Shocker bowler wins junior national championship

A WSU junior won first place at the Women’s Junior  National Amateur Champion and in the process  will represent her country as part of the Junior Team USA.

Maggie Zakrezski became the national champion by knocking over 9,491 pins in a weeklong tournament this month in Indianapolis. Zakrezeski is a junior at Wichita State, and a key member of the WSU bowling team that won the team championship in April.

WSU junior Maggie Zakrezeski won the junior national amateur championship after 44 matches in Indianapolis

 

 

“Winning it was the best way to leave the tournament and youth bowling as a whole,” Zakrzewski said in a news release. “I have no words to describe how it feels to be recognized as the best women’s youth bowler. I guess I never thought it was possible, but it feels great to know that I competed with the best and came out on top.”

Zakrezeski, a Palatine, Ill. native, had to bowl consistently well over five days. In fact, she had to compete in 44 matches before being crowned champion. This was her final chance to be eligible to earn a spot on Junior Team USA.

She will be joined on the USA squad by two other Shocker bowlers, juniors Erik Gulbrandson and Jake Peters. Gulbrandson, a member of the 2007-2008 WSU team, took third in the men’s championship. Peters was selected by a committee to join the team. 

A total of 38 WSU bowlers have been selected to Team USA or Junior Team USA.

USA volleyball falls in World League finals

A quick update for those interested in how the U.S. men’s volleyball team fared after they swept the Netherlands last weekend at Charles Koch Arena.

They didn’t fare well- at all. The U.S. one of the six finalist teams in the FIVB World League championship in Serbia, but the Americans made a quick exit.

Serbia defeated the U.S. on the first day of tournament in a sweep, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22. Then the Russians knocked USA out of the tournament with another sweep, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23.

“We had a good process in the World League but a better end was expected,” said USA coach Alan Knipe. “We leave knowing a lot more about our team and the others as well. A lot of work has to be done and we have to be able to add some more experience with other players and develop into a better Volleyball unit.”

Of course, the end goal for the Americans and every other team is victory at the 2012 Olympics in London, still  three years away.

In other World League action, Cuba beat Argentina, but then lost a match to Brazil. The tournament concludes Sunday with the championship match. The U.S. was the defending champion.

Five WSU baseball players transfer to other schools

The Wichita State shocker baseball team is losing five players, including team batting average leader Taylor Brown and promising Josh Rosecrnas. 

Both of those players along with Andrew Letourneau received significant playing time last season for WSU. But because of changes to NCAA scholarship rules, they along with pitchers Carmeron Maldonado and Clint Maune were not going to have athletic scholarships for the upcoming school year.

All five players would have to pay out-of-state tuition to remain enrolled at WSU. They have elected to transfer. Brown will transfer to Central Oklahoma and Rosecrans is heading to Grayson County College in Texas. Maldonado elected to transfer to Colorado State-Pueblo while Maune will attend Oklahoma City University, an NAIA school.

The new rules limit WSU to 35 players on the roster and 27 scholarship players. WSU only had one senior on the roster, and thus 32 guys returned to the team prior to the transfers. The Shockers added 10 newcomers (9 freshman and UNI transfer Travis Bennent) although Garrett Gould may elect to sign with the Dodgers, who drafted him in the second round last month.

Nonetheless, it’s still ended up being too many players and too many scholarships so something had to give. Gene Stephenson told the Wichita Eagle that other players on WSU’s roster also gave up scholarships but will remain with the team and pay their own way.

All five players had up and down moments during the 2009 season. Brown led the team with.338 average. He got off to an en fuego start where he was hitting above .400 most of early part the season. He started 43 games and had 52 hits.

Rosecrans appeared in 37 games, hitting .258 with 28 hits. He had 10 RBI and scored 9 times. Letourneau started in the outfield in early season games as Stephenson looked to find the right outfielders to pair with Ryan Jones. The freshman hit .176 though he scored 16 runs, the most of any reserve. He stole five bases and had 7 RBI.

Maldonado went 1-1 with 5.60 ERA as primarily a mid-week starter. He started six games and came out of the pen twice. He had 19 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. Maune was 1-1 with a 7.53 ERA in 12 relief appearances.

Logan Watkins- a hitting machine in Idaho

It’s was difficult not to think “what if…” during Wichita State’s historically bad baseball season this past season. For instance, “what if Logan Watkins hadn’t gone pro.”

Watkins, a Goddard product, that frankly was dazzling in both baseball and football, spurned a WSU scholarship a year ago to sign with the Chicago Cubs.

According to an article by Chris Langrill of the Idaho Statesman, Watkins is doing just fine in the minor leagues. He put together a nine-game his streak for the Boise Hawks, getting hits in 17 out of 27 plate appearances.

He’s hitting .340 this season after hitting .325 in rookie league ball last season.

In the article, it sounds like Watkins still is a little bothered by his decision to pass on going to Wichita State.

“I was a Wichita State fan, so I really, really wanted to play there,” he said.

Later he said, “I’m still a Wichita State fan. But you can’t look back. You’ve got to keep going forward.”

