FOOTBALL Kansan writers predict that Sooners offense will go boom all over the Jayhawks tomorrow. PAGE 2B
SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
www.kansan.com
Close to a championship
Amy Geha, senior midfielder, will travel with the rest of the team to College Station, Texas, to take on No. 9 Texas A&M. A sellout crowd is expected at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
Sellout crowd expected today for soccer team
BY KELLI ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
The mission is clear for the No. 6 Kansas women's soccer team: defeat its next three opponents and be Big 12 Conference champions.
Kansas has never won a conference title in soccer, and the team is thrilled to control its own destiny.
"It's a huge deal," said senior defender Stacy Leeper. "We were eighth in conference when I got here, and now we have a chance to win it all. It's good to know it's in our own hands."
The Jayhawks (14-2 overall, 6-1 conference) will begin their quest for the title today when they travel to College Station, Texas, to take on No. 9 Texas A&M, (12-4, 7-1).
Three more victories will give the Jayhawks sole possession of the Big 12 title, but the team can also clinch a share of the conference crown with two wins, as long as one of them comes against Texas A&M, or if it loses to Iowa State. But today's top 10 match-up will likely determine who ends the season as champion of the Big 12.
"We know it's a must-win game," Leeper said. "We have to win the A&M game to have a chance of winning the conference."
Kansas will then play at Texas on Sunday and Iowa State at home next Friday.
The task will not be easy because the Aggies, seeking their fifth conference championship, are emphasizing tonight's game as much as the Jayhawks are.
The Texas A&M soccer Web site is promoting the matchup as the Road to the Ring.
Kansas will see its largest crowd of the year with a sellout crowd expected at the Aggie Soccer Complex, but Kansas coach Mark Francis said it wouldn't hurt his team's performance.
"Everyone likes to play in front of big crowds," Francis said. "The girls are always mentally ready, and it will fire up our team."
According to AggieAthletics.com,
Texas A&M set a Big 12 record crowd of
5,384 last month against Texas.
Texas A&M is coming off a 2-1 loss to Missouri, but it had won seven straight games before that defeat.
The Aggies have firepower on the offensive side of the ball, having scored 43 goals this season. Ashlee Pistorius leads the team in goals scored with 13, but 16 others have also recorded goals.
Kansas counters with a defense that has dominated its opponents in recent games. Senior goalie Meghan Miller, coming off back-to-back road shutouts, has only allowed three goals in seven conference games.
"They have forwards that are very impressive in front of the goal," Francis said. "This weekend, we will have to be sound defensively, otherwise they will put some in on us."
After today's game, Kansas travels to Austin, Texas, to take on the Longhorns (9-5-1, 4-3-1) on Sunday.
SEE CLOSE ON PAGE 3B
CoRec football Cinderella falls
BY FRANK TANKARD
ftankard@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITTER
Nick Hunt intercepts the ball intended for Stephen Petiteras. The ball was returned for a touchdown, Kathy Says Okay and Bruce Hall were the CoRec teams to play in the Intramural Championship at Memorial Stadium.
Bright lights and empty bleachers gave Memorial Stadium an eerie feel as Kathy Says Okay thrashed Bruce Hall, 26-0, in the CoRec football intramural championship at 7 p.m. vestedday.
The game wasn't the same magnitude as the Kansas football team's homecoming victory against Kansas State, but playing at Memorial Stadium was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the committees.
"It was fortunate we didn't win, because then someone would have to buy another set of goalposts," said Bruce Hill placer Derek Gustafson.
Bruce Hall, comprised of members from the seventh floor of Lewis Hall, miraculously made the championship by winning three playoff games because of forfeits. The team lost both of its regular season games.
Kathy Says Okay was able to control the game and cap off an undefeated season, largely because of Nick Hunt, a hard-nosed, redheaded St. Louis, Mo., graduate student. Hunt had three touchdown receptions and three interceptions.
Hunt said Kathy Says Okay played several Kansas intramural sports, including soccer, volleyball, floor hockey and sand volleyball.
"He was a formidable opponent," said Stephen Peterten, Lenas freshman and Bruce Hall player. "But I didn't like him."
Landon Harness/KANSAN
The team was supported by three fans — the only fans at the game — who watched from the wet, otherwise empty bleachers.
"We're just a group of friends," he said. "We enliv it."
"We came to support our friends, and I thought they did fantastic," said Sara Fox, Topeka senior and Kathy Says Okay fan.
Brian Bratichak, Lenexa sophomore and Bruce Hall player, said his team was rusty from three straight weeks of forfeits.
Eric Williams, Wichita sophomore and Bruce Hall player, had another reason for the team's lopsided loss.
"It's hard to play on fake grass," he
said.
said. Memorial Stadium for at least the past Rick Rostengle, assistant director of recreation services, said the football championship had been played at Edited by Marissa Stephenson
Late Night needs more basketball, less preshow
Nothing can get a basketball-hungry campus more pumped up than a jampacked Allen Fieldhouse.
Late Night in the Phog got all 16,000 attendees psyched for the start of the 2004-2005 basketball season.
As a first-year transfer student, this was my first year at Late Night.
After a week to reflect on the festivities, a conclusion arose: Although Late Night executed the mission or entertaining the audience, many of the students who cut fall break short to make it to Late Night found the actual basketball focus a little blurry.
The hour-long wait to get in came as no surprise, and the night started just as expected — all basketball.
The free programs were easily accessible throughout the gym, so all fans present could read up on what we came to see. Coaches Bonnie Henrickson and Bill Self talked about our men's and women's basketball teams who are going to "bring the National Championship home."
Then came the pre-scrimmaging entertainment.
Audience members were chosen by NBA hypnotist Tom Silver, and led away for a seemingly long time.
Some of the gimmicks used to keep the fans amused were just far-fetched you had to laugh.
Of course these things are fun to watch. Who doesn't want to see a man with a basketball head do a front-flip into a dunk?
For the first hour and a half, antics such as the "Mavs Man" and a $20,000 shoot-out contest were presented to the audience.
They returned to be hypnotized in front of us all. This was the most farfetched stunt of the night. What does the NBA use this guy for?
For the first five minutes it was funny, going along fittingly with the fun mood that filled the fieldhouse. But I failed to see the point.
Not to say the night as a whole wasn't entertaining.
The coaches assured the audience of even better seasons than last year and the expectations were raised for their talent-packed squads.
Both basketball teams had the crowd rolling at their creativity and their willingness to clown around in front of a packed house.
Both teams also proved their suave ability to dance.
Every word they said was inspiring and believable. I just wish we could have seen a little more basketball action to back up their opinion.
Henrickson and Self did impeccable jobs of super-sizing the volume of the crowd.
With the women's first appearance at Late Night this year, it is understandable that they would scrimmage before the men, meaning they had to play before midnight. As a true practice was not allowed yet, Henrickson could not be present. But does that also mean they could play no longer than eight minutes?
Obviously the steadfast rule remains unchanged — official practices cannot begin until Oct. 16.
So little can be seen in eight minutes. I don't know the official rules on how long is too long, but I think I could've lived with less star impersonations from the hypnotizees in order to watch a few more minutes of women's basketball, considering basketball is the supposed to be the focus of the evening.
Self may have been a little disheartened by what he saw, but when guys
SEE PRESHOW ON PAGE 3B
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