Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Tuesday
September 9,1997
Section:
A
Page 10
The Kansas baseball team officially opened fall practice season with an intrasquad game, which included walk-on candidates. SEE PAGE 7B
College Football
The Big 12 Conference players of the week are Oklahoma running back De'-Mond Parker, linebacker Travian Smith and Colorado safety Rashidi Barnes.
Pro Football
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders 28-27 with a last minute touchdown. The Chiefs are 1-1 this season.
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Jayhawks ready to take on the Tigers
Allen anticipating early season rivalry in Saturday's game
By Kelly Cannon kcannon@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Only three days after Kansas defeated Texas Christian 17-10, the Missouri Tigers are in the thoughts of Javahawk players and coaches.
Kansas football coach Terry Allen said he was excited about the game.
"I'm very much looking forward to the Missouri game." Allen said. "Obviously it is a change in tradition, but being new, it is nothing different to me. I assumed, coming from Iowa, that the K-State game was the big rivalry, but after being here eight months I realized that Missouri means a lot."
Missouri football coach Larry Smith said he respected the Jayhawks' 2-0 start. Missouri began its season Saturday with a win against Eastern Michigan and
Allen: Kansas coach looking forward to Missouri game
Smith was not pleased to face rival Kansas so early in the season.
"That's the way schedules are now, and we have to deal with it," Smith said. "It's a rival team — Kansas. It is a big rivalry for game two. That's early, but it is a
way to get on TV."
Smith also complimented Allen in his new role as Kansas head coach.
"They have regained their confidence," Smith said. "They are a much more physical team than a year ago. Kansas has two wins and is finding ways to win. Terry is doing a good job. They are a basic team, and they are kicking and blocking well."
Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Allen quelled rumors that backup quarterback Zac Wegner would replace Matt Johner as starter. At halftime against TCU, Johner exited the game because of dizziness and muscle cramps. Wegner replaced him in the second half and passed for 108 yards.
"The quarterback situation is something that can easily be made into a controversy," Allen said. "I have the ability to use both, but I have to name a starter and go with a starter."
Johner had been suffering from a virus the week before the TCU game and still is not feeling 100 percent, Allen said.
Another position with multiple options is running back. Running backs David Winbush and Eric Vann both had strong performances Saturday. Winbush came off the bench to rush for more yards than starter Vann, but Allen said there was no controversy about who would handle the running back duties.
"You can never have enough running backs," Allen said. "You are never going to rush one guy 30 times, so it puts us in a good situation."
Even though Kansas has been dominating defensively, the Jayhawks will face teams with more offensive power as the season progresses. Allen said.
Kansas running back Eric Vann tries to jump over Texas Christian defenders to gain yards. The Jayhawks won the game 17-10 on Saturday. photo by Chris Hamilton/KANSAN
"I'm not sure we're that good," Allen said. "Both opposing quarterbacks struggled. We played two lesser offensive teams than we'll play the rest of the year. But I like how our defense is playing."
Equipment manager dies after 20 years of service
Barbara Wilson remembered by athletes and staff as loyal, helpful
By Kristie Blasi
By Kristie Blasi
kblasi@kansan.com
Sports editor
Wearing their practice uniforms, three Kansas sports teams remembered Mrs. Barbara Wilson in a fitting tribute.
About 300 people—many of them student-athletes—attended a memorial service yesterday afternoon in Allen Field House for the woman who managed the equipment and uniforms for the Olympic Sports, formerly known as women's and nonrevenue sports.
Mrs. Wilson died Thursday because of complications after heart surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.
During the service, Bob Frederick, director of athletics, announced that the Olympic Sports equipment room was renamed the Barbara J. Wilson Equipment Room.
"Barbara was truly loved by so many people in the athletic department, her colleagues, the coaches and staff and especially the student-athletes," Frederick said. "In the last couple years the NCAA has placed emphasis on student-athletes. Barbara Wilson was about 20 years ahead of the NCAA."
Swimming coach Gary Kempi agreed the honor was appropriate. "It was the only thing to do," he said. "That place will always be Barbie's room. She did the job the way a coach would dream the job being done."
Student-athletes also appreciated her efforts.
Flowers adorned Allen Field House yesterday during a memorial service for Barbara Wilson, the equipment magger for Olympic Sports. Photo by Geoff Krieger
"She was always a great lady and always willing to help," swimmer Dave Pfeuffer said.
Swimming coach Gary Kemp agreed the honor was appropriate
His teammate, Alan Kroll, said Mrs. Wilson always knew what was going on with all of the athletes' sports and was always encouraging.
