SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7,1994
PAGE 3B
GERRY FEY
A fan's guide to creating intimidation
LINCOLN — Nobody needs a detailed description of how Nebraska defeated Kansas Saturday. The score, 45-17, describes exactly how the game went — Bad. Nebraska had a better team. end of story.
However, there are some things from this game that can prove useful for Kansas.
There's no question that many Big Eight Conference schools look to Nebraska as a model football program.
However, one reason for Nebraska's success and tradition is its crowd appeal. I went to Saturday's game and can understand why Colorado coach Bill McCartney said Nebraska's Memorial Stadium was the hardest place he ever had to play.
It's a "sea of red," 76,000 people strong, with one goal in mind: to make as much noise as possible.
So here is a step-by-step guide to building an imposing Memorial Stadium.
Tickets — I paid $22 for a seat 77 rows up in Lincoln, Neb. An exorbitant amount to pay? Yes. But it was worth every penny. Nebraska has added two big screens on either side of the stadium to show instant replays. Because the seats are so close to the field, every seat is a good one. even in row 77.
Here in Lawrence, a regular reserved seat is $19. That's ridiculous.
I'm not saying that the Kansas football program should buy big screens or anything drastic like that, but it's got to offer fans something that is worth the cash.
The athletic department should drop the ticket price, which would encourage more Lawrence residents to buy game-day tickets.
Fans — Nebraska has sold out Memorial Stadium 201 times consecutively. Obviously, the team's success has a lot to do with that amazing statistic.
However, even when the team isn't up to national championship caliber, the seats are packed. There were 75,600 people there to see the Nebraska-Kansas game Saturday. The stadium was dominated by Nebraska fans with a small patch of blue for Jayhawk fans.
The only way Lawrence's Memorial Stadium can be menacing is if Jayawk fans fill the place. If a state as barren as Nebraska can fill the stadium every Saturday, surely we can get a crowd of 45,000 here.
Has anyone been appalled at the number of Nebraska fans that fill the north end zone in Lawrence when the cornhuskers come to town? If Jayhawk fans would buy the tickets that wouldn't happen.
Cheers — Kansas football cheers have to be reformed. Get rid of the “K-A-N-S-A-S” cheer. It's BORING and STUPID. Soel that out.
And forget about the Empire Strikes Back cheer where fans clap their hands like an alligator's mouth. Our mascot is a Javahawk, not an alligator.
Another key is knowing when to cheer. Kansas fans are great for basketball—loud all the time—but football cheering takes a little more strategy. For Memorial Stadium to be menacing, fans should cheer in union when the opposing team has the ball near the North end zone.
This is so the opposing quarterback's signals can't be heard by his teammates. Fans should NOT cheer when Kansas is calling an offensive play. It defeats the purpose.
The most important thing is that everybody cheers. I don't care if you're a 70-year-old alumni, you are at the game to cheer.
Everyone cheers at Nebraska games. And I mean everyone. Last Saturday, whenever Kansas had a third or fourth down situation, the entire stadium cheered.
Colorado comes to Lawrence this weekend. The basketball season hasn't started yet, so let's surprise the Buffs with a loud, packed stadium.
Women swimmers take meet, upset Michigan
If not for Jayhawk pride, do it fc r the Kansas seniors who will be playing in their last home game.
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Just call the Kansas women's swimming and diving team the upset kids.
For the second consecutive time, the Jayhawks knocked off a team that was ranked above them in the national polls.
No. 4 Michigan became Kansas' latest victim Saturday. The Jayhawks defeated the Wolverines by 45 points at the Southern Illinois Quadrangular in Carbondale, III. Southern Illinois finished third and Kansas' Big Eight rival Nebraska placed fourth.
Last weekend, the women, ranked 24th nationally, defeated No.17 Colorado State in the Early Bird Invitational.
Kansas swimming coach Gary
Kempf said he was pleased with Kansas' ability to defeat higherranked competition.
"We rose up to another level," Kemft said.