He’s 20 years-old, so not being sure of your decision seems to come with the territory. But given his minor league numbers so far, it seems like he made the right call. And that last quote about not looking back seems likely a healthy approach.

For out-of-town recruits blowing off WSU is one thing, but if your from here and your friends go to WSU, that makes it really tough to so no thanks to Gene and Co.

For the full article, go to http://www.idahostatesman.com/hawks/story/837728.html

USA knocks off Netherlands in another 3-0 sweep

The United State men’s volleyball team finished off world league pool play by beating the Netherlands 25-19, 25-18 and 26-24 Saturday evening in Charles Koch Arena.

The U.S. team had swept the Netherlands in three sets Friday evening as well. The Americans are the group A champions with a record of 9-3. They move on to the FIVB World League finals starting Wednesday in Serbia. The Netherlands finished with a record of 4-8.

The U.S. had a tad easier time in the Saturday match, winning by a decent margin in the first two sets and then finishing the job when the Dutch threatened to extend the match.

The U.S. is the defending champion in the FIVB World League, but the Americans had never won the league prior to last year.

For those who missed the match (or those at the match who want to see themselves on TV) both matches at Koch Arena will be broadcast on ESPN 2 and ESPN U. The Friday match will be on ESPN 2 at 9:30 p.m. July 28. Saturday’s match will be on ESPN 2 at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 4. ESPN U will show the matches July 28-30 several times, including a prime time showing at 7:30 p.m. July 29.

For a full recap of both matches and post-match reactions from the coaches, pick up the Wednesday copy of the Sunflower News or read it online at www.thesunflower.com

U.S. volleyball sweeps Netherlands, wins Pool A

When the United States men’s volleyball team absolutely had to win a point against the Netherlands Friday at Charles Koch Arena, they always came though.

Nine times the Dutch had a chance to win the second or third set, and nine times the U.S. came away with the point to even the score. Eventually the U.S. won those sets for a 25-21, 32-30, 31-29 sweep of the Dutch.

The win clinched the Pool A title and assured the U.S. a berth in the World League finals next week in Serbia.

Backing up a step, the 16-team FIVB World League is making a stop in Wichita this weekend. This is our country’s national volleyball team. The U.S. won the World League and the Olympics last year so USA volleyball is on top of the world right now.

That being said, this year’s team has a lot of new faces so it’s been a bit of a challenge. The U.S. is 8-3 in league games with one more coming this Saturday against the Netherlands at Koch Arena.

There was good crowd on hand tonight, I’d say the arena was basically half-full, a tad more than the average Wichita State volleyball game. The fans were loud and really into it, especially during the tense second and third sets. The strength of the players is somewhat incredible to watch and the crowd seem impressed by some monster kills. 

For those who want to check it out, the game is at 7 p.m. Saturday. You can get tickets at the door. Prices are $25 with discounts for seniors and military members.

Look for a full recap of both matches along with quotes from both teams in the Wednesday edition of the Sunflower News, or view the story online at www.thesunflower.com.

Is anyone else nervous about giving Matt Cassel $63 million?

Prior to last season Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel last started a game in 1999. That was for Chatworth High School.

 True, the Chiefs looked like a high school team at times last season. You have to applaud the Chiefs for going out and getting a quarterback and then locking him up until 2014. But is Matt Cassel the right guy to lead the Chiefs the next six years?

Wichita State students that are Chiefs fans know the reality- the Chiefs have a lousy track record at choosing quarterbacks. Steve Bono, need a say more.

On Tuesday it was announced Cassel had signed a six-year $63 million contract, with $28 million being guaranteed. Cassel had a one-year deal in place for $14.53 million, since he was named a franchise player before New England traded him to Kansas City earlier this year for a second round draft pick.

That sounded perfect. $14.53 is a lot for one year, but that would be essentially an audition season. Are you the quarterback we’ve been looking for long-term, or are you a one-hit wonder (aka Damon Huard). Real deal, you sign him to an expensive contract;  one-hit wonder, see ya later alligator.

Now, Chiefs fans are stuck with this marriage for good for several seasons to come. That’s not necessarily bad, but risky. 

Cassel was impressive a year ago with the Patriots, but that was with many of the some players that had been on the 18-1 team a year ago that went undefeated until the Super Bowl.

I’ve listened to analysts debate whether New England won 11 games because of Cassel or despite him. And there’s really no well of telling no matter how much you study the stats or ask so-called football experts. The way we are going to find out whether Cassel is for really is the 2009 season with a team that is about 62 percent less talented than the Patriots. If he leads the Chiefs to even six or seven wins, he might be the real deal.

The Chiefs new braintrust has apparently seen something to suggest Cassel is the guy after a couple mini-camps.  I hope they are right. I would go as far as giving them the benefit of the doubt b/c their new and they haven’t messed up yet.

But if this is not the right call and Cassel flops without all his Patriots weapons, that’s a bad and costly way to begin the new Chiefs era. Plus, we’d be back to Tyler Thigpen at quarterback.