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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1998)
KU coach confident Jayhawks can hang with NU ByLisaVonnahme Staff writer When Kansas Coach Terry Allen comes to Lincoln this weekend, he knows his team will have the disadvan tage of playing Nebraska. Like any team, his team will have the disadvantage of playing the Cornhuskers in front of their home crowd at Memorial Stadium. However, unlike most teams, KU (2-4 overall and 04 in the Big 12 Conference) also faces the disadvantage of the Huskers coming off a 28-21 loss to Texas A&M - a loss that Allen sees as motivation for Nebraska (5-1 and 1-1). “Obviously, we would’ve liked them to be coming off a victory,” Allen said. “The loss is going to make the game that much more difficult. Nebraska is going to want this win.” Allen, who is in his second season at KU, said despite those disadvantages, the Jayhawks are confident in their abil ity to stay in Saturday’s 6 p.m. game with the Huskers. “We have reasons to have relative confidence that we can play with this I-1 vs. football team,” Allen said. “We were actually beating that A&M team in the fourth quarter.” KU’s biggest problem is its play in the fourth quarter, Allen said. The Jayhawks have led going into the final quarter of every game they’ve lost. Those fourth quarters are Allen’s biggest frustration. He said the cause of that frustration was partially due to the inexperience of the KU team. “We’re playing a lot of freshmen and redshirt freshmen,” Allen said. “The league is just too tough. We haven’t been able to maintain execution from fresh men toward the end of the game.” On the up side, Allen sees KU’s offense as a definite improvement from last season. The Jayhawks are led by junior quarterback Zac Wegner, who has completed 83 of 160 passes for 1,246 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions. Last season, KU had only 1,389 passing yards all season. “Zac is very accurate as a thrower,” Allen said. “He’s been on and off this year, but when he’s on, he’s very good.” Allen’s biggest concern for Saturday’s game will be NU’s pressure on Kansas’ offense. “Nebraska can isolate you,” Allen said. “They put an awful lot of pressure on the quarterback and can get very physical with the running backs.” He also is concerned with NU’s passing game. The Huskers recorded two of their top passing performances ever against Kansas in 1994 with 267 yards and in 1996 with 254 yards. “We’ve got to do something to slow them down,” Allen said. “It very well could be forcing them to pass.” Two other battles will be important in determining the victor of Saturday’s game, Allen said. “Basically, everybody has to have a big game for us to stay in it with Nebraska,”Allen said. Dawn Dietrich/DN NU GOLFERS JAMIE ROGERS (left), Josh Madden and Peter Smith practice their golf swings at Firethom Golf Course. Rogers, Madden and Smith are part of a growing NU trend to recruit golfers from Australia. By Shannon Heffelfinger Senior staff writer What began as a casual tip has paid off for die Nebraska men’s golf team. The Comhuskers are currently enjoying the dividends of an invest ment that began six years ago when then-newly hired Athletic Director Bill Byrne mentioned the name of an Australian golf contact to NU Men’s Golf Coach Larry Romjue. Shortly after, the Huskers bagged their first Australian recruit, Trent Morrison. Since then, Jamie Rogers, Josh Madden and Peter Smith have followed. “We were one of the first schools to do this, and it’s pairoff,” Romjue said. “You recruit one guy, and then it almost turns into a pipeline. A friend brings another friend. “When we made regionals with Trent, I had seven or eight coaches ask me about it. You go from being a mid dle-of-the-road program to compet ing at the level we are at now, and peo ple will notice.” The Australians have command ed the attention. Madden, a senior, is currently fourth on the team with a stroke aver age of 73. Smith is redshirting this season, after holding a 75-stroke aver age last spring. Rogers, a Maroochydore native, won three individual titles last spring and tied for first at the Colorado State Ram Collegiate Sept. 28-29. Rogers shot a school record-breaking 65 in the second round of that tournament. — - The second Australian to travel to Nebraska, Rogers first became inter ested in traveling to the United States Please see AUSSIES on 10 Broekzitter returns, vows to be prepared By Christopher Heine Staff writer Running cross country has taken Jeroen Broekzitter to three continents as