NU teams enjoying fall
of unparalleled success
FALL SPORTS from page 12
Since then, Coach John
Walker has taken the program
from nowhere to the doorstep
of the No. 1 ranking. Following
soccer powerhouse North
Carolina’s loss last week,
Nebraska moved to within 14
points of the top spot, behind
Notre Dame and Clemson.
“I think John Walker is the
best coach in the country,"
Byrne said. "Of course, the same
can be said for (football Coach)
Frank Solich and (volleyball
Coach) John Cook.”
The coaching staffs of the
three sports are a reason for
NU’s success, according to
Byrne. The only thing the team’s
combined record of 19-0 isn’t
because of is luck, he said.
“This is no Coincidence,”
Byrne said. “We have great
coaches, athletes, facilities and
support systems. It is a combi
nation of all those that makes
the programs as good as they
are.”
Despite the three squads’
success, it won’t bring NU a
Sears Directors Cup, a ranking
of all a Division I school’s sports
teams, Byrne said. NU doesn’t
have enough sports to compete
with the likes of Stanford, which
has owned the all-sports com
petition. Nebraska’s highest fin
ish in the competition is fourth.
While being crowned the
best athletic program in the
country isn’t possible, the foot
ball and volleyball teams hold
ing on to the No. 1 rankings, and
soccer moving to the top spot is,
Byrne said.
Three national champi
onships in one autumn?
It can happen, NU’s athletic
director said.
"I think it’s a realistic goal to
win all three,” he said. “I know
that it’s the opinion of all three
coaches that (a national cham
pionship) should happen.
"We fully intend to win
every time we take the field.”
So far, so good.
fNationair\ .
^-h Rankings)
fusA Today/AVCA Women's!
(Volleyball Top 25_J
2 Hawaii (11) 8-0 1,441 2
3 Penn State 11-1 1,335 3
4 Colorado St. 11-1 1,288 4
5 USC(1) 7-0 1,232 6
6 Long Beach St. 8-1 1,197 5
7 UCLA 7-3 1,118 7
8 Pepperdine 9-0 1,117 8
9 Minnesota 11-0 1,087 9
10 Arizona 8-1 942 13
11 Stanford 7-2 830 11
12 Florida 6-3 796 12
13 UC Santa 6-3 714 14
Barbara
14 Wisconsin 10-1 691 15
15 BYU 7-3 686 10
16 Pacific 7-2 598 16
17 Michigan St. 7-2 543 17
18 Utah 8-1 454 18
19 Santa Clara 9-1 449 21
20 Kansas St. 8-2 316 22
21 Michigan 8-1 247 23
22 Loyola 8-1 230 20
Marymount
23 Texas A&M 5-3 175 19
24 Notre Dame 5-3 140 25
25 Ohio State 10-0 119 NR
NSCAA Division 1 Soccer
L ' . I
1 Notre Dame 7-0-0 295 2
2 Clemson 8-0-0 285 4
3 Nebraska 8-0-0 281 3
4 No. Carolina 8-1-0 264 1
5 Stanford 5-1-0 252 6
6 UCLA 6-1-0 237 5
7 Penn State 5-2-1 224 8t
8 Duke 6-0-0 213 7
9 Hartford 5-1-0 192 10
10 Texas A&M 5-3-0 185 8t
11 Cal-Berkeley 7-0-0 182 25
12 Kentucky 7-1-0 176 12
13 Virginia 4-3-0 155 15
14 Portland 7-1-0 132 NR
15 Washington 7-1-0 123 11
16 Harvard 2-1-0 108 16
17 So. Methodist 5-2-0 89 14
18 Florida St. 5-4-0 88 21
19 Santa Clara 4-3-0 86 19
20 Wake Forest 5-2-0 49 14
21 Maryland 4-4-0 48 23
22 Boston College 6-2-0 47 NR
23 So. California 6-1-0 38 13
24 Michigan 3-3-0 34 NR
25 Arizona St. 7-0-0 22 17
25 Connecticut 3-3-1 22 20
Delan Lonowski/DN
NU focuses on special teams
■ The debacle against Notre Dame
forces Huskers to revamp the special
teams for the Iowa game.
