THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
SOCCER
PAGE 13B
Team reevaluates roles after dismal season
RYAM MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
It was a strenuous season for women's soccer to say the least.
The team finished with a 6-13 record, 1-9 in conference, and now hope to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.
Only three members of the team have been to the tournament: midfielders Kelsey Clifton and Jordyn Perdue and forward Kortnev Clifton.
This year's team is especially young; it returns eight upper-classmen of the 23 women on the roster.
Some of the returning players took last season's troubles hard.
in particular the minute group of returning seniors.
"The first thing I think I did personally was take a step back and look how I could have contributed better," Clifton said. "I just knew none of us wanted to have a season like that again. We all talked to each other and made it very clear how we're not going back to that."
Clifton was named the team's offensive Most Valuable Player in 2010 and will be looked to as a leader on this year's squad.
"I'm generally a very quiet person on the field," Clifton said. "So I'm going to take it upon myself to be more of a leader and use my voice to guide the other players."
Along with Clifton, junior
midfielder Whitney Berry wants to lead by example.
Berry, who was named to the All-Big 12 second team for the second time in her career, hopes to garner some individual accolades.
"I just want to one up myself every season," Berry said. "Hopefully I can make my stats a little better and even just helping the team with assists and maybe
get my Big 12 honors again."
Those much needed contributions will likely come from inexperienced underclassmen.
get my Big 12 honors again."
She'll probably pad the stat sheet, but it's the players in the midfield that need to contribute.
"I just knew none of us wanted to have a season like that again."
It was a difficult first year for the sophomore class, and nobody felt worse about the struggles than
WHITNEY BERRY
Junior.midfielder.
Madi Hillis, who hopes to make an impression on the Big 12.
defense looks inevitable.
"This year I really look to make a big impact just because I made an impact last year on the field."
Hillis said. "I'm really hoping to kind of step up that part of my game and show people I can lead on the field."
If Hillis does move, it will strengthen a depleted backline that allowed 29 goals last season.
After losing defenders Lauren Jackson, Geneva Magness and six others to graduation, coach Mark Francis added eight new players, including midfielder Liana Salazar and forward Ingrid Vidal.
Both players participated in the Women's World Cup for their home country of Colombia.
"That experience will be great to bring to our team and they are both obviously great players so hopefully they can come in and
show what they can do" Francis said.
With a host of new talent mixed with some veterans, the Kansas women look to move up in the Big 12 standings and clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm just ready to come out and prove everybody wrong because I think they're thinking 'Oh we're playing KU that will be easy,' Hillis said. "We're ready to show them that we're not going to be an easy team and we have a completely different mentality this year and we are ready to win."
- Edited by C.J. Matson
CLUB SPORTS
Men's soccer team hopes to beat K-State in opener
RYAN EBY
reby@kansan.com
The men's club soccer team enjoyed a great deal of success last season. The team managed to make it through the regular season undefeated and advanced
to compete at regionals and nationals. On these grand stages the team hit their first roadblocks of the year losing in the semifinals of both competitions. Even though the team fell short of their ultimate goals, last season should be a great building
pionship will begin Sept. 9 when the team travels to Manhattan to take on the Wildcats. They remain one of its bitter rivals and will be one of the team's tougher tests of the season. Kansas and Creighton will play first at Kansas on Sept. 25 and at
Flip to page 10B for more information on how to try out for the men's club soccer team.
block for future success and the team hopes to carry the momentum into the 2011 season.
Creighton on Oct. 9.
The quest for a regional cham-
"Last season we were a young team and I feel that we are building towards having a very strong season in 2011," said Grant Polley, a junior from Wichita.
Missouri remains one of the soccer team's most hated rivals but is not on the schedule for the season.
Jeremy Chabot, a junior from Maize, is a defender for the Jayhawks and also serves as a coach for the team. He said the team wanted to duplicate its perfect regular season record and win regionals.
Overall, the upcoming season may be a challenge for the
men's club soccer team, but they are an experienced bunch that has already proven themselves very capable of taking on any challenges they will encounter. The team concludes their season on Oct. 9 at Crieghton and is expecting to compete at regionals Oct. 28 through Oct. 30 at the University of Missouri. Tryouts for the men's club soccer team will be held on Aug. 22 at 4:30 p.m. at Shenk Sports Complex.
