SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1994
SECTION B
Photos by Sean Crosier / KANSAN
Gang tackle
Above: Kansas freshman linebacker Lamar Sharpe hangs on tightly to Alabama-Birmingham senior running back Patrick Green. At night: Jayhawk teammates close in and clean up, Kansas has a bye this week, but its next opponent will be Kansas State.
Football preview Missouri Tigers
When the Kansas football team and the rest of the Big Eight Conference play the Missouri Tigers this season, they will be facing a changed Mizzou team.
After compiling a 15-38-2 record from 1989 to 1993 under former coach Bob Stull, the Tigers hired Larry Smith. Smith directed Southern California to a 44-25-3 record from 1987 to 1992, including five trips to postseason bowls.
By Matt Irwin
"I think teams that have seen us on tape from our first two games may not think we'll be as prepared as we're going to be," said Missouri linebacker Travis McDonald.
Despite Missouri's 1-2 record, it is now a more physical team with Smith as coach. McDonald said.
Smith's proven record perhaps is the reason why Missouri players believe they can surprise some Big Eight teams.
Kansan sportswriter
"We're going into the season one game at a time," McDonald said. "We've talked a lot about beating the team we're playing physically, and physically beating the man you're playing against."
McDonald said Smith's positive approach also was effective.
As the Big Eight season approaches, the Tigers are starting to perfect their coaches' ideas. McDonald said.
"He's brought in a real positive attitude," McDonald sai'. "No matter what happens he stays positive. But he steps in at the right time."
Smith said that because the lineup had changed so much during the first three games, the Tigers' week off gave them time to work together. But Smith warned that there would still be some changes for Saturday's game against West Virginia.
"As a coaching staff, we continue to experiment and look at people," Smith said about changing the lineup. "You can practice all you want, but
until you get up against an opponent,
that's when a players' true performance comes out."
"We had some communication problems in the first couple games," he said. "Everything looks good. I think we will click this weekend."
This week will be when the Tigers finally find a lineup that will click, McDonald said.
McDonald said the Tigers hope to peak by the fourth or fifth game of the conference season. But he said as a team with a new coach, it could take longer.
The Tigers have an irregular 12- game schedule that ends in Hawaii on Nov. 26. Missouri ends its Big Eight season against Kansas on Nov. 19, but the team looks to its game Saturday with West Virginia as critical before entering the Big Eight season.
"I think this is a key game for both of us for the rest of the season," Smith said of both teams.
Mizzou schedule Current record: 1-2
Cyclones breeze by Kansas
date team score
Sept. 3 Tulsa 17-20 (L)
Sept. 10 at Illinois 0-42 (L)
Sept. 17 at Houston 16-0 (W)
Oct. 1 West Virginia
Oct. 8 Colorado
Oct. 15 at Oklahoma State
Oct. 22 Nebraska
Oct. 29 at Iowa State
Nov. 5 at Oklahoma
Nov. 12 Kansas State
**Nov. 19** Kansas
Nov. 26 at Hawaii
By Chosley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team may have out-hit Iowa State last night, but the Cyclones' dominated the Jayhawks through discipline.
"When we stayed disciplined, we were winning the game," Kansas coach Karen Schonewise said. "But when we weren't disciplined we were losing."
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas put up a fight, as it opened the Big Eight Conference season against a regionally-ranked Iowa State team.
record fell to 3-12.
Although Kansas out-hit the Cyclones with a. 198 hitting percentage to Iowa State's .161, Kansas still lost in three games, 13-15, 9-15, and 11-15.
"We started the games very well, but they would just make several runs at us." Sohonew said about the Jay-
Chonewise said she was very pleased with the Jayhaws' hitting
Junior outside hitter Jenny Larson had only one error on the night, connecting for 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
The combined play of Iowa State junior outside hitters Kirstin Hugdahl and Stephanie McCannon sealed the victory for the Cyclones. Hugdahl and McCannon turned in almost identical performances, with 12 kills each on 38 and 37 attempts respectively.
performance. But she said inconsistent play, service errors and ball handling errors caused the Jayhawks to lose its first conference match.
Junior outside hitter Katie Walsh led all hitters for Kansas with 14 kills and she was just as effective digging up nine Cyclone spikes.
Kansas failed to win its first conference match away from Lawrence. But the Jayhawks will get a chance to redeem themselves at home Saturday night when they play the Oklahoma Sooners at 7:30 in Allen Field House.
hawks inability to pull ahead on the scoreboard.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Kansas senior Nora Koves returns the ball during tennis practice yesterday. Koves is one of two members of the women's team that will be competing in the National Collegiate Clay Court Championships which takes place Thursday through Sunday in Jackson, Miss.