well as several countries. But his legs have yet to bring him across a finish line at a major meet this season. Nebraska’s only returning All American has experienced hamstring cramps and an abdominal viral infec tion. He doesn’t expect anyone to feel sorry foffaim, though. ^^^^v©ti’t taken very good care of he said. # The sophomore from Utrecht, Netherlands, said his ailments are probably the result of dehydration and lack of sleep. “I need to drink more water,” he said. / Broekzitter expanded on why he feels responsible for his ailments. He said he has been “going out with girls all of the time - every night.” Broekzitter, who also runs track for the Comhu^kers, said he has averaged just six or seven hours of sleep for the past month. ?. f'~ “I live in extremes,” Broekzitter said. “I leatn from trial anderror.” NU Cross Country Coach Dirksen believes the infection arehecause of * “They both sound u (I was) going out with girls all the time - every night? Jeroen Broekzitter NU cross country runner before NU’s first major meet, the Woody Greeno Invitational at Pioneers Park. The next day Broekzitter suffered a hamstring cramp while leading early in the 8-kilometer race. ^ ^ . ^ At that point, he pulled out of the race and has yet to return in Husker uniform. Broekzitter said he has increased his training steadily in the past week. He said his infection is gone and he will be 100 percent for this Saturday’s Oregon Invitational. “I feel good,” he said. “I’m in good shape and back at my level from last year.” That should be excellent news for Nebraska’s team rankings. Broekzitter was the 1997 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. He finished 20th at the NCAA Championships last year, the highest placing of any fresh man in the country. He also won two races, including the NCAA Midwest Regional meet Dirksen said the early season loss of the All-American has hurt NU’s Yqh ' \ ;r; By Jay Saunders Staffwriter The schedule-makers were not kind to the Texas A&M volleyball team this year. A&M (12-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12 Conference) has three consecutive matches on the road against the three top teams in the Big 12. That three-game stretch starts with a trip to No. 12 Colorado (12-1 and 6-0) on Friday. The Aggies then come to Lincoln on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for a match against No. 3 Nebraska (16-0 and 6-0). Every team in the conference has to make that road trip this season, but A&M follows that up with a match against No. 13 Texas next weekend. “It is always tough to make the Colorado and Nebraska trip,” Texas A&M Coach Lori Coibelli ft Hvs JCFt Nebraska Texas Jl&M said ‘But we enjoy playing top competition.” The Aggies have fared well against most of their competition so far this season. A&M has played tteee ranked teams, including a win against No. 25 Kansas State. The Aggies’ lone conference loss came against Texas. Even though A&M has already fallen behind Nebraska, Colorado and Texas in the conference standings, the Aggies have been one of the Big 12’s top teams. Texas A&M has been to the NCAA tournament each of the past five seasons. But this year, A&M’s success has come despite having freshmen and sophomqpesctonainate their roster. Ten of A&MVI5 players are underclass men. Corbelli said those playewar^jrtaying well “It has been a sweet surprise,” Corbelli said “Whether we are young or not, {fris may be the most athletic team I have everhadhere Playing die role of die lone senior on tins Texas A&M team is Stacy Sykor^. Sykora is mi her way to becoming one of die best pliers to put on an Aggie uniform. Last sea son, as a junior, Sykora was named to the AVCA All-American second team. The outside hitter averaged over four kills per game last season and is currently averaging six. In addition to her hitting ability, Sykora also leads the team with just over five d^s per game. “This is everything I want it to be for my final year,” Sykora said. The 5-foot-10 Sykora has been asked to shoul der the load 1his season for the Aggies. But k was any load at all. In March, Sykora had shoulder surgery, caus ing her to miss all of spring practice. But she has come back and said she is ready to lead this young team back to the NCAA tournament “(Shoulder surgery) wasadowherbecause you don’t know what to expect,” Sykora said. “But now that lam playing, I am having the time of my life.” Sykora said she will do anything m her power to help the Aggies win. But at the sane time, she said she knows how much of a challenge this weekend road trip will be. v /: '.