4B SPORTS
CLUB SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2008
Club softball to play first game
Team will see first action against Haskell varsity today
BY BEN ASHWORTH bashworth@kansan.com
The KU club softball team will play its inaugural game today against Haskell Indian Nations University.
The club was created last spring and was officially approved for play this fall.
Playing a Division I sport requires a substantial amount of time and energy. Katy Saunders didn't have that kind of time.
"I just played intramural softball for two years," said Saunders, a Tappahannock, Va., junior. "And that just wasn't enough."
It was after that realization that Saunders decided to look into playing club softball. But she ran into a problem. The university had no club softball team. However, Saunders had a solution to her setback: form a new team.
Although Saunders knew many others shared her situation, filling a new squad with new faces posed difficulties.
"Starting a new team wasn't easy," Saunders said. "I had to draft at least 10 different copies of the team constitution before it got approved."
After Saunders got the green light, she was faced with the problem of completing a roster. She set up tables in the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center to help garner interest and found 50 people interested in club softball.
"Only 12 showed up to our first practice though," Saunders said.
From those 12, Saunders formed her roster. Saunders said she tried to keep the commitment manageable for all those involved. The team practices three times a week
for two hours in preparation for its games, which will take place for a little more than a month.
Meanwhile, the school-sponsored softball team begins its fall season in late September, playing for two weekends in the Fall Invitational and the Hawkeye Classic, and playing the regular season from February until the middle of May.
The club softball team will travel down 23rd Street to face Haskell's varsity softball team today. Other teams on the schedule include Ottawa University, Iowa Central, Crowder College and UMKC. The team will then travel to Manhattan to face Kansas State's and Nebraska's club teams in a mini-Big 12 tournament.
Edited by Scott Toland
Heated game ends in rout Phi Psi 4 outnumbers Sigma Alpha Epsilon 2, wins game
BY ELIOT METZ emetz@kansan.com
Tempers flared on the field Tuesday as Phi Kappa Psi 4 defeated Sigma Alpha Epsilon 2 in a 22-0 blowout during flag football.
Both teams started slowly in the first half, with each going three-and-out on their first drives. On Phi Psi 4's second drive, it found the end zone with a touchdown reception by Gary Tankard, Dallas freshman. But the play was called back because of a flag-guarding penalty.
On defense it was all about the secondary. Both teams came away
Regardless, Tankard proved to be Phi Psi 4's most valuable player on offense, throwing for two touchdowns.
with intersections in the game, including two by Phi Sii 4's Rex Redlingshafer, Fairway freshman.
SAE 2 and Phi Psi 4 both focused on covering all possible receivers instead of putting heavy pressure on the quarterback. Only two sacks were recorded in the game.
The game became heated in the second half, when trash talk on the field occurred after nearly every play. Things came to a head when an SAE 2 defender tackled Tankard around his neck, neglecting his flags completely. The defender was quickly taken out of the game, leaving SAE 2 down another player.
Another major factor in the game was the lack of players for SAE 2. They played with only six
men from the start, one less than the usual seven. Then, after the ejection in the second half, they were forced to play with only five.
According to SAE 2's quarterback, Jonathan Nehring, LeRoy sophomore, the fact that they started the game a man down contributed to the tempers on the field.
"Being undermanned, we got tired. When you get tired tempers flare," he said. But through it all, both teams did a good job of keeping their composure, shaking hands and exchanging kind words after the game.
"We're all out here to have a good time," Nehring said. "It's not a life-or-death matter to us."
Edited by Brieun Scott
Aerial battle rages on field
Phi Kappa Psi 1 rocks Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1 in flaq football
INTRAMURALS
BY NIKKI SCHENFELD
nschenfeld@kansan.com
Phi Kappa Psi 1 defeated Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1 39-12 in an epic quarterback battle.
The game didn't start well for SAE 1 as quarterback Andrew Trompet, Atchison sophomore, threw an interception to Brian Tagg of Phi Psi 1 to start the game. Steve Blumhardt, Leawood junior, stepped in as quarterback on the first possession for Phi Psi 1 and, after two attempts, quickly threw a touchdown pass to Richard Zahner, Fairway junior.
Phi Psi 1 went for a successful one-point conversion, also caught by Zahner. The score was quickly 7-0 in Phi Psi 1's favor.
"A small player stepped up big today," Blumhardt said about Zahner.
and ran for two first downs before Tagg intercepted the ball again. Jon Teel, the other quarterback for Phi Psi 1, stepped in after Tagg's interception.
After they added the one-point conversion, the score at halftime was 21-0.
Trompeter was quick to respond
Teel quickly threw the ball to Blumhardt, who ran the ball to within inches from the goal line. Teel threw a successful touchdown pass to Blumhardt on first down. Once again, Zahner made the one-point conversion a success, extending Phi Psi's lead to 14-0.
With his team trailing 27-0 in the second half, Paul Dundee stepped in as quarterback for SAE1. His second pass was caught by Nick Kormann, who was stopped near the end zone. Dundee followed that up with a touchdown pass to Chaz Rumage, bringing the score to 27-6.
SAE 1 punted the ball with one minute left in the first half and it landed in Blumhardt's hands. After an offensive penalty and a five-yard loss. Teel threw a successful pass to Blumhardt for
another Phi Psi 1 touchdown.
After Kormann intercepted a Phi Psi pass, Dundee went back into action. He ran the ball in for a touchdown, making the score 27-12.
That's all SAE 1 could muster. With its dominating offense, Phi Psi 1 scored two more times, extending its lead to 39-12 on the last play of the game.
Merriman had only two tackles in a shocking 26-24 loss to Carolina at home on Sunday. Even though Merriman appeared to be a non-factor, coach Norv Turner said he thought the linebacker looked "explosive and very physical."
Edited by Andy Greenhaw
"Shawne informed me he did not feel right and thought it best to shut it down," Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said in a statement. "Shawne is a great player and an inspirational leader. He will be missed."
NFL
Late in training camp, Merriman said that the posterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee were torn.
He spent several days getting opinions from four doctors from outside the organization, all of whom recommended he have surgery. But on Aug. 27, he announced that he was going to play, saying, "If you give a football player a decision to play, you
know, I'm going to play.
Lights Out has to say goodnight Surgery forces Chargers' star linebacker to end season
Merriman's decision came two days after he barely resembled the player who had an NFL-high 39 1/2 sacks in the past three seasons and played in three straight Pro Bowls.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO — Star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman pulled the plug on his 2008 season on Tuesday when he told the San Diego Chargers he'll have surgery on the two torn ligaments in his left knee.
Merriman has said he's had pain in the knee since late in the 2006 season. He also injured the knee during a game at Tennessee on Dec. 9. He sat out the follow-
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The loss of Merriman, whose hard hits earned him the nickname "Lights Out," is a big one for a team that has Super Bowl expectations.
San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman gestures to the crowd during the fourth quarter of a loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 in San Diego. Merriman played with a knee injury that game but will miss the rest of the season.
ing Sunday, but played in the last three regular-season games and the Chargers' three playoff games, including a loss to New England in the AFC championship game. He also played in the Pro Bowl.
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