Sports Opinion
Mttch Sherman
NU couple
perseveres in
rough times,
Damon Benning stood among
300 people at a crowded party in
the spring of 1994.
Still, he managed to spot Tanya
Franck.
“I had seen her around,”
Benning said. “But I had never said
a word to her. She always looked
so different She dressed weird, and
she didn’t really talk to anybody.
She was kind of a loner.”
Benning and Franck talked that
Friday night for three hours, sitting
on the couch as if they woe the only
two in the room.
Two days lido:, they went to a
Husker baseball game—Benning’s
first — and the rest is history.
Franck, a junior co-captain on
die sixth-ranked NU soccer team,
and Benning, a senior co-captain on
the ^eyentlbmnked football team,
have been together for 1 Yi years.
Together, they persevere.
In spite of road trips, team meet
ings and practice schedules, it has
worked well.
“It’s really hard to get quality
time together,” said Franck, who
transferred to Nebraska in 1994
from Arkansas-Little Rock after
growing up in Toronto.
When they met, Benning, a life
long Nebraskan, knew almost noth
ing about soccer. Franck knew even
less about football.
“Every time I go out to a soccer
game,” Benning said, “I tell my
buddies that I can’t believe I’m ac
tually doing this on a regular basis.
Growing up, soccer wasn’t any
thing I was real fond of.”
Football isn’t even played at
Earl Haig High School in Toronto.
When Franck arrived in Lincoln,
she couldn’t point out a quarterback
on the field, let alone an I-back.
“Now,” she said, “I know all
these plays, and I love it.”
What Benning and Franck don’t
have in common off the field, they
make up for on the field. Unfortu
nately for both, injuries have been
a mqjor part of their NU careers.
Benning has been tormented by
minor setbacks — hamstrings,
ankles, and this week, he’s missed
twapractices withasore^groin.
A few months after she met
Benning, Franck tore the anterior
cruciate ligament in her left knee,
causing her to miss the 1995 sea
son. She’s come back strong as a
junior, but without Benning, she
said, last season would have been
nearly unbearable.
“Knowing that you have a per
son behind you helps a lot,” Franck
said, “someone who can relate to
what you are going through.
“Damon may look all hard and
tough on the outside. But inside,
he’s the sweetest person in the
whole world.”
Sherman is a senior news-edi
torial major and the Daily Ne
braskan sports editor. 1
W-, .
MattMillkr/DN
ISABELLE MORNEAU.is one of five Nebraska freshmen to play a mqjny r^jhhiafoll in NTfg <U1
Freshmen spark NU attack
- -
By Vince IVAdamo
Staff Reporter
The time needed for a freshman
to develop into an impact player is
always unknown.
This season, the sixth-ranked
Nebraska soccer team has enjoyed
the luxury of having five freshmen
blossom quickly.
By receiving extensive playing
time, Lindsay Eddleman, Jenny
Benson, Isabelle Momeau, Sharolta
Nonen and Jill Nelsen have taken
the pressure off the Nebraska vet
erans.
Three of the five have impressed
Comhusker Coach John Walker
enough to earn starting positions.
“They’ve really done a great
job,” Walker said. “I never had any
doubts about them. 4 " 4.
“Anytime you get freshmen
starters, you know they’re good.
But there are somany factors along
with playing. It’s a tough thing, but
they’ve handled it well.”
Eddleman, a 5-foot-10 striker
from Lakewood, Colo., has scored
seven goals, second on the team to
- Kari Uppinghosjse. ~ ~ ~
Last summer, Eddleman, who
has two game-winning goals,
played college-level competition
alongside Uppinghouse for the
Denver Diamonds.
“I definitely feel more confi
dent,” Eddleman said. “Every game
I want to do more.”
Morneau, a 5-4 striker/
midfielder from Quebec, played on
the 1996 Canadian National Team
with fellow Husker Heather Brown.
And although Momeau does not
have a photo in-Nebraska’s 19%
media guide, she has made her
share of contributions this fall, scor
ing five goals with two assists.
“I see it as another challenge,”
MmtMejj»/DN
SHAROLTA. NONEN (left) has scored one goal and has one assist
this season.
Momeau said. “I always prepare
myself, and every time I play, I feel
more confidence.”
Benson, a 5-5 midfielder/striker
from Huntington Beach, Calif., is
an explosive player, Walker said.
Another major contributor,
Nonen, a 5-6 defender from
Vancouver, British Columbia,
comes off the bench. Her main at
tribute is her speed, Walker said.
Nelsen, a 5-7 midfielder from
Newport Beach, Calif., has ap- ~
peared in eachofNU’s nine games,
scoring one time.
“Our job is to play hard,” said
Benson, who has five gods and five
assists. “We all look up to Kari. It
enables us to go out and not put
pressure on ourselves.” .• -
the key
The Wildcats will
again risk a perfect
record against NU.
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas
State football coaches and players
agreed Tuesday that there is only one
way to defeat the Nebraska football
team: Yon have to believe.
Since coming to 'Manhattan in
1989, Coach Bill Snyder has changed
the mental focus of die team, quarter
back Brian Kavanagh said.
“I know that before Coach Snyder
got here,” Kavanagh said, “K-State
knew who was going to win before the
game..
“If it was the other team, they both
knew it. Coach Snyder came and
changed everybody’s attitude. We
think we can compare with anybody.”
KSU will play host to No. 7 Ne
braska Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
The Cats’ no-fear attitude has en
abled them to start 4-0 and gain a No.
16 ranking. But in each of the last three
seasons, Nebraska has stopped KSU’s
perfect starts. .
Last season in Lincoln, the
Comhuskers defeated the Wildcats 49
25, NU’s 27th consecutive win in the
series.
“I hope it’s better than it was a year
ago,” Snyder said. “I thought we were
prepared, but I didn’t think we handled
the emotion of the game well.”
A win over Nebraska would not
necessarily be the biggest of Snyder’s
Please see KSU on 8
Wistrom:
Thishtalk
provokes NU
By Patrick Wyman
Staff Reporter
In seasons past, the Kansas State
football team has provided Nebraska
with extra motivation by opening its
mouth in the days
prior to .its annual
matchup with the
Comhuskers.
“The last
couple of years,”
NU’s Grant
Wistrom said,
“they’ve been
pretty confident
that they had a
good shot at beat- Wfetrom
ing us, and that fu
eled our fire, especially on defense.
We’ll take anything they say about us,
and it’s going to motivate us.”
But if the Wildcats choose to stay
quiet in the days leading up to
Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. clash at KSU Sta
dium in Manhattan, Kan., that’s fine,
too, Wistrom said.
Please see WISTROM on 8
