Inside Section B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Lawrence skateboarders just want a good place to skate. This weekend they will hold a benefit to keep their dream alive. See Page 6B.
Kansas Football
Friday
September 12, 1997
Section:
B
Check out the Kansas and Missouri depth charts for this weekend's game.
SEE PAGE 2B
Waving Wheat
Page 1
The tradition of waving the wheat has been at the University of Kansas for a long time and isn't going away.
SEE PAGE 8B
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Revenge, respect on 'Hawks' minds
Game tomorrow offers a chance for redemption
By Kelly Cannon
kcannon@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
The last time the Kansas football team faced Missouri, the Jayhawks were handily defeated 25-42.
But it's almost a year later, Missouri is playing in Lawrence this time and the Jayhawks haven't forgotten the embarrassment.
"I remember the 400 yards their offense had on our defense," inside linebacker Jason Thoren said. "They were running up and down the field all day, and I can't forget that. It was a nightmare — a nightmare we couldn't get out of."
The Tigers will be gunning for Kansas again, and the Jayhawks are
aware of it.
"There are a lot of Missouri grads in Lawrence, and they would love to see Missouri thump us," Kansas football coach Terry Allen said.
Missouri is led by quarterback Corby Jones. Jones, known more for his rushing ability than his passing, rushed for 742 yards last season, seven yards short of Missouri's leading rusher, running back Brock Olivo.
"They know how to rush the ball." Allen said. "They have an extremely talented quarterback, running back and fullback. They are a very prolific, well-executed team football that puts fear in your heart."
In addition to a strong offense, Missouri has an equally strong defense, Allen said.
Allen said that Missouri's style of
"They're good at shortening the football game," Allen said. "They do things that take time off the clock. Their defense is in your face, and they try and force a quick exchange of a punt. They don't let teams methodically drive the football down the field."
'Hawks on TV
10 a.m. The team walks down Campanula Hill.
11:30 Kickoff vs. Missouri
The gmail will be released on my rack
Sport Network, which is channels and
storage.
Sports network, which is channels 4 and 13. Catch it on the radio on KJHK 9.7.
defense would force the Jayhawks to be assignment-oriented.
"They force you to stick to your position and not try and take over for someone else and be a star." Allen said.
Kansas' obvious strength is its defense, which will prove its ability tomorrow.
Allen said that the ability to use two quarterbacks, starter Matt Johner and backup Zac Wegner, was an asset for Kansas.
"I think this will be a great test for us," Allen said. "We haven't faced a quarterback nearly as gifted as Jones. This will be a true test for our defense this week."
"A couple of things we may do offensively Zac does a little better than Matt," Allen said. "I feel like we have a sixth man — we have the ability to have someone come in and change the pace. I'll go out and feel very good about our plan, but if the game is getting away from us, we may change the things that we do, and Zac does them better."
Thoren said he thought Kansas was playing better this year.
"We have shown a lot of emotion on the field," Thoren said. "Coach Allen will tell you that you did a nice job. We're playing to make the coach happy, and when you play to make the coach happy you play better."
The Jayhawks will walk down the hill around 10 a.m., and kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m.
Right Kansas senior running back Eric Vann runs the ball in last year's football game against Missouri. KU plays MU Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in Memorial Stadium.
Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Betsy Pollard, a sophomore goalkeeper from Souix City, Iowa, dives for a ball during a shooting drill at practice last week. The Jayhawks face the Red Raiders of Texas Tech tomorrow in Lubbock, Texas. Photo by Eric B. Howell/KANSAN
Soccer offense gets new look
Bv Harlev V. Ratliff
By Harley V. Kalm
sports@karson.com
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sports writer
Kansas soccer coach Dan Magner watched his offense sputter last weekend as bigger, faster teams from Texas and Texas A&M outscored the Jayhawks 8-2.
Heading into today's game against Texas Tech, the Kansas offense will be sporting a new look.
Times Knew Outdoor of the city hwks 0-2
Time for a change.
Joining forward Lindsey Horner will be last year's leading goal scorer, Cynthia Dahle. Dahle will make the move from her position in the midfield.
The single-forward offense has been scrapped — if only temporarily — for an expanded two-forward set.
Magner had two reasons for altering the formation.
First, Magner said he hoped the extra forward would help apply more pressure
"Their field is extremely small." Magner said. "It's actually below the minimum NCAA standards for width. Tech was able to get away with that because it was a pre-existing field. We feel that it will benefit us to have two people up front in that tight of space."
on the opposing team's defense. The second reason stemmed from the size of the Red Raiders' field.
"Texas Tech plays very direct," Magnar said. "They like to really bring it down your throat, while Baylor, like Texas, plays side-to-side and builds the ball up the field. Saturday's talk and discussion will be very important in that the women listen and adjust tactically because they will most likely go with one striker on Sunday."
However, Magner said he anticipated returning to the one-forward lineup for Sunday's game against Baylor.
"Defensively, we are going to stay the same," defender Jackie Horton said. "We've worked more on pushing up faster. We want to pressure the other team to play the ball quicker."