Kempf said he did not want to downplay the team's accomplishment, but part of Michigan's squad did not compete. Several of Michigan's swimmers participated in a meet in Dallas.
"They felt in their minds they had the people there to handle us," Kempf said of Michigan.
That was not the case, as Kansas won 10 of the meet's 16 events. Kempf said the keys to Kansas' strong performance were its quick start and lack of laces during the meet.
"I think they were mentally ready and swam consistently throughout the meet," he said.
The team got strong performances from several swimmers. Freshman breaststroker Kristin Nilsen won the 200-yard individual medley with a personal best time of 2:05.20. Nilsen also had top-three finishes in the 200-yard and 100-vard breaststrokes.
Nilsen was second only to fellow freshman Kelly Williams in the 200-yard breaststroke. Williams was Kansas' only double winner, picking up her second victory in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.64.
Kempf said senior distance freestyle Frankie Hanson, junior butterflier Donna Christensen and sophomore butterflier Rebecca Andrew also gave quality performances.
"Overall we're starting to develop and happen in a lot of areas," Kempf
said.
The team picked up two of its firstplace finishes as the diving team swept the one-meter and three-meter competitions.
Senior Erika Rasmusson won the one meter with 252.85 points, a score that qualified her for NCAA competition. Rasmusson's closest competitor was Kansas junior Michelle Rolohn.
("Erika) was just real steady through the whole competition," Kansas diving coach Don Fearon said. "She was hitting them pretty good."
"I really thought we stood up and raced well," Kempf said. "I don't feel like they were intimidated."
The Kansas men's swimming and diving team also competed at Southern Illinois. The team dropped a dual meet to No. 1 Michigan 78-35 but defeated the host Saluks 63-50.
Sophomore freestyle and backstroker Eric Burton said team members concentrated on their individual races and did not encourage their teammates.
The men's greatest hurdle was their lack of togetherness, Kempf said. They have not combined their talent and heart in competition.
"We haven't yet discovered how to swim as a total team," he said.
"It was a below average performance mainly because we weren't together at all," he said.
The Jayhawks have almost two weeks off before their next meet, the Nebraska Sprint Meet and Invitational Nov. 18 in Lincoln, Neb.
Jayhawks stop Athletes In Action
Julianne Peter / KANSAN
Sophomore point guard Tamecka Dixon leads a fast break as Athletes in action player Dena Evans attempts to stop her, Dixon found out after Friday's game that she has chicken pox. Kansas won 80-73.
Two top players may be sidelined with chicken pox
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team may have been itching to play Friday, but no one thought it would go this far.
The Jayhawks defeated Athletes In Action 80-73 in their first exhibition game of the season at Allen Field House. After the game, sophomore guard Temeke Dixon discus-
ered she had contracted chicken pox. Dixon joined teammate'junior detected the illness prior to Friday's game.
"I'm just praying it doesn't run through my team before they get to Hawaii," said Kansas women's basketball ball coach Marian Washington. Kansas opens its regular season Nov. 25 in Honolulu at the Rainbow Wahine Tournament.
All-American capitalized on a threepoint play with 17.9 seconds left in the game.
Her turn-around jumper and subsequent free throw put the Jayhawks ahead 78-73 and sealed the victory.
"I actually just threw the ball up and it went in," Aycock admitted. "I got lucky, but luck's part of the game."
Athletes In Action kept the game close with its height. Heid Gillingham, a 6-foot-8 graduate of Vanderbilt, and Lisa Porter led the team. Porter led all scorers with 23 points and was seven for seven from the free throw line.
Kansas sophomore forwards Shelley Canada and Jennifer Trapp had the task of matching up against Athletes In Action's height.
"I'mjust praying it doesn't run through my team before they get to Hawaii."
Marian Washington Kansas women's basketball coach, in reference to several players who contracted chicken pox this weekend
Nothing could slow down senior forward Angela Aycock, who led Kansas with 21 points. The preseason
Canaad said
playing
against taller
competitors
was something Kansas
would face several times during the season.
"She wanted to assume that responsibility this year," Washington said. "We've been spending time with her and it's paying off. She's really come a long way."
