1997_09 The Daily Collegian September 1997

              THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
O   Tuesday, September 2,1997
Sports
Telephone: (209) 278-5733
COMER
Gano leads Bulldogs
past Wildcats
Cheryl Gano scored two
goals and assisted on two more
to lead Fresno State women's
soccer team to a 4-0 victory over
the Chico State Wildcats.
"She had a wonderful game,"
Fresno State Head Coach Peter
Reynaud said of Gano's perfor¬
mance.
"It is a hig confidence
builder." Gano said.
The Bulldogs got oul to a
strong start, scoring twice in the
first 15 minutes of the match. It
was Gano who set up the goals
for the Bulldogs.
In Fresno State's first goal.
Gano rushed the drihble his way
past defenders and'took a hard
driving shot Chico State goal¬
keeper could not contain. AH
Lisa Andrews had to do was
softly put the ball into the net.
Fresno State's second goal
was a quick combination be¬
tween Sarah McEachen and
Gano that set Jill Pearson for an
easy shot versus the defender.
"I was at the right place at the
right time," Gano said.
Chico State's defense seemed
confused and lost. They were
unorganized and seemed to lack
confidence.
After 30 minutes of play,
Gano made her presence known
in the scoreboard. Fresno State
got a throw-in from the left side
of its attack. Gano ran lo the
open space to received the ball.
"I knew the defender was
stepping mc," she said. She lei
the ball bounced once, and got
past the defender. "I knew that
if I turn. I was going to be able
to get [a shot at goal]. Gano took
a no-look, hard-driven, across
her body shot. "That's my favor¬
ite shot," Gano said. Chico
State's goalie had no chance at
stopping the ball that entered in
the upper left corner.     T
"That's a typical goal she
scores," Reynaud said. "She
brings the ball around to her left
foot. And then hits a hard shot."
Easier said than done, as most
strikers can testify.
Her second goal of the game
closed the book on Fresno
Slate's impressive offensive per¬
formance.
Near perfect beginning to Hill era
By David Childers
The Daily Collegian
This wasn't the beginning to the
Pat Hill era that Pat Hill was look¬
ing for.
Just hours before kickoff of his
first game as Fresno State's new
football coach. Hill suspended
tailback Michael Pittman "indefi¬
nitely" for "conductdetrimental to
the team." bringing about an omi¬
nous opening to the new year.
Pittman reportedly was ques¬
tioned, but not charged, by the
Fresno Police Department in con¬
nection with a 911 call placed by a
neighbor of Pittman's ex-girlfriend
Lelica Zazaboi. The incident caused
Pittman to miss a team meeting at
9 p.m. on Friday.  .
What ensued once the game got
started, though, was much more
picturesque for Hill's debut.
The Bulldogs pummeled Port¬
land State on the field, scoring 28
points in the second quarter and
bolting out to a 35-0 lead by half-
lime before cruising to a 35-7 win
at Bulldog Stadium on Saturday.
Suddenly, it was not Pittman that
was the focus. It was a young Bull¬
dog squad that had dominated the
Division I AA Vikings to get the
Hill era off to a perfect start.
"I really feel good for the kids,
the kids played very hard tonight,"
said Hill. "I never doubted that this
team would play hard, this team
will play hard all year."
Many had wanted lo place the
focus on Hill. It was his first game
at Fresno State. His first walk down
the tunnel. His first win as a head
coach. But it was the constant ref¬
erences to "team" and "kids" that
reminded all that Hill does all he
can to avoid the spotlight.
"I'll say it again — players play
and coaches coach," said Hill. "I'm
very, very proud of this team. I
didn't pitch a shutout — they did."
In Pittman's absence, unher¬
alded backup Joe Turner made the
most of his major college debut.
Turner rushed 10 times for 120
yards to lead the Bulldog rushing
outburst. On his second run from
scrimmage. Turner busted up the
middle for a 58-yard run that set up
his own touchdown moments later.
"Joe Turner was a walk-on here
and earned a scholarship in fall
camp." said Hill. "He's been doing
that all fall. He's a hard working
yV>ung man. He doesn't have the
breakaway speed that [Pittman] has,
Pleae see GAME page 7.
Ryan Weber - The Daily Collegian
Bill Volek looks for a receiver down field during Fresno State's 35-
7 victory over the Portland State Vikings Saturday night.
Turner delivers Heisman-like performance
By John Sanders
The Daily Collegian
It might be a bit premature to
gift wrap the Heisman Trophy and
give it to Fresno State running
back Joe Turner. However, his
Heisman-like performance Satur¬
day night against the Portland
State Vikings should not go un¬
noticed.
Making the first start at
tailback of his college career, re¬
placing suspended running back
Michael Pittman, Turner gave
Bulldog fans, as well as new head
coach Pat Hill, something to smile
about.
Turner rushed for 120 yards on
a microscopic 10 carries and scored
a touchdown, which helped Fresno
State (1-0) to a 35-7 victory over
visiting Division l-AA Portland
State which dropped to 0-1.
Turner, a sophomore transfer
from Sacramento State wherje he
spent much of his time playing de¬
fensive back, was slated to be the
number two running back behind
Pittman. But when Hill suspended
Pittman for what he called, "con¬
duct detrimental to the team,"
Turner stepped into the spotlight.
And step into the spotlight big
is what he did.
"I had a lot of butterflies, be¬
cause this is my first start in a big
collegian game. I definitely didn't
want to disappoint the crowd,"
Turner said. "The offensive line
played a hell of a game. We got over
200 yards rushing (nine different
players combined), so that defi¬
nitely tells you something about our
O-line. They stepped up real good."
Fresno State did not score on its
opening drive, however, Turner
made an immediate impact on the
field. His first collegian carry
gave him 15 yards and a first
down. On the drive he finished
with 18 yards on only two carries
"The kid (Turner) rose to the
occasion. I was really impressed
with him," said Viking head coach
Tim Walsh. "Their offensive line
is the key, the credit goes to them."
Following a Portland State
punt, one of their eleven for the
Pleae see TURNER page!
Cross country runners get their watermelon's worth
By Chris Ruiz
Special to the Collegian
Over 500 pounds of watermelon
were eaten as the general public and
the Fresno State cross country team
kicked off the 1997 season Satur¬
day with the 32nd annual Water¬
melon Run on campus Saturday.
The Watermelon Run. which
was originated by Head Coach Red
Estes in his second season in 1965,
has its own unique way of award¬
ing its winners.
Awards arc given out to the top-
si wathlctcs who come close to suc¬
cessfully predicting their own time
in either the two, four, or six-mile
run.
Winning the two-mile run award
was senior Salome Murray. She fin¬
ished the race in 20th place, but pre¬
dicted exactly her finishing time of
12:00.
The other Bulldog to win an
award was sophomore Tim Padilla.
He finished the four-mile run in the
fifth position with a time of 21:01.
Padilla's predicted time of 21:00
was good for the second place
award.
But it also was a race. Leading
the way for the women was Nicole ,
Kulikov, The sophomore added her
name to the Watermelon Run record
book in the two-mile run. Her time
of 11:04 placed her at No. 5 on the
all-time list.
Kulikov was the top female run¬
ner and finished eighth overall in
the race.
Kulikov is making a name for
herself and has made a case to be
called the No. I runner on the
women's squad. Coach Estes says
Pleae see RUN page 7.
FILE PHOTO
Giving chase. Nicole Kulikov and Kelly Jacobson got their
watermelon after participating in Saturday's race.