SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 2, 1994
FOOTBALL
Big Eight prepares for games
Jayhawks, Cornhuskers to match up Saturday
SECTION 8
By Matt Irwin
Kansan sportswriter
As college football teams prepare for their next game, one can usually expect to hear coaches praise their opponents.
But from Kansas coach Glen Mason, the compliments are unusually strong this week.
"Don't ask me about their weaknesses," Mason said during the Big Eight Coaches teleconference on Monday. "I don't think they have any."
The 5-3 Jayhawks will face the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers at p.m. saturday in Lincoln, Neb.
Mason's comments came after the Cornhuskers dismantled Colorado's potent offense and defeated the Buffaloes 24-7 in Lincoln.
Of course Nebraska coach Tom Osborne also said that the Kansas team was verry talented.
Colorado coach Bill McCartney said that Nebraska's defense was athletic and that the team's coaches had an excellent game strategy.
"Their offense is very powerful," Osborne said. "They have an excellent offensive line. They have at least two very good running backs. I think they have a very good football team."
"On offense they didn't try to do too much," McCartney said of last Saturday's game. "I thought they had an excellent plan."
McCartney said he wasn't sure how his players would react to their first loss of the season.
"Our hopes are really high," he said. "My guess is that we have the right stuff to bounce back."
Oklahoma State coach Pat Jones was less concerned with how Colorado would respond to such an emotional loss. Jones' team will play at Colorado at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"They still have a very talented group," Jones said. "I was surprised a little by the score."
Iowa State coach Jim Walden said that the Cyclones would be playing a strong team Saturday at Kansas State. "K-State is a real talented football team," Walden said.
"K-State is a real talented football team," Walden said. "They have a lot of speed."
Last season Iowa State upset K-State 27-23 in Ames, Iowa. K-State coach Bill Snyder said he was concerned about the possibility of another letdown.
--iowa State coach Jim Walden's Cyclones will play Kansas State Saturday. Last season, the Cyclones unset
Football Quotables
the Wildcats 27-23 in Ames, Iowa. Walden said Iowa State's witchbone offense was a key to the victory.
"We just kept pounding away with the bone," Walden said, but added about K-State's defense, "I think Nebraska is the best defense, and K-State is 1-A."
Sean R. Crosier / KANSAN
Missouri coach Larry Smith said he was impressed by Oklahoma's talent despite the Sooners record. The Tigers play Oklahoma Saturday.
"They have a 4-4 record, but the personnel they have seems like they could be playing for an 8-0 team," Smith said. "We can't line up with them and match up one on one."
Senior swimmer Marc Bontrager practices the freestyle stroke at Robinson Center. Bontrager is co-captain of the team and could gain All-American status again this year. To do so he needs to finish the season with one of the nation's top 16 times either individually or as a member of a relay team.
Swimmer has been a four-year star
Team captain could be an All-American for the fourth time
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
2023. 10.18 星期六
Basketball star Danny Manning didn't do it, neither did running speedster Jim Ryun.
But if senior swimmer Marc Bontrager gains All-American status this year, he will become only the sixth athlete in Kansas history to be named a four-time All-American. Bontrager's name would be added to Kansas history books along with Charlie Black from men's basketball, Eveline Hamers from women's tennis, Pat Manson from men's indoor track, Clifford Wiley from men's outdoor track and Lynette Woodard from women's basketball.
"It's one of the ultimate honors for an athlete," Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf said of becoming a four-time All-American.
Bontrage said a swimmer needed to finish a season with one of the nation's top 16 times either individually or as a member of a relay team to be given All-American status. Most of the time, All-
Americans earn that honor at the NCAA Championships because it is where competitors swim the fastest.
In his freshman season, Bontrager was named an All-American in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. As a freshman swimming in the NCAA Championships, Bontrager said he remembered most the excitement of competing in the meet.
"It was really neat just to be there," he said.
Then in his sophomore year, Bontrager met the All-American criteria in seven events. He was a member of five All-American relay teams, which included the 200-yard, 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays, plus the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays. Bontrager also earned two All-American honors in individual events, the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle.
Bontrager said the Jayhawks entered the NCAA meet his sophomore year as an unknown team. But with 10 finishes in the top 16, they gained national attention.
"It was just a Cinderella year," Bontrager said.
By placing highly in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays during his junior season, Bontrager earned the All-American honor for the third straight year. However, after a high-flying season
as a sophomore, Bontrager said his junior year offered a big change.
"It was kind of a weird year last year," he said. "It was a real struggle."
Kempf said the struggle started for
Kempi said. Bontrager when the entire sprint group became too content with itself. The group coasted through the season and ended up going downhill—fast.
However, Kempf said Bontragrf changed his attitude this year.
"Marc was smart enough to realize, that's not the way it works," Kempsaf said.
Both Hensel and Kempf said Bontrager led by example most of the time.
Marc Hensel, one of Bontrager's fellow senior co-captains, said he too witnessed a rekindled fire in Bontrager this year.
