THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
SOCCER
Border war falls on Senior Day
Kansas must defeat Mizzou for shot at tournament co-championship
Kansan file photo
Kansan file photo
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BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Nicole Braman, senior forward, steps out in front of Longhorn freshman defender Stephanie Logterman, to block the ball during last Sunday's home game. Today, the Jayhawks kick off the border showdown game against Missouri in Lawrence at 3 p.m.
Much like the end of an era approaching, Kansas takes on rival Missouri today on senior day in each team's final regular season match-up.
A ceremony in honor of the five Jayhawk seniors, Caroline Smith, Nicole Braman, Erin Ferguson, Kimberly Karfonta and Jessica Smith, is scheduled before the 3 p.m. kickoff.
"Senior day is always very emotional," Caroline Smith said. "Not just for me and the seniors but for everybody. Depending, it will probably be our last time to play on our home field."
The emotional factor aside, today's match puts plenty at stake for both teams. Missouri (9-6-3, 3-4-2 Big 12) must win to have a shot at clinching the eighth, and final, Big 12 Tournament seed.
"If anything it's an advantage for us," Caroline Smith said. "It's hard to play against a team having a senior day. It gives you a little bit of an edge — you tend to play a little better, more intense."
Kansas (10-6-2, 5-3-1 Big 12) are locked into a trip to the postseason, but a victory this afternoon will give the Jayhawks a shot at a Big 12 Co-Championship repeat.
"Regardless of all the scenarios and everything else, we've got a job to get done," Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis said.
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 4B
Jayhawks' season could go either wav
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
Photo finishes aren't this close.
In the final week of Big 12 Conference play, Kansas (10-6-2,5-3-1 Big 12) could finish in opposite directions. The Jayhawks have a shot at sharing the conference championship for the second straight year but could also finish as low as sixth.
Beating Texas (9-7-1, 6-4-0 Big 12) on Sunday put Kansas in the driver's seat in terms of which extreme the team can finish the season. That victory also cost the Longhorns any chance they had of winning the conference, even though they have six wins to the Jahawks' five.
Kansas beat them head-to-head, and Texas was the only Big 12 team to finish up conference play last weekend. The other advantage of last Sunday's victory is that if Kansas defeats Missouri (9-6-3, 3-4-2 Big 12), Kansas can share the Big 12 Championship.
"We can't be too confident going into our next game, but we do need to win," sophomore defender Afton Sauer said.
"Our destiny, right now, is in our own hands," added Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis.
Well kind of.
First and foremost, if Texas A&M (12-3-2,
6-2-1 Big 12) defeats Baylor
Although Kansas does have to win its final match of the season, almost half of the conference also has to lose for the jahawks to benefit.
(4-11-2, 2-6-1 Big 12) on Friday, the conference race is over. An Aggie victory would give them their second consecutive Big 12 game, only this year it would be outright.
If Texas &M fails to knock off Baylor this weekend, things get fun.
SEE JAYHAWKS ON PAGE 4B
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas needs victory for chance at postseason
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Josi Lima, senior middle blocker, serves the ball to Iowa State during Kansas' previous home game on Oct. 19. The Jayhawks take on the Longhorns at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Horeisi Family Athletics Center.
As the volleyball season winds down, Kansas knows it has a tough road toward postseason play.
The journey continues tonight when it hosts No. 14 Texas at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Jayhawks lost their last match-up with the Longhorns, a five-game match in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 21. Kansas lost the first two games in the match before storming back to force a decisive fifth game, which Texas won 15-13.
Both teams looked destined for a high seed in the NCAA tournament during their first encounter. Texas (15-3, 10-2 Big 12) is still a virtual lock to make the tournament and is in good position to go far. Kansas (12-9, 4-8) will have to catch fire in the last three weeks of the season to get an invitation to the party.
The Jayhawks have gone into a downward spiral since early October. Even if they don't want to acknowledge it, evidence points to junior outside hitter Jana Correa's injury as the main reason. The Jayhawks have lost six consecutive matches and have been without Correa in each of them. Correa went down with a knee injury in Kansas' Oct. 5 match against Kansas State.
Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard, who said his team had moved on emotionally after Correa's injury, knew what they needed to do to make a late-season run.
"I think they're all must-win matches now," Beachard said. "Last year we won nine matches and weren't sure whether we were going to make it or not. With four wins so far and eight matches left, you can do the math."
Senior setter Andi Rozum
The Longhorns have won nine of their last 10 matches, a
run that began with their victory over the Jayhawks. Texas is coming off a 3-0 win over Texas A&M on Wednesday night.
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 4B
Kansas a stepping stone to bowl game for Missouri
COLUMN EXCHANGE
And yet it seems whenever it is us against you, rankings don't matter all that much.
Missouri-Kansas is an interesting rivalry. Of course, the close proximity to one another stirs up the chance of hatred. But usually a rivalry also involves something missing the past few years from this one having both teams in contention at the time of the meeting.
Then, when an underachieving Tigers basketball team squared off against a No. 7 Jayhawks team, fans at Mizzou arena expected to be disappointed. So what happened?
Last year was a great example. Now, no one is going to confuse our football team with one that was in contention, but we did
Editor's note: As part of Homecoming Week, the Kansan and The Maneater, Missouri's student newspaper, swapped columns about this weekend's Border Showdown.
Heading into tomorrow's showdown in Lawrence, Missouri will need another strong performance from quarterback Brad Smith to break a two-game losing streak to Kansas. Smith received several honors this week, including national player of the week from USA Today and Sports Illustrated, after passing and
line. So what happened? Kansas rolled out of Columbia with a victory.
Kansas staggered out of Columbia with a loss.
NATHAN HUDOCK
SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
rushing for more than 200 yards.
eight more minutes — and still managed to lose.
But hey, your quarterback, senior Jason Swanson, is coming off a fine performance too — three great looking interceptions, to be precise.
The Jayhawks are coming off a less-than-stellar showing. Your football team passed for almost
The Jayhawks are coming off a less-than-stellar showing. Your football team passed for almost 100 more yards than Colorado last week, committed half as many penalties and held the ball for
We, on the other hand, beat Nebraska again last week, something your football team hasn't done in the past 36 attempts.
100 more yards than Colorado last week, committed half as many penalties and held the ball for eight more minutes—and still managed to lose.
But none of these past results matter tomorrow, do they? It is always entertaining when Missouri and Kansas square off.
And here is my theory about these un-
But the tables are turned when it comes to football. Missouri has had the better players and better records in the series, and especially after the emotional Nebraska victory, see Kansas as their stepping stone to a bowl game.
You see, MU basketball puts a target on KU basketball, and KU football puts a target on MU football. So many times, the team with the target on its back struggles against a team with nothing to lose.
For the Tigers, beating the usually high-ranked Jayhawks in basketball completes a season. But for Kansas, Missouri is just another stepping stone on its way to the NCAA Tournament.
my theory about these unusual endings to the past few meetings.
With that in mind, let's make a deal. We'll win tomorrow and go to a bowl game. And in return, we'll be ever so kind as to keep your four-game losing streak in tact.
Hey, you guys have something going, and our football team doesn't want to mess that up. So Kansas, you can keep your once-clever but now overused "Muck Fizzou" chants; we'll just take our victory and move on.
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