Sports
Wednesday, April 15,1998 Page 9
Sam McKewon
Tennis team
helps writer
regain love
There are countless reasons that
America is in love with sports.
Some love the thrill of the champi
onships. Others like the joy of winning
or competition. Still others love sports
for its statistics.
I've always told myself that 1 loved
sports for the beauty of it. Athletics is
the quintessential practice of move
ment in space, an occupation where
men or women must use their bodies
to reach an advantage.
Little things in sports strike me as
beautiful. Watcliing six offensive line
men work in perfect harmony to open
a hole for Ahman Green on the
Nebraska football team is incredible to
me. A Tvronn Lue floating jumper on
the baseline is. too.
But sometimes, you lose sight of
what makes you love athletics.
This spring. 1 think 1 did. With all
the games I had covered, sports got a
little boring, and watching them, a
chore. 1 didn't bother to watch the
NCAA finals in basketball, the sport
that 1 loved the most, because North
Carolina bowed out two days before.
1 was in a sports funk.
On Easter Sunday, at the most
unlikely of places, 1 broke out of that
funk. I rediscovered the beauty of ath
letes, courtesy of the Nebraska men's
tennis team.
I used to love tennis as a kid.
Watching all the big professional
grand slams on television was a big
deal. But I hit about 15, and it faded
away.
Sunday, I found myself as the only
person on the Daily Nebraskan sports
staff able to go watch Nebraska take on
Texas A&M. Driving to the Woods
Tennis Center felt like driving to prison.
And then I started watching. And
since I had never been to a live tennis
match before, 1 found it interesting.
Then, I found myself having fun.
I didn’t really care about the score,
but rather the movements and the
speed of the game. It’s incredible.
Tennis is a power game to be sure, but
it is finesse, too. To be 10 feet away
from a ball going 100 miles an hour
was something I had never done.
I found myself remembering why
I watched tennis as a kid. It’s a contest
of endurance, inches, skill, guts,
angles and everything in between.
Best of all, I rediscovered the
beauty of sports and how incredible it
is to compete, especially in tennis.
Oftentimes, sportswriters get
jaded and cynical about sports. That
was happening to me a little bit.
Because of that match, I shook off the
spring sports blues.
So I’d like to thank NU tennis for
bringing back my vision of what
sports should be. Come April 23-26,
they’ll have another fan in the stands
for the Big 12 Championships,
whether I’m covering them or not.
Sam McKewon is a sophomore
news-editorial and political science
major and a Daily Nebraskan
senior reporter.
DeForge opts for WNBA Draft
By Shannon Hfffflfingfr
Senior Reporter
For the past month, Anna DeForge
has listened. She has sat patiently, con
sidering the advice of agents, coaches
and friends. Tuesday, she reacted.
DeForge, the fourth-leading scorer
in Nebraska women's basketball history,
inked a contract with the Women's
National Basketball Association,
declaring her eligible for the WNBA
Draft April 29.
“I got phone calls from agents about
a week after my season ended,” DeForge
said. “It was overwhelming, crazy, time
demanding. ... But once I got through
the decisions - which agent to go with,
which league to go with - it was fine.”
i
DeForge chose the WNBA over the
American Basketball League because
of its sound marketing strategies and
high visibility. The
league’s TV con
tract, she said, will
allow her family to
watch her play
more often.
The WNBA’s
four-month sched
ule format (the
ABL teams com
pete for eight
DeForge months) also attract
ed DeForge. A short
er schedule, DeForge said, will allow
her to complete her degree and seek a
career in sports marketing.
Angela Beck, who was DeForge’s
a
It was overwhelming, crazy; time
demanding ... But once I got through the
decisions ... it was fine”
Anna DeForge
Nebraska guard
coach at NU for three years before she
left for the ABLs San Jose Lasers, said
she has no hard feelings about
DeForge’s decision.
‘Tm real proud of her,” Beck said.
“I invested three years in her career, and
I think she made a mature decision that
was best for her. It’s neat, and I really
respect her for that.”
DeForge, who is one of 35 college
seniors to sign with the league, will trav
el to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago
for the WNBA pre-draft camp, held
April 16-18.
Players who attend the pre-draft
Please see DEFORGE on 10
i
Dan Luedert/DN
NU SENIOR CENTER Josh Heskew is the only returning starter on the Huskers’ offensive line. The relatively inexperienced group hopes to maintain
the level of success achieved by last year’s line, which paved the way for the nation’s leading ground attack.
Linemen grow into starting roles
By Sarah Dose
Staff Reporter
As Nebraska’s only returning starter on the
offensive line, Josh Heskew would prefer to be
leading by his actions on the field this spring.
But a back injury has forced the senior to
observe from the sidelines.
“It’s no fun,” Heskew said. “Especially when
they’re all out there scrimmaging and cracking
heads. It’s frustrating, especially if the team is
struggling.”
The inexperience of the linemen has shown on
the field so far this spring, said NU Offensive Line
Coach Dan Young, but he didn’t expect the
Comhusker ground game to suffer next season.
Heskew, along with four departing seniors,
paved the way for the nation’s leading ground
attack (392.6 yards per game) last year.
Senior Ben Gessford said Nebraska fans
should expect nothing but the best from the offen
sive line in the fall. Gessford moved from left
guard to right guard this spring.
“Expectations are always high,” Gessford said.
“The offensive line runs deep. That won’t change
just because the people who are on it change.”
Young said each player has shown good work
ethic.
“They’re inexperienced, but that’s what spring
ball is all about,” Young said. “Right now, we have
five completely new linemen because Heskew
isn’t practicing.”
Heskew had surgery on a bulging disc in his
back and will not return to practice until August.
Young said Heskew’s experience would help
the line improve for the fall.
“He’s been out there,” Young said. “He knows
how to anticipate the block.”
But the linemen have adapted without Heskew
at their side.
“I think we’ve played with Josh long enough to
know what he does,” said junior left guard James
Sherman.
Young said Sherman, sophomore right tackle
Jason Schwab and junior left tackle Adam Julch
are working on losing weight for better agility.
Sherman, at 6-feet-2 and 295 pounds, backed
up Outland Trophy winner Aaron Taylor at left
guard last season.
“He’s lost weight and is having a good spring,”
Young said. “Plus, he has a good attitude. He’ll be
a real player for us next season.”
Young also said he saw promise in Schwab,
Returning offensive linemen
Players listed two-deep according to the spring
depth chart (statistics from 1997)
Left tackle Ht Wt. Yr. Games
AdamJulch 6-5 315 Jr. 9
Kyle Kollmorgen 6-4 290 Fr. N/A
Left guard Ht Wt. Yr. Games
James Sherman 6-2 295 Jr. 11
Brandt Wade 6-2 300 Sr. 5
Center Ht Wt Yr. Games
Josh Heskew 6-3 290 Sr. 12
Matt Baldwin 6-1 290 Jr. 7
Right guard Ht Wt Yr. Games
Ben Gessford 6-2 290 Sr. 8
Russ Hochstein 6-3 280 So. 5
Right tackle Ht Wt Yr. Games
Jason Schwab 6-1 300 Jr. 10
Jeff Clausen 6-6 305 Jr. 5
who backed up Eric Anderson last season.
“He always goes 100 miles per hour,” Young
said. “He isn’t always right, but he has the ability
and the attitude needed to refine those skills.”
Heskew said he also noticed a positive attitude
from all the linemen.
“They all know what they need io do,” Heskew
Please see LINE on 10
