SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1994
SECTION B
Kansas is Big Eight favorite
Basketball Media Day picks preseason titles
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Basketball was all the talk yesterday, as reporters, players and coaches gathered at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Kansas City, Mo., for the Big Eight Conference Media Day.
Swimmers successful in Colorado
The Kansas Jayhawks were the highlight of the preseason media polls. Kansas was elected to capture the Big Eight title this season, with 30 first-place votes from Midwest sportswriters covering Big Eight basketball. Oklahoma placed second with only11 votes.
However, the media have correctly picked the champion only eight times in 15 polls. Senior center Greg Ostertag said Kansas would work this season to fulfill the prediction.
"It's an honor to be picked as the top team early in the season," Ostertag said. "It also means we our work cut out for us. But speaking for all the guys, I think we're ready to take on the challenge."
Individually, two Kansas players topped the ballots. Kansas freshman forward Raef LaFrentz was picked as preseason Freshman of the Year. LaFrentz, rated No. 2 in the nation last year among high school players, received 38 of 47 votes.
Senior point guard Jacque Vaughn, who represented Kansas at the media event with teammate Ostertag, said LaFrentz could easily live up to those expectations.
"I'm expecting great things from him this season," said Vaughn, a first-team, preseason All-Big Eight selection. "He has the ability to come in and make an impact from the start. He's going to be fun to watch."
Preseason Newcomer of the Year honors went to Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase who claimed 30 first-place votes.
Oklahoma State's Bryant Reeves was chosen as the preseason Player of the Year with 33 first-place votes. Reeves was also the only player to unanimously be chosen on all 47 ballots for first-team, preseason All-Big Eight honors.
Reeves said there could be some pressure trying to meet the demands placed on him this season.
Kansas big man Ostertag, who parallels the playing style of Reeves, finished among the top five contenders for preseason Player of the Year with one vote.
Ostertag said that having Reeves playing strong would be an incentive for improving his own performance this season.
"He deserves all the credit he's getting," Ostertag said of Reeves. "Some people don't see me as the player I am, so that makes me want to go out and prove the critics wrong."
Teams top off trip with three convincing wins
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
day and Saturday for the Early Bird Invitational
While the Kansas women's swimming and diving team sailed through three days of competition, the men's team needed a wakeup call.
The Jayhawks traveled to Fort Collins, Colo., for two separate meetings. The women swam in a duel Thursday against the Colorado State Rams. The men's team joined the women on Fri-
Kansas' women's team entered Thursday's meet ranked 24th nationally, while Colorado State had a No. 17 ranking. The two teams tangled last year in Lawrence, with the Jayhawks coming out on top, 188-112.
however, the Rams finished strong at last season's NCAA Championships, placing 12th. Kansas placed 36th in the same meet.
"We knew we could beat them," said senior freestrel Frank Hanson.
Kansas rode the momentum of three first-place finishes from freshman backstroker Kristin Nilsen Thursday and defeated Colorado State, 173-127.
"They were an awfully good team," said Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf. "Obviously, it was a great victory for us."
stroke and 2:21.82 in the 200 meter breaststroke broke previous pool records.
Two of Nilsen's victories were pool records. Her times of 1.06:31 in the 100 meter breast-
"She had a great weekend all the way around," Kempf said.
"They responded very well," Kempf said. "It was just a total team effort."
Kempf said the women only suffered through one lapse during the dual. After a locker room discussion, the team made a quick turnaround.
The men's team joined the women for the Early Bird Invitational on Friday.
The women continued to perform at a high level, Kempf said. But with Colorado State fielding a 40-member team and the scoring occurring through 16 places of each event, a Kansas victory by 114 points over their nearest competitor was not what Kempf expected.
"I was really surprised we won the meet," he said.
Hanson dominated the women's nine-team
field, winning all four events in which she competed. But, Hanson said she and her teammates struggled with the altitude, which was 7,000 feet above sea level. The first thing the swimmers lost was their leg strength.
"It made it hard to kick and push off the walls at the end of the races," Hanson said. "We weren't totally used to it, but we adapted to it."
The men struggled on the meet's opening day, but senior co-captain Marc Bontrager said he could not pinpoint the reason. Both Bontrager and Kempf said the men's slow start was probably due to a long travel day.
Even though they started slow, the men held a four-point lead after the first day of competition and extended their lead on Saturday to win the seven-team meet by 189 points.
"They woke up and swam a lot better the last two sessions (on Saturday)," Kempf said.
Sean Crosier / KANSAN
A Homecoming treat
At the head of Friday's Homecoming parade, little Jayhawker Marika Spurgone, 1.2, gets an early Halloween treat from Baby Jay. The parade route began at the Chigma fountain, west northeast by Jayhawk Boulevard and continued to Adam's Alumni Center
'Huskers show strong defense
By Rick Warner
The Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska's swarming defense reminds assistant coach Charlie McBride of the "Junkyard Dogs," who helped Georgia win the 1980 national championship.
If the defense keeps playing the way it has the past four games, the Cornhuskers could win their first national title since consecutive championships in 1970 and 1971.
