KANSAS FOOTBALL
Junior quarterback **MATT JONNER**'s 14 of 20, 147-yard, one touchdown performance in No. 24 Kansas' 35-10 season-opening win against Ball State, apparently is enough to warrant another start. Kansas
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
coach Glen Mason said yesterday that on of now, John would
that as of now Johner would get the starting nod instead of senior Ben Rutz when the Jayhawks play Texas Christian at 8:05 p.m. Saturday in Ft. Worth. But Mason also said he didn't have to make an official announcement until ame time.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL UPDATE
Texas Tech running back BYRON HANSPARD and Nebraska raker MINTER HAVE been named the Big 12 Conference players of the week. Hanspad ran for 272 yards and scored
two touchdowns in a 31-3 win against Oklahoma State on Saturday. Minter had two interceptions in Nebraska's 55-14 defeat of Michigan State.
When GARY SHEFFIELD, of the Florida Marlins, hit his 41st home run off of Montreal's Pedro Martinez Sunday night, he not only tied for the National League home run lead, he broke the record for the most roundtippers in a season. Sheffield's
IT'S OUT OF HERE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1996
homer, the 4,459th the 1996 season.
he 1996 season,
broke the
record set in
1987. And
there are
still three
weeks left
in the regular season.
7A
Women's soccer team defeats Illinois State
The Kansas women's soccer team overcame a slow first half to post a 3-0 victory, moving its record to 2-2, against the Illinois State University Redbirds on Sunday.
The first-year women's program at Illinois State University came into Sunday's game against the Kansas Jayhawks with an 0-3 record and had yet to score a goal this year. After Sunday, none of that had changed.
The loss was the fourth consecutive for the Redbirds, a first-year soccer program.
"It's a good way to end the week-end," said Kansas soccer coach Lori Walker.
The Jayhawks were defeated by Oral Roberts on Thursday, but exploded Sunday for 23 shots, including 14 on goal.
"I told them I was unhappy, and I told them they were being lazy," Walker said. "After that, I think they played with more intensity."
"We were a little sluggish at first, but we picked it up after that," Michner said.
Freshman midfielder Kendyl Michner drilled her first goal of the year from the top of the box about 13 minutes after the peep talk.
Dahle leads the team in shots (14) and goals (2).
"We'll take the win," Walker said. "There were two young teams competing, and we showed a little more maturity."
But Dahle refuses to take all the credit.
"Cindy is consistently going to have an impact," Walker said. "She has a God-given talent—speed. And her decisions are getting better and better."
"It comes from the rest of players," she said. "They're feeding me good balls. That makes it easy."
On Friday the Jayhawks will take on the 12th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies. They have a team speed that is unlike anything the Jayhawks have seen yet, Walker said.
"Our goal is to turn up the heat to allow us to compete in the Big 12," Walker said.
The match is at 5:30 p.m. in College Station, Texas.
-Kansan staff report
Canseco says he is 'happier than ever' with second wife
MIAMI — Jose Canseco says family life has had a calming effect on him.
The Boston Red Sox slugger, who has been sidelined since July with a bad back, married Jessica Sekely on Aug. 27. They're expecting a daughter in late October.
"Jessica has helped me a lot to feel at peace," Canseco said. "With her I feel happier than ever."
"Being a father will be marvelous. This is the most emotional thing in the world."
Canseco divorced his first wife in 1992. He met Sekely in 1993 at a Cleveland restaurant.
"I knew nothing about sports, but when I saw him walk in, I was attracted to him immediately," she said.
Sekely accepted Canseco's invitation to watch him play the following night for Texas against Cleveland.
The Associated Press
Softball recruit hits home
Former LHS hitter may start on first
By Cameron Heeg Kansan staff reporter
It is a simple game philosophy that Shannon Stanwix believes in.
"Hit the ball real hard," said the Lawrence freshman infielder.
Stanwix, a former Lawrence High School softball standout, will represent her home town playing softball for Kansas.
"I actually wanted to stay close to home," Stanwix said. "I just really want to help the team out, and growing up here means a lot to me also. All I can say about it is: It's KU!"
