THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
SOCCER
PAGE 10A
Loss leaves Kansas on the bubble
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
SAN ANTONIO — The intensity that Nebraska reached during its 3-1 victory against Kansas on Wednesday made it hard to believe the Cornhuskers were held scoreless when the teams met earlier this season.
The Cornhuskers owned the opening 45 minutes of the Big
12 Tournament's first-round game. They jumped to a 2-0 lead, and by the time the Jayhawks got their offense rolling it was too late.
"I don't know why we came out flat in the first half," Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis said. "When you go into halftime down two, though, it's a tough hill to climb."
The loss leaves Kansas on the bubble for this year's NCAA Tour.
nament. The Jayhawks will learn their fate Monday, when ESPN News announces tournament bids between 4 and 4:30 p.m.
"I don't think they realized that we're in the postseason now," Francis said. "If for some reason we don't get in the NCAA tournament, our season is over. As the head coach, it's part of my job to get them ready to play. I thought we were ready today, but when the game started they
obviously weren't."
No. 22 Nebraska improved its Big 12 Tournament record against Kansas to 3-0 and ended the Jayhawks' recent surge of momentum,
Freshman forward Aysha Jamani gave Nebraska a lead it would not lose early in the match. In the 13th minute, Jamani sent a bullet to the back left corner of the goal, beating freshman goalkeeper Julie Hanley.
Hanley finished with seven saves to trump Nebraska freshman keeper Jamie Klages' five, but she cared little about the numbers.
"Regardless, if I had more saves — ultimately they won the game," Hanley said. "It is disappointing. We had high expectations."
Jamani's goal marked the first for either team when facing each other this season.
The duo put up a 0-0 tie after two overtimes in the regular season.
The scoring rut in the pair's last match was evidently a blip in the efficient Husker offense, as sophomore midfielder Jessie Bruch used an assist from Big 12
Player of the Year Brittany Timko to score the team's second goal in the 27th minute.
VOLLEYBALL
SEE BUBBLE ON PAGE 8A
Following a familiar story line
Tourney hopes dim after loss to Colorado
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The opening game was different Wednesday night, but in the end it was the same old song for Kansas. A 3-1 home loss to Colorado.
The jaynawks have now lost eight straight matches, dating back to Oct. 1, and any chance they had of reaching the NCAA tournament has likely vanished in the process.
Wednesday's match, at least, had a new wrinkle that conspired to befall Kansas.
With the match tied 1-1 and the score knotted at 26-all in game three, a violation was called on junior defensive specialist Dani Wittman as she was preparing to serve. The referee ruled that Wittman had taken more than the allotted five seconds to put the ball into play, and Colorado was awarded a point and the serve. The Buffaloes went on to win the game and grab the momentum that carried them to victory.
"First time I've seen it," said Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard, who is in his 21st season coaching collegiate volleyball. "When things aren't going quite like you'd hope, things like that seem to find you."
Kansas got on the board first with a 30-26 victory in game one. Runs of 8-0 and 7-0 proved to be too much for Colorado to overcome.
The Buffaloes evened the match in the second game. They grabbed a 16-9 lead in the middle of the frame and held that margin until the Jayhawks came alive. Down 27-21, Kansas scored nine of the next 11 points for a 30-29 lead. After a side out, Colorado ran off two straight points to win 32-30.
Kansas appeared to seize the momentum in the early stages of game three. The Jayhawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead and kept that degree of separation for most of the game. The Buffaloos closed the gap to 18-17, however, and eventually tied it at 22.
After the controversial third game,game four was decided by a 6-0 run by Colorado, which gave it an insurmountable 25-16 lead over a deflated Kansas squad.
The Jayhawks fell to 12-11 overall and 4-10 in conference play. Senior outside hitter Paula Caten led the Jayhawks with 17 kills. Sophomore opposite hitter Emily Brown tallied 16.
Brown said she and her teammates would fight to the end, despite the uphill battle that lies ahead.
"We've got to win now," she said. "If we're down 29-10, I think we still have a chance. I think our whole team feels that way."
