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The University Daily Kansan
Today in sports
Sports
Bellaire, Texas, pitcher Ross Haggard came two outs from a perfect game, throwing a one-hitter in the Little League World Series.
Inside: Nebraska has been picked as a favorite to win the national championship by most major magazines.
SEE PAGE 4B
Inside: The KU Crew team is looking forward to a successful season.
SEE PAGE 13B
For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Jayhawks want to take next step
By Sarah Warren sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
For volleyball coach Ray Bechard, improvement has been easy to come by since his tenure at Kansas began in 1998.
"Each year, we've moved up within the conference," Bechard said. "And this year we would love to continue our standing within the conference, and the ultimate goal would be an NCAA tournament bid."
But in order to make those goals happen, Beachard's Jayhawks have some big shoes to fill. Kansas no longer has the services of Amanda Reves and Mary Beth Albrecht, who ended their careers last season ranking first and second in school history in kills.
The Jayhawks lost five players from last season, and Bechard said some players on this year's team would have to step up to fill the void.
"This year we have four seniors, some with extensive experience
and others without extensive experience." Bechard said.
Those seniors — Sara Kidd, outside hitter, Danielle Geronymo, outside hitter/middle blocker, Nancy Bell, outside hitter, and Amy Myatt, outside hitter — along with Molly LaMere, junior setter — should be a solid core for the 'Hawks, who finished seventh in the Big 12 Conference in 1999, Bechard said.
And although Bechard said he was pleased with last year's conference finish, he said he would like to maintain the trend of improvement that has come so easily the past two seasons. In fact, moving up one spot and into the top half of the conference would be enough.
"The Big 12 is just a premiere conference in the country." Bechard said. "And on the strength of our conference, the six top teams the past two years have gone to the NCAAs."
And all it could take to move up into the upper half of the Big 12 is
for the team to pull out and win the squeaker matches.
"We need to find a way to finish in those close matches, and that could come with a little confidence," Bechard said. "We need to win those matches that could make something happen."
Bechard has been brainstorming ways to improve his team's confidence, and during last Friday's practice, Bechard struck gold when he shuttled the team to the Stone Nature Center in Topeka. There, the girls participated in a nature/obstacle course that had them climbing over walls and running a gauntlet of activities designed to improve trust and team work.
"It was a really team-building experience." Bell said. "Everybody completed the goal that they wanted to achieve with the help of other people. It was amazing how connected we felt afterwards."
■ Nancy Bell Sr. Outside Hitter 5'10"
VOLLEYBALL ROSTER
Amy Billings Fr. Setter 5'10"
■ Jordan Garrison Fr. Middle Blocker 61"
■ Danielle Geronymy Sr. Outside
Mitte*Hut*Mille*Ryker*A12*
- Sara Kidd Sr. Outside Hitter '5'11"
- Abbie Jacobson Fr. Outside Hitter 5'10"
- Sara Kidd Sr. Outside Hitter 5'11"
- Katie Kieffer So. Middle Blocker
- A'2"
Jennifer Kraft So. Defensive Specialist 5'5"
Specimen
Molly LaMere Jr. Setter 5'7"
Jamie Morningstar So. Defensive SpecialLt.5.7"
Specialists
Amy Mytly Sr. Outside Hitter 6'0"
Amy Myatt Sr. Outside Hitter 6'0"
Sarah Rome Fr. Outside Hitter
'S11'1
Kylie Thomas So. Middle Blocker A'2"
**Anna Wheeler Fr. Middle**
Blocker/Outside Hitter 6'1"
Jordan
Garrison,
Aurora, ill., freshman,
spikes the ball during one of the teams practice sessions.
The team covers everything from spiking to diving on the floor for saved shots during practice. Photo by Brad
Dreier/
KANSAN
Assembling the puzzle
Kansas football team continues to rebuild
By Jason Franchuk sports@kansan.com Kansan Sportswriter
It's just puzzling how Terry Allen has his football team talking.
Typical pre-game season mantra goes like this: The team is confident. There are newcomers, and there are veterans. It's a long season, but each team swears it will take it one game at a time. Oh sure, some players recite the lines that appear to be out of the Athlete's Bible on How To Talk to the Media.
But this year's Jayhawks are entertaining. Allen rubs his head and rolls his eyes sometimes when players boast only of themselves. Still, there's no reason to worry that senior safety Carl Nesmith (aka The Butcher) wants a section of his own where fans wear white aprons with blood (fake, we're still assuming) and clutch meat cleavers (real, we're assuming if it's against K-State).
