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Category: Sports

Huskers Open Bowl Practice in Jacksonville

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nebraska_helmetJacksonville, Fla. – After arriving at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort yesterday afternoon, the Nebraska football team practiced on the campus of the University of North Florida for the first time on Friday morning in preparation of next week’s Gator Bowl with the No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs. The Huskers and Bulldogs are set to battle on Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 11 a.m. (CT) on ESPN2.

The Huskers practiced in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts for just over two hours under cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 50’s. It was the first of four practices for the Huskers during their time in Jacksonville.

Head Coach Bo Pelini met with the media following practice and was happy with how his team started practice in Florida.

“We had a detail-oriented practice that was a good on both sides of the football,” Pelini said. “Our guys were enthusiastic and had good tempo.”

The Huskers will meet Georgia for a second straight year after playing the Bulldogs in the Capital One Bowl at the end of the 2012 season.

“It’s a great opportunity for us (to play Georgia) and we have a lot of respect for them,” Pelini said. “We are really looking forward to the challenge.”

One of the marquee matchups of next week’s game will be at running back, as both Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah and Georgia’s Todd Gurley are each averaging over 100 yards per game on the season. Abdullah, a third-team AP All-American in 2013, ranks seventh in the country at 130.7 yards per game, while Gurley ranks 30th nationally at 100.3 yards per game.

“They are different types of runners with different body types, Ameer is a make-you-miss guy and Gurley runs more downhill,” Pelini said. “They are both very productive football players.

This afternoon, the Huskers have a chance to relax at the Players Beach Party event, hosted near the Atlantic Ocean at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, one of North Florida’s most exclusive resorts.

Check out the Huskers’ official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account for photos and videos throughout the Huskers stay in Jacksonville.

Boston Marathon Bombing AP Sports Story of Year

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bostonNEW YORK (AP) — The Boston Marathon bombing has been selected the sports story of the year in an annual vote conducted by The Associated Press.

Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured.

Ninety-six ballots were submitted from U.S. news organizations. Voters were asked to rank the top 10 sports stories of the year, with the first-place story receiving 10 points, the second-place story nine points and so on.

The marathon attack drew 761 points and 67 first-place votes Friday. The No. 2 sports story, Lance Armstrong’s admission of doping, had five first-place votes and 517 points.

Boston Strong Run On

2nd Annual Duster Dunkfest Slated For February 8th & 9th

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Mr. & Miss BasketballKEARNEY, Neb. – Mr. Basketball, Inc., is pleased to announce the return of the Mr. Basketball & Miss Basketball Duster Dunkfest youth basketball tournament, slated for February 8-9, 2014, in Holdrege, Nebraska. The event is open to 3rd-8th boys & girls teams.

In the first year, the Duster Dunkfest featured 89 teams, far exceeding the expected a 64-team field. This year facilities are available to handle up to 112 teams.

“We are excited to once again partner with the Holdrege Booster Club and help raise funds for their athletic programs,” said Doug Koster, president of Mr. Basketball Inc. in Kearney. “The great turnout last year is a testament to the facilities available in Holdrege and the passion for youth basketball in the area. We hope teams continue make this a regular part of their hoops schedule.”

All teams are guaranteed three games during the Duster Dunkfest with medals awarded to the top places in each division.

The registration deadline for the Duster Dunkfest is January 17th, 2014. Registration forms are available at misterbasketball.com, or by contacting Doug Koster at (308) 237-4012.

Cornhuskers’ K Pat Smith Takes Risk, Gets Rewarded

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nebraska_helmetLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Pat Smith calls himself a risk taker. That’s how he explains why he gave up his scholarship and starting job at Western Illinois after his junior season to walk on and compete to be Nebraska’s kicker for one season.

Smith will go into the Gator Bowl against Georgia on New Year’s Day having made 11 of 12 field goals for the Cornhuskers, including a 42-yarder in overtime on a frosty field to beat Penn State on the road last month.

Smith originally walked on at Missouri in 2009. He transferred to FCS-level Western Illinois the next year and was the Leathernecks’ kicker for three seasons.

With one year of eligibility, he decided to pursue his dream of kicking at a big-time school. He beat out Mauro Bondi for the Huskers’ kicking job.

