INSIDE: Wichita freshman solidifies Kansas defense. SEE PAGE 3B. Inside: Intramurals emphasize sportsmanship. SEE PAGE 3B.
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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2001
Commentary
Chris Wristen Sports Columnist sportskanan.com
Bowling team gets the home it deserves at Royal Crest
My cable box was acting up Monday night and I couldn't get ESPN, so I channel-surfed to quench my late night sports craving.
A snow on Comedy Central caught my attention. No, I'm not talking about Battlebots. That show sucks, and its not a sport, regardless of what Comedy Central claims.
I'm talking about Let's Bowl, the mockery where people settle their disputes by bowling. It amused me long enough learn that a guy named Dave beat his fiancée Becky in a 117-106 thriller, and therefore could have a stripper at his bachelor party.
But unlike Dave and Becky, there's a group of serious bowlers at KU that have something more important than strippers to worry about. The Kansas bowling team has to try to find a way back to the national championships without use of its home turf.
The Jaybowl at the Kansas Union has served as the team's home since the team's inception, but now the Jayhawks have to look elsewhere. The Jaybowl's doors are closed until next fall while renovations are done to the lanes, so the bowling team had to relocate.
But bowling coach Mike Fine and his team are not deterred by relocating to Royal Crest Lanes for the coming year. His rollers realize how much they will benefit from the renovations.
"They all understand that this is just an inconvenience we're going to have to live with because they know the promise of what we'll get down the road," Fine said. "We'll be getting state-of-the-art lanes and one of the finest Union bowling facilities in the nation when its completed."
The final product will be a facility that the bowling team deserves. For starters, it battled to save the Jaybowl in January 2000 when a proposal to turn the alley into a cyber-cafe arose. The bowlers circulated petitions, gained the support of Student Senate and saved the Jaybowl.
It's also a little known fact that the bowling team has been one of the most successful teams at Kansas in the last five years. A combined squad competed in a nationally televised tournament in Las Vegas in 1999. The women's team went to nationals two years ago and missed last year's championships by four pins. The men have been to the national championships twice and finished fifth last year.
Senior Mike Keeler, junior Jesse James and sophomore Marc D'Errico return for the men's squad, and a successful recruiting season for the women's team all have Fine feeling good about his team.
And he should. They're getting a new home, they're gaining respect on the college bowling circuit and they're craving the national championship that they could taste last year.
Wristen is a Leawood senior in journalism.
Suspension gives Dyer start
Jayhawks to open season without two key players; team says it's prepared
By Brent Briggeman Kansan sportswriter
Zach Dyer didn't see himself differen- tely when he looked in the mirror yesterday morning.
"Everything was normal," said Dyer of the first morning he knew he was a starting quarterback at the Division I level. "I guess it's just not me to change."
Dyer had been competing for the starting spot with Mario Kinsey, but Dyer earned the job by default when Kinsey and running back Reggie Duncan were suspended from Saturday's opener for an unspecified violation of team rules.
Dyer didn't look at himself differently, and the team didn't approach its game preparation differently yesterday as it readied for Southwest Missouri State.
Kinsey; Will not start in Saturday's game
Running back Harold McClendon said the suspensions didn't come as a shock to the team.
Duncan: Suspended from home opener
"We heard rumors through the summer," said McClendon, who will likely see additional playing time in Duncan's absence. "But we didn't know for sure what would happen."
Coach Terry Allen said Monday that the infractions that led to the suspensions had occurred earlier this summer.
"It's disappointing to lose two of our main guys," said offensive captain Harrison Hill. "But, I think it's a minor deal.
"The big question mark now is which Zach is going to show up when they turn the lights on"
Terry Allen Head coach
One game and they'll come back next week. They're still practicing so they'll be fine. It shouldn't set us back from a development standpoint."
Allen, speaking with media for the first time since announcing the suspensions Monday, refused to go into detail about the infractions, adding only that the matter was between himself and the two players. He said both would play the following week against UCLA, with Duncan likely resuming his position as the starting running back.
Coach Terry Allen said Dyer performed well in practice Monday,but had
an inconsistent day yesterday.
"The big question mark now is which Zach is going to show up when they turn the lights on." Allen said.
Both Kinsey and Duncan worked with the scout team yesterday to help the defense prepare.
As Duncan was running with the scout team, Daniel Coke and McClendon split time at running back with the first unit. Both players are sophomores and have 10 career carries between them.