Allen, very quotable himself, wants his players to speak out and be individuals. Show pride in being a Jayhawk and being yourself, he figures, but also don't forget the rest of the
team. This is where the Kansas football puzzle comes in, and every player is talking about it.
Freshman fullback Daniel Coke is a piece of the puzzle, as is sophomore backup quarterback Jonas Weatherbie. Doesn't matter whether you're a backup or a gamebreaker. "Every player is important on this team."
"Every player is important on the field."
Allen said. "I don't want any one player to think they're bigger than the team because that's not true."
and durable. He is still not a bigger piece than any of his teammates, he said.
team because that Remember, Allen only said bigger. Moran Norris, senior running back, finally found the position he was destined to play after three years of switches that resulted in more wasted time than MTV. He bench presses more than most of his teammates, and he is also fast
But consider Norris and quarterback Dylan Smith cornerstones of this puzzle. They don't
Kansas football coach Terry Allen is piecing together his 2000 team. Senior quarterback Dylan Smith may be one of the key offensive pieces in the Jayhawks' puzzle. Kansan file photo
See JAYHAWKS on page 4B
"I don't consider myself any more important," Norris said. "We all fit in somewhere on this team."
Kansas soccer beats up Baker
By Yoshitaka Ebisawa sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's soccer team punished Baker with 54 goal attempts while limiting Baker's attempts to only one in a 3-0 exhibition match victory Saturday at the Baker University camp in Baldwin City.
Despite the domination, coach Mark Francis gave a little homework to his girls.
"It was OK. We did some good things," he said. "But finishing wasn't very good today. A number of shots that we had there weren't on target. We need to get more shots on target."
Two of the three Jayhawks goals were made by senior midfielder Colleen Colvin. The first came in the 53rd minute, when Colvin's header off senior midfielder Meghann Haven's cross rocketed into Baker's goal.
"Meghann and I made eye contact, and she knew where I was going to," Colvin said. "Her cross is usually right on, so it's at the right place at the right time."
A breeze assisted her second goal. "I was going to cross," she said. "And the wind just carried it in, and the goalkeeper hit-mit it."
it went in."
Colvin is third in scoring in the program's history with 22 career points, and eight came last year.
In the seventh minute, junior forward Melanie Schroeder made an 18-yard shot that allowed Kansas to play comfortably for the rest of the game.
The defenders didn't get much attention Saturday, but Francis didn't forget to praise them, including the goalkeepers.
"The keepers didn't get much to do, but they did a good job communicating and organizing the backs," he said.
Francis was also pleased with the performance of the newcomers. Although freshman midfielder Maggie Mason didn't score, she kept attacking and threatening the goal until a minor injury forced her to leave the field.
"I thought Maggie did well," Francis said. "All new kids did a good job."
Kansas opens the 2000 regular season Friday against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., and Francis said the team had some things to work on based on Saturday's game.
"We're just looking to improve this performance for the next game," Francis said. "So just one game at a time."
-Edited by Kathryn Moore
Basketball players benefit from traveling the world
By Michael Rigg
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
For the Kansas men's basketball team, the summer of 2000 was all about traveling.
Not the act of walking with the basketball, but world travel — members of the team traveled to three continents and Hawaii to hone their skills.
But the biggest news of all was a trip that didn't take place. On July 6, coach Roy Williams officially turned down an offer to coach at North Carolina, ending a week of speculation that he would take the job.
Williams' decision to stay will put an extra spring in the Jayhawk's steps this season, said sophomore forward Nick Collison.
"There's definitely an extra kick of excitement," Collison said. "It's almost like we have a new coach, ever though he's staying, because
of all the added excitement."
Collison said he expected that added excitement to carry Kansas through its off-season workouts to the Jayhawks' first exhibition game Nov. 1.
The team returned to campus this week and will begin off-season workouts immediately. The Jayhawks will lift weights and play pick-up games almost daily in preparation for the upcoming season.
'The pressure on the Jayhawks for the 2000-01 season is immense, considering the return of Williams and some preseason rankings that have the Jayhawks in the top five nationally.
"We're going to be a lot better," Collison said. "The main reason we struggled last year was inexperience, since a lot of guys hadn't been there before. The fans are definitely going to expect a lot."
See INEXPERIENCE on page 9B
Index
Sports briefs ...2B
Big 12 football ...4-8B
Sports columnists ...9B
Sport of the Week ...13B
Scoreboard ...15B
Major League Baseball ...16B
Football ...17B
Golf ...19B
Crossword ...21B
Entertainment ...22B
With a new coach and a runner with Olympic trial experience, the cross country team is ready for its season. page 3B
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A preview of the Big 12 football season. pages 4B-8B
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