Stanwix lead the league in batting average and made the All-Sunflower League team in her junior and senior years at Lawrence High. Her powerful and consistent hits helped the Lions to a 13-8 record for '96 season.
"Shannon is a fun player to watch because she is a big offensive threat when she gets to the plate," said Reenie Stofgdill, Lawrence High softball coach. "She is a real perfectionist and will get mad at herself if she goes three-for-four in a game."
Kansas head coach Tracy Bunge said she hoped Stanxw will continue her consistent hitting, which could give her a starting role as a freshman.
"She is a very disciplined hitter and the power she has can help her drive the ball the opposite direction," Bunge said. "I hope she will contribute and be a solid player at first base. She has a great opportunity being the starter at first, but it will be demanding."
Stanwix said she knew that play at the college level was more intensive than play at the high school level. To adjust to the college level, she said, she needed to improve her speed and defensive skills.
Stanwix worked on those skills during the summer while she played for the Peppers, a summer league team based in Olathe.
"I played over the summer to try to stay in playing condition," she said. "But I think coming in, no matter what role you play, there is a lot of pressure and having a starting possibility there makes it even more pressure. I am going to just look up to the upperclassmen and hope I can fit in."
The softball team also added two more recruits, both freshman pitchers. Heather Hibben was picked All-County pitcher by the "L.A. Times" and the "Orange County Register" in her senior year at Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, Calif. Christy McPhail lettered four years in softball, volleyball and basketball at Santa Fe Trail High School in Overbrook.
Kansas freshman first baseman Shannon Stanwix practices her batting swing during practice. Stanwix, Lawrence freshman, was a standout player at Lawrence High School before playing for the Jayhawks.
Gina Thomburg / KANSAN
Tennis coaches resign in summer staff shuffle
Men's and women's programs lose coach
By Tommy Gallagher Kansan sports writer
The men's and women's tennis programs received major overhauls during the past several months because of numerous changes in their coaching staffs.
The scramble started when Michael Center, who coached the Jayhawk men for four years, resigned at the end of this summer. Matt Knoll, men's assistant coach for two years, accepted an offer to become the men's head coach at Baylor University on Aug. 1. Knoll never interviewed for the vacancy left by Center.
"Baylor did a tremendous job of recruiting me to become the head coach," Knoll said. "It was an emotional decision for me to leave Lawrence and the University of Kansas, but Baylor gave me every tool necessary for me to succeed here."
He might need much more than a tool box.
Knoll inherits a program that has finished last in the Southwest Conference for seven consecutive years. As Baylor moves into the Big 12 Conference, Knoll faces an
Frank Polito
"The most important thing is to get the right assistant coach here," Riley said. "We're receiving resumes and phone calls about the position every day, but we want to be careful not to pick someone who might not fit in here."
With Knoll gone, Kansas named Mark Riley the men's head coach on Aug. 2. The search for an assistant coach has been a slow one. Although Riley admitted that he wants an assistant coach as soon as possible, he does not want to rush the search and hire the wrong person, he said.
even tougher battle in rebuilding the program.
Riley is complacent about not having an assistant coach for now
because the void has given him an opportunity to know the players better. In the meantime, Riley has received some help from Victor Fimbres, a senior player from last year, who will act as an aid until an assistant coach is named.
"Victor has been very helpful because there is a lot that I need to do right now," Riley said. "He's helped me and the team because he cares about the program and knows the guys well."
New women's head coach Frank Polito already knows his players well, but also faces the challenge of finding an assistant coach to lessen his workload.
Polito became the interim head coach on Aug. 30 when Chuck Merzbacher resigned to accept the head women's tennis position at Ohio State University. The news of Merzbacher's departure initially hit the team hard, but Merzbacher insists that it makes more sense to live in the present.
"Frank has broad shoulders and is very capable of doing everything it takes to run a top-notch program," Merzbacher said. "I had all
See TENNIS,Page 8A
Intramurals set for new season
Sand volleyball begins regular competition
Sun, sand and sets abounded as the first day of play in regular season intramural volleyball began yesterday.
After a week of scheduling and planning, Jason Krone, intramural director, was ready for the season to begin.
By Kerry Hillard
Kansan sports writer
"We've just been waiting for the first day to come and get everybody out here to play." Krone said.
