The men's golf team will start it's season this weekend at the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate
The Denver Broncos made some changes after falling flat in the AFC Championship game
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7,2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 1B
VOLLEYBALL
Jayhawks have tough path all week long
BY DREW DAVISON
"It might be the toughest week of the century," coach Ray Beachard joked.
The KU volleyball team will begin its toughest week of the season tonight.
Kansas (6-1) will face three teams this week that made the NCAA tournament last year: Brigham Young, Arkansas and Nebraska. BYU is ranked No. 16; Arkansas is a top-25 caliber team according to Bechard; and Nebraska is ranked No. 1. All are currently undefeated.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, Kansas begins the Jayhawk Classic at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center with its match against BYU.
Although the Jayhawks are off to a decent start, Bechard said Kansas needed to improve in some areas.
He said he would like to see improvement in Kansas' serving ace-to-error ratio as well as in the initial line of defense, which limits the number of kills against the Javahaws.
Last weekend, BYU (6-0) swept the BYU Molten Classic in Provo, Utah, including an upset victory against No. 4 Stanford.
"There's a lot of little things keeping us from being the team that we need to be," Bechard said.
"It had to be a confidence boost," Bechard said. "They're the most competitive team we'll play to date."
Watson comes in with knowledge about Kansas volleyball because he was an assistant coach at Kansas State in 2000 and 2001.
In Jason Watson's first year as head coach of BYU, he led the team to a 24-5 record and an NCAA tournament berth last season.
Look for the Cougars' Erica Lott, junior right side hitter, who was named MVP of the BYU Molten Classic, to lead the team. She was also named Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday.
"He is a highly respected coach," Bechard said. "He got that program going after they were going through some changes last season and it appears they're headed for another great season."
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 2R
SOCCER
Jared Gab/KANSAN
Holly Gault, midfielder, is playing offense instead of defense after switching sides this season. She scored five goals in her second career game at forward.
All-American defender scores in new position
BY MARK DENT
Face it, the sporting world is obsessed with the extraordinary.
Shows like SportsCenter provide a constant stream of home runs, touchdowns and slam dunks.
Athletes enjoy making these plays too, so it should come as no surprise that senior Holly Gault is relishing her new role as an attacking midfielder, where she has routinely been making some offensive highlights of her own.
"I think it's more fun," Gault said.
"You get to score some goals."
Gault has successfully moved from the defensive side of the ball to the offensive side this year.
Analyzing Gault's move could lead to the conclusion that Kansas coach Mark Francis is crazy.
She already leads the team with two assists and she scored her first recorded goal against Saint Mary's last Sunday. The offense is currently averaging 2.33 goals per game with Gault up front, compared to 1.79 goals per game last season.
Gault was a first team All-American and three-time All-Big 12 selection at her right back position on defense. She also played as a defender on the U.S. U-21 National team
But Francis had his reasons.
"We felt like we had more depth on defense, and we wanted to utilize her attacking skills," Francis said.
Gault's offensive skills were always apparent when she played defender. She tied for second on the team with four goals and six assists last season even though she played in the backfield.
The forward experiment worked in the spring, so Gault has stayed up front this season. But instead of lining up as a forward, she is playing attacking midfielder.
She erupted with five goals and two assists against Yale, in her second career game at forward. The game didn't count for the record books, but if it had, her five goals and 14 points would have shattered the school records of three goals and seven points.
"Holly is a dynamic player and makes things happen," Francis said. "When she gets the ball and runs at you, it's kind of scary."
The real indication of Gault's ability to play up front came during the Jayhawks' spring exhibition season.
The KU football team led the nation in one statistical category last season: Most goalposts torn down by fans.
"We were just playing really well as a team that day," Gault said. "My teammates were feeding me the ball at the right times and I just had to knock it in."
After the Jayhawks' final three home victories of the season in 2005, against Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa State, the goalposts inside Memorial Stadium went for a swim in Potter Lake.
BY C.J. MOORE
ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
tor, and the Athletics Department is proud of and they're taking a few steps this year to ensure KU fans celebrate victories from the stands and not on the field.
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 4B
The department is trying to send students this message at every opportunity this year.
University aims to keep fans in stands,off goalposts
But that's not a distinction Jim Marchiony,associate athletics direc.
Before every home game a video will play reminding students to stay in the stands after the game. The video has been sent to the Big
"Somebody could get killed or seriously hurt" Marchiony said.
A pair of goalposts cost $6,000 and last season the celebration after the game against Nebraska nearly cost the Jayhawks one of their top players.
Not only is the risk of injury great when students rush the field, but the damage also proves costly for the Athletics Department.
12 and will be shown before every game if it's approved by the Big 12.
Former KU standout Charles Gordon had to be helped off the field by trainers after he was tram-
Marchiony said several fans suffered minor injuries and a KU facilities worker came within a foot of a goalpost landing on his head during the on-field celebrations last year.
"How stupid is that for fans to rush on the field and hurt a football player?" Marchiony asked.
plied by fans following the Nebraska victory.
SEE GOALPOSTS ON PAGE 4B
Kensan file photo
Exhilated KU fans carry the goal post off the field to Potter's Lake after the victory against Kansas State two years ago. The Athletics Department will try and keep students and other fans off the field after a victory.