"He's not always the most outspoken guy," Hensel said. "He leads by example a lot, but he also speaks up when he sees
Gary Kempf Kansas swimming coach
Another change Bontrager has made is adjusting into the team captain role. "Sometimes you don't want to lead," he said. "It's hard being a captain, but it's fun."
"I've really seen a difference in him," Hensel said. "He has worked a lot harder."
something he doesn't like."
Like serving as a captain, being a three-time All-American has not been easy for Bontrager, Kempf said. The swimmers depend heavily on Bontrager when they need a win. And by maintaining a high level of excellence for three consecutive years, Bontrager also brings out the best in his competitors.
"Marc never gets on the blocks without people taking their best shot at him," Kempf said.
However, Kempf said Bontrager was on track to be Kansas' sixth four-time All-American. Bontrager has started to build on his natural talents instead of totally depending on them, but it is not an easy task. "The better you get, the harder it is to get better," Kempf said.
A different brand of football has been a part of Kansas for 40 years, and today residents of more than 120 rural towns in the state flock every Friday night to see their
Eight Men Out
By Dick Lipsey The Associated Press
ALTOONA, Kan. — It hasn't been a very good year for the Jets, and Katherine Relph thinks she could have brought her two football-playing grandsons better luck by staying home tonight.
The Fredonia woman missed her first game of the season the week before — the same night Altoona-Midway High School finally won.
The Jets play eight-man football in the Mineral Belt League of rural southeast Kansas. It's a fast game, played on an 80-yard by 40-yard field, with lots of big plays and lots of points on the board.
"I debated about coming tonight," she said, "but my son said, 'Come on, you need to go to the game.'"
The Jets' record was only 1-6 coming into tonight's game against the Oswego Indians, but that victory was a big one. It came in the first of three district playoff games from which one team will advance to the state playoffs.
The night Mrs. Relph stayed home, the winless Jets trailed Elk Valley by 20 points in the first quarter before coming back to tie and then win in overtime.
Mrs. Ralph, 67, a retired school nurse who used to divide her workday between what were then separate high schools at Altoona and Midway, enjoys sitting in her son's pickup truck along the north end zone, watching grandsons David and Joe play.
See EIGHTMAN, Page 3B.
Differences between eight-man and 11-man football
Eight-man football is played on a shorter and narrower field. The field is 80 yards long by 40 yards wide, compared with 100 yards by 53 1/3 yards.
- Five players must be on the line of scrimmage. Any player on the end of the line (including the center) is an eligible receiver. All three backs are eligible receivers.
In Kansas the 45-point rule is in effect. The game ends anytime after halftime that one team leads by 45 points or more.
Kickoffs are spotted at the 30- yard line
The key to eight-man football is speed, said Altoona-Midway coach Eric Larsen. "Teams I've had that were successful were real fast."
Kansas prepared to battle Missouri tonight
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas and Missouri — two teams directed by new coaches — will meet at 8 tonight at Allen Field House to prove which team has handled the transition better.
Kansas is one match ahead of Missouri in the conference standings. The Jayhawks have a 1-5 conference record, while the Tigers are 0-7.
There's something to be said about Big Eight volleyball teams adjusting to the changes of first-year head coaches: They're struggling.
Despite returning veteran players, Missouri has yet to win a conference match.
"Missouri has five seniors on its roster this season," Kansas coach Karen Schonewise said. "Three or four of those players are receiving lots of playing time, making for a very experienced lineup."
Kansas, on the other hand, starts three freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors. Looking at it that way, Kansas players have had success in adjusting to a new program and a new coach.
"We've come a long way," freshman setter Trisha Lindgren said of the Jayhawks' season. "We're a lot more familiar with each other and what we can do."
Although Kansas dropped three games to Iowa State last Wednesday, the Jayhawks said they executed their game plan well.
"We've had a couple really good practices," Schonewise said. "We did alot of things right against Iowa State, and the confidence
Jay Thornton / KAN$AN
gained from that match is showing up in practice."
This week's practice focused on Kansas' hitting strategy.
Schonewise said a quick middle hitter, such as junior Jenny Larson, would be an effective tool against the Tigers blocking game.
5
"Missouri is not as ready for quick attacks," she said. "We've been working on getting our quick hitters up in the air with effective timing."
Junior outside hitter Tracie Walt bumps the ball as junior outside hitter Jenny Larson looks on.
In addition to a strong hitting game, Schonewise said Missouri was traditionally a good serving team.
Sparking the Missouri offense is returning senior outside hitter Gwen Mullens, a power hitter who set a Big Eight record last year with 65 attacks against Colorado in a three-game match.
"They're a strong serving
team, but we're a great passing team," Schonwise said. "Our passing should neutralize their serving."
The overall goal of the dayhawks going into tonight's match is to put together a consistent performance for a win.
"When we're playing disciplined volleyball, we're very successful," Schonewise said.
"They're excited to play MU since Missouri is a big rival in the conference. We're ready to play another match at home."
)