Josh Kirk/KANSAN
Junior outside hitter Megan Hill spikes a ball during Wednesday night's volleyball game against Colorado. The Jayhawks lost the match 3-1.
— Edited by Anne Burgard
A TEXAN'S TAKE
Preseason poll absence helps relieve pressure
For the first time in 15 years, the Kansas men's basketball team did not appear in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Poll.
Good. This doesn't mean that the Jayhawks will have a down year. Being unranked to start the season will simply take the pressure off of a team that will feature 11 freshmen and sophomores.
"The preseason polls are an indication on what you have coming back because that's all anyone can predict, and of course, we lost an awful lot." Tim Jankovich. Kansas men's assistant basketball coach, said. "It's really not something we think or talk, or even care much about."
And the Jayhawks shouldn't. What does this team have to lose? Not nearly as much as last year's team, which was ranked No. 1 in the same poll.
This year's team will get better toward the end of the season after the players have developed more chemistry on the hardwood. This will be a team prepared for battle in March. Kansas will receive an early test when it travels to Hawaii on Nov. 21 to take on No. 9 Arizona. There's also the Jan. 7 home game against No. 10 Kentucky. Then, there's Big 12 Conference play against No. 2 Texas, No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 23 Iowa State, among others.
The Jayhawks may not be a No.1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but unlike college football and the Bowl Championship Series, a team doesn't have to be No.1 or 2 to play in the national title game. As long as a college basketball team is ranked in the Top 65, its chances for winning a championship stay alive until it is knocked out of March Madness.
ERICK SORRENTINO
ESORRENTINO@KANSAN.COM
Towering preseason expectations and pressure played a factor in last season's letdown.
Being ranked No. 1 before the season started painted a red bull's-eye on Kansas basketball jerseys.
One of the disadvantages of being the top-ranked team is that every visitor will likely bring its best game, despite what the team's record shows. Kansas witnessed scares against Vermont, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Nebraska at home and dropped a rare home game to Iowa State last season.
But Kansas doesn't have to be No.1 in the nation to have success. It's hard to equate the 1988 Kansas team to this year's squad, but Danny and the Miracles were a sixth seed in the tournament the year they won the national title.
Furthermore, history shows that two of the most-talented teams in KU history have had early March Madness exits. In 1997, Kansas was ranked first in the nation but lost to Arizona in the third round of the tournament.
The 1998 No.1 seeded Kansas team lost to Rhode Island in the second round.
This year's freshmen won't be scrutinized for every mistake they make. They won't be asked questions after every game regarding a national title appearance.
Expectations are lower, and that's good. This year's team only has to get out of the first round of the tournament to have more success than last year's team.
Sorrentino is a Plano, Texas, senior in journalism. He is Kansan Associate Sports Editor.
SWIMMING
Newcomer breaks record wins national recognition
BY KELLY REYNOLDS
kreynolds@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Kansas freshman swimmer Ashley Leidigh was named a collegeswimming.com National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week on Wednesday for her performance against the Missouri Tigers last weekend.
Leidigh is also in the running for Big 12 Conference Swimmer of the Week, Kansas swimming coach Clark Campbell said.
Ashley Leidigh Freshman swimmer
"I did not expect to be swimming this fast this early in the season."
Leidigh recorded victories in four events at the Missouri meet Friday, leading Kansas to its first victory over Missouri in six
years and its first Big 12 victory of the season.
Leidigh shattered the Kansas pool record in the 100-yard butterfly event with a time of 55 seconds. The previous pool record was 55.56. Leidigh's other three victories came in the 200-yard butterfly, the 100-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
"I am very honored," Leidigh said. "It was very unexpected."
The National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week selection committee includes head coaches from ten different colleges.
As a newcomer to the swimming and diving team, Leidigh didn't know how fast she would swim.
"I did not expect to be swimming this fast this early in the season," Leidigh said.
SEE NEWCOMER ON PAGE BA
Ryan Howe/KANSA*
Freshman swimmer Ashley Leidigh competes during the duals meet against Missouri on Friday in Robinson Natatorium. Leidigh won the race and set a pool record of 55 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly. She also received National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week honors from collegeswimming.com.
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