Everyone chips in on Nil's defense
DEFENSE from page 10
If opponents do happen to
cross midfield, that’s where
Benson and fellow defenders
Christine Gluck and Breanna
Boyd come into play.
"We’re the last resort,” Gluck
said.
In Nebraska’s pressure-style
of play, Walker said a common
theme rings true for all of his
defenders -speed.
"It allows for our players to
make up for mistakes,” Walker
said.
Each player brought her own
strengths to die table, Walker said.
Boyd, a returning starter, is
consistent and a good ball winner.
Gluck is die defensive team leader
and Benson brings an offensive
mentality.
Benson is playing her first sea
son as a defender after playing
three years as a midfielder. The
senior said she had to completely
change her style of play.
“It’s not beating someone,”
Benson said. "It’s not getting
beat.”
And the Husker defenders
haven’t been getting beat very
often. LeBlanc and Leah Lemale,
NU’s backup goalkeeper, have
seen a total of only 42 shots on
goal for the season.
“It’s huge as defenders,” Gluck
said. “We don’t want to give up
any shots on goal or comer kicks.
It's our job.”
LeBlanc’s job is to be the con
ductor of this three-piece orches
tra. The senior is well-suited for
the job. She’s an All-American and
a Hermann TYophy finalist, soc
cer’s version of the Heisman
TYophy.
LeBlanc has a goals-against
average of 0.29 on the year and
has been a part of 10 shutouts.
LeBlanc, the starting goal
keeper for the Canadian National
Team, is the team's eyes on the
field, Gluck said.
“I see things out there that no
one else can see,” LeBlanc said.
“There’s so much trust out there.”
Since she doesn’t face many
shots, LeBlanc also determines
“Communication is a big part of the game. If I
leave the game with no shots, I’m not saying I
didn’t do anything. Through my good
communication, they didn’t get those shots off.”
Karina LeBlanc
__NU goalkeeper
the defensive matchups.
"Communication is a big part
of the game,” LeBlanc said. “If I
leave the game with no shots, I’m
not saying I didn’t do anything.
Through my good communica
tion, they didn’t get those shots
off.”
In many games, LeBlanc, who
has an assist on the year, can be
found near midfield handling the
ball and directing the offense.
"A lot of that is experience,”
Walker said. “There’s some risk
that we might get scored on, but
we’re prepared to deal with that
LeBlanc didn’t allow a goal
until Nebraska’s 7-2 victory over
Florida in the fifth game of the
season.
In their next game of the sea
son, the Huskers beat Purdue 4-1,
but that lone goal left a bitter taste
in Benson’s mouth.
“Yeah, the Purdue penalty
kick,” Benson said, “that was my
fault”
The senior committed a foul
in the goal box which led to a
penalty kick.
While Benson blamed herself
for that goal, she said the entire
team takes responsibility for shut
ting down the opponent
“No one likes to be scored on,”
Benson said. “It’s not just us
defenders, but as team, it’s a slap
in the face.”
Mike Warren/DN
Rover Joe Walker and the Nebraska defense are looking for a breakout game against Iowa State this weekend. The task may be
made more difficult by an ISU team that is undefeated and playing in front of a rowdy home crowd.
NU gives
Cyclones
respect
CYCLONES from page 10
yards against Nebraska.
Rosenfels, a 6-foot-4-inch, 221
pound senior who averages 218
yards passing per game, is a good
field general and an “excellent
offensive weapon” according to
Defensive Coordinator Craig
Bohl.
While Rosenfels isn't as
mobile as Farmer, Bohl said NU
isn’t taking him lightly as a run
ning threat
“By no means are we looking
at this quarterback as a tradition
al drop-back, not-going-to -run
at-all quarterback,” Bohl said.
It will be Haywood, however,
who will do the bulk of ISU’s run
ning. Averaging just over 153
yards per game, the junior is the
Big 12’s top rusher and has
earned his respect from NU’s
coaching staff.
Solich said it’s Haywood’s
vision and awareness that make
him dangerous.
“Regardless of where the
crease develops on the line,”
Solich said, “he finds it
“He gets into the linebackers
area four, five yards down the
field very often.”
With Iowa State riding the
emotions of its so-far undefeated
season, Solich said the game will
be a measuring stick for NU to
see where it stands.
“We’re anxious to get to Ames
to see how good we are,” Solich
said. “It will be a test for us.”
Tough competition
gives NU tennis test
■Coach McDermott hopes
several Huskers will advance
to individual finals in Wichita.
BY VINCE KUPPIG
The Nebraska men’s tennis
team is set to face its toughest
competition of the 2000 fall sea
son in the prequalifying ITA All
American Championships begin
ning today and ending Oct 9.
Coach Kerry McDermott
views this tournament as "a
chance to see where our program
stands next to the other teams in
the country.”
The Comhuskers are looking
to improve on last year’s 7-12
record, including 0-8 in die Big 12
Conference.
“Overall, I know we are much
stronger than last year,”
McDermott said.