This will be the second year in a row that Kansas enters its first game without a key player. Last year free safety Carl Nesmith was suspended for violating a team curfew rule. The Jayhawks lost the road game 31-17 to Southern Methodist.
Hill said last year's situation was completely different from this year's, and that he did not expect a similar result.
For more KU bowling team news see page 50
Soccer senior ignores pain to keep playing
"It's a negative situation," he said. "But hopefully we'll turn it into a positive."
Contact Briggeman at 864-4810
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
Senior forward Hilla Rantala awaits kickoff before the Kansas soccer team's exhibition match with the Busch Soccer Club. Her blond hair is in its traditional braided pigtails.
Braiding her hair has been a pregame ritual for Rantala since she was 14. The locks have earned her the nickname "Pippi" by coach Mark Francis.
With the regular season kicking off Friday against North Texas, Rantala has a personal goal in mind for the coming season.
Her uniform, flaunting the number eight, is clean—fornow. But with Rantala's aggressive style of play, grass stains will be inevitable in the next 90 minutes.
"Play 20 games. Stay healthy," she said.
It may seem easy, but not after what Rantala has been through.
After an impressive two-year stint at South Alabama, where she was an All-American candidate and the school's alltime leading scorer, Rantala transferred to Kansas and was promptly greeted by a nasty injury bug.
In her first game as a Jayhawk in 1999, Rantala suffered a fractured shinbone and high ankle strain. After missing five games, she returned and scored a school-record 16 points on five goals and six assists despite playing in constant pain.
The 2000 season wasn't any easier on Rantala. After appearing briefly at the beginning of the season, Rantala was granted a medical redshirt and had season-ending knee surgeries to replace a torn miniscus.
"It was really frustrating, and it was kind of embarrassing," said Rantala.
"People here kind of made a big deal out of me, and I really haven't done anything.
"That's one of the reasons I took the redshirt last year. I wanted to accomplish something before I retire."
Rantala, a native of Finland, scored three goals in the Jayhawks' two exhibition victories this season. Despite her strong performances, Rantala still does not feel she's at full strength.
"I am constantly in pain," she said. "I will never be 100 percent again."
Rantala transferred in 1999 after Francis left South Alabama and became the head coach at Kansas.
Francis said he was pleased with his relationship with the co-captain.
"This is her fifth year she's been with me, so she kind of knows what I expect," he said. "She knows how I do things. Hilla feels pretty comfortable coming to us about anything."
"We talk to her about communicating with them, helping them out," Francis said. "Obviously she leads by example. A teacher, almost."
Rantala's value goes far beyond her ability to find the back of the net. With three freshmen sharing time on the front line, Rantala is a role model for the newcomers.
Rantala's experience goes beyond that of her younger teammates.
"They call me grandma," she said. "Some of these girls were not even born when I started playing soccer."
With a nationally ranked incoming class, Rantala said she saw good things ahead for the Jayhawks this season.
Contact Wood at 864-4810
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN.
Hilla Rantala, senior forward, eyes an opponent as she moves the ball downfield during practice Tuesday afternoon. Rantala rejoined the Jayhawks this season after injuries during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
Women's basketball schedule announced
By Jessica Scott
The official women's basketball schedule has finally been released, filling calendars left empty through the summer because of a glitch in the Big 12 Conference scheduling.
Kansan sportswriter
Coach Marian Washington said the schedule, officially released Aug. 23, was not filled with fluffy teams grabbed at the last moment.
The Jayhawks, who finished 12-17 last season, will have 15 home contests at Allen Fieldhouse, including exhibition games against the Houston Jaguars on Nov. 6 and Fort Hays State on Nov. 10. The regular season tips off against Grambling State at home on Nov. 16.
"Our nonconference schedule is certainly competitive," Washington said. "But it will help us get prepared for our Big 12 opponents."
After traveling to Creighton on Nov. 20, the 'Hawks leave for San Juan, Puerto Rico, to compete in the San Juan Shootout during Thanksgiving Break. Other teams competing in the Classic include Oregon, St. John's and Alabama State.
"We are so conscientious about keeping the number of class days missed to a minimum," Washington said. "Any time we can get competition over Thanksgiving, Christmas break or between semesters, we try to take advantage of that. Last year we only missed one day of class in the first semester."
Immediately after returning home from Puerto Rico, the Jayhawks will play host to the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Classic from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1. Other teams competing in the Classic include Oregon, St. John's and Alabama State.
SEE BASKETBALL PAGE 5A