Huskers Close Non-Conference Campaign with ORU

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Nebraska-Huskers-BasketballThe Nebraska women’s basketball team returns from celebrating the Christmas holiday with family and friends to close non-conference play against Oral Roberts on Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off between the No. 18 Huskers (9-2) and the Golden Eagles (1-8) is set for 2 p.m. (CT).

Nebraska will recognize former All-America point guard and current WNBA champion Lindsey Moore during the first half of Sunday’s game. A member of Nebraska’s All-Time Devaney Center Team in 2013, Moore will be attending her first game at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska’s all-time assist leader (699), Moore started more games (132), played more minutes (4,360) and won more games (93) than any other player in Husker history. She led the Huskers to three NCAA tournaments and the first two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in school history. Moore will be in Lincoln while on holiday break from her professional team in Italy. Tickets for the game are available now at Huskers.com.

The game can be heard live on the Husker Sports Network, including flagships B107.3 FM in Lincoln, The Wolf 93.3 FM in Omaha and 880 AM KRVN in Lexington. Free live audio is available on Huskers.com, while live premium video coverage will be provided to subscribers of BTN.com All-Access.

All-American Jordan Hooper, who had 19 points and seven rebounds in NU’s win over South Dakota Dec. 21, became the third player in school history to reach career milestones of 1,900 points and 900 rebounds. She enters the ORU game with 1,903 points and 930 rebounds. She needs 27 points to catch Husker All-American Kiera Hardy at No. 5 on Nebraska’s career scoring list. Last year against the Golden Eagles, Hooper had 33 points and five three-pointers in just 25 minutes in an 80-67 win.

Second-year coach Misti Cussen brings her Golden Eagles to Nebraska with a 1-8 record. ORU, which won the Southland Conference and earned an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament, returned three starters from last year’s club but has dropped eight straight games against primarily major conference opponents including Northwestern, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Marquette.

Huskers Close Non-Conference Slate at Cincinnati

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Nebraska-Huskers-BasketballThe Nebraska basketball team wraps up the non-conference portion of the 2013-14 slate on Saturday morning, as the Huskers head to Cincinnati for a matchup with the Bearcats. Tipoff is set for 11:02 a.m. at Fifth Third Arena and the game will be carried nationally on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Dan Dakich on the call. The game is also available on the WatchESPN app and at WatchESPN.com.

Saturday’s game will also be carried across the state on the 27-station Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison calling all of the action, including flagship stations KLIN (1400 AM/94.5 FM) in Lincoln and KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha (complete list of affiliates is on page five of the game notes). The game can also be heard for free on Huskers.com and is available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as Sirius and XM Radio.

Saturday’s game at Cincinnati begins a challenging three-game road swing for the Huskers over an eight-day span, as the three foes (Cincinnati, No. 22 Iowa and No. 3 Ohio State) are a combined 33-5 on the season.

The Huskers returned from a short holiday break with an 8-3 record following a 77-62 win over The Citadel on Dec. 21. In that game, sophomore Terran Petteway led all scorers with 27 points, hitting 9-of-18 shots from the floor to pace three players in double figures. The Huskers out-scored the Bulldogs, 45-30, in the second half to break a 32-all deadlock, as sophomore Shavon Shields scored 15 of his 17 points after halftime.

Petteway, who leads the Huskers and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 16.8 points per game, has played some of his best basketball in recent weeks, averaging 19.7 points per game on 52 percent shooting over the Huskers’ last three contests. The 6-foot-6 sophomore now has a team-high four 20-point games in 2013-14.

Cincinnati is 10-2 on the season following a 40-point rout of Chicago State on Dec. 23. The Bearcats have won three straight games, including a neutral-site win over previously unbeaten Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden. Cincinnati will pose a tough defensive challenge, as the Bearcats are fourth nationally in scoring defense and have not allowed more than 67 points in any of its 12 games.

Following Saturday night’s game, the Huskers will turn their attention to Big Ten play, as Nebraska opens conference action on New Year’s Eve at Iowa. In all, three of the Huskers’ first four Big Ten games are away from Pinnacle Bank Arena.

NPCC Knights Softball to Hold Winter Clinic

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Knights-SoftballNorth Platte – The North Platte Community College Softball team will hold their annual Winter Clinic on Saturday, February 1 2014.

