MONDAY,AUG.20,2001
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 7B
From crew to Kung Fu, club sports relieve stress
By Laurie Sisk Kansan staff writer
Sometimes joining a club sport is all about meeting people with common interests. Sometimes it's about honing lifelong skills in a particular sport. Sometimes it's about making new friends. But for many KU students, joining a club sport is a great way to relieve stress and put the pressure of school work behind them for a few hours a week.
Igor Shkolnik, past president of the KU Kung Fu Club, said learning Tai Chi in his club was a great way to ease his mind and forget about everyday problems for a while, while picking up valuable self-defense techniques.
Elizabeth Hamby, president of the KU Women's Soccer Club, said the club helped her get through stressful times.
"It focuses on the harmony of the mind and body," Shkolnik said. "In some respects, it is a way of relaxation and meditation."
"When all else was going wrong, I could come to practice, forget it all for a couple of hours and have fun," said Hamby, a fourth-player with the club.
The club goes to the national tournament each year, and plays teams such as Kansas State, Missouri, Washburn and Pittsburg State.
Jared Coffin served as president of the KU Men's Soccer team last year and said his team was a competitive, intense group.
"KU Men's Soccer is a nationally-ranked club team traveling both regionally and nationally," Coffin said, "Last year, trips took us to lots of Big 12 schools, as well as Austin, Texas, for the national tournament."
The KU Ice Hockey Team competes with other clubs across the country. Bryan Luhman, club
president, said inexperienced hockey players could participate as a manager or serve on the practice squad. He said the team competed twice a month from mid-October to March and practiced twice a week in Overland Park.
"The team is fun," Luhman said, "You get to meet people from all over the nation as well as people from Canada. We get to travel to other schools and cities like Chicago, and if we attend nationales we get to visit the East Coast."
Jessie Bird, president of KU Women's Lacrosse, urges newcomers to check out the club.
"To join, you don't need any experience," Bird said. "We have players that played in high school and some that have never played the game before."
Bird said that although many players bought their own sticks, equipment was provided.
Fifty to 80 students take advantage of the KU Crew club each year, said president Jeremy Struemph.
He likes the sport because of the team emphasis.
"Everyone needs to work together to make this work," Struemph said. "In football, basketball and other team sports, one person can make a team, but in crew, all the people in the boat have to work as one in order to do well."
Struemph said 90 percent of KU rowers had no experience before joining the club.
Mike Jones, president of Men's Ultimate, also known as The HorrorZontals, is trying to spread the word about the emerging sport of Ultimate Frisbee, a mix of Frisbee and several other sports.
started playing in college."
"Ultimate combines elements of soccer, basketball and football," Jones said. "It is a sport that probably all our active members only really picked up when they
The club competes in several out-of-town tournaments and conducts its own annual tournament, "Fool's Fest."
Ben Coles, interim director for KU Cycling, said the club offered a wide variety of activities from elite, national level competition to fun, local recreational rides.
Coles also said anyone interested in learning to race was welcome.
"There are some of us who are highly competitive and race every weekend to advance our cycling careers," Coles said. "But the majority of the club is just geared to going out and riding bikes."
Coles boasted his club as the only club or NCAA Division I sport at KU to have won a national title in the last 10 years. In 2000, Jed Schneider won the Collegiate Cyclo-cross Championship.
KU also offers both men's and women's rugby. Brent Zluticky, president, said the men's team typically had about 50 active members.
"There are many reasons to join the rugby club," Zluticky said, "It is a great way to stay in shape, you get the opportunity to travel and gain leadership experience and there is an amazing sense of camaraderie between teammates."
He said rugby was one of the most physically demanding sports around.
Other sports, such as badminton, bowling, fencing, wrestling and chess are open to students. For a complete list of club sports and contact information, go to http://www.ukans.edu/services/sport-orgs.shtml.
Sisk can be reached at 864-4810 or
writer@kansan.com
Former'Hawk enters WNBA
By Jessica Scott Kansan sportswriter
Five athletes from the Big 12 Conference,including one Jayhawk,were included in the 2001 WNBA draft,making them part of one of the most touted recruiting classes in the league's five-year history.
Former Jayhawk Jaclyn Johnson was the 42nd overall pick as she went to the Orlando Miracle in the third round. Johnson led Kansas in scoring last season with 16.1 points per game. She also led the team in rebounds, averaging 7.70 per game, along with 2.12 steals per game and 0.9 blocks per game.
Kansas finished ninth in the conference with a record of 5-11 in conference play and 12-17 overall.
After helping their team to a fifth-place finish in the Big 12 last season, Missouri teammates
Amanda Lassiter and Marlena Williams are also members of the WNBA community. Lassiter, an All-Big-12 first team selection in
2001, was chosen in the first round by the Houston Comets, the four-time defending league champions. Williams was chosen by the Indiana Fever late in the third round.
Johnson: drafted in the third round
Lassiter was
the team's leading scorer with an average of 19.1 points per game. She also led the team in steals with 98, in blocks with 64 and was second in total rebounds with 197. Williams backed her up with the team's second-highest point total.
Although Texas A&M finished last in the 2001 Big 12 standings, forward Jaynetta Saunders went to the Cleveland Rockers in the second round.
Saunders led Texas A&M with 21.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Texas A&M finished 2-14 in the Big 12 and 12-16 overall.
The Minnesota Lynx chose Iowa State's Megan Taylor in the fourth round. Taylor was selected to the All-Big-12 second team, and although not among Iowa State's top scorers, she made 87 percent of her free throws last year and contributed 14.4 points per game.
The Cyclones took third in the Big 12 last year with a 12-4 conference record. The Cyclones finished 27-6 overall.
Scott can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
Jayhawks hope to make big splash
By Jeremy Giles Kansan sportswriter
The University of Kansas swimming and diving team has high expectations for the upcoming season. It hopes to place in the top fourth of the Big 12 Conference after finishing last in the previous championships.
"Right now, I would say we are third behind Texas and Texas A&M," said diving coach Kevin Lawrence.
Missouri and Iowa State.
The University of Texas enters this season as the odds-on favorite following three consecutive Big 12 Championships and a third-place finish in last year's NCAA Championships.
"We will be ahead of Missouri, Iowa State and Nebraska," Lawrence said. "But we need to stay healthy."
In last year's Big 12 Championship meet, Texas won the first 17 events, setting meet records for total points, 997.50, and margin of victory, 389, en route to the title. Kansas finished sixth behind Texas A&M, Nebraska,
The key to the diving team's success may be the health and performance of senior Rebecca McFall. As a junior, McFall set team and championship meet highs in one-meter diving, three-meter diving and platform dive. She also holds the school record on the platform with a score of 454.25 at the 1999 Big 12 Championships.
"Rebecca McFall was one of our most consistent performers." Lawrence said.
McFall will lead an injured squad into the fall season. Juniors Kristi Misejka and Patti Stringham are returning from off-season surgeries.
But as the team regains its strength, it hopes to build on last season and move ahead in the
Big 12.
"I think we have a good chance to move up," Misejka said. "We left last season disappointed and not wanting to feel that way again, so hopefully that will be motivation enough."
While they will look to improve their performance record, they led the pack academically. Last year, the diving team and its swim team counterpart had seven first-team Academic All-Big 12 members.
"Academics are our number one priority here at KU." Lawrence said. "Last year, our team GPA was 3.1. We just need to be sure their priorities are straight and that they are on the ball academically."
Giles can be reached at 864-4810 or write@kansan.com
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