The University Daily Kansan
The day in sports
Cleveland Indians center fielder Kenny Lofton failed to score for the first time in 19 games yesterday, tying him with Red Rolfe of the 1939 New York Yankees for the major-league record for scoring in 18 consecutive games.
Sports
Inside: The Kansas football team must put the SMU game behind it if it is to be successful next Saturday against Alabama-Birmingham.
SEE PAGE 6A
Inside:Two highly touted Texas A&M basketball players left the team for greener pastures this weekend.
SEE PAGE 7A
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3. 2000 For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Off to a rocky start
Above: Southern Methodist University tight end Billy Ford catches the first touchdown scored in the new Gerald J. Ford stadium, Beating Kansas defensive back Kareem High. Below: Kansas football coach Terry Allen looks down in frustration shortly after a Kansas punt is blocked. Photos by Christina Neff. KANSAN
Football team fumbles season opener at Southern Methodist
By Jason Franchuk sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswritter
For the weeks leading up to its first game at Southern Methodist University, Kansas treated the season opener like a guaranteed victory.
Kansas insisted things were going well as they completed preseason practices, and the thought of failure was not something to broach.
But just when the Jayhawks had thoughts of victory, Southern Methodist had different plans, putting together a 31-17 win Saturday.
"As bizarre as it sounds," said
coach Terry Allen, "I had great confidence before the game."
Since spring practices, Allen referred to the opener at Dallas as a must-win. Kansas knew it had to have this game to retain any reasonable hopes for a post-season game. Allen and the players showed plenty of concern about opening on the road, where it has been less than perfect in the past.
Maybe the team was too focused. From the start, Kansas looked tight. The defense appeared immobile and was without safety Carl Nesmith, who was suspended for "violation of team conduct policy." The defensive line could not provide substantial penetration, and Southern
Methodist took its time and found open receivers who crept past the secondary.
The special teams were critically unspectacular Punter Joey Pelfiano was effective when he was able to kick the ball, but too many
times that was not an option.
"Our demise was the mistakes we made on our punt team," Allen said. "But that was a
times that was not an option.
More information
Playing on a new field in the Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Southern Methodist showed remarkable emotion from the start, and the Mustangs scored on their first four possessions.
result of us not moving the football."
Despite an announcement that the 32,000-seat stadium was sold out for the game, it
For more KU football photos, complete stats and a play-by-play account of the game, see kku.com.
See 'HAWKS on page 7A
Despite an announce-
Volleyball team earns Purdue tourney crown
By Sarah Warren sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
The Kansas volleyball team was hot, hot, hot this weekend — hot on kills, hot on wins and just hot and sweaty in general.
The Jayhawks cleaned up in the Purdue Mortar Board Premier Tournament, trouncing Western Michigan, Eastern Kentucky and host team Purdue this weekend in the un-air-conditioned Intercollegiate Athletics Facility at West Lafayette, Ind.
"We really come out hard," said junior setter Molly LaMere. "We were kind of anxious to see how we'd play together in a competitive environment, but everybody came out to play hard and win."
However, the host team proved to be more difficult with the backing of a chaotic home crowd fresh from the football team's season opening win against Central Michigan. Despite the vitriolic stands, Kansas pulled away from Purdue, winning 15-10, 15-10, 13-15 and 15-5, thus defeating Purdue for the first time.
The Hawks came away victorious in their season-opening match Friday, downing Western Michigan 3-1. A few hours later, the team stomped Eastern Kentucky, sweeping it 3-0 and holding its opponents to just three points per game in the match.
"Purdue was similar to us in that they had lost some key players from last year, but it is still a good Big 10 school," said coach Ray Bechard. "We just had a lot of close
games, and we pulled them out."
Squeezing victories out of close matches had been one of Bechard's preseason goals for his 2000 team. However, a pretournament goal — to be more efficient offensively — fell a bit short this weekend as the team found itself a little short in two departments.
"We fell a little below our goals in passing efficiency and serving efficiency," Bechard said. "So I'm a little disappointed with that, but at the same time, when the games were close, we executed the big points."
And those big points not only earned the team the tournament crown, they also earned the Javahaws respect.
Three Jayhawks were named to the seven-player all-tournament team. LaMere and senior outside hitter Nancy Bell were named to the all-tournament team, while senior outside hitter Amy Myatt was named tournament Most Valuable Player. For the weekend, Bell and Myatt recorded 35 kills and 52 kills, respectively, while LaMere posted 124 set assists.
"There was really no question when we got on the floor that we wanted it more," La Mere said of final game against Purdue. "It was really nice to come out and practice against a team like Purdue, especially to get ready for the conference."