The clinic will be held at the North Platte Community College North Campus hitting facility. The clinic will run from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. with all ages welcome to attend. The size of the clinic is limited to the first 32 athletes that sign up. The cost of the clinic is $40. Registration is due by January, 25 2014.

The focus of the clinic will be on fielding, hitting, base running and throwing along with one-on-one work with softball athletes and coaching staff.

The entry fee also includes lunch with NPCC Knights softball team and coaches, a tour of campus and admission to the women and men’s basketball games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

For more information contact head coach Janelle Higgins at her office (308-535-3722), on her cell (515-419-5801) or by email ([email protected]).

The brochure for camp can be found on the Knights website at www.npccknights.com and by clicking here.

Robinson One of Four Nominees for Honda Sports Award for Volleyball

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Kelsey Robinson Nebraska Huskers Volleyball(December 23, 2013) – Haley Eckerman of the University of Texas, Kelsey Robinson from University of Nebraska, Krista Vansant of the University of Washington and Carly Wopat from Stanford University are the four nominees for the Honda Sports Award for Volleyball as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the CWSA to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup. The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

The Honda Sports award winner for volleyball will be announced in the new year after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

Eckerman is a two-time first-team All-American after earning second-team honors and AVCA Freshman of the Year as a rookie. The junior outside hitter from Coppell, Texas, earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors for the second straight year and is a three-time All-Big 12 first-team honoree. She led the Longhorns with 4.14 kills per set, adding 2.54 digs per set and 511 points.

A native of Bartlett, Ill., Robinson earned first-team AVCA All-American honors this season after having been recognized by the AVCA for the past two years. She was named the 2013 Big Ten Player of the Year and earned All-Big Ten first-team honors. She averaged 4.45 kills and 3.33 digs per set while posting 19 double-doubles. The outside hitter transferred to Nebraska from Tennessee where she was the 2011 SEC Player of the Year and a two-time first-team All-SEC member.

Vansant was recently named the 2013 AVCA National Player of the Year after earning a nod on the AVCA All-America first-team. The junior outside hitter from Redlands, Calif., also earned 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year while leading the Huskies to their first Final Four since 2006. She ranks fifth in career kills at UW after averaging 4.41 kills per set and hitting .320 on the season.

Wopat, a senior middle blocker from Santa Barbara, Calif., earned first-team AVCA All-American honors for the second straight season. She is a three-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection and led the conference in blocks this season with 1.43 blocks per set. She led her team in hitting percentage (.429) and points (3.92 pps) and became just the third Cardinal ever to register 600 career blocks (614).

The CWSA presents the Honda Sports Award annually to top women student-athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. Honda Sports award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sports award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup award presented in June.

Five Honda Sports Awards winners for volleyball have gone on to win the prestigious Honda Cup- Megan Hodge (Penn State, 2010), Sarah Pavan (Nebraska, 2007), Ogonna Nnamani (Stanford, 2005), Misty May (Long Beach State, 1999) and Deitre Collins (Hawaii, 1983).

The Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 37 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $2.7 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.

Three Huskers Earn Reno Tournament Titles

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UNLReno, Nev. – Jake Sueflohn (149), James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) each won their respective weight division titles to lead Nebraska to the team championship at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday.

The Huskers finished with 159 points, which was 56 ahead of second-place Wyoming. North Carolina finished third with 97 points.

After Sueflohn took a first-round bye, he won back-to-back major decisions before capping his perfect day with three consecutive decisions. He won the championship match by a 7-1 margin over The Citadel’s Matt Frisch. Sueflohn, the No. 6 wrestler in InterMat’s rankings, improves to 18-3 on the season.

Green pinned three of his five opponents in Reno, while adding a technical fall and one decision. He took down Andy McCulley of Wyoming in the championship bout, 9-5. Green, the No. 4 wrestler by InterMat, moves to 18-0 and earns his third tournament title of the season. He won the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational titles as well.

Kokesh capped his performance with a 3-1 decision over Southern Oregon’s Brock Gutches in the finals. Kokesh added a decision in his opening bout, but earned two pins and two major decision in his other matches. His quickest pin came in the third round in a time of 1:02. Kokesh improves to 20-1 this season.