More teams have been waiting for play to begin also. The number of teams participating in intramural sand volleyball increased from 42 last year to 54 this year.
The team from Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall played yesterday, but they weren't ready.
Teams from the men's residence hall,men's greek,and co-rec leagues began play.
After hearing the intercom buzzer from the Grace Pearson desk, Aaron Major, Deerfield, N. H., freshman, answered the call. The players who were signed up to play had scheduling conflicts, so new recruits were needed.
Team captain Greg Swart said the make-shift team had never practiced together before. Swart, Topeka freshman, was impressed with how the new team played in competition.
"With practice, we will be an unstoppable juggernaut in volleyball." Swart said.
The Grace Pearson team
defeated the Pearson Scholarship Hall team in two out of three games with scores of 15-10, 11-15 and 15-8.
The team from Grace Pearson was not the only make-shift team. Krone said that 10 to 15 teams had signed up just before play began. These teams had missed the managers' meeting, instant scheduling, or had not been able to get players organized.
The Beta #1 team was ready, and organized and victorious. However, the team won without even stepping into the sand.
The Air Force team was a noshow, which resulted in a forfeit. If a team forfeits, it must pay a $10 fee to continue league play.
League play will continue for
See INTRAMURALS, Page 8A
Horned Frogs could be a tough opponent
The first off-week of Kansas football doldrums is finished, and hopefully all Jayhawk fans made it through the weekend without going through withdrawal — from football, anyway.
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Now we can all set our sights on Texas Christian, an opponent that should be no stranger to Jayhawk fans. The teams have met for the last two seasons, with the home team winning both times.
Mark my words: Much of what you're going to read about the game this week is how the Jayhawks are still smarting about the lead they blew down in Fort Worth two years ago. I'm not so convinced the motivational edge is still on the Kansas side. Don't forget that the Horned Frogs probably still remember the 38-20 pounding they got from Kansas on national television last year.
After watching TCU dismantle Oklahoma 20-7 on Saturday, I believe the Horned Frogs are a dangerous team for the Jayhawks this year. In fact, I'm much more concerned about this weekend's game than I am about the Jayhawks' other September date with a WAC team, Utah, on Sept. 28. If Kansas escapes Fort Worth with a victory, they would be 4-0 when they return home to play Texas Tech on Oct. 12.
Nevertheless, I had to find other activities to occupy my 'Hawkless sporting weekend:
Nebraska showed the rest of college football that there will be no falling off the mountain for the national champs. The Cornhuskers rolled past Michigan State with shocking ease, 55-14. All the hype wondering whether Scott Frost was capable of quarterbacking Nebraska should have been answered by this display.
As much as I would like to deny it, I did see the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight/farce Saturday night. Fortunately, I conned my way into a party that was showing it so I wasn't duped into paying the astronomical price.
Once again, we watched the so-called "baddest man on the planet" square off against an opponent who started surveying the ring for a soft spot to land the minute he walked into it.
I don't doubt that Seldon couldn't have beaten Tyson, even if he entered the ring with a sledgehammer. But I at least expected him to get hit by an actual punch before he flopped. And as for those who dismiss the notion of a fix, he's remember who pulls the strings in Tyson's camp. Don King will never be revered as the poster boy for integrity.
- The naysaver bandwagon for the Chiefs is overloaded after another sub-pair performance from the Chiefs' offense on Sunday in their 19-3 thrashing of the hapless Oakland Raiders. While I'm not punching the Chiefs tickets for the Super Bowl because of the ineptness of Steve Bono, there are some bottom lines the doubters should remember.
The Chiefs have the best defense in the NFL this year, period. It's not the Steelers, the 49ers or the Cowboys, it's the Chiefs. Almost entirely on defense, Kansas City is now 15-3 in the last two years.
It has also become fashionable to label the Chiefs as the luckiest team in football because they always seem to benefit from turnovers. That's not luck, boys and girls. That's having playmakers like Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, Dale Carter and James Hasty.
Kansas City will soon find out how much competition they will have in the AFC West when Denver comes to town. The Broncos are the only team in the division who could knock the Chiefs off their pedestal. But that makes no difference because the AFC champion will come from the Indianapolis/Miami battle in the East.
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