sports men’s basketball
Webster needs to step up in place of dismissed Biggs
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wednesday, january 29, 2014 dailynebraskan.com @dnsports
aNDREW WARD
Nebraska lost a key player for the year, and it’s freshman guard Tai Webster’s chance to shine
Senior Brandon Videtich was injured early in his doubles match against Texas Tech on Saturday, but he played through to win 6-5 (7-1) alongside sophomore Bradford Zitsch.
6TH-YEAR SENIOR bRANDON VIDETICH MAKING MOST OF FINAL SEASON WITH HUSKERS s t o r y
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enior Brandon Videtich started his tennis career as a Husker in 2008, and this season is his last. He has mixed feelings about it, just as any athlete would. But, Videtich’s tennis journey has been different from most. Videtich is using a sixth year of eligibility this spring. Since becoming a member of the men’s tennis team, Videtich has had his fair share of injuries, which include a shoulder surgery as a freshman and knee surgery to repair a torn ACL two years ago. Having so many injuries early on made him a cautious player. “Last weekend before we went to L.A., I was fine,” Videtich said. “And then the first day there, I re-injured myself. It’s discouraging.” Videtich was playing in the second game of his doubles match against Texas Tech at the ITA Kick Off Tournament when he re-injured his hamstring.
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I had doubts again. I didn’t know if I would be able to get to the ball or serve as well. You just question everything.” brandon videtich senior tennis player
“I had doubts again,” Videtich said. “I didn’t know if I would be able to get to the ball or serve as well. You just question everything.” Questioning everything related to injuries has been a steady theme throughout his tennis career. “It’s just hard,” Videtich said. “I was always talking to my coaches about if I should even play or not because I didn’t want to keep getting hurt.” This was the case last weekend in
Los Angeles, but Videtich decided to push through the pain. He ended up winning the doubles match alongside sophomore Bradford Zitsch. “What kept me going was the fact that this was my last chance to play at a really cool facility like UCLA,” Videtich said. “And I wasn’t going to pass that up.” Returning for his sixth year, he brings a level of leadership to the court. Videtich is a leader both on and off the court for his fellow teammates,
videtich: see page 8
women’s basketball
Nebraska looks to end losing streak against Wolverines After back-to-back losses by 4 points or fewer, unranked Huskers to face Big Ten’s surprise team Natasha Rausch DN With broken ribs, former Husker Kelsey Griffin notched 30 charges in one season. Griffin played through her dad’s fight against cancer. She played through sicknesses and eventually left Nebraska as one of its most decorated players alongside Karen Jennings, Kiera Hardy and Maurtice Ivy. “You don’t get to coach a Kelsey Griffin every single year,” coach Connie Yori said. “I’ve coached a lot of good players, but she’s the best that I’ve coached. With her, what made it all the more special was all the adversities she had to go through.” Now playing in the WNBA for the Connecticut Sun and in Australia for the Bendigo Spirit, Griffin has returned to Nebraska to receive the honor of having her jersey retired
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prior to the Nebraska/Michigan game. “It’s really hard for me to put this into words what it means to me,” Griffin said. “It was never a goal or a plan of mine. I know it’s a personal award, but there’s so many people who helped me accomplish it.” After the pregame ceremonies, the unranked 13-5 Nebraska women’s basketball team will take on the 14-6 Wolverines at Pinnacle Bank Arena at 7 p.m. “It’s harder to be in the role that we’re in as the hunted versus the hunter,” Yori said. “Everybody has played really well against us, so that goes with being ranked, and now we’re out of the rankings, which doesn’t bother me a whole lot.” In the past two Big Ten Conference games, the Huskers just barely lost against Purdue and Northwestern. Although Nebraska will once again have home-court advantage, the Wolverines have an undefeated road record and have won three out of four games in the past two weeks. Despite the fact the Wolverines graduated all but one of their starters last year, they have still managed to maintain a winning record. The team is currently led by junior guard Shannon Smith, who averag-
women’s bball: see page 9
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coach Kerry McDermott said. “I hope, for Brandon, he is able to achieve his own personal goals of playing both singles and doubles this year,” McDermott said. “But more importantly that he shows good leadership to his teammates.” Videtich is a player who always thinks of his teammates, McDermott said. “I’m really working with the team on positivity,” Videtich said. “I think that I can really teach them a lot through all of the adversity that I’ve faced.” During the 2012-13 season, Videtich did not play any singles matches in the spring. In the fall, he competed in eight, and he went 5-3. Videtich mainly competes in doubles matches. Last season, he earned a 13-18 record, going 9-12 in the spring and 4-6 in the fall. “I think our guys can learn from Brandon that with hard work day in and
Well, it’s time to show me something, Tai Webster. That was my initial reaction when rumors surfaced that junior guard Deverell Biggs was dismissed from the Nebraska basketball team late Monday night. The reaction stayed the same when coach Tim Miles confirmed the dismissal in a press release Tuesday morning. Gone is the short guy with a headband. Gone is 10 points a game off the bench. Gone are the fearless acrobatic layups, the clutch fade away jump shots as the shot clock expired and the energy they brought. This is the first time Nebraska basketball has faced any sort of adversity this season. Yes, it lost five games in a row. Yes, it lost a game by 1 point to the Big Ten leader. Yes, it couldn’t finish at Penn State. But this is big. Real big. (No pun intended.) The Huskers now have to deal with the loss of a teammate. How does this affect chemistry? How does this affect Miles’ rotation? Who replaces Biggs as the team’s main contributor off the bench? The questions continue to flow in my mind. But when I attempt to answer these questions, it all comes down to one thing for me: show me something, Nebraska. More importantly, show me something, Mr. Webster. You were highly recruited coming out of New Zealand. You have the size and tools to become a premiere guard in this league. And you have the maturity to handle any situation. But it’s time to show it. I hate singling out just one player on this team. I really do. Webster is only 18 and should be expected to have some time to develop, especially coming from
men’s bball: see page 9
Junior leading in absence of coach Paul Klempa leans on Liz Kuhlkin, who has taken larger role on team since coach’s hospitalization Thomas Beckmann DN The assistant coach and right hand man of the legendary Huskers bowling coach Bill Straub, Paul Klempa is now working diligently to retain normalcy in the program as the interim head coach while Straub is recovering from a surgery. But what about the bowlers? During this adversity, the bowlers have come together to form a cohesive unit that fights on and continues to persevere through whatever gets in the way. At the heart of it all is a junior bowler who shined in the 2013 NCAA championships. A junior bowler who calls home 1,300 miles away in Schenectady, N.Y. A bowler named Liz Kuhlkin. While Klempa has been busy steering the team during his young reign as an interim head coach, he has looked to Kuhlkin as one of the team’s main leaders. She has accepted this role and is grateful for the opportunity. “It feels really nice that he kind of leaned on me to help lead the team and make sure the team was ready,” Kuhlkin said. “It’s really special to be looked at in that way by your coaches; it just
kuhlkin: see page 8
craig zimmerman | dn
Junior Liz Kuhlkin was the most valuable bowler in the 2013 NCAA Championships and has helped interim coach Paul Klempa (right) lead while coach Bill Straub is on a leave of absence.