The Jayhawks enter this weekend with an 0-2 record in Big 12 Conference play. Since only the top six teams get into the conference tournament in San Antonio, this weekend's conference road games have particular importance, a fact Magner said his players knew well.
Despite giving up eight goals last weekend, the only difference in the Jayhawks' defense could be an added emphasis on getting the ball up the field.
"We don't want the players to get into a panic mode," Magner said. "They are well aware what this weekend's games mean. We set a goal of making it to the Big 12 tournament. We don't have to badger them about it."
Erinn Reed quits team cites personal reasons
Kansan staff report
Kansas senior guard Erinn Reed will receive a medical hardship for the 1997-98 season, Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said Wednesday.
Reed left the team for personal reasons.
Reed was the backup guard to All-American Tamecka Dixon last season. She transferred to Kansas after spending her freshman season playing at Iowa. Because of NCAA transfer rules, Reed did not play during the 1994-95 season.
"This is a big loss to our program," Washington said. "We had every reason to expect that Erinn would play a major role this coming season. Unfortunately, Erinn will miss playing her senior season. But because of her health and welfare, she is unable to continue her college athletic career."
Reed: Leaving basketball team for the season
Reed averaged 13.2 minutes a game last season and recorded 2.1 points and 1.7 assists a game. As Dixon's primary backup, the Saginaw, Mich., native
played in all 31 games. She started against Northeastern Illinois in the Dial Soap Classic.
The Jayhawks return just five letterwinners from last season's squad. And without an experienced point guard returning, Washington said that her staff will look to two freshmen — Jennifer Jackson and Casey Pruitt — to fill the role. Pruitt had two knee surgeries last season.
"This situation creates a tremendous challenge for myself, as well as my staff," Washington said. "We will be looking at two young, inexperienced players to fill the void. Neither one has played a minute of Division I basketball. We will just have to wait and see who steps up."
n April Nance, an early signee last November, has not enrolled at Kansas because she failed to meet minimum requirements on test scores needed for NCAA eligibility. Nance has not enrolled at another school. Washington said she hoped that Nance would be able to attend Kansas in January after retaking the standardized tests.
Freshman Nikki White underwent surgery last week on her lower left leg. She is expected to return to the court in six weeks.
The women's basketball team will begin practice on Oct. 15.
Jayhawk squad swims with the fishes
Kansan staff report
The Kansas swimming team competes in the Open Water Meet against Southern Illinois and Illinois at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow at Lone Star Lake.
The race features 3.1 miles of open water at the lake. The Jayhawks have trained there during the fall months for the last six years.
"Training outdoors is tremendous aerobic training," Kansas coach Gary Kempf said. "It's non-stop swimming, whereas in a pool, there are constant
pauses. We enjoy the open water race. It builds camaraderie between the schools and gives (us) a focal point in training."
This is the fourth year that Kansas has competed in the race.
To get to Lone Star Lake from Lawrence, take Iowa Street south to the Wakaraus River Bridge. Turn right at first intersection past the bridge on County Road 458. Follow 458 past the Clinton Turnoff. Turn left on County Road 1039, which bisects the city of Lone Star. Turn right on U.S. 1 to get to the lake.
Kansas plays host at Jayhawk Invitational tomorrow
The Kansas men's and women's cross country teams will run in their first major races this season when they play host to the Jayhawk Invitational tomorrow at Rim Rock Farm.
Kansan staff report
Sixteen schools will participate in this year's field, including the Michigan men and Georgetown women. Both teams finished in the top 15 at the NCAA team championships last year.
The women's 5K race will begin at 10 a.m. Both Jayhawk teams competed at the Southern Illinois Invite last Saturday. The Kansas women finished first, but are expecting tougher competition this weekend.
"The Jayhawk Invitational is the first big meet for our team," co-captain Lynn LoPresti said.
The men's 8K contest is scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m. A few of the men runners did not participate in the Southern Illinois
meet so they could rest and prepare for the home opener.
"The last two meets in September — the "Jayhawk and Stanford invitations" will be the first really good competition we will face," co-captain Jerry Pullins said.
With a larger field combined with national powers, Kansas head coach Gary Schwartz said he expected this year's Invitational to be a competitive meet, which will help his team early in the season.
"I think the major thing is that our teams
on both sides will be much more competitive than they were last year." Schwartz said. "We hope to use the competition to help us run a better race for ourselves."
The Jayhawk Invitational field includes
In last year's Invitational, the Kansas women placed third, and the men finished fifth. Michigan took both the men's and women's titles. Individually, Michigan's John Mortimer, who will defend his crown tomorrow, won the men's race, and Kansas State's Christi Schwartz won the women's.
Big 12 Conference rivals Kansas State and Oklahoma and regional teams Missouri-Kansas City, Pittsburg State, Baker, Colby Community College and Kansas City Community College.
Rim Rock Farm, the site of the 1998 NCAA Division I and II Cross Country Championships, is northwest of Lawrence. Directions are available on the Kansas cross country schedule section of the Kansas athletics home page:
www.jayhawks.org