Youth, talent side with Huskers
By Jay Saunders
StaffReporter
This fall’s Nebraska men’s and
women’s tennis teams have one thing
in common. Coaches Kerry
McDermott and Scott Jacobsen both
have teams filled with young talent.
McDermott, the men’s coach, said
most of his top six positions remain up
in the air. The coach got a good look at
his team at the recent Tom Fallon Invi
tational in South Bend, Ind.
The tournament had four different
draws, varying on talent level, and the
Comhuskers had success in three of
them.
In the “A” draw, junior Marcus
Bergheim got to the finals of the con
solation match. McDermott said
Bergheim and sophomore Dinko Verzi
will challenge for the top spot. '
‘‘Those two are in charge right
now,” McDermott said. “Dinko is play
ing real strong but he hasn’t had a big
win to boost his confidence yet.”
In the “B” draw, freshman Todd
Nicholl got to the semifinals of the
main competition and senior Fredrik
Reisbeck got to the quarterfinals.
Freshman Andrew Weise lost his first
match in the “C” draw, then won four
straight matches to win the consolation
bracket.
McDermott said his team is using
the fall season to see where it stands
and to see what it needs to do before
the spring season.
“We know we are better than we
have been in the last five years,”
McDermott said. “The guys don’t
know where they fit in because there
is a lot of closeness. That should make
for a better team.”
Jacobsen, the women ’s coach, said
his team’s skill level is “as fine as it
has ever been.”
The Huskers come into the season
with only two seniors, Annie Yang and
Kristie Bilecky. Despite little experi
ence, Jacobsen said, the team’s lead
ership is strong.
“There are a lot of leaders on this
team,” Jacobsen said.
The younger players include two
freshmen and a sophomore. Freshman
Sandra Noetzel is expected to play a
vital role this season, Jacobsen said.
Upstart Cats
aim to break
Husker run
By Eric Rineer
Staff Reporter
The Kansas State volleyball team
has started off what seems to be a
promising year with bigwinsover Iowa
and Colorado State.
KSU has compiled a 12-1 record,
their best start in school history, and
hope to take their winning to the next
level with a victory over No. 7 Ne
braska Saturday night at the NU Coli
seum.
The Wildcats, who have never
beaten Nebraska in 52 attempts, are
led by middle blocker Kate DeClerk.
This week the 6-foot-2 senior was
named the Big 12 player of the week
and the AVCA national player of the
week.
DeClerk hit an NU Coliseum record
JMtSwith 16 kilis in a three-game win
last Friday over Colorado State in the
First Bank Invite.
DeClerk and senior Toie Young—
from Omaha Burke High School —
have been the driving force behind
KSU’s hot start. But the main differ
ence between this year and last season,
in which KSU finished 21-12 and fifth
in the Big Eight, is youth, Coach Jim
Moore said.
“Our improvement this year is due
to our freshman recruiting class,’’'said
Moore, in his fourth season at Kansas
State. “We have fair freshman who are
all good players. It gives the team a la
more depth. It really helps to have 11
or 12 players that are solid.”
While KSU’s depth has helped it
get off to a solid start, its tough matches
lie ahead. The Wildcats play Colorado
in Boulder tonight before heading to
Lincoln. A win in both matches would
almost certainly earn KSU its first-ever
ranking.
Developing5
Huskers face
KU, K-State
VOLLEY from page 9
strong defense.
“Our offense is coming along pretty
well,” he said. “We’re starting to work
more as a team.
“We need to start putting more en
ergy into the team and less into indi
viduality,” Pettit said. “The team phas
to have accountability for our mis
takes.”
Leadership was a question coming
into the season, but Krondak said ev
eryone is begin to expect more.
“The whole team is demanding
more of themselves and the team,”
Krodak said.
Middle blocker Lisa Avery, a reshirt
freshman, will not play this weekend
—or for the next five weeks —after a
stress fracture in her left femur was dis
covered last week.
Aggie coach hopes
to ice NU streak
By Peter Marhoefer
StaffReporter
Texas A&M Soccer Coach G.
Guerrieri does not want to hear the
weather forecast for Lincoln this
weekend — unless it’s going to be
warm.