BY DAVE BRANDON
Being the No. 1 football team in
the country means clicking on all
cylinders. Or, so they claim.
After Nebraska gave up 317 return
yards and two touchdowns to Notre
Dame in its 27-24 overtime win, the
special teams obviously were one
cylinder in dire need of repair.
So during the two weeks between
the Notre Dame special-teams deba
cle and the coming Saturday’s con
test with Iowa, Frank Solich and his
staff have taken a look under the
hood and tinkered a little.
The changes to NU’s special
teams will be subtle, Solich said.
"We’ve made changes on both
our punting game and kickoff cover
age," Solich said. "These are moves
that most people wouldn’t notice
though, as most eyes are focused on
the returnees.”
The changes being administered
by the Huskers include looking at dif
ferent personnel and making subtle
changes to the formations and
blocking schemes used by NU in the
past.
Solich noted that while the off
week gave the coaching staff ample
time to look at different bodies and
strategy, kicking is the ultimate con
cern.
“It comes down to where the ball
is placed as much as coverage,” he
said.
Senior punter and kickoff spe
cialist Dan Hadenfeldt is the man
with the brunt of those responsibili
ties. Hadenfeldt missed the opener
against San Jose State but made his
2000 debut against Notre Dame,
booting seven punts for 292 yards
(41.7 yards per kick).
Hadenfeldt said the bottom line
to improvement is execution by all 11
players.
“I think we all know what we need
to do,” Hadenfeldt said. “It’s just a
matter of doing it perfectly.”
7 think we all know what
we need to do. It’s just a
matter of doing it
perfectly. ”
Dan Hadenfeldl
NU senior puntei
Perfection may not be necessary
against the 0-3 Hawkeyes, but they
do employ good return teams, led by
junior wide receiver Kahlil Hill.
Hill has returned seven kickoffs
for 181 yards thus far (25.9 yards pel
return).
The Huskers are aware of Hill and
Iowa’s return game. However, it’s
nothing NU hasn’t faced before.
"They have some outstanding
athletes,” Hadenfeldt said. "But the
threats we see from Iowa are the
same ones we see every week from
our opponents. If we take care of om
jobs, we’ll get the job done.”
NOTEBOOK from page 12
in Coach Mack Brown’s
words, “We rushed their
quarterback all the time,
but he was still able to
throw the three touch
downs.”
It added up to a loss
that threw the two voters
putting Texas No. 1 into a
tizzy.
Texas A&M (2-1; beat
UTEP 45-17)
Looks can be deceiv
ing.
Texas A&M Coach R.C.
Slocum wasn’t particularly
pleased with his team’s
performance against
Texas-El Paso on Saturday,
specifically in the first
half. But the final score,
Slocum said, reflected
strong adjustments he
and his staff made at half
time.
“I thought UTEP could
come in here and make
some things happen,”
Slocum said. “And we did
n't respond always like we
needed to.”
Colorado (0-3; lost to
Washington 17-14) —
The little numbers 11
account for the three |||
Colorado losses so far. B
CU Coach Gary I
Barnett said penalties R
- 22 in the last two ■
games - along with I
foolish errors in special
teams have hurt the
Buffs in two three
point losses.
But while Barnett
said his team is “frus
trated” by coming so
close to winning, yet
staying on the periph
_^_UNntphnnkl
V_ J
ery of victory, he’s not
i undaunted.
! “The spirit of the kids
’ is great,” Barnett said.
“We’re not down on our
; selves, just frustrated.
Frustrated would be the
right word.”
> And winless.
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the LECTURE We make
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Myerscough watches Olympics
MYERSCOUGH from page 12
But, according to the IAAF,
the evidence against
Myerscough still stands, at least
for now, Coiligan said.
“The IAAF maintains that
UK Athletics are justifiable evi
dence against him,” Coiligan
said.
With all the mystery sur
rounding the results,
Myerscough said he didn’t
believe the sample was even his
and requested a DNA test from
an independent company to
compare with the IAAF’s results.
However, the IAAF refused,
telling Myerscough that DNA
tests weren’t recognized proce
dure, Myerscough said.