The 'Hawks meet Wichita State in their home opener at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center.
- Edited by Casey Franklin
'Hawks split matches
Kansan sportswriter
By Yoshitaka Ebisawa sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
Bv Yoshitaka Ebisawa
After many ups and downs, road games may seem mountainous for the Kansas women's soccer team.
After splitting their first two games on the road, the Jayhawks gave another high-and-low weekend on the road, losing to St. Louis 3-2 Friday in St. Louis but coming back to beat Creighton 4-1 yesterday in Omaha, Neb.
In St. Louis Friday, Kansas was up 2-0 until the 64th minute but let the defending Conference USA champions score three consecutive goals and avoid their first setback this season.
"When you are up 2-0, you can't let go," said Kansas coach Mark Francis. "Even after they scored their first goal, we kept after it and then just let it get away."
Kansas was outshot by St. Louis 9-20 but dominated possession much of the game.
"Realistically, as much as we had the ball, we didn't create enough chances in the final third of the field," Francis said. "We did well with the opportunities we had, but we need to keep attacking and looking for more."
Jennifer Ray, a freshman midfielder from Hillington, England, converted from the penalty spot for
her first collegiate goal in the 54th minute. Four minutes later, sophomore forward Carmel Kaplinger made it 2-0 when she received senior midfielder Meghann Haven's pass and drilled it to the back left corner of the net. Kaplinger led Louisville in scoring as a freshman in 1999 before she joined the Javahawks this year.
Yesterday's win against Creighton lightened up the weekend.
"Defensively, we are a lot happier with how we played as a team today." Francis said after yesterday's game. "We didn't get punished on our mistakes in the middle and final third of the field the way we had the past two games."
Kansas started strong with junior forward Natalie Hoogveld's goal in the sixth minute. Senior forward Lindsey Horner made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute, scoring off the assist of Hoogveld. After Creighton cut Kansas' lead in half, senior midfielder Meghann Haven put the Jayhawks two goals ahead in the 64th minute. Junior forward Melanie Schroeder added a goal with a direct free kick in the 80th minute.
With the victory against the Bluejays, the Jayhawks evened their record at 2-2.
Kansas will remain on the road this week, traveling to Irving, Calif., to participate in the UC-Irvine Tournament Friday.
- Edited by Erin Adamson
Despite shaky season opener, football team still worth watching
One and done?
Could this be it for KU football 2000?
In one of those endearing Terry Allen foibles, the Jayhawks' head coach spoke his mind and labeled the season opener at Southern Methodist University a must-win game.
With an unforgiving Big 12 schedule ahead, a victory against the medicore Mustangs was a precondition of the team's bowl berth hopes. After an embarrassing upset in Texas, the uphill battle has become as precipitous as Everest.
It begs the question: Does a loss in a must-win game obviate the remainder of the season (all 10 games of it)?
Derek Prater
Sports Columnist
And, it is hoped, not if you're the fans.
sports@kansan.com
Not if you're the head coach.
Allen will no doubt find a way to inject meaning into each and every game. Bowl hopes, though on a respirator, will continue to breathe at least until the 'Hawks drop another game to an inferior opponent.
Even without a good shot at a bowl Allen can rally the troops with words such as "pride," "touchness," and "rivalry."
The trickier task is to make the fans care.
Will they come out to the stadium to watch a team that started out the season on the wrong foot (which just happened to end up in the coach's mouth)?
They should.
After all, it shouldn't be surprising that the Hawks, laden with junior college newcomers, struggled to find chemistry their first time out. They made stupid mistakes, especially in the kicking game, and they will continue to do so. But they will get better. The more they play together, the fewer mistakes they will make — and the
more big plays they will uncork.
This team, though not in a class with the elite of the Big 12, has some players worth watching.
Moran Norris should be the staple of the offense. A juggernaut who can juke, Norris has a rare combination of size and agility that make him one of the most dangerous runners in the conference.
Dylen Smith is inconsistent, but he has the arm and the legs to make big plays. When he catches fire, he can take. And this year, he has far more weapons to throw to.
Carl Nesmith, who missed the first game because of a cryptic violation of team rules, is worth the price of admission all by himself. His hits induce in the fan the
macabre fascination one encounters witness a car wreck.
Kansas football may not be ready to compete at the top of the Big 12, but it is bringing in the type of players that fans want to watch. And the athletic department is demonstrating a commitment to develop a winning football team.
That this team will win enough to make a bowl this year is doubtful. But the 'Hawks will win a big game this year against a team better than Southern Methodist.
Whether it's Colorado, Kansas State or Texas, the 'Hawks will take a game that no one expects them to win and turn it into a just-win game.
Prater is a graduate student in journalism.
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