■Venus follows in the footsteps of her younger sister, Serena, with her trophy. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK - A glittery tiara in her hair and menace in her strokes, Venus Williams tight ened the family grip on women’s tennis Saturday night, captur ing the U.S. Open title her sister won a year ago. Two months after beating Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon for her first Grand Slam title, Williams confirmed her place as the best in the game, if not in the rankings, by beating Davenport again 6-4,7 5 in the hardest-hitting women’s final in U.S. Open history. Never before had two women’s finalists walloped shots so fiercely, so consistendy, from both sides as Williams and Davenport in this rain-delayed, 1-hour, 25-minute duel. They each needed to be fast to keep up with the other, and no one in the game is faster than the sinewy, long-legged Williams."I really have some wheels,” Williams said. "I'm really speedy these days. It helped me out a lot.” Williams gazed at the silver trophy, taking pleasure in see ing where her name will be inscribed next to that sister Serena. “It feels real nice," Venus said. Williams celebrated this vic tory less tamely than she did her Wimbledon triumph, skipping lightly to the net, twirling a bit, shaking hands briefly with Davenport. Williams then trotted over to the corner to kiss her mother and hug her father and coach, Richard, who came down to the court and danced jubilantly beside her, while Serena told her, “Great job, Venus." “Venus was playing great. She forced me to play better and I couldn’t do it,” Davenport said. Though clearly dominant in women’s tennis as she rides a 26-match winning streak book ended by two major titles, Williams will remain No. 3 in the ranking behind No. 1 Martin Hingis and No. 2 Davenport. The lag in the rankings is due solely to Williams absence for nearly six months because of tendinitis. “This was a very nice victory because I feel like I played Lindsay when she was playing some of her best tennis, and now I’ve beaten the No. 1 and 2 players in the rankings succes sively,” Williams said. Asked whether she thought of herself as No. 1, Williams said: “Oh, yeah. I always feel like I’m the best player.... No. 1 is definitely one of my goals. I’m trying.” Husker heat burns UCLAs Porter on the court UCLAfrom14 “Their serves kind of threw us off, mainly me,” Porter said. “They kind of served at me - picked me out.” When asked what NU server was most stifling, Porter laughed harder. “Jenny Kropp,” Porter said without hesitation. “I knew she was going to serve at me each time. I just wasn’t able to get a handle on the ball.” Porter, the 5-foot-11-inch junior, used her height and incredible leaping ability, pounded a team- high 18 kills, but eight of them came in the first game. Porter finished with a dismal .030 hitting percentage and had 16 errors, nine more than any one else. Porter, like many UCLA players, was also tired and bat tered from competing in three consecutive weekend tourna ments in Florida, Hawaii and South Bend, against six top-25 teams - which could explain the late meltdown. UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski agreed that NU's service game won the match. The Huskers tied a school record with eight service aces in a five-game match. Angie Oxley led the brigade with three. “I thought Angie Oxley’s serve really killed us,” Banachowski said. “ It seemed like she scored 100 points tonight. Every time she went back and served, Nebraska would go on a run.” No one felt the heat more than Porter, and that’s how NU Coach John Cook planned it. “(Porter) was one of our serving targets,” Cook said. “She was struggling tonight. I’ve been there before. When your best player is struggling, the rest of Husker volleyball team aims for top ranking to u R n e y from 14 So it was. The fifth game started like the fourth with the Huskers jumping out to an 8-2 lead. Nebraska was never seri ously threatened in winning its first five-set match since 1998 in the NCAA regional finals against Wisconsin - Cook's previous team. Now the Huskers await the rankings after equally impres sive victories against No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 16 Michigan State on Friday and Saturday. Cook said only NU or Hawaii could control the top spot, though in typical coach speak, Cook said he's not wor ‘The first couple games there wasn’t anybody to block me." Laura Pilakowski _ sophomore hitter ried either way. “We honestly haven't talked about it,” he said. “I’m not sure if our players know if we’re third or second or fourth or fifth.” By today, chances are they’ll know exactly. Marat Safin becomes first Russian man to win U.S. Open THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWYORK - Marat Safin, a giant with a peach-fuzz face and a grown-up game, turned Pete Sampras into a weekend hacker. In as thorough a thrashing as anyone has ever given the all time Grand Slam champion, the 20-year-old Safin became the first Russian to win the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory Sunday as he stamped him self the player of the future in men's tennis. Boyish and emotional and blessed with talents beyond his natural power, Safin celebrated by getting down on his knees and kissing die court in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The youngest champion since Sampras won the first of his four U.S. Open titles a decade ago, Safin won his first major title and only the fifth tournament of his brief career in the most lop sided victory over a former champion in 25 years. “He reminded me of myself when I was 19 and came here and won for the first time,” said the 29-year-old Sampras. “The way he’s playing he’s the future of the game. I didn’t feel old. I felt I was standing next to a big dude.” Safin, serving at up to 136 mph and whacking a dozen aces to push his tournament total to 115, never faced so much as a single break point until the last game when Sampras finally got two after Safin opened with a double fault, only his second of the match. “I felt no pressure until last game,” Safin said. “He becomes huge, the racket was huge, everything was huge.” Safin wiped away those break points quickly, and closed the 1-hour, 38-minute match with a backhand pass that zipped by Sampras as so many others had before. Sampras, holder of 13 