SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1994
SOFTBALL
Team fails in keeping streak alive
SECTION E
Cowboys, Huskers defeat Jayhawks
Poor conditions of fields to be fixed
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
After a 12-game fall winning streak ended this weekend, the Kansas softball team wasn't making any excuses.
The Jayhawks competed over the weekend at the Big Eight Fall Softball Classic in Independence, Mo. Their streak ended as they fell to Nebraska, 1-0, and the defending Big Eight champion, Oklahoma State, 5-2.
"The talent throughout the Big Eight is more balanced than it has ever been," said Gayle Luedek, Kansas softball assistant coach.
The end of the Nebraska game was wrapped in controversy. Nebraska loaded the bases, which included two walks, in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kansas freshman pitcher Heather Hamer then forced in the winning run when she hit a batter. The call was controversial because there was a question over whether the batter was actually hit or if the ball struck her after she fouled tipped the ball.
"I think they got lucky," Kansas sophomore utility player Heather Richins said. "Coach kind of had a yelling match with the umpire."
Both Richins and Luedek agreed that Nebraska was the most improved team in the Big Eight Conference.
Even though the team lost with the hit batter, Luedek said they had numerous opportunities to score throughout the game.
"It seems like they have done a heck of aJO with recruiting," Luedke said.
"The loss didn't come down to that play," she said.
In the Jayhawks' second game on Sunday, Oklahoma State wore the team down in a 5-2 victory. Richins said Oklahoma State continually had been the team to beat in the conference.
"They're a really good ball club," she said. "They kind of pounded us down a little."
Kansas did rattle the Cowboys in the first inning when they scored two runs off pitcher Kim Ward. Excluding the sixth inning when she loaded the bases before pitching out of the jam, Ward was in control of the game.
The Big Eight teams the Jayhawks played during the weekend were the only Division I competition the team faced during the fall season. They competed against primarily junior college teams before the conference tournament.
"It's a lot different," said Hamer. "It's more competitive, and the intensity is a lot higher."
The Division I competition gave Kansas an opportunity to see what areas they needed to improve on. The team's hitting was poor throughout the tournament, Richins said.
"We didn't hit as well as we should have," she said. "Division I pitchers move the ball around a lot more."
Luedke said the team had the potential to hit the ball well, and it would happen with time.
"They hadn't seen that kind of pitching," she said. "Hitting will get better the more they play."
Where women's soccer will play is still a concern
By Kent Hohlfeld
Kansan sportswriter
By this time next fall, Kansas students will have newly repaired fields to use for sport clubs and Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) classes.
Facilities operations will begin repairing the fields between Robinson Center and the Computer Center later this week. Crews also will work on the fields south of Watkins Memorial Health Center. The repairs come in response to a number of complaints from classes and clubs that use the fields.
"We got together with facilities operations and examined the fields," said Wayne Osness, head of the HPER department who is overseeing field maintenance. "We decided that the fields just weren't safe."
During the summer, a malfunctioning sprinkler system caused a lack of water on the fields. This lack of water dried out the grass and caused holes to form almost daily in August and September of this year. Osssea said.
The unevenness of the fields also has caused problems with drainage, which caused water to collect and the fields to erode.
"We're going to put in new dirt and
plant new grass," Osness said. "We also want to crown the fields to help drainage."
"Those fields just weren't safe," Salisbury said. "The fields really needed a rest."
Mark Salisbury, graduate student and coach of the men's soccer club, said he was pleased that the University was taking action to repair the fields.
Osness said the fields would be unavailable the rest of this year and some of next year. Clubs and HPER classes will be allowed to use the facilities at the Shenk Complex at 23rd and Iowa streets.
"There is no sense in putting the time and effort into the fields if we allow people onto the fields before they are ready," Osness said.
"Any fields that are within the University are within our search," said Betsy Stephenson, associate athletic director. "It wouldn't make sense to build a field from scratch if we already have one that would work."
Salisbury said that he would like to see the Kansas Athletic Department assist in the continued maintenance of the fields.
The department plans to promote the women's soccer team to a Division I sport next fall. The team is searching for a place to play. This year's women's club team practices in the same area as the men's team.
Ossness said that he would not have been in favor of next year's varsity women's soccer team using the Robinson Center fields.
"We would be concerned about the
use of student funds to keep up these fields if they were to use them," Osness said. "The athletic department should really provide departmental support for the team."
Whether the athletic department uses the fields, Osness said the condition of those fields would improve after the construction.
Stephenson said that those types of concerns would have to be addressed before any plan was enacted. No plans exist for the maintenance of any field chosen for the soccer team.
"We would have to be able to accommodate other people who use the fields," Stephenson said. "Right now we're not excluding anything."
Tennis team takes to the court
Kansan staff report
Members of the Kansas men's tennis team got in one last day of practice yesterday before their trip to two tournaments today and tomorrow.
"After we're done, those fields will be in beautiful condition," Osness said.
The ITA All-American Tournament, which is the second part of the college men's Grand Slam, will begin tomorrow in Austin, Texas. Junior Reid Slattery is the only Kansas team member to automatically qualify for the event, which attracts the top 32 college singles players in the nation.
Other members of the team will travel to the Ball State Invitational Tournament in Muncie, Ind.
Right: Kansas senior Martin Ericksson smashes the ball with a backhand. He was practicing with the tennis team yesterday. Ericksson, who is from Saro, Sweden, said that he liked practicing in the warm Kansas weather.
