SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1994
SECTION E
Paul Kotz / KANSIAN
Difficult course hurts Kansas
Kansas senior Tyler Shelton chips onto the ninth green at Alvamar Golf Course. This week, the men's team is competing in the Kansas Invitational of which it is the host team.
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
After placing ninth in the Spartan Fall Invitational this weekend, the Kansas women's golf team was not overjoyed.
"I think if we play, not great, but to our capabilities, we can play an 18-hole tournament round between 315 and 320." Waugh said.
Jerry Waugh, Kansas women's golf coach, said the team did not play as well as it could have played. Kansas had a two-day total of 653 in the tournament held in East Lansing, Mich.
Senior Michelle Uher paced the Jayhawks with a 15th-place finish. She had a two-day total of 158. Uher was in seventh place after the first day of competition, but dropped to 15th after registering four double-bogeys in the second round.
"She has been our best player up to now."
Waugh said. "She plays well, and she's a good competitor."
Uber played with a different set of clubs in the tournament. She was forced to
find replacement clubs after an airline lost her clubs last week.
"She had a bad week of not being able to practice and trying to find another set of clubs," Waugh said.
But what affected the team most was the course's difficulty, Waugh said. The course had many blind shots, thus ball placement was vital. Big Ten Conference teams that had played the course before had a definite advantage, he said.
"The degree of difficulty took a little bit away from us," Waugh said. "Local knowledge meant quite a bit."
Sophomore Kimberly Clevenger posted a
170 for the tournament. She agreed that the course was difficult.
"You really needed to be thinking where you were going to put your shot for the next shot," she said.
Clevenger and freshman Beth Reuter were playing in their first collegiate tournament.
Reuter said she was nervous during the tournament, but was not completely dissatisfied with her performance. She shot a 167, the Jayhawks' third best score.
BIG EIGHT FOOTBALL
"I shot around my average," she said. "I wasn't disappointed, but I could have done a lot better."
Reuter said the tournament would serve as a learning experience.
"I know what to expect now, and I know what's expected of me," she said. "It's a character builder."
'Hawks, 'Cats have week off; the rest play on
Sunflower State foes prepare for gridiron battle
By Matt Irwin
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas football team shut out the Blazers 72-0, but will get only one day of rest as its reward.
The Jayhawks will begin preparing today for their Oct. 6 game with Kansas State. The game, which will be the 92nd meeting of the teams, will be a Thursday night game televised on ESPN.
Kansas, which improved to 3-1 Saturday with a victory against Alabama-Birmingham, leads the series 61-25-5. K-State improved their record Saturday to 3-0 by defeating Minnesota 35-0. Both teams have a week off before the Thursday night game.
In defeating Alabama-Birmingham, Kansas coach Glen Mason said that the Jayhawks tried to play everybody who wasn't hurt or wasn't going to be redshirted.
Junior linebacker Keith Rodgers said it was good the Jayhawks had a game like this.
"A lot of guys got a chance to participate in the game," he said. "That gives the team a better attitude."
In preparing for the K-State battle, Mason has closed practice to the media until after the game, setting a tone for the game's importance.
Both teams are expected to contend as one of the top four finishers in the Big Eight Conference, and the game will help decide who finishes in the upper tier of the conference.
"I think it's going to be an exciting night," Mason said. "Football in the state of Kansas is going to be showcased. Hopefully, we'll show that football is alive and well in the Sunflower State."
Because the game is nationally televised and pits two in-state rivals, the outcome could affect more than the teams' seasons.
Dave Gillespie, Kansas recruiting coordinator and tight end coach, said the televised game could mean better recruiting for both teams. And the consequences of successful recruiting on the state and national level could affect the teams' future improvement.
Gillespie, who was Nebraska's recruiting coordinator last season, said that a loss might not hurt the losing team's abilities to recruit
"My experience has been that it probably doesn't hurt you as much as people think," Gillespie said.
Sean Crosier / KANSAN
**Above:** Kansas senior defensive end Silvester Wright wrestles Alabama-Birmingham senior quarterback John Whitcomb to the ground in the Jayhawks' 72-0 victory on Saturday. **Above right:** Kansas junior quarterback Mark Williams looks for an open receiver in a crowd of Blazer defenders. The Jayhawks have an off-week to prepare for in-state rival K-State on Oct. 6.
Coaches discuss outlook of teams
Bv Matt Irwin
Kansan sportswriter
Colorado football coach Bill McCartney had an emotional homecoming when he returned to the place where he got his start in college football.
By defeating seven-ranked Michigan 27-26 on a last second "Hail Mary" pass, Colorado beat the school McCartney coached at from 1974 to 1981.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
"I was very frustrated prior to that last play," McCartney said, referring to his emotions before quarterback Kordell Stewart threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Westbrook on the last play of the game.