Clay courts to challenge 'Hawks
Nation's best await players
Bv Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Four members of the men's team will be participating in the tournament, coach Michael Center said. Junior Reid Slattery and senior Martin Erkinson will play singles, while senior Manny Ortiz and junior Victor Fimbres will play in the doubles division.
Members of the Kansas men's and women's tennis teams begin competition today in the ITA National Clay Court Championships in Jackson, Miss.
Kansas women's tennis coach
Chuck Merzbacher said senior Nora Koves will play in the singles competition. Koves and her doubles partner, sophomore Amy Trytek, will also compete.
The biggest challenge facing the players will be the clay surface, Center said. Matches on clay are traditionally slower paced than ones played on hard courts. The footing and the bounce of the ball are different.
Players that are invited to the tournament are the best in the country. Center said. The top two singles players and the top doubles team out of each region are invited to attend.
Many players from Europe, including Eriksson and Koves, grew up playing on clay courts, but Kovs said that did not mean they preferred it.
"You've got to run down every single ball," she said. "It's kind of like a
mind game."
Merzbacher said he thought moves would be seeded as one of the top eight players.
1 munk she's a dark horse to win the title," he said.
Koves has not played in many competitive singles matches in the last two years. During that time, she competed in doubles with Rebecca Jensen, who gave up her senior season at Kansas to turn professional. Koves-Jensen played in the tournament last year, losing in the semifinals.
Since Jensen's departure, Koves and Trytek were paired together. Merzbacher said Koves had to recognize the difference in chemistry this year.
"She has to now be the leader on the doubles court," he said. "Nora just has to understand it's hard to replace
Rebecca"
Even though Koves and Trytek have had a limited amount of practice time together, Koves said, she has realized that she must communicate and guide Trytek.
Trytek is recovering from a hip-lex or injury she sustained three weeks ago while working in the weight room. She re-injured it last weekend at the Wildcat/Travelers Express Invitational and was forced to pull out of the competition. Trytek said the combination of cool weather, not having her hip wrapped and not warming up enough resulted in the injury.
Even if the injury is still bothering her during the National Clay Courts, Trytek said she would play through it.
"I'm just really psyched for the tournament," she said. "It's a great opportunity for me."
Bowling team attempts to change sport's stereotype
By Alex Drude
Kansan correspondent
Jaybowlers in preparation for season's home opener
Michael Fine wants people to know that his bowlers are not necessarily all beer drinkers who eat pretzels.
Fine, bowling club coach, said that he disproved of that stereotype of bowlers and that most members of the bowling club team were athletes who had played competitively in many sports throughout their lives.
Because of this, Fine said he believed team members, called Jaybowlers, were people who wanted to take the next step from recreational to competitive bowling.
"Many bowlers belonged to junior leagues and did individual competition," he said. "This gives
Like other club sports, travelling or competing in tournaments requires independent funding, he said.
However, Fine's teams do not have the sort of funding that many other sports do, including non-revenue sports.
them an opportunity to continue."
The bowling team is young, Fine said, and consists of no seniors on the women's or men's team. Consequently, Fine said he was interested mostly in the team learning technique and having fun.
Intercollegiate bowling at Kansas is funded partially by the Kansas Union. The club also schedules fundraisers throughout the year.
"I'm less worried about (team members) winning tournaments than becoming better bowlers," he said.
The Jaybowlers start their season at 11 a.m. Oct. 2 at the Jaybowl in the Kansas Union against Central Missouri State.
In order to get to the national championship tournament, Jayhawk bowls practice by playing 25 to 50 games a week at the Jaybowl, in which they are videotaped for further review of technique. From this they try to raise their base knowledge of the game.
In past seasons, Jaybowlers have been nationally ranked. The Kansas team belongs to a conference in which two of the teams are the defending men's and women's national champions and runners-up.
If Jaybowlers raise their base knowledge of the game enough during the season, they might be invited to one of two end-of-the-year tournaments, one of which is the equivalent of the NCAA basketball tournament. The other is the equivalent of the NIT basketball tournament.
Being invited to the former, which is run by the Young American Bowling Alliance, requires winning one of 10 tournaments held throughout the year or by finishing high enough in National
Tournament qualifiers.
To qualify for either of the tournaments, the team must also finish high enough in the Great Plains Intercollegiate Bowling Conference (GPIBC).
The six teams in the GPIBC besides Kansas are Wichita State (the defending men's and women's National Champions), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (the defending men's and women's runners-up), University of Nebraska-Omaha, Central Missouri, and Emporia State.
invitation to the other tournament, sponsored by the Association of College Unions-International, can be achieved by finishing fifth or higher in the regional bracket. The regional division in which Kansas would compete is made up of several other Midwestern teams.
Fine said he welcomed anyone who was interested in joining the club team, as long as they "treated bowling as a sport." Interested bowlers should contact the Jaybow at 864-3545.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Kansas junior bowel Pacheco practices at the Jawbow.