MONDAY, MAY 2. 2005
...
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
CLUBS
Teams compete despite chilly weather
Rachel Seymour/KANSAN
Andy Nissen, sophomore transfer from Minnesota State, performs in the men's slalom late Saturday morning at the waterski club's tournament. Nissen took fifth in the men's slalom and the Jayhawks finished first among the seven other competing universities.
BY FRANK TANKKAN
fankan@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
It was the KU waterski club's spring tournament, and cars filled with parents lined the small lake. Happy dogs splashed in the water and shook themselves on people while a few guys threw horseshoes.
Some competitors changed into wet suits and prepared to ski, while others curled up on the grass in blankets and sleeping bags, and tried to keep dry as the cold wind whipped the water and blew in their faces.
Caitlin Gillian, Chicago freshman, shivered near the shore with the members of the Kansas team, 45 minutes after she skied in the trick event.
"My nipples could cut glass after I got out," she said.
The cold weather wasn't a problem for the team and it finished in first place.
The family of Carin Olson, Minneapolis, Minn., sophomore, who made the long drive south to watch her ski, ran a concession stand to benefit the Kansas team.
On the water, a boat pulled Rachael Hudson, Topeka junior, toward the 5-foot jump near the middle of the lake. She reached the top of the jump and soared through the air. As her skis hit the water 35 feet later, she tried to lean back but her body jurched forward and crashed into the cold water.
She wiped out again on her second attempt, but landed her final jump of 35 feet. It wasn't enough to place her in the top five.
This tournament was a tune up, said Amy Bing, KU Waterski Team president. It was an important one for the five KU skiers who will compete in the National Collegiate
"It's just a chance for everybody to get together before All-Stars and the summertime," Bing, Wichita junior, said. "And we're really good friends with the other teams."
Six teams competed in the tournament: Kansas State, Iowa State, Purdue, Emporia State, Southwest Missouri State and Missouri.
They came into town Friday night in vans, cars and buses.
Blake Hines, Southwest Missouri State sophomore, decided not to ski because of the cold. He said he enjoyed the event anyway.
"It's good to see the same people every year," he said. "It's fun to go to other people's houses. And then they come to your house. It's kind of a reciprocal thing."
Some of the visitors camped west of town at Lonestar Lake,
In past years the teams camped at MoKan Lake, a few miles east of Lawrence where the KU team practices and the tournament is held. Because camping tore up the land, teams spent the night elsewhere this year, said Jason Lewis, Anthony senior and one of the team's captains.
while others spent the night at the house where five of the KU waterskiers live.
On Saturday people lounged around, while others competed in the slalom and trick events in the morning and the jump in the afternoon. Some parents drove in to see their children ski.
Natalie Steutermann, Kansas State sophomore, was eager to show her skills off to her seven family members, who had never seen her ski before.
Steutermann fell on her first two jumps but landed her third. Her family congratulated her
The Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri waterski club teams competed during the weekend at Mokan Lake, east of Lawrence on Kansas Highway 10. Here's how the teams and individual Jayahawks performed:
WATERSKI TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Overall (men's and women's
scores are combined:
Kansas 1st
Kansas State 2nd
Missouri 3rd
KANSAS WOMEN
KANSAS WOMEN
Stalom:
♦ Amy Bing, 1st
after she finished.
She learned to jump a year ago, and this was only the second time she landed a jump in a tournament.
Megan LaCroix and Emily Nelson, 3rd (tied)
After they competed, teams went back to Lonestar Lake for
Amy Bing, 1st
Emily Nelson, 2nd
Caitlin Gillian, 3rd
- Amy Bing, 2nd
- Rachel Forshee, 3rd
Overall:
Amy Bing, 2nd
Amy Bing 1st
Emily Nelson, 3rd
KANSAS MEN
♦ Bobby Hamilton, 3rd
Source: KU waters club
They wrapped up the tournament with wakeboarding and B-team skiing yesterday.
an award banquet, pizza, a bonfire and a DJ.
Edited by Jennifer Voldness
Colaianni
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
The current bowl system wouldn't have to be changed. Simply change the BCS bowls to the playoff ones.
Teams would still be able to qualify for postseason play even if they were not included in the BCS playoff bowls.
That's what the NCAA is most interested in: money. Claiming that it wants what is best for the athletes is false.
The television ratings for a playoff system would be astronomical, allowing the NCAA to charge more for the television rights to show the games.
The NCAA is a business, driven by college football. While men's basketball may be profitable, it is nothing close to the money maker that big-time Division I football programs are.
Switching to a playoff system would also increase the popularity drastically.
While you are not going to see office pools circulating like those for the men's basketball tournament, the casual fan would certainly be intrigued and watch the playoffs even if his team is not included.
If the system was a four-game playoff, the first-round games should be held in prime time on back-to-back nights.
The ratings would be huge and the championship game could get ratings higher than the men's basketball championship.
The championship game should be two weeks after the first round of the playoffs.
This problem needs to be solved quickly, or fans will likely see more split national champions and more uncertainty as to who is the nation's top team.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
- Colaiani is a McLean, Va,
sophomore in journalism
and political science.
Bowl eligibility easier with new NCAA rule
BY RYAN COLAiani尼
rcolaiani@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITER
Expect to see a Division I-AA opponent on the Kansas football schedule for the next couple of seasons.
The NCAA approved a rule last week that will allow Division I-A teams to count one victory against a I-AA school each season for bowl consideration.
The NCAA also chose to lengthen the regular season by one game, to 12, beginning in 2006.
*The game will take place during what is now bwe week.
What is good bye week?
This is good news for the Kansas football team, as it will face Division I-AA Appalachian State this fall.
Kansas had counted a victory against Jacksonville State in 2003 for a trip to the Tangerine Bowl, and under the previous rule, it would not have been
able to count the Appalachian State game toward bowl eligibility.
Chancellor
Chancellor Robert Hemenway served as the chairman for the board of directors who approved the rule change.
Now the Jayhawks will need to go 6-5 to qualify for a bowl rather than 7-4 under the 11-game schedule in 2005.
Senior Associate Athletics Director Larry Keating said he planned to have a I-AA team on the schedule in 2006 and 2007, so the games could be played at Memorial Stadium.
"We can play a I-AA team every year, and that is what we are going to do at least for the next couple of years," Keating said.
Keating said in March that Kansas planned on being able to count a victory against a I-AA team when they scheduled Appalachian State. Kansas thought then the change
would be made.
The NCAA has not yet decided if a 6-6 record will qualify teams for a bowl game when the season goes to 12 games in 2006.
Keating said he did not think that the NCAA would require a 7-5 record for teams to qualify for bowls.
"There may be a difference between BCS bowls and regular bowls," Keating said. "One of the things they have to look at is the bowl agreements that are in place now stipulate that six wins is all that is required."
Keating also said that if a 7-5 record was needed for each bowl that there might not be enough teams that qualify for bowls each season.
Kansas qualified for the Tangerine Bowl with a 6-6 record in 2003.
- Edited by Laura Francoviglia
Miles Kennedv/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
It's running men
Edward Cox (2) outruns Bent Lancaster (1) and Wilford Scott (3) to win the mens' masters 75-plus 100-meter dash at the 2005 Penn Relsays, Saturday in Philadelphia.
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