SportsWeekend
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Will NU fans come? Sanderford hopes so
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By John Gaskins
Staff writer
In his 18 seasons as a Division I women’s bas
ketball coach, Paul Sanderford has coached in sev
eral hostile environments.
He’s coached in places where the fans are
crazy about women’s basketball: Louisiana Tech,
Tennessee, Texas Tech and Iowa State. Opponents
hate to enter these places because they rarely win
there.
After his first two seasons at Nebraska,
Sanderford would like to say the Bob Devaney
Sports Center has become one of those places,
which was one of his top priorities when he
arrived. NU won its first 26 home games under
Sanderford and were 27-2 going into his third sea
son.
But heading into its 7:05 p.m. game against
Texas A&M (9-6,1-4 in the Big 12 Conference)
on Saturday, in the second game of a three-game
homestand, the Huskers (8-7,2-2) are just 4-4 on
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their home floor this season.
This poses the question: have the Huskers lost
their Devaney magic?
“It’s something we really need to start taking
more pride in,” NU senior guard Nicole Kubik
said. “Saturday is as good as time as any to start
dominating our home-court game again.”
Although NU did play what Sanderford called
quality opponents, so far, the Devaney Center has
been a welcome doormat for teams.
Wisconsin started the invasion on Nov. 21 in
the second game of the season, beating NU 92-85
in overtime. Drake won 88-77 two weeks later.
After squeaking by Washington, NU hit its low
point with an embarrassing 81-57 loss to BYU on
Dec. 9.
“It hurt losing early on in the year because it
gives people hope,” Kubik said.“They think, ‘This
team won there, so can we.’
“But we can get that all back in the next few
games. We need to put that fear in people when
they come in here, that when they come to
Nebraska, they’re not going to win.”
In tiie two home games since the BYU loss, the
Huskers beat Creighton on Dec. 12 and lost to
Texas 72-68. But an 80-63 win over Missouri on
Tuesday night to start a three-game homestand left
Sanderford encouraged, in both his team and the
fens, which he’s always liked to see more of.
From the first day he arrived here in 1997,
Sanderford was relentless in his pursuit of fans.
He’s given away thousands of free tickets, posted
wacky billboards, boogied on television and put on
leisure suits to haul them in.
In 1997-98 and 1998-99, it worked. NU broke
a school record by averaging 5,000 fans per game
last season. That was up 1,548 from the 1997-98
average. A school and Big 12-record 13,135
showed up to see NU beat Iowa State on Feb. 7,
1999.
Sanderford has not seen such a crowd this sea
son . Attendance is down 35 percent from last sea
son, but Sanderford offers few excuses.
“We’re responsible for that,” Sanderford said.
“I’d like a full house, but we have to do our part. We
made some mistakes early in our style of play. We
didn’t guard people. We didn’t rebound. We turned
die ball over too much. We were impatient.” T
With improved rebounding and defense since,
Sanderford said, the Huskers are getting better
with every garpe, and he expects them to Contend
for the Big 12 title. In addition, NU has yet to see
regional rivals and Top-25 teams Kansas and Iowa
State.
“In the past, I was concerned about attendance,
but I’m a lot more worried about my basketball
team right now,” Sanderford said.
That doesn’t mean Sanderford doesn’t still
want the kind of environment that made it hell for
him to coach last Saturday at Iowa State. The
Cyclones beat NU 89-66 in front of 12,000 fans.
“I wish more students would come,”
Sanderford said. “We need an intimidating atmos
phere here. You go to Iowa State or Texas Tech or
Texas, and that’s intimidating. You’d always like to
see that.” -
_ Nikki Fox/DN
BRAD VERING practices Wednesday afternoon. Verlng Is ranked Ho. 3 In the nation at 197 pounds.
"V- . ■ 5 •
Vering aims for national title
By David Diehl
Staff writer
Tim Neumann recalls a particular
green-eyed, 8-year-old at one of his
wrestling camps years ago.
He was brought there by his older broth
er, Russ, a Nebraska wrestler at the time.
