SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005 SWIMMING & DIVING
3B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Showdown hits swimming, diving
BY KELLY REYNOLDS
kreynolds@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The Kansas soccer and football teams are not alone in preparation for this weekend's Border Showdown events. The Kansas swimming and diving team will also face Missouri in a dual meet tonight at Robinson Natatorium.
"I'm pumped," senior Lindsey Urbatchka said. "I can't wait." The Border Showdown rivalry always brings out the best in both teams, she said.
"It's a lot of emotions," Urbatcha said. "We're not going to back off."
Urbatchka said that it was important to keep emotions consistent and to focus on the little things that will make a big difference.
"The match-up is great," she said. "They're a dual meet team, but so are we."
Last year, Missouri squeaked away with a 157-144 victory over Kansas in Columbia. Mo., a disappointing loss for the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks went 1-5 in Big 12 Conference swimming last season, and are facing a tough Tigers team to begin Big 12 competition this season.
Tonight will be the second time this season that the Jayhawks face a top-25 team, but Campbell said he thought it was good for the Jayhawks in terms of future goals for the season.
"Missouri is probably the most improved team in the country this season." Coach Clark Campbell said.
"It's been great having two top- 25 teams this early in the season," Campbell said. "Our goal all along is to be at that level come March."
Campbell said that Missouri has been recording "lightning quick times", but that Kansas wouldn't produce those types of times until January or February.
"We're going to have to over achieve," Campbell said. "Anything is possible."
The Jayhawks' previous dual meet was nearly two weeks ago, which could be beneficial because they are
less tired, Campbell said. Two weeks without a meet meant training intensely, he said. The team traveled to Free State High School last weekend and had a morning practice in a long-course pool, as opposed to the short-course pool at Robinson.
Urbatchka said that everything tonight would count, including exhibition swimmers.
"Everyone is a motivator." Urbatchka said.
On the diving front, Junior Shelby Noonan said she thought that the divers had taken big steps forward this year, and that the team was ready for Missouri tonight.
"We have some good meets behind us," Noonan said. "We have to be confident."
The Jayhawks didn't lose any senior divers at the end of last season and gained a lot of talent in the incoming freshman class this season, which has helped build the team. In addition, the team is very comfortable with second-year diving coach, Eric Elliot. The women are on the
same page and have a better understanding this year, Noonan said.
"Hannah (McMacken) has been a great impact also," Noonan said. "She brought so much encouragement coming in."
Noonan, who finished first in the three-meter diving competition against Minnesota three weeks ago, said in order to escape the 1-5 record within the Big 12 last year, the team would have to focus on a few little things this season.
Although Missouri has talented freshman divers, Noonan said she thought Kansas could handle the heat.
"Our meets were so close last year," Noonan said. "Touching the wall quicker and getting those couple extra points are things we can improve on that will make a big difference this year."
The Jayhawks begin the Border Showdown tonight at 6 in Robinson Natatorium.
Edited by Patrick Ross
WNBA
Comets player comes out of the closet
HOUSTON — Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes has disclosed that she is gay and in a committed relationship.
Swoopes said she currently lived with her partner, former Comets assistant coach Alisa Scott.
The three-time WNBA MVP said she never had feelings for a woman before Scott and didn't understand them when they began. But in the seven years since, she said she had been "hurting" while hiding her relationship.
She was married to high school sweetheart Eric Jackson and the two have an 8-year-old son, Jordan. Their divorce in 1999 had nothing to do with her being gay, Swoopes said.
The Associated Press
NCAA FOOTBALL Coach apologizes for insensitive remarks
DENVER — Air Force coach Fisher DearBerry met the academy's new superintendent for the first time and found himself being reprimanded, but not fired, for statements he made about black athletes and recruiting.
After his meeting with Lt. Gen.
John Regni, DeBerry issued an apology at a news conference.
On Tuesday, in discussing last weekend's 48-10 loss to TCU, DeBerry said it was clearTCU "had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did"
DeBerry first discussed the topic Monday, telling The Gazette of Colorado Springs the academy needed to recruit faster players and noting, "you don't see many minority athletes in our program."
Missed opportunity
The Associated Press
Valencia's Fabian Ayala from Argentina reacts after failing to score during his Spanish league soccer match against Sevilla in Valencia, Spain Thursday. Sevilla won the match 2-0.
Formando Rustamante/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEN'S GOLF
Kansas golf to focus on fundamentals
BY JONATHAN ANDERSON
janderson@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Kansas men's golf coach Ross Randall said the progress of the men's golf team through the fall season was inconsistent to say the least.
Junior team captain Gary Woodland, the lone player to consistently put up encouraging scores, said the team had a lot of potential in its youth.
"We have proved that we have more than five guys that can compete," Woodland said. "There's no doubt in my mind that we are a top-25 golf team when we can put it all together."
Putting it together hasn't been a problem for Woodland. Coming off of a strong summer was the cure for what ailed a zero victory tournament record during the season. Woodland won the Kansas amateur this summer and also captured the individual championship at the Cleveland State Invitational on Sept. 13.
"That first tourney took a huge burden off my back," Woodland said. "It opened the flood gates for some solid solids and allowed me to play my game knowing that I won a tournament and relieved that extra load."
The team finished ninth out of 17 teams in the tournament, though.
Most recently, Kansas finished 17th out of 18 teams in the Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
"We have been disappointed with the last couple of performances," Randall said. "It's not often that usually four to five of them will play poorly. It was a strong field, and I felt we could be competitive."
Struggling to put together a blend of players who will be competitive in the conference is the main goal for the team.
Randall made it clear that Kansas is back to square one to find a good mixture of players. When the fall traveling season is finished, the team will get back to work on the fundamentals and work on boosting its confidence.
Regardless of the team's inconsistent play, one thing is for sure — the results are in the past.
"When we put everything together, we can be a really good team," Randall said. "For now, we have to regroup and suck it up and work hard. We need to get ourselves ready to compete for the next event and work over the semester and get ready to play well in the spring."
Edited by Patrick Ross
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