Bottom left: Kansas tennis team coach Michael Center hits a practice ball to Erickson.
Bottom right: Kansas sophomore Tim Radogna follows through on a forehand volley.
Basketball players must prove their legs are ready
"Late Night with Roy Williams" will tip off the men's basketball season Friday.
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
However, Kansas players who don't pass one of their toughest midterms of the semester in the next couple of days will be spending early Friday morning with Roy, too.
It's a somewhat grueling test — running six lengths of the basketball court in about 35 seconds, 12 different times, with one minute and 10 second rests in between.
The test will finish off six weeks of conditioning in preparation for Late Night, the
first scrinumage of the season.
Unlike a lot of exams, it isn't a one time, pass-or-fail test. Instead, players take the test repeatedly until they beat the stopwatch.
"My freshman year I would have died,' senior center Greg Ostertags said of his first year of conditioning at Kansas. That year was his easiest because shin splints limited the amount of training he could do.
That is the worst part about it, Ostertag said.
"Everyone usually gets it by the second or third time," he said. "After about the second time you're so tired of getting up early in the morning, you just want to get it over
with."
He said he hadn't noticed any difference in the team's ability to get up and down the court.
"Building up for the season is what's tough," Ostertag said. "It's all a matter of how in shape you get on your own."
Ostertag said two additional weeks of training didn't make a difference.
The official practice season, which opens with the "Late Night" scrimmage, was moved up from Nov. 1 to Oct. 15 after the NCAA accepted a proposal in January.
season," said Bob Oliver, director of NCAA legislative services. "It put more demands on student-athletes."
The Jayhawks began working out Sept. 7 with weight training three days a week and daily pick-up games, said Bill Maxwell, assistant strength and conditioning coach.
"A proposal presented by individual schools in the NCAA said the later practice schedule was counter productive to the
For the past three weeks the players have been conditioning with a coach, but they still play pick-up games.
Conditioning consists of an hour of running and doing agility drills.
The only disadvantage to having practice begin two weeks earlier is the difficult adjustment the freshman have to make, Maxwell said.
Injuries hamper 0-5 Cyclones' offensive attack
By Matt Irwin
Kansan sportswrite
"When you're winning everybody's your friend," Branch said. "When your losing, it's like you don't have a friend in the world."
Calvin Branch feels like he has no friends.
The Iowa State junior running back said that, other than his teammates, it seems people could not care less about him.
Branch is a starting running back on the 0-5 Iowa State football team, the team Kansas will face Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
Part of the reason for Iowa State's record may be due to its lack of success running the ball.
The Cyclones, primarily a running team, are sixth in the Big Eight Conference in rushing, averaging 179.4 yards a game. Iowa State ranks last in the Big Eight in total offense, averaging 264 yards a game.
Despite the loss of its two starting quarterbacks, two starting guards and its starting tight end, Iowa State running backs coach Tomnie Liggins hesitated to blame the lack of success totally on injuries.
Calvin Branch
"It's not as good as we'd like it to be." Liggins said of the running game. "The offense has turned the ball over too many times at the wrong time."
Despite the turnovers, the numerous injuries to Cyclone starters cannot be overlooked.
Branch said the loss of offensive right guard Mark Konopka and offensive left guard Jim Thompson were the biggest losses that affected the running game. Branch also said that the Cyclones had been through injury-plagued seasons before, but this year's injuries hurt more with the team's lack of depth on the offensive line.
they're just more devastating this year, "Branch said of the injuries. "If you look at tape of this year and last year, last year we were clicking on all cylinders."
Branch and Liggins said the Cyclones sustained injuries at the most costly positions.
"We have about five running backs at the halfback position and three fullbacks," Liggins said. "That's probably the position where injuries wouldn't hurt as bad."
"If I went down, . . . anybody could get the job done," Branch said.
That team attitude is what Liggins likes about the group he coaches.
"I've got a great group of kids," Liggins said. "All running backs want the ball, but I haven't heard I think I should get the ball more. They all want to win."
The "Top Nickname in College Sports" contest was compiled in conjunction with the printing of the 28th volume of the men's edition of The National Directory of College Athletics. The results of "The Top 25 College Nicknames" contest are (with first place votes):
BEST NICKNAMES
School
1. California-Santa Cruz(2)
1. California-Santa Cruz (2)
2. Oglethouse
3. Arkansas Tech (2)
4. Cal-Invine
5. Northern Montana (1)
6. Evergreen State (tie) (2)
Ind. U./Purdue U.-Rt. Wayne (tie)
Washburn (tie)
9. Heidelberg (1)
10. Lincoln Memorial
11. Akron (tried)
Columbia College (tie) (1)
13. South Dakota Tech
14. Whittier
15. Richland
16. Eastern Arizona
17. Pittsburg State
18. Tufts
19. Alaska-Fairbanks
20. Campbell
21. Southern Arkansas
22. California Maritime
23. Evansville
24 Converse (tie)
Sangamon State (tie)
Nickname
4
Banana Slugs
Stormy Petrels
Wonderboys
Anteaters
Northern Lights
Geoducks
Mastodons
Ichabods
Student Princes
Rallsplitters
Zips
Claim Jumpers
Hardrockers
Poets
Thunderducks
Glass Monsters
Gorillas
Jumbos
Nanooks
Fighting Camels
Muleriders
Keelhaulers
Aces
All-Stars
Prairie Stars