"When Kordell launched it, I thought we had a chance. When that last play connected, I guess I was the last one to think it could work."
In a Big Eight coaches briefing yesterday, McCartney said his frustration stemmed from his team's play against Michigan.
"I felt we had the best team," McCartney said. "We just shot ourselves in the foot all day long."
Nebraska's quarterback Tommie Frazier went yesterday to a Lincoln, Neb., hospital for tests on a deeply bruised right calf, Nebraska coach Osborne said, Frazier
played two series against Pacific, a game the Cornhuskers dominated in 70-21.
Coming off a 28-18 loss to Rice, Iowa State will open the Big Eight season this Saturday at Alabama, who was idle last week. In preparing for an 0-4 Iowa State team, the 2-1 Sooners said they were not taking the Cyclones lightly.
"It's critical. It's our first Big Eight game," Oklahoma coach Gary Gibbs said. "We're anxious to get out there."
Iowa State coach Jim Walden said he would be bringing an injury-riddled team into Norman, Okla., and that Oklahoma looked faster on film than other teams the Cyclones have faced.
Missouri, a 1-2 team, will be facing 1-4 West Virginia on Saturday.
BRIEF
Cross country teams place second, third
The Kansas men's and women's cross country teams came in second and third respectively Saturday at the Kansas State Invitational in Manhattan.
The Kansas women's team scored 54 points. The Jayhawks' top runner was Colleen McClimon. She placed fifth overall with a career best time of 18:13.9 in the five-kilometer race.
Conference rival Colorado took first in the women's meet, placing five runners in the top 10 and scoring 20 points.
The team with the lowest score wins in cross country.
The Kansas men's team finished third with 51 points behind Colorado's 43 points and Oklahoma State's 41 points.
Kansas' top runners in the men's eight-kilometer race were David Johnston and Michael Cox.
Freshman volleyball starter is formidable force
Compiled from Kansan staff reports.
By Chesley Dohl
To freshman outside hitter Leslie Purkeypile, there's nothing that compares to targeting the opposite side of the court, flying through the air and going in for the kill.
One of her fondest recollections is a testament of her killer instinct on the front row:
Her senior year at a Wamego High School volleyball game, Purkeypile decided to unload her frustrations on the ball.
Kansan sportswriter
She went up, connected solidly and chalked up a kill — right in the face of an opposing player.
"That's a great feeling, though, hitting someone right in the face," she said, blushing red from embarrassment.
Six-foot tall Purkeypile makes herself a formidable force on the Kansas front line, Kansas coach Karen Schonewise said.
"For as many years as I've been here.
we've never had anyone on her size on the left side," Schonewise said. "She has incredible potential as a hitter."
Purkepyleleads the Jayhawk's in hitting percentage this season at. 188, and is tied with junior outside hitter Jenny Larson with 118, kills
leslie Purkeypile
Purpikeley is also third on the Kansas volleyball team in service aces with 13, and third in blocking with four solo blocks and 27 block assists.
In other volleyball programs, statistics like these from a freshman would garner only praise from a coach.
But Schonewise said she expected even more production from Kansas' four starting freshman this season.
"She's really not a rookie anvmore."
Schonewise said. "As a freshman, she's played in every match. She's had a month and a half to compete at this level."
With her size, quickness and blocking ability, Purkepyile was originally recruited by Kansas to play the middle blocker position. But Kansas needed more hitting strength on the left side, and Purkepyile filled the void, Schonewise said.
Thanks to her high school career,
Purkeypile is no stranger to high expectations or pressure. At the end of her senior season at Wamego, she was named Kansas Volleyball Player of the Year, Class 4A Player of the Year and was a first team All-State standout.
En route to these honors, Purkeypile led her team to a Kansas Class 4A State Volleyball Championship.
Purkeypile credits her older sister, Kim, a basketball player at Southwestern (Kan.) College, for getting her involved in sports.
"Kim's the type of person who could do anything she wanted to do in sports."
Purpileky said. "I grew up thinking I wanted to be just like my sister."
To compete consistently and play up to her full potential, Purkeypile said she hoped to adopt her sister's competitive spirit.
With all the transitions to college — new school, new coach, new teammates — Purkepyle said she really hadn't noticed much additional pressure.
"It's harder, but you don't have time to think about it," she said. "Here you just go to practice, work as hard as you can and then compete."
Since she came from a strong high school program and a state championship season, Purkeyple said it was hard to accept the Javhawk's early 3-11 record.
Nevertheless, she has high hopes for herself and the future of Kansas volleyball.
"It's really tough now, but this year will pay off," she said. "Next year we will know more about each other, and it will be that much better."
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