In addition the IAAF won’t
reveal the test results to
Myerscough, only letting him
know that he tested positive for
steroids and a high testosterone
level, he said.
“(DNA tests) are good
enough to send someone to
prison, but it’s not good enough
for me,” Myerscough said. “With
all the mistakes the IAAF has
made, they don’t have to answer
to anyone.”
For Myerscough to prove his
innocence, he must go through
a lengthy appeals process, but
Myerscough said he doesn’t
have the money to tackle the
IAAF.
Charles Green,
Myerscough’s ombudsman and
member of the 1997 U.S. Track
and Field Drug and
Contamination Review Board,
said the appeals process could
cost up to six figures.
Despite the controversy sur
rounding the test results,
Myerscough could have partici
pated in the British Olympic
Trials if he had filed an injunc
tion on the test’s findings.
But, if he were to compete
for his native England, Colligan
said the IAAF may come down
hard on Myerscough for not
complying with its suspension.
When the shot-putter was
first suspended, no one thought
about Myerscough and the
Olympics. The 2000 Games were
still more than a year in the
future.
But many factors have pre
vented the IAAF from making a
ruling on the Myerscough case.
The IAAF cannot determine
a penalty for Myerscough until
the internal investigation into
the UK Athletics has been com
pleted.
Now, with the Olympics in
full tilt, most of the attention
from the UK Athletics and the
IAAF is in Sydney.
Although it is still unclear
when the case will be decided,
Colligan and Myerscough said it
is fairly clear what punishment
looms ahead.
Barring any change by the
IAAF, one of two things will hap
pen. Myerscough will either
receive a two-year ban from
competition, or he will receive a
lifetime ban.
Colligan said the IAAF has
“It’ll be painful when I watch the Olympics
because I know I should be there *Vm very bitter
about the whole thing, and I won’t forgive them
for that."
Carl Myerscough
NU shot-putter and former
Olympic hopeful
hinted that Myerscough will be
penalized with the two-year 1
ban. 1
Myerscough is still eligible to
compete in the NCAA, but in
March, NU Athletic Director Bill
Byrne withheld the shot-putter
from the competition.
Myerscough said Byrne
would allow him to compete
this season, but he will sit out
the season anyway to preserve
his future eligibility.
“The NCAA is happy for me
to compete, and the university
will let me compete, but I’d only
be hurting myself,” Myerscough
said.
If Myerscough doesn’t
appeal his case and is given a
two-year suspension, he’ll be
slated to become eligible again
Feb. 12,2002.
If Myerscough were to com
pete in a meet, the probable
two-year ban would start over.
Myerscough said he was
resigned to not compete again
until 2002, leaving him with
three years of eligibility.
Ex-NU swimmer wins bronze medal
BY GABRIEL STOVALL
The going got tougher this
time around for a former Husker
standout swimmer and defend
ing Olympic champion.
But all things considered, her
outing wasn’t all bad.
Penny Heyns added to her
collection of Olympic awards by
winning the bronze medal in the
women’s 100-meter breaststroke
Sunday at the Olympics in
Sydney, Australia.
Megan Quann of Puyallup,
Wash., made good of her predic
tion to dethrone Heyns when she
took home the gold medal with a
time of 1:06.52.
Heyns wouldn’t give up her
title easily though.
She was first off the blocks
and led the pack until the final 25
meters when Quann overtook
her.
Although Heyns, 25, had a leg
up on Quann in terms of experi
ence, Heyns had nothing but
good things to say about the new
16-year-old champion.
“She has a lot of talent,”
Heyns said. “I really respect the
way she’s carried her successes.
Unfortunately you don’t always
say that about your competitors.”
Heyns, a native of South
Africa, attended NU from 1992
96 and was the first Husker swim
mer to win a national champi
onship.
She was a 10-time first team,
and five-time honorable men
tion All-American. She also held
14 Big Eight Conference titles
and, in 1996, posted an NCAA
record in the 200-meter breast
stroke.
In the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta, she became the first
woman ever to sweep both the
100 and 200 breaststroke events.
Australian Leisel Jones won
the silver medal, posting a time of
1:07.49
"I will continue to pursue it,
>ut it’s not looking too good,"
dyerscough said.