“Were real concerned about the
weather,” Guerrieri said. “The
.lower 70s is cold for us.”
After posting a 5-0 win over
1995 NCAA Final Four participant
Southern Methodist and 2-1 win
over ninth-ranked Florida, No. 6
Texas A&M (8-0) starts a six game
road trip with games at Iowa State
on Friday, and a Sunday showdown
with No. 10 Nebraska.
“The Huskers are real physical,”
Guerrieri said. “We hope the game
won’t turn into a bloodbath.”
The Aggies return nine players
from a team that beat Nebraska 2-0
last year in College Station, Texas.
This fall, A&M added Melanie
Wilson, the goalkeeper on the U.S.
Youth National Team.
Sunday’s game may decide the
Big 12 regular-season title,
Guerrieri said.
“Playing at Nebraska, A&M is
definitely the underdogs,” Guerrieri
said. “Most people are not going to
expect us to win this game.”
By the way, Sunday’s forecast
calls for a high temperature of 55
to 60 degrees.
Coach Dirksen
calls next meet
most difficult
By Gbegg Madsen
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska cross country team
will be jn action Saturday at the Min
nesota Inyitationalin Minneapolis.
Comhusker Coach Jay Dirksen said
the meet will feature s<Hne of the
season’s most difficult competition.
“It’s going to be a very tough meet,”
Dirksen said. “Six of the top 25 teams
in the country are going to be there.”
Juniors Cleophus Boor and Jonah
Kiptarus will lead the way for the men,
Dirksen said.
The meet will be the first competi
tion of the season for Kiptarus. Boor
won the men’s race last Saturday at the
Woody Greeno Nebraska Invitational
in Lincoln.
Missing from the 14th-ranked
Husker men’s lineup will be senior
Balazs Tolgyesi and junior Philip
Maiyo. Dirksen said Tolgyesi will
complete in the Oct. 12 Auburn Invita
tional, but Maiyo will still be
questionnable because of a knee injury.
<•“I don’t know how we can do in
there with not everybody in the lineup,”
he said. “I suspect that it will be con
ference time before we start hitting on
all cylinders.”
As difficult as the men’s division
appears, Dirksen said, the women’s
side may be even more challenging.
Senior Christina Blackmer and jun
ior Nora Shepherd will have to give a
nearly flawless effort to finish as high
as they did last week in Lincoln,
Dirksen said. Shepherd was second in
the women’s race and Blackmer fin
ished fifth.
“I was really pleased with the
women last week,” he said. “But I’m
not sure how we’re going to do against
this kind of competition.”
Stars set
to debut
in USHL
By Andrew Strnad
StaffReporter
The ice at the State Fair Park
Coliseum has not .been laid, but
the Lincoln Stars are ready to go,
preparing to make their United
States Hockey League debut Sat
urday night.
The Stars* a first-year expan
sion club, travel to Iowa to take
on the Sioux City Musketeers in
what Assistant Coach Chad
Johnson hopes will be the begin
ning of a successful season.
“We’re looking forward to
this,” Johnson said. “We’ve
worked hard during the pre
season, and it’s time to get
started.”
The Stars finished the pre
season 1-4 , but despite the los
ing record, Johnson expects Lin
coln to compete well in every
game.
“This league is very competi
tive, and we plan on being a part
of it,” Johnson said.
The Stars will dress 20 play
ers of their 26-man roster and
start the season with four road
games before making their first
home appearance on Oct. 25
against intrastate foe the Omaha
Lancers.
The Stars will begin practice
at their new home on Monday.
The finishing touches on the ice
are taking place this week.
Johnson’s brother, Steve
Johnson, is the stars head coach..
Lincoln’s captain is former
Rochester Mustang defenseman
Louis Mass.
Dew Drop Inn Tour '96
special guest: Josh Clayton-Felt
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Friday, September 27
@ 7 p.m.
VS.
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Sunday,
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@ 1 p.m.
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at Abbott Sports Complex
located 1 1/2 miles north of
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*jOQion Tickets:
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• Team Admission -$5 per person
Single Game:
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For more information call the Ticket Office at 472-3111.
9