Grand Slam titles, had lost only twice before in a major final - against Stefan Edberg in the 1992 U.S. Open and Andre Agassi in the 1995 Australian Open. No one had lost in the final so badly since Edberg beat Jim Courier in 1991. And no former champion had gone down so hard since Jimmy Connors lost to Manuel Orantes in 1975. Asked how he returned Sampras’ serve so well, Safin replied, “You think I know?” NU soccer team scores win aqainst Purdue SOCCERfrom14 Huskers. Marie-Claude Henry accounted for the 7-2 final when she sliced in front of a Florida defender, received a Paige Phillips pass, and deposited the ball in the net Defensively, the trio of Benson, Breanna Boyd, and Christine Gluck helped limit Florida to just five shots on goal. Goalie Karina LeBlanc surren dered her first point in 379:59 minutes. Laying on the ground after being kicked in the head, LeBlanc could only watch as Florida’s Erica Schubert ended the shutout streak. Benson, who switched from midfielder to defender this year to ease the loss of All-Americans Sharolta Nonen and Isabelle Morneau, said that Nebraska is still strong defensively. “Breanna, Christine, and I came togethfer as a unit this spring. With the best goalie in the nation (in LeBlanc), what more could you ask for,” Benson asked. Coach doesn t regret call ■KT /"\ m T'J T-l T~\ 7V > >r T-l A onnH tpam hntwp Itipwujp rnulH X JA lit U xi 11 I_j IIVIII ^ “We were in man-to-man coverage, and the receiver came over in motion and crack-blocked me,” Williams said. “I tried to get outside. I wish I could have made that play. “I didn’t believe it. When the ref put his hands up, I couldn’t move.” The touchdown by Crouch had spoiled ND’s bid to upset yet another No. 1 team in South Bend. It also evened the NU-ND series at seven games apiece with one tie. The loss left many Irish play ers hanging their heads and grasping for words to describe how they felt. “You can’t imagine how much it hurts,” said Anthony Denman. “Everyone played with great effort but it slipped away. “We knew Nebraska was a play with them. We are just as good as they are." If Denman’s last statement is true, Irish players may get what they are hoping for at the end of the season - a rematch with the Huskers in a bowl game. “We have a long season ahead of us and if we win all of our games, we should have another shot at Nebraska,” Battle said. Getherall said that ND is in the process of getting its tradition back, and a spot in the national title game is what he is gunning for. “That is our goal now,” he said. “We want to play on Jan. 1 or 2 against Nebraska, or whoever the No. 1 team is.” ND starts its march towards that goal next week against Purdue in South Bend. “We have to put this behind us,” Getherall said. can change your life in an instant. Perhaps you would like to consider the possibility of creating an adoption plan for your child. Our case workers can answer your questions confidentially. If you would like to visit with us, please today. 4600 Valky Road, Sta. 314 • Lincoln, NE 68510 (402) 483-7879 • 800-390-6754 Unlimited Internet Service $8.95/mo. Call 1-800-227-2410 www.pnpt.com FOOTBALL WATCH IT AT IGUANA'S PfB ,20< WINGS BUCKETS OF BEER (5 FOR 4) PRIZES- T6KWT5+ Inflatable FOOTBALL CHAIR FROM COORS DUNG ms A»Fon/4toz«! 1426 'O’ STR. r KITCHEN 0P£N ‘TIL 10 men's basketball student season tickets? Pay only $ if you get them by September Come to the Athletic Ticket Office at 625 Stadium Drive and sign up today or call 472-3111. First-come, first-seived. After September 28th. 2000 men's basketball student season tickets will be S42. Reprieve. Is that too much to ask? It seemed like a load you could handle. Go to class. Go to job. Then, back to class. Study, class, job again. OiVey. Now, you're limp as a plucked chicken. Something’s gotta give. Not the job. Now, what? Take a course with UNLs College Independent Study program and work at your own pace,anyplace. No joke. Call us at 472 4321 for a free cata log or visit our office at the Nebraska Center for Continuing Education, Room 269,33rd and Holdrege St. Division of Continuing Studies Department of Distance Education www.dcs unl.edu/di*t»d STOP THE DROP EVEN A RUBBER CHICKEN BOUNCES BACK. Nebraska [ N I V K R SI T V OF NKHHASKA-I IM () I.N UNLs most popular courses in: Accounting AGECON Art History Broadcasting Classics Ecology Economics English Finance Geography History Human Development Management Marketing Mathematics Nursing Nutrition Philosophy Physics Political Science Psychology Sociology a The University of Nebraska is an affirmative actiorYequal opportunity institution We're Home in the Haymarket Join the University of Nebraska Press for a week of special events in celebration of its move to the Haymarket. All events are free and open to the public and will be held at the University of Nebraska Press, 233 North 8th Street. Lincoln, unless otherwise noted. Access our third-floor entrance at the recessed stairway in the center of the block between P and Qon the west side of 8th Street. Take the elevator from the first floor lobby or climb our unique external stairway. ijnl shuttles will run from the city campus for all events. Tuesday, September 12 BOOK DESIGN PRESENTATIONS University of Nebraska Press designers will discuss and display their award-winning book designs. A display of University of Nebraska Press winners and the winners from the 2000 Association of American University Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show will be presented. Discussion groups meet at 11:15 and 3:15. Wednesday, September 13 EDITORIAL WORKSHOPS 10:00 a.m. "How to Get Your Scholarly Book Published" 1:00 p.m. "Writing about Native America" 3:00 p.m. "Writing Creative Nonfiction" Thursday and Friday, September 14 and 15 BOOK SALE 9:00 a.m.-5:oo p.m. Held at the University Bookstore. Nebraska Union plaza. A large selection of University of Nebraska Press books on sale for greatly reduced prices. Thursday, September 14 OPEN HOUSE RECEPTION 4:30p.m.-6:30 p.m. Please join the University of Nebraska Press at a reception to celebrate our move to a new home in the heart of Lincoln's historic Haymarket District. Stroll through our quarters in the renovated up Lau grocery warehouse. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, exhibits, and as always, our beautiful books. Toasts at 5:30 p.m. Book publishers since 1941