The Huskers looked strong in
their first action of the season at
the Harvard Tournament held
Sept. 22-24. Senior Adnan
Hadzialic and junior Fungai
Tongoona both finished runner
up in die Flight “A” and “B” brack
ets respectively.
This weekend’s tournament
will consist of nearly every school
in the country and about 250indi
vidual athletes, McDermott said.
Sixty-four of those 250 will
advance to the main draw Oct 12
15 in Wichita, Kan., and
McDermott said die players who
make it will probably receive a
national ranking.
Nebraska’s chances of
advancing a few players look pret
ty good based on previous years,
McDermott said
“We've been fortunate to have
some of our players make it into
the main draw the last two years,”
he said
Last year, junior Lance Mills
advanced Mills, who would have
played No. 1 singles, did not par
ticipate in the spring season
because of an injury. McDermott
thinks Mills has a good chance of
advancing this year.
Two years ago, Jorge Abos
Sanchez, a freshman at die time,
also made it to the main draw.
This year’s tournament will
provide a chance for the players to
prove themselves.
“(The tournament) is another
assessment of being able to see
where my new kids are, along with
some of the kids from last year’s
team,” McDermott said. “It’s a
good way to see how our new kids
can react to the competition.”
McDermott said he has
already pretty much determined
who the top four players are from
practice. However, the rest of the
10-member team is pretty close,
he said
“The different competition
outside of the team really helps
them give me a good idea of how
our kids handle the pressure,”
McDermott said
The whole team will be back
in action Oct. 19-23 at the ITA
Mid-American Championships in
Tlilsa, Okla
Cepero next in line of great Husker setters
CEPEROfrompagelO
ter, though she’s only in her sec
ond season.
“Great Nebraska setters have
always been great athletes and
Greichaly is obviously a great ath
lete,” Cook said. “They need char
acter on and off the court and they
need to know how to win.”
Winning hasn't been a prob
lem for this Nebraska team, which
stands 14-0 on the season.
A good amount of that success
is because of Cepera
“Greichaly is a great competi
tor. The bigger the match, the bet
ter she’s going to play,” Cook said.
Cepero said die is always look
ing for the weak link in the other
team’s defense.
“I look for the weakest block
ers. Before the game, we scout
them and decide who has the
weak block and who would be a
good match-up against that
block," Cepero said.
Cook said Nebraska works on
setting the ball in three fashions:
quick and low, mid-range and a
higher, loftier set
“Quick sets are your first
choice all die time. If your middles
are there already by die time I am
going to set, its going to be pretty
much 100 percent that I am going
to set them. It’s hard to block,”
Cepero said running through the
options that face in her every
point
Ask Texas A&M about the
quick set. Middle blockers Jenny
Kropp and Amber Holmquist led
the team with 12 and 15 kills
respectively due to the fact that
the Aggies were heavily guarding
Nebraska’s outside hitters. Cepero
simply went to the middle.
There are just too many
weapons for most teams to stop,
Cepero said
“It gives you a lot of confi
dence because you know you
have a lot of options ,” Cepero said
“It’s easier to trick the other team
because they don’t knew who I am
going to set”
When Cepero isn't setting it to
her outside hitters or middle
blockers, she takes matters into
her own hands with a quick tip
over the net
“Coach (Cook) gives me the
green light to do it and when I am
at the net, if it's a good pass, the
first thing I am thinking is dump,”
she said
Cook said the dump shot is
just one more thing for opposing
teams to worry about as they try to
deal with Cepero’s athletic ability
and height
"One thing she has that no one
else has had is the height That’s a
new dimension that teams are not
"They need character
on and off the court
and they need to
know how to win.n
John Cook
NU volleyball coach
used to seeing,” Cook said.
And on top of her talent,
Cepero is loaded with ambition.
“The way I handle myself is
going to determine the outcome
of the match. I have the responsi
bility and I take it as a challenge,”
Cepero said. “If I do good, my
team will do good.”
Cepero said it isn’t difficult to
be good with the players around
her.
“If we come out on the court
and play our best no one can beat
us,” Cepero said.
NU battles each other in preparation for ISU, beyond
■Volleyball team uses time
between easy opponents to
rest up and prepare for NCAA's.
BY MATTHEW HANSEN
Between Tuesday’s white
wash of lightly-regarded
Creighton and Sunday's 1 p.m.
match at lightly-regarded Iowa
State, Nebraska, predictably, has
been taking it easy.
No practice Wednesday. A
half-hour practice Thursday.
The laid-back atmosphere
ends today. Today, it’s time for
war.
“The war,” an intrasquad
scrimmage named by NU Coach
John Cook, will no doubt be the
toughest test the starting lineup
of NU gets this week.
The opponent is the “B” side,
consisting of redshirting All
American Nancy Meendering,
standout freshman Pam Krejci,
former starting setter Jill
McWilliams, Guo Jun Li, a
Chinese volleyball star and for
merly one of the best players in
the world, and the tall, athletic
Marcus, team manager.
