The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

UAF preps for strong season

By Bob Eley, Sports Editor, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Every team hopes to get its season off to a fast start and the 2004 schedule put together by University of Alaska Fairbanks coach Phil Shoemaker will give the Nanooks the opportunity to do just that.

A pair of tournaments and lots of home matches early in the first month of the season will give the Nanooks a chance to put the home-court advantage to use when the things get started in August.

The Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic, featuring NCAA Division I teams, returns on Labor Day Weekend and the Nanooks will host the first Midnight Sun Invitational Division II tournament a week before that. The Nanooks also have a nonconference match with Cal Poly Pomona and a pair of exhibition contests prior to heading into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of the schedule.

"It's a good schedule for us," said Shoemaker, whose team will play nine home matches (including the exhibitions) prior to heading into their first GNAC match on Sept. 10, when UAF will play host to Western Oregon. "We have lots of home matches and we were able to keep travel to a minimum."

After a year's hiatus, the Nanooks will get the chance to play Division I competition again this year when Sacramento State, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Colgate visit the Patty Center on Sept. 3-4 for the Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic.

Sacramento State, which posted a 23-12 record last year and earned an NCAA Tournament berth by winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament, headlines the list of visiting teams. The Hornets lost to Stanford in the opening round of the NCAA tournament last fall.

"Sacramento state is a team that is consistently in the NCAA tournament," Shoemaker said. The Hornets also have an Alaska connection as Shannon Arts of Valdez is a member of the team. She is the younger sister of former UAF basketball standout Heidi Arts. Shannon Arts and UAF junior middle blocker April Blandford were teammates at Valdez High School.

The other two teams in the tournament are both in the process of building Division I programs.

Missouri-Kansas City went 8-25 last year and the Kangaroos were 6-8 in the Mid-Continent Conference. Colgate was 8-21 last year and 5-9 in the Patriot League.

The Midnight Sun Invitational is slated for Aug. 27-28 and features Cal Poly Pomona, Western State (Colo.) and Findlay (Ohio).

Last year the Nanooks opened the season at the Cal Poly Invitational and the Broncos reciprocated by coming to Fairbanks this year. Shoemaker said the Midnight Sun Invitational probably will be an every-other-year event with UAF playing at an NCAA West Region school's tournament to open the season one year and hosting that team in a tournament format the following season.

"That's our plan," Shoemaker said. "It's a big deal to play teams in your region when it comes time to determine NCAA tournament berths. Last year we went to California for the first time and now Cal Poly is coming up here."

The Nanooks open the season with exhibition matches against the Fairbanks Flyers and the UAF Alumni on Aug. 20 and 21, respectively, at the Patty Center.

UAF will play its first official match against Cal Poly Pomona on Aug. 26, followed by the Midnight Sun Invitational the next two days. Western State and Findlay will play in a non-tournament match on Aug. 26 at the Patty Center, as well.

In GNAC play, the Nanooks will have home-and-home matches against Western Oregon, Humboldt State, Seattle University, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's College, Central Washington, Western Washington, Seattle Pacific and intrastate rival Alaska Anchorage.

UAF plays host to UAA on Oct. 9 and travels to Anchorage on Nov. 6.

With all but one starter returning from last year's team that posted a 13-10 overall record and a 10-8 GNAC mark, getting off to a fast start could be the key to UAF achieving its first-ever berth to the NCAA West Regional, a goal they have just missed the past couple of seasons.

For volleyball ticket information, call the UAF ticket office at 474-5977.