"I never thought I would be so fortunate to find someone like Barb," Washington said. "She was a perfect fit. We needed someone who understood the challenges the programs faced then, including salaries."
Mrs. Wilson, 66, was hired in November 1977 by women's basketball coach Marian Washington, who was then the athletics director for women's sports.
Washington said Mrs. Wilson handled all of the equipment, uniforms and even some transportation arrangements for all of the women's programs. Her responsibilities later extended to men's and women's tennis and swimming.
"She was extremely loyal and extremely committed to Kansas athletics and women's sports." Washington said. "She went beyond the call of duty to see that her teams and athletes were prepared for sporting events. She had a tremendous personality, a hearty laugh and a great sense of humor."
Olympic Sports secretary Rose Hermann said she valued her coworker's sense of humor and friendship.
"Everyone always thought of her as tiny — she was about 4-feet 11-inch tall — but she had the character, attitude and heart of a giant," Hermann said. "We lunched and took our breaks together
every day for 10 years."
In addition to renaming the equipment room, the athletics department also established a Barbara Wilson Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to a student manager for an Olympic Sports team. The Student Athletic Advisory Committee announced it would award the first Barbara Wilson Spirit Award this year.
Mrs. Wilson is survived by two daughters, Cynthia Ehrman, Chapel Hill, N.C., and Wendy Keller, Perry; three sons, Doug Wilson, Stanley, Bill Wilson, Leawood and Michael Wilson, Lawrence; two brothers, Richard Rowland, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and James Rowland, San Francisco; and 11 grandchildren.
Volleyball falls short for second weekend
Jayhawks improve but finish with losing record at tournament
By Matt Gardner
By Matt Gardner sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportswriter
Inconsistency, loss of composure and one very good volleyball team resulted in a 1-2 showing for the Kansas Jayhawks volleyball team at the Northwestern Tournament during the weekend.
For the second consecutive weekend, the Jayhawks returned with a losing record, but Kansas coach Karen Schonewise said she saw something different in her team.
"A 1-2 showing this year is better than last year." Schonewise said
A lot of what the girls heard last weekend was "You only went 1-2," but people don't know how good these girls actually played, she said.
A slow start for the Jayhawks resulted in a three-game sweep from Northwestern on Friday. After starting the first game down 9-0, Schonewise said her team never recovered.
"I was disappointed with the start of the match," Schonewite said. "We were down 9-0 in the first game before we started playing. Then after that things went very well, but that set the tone for the match."
Kansas had a difficult start Saturday facing the No. 2 team in the nation, Florida.
The Gators pounded Kansas right away and swept the match.
"Florida just didn't make many mistakes," Schonewise said. "That's expected from the No. 2 team in the nation."
However, Schonewise said she was able to see the Jayhawks play better against Florida.
"They always raise their intensity level in big games," she said. "They wanted to prove they could play against the Florida."
The Jayhawks second match on Sat-
urdy was another story, however Because of many Virginia Tech errors, Kansas won the first two games.
"We came out and played really well in the first two games," outside hitter Moira Donovan said. "We let down a little bit, so that was disappointing. Obviously we're happy that we won the match."
"Virginia Tech made a lot of errors early on, and we didn't earn a lot of the points that we got," Schonewise said. "Then the girls thought the rest of the match was going to be a cakewalk, and they lost all composure and the third and fourth games."
Donovan was credited with 15 kills in the Northwestern match.
Kansas lost the next two games, before reviving offensively to win the match-deciding fifth game.
"We mixed up our shots quite a bit," she said, referring to the left, middle and right sides of the net. "I give some of the credit to the middle hitters for doing a good job of pulling their middle blocker away."
Despite the 1-2 record, Kansas had a boost from several different players during the weekend.
Middle blocker Amanda Reves was named to the All-Tournament team for the second consecutive weekend. Reves had a strong hitting percentage against Florida and recorded 15 kills against the Northwestern.
Sohenwise said she continued to see much-needed help from her bench. Tiffany Sennett and Leslie Purkeypile contributed against Northwestern.
The Jayhawks have improved tremendously. Schonewise said.
"Overall, we are doing some great things, but we are still playing a little inconsistent." Schonewise said. "It's disappointing to come home from a tournament with a 1-2 record, but we are showing improvement."
The Kansas Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Allen Field House will help the Jayhawks evaluate their improvement.
"We were excited to travel and have been able to go to good tournaments," Reves said. "But we're excited to play at home as well. We have a lot to prove to ourselves and to our fans."
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