The "B" coach is former
Husker head man Terry Pettit,
who has designed a game plan
to expose the weaknesses of this
year’s squad.
The objective: Prepare the
Huskers for postseason play.
“It’s how a team would
attack us if we get to the Final
Four," Cook said. “We're going to
make it as tough as possible with
the strategic plan and person
nel.”
Excuse Nebraska if they’re
looking ahead a little. NU’s last
seven wins have been in straight
sets. And, on paper at least, the
Cyclones will have a hard time
ending that streak.
ISU is 2-12, including a sorry
0-7 in the Big 12. Nebraska beat
Texas A&M in straight sets. Texas
A&M beat Iowa State in straight
sets.
You get the point. Cook has
no illusions about the Cyclones’
weakness. His team can still
gain something from the trip to
Ames, he said. .
“It's an opportunity for us to
develop more depth, to contin
ue to develop our mentality as a
team,” Cook said. “It doesn't
matter who is over there, what
the score is, were playing point
by point to the national champi
onship.”
Point by point, and war by
war.
Texas a scoring
threat for Huskers
■The Nebraska defense will be
tested by a potent Texas offense
and a talented A&M squad.
BY GABRIEL STOVALL
The Nebraska Comhuskers'
soccer team might experience
something new this weekend
An offensive challenge from
an opponent
If indeed that is what Coach
John Walker’s team is looking for,
Walker says they need not look
any further than tonight when the
Texas Longhorns come to town.
“Texas is an extremely talent
ed team, especially offensively,”
Walker said. "In that regard, they
will be one of the better teams
we’ve played this year.”
Texas (7-4,3-0) comes into
tonight’s contest at the Abbott
Sports Complex boasting its best
ever record through 11 games. But
the Longhorns are just 1-5 all
time against the Huskers.
The Longhorns, ranked 15th
in the nation in goals scored, seem
poised; however, to give the
Husker defense one of its stiffest
tests of the season.
But scoring on Nebraska has
proven to be an almost impossible
feat
NU’s 2-0 win at Missouri gave
it a school-record sixth consecu
tive shutout. The Huskers have
recorded more shutouts than any
other team in the country.
Possibly overshadowed by
Nebraska’s stellar defensive play is
its offense. NU's average of 4.67
goals per game is second best in
die nation.
Nebraska forward Christine
Latham suggests it might take all
of that and more to beat the
Longhorns.
"In every game we play,
(Walker) tells us of our opponents
strengths and weaknesses,” said
the sophomore from Calgary,
Alberta, who was last week’s Big 12
Conference player of the week.
“We know they're a very phys
ical team and a good offensive
team. They won’t be pushed
around easily.”
Also invading Lincoln this
weekend will be the ninth-ranked
Texas A&M Aggies, who will be
hungry for a win after being upset
2-1 at Baylor last Sunday.
Walker knows the loss may
give A&M some extra incentive to
play well against his Huskers.
“A&M is always a Top 10
team,” Walker said. “They’re good,
balanced and play hard, and
probably even more so after the
loss to Baylor.”
Though the Aggies aren't
cracking into anyone’s 10 best
scoring lists, their offense still can
be expected to produce.
A&M has scored four or more
goals in three games this season
and is averaging close to three
goals per game.
While the Aggies and
Longhorns look good enough on
paper to give NU’s defense a run
for its money, Latham says the
Huskers are ready and have only
one team in mind.
“We dorft pay too much atten
tion to what our opponents are
doing,” Latham said. “We tend to
focus more on how we play, and
we’re going to play good this
weekend.”
Cross country goes
all the way to Maine
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Members of the Nebraska
Cross Country team will face a
competition this weekend unlike
anything else they've faced this
year.
Rather than being packed in a
tight course with hundreds of run
ners, Nebraska’s team will take on
only a handful of competitors in
Saturday’s race.
The team will travel to Orono,
Maine, for the Murray Keatinge
Invitational, hosted by the
University of Maine.
Six women’s teams and seven
men’s teams are scheduled to
compete, including Central
Connecticut State, Holy Cross,
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont
and the Michigan men’s team.
Cross Country Coach Jay
Dirksen will send eight men and
six women to run the course.
Running for the women will
be seniors Amie Jorgensen and
Jaimie Kruger, junior Jenna Lucas,
sophomore Kathryn Handrup
and freshmen Ann Gaffigan and
Hillary Laird.
The men’s team will be repre
sented by seniors Marcus Witter
and Aaron Carrizales, sopho
mores Ian Gray, Jed Barta, James
De Bruhl and Mike Kamm and
freshmen Kyle Wyatt and Eric
Rasmussen.
“It’s a totally different kind of
meet - a different level of compe
tition,” Dirksen said.
Members of the team contin
ue to increase their training to be
in top condition by late October,
he said.
“The training is going well,”
Dirksen said. “Hopefully, we’ll see
it in tiie meets.”