FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4,2005
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
7A
SWIMMING & DIVING
Iowa, Missouri State to bring co-ed teams
BY KELLY REYNOLDS
kreynolds@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Kansan file photo
Freshman Ashley Leidigh competes in the finals of the 200-yard butterfly event to place first against Missouri on Oct. 28 in Lawrence. Kansas will swim against Iowa and Missouri State at 4 p.m. today.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
The Kansas swimming and diving team will host a double dual meet this afternoon with the University of Iowa and Missouri State University at Robinson Natatorium.
Both Iowa and Missouri State are co-ed teams and will bring their men's team with them. Although both women and men will swim at the meet, it will be scored separately and will essentially be four meets in one; Kansas vs. Iowa, Kansas vs. Missouri State, Iowa vs. Missouri State, and Iowa men vs. Missouri State men.
Kansas swimming coach Clark Campbell said that having the men at the meet would be positive for Kansas.
"It will be a great addition," Campbell said.
Campbell said the co-ed aspect of the meet would slow it down because of the extra heat with the men, which means a little extra rest for the women because they won't be swimming continuously.
"It's a win-win situation," Campbell said.
Both Iowa and Missouri State are better because they are coed, Campbell said.
This season is the first season that Iowa has been co-ed, but Campbell said the transition
would not slow the Hawkeyes down.
"It has definitely benefited Iowa," Campbell said. "They have a great coach in Marc Long; he's the right guy for the iob."
Sophomore Terri Schramka said the co-ed meet would be
a great opportunity to switch things up. Swimming with men is something that most of the Jayhawks are familiar with after swimming on club teams.
"I think it will be interesting to have a guys' meet too," Schramka said. "It's something different, and it's something that
most of us have been a part of."
most of us have been Campbell said that Iowa would be Kansas' biggest competition. The Hawkeyes would be strong in the freestyle events, backstroke events and in diving, Campbell said.
"Both teams present a formidable challenge, but Iowa is one of the better teams in the Big
10," Campbell said. "They're looking to beat Kansas."
Iowa has one of the best divers in the country, Campbell said. Nancilea Underwood has been a stand-out diver at Iowa, and has captured Big 10 Diver of the Week twice this season. Underwood recently broke and reset the University of Iowa three-meter diving record at Iowa's dual meet against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Iowa lost to Minnesota on Sept. 21, 169-131, a comparable score to the Kansas vs. Minnesota meet earlier this season when Kansas lost 168-132.
Schramka said the Jayhawks would enter the meet this afternoon with the same mentality they had when they beat Missouri last Friday.
"We are going to concentrate on ourselves, our races and doing the best we can do," Schramka said.
If the Jayhawks can beat Iowa tonight, there is a better chance they will be a top-25 team. Campbell said, after the Missouri meet last week.
VOLLEYBALL
Kansan file photo
Senior setter Andi Rozum blocks junior hitter Nicoie Lorenzen, of Iowa State, during Kansas' home game on Oct. 19. Kansas takes on Kansas State Saturday at 7 p.m. in Manhattan in hopes of breaking its losing streak.
'Hawks look to end string of losses
Still a hope at postseason tournament
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
The Kansas volleyball team will likely need to win five of its last six matches to be considered for the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas will try to end its current eight-match losing streak Saturday night in Manhattan against Kansas State. First serve for the in-state showdown is set for 7 p.m. at Ahearn Field House.
In addition to the Jayhawks' recent slide, they have lost 21 consecutive matches to the Wildcats. Their last victory before the start of the stretch was in November of 1994, when the Jayhawks beat the Wildcats in five games.
Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard said he and the team would look at it as another opportunity to get out of their month-long funk.
"It's hard to change the mindset," he said. "You can take charge of certain situations. As coaches and players, we each have to try to make a difference in order to turn it around."
Kansas' woes continued Wednesday in a home loss to Colorado. The Jajahaws lost in four games, but Bechard said he was pleased with some of what he saw.
Serving had been a problem area all season. But against the Buffaloes, the Jayhawks recorded 10 aces against only seven errors. Bechard said he hoped to average at least one ace for every two errors, so the efficiency was more than acceptable.
He also said that these improvements meant nothing if they didn't translate into victories.
"There's a fine line between frustration and disappointment," Bechard said. "They want to see results. The only definitive result right now is winning and losing."
Kansas must also improve on closing out games. Bechard said it was vital that the team become the aggressor in close games if it had hopes of a late-season run.
"There's a fine line between frustration and disappointment," Bechard said. "They want to see results. The only definitive result right now is winning and losing."
In games two and three against Colorado, Kansas was tied at 26 and led 30-29, respectively. The jayhawks lost both games.
Sophomore opposite hitter Emily Brown said the Jayhawks had nobody to blame but themselves.
"The Big 12 is a very tough conference," she said. "You've got to play a clean match every night this year. We haven't been doing that."
Ray Bechard Coach
Kansas State (16-7) will enter the match on a high note. It ended a three-match skid with a victory at Iowa State on Wednesday. The Wildcats have still lost four of their last six, but they sit at 7-6 in the Big 12 Conference, which is good enough to put them in fifth place.
Kansas is 12-11 overall and 4-10 in conference play, placing it in tenth place, ahead of only
1-13 Oklahoma.
Bechard said the Wildcats would be a motivated opponent because they were not sure if they were going to make it into the NCAA Tournament.
"They're really trying to make a push right now," he said. "They're sitting in the middle of the pack."
Bechard said he thought the team had what it took to get things turned around and salvage the rest of the year.
"It's not a situation we thought we'd be in this season," Bechard said. "This question was asked in the locker room: Do we continue to fight and give a great effort every match or do we quit? There's no doubt we'll keep fighting and trying to improve every day."
- Edited by Jayme Wiley