Edited by Lisa Curran
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY SEPT. 9 (7p.m.)
SATURDAY SEPT. 10 (1p.m.)
SATURDAY SEPT. 17 (1p.m.)
SATURDAY SEPT. 25 (1p.m.)
FRIDAY SEPT. 30 (7p.m.)
SUNDAY OCT. 2 (1p.m.)
SATURDAY OCT. 8 (1p.m.)
SUNDAY OCT. 9 (1p.m.)
SOURCE: KU ATHLETICS
CYCLING
TRACK
Runner, thrower advance in China
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
Edited by Lisa Curran
Sophomore Diamond Dixon and senior Mason Finley arrived in southwest China on Aug. 14 to represent Team USA at the 2011 World University Games. Dixon ran her quarterfinal heat of the 400-meter dash in 53.67 seconds, which was good enough to win and earn an automatic qualification for the next round. In her debut season, Dixon claimed the Big 12 Outdoor Championship in the 400-meter dash, while breaking both indoor and outdoor university records for the race. Finley only needed one throw to move to the shotput final. He launched a throw 18.92 meters, to reach second place in his flight. Finley passed on his final two attempts to conserve energy and not risk injury. He is also competing at discus. On the field, Finley won his second Big 12 Outdoor shotput title in as many years and earned All-American honors. He will begin qualification rounds on Friday morning, and finish on Sunday afternoon in the event's final.
A
MIKE GRUNDE/KANSAN Freshman Diamond Dixon sprints in the 400 meter dash prelimits Friday at the Kansas relays. Dixon will be representing Team USA in China at the World University Games.
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Club welcomes all skill levels not solely for serious racers
The cycling club does not start its season until April, but members practice and stay in shape throughout the fall.
DREW HARMS
DREW HARMS
dharnes@kansan.com
Although the official cycling season doesn't begin until April, the KU Cycling Club has found many ways to keep in shape in the fall.
Grayson Warrior, recruitment officer for the KU Cycling Club, will begin his second year as a member this fall.
He said that last year was a great experience for him and shared how cycling is wonderful because he is able to hang out with other people who are also dedicated cyclists. He thinks a majority of people who aren't familiar with cycling believe that all they do in the club is race, but that is not the case Every Friday, the team will meet on campus mid afternoon, and go on a "joyride." The joyride, Warrior said, consists of a more relaxed, slow-pace ride where the team will often meet other riders around Lawrence.
The official cycling season kicks off in the spring, but many team members will train year round. In the summer some members biked in non-collegiate leagues in Kansas City and rode for teams such as Colavita/Parisi. In the winter the team will meet at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center a few times a week to train. The members will bring their own bikes into the lower level of the recreation center and hook up their back wheel to a magnetic device called a trainer. The device works to keep the bike in place and also adds resistance so the riders can train harder.
The collegiate-run events start in April and last until the end of May. During this time the team will make trips to Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota to compete with different universities. Warrior said it was funny to see how different the quantities of members differ from each
7
college.
"Last year Nebraska only had two members that we competed with, whereas Minnesota had a huge team with around 50 members," Warrior said.
Warrior said that sometimes there will be as many as 200 who compete in the races. Warrior himself has placed in the top five multiple times. Cyclists across the world follow certain rankings, and put themselves into categories from one to five. The rankings are represented with one and two being the pros, three being almost pro, four being a step up from intermediate, and five being beginner. He said he considers himself as a No. 2 ranking cyclist overall.
"There's a misconception out
"The team as a whole just wants to have fun and race with other people who share the same dedication and passion for cycling." White said. The team kicks off with their first non-collegiate event on Sep. 2 in St. Louis.
there that the cycling club is just for serious racers, but that's not the case, said Andy White, president of the cycling club. White said there are more aspects to cycling than that, said he enjoys being a member of the team because it's rewarding and offers a fantastic feeling after you cross the finish line. White encourages anyone who is interested in cycling no matter your skill level to join the club.
Edited by Rachel Schultz