Tim Lambert (125) and Austin Wilson (165) each made it to the finals in their respective weight classes, but ultimately took runner-up honors. Lambert went 4-1 with a major decision before falling to Wyoming’s Tyler Cox in the finals by a 4-3 margin. Wilson opened with back-to-back technical falls before a major decision in the third round. He lost to Corey Mock of Tennessee-Chattanooga, 9-1, in the championship match.

At 141 pounds, Anthony Abidin earned a third-place finish, winning a 13-0 major decision over CSU-Bakersfield’s Ian Nickell in his final match. Abidin registered two pins on his way to the semifinals before falling by an 8-3 decision to Joey Ward. Abidin won two matches in the consolation bracket following his lone loss of the day.

Spencer Johnson (197) and Collin Jensen (HWT) each finished fifth. Johnson dropped a 3-1 decision to Reuben Franklin of CSU-Bakersfield in his first match of the day, but reeled off five consecutive victories before suffering his second loss. He defeated Upper Iowa’s Carl Broghammer by injury default in the fifth-place match.

Jensen pinned his first opponent, but lost in the second round. In the consolation bracket, he won five matches, two of which were by fall. His final victory was a pin in 5:37 over Wayne Purnell of West Virginia.

Colton McCrystal (133), Ben Morgan (133), Brandon Wilbourn (165), McCoy Newberg (174), TJ Dudley (184) and Aaron Studebaker (197) also competed at the Reno Tournament of Champions for the Huskers.

Nebraska returns to dual competition on Jan. 3 when the Huskers host Wyoming at the Devaney Center. The dual starts at 7 p.m., and will be available on the Big Ten Digital Network. NU’s next Big Ten matchup is Jan. 10 against Indiana. The Huskers and Hoosiers are set for a7 p.m. start at the Devaney Center, with video streaming on BTDN.

Six Teams Confirmed for 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Including Nebraska

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Diamond Head Classic LogoSix teams have committed to participate in the 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i. The field for the sixth-annual event includes Colorado, George Washington, Nebraska, Ohio, Wichita State and tournament host school Hawai’i. 

Wichita State is ranked No. 11 in the latest Associated Press poll, while Colorado is ranked No. 20. Meanwhile, George Washington is on the cusp of the Top 25 after a 9-1 start. Four of the teams in the field qualified for the postseason in 2012-13, highlighted by a Wichita State squad that advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, an eight-team men’s college basketball tournament, will feature 12 games through three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through the bracket. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in the championship game on the final day of the tournament.

Previous tournament champions of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic include USC (2009), Butler (2010), Kansas State (2011) and Arizona (2012), currently the top-ranked team in the nation.

The family-friendly tournament includes three days of tournament play, practices, events and travel experiences unique to the islands of Hawai’i.

The Huskers have 88-83 record against the other five teams announced Sunday, but have not played any of the teams since the 2010-11 season. A potential Nebraska-Colorado matchup would be Nebraska’s first regular-season matchup against a Big 12 team since joining the Big Ten Conference prior to the 2011-12 season.

The 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic will be the second of three ESPN-sponsored events Nebraska has signed up for. Last month, the Huskers competed in the Charleston Classic and will travel to Anaheim, Calif., for the Wooden Legacy during the 2015-16 season.

Next year’s trip to the Diamond Head Classic will mark the sixth time that the Huskers have traveled to Hawai’i for a holiday tournament and the first since the 2006-07 season.

Additional information can be found on the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic’s official Web site at www.DiamondHeadClassic.com.

The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television.

Nebraska vs. 2014 Diamond Head Classic Field
Team                                      Series Record           Last Meeting
Colorado                                77-71                         2010-11
George Washington            0-1                              1936-37
Hawai’i                                   2-6                              2006-07
Ohio                                       3-0                              1993-04
Wichita State                        6-5                              2010-11

Huskers in Hawai’i Tournaments
Year                Tournament                                     Record
1979-80         Rainbow Classic                                1-2
1988-89         Chaminade New Year’s Classic       2-1
1992-93         Rainbow Classic                                1-2
1997-98         Rainbow Classic                                1-2
2006-07         Rainbow Classic                                2-1

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