Sept. 4, 2001
Three of Baylor's head coaches spoke to the media at Tuesday's press luncheon. Below are excerpts from their comments.
Head Soccer Coach Nick Cowell:
On the team's schedule:
"We've scheduled a hard opening schedule for a reason -- to get ready for the Big 12 Tournament. Four of our first six opponents made the NCAA Tournament last year, including Arizona State and Furman. These are excellent chances for the team to see where we are at.
On last weekend's games:
"If you look at the score of the Arizona State game, you see it was 3-0, but the stats show it was a much closer game than that. They were the better team, but the difference between the two teams is that they have two girls with national team experience, one of whom scored three goals Friday night."
"Furman is a very strong team, to beat a team like that bodes well for us, and gives our girls confidence."
On the upcoming weekend:
"We play two more very good teams this weekend in Loyola Marymount and San Diego. We'll see how we fare on the road... We have a good feel for our team now."
On the team's goalkeeper situation:
"We lost Dawn Greathouse from last year, and obviously that's a big hole. We felt like we were adequately covered with Emily Koch, a sophomore transfer from UCLA, and Mel Pannell, who was rated one of the top eight goalies in the nation.
"Emily has a degenerative disc problem in her back, and had not kicked the ball this year really before Sunday. Pannell suffered a separated shoulder in her first game Friday. Koch should be able to play, but not to train, which should be interesting."
Head Volleyball Coach Brian Hosfeld:
On the 2001 outlook:
"We're pretty thin this year, not a lot of depth. We lost Lisa Smith in the last 30 minutes of our Japan trip. Also, Carol Selman is day-to-day with back problems."
"I hope that we're similar to 1999, when we were thin but stayed healthy and played at a high level.
"Coming off the Tulane tournament, we're playing at a higher level than at this point last year. Stevie Nicholas, believe it or not, is playing better than last year. Tisha Schwartz is also more offensive-minded than before. We're grounded with Dana Chuha at setter, she's taken charge this year. She's not going to make a lot of errors, which is even more important this year with the rally scoring." Sunny Nicholas is back, coming off wrist surgery in December, but she hasn't been affected by it. Tatiana Kenon is our other senior, she's working on her consistency."
On UT-Arlington:
"UTA has a freshman setter and a couple of international players. You never know how good the international kids are going to be... UTA will come down, play hard, and get us ready for this weekend."
Head Football Coach Kevin Steele:
On the team this season:
"I'm glad it's game week. We work all year to play games. Two-a-days get long and hot in Texas, and this year, wet."
"I'm excited about this football team. Let me reiterate: we've got a good football team. We've got a good football team because we're faster, stronger, bigger, and more mature. They've come together as a team. It gives you a better chance when you've got that one heartbeat... I feel good about this group of guys, and they feel good about themselves."
On Arkansas State:
"They're coming off a tough year last year. They have a lot of JUCO players starting for them, and they can be dangerous in that regard. We saw them get better as the game went on against Georgia."
"They started a true freshman at quarterback, with a true freshman backing him up. But he had no interceptions, no sacks, and the team didn't fumble once. They did not beat themselves, Georgia just has a very good team. ASU went into a hostile environment and played hard, and had their opportunities."
"For most true freshmen to go Athens, Ga. in front of 90,000 people in his first start... He looked like a junior, not a true freshman."
"Jonathan Adams is their running back. He's for real. He's a big-time running back with a lot of power. Very relentless, he plays the first play and the last play the same. And he can go the length of the field at any time."
"They have two very good offensive tackles. Big strong guys, returning starters. That's the strength of their offense, to me."
On the upcoming game:
"Our players are set on having a very productive non-conference run before entering conference play. That starts Saturday night."
On Baylor's defense:
"Our defense made a tremendous jump. You see a relentless defense, with 8, 9, 10, 11 players to the ball, with unity and excitement.
"Every defense has to have a personality to be good. This defense has a personality, they have a strut in their walk... Last year, [their personality] was multiple. At times, they played hard and had intensity, and at times, they could have been more cohesive. They never established the type of reckless abandon mentality where you have guys flying around. This year, they've got so many plays with 9, 10, 11 guys on the ball... They're having fun."