"We pounded away and punished them from the first snap until the last," linebacker Troy Dumas said Saturday following a 24-7 victory over Colorado that boosted Nebraska from third to first in The Associated Press poll.
Penn State remained No. 1 in the USA Today-CNN coaches' poll after beating Ohio State 63-14, but the Lions lead the Cornhuskers by only two points.
After giving up 32 points to Wyoming Oct. 1, the Cornhuskers have allowed a total of 23 points to Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Missouri and Colorado. The Buffaloes, who dropped from second to seventh in the rankings, had been averaging 40 points a game.
"They are a real tough defense," Colorado tailback Rashaan Salaam said. "They just play hard-nosed football."
Salaam, the nation's leading rusher, scored Colorado's only touchdown and became the first tailback to gain more than 100 yards (134 on 22 carries) against Nebraska this season.
But the Huskers forced quarterback Kordell Stewart into a poor 12-for-28 passing performance, didn't allow a completion over 22 yards and held the Buffaloes to their lowest point total since a 62-7 loss to Nebraska in 1992.
"Our defense was fed up with everyone saying we couldn't stop them," cornerback Barron Miles said. "Colorado did everything we expected, but we were well prepared."
In recent years, Nebraska has shifted its defensive emphasis from strength and size to quickness and speed, qualities which helped the Huskers shut down Colorado's option attack.
"The holes would open, and then they would close all of a sudden." Stewart said.
Nebraska kept constant pressure on Stewart, sacking him three times and hurrying many of his throws.
"We didn't block the blitzes," Colorado coach Bill McCartney said. "We practiced for the things they were going to do, but maybe the speed was something we couldn't prepare for."
AP voters obviously have little doubt about Nebraska. They vaulted the Huskers over previous No. 1 Penn State despite the Lions' overpowering display against Ohio State.
"In my mind, considering the way we played, we deserve to be No. 1," linebacker Donta Jones said.
BRIEF
Both cross country teams place low in conference meet
Kansanstaffreport
The Kansas men's and women's cross country teams finished fourth and sixth respectively at the Big Eight Conference meet in Manhattan on Saturday.
The No. 17 women's team finished sixth with 135 points. The No. 3 Colorado Buffaloes won the meet with 29 points. Kansas was led by Colleen McClimon who finished in 20th place.
The No. 25 men's team finished behind No. 4 Iowa State, No. 5 Colorado and No. 10 Oklahoma State. The team was lead by senior co-captain David Johnston who finished 16th.
Kansas finished the meet with 112 points. Iowa State finished with 29 points. The low score wins in cross country competitions.
The Jayhawks now will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA District V Championships in Springfield Mo.
Compiled by Kansan sportswriter Kent Nohlfeld.
New soccer league in Lawrence caters to students
Lack of opportunities prompts adult teams
By Kent Hohlfeld Kansan sportswriter
Lawrence soccer enthusiasts who previously couldn't find a league to play in now have an alternative.
Roth said that the league was started in response to a lack of organized playing opportunities in the Lawrence area. He said that the idea for the soccer league in Lawrence got started after the Sunflower Games, which is a statewide tournament played annually in September.
The Lawrence Adult Soccer League started operation in September under the direction of league commissioner and Kansas graduate student Bill Roth.
"We have about 150 people in the league," Roth said. "About 130 of them are Kansas students."
"There were some guys who wanted to play in Kansas City after the Sunflower Games," Roth said. "That would have been really expensive."
He said that he contacted the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, which told him the city would not sponsor an adult league in
Lawrence this year.
"They said they already had their budget set for the year," Roth said. "So we just decided to start our own league."
Roth turned to the United States Soccer Federation and area businesses to help get the league started.
"The U.S.S.F. helps with insurance," Roth said. "The teams are all sponsored individually, mostly by area bars."
The league currently has seven teams that play a six-game schedule at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. Roth said that the teams primarily consisted of people who wanted to continue their playing careers.
"It's pretty competitive," Roth said. "We have a lot of former college players and some people who used to play semi-roof ball."
Sory Sangare, a senior from Guinea, plays for the International Stars. He said that the league provided a good way for people to continue an interest in soccer.
"It's good for people who like the sport but can't commit the time to play for the University's club team," Sangare said. "There are also a lot of different types of people in the league."
Roth said that many of the teams
consisted of international students and Lawrence residents.
The teams are not limited to students. The new league even has faculty getting into the act.
James Sherman, professor of Human Development and Family Life, said that a lot of the teams formed from pick-up games that used to be played at the Shenk Complex.
"Most of us knew each other before we started playing here," Sherman said.
Roth said that he was looking for new teams to expand the league for the spring semester. He said that people from cities surrounding the Lawrence community have expressed an interest in joining the new league.
"We've received interest from people in Eudora and Baldwin, Roth said. "We hope to turn this into a regional competition next fall."
"Currently every team has to have a bye week," Roth said. "We really want to have at least eight teams so that we can have a full schedule."
Next spring the league will play a tournament for a championship cup. The fall and spring winners will be the two top seeds with the remaining teams being seeded according to records.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Marty Cunningham, member of Jox Sports Bar soccer team, handles the ball in a Lawrence Adult League game.
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