Dixon's illness did not slow her down as she scored 14 points and had five steals. Washington said Dixon played out of position last year and suffered through a frustrating season. Now, playing in the point guard position, Dixon is blooming.
"We just need to get ready for it," she said. "It was a pretty big challenge guarding
them inside. The first half we kind of let them do what they wanted."
Washington said that the Jayhawks would need to utilize their speed to overcome a lack of size.
"We're just going to be short," she said. "But we'll keep exploiting our quickness."
Despite Athletes In Action's height advantage, the Jayhawks outrebounded them 43-41. Kansas junior guard Charisse Sampson led the way with 12 rebounds.
"I thought they worked really hard," Washington said.
Team handball seeks recognition
Game described as 'water polo on land'
By Kent Hohlfeld
Kansan sportswriter
A small group of team handball players meet every Friday night at Robinson Gymnasium to play a sport that many people don't even know exists.
"Most people think of the sport that's like racquetball," said Zenta Nishida, treasurer of the Kansas team handball club.
The second-most popular sport around the world, team handball, is one that most people in the United States have barely heard of. Despite its success in other countries, the game has yet to attract a steady following in this country.
The sport combines skills seen in several sports. The game is played on a court that is 60 feet wide by 140 feet long. At either end of the court is a six foot by nine foot goal similar to the one used in soccer.
Six players on each team run, bounce or throw a ball, slightly smaller than a basketball, into the goal to score a point.
Team coach Bob Lockwood said that the sport combined many of the same playing philosophies that were seen in a variety of popular sports.
"It's a really fast sport," said Rey Lin, president of Kansas' club. "It's kind of like water polo on land."
He said that despite the sport's popularity abroad, team handball had not seen much success in the United States. Lockwood has played for the U.S. national team, played in three Olympic festivals and coached in one Olympic festival.
"You've got a lot of the same type of plays you would see in basketball," Lockwood said. "But the court and goals are similar to those used in soccer."
"Teams from Europe really seem to dominate the competition internationally," Lockwood said.
He said that players can make well over $100,000 a year playing in European professional leagues.
"They have different divisions for their leagues," Lockwood said. "It's set up kind of like the minor leagues are organized in baseball."
He said that the sport's lack of support in America was due in large part to the failure of the U.S. Team Handball Federation to promote the sport.
He said that the federation had limited itself to trying to attract college-aged students from other sports.
"Soccer really promoted itself to the youth," Lockwood said. "Handball has been using college-aged people, but that doesn't help the overall popularity much."
"The federation hasn't really promoted the sport to young people." Lockwood said.
Getting the sport noticed by more people may be the key to the future success of team handball at Kansas as well as around the country. The club was discontinued for part of last year due to lack of support.
"The sport is hardly noticed here," said Lin. We "really want to expand the club and maybe get some intramural teams going."
Nishida said that one aspect that made the sport attractive was the ease with which people can learn the sport.
This year the club plans on competing in tournaments in Colorado and Georgia. The club will play host to its first tournament this weekend at Robinson Center. The Kansas City, Lawrence and Kansas handball teams will compete in the tournament.
"You don't have to be really big to play." Nishida said. "If you have some athletic talent and can practice, you can pick the sport up pretty quickly."
READER OPINION
Letters from readers needed for preview
The Kansan will publish a basketball preview section to tip off the men's and women's seasons. The section will run in the Nov. 17 paper.
The sports staff is asking readers to write letters between 100 to 150 words long predicting the outcome of the college basketball season.
Readers should predict what team will win the NCAA championship. They also can pick the teams they consider overrated or dark horses.
Letter must be submitted no later than Nov. 10 with the author's name and phone number included. If that information is left off, the *Kansan* will not accept the submitted letter.
Letters should be turned in to the Kansan newsroom, Room 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. A box for entered letters will be provided in the newsroom.
Any questions concerning reader's letters should be directed to Brian James, sports editor, or Gerry Fey, associate sport editor, at the Kenson, 864-4910.
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