The starry-eyed little boy gazed up the NU
coach and told Neumann, “I’m gonna wres
tle for the Huskers someday.”
Thirteen years later, with a Big 12
Championship and an All-American rating
in hand, Brad Vering is heading off to the
Cliff Keen/NWCA National Dual
Championships this weekend with a reputa
tion as being one of the elite wrestlers in the
nation.
His ability doesn’t pass by his coach.
“Brad, in my mind, is the best at 197
pounds in the country,” Neumann said.
At 18-1 and ranked third in the country
at 197 pounds this season, Vering has com
piled a dominating record, 76-19, through
his two and a half years of wrestling for the
Cornhuskers.
In high school Vering’s hand was raised
victorious 148 times in Howells. He lost
only twice.
He was draped with three state gold
medals after his senior year and as many
Junior National titles. He was offered a
scholarship to wrestle for the Huskers after
his first Junior National title in 1996.
The starry-eyed 8-year-old’s “someday”
had arrived.
Preparation has been die key to Vering’s
dominance. Many may see running sprints,
doing drills and lifting weights as a burden.
However, Vering, not one for “rounding the
edges,” enjoys them.
Neumann said all the sweat-filled hours
Vering has put in have definitely paid off,
and both he and Vering know it.
“He takes care of every little thing that
has to be taken care of for him to be suc
cessful,” Neumann said. “When he steps
out on the mat, he’s not worried that the
other guy has trained harder, has had better
workouts or lifted more weights.
“He’s done everything he can do to be at
peace with himself.”
That kind of a work ethic, Vering said, is
crucial to success, but it also has its sacri
fices, especially during high school.
Training took precedence over other things
that most teens would rather be doing.
“It was lonely doing the things that I
did,” Vering said, “because I knew a lot of
my friends were out partying and having a
good time during the summer and during
school. 1 wasn’t doing that like everybody
else was.”
Vering’s approach of being prepared for
everything he does in wrestling provides
him with the confidence he needs going
into matches, he said.
“I’m going out and knowing I’m going
to do well,” he said.
. Neumann agrees.
“Fear comes from uncertainty,” he said.
^ Brad.. .is the best
at 197pounds in the
country.
Urn Neumann
UNL wrestling coach
“The uncertainty of whether you’re pre
pared to win. Brad is prepared to win.”
Vering said all successful people work
the same way he does.
“When you look around at successful
college athletes, it’s the ones that work their
butts Off that are the best now. They weren’t
the best in high school. They weren’t the
best in junior high. It’s the guys that put in
the time when they get to college who do
die best,” he said.
This season Vering was named as the
team captain, along with fellow All
American Bryan Snyder. Neumann said
Vering has taken on that role as he does
everything else, with everything he’s got.
Like everything else, Neumann said,
Vering’s been successful with it.
Neumann said Vering and Snyder have
been the best captains he has seen in years.
A lot of that has to do with Vering’s attitude.
Please see VERING on 14
Women’s gyo
hits Bermuda
for next meet
By Jason Merrihew
Staff writer
It should be business as usual for the Nebraska
women’s gymnastics team tonight. The Huskers will
compete in the Bermuda Triangle Challenge at Ariel
Sands, Bermuda.
The Comhuskers are heading to Bermuda with a
great deal of momentum. Last weekend, NU beat the
lOth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones on the road.
The score that the young Nebraska team received
last week moved them up in die national rankings, from
No. 7 to No. 3.
The Huskers will begin competition tonight with a
3-3 record.
“Every team we have met has been ranked in the
top 10 when we have met them,” NU Coach Dan
Kendig said.
The Huskers will be in unfamiliar waters tonight as
none of their opponents are ranked in the top 10. North
Carolina State, Brown and Cornell, along with NU,
will make up the four-team challenge.
“The meet this weekend doesn’t have quite the cal
iber in it,” Kendig said. “N.C. State is a good team;
they were ranked somewhere near the top 10 at some
point,” Kendig said.
Kendig feels his team can still improve from its ter
rific start.
Please see BERMUDA on 15
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