-pounder, also placed second in
the Big Eight in his first college
season.
Redshirt Michael Roller comes to
the Comhuskers from Oklahoma.
“I think Michael was really over
looked. He is a seven-time national
champion in junior high and high
school,” Neumann said. “In all that
talent down there, once in a while, a
quality athlete gets overlooked. I think
that is the case with him.”
Returning after tearing his ante
rior cruciate ligament injury last year
is 167-pounder Chad Nelson, who
will receive an immediate starting
battle with Eric Josephson, the junior
college national champion at Iowa
Central in 1993.
Ryan Tobin, a sophomore from
Brandon, S.D., will start at 190
pounds, and Tolly Thompson is the
heavyweight for Coach Neumann.
Last season, Thompson set the Husker
record for wins by a freshman.
“It’s obvious that we are still
young, but we have so much experi
ence,” Neumann said.
Along with experience, Neumann
was encouraged by his team’s off
season condition.
“They are allpretty self-motivated.
They had a great summer, and that is
really important,” he said. “In this
sport, if you take the five months that
we aren’t wrestling off, you’re fin
ished.
“You have to stay in form, and by
working hard this summer these guys
have done that."
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Utah freshman scoring goals for Huskers
By Matt 01 hording
Staff Reporter
When Nebraska soccer coach John
Walker talks about freshman striker
Jamie Riley, he uses words like de
sire, passion and bravery.
Riley, who is from Centerville,
Utah, has been a “pleasant surprise,”
Walker said.
Though she is a scholarship ath
lete, Walker said he had moderate
expectations for her for the season.
Riley has progressed a lot faster than
he expected, he said.
Riley, though, always sees room
for improvement in her game.
"There’s always a potential to do
better,’’ she said. “If you give the
effort, things are going to go your
way.”
Riley said she always wanted to
play Division I soccer, but she didn’t
want to go just anywhere to play. The
academic support given to athletes,
she said, brought her to Nebraska. ,
Riley learned about the new Ne
braska soccer program from her
Olympic Development coach in Utah,
who had played soccer in Canada
with Walker. Walker watched Riley
play and then offered her a scholar
ship.
In high school, Riley led her team
to the Utah 5A state championship,
scoring 23 goals. She was named
Utah player of the year last season.
Now, Riley is a key player for the
Huskers.
The 5-foot-10 freshman is the
Huskers’ second-leading scorer with
two goals and nine assists. She has
started all 14 games for the Huskers.
Riley said what most impressed
her about the Huskers was that after
only 14 games together, the team had
developed unity.
Riley's goals for the season, she
said, are to improve with every game
and to learn from each game — both
the wins and the losses. She also
wants to make sure she never loses
her intensity and love for the game.
Walker doesn’t see that as a prob
lem.
“I have no hesitation in saying that
if every player played with the same
passion, we would be in a very good
position.”
Injuries cnpple NU
ly Jiff fti—di
Staff Reporter
The Bob Devaney Sports Center
looked more like the Health Center
last week as the Nebraska women’s
basketball team opened fall practice.
Junior guard Lts Brenden sprained
her ankle less than a half hour into the
Huskcrs’ first practice but she wasn’t
Nebraska’s first casualty of the sea
son.
Dina Haselip, a junior forward
from Oregon City, Ore., had
arthroscopic knee surgery on Sept.
10, and will be out until January.
Emily Thompson, a sophomore cen
ter from Springfield, Mo., was lost
for the season later in September after
tearing an anterior cruciate ligament
in her knee.
And Brenden was far from the last
victim of the injury plague that swept
through the Nebraska practices last
week.
Junior guard Tanya Upthegrove
missed last week with a pulled groin,
and Belinda Bynum, a junior guard
from Kansas City, Mo , strained her
left shoulder and could not shoot.
Sophomore guard Chirs Dillavou
left practice early last Wednesday
with shin splints and center Pyra
Aarden has also been feeling the pain
of shin splints but continued to prac
tice.
The Huskcrs were so strapped by
injuries last week that at one point.
Coach Angela Beck had only seven
scholarship players healthy enough
to practice.
“I have been around this game my
whole life and I have never seen any
thing like this in my life,” Beck said
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■■
women s basketball
“I have been around this game my whole life and I
have never seen anything like this in my life. *
■
ANGELA BECK
NU basketball coach
last Wednesday. “I have tried to re
main positive because I would rather
have players hurt before the season
starts than during the season. At least
there is hope that we will get some
people back.”
But this week things have begun to
look up for the Huskers.
Dillavou and Bynum have returned
to practice and, Brenden is expected
to return by Friday while Upthegrovc’s
groin condition has improved enough
tor her to run during practice.
uIt is good that we are getting
some players back, and it will defi
nitely help us have better practices,”
Beck said. “We will be a much better
tram once we get some more experi
ence back on tne floor for practice.”
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