When Nebraska sophomore bowler Valerie Calberry tells people in her hometown she was named an All-American last year, they usually don't understand what that means.
Calberry is from Canada, so her fellow Canadians don't understand the significance of being an All-American. Then she tells them it means she was one of the top-15 bowlers in the United States.
They usually understand after she tells them that.
Calberry contributed to NU's first place win at the Holiday Classic last weekend, where Calberry was the top performing Husker. Calberry placed 11th with a 194 average. The Classic was the third consecutive tournament where the bowling team placed first, and the second-to-last event before the NCAA Championships.
Though the tournament was Calberry's best performance so far this year, she still could have done better, she said. She could have improved her thought process to better prepare for her throws.
"I should have taken a little extra time to make it better," Calberry said. "Instead of second-guessing myself I should have been assuming that I will make it."
Calberry has made great strides this year, bowling coach Bill Straub said, and it showed during the tournament. Like the team, she got off to a slow start at the beginning of the year.
"She has really proven herself," Straub said. "We're real proud of her."
Nebraska bowling contacted the three-time Canadian National Team member after seeing her in a tournament before her senior year in high school, and she then decided to come to Nebraska. Though she speaks English and lives only a few hours away from the United States-Canada border, she still felt she had more in common with the international students initially.
"It actually is really different," Calberry said. "I had to change a lot with the spelling and the vocabulary."
After a year at Nebraska, though, she loves playing for the team, she said. She has already started planning on going to graduate school in the United States.
"She is a great competitor, and really boosts our team," sophomore bowler Kristi Mickelson said. "Our team chemistry is better because of her."
NU is now preparing for its last tournament, the Music City Classic in Nashville. It will continue focusing on the fundamentals, because if the team ever stopped working on fundamentals, something is wrong, Straub said.
"The results have worked out real nicely," Straub said. "Hopefully, the results will be par allel to their efforts."
paigecornwell@dailynebraskan.com
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