Spring Break
The UMKC Athletics Department's offices have been buzzing with anticipation of the coming 2007-08 campaign. Soccer, volleyball, and cross country begin their seasons immediately, with softball's abbreviated fall exhibition season getting underway in mid-September.
Free pizza and scores of fun were had by all who attended the annual Blue-Gold volleyball game Wednesday afternoon at Swinney Recreation Center. As torrential rains fell around the UMKC campus, fans seemed to enjoy their time on and off the court. Prior to the match, UMKC head volleyball coach Geno Frugoli held a session of Volleyball 101 to give students a better understanding of the game's rules.
Head volleyball coach Geno Frugoli had a weekend of firsts. The first year Kangaroo leader won his first game, lost his first game and coached his first tournament as a Division I head coach. The Roos finished 1-3 in tourney action at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn/T.
Sophomore Jimmy Keown has been running cross country since the sixth grade. His leisurely involvement in the sport became more serious during his freshman year of high school. A key lesson learned at such an early stage has enabled Keown to find success at the collegiate level.
The UMKC Kangaroos soccer squad clipped the William Jewell College (WJC) Cardinals 3-2 on Saturday night. The visiting crowd had much to cheer about in Liberty, Mo., as three players scored in the UMKC victory. Early in the match, UMKC freshman John Bayron Sosa's shot on goal sailed just wide of the goal.
Former basketball guard Quinton Day leaves Tuesday, Aug. 28 for Budapest, Hungary, to continue his round ball career. The Kangaroos all-time assists king, with 377, and the university's most prolific ball thief, with 179 steals of the rock in his career, is eager to try something new.
Sophomore setter Caitlin Koenig, the catalyst in head coach Geno Frugoli's first career victory at the Division I level, earned all tournament honors in the Dr. Mary Jo Winn/T.J. Sales Invitational tournament. Koenig's 132 assists, 24 kills and 23 digs were accentuated in the squad's victory over Delaware State University as she netted a triple double.
The 2007 edition of the UMKC men's soccer team looks to keep up the momentum they achieved during the latter part of the 2006 season when a surging squad found their rhythm and vaulted into the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament finals. Head Coach Rick Benben thinks the experience of his returning players - including eight starters from 2006 - along with the new talent added to the current roster will make for a productive combination.
