SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1995
SECTION B
Valerie Crow / KANSAN
Kansas freshman Christie Sim returns a serve in a recent match against Boise State. The Kansas women's tennis team travels to Chicago tomorrow to face Northwestern.
Northwestern will test tennis team's health
Women feel restored after a bad road trip and two cases of the flu
By Robert Moczydlowsky Kansan sportswriter
Lineup changes and rest were the prescription for the women's tennis team this week.
After a rough road trip and two bouts with the stomach flu, the No.10 Jayhawks did some healing in preparation for today's trip to Chicago.
"We've got three all-new doubles teams," said Kansas coach Chuck Merzbacher. "Our women are excited, and so am I. I think we're ready for a new beginning."
The Jayhawks will take on Northwestern tomorrow, a team that Mzebacher says is tough.
"They're in the top 30," he said. "Every team that we'll face from here until Big Eight play starts is nationally ranked. Northwestern has good players, and we'll have to play well to beat them."
After Notre Dame and William and Mary upset Kansas over the weekend, the Jayhawks looked for new doubles teams and a realigned singles lineup to improve their team.
Merzbacher said that his team had shown resiliency this week.
"This is a team that likes each other and cares about each other," Merzbacher said. "We're just in the middle of a process. Now, I think we've pretty much figured it out."
After the Jayhawks return from Chicago, they will have only three days to prepare for the Rolex National Team Indoor Tournament in Madison, Wis.
Kansas senior Nora Koves said the Rolex tournament would give the team a chance to see NCAA Tournament competition.
The National Team Tournament features the top teams in the nation in a format similar to that of the NCAA championships.
The top 20 teams in the nation qualify for the NCAA tournament, and success at the Rolex tournament is equivalent to success in the rankings.
"We'll keep shuffing our lineup until we're successful." Merzbacher said. "A couple of victories at the Rolex tournament will let us start the rest of the season on a good note. We really have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
Both Koves and sophomore Bianca Kirchhof have had the flu this week, but the Jayhawks are counting on a healthy lineup.
They both have participated in practice, and Merzbacher expects them to play against Northwestern.
"They'll both be ready," he said. "They just got caught by the stomach flu bug. I'm not worried about them not playing. The whole team is ready."
BRIEF
Missouri's Winfield is Player of the Week
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Julian Winfield, who has been on a rebounding tear for No. 9 Missouri, was named Player of the Week in the Big Eight on Monday.
Winfield, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall and has a 41-inch vertical leap, had 18 rebounds against Iowa State and 10 against Oklahoma State.
The junior from St. Louis averaged 12 points in the two Missouri victories, which gave the Tigers a share of the Big Eight lead with Kansas.
The 18 rebounds were the most by a Missouri player since Curtis Berry had 20 in 1979.
Haase earns scrappy label
Winfield leads the Tigers in both rebounds and assists. No Missouri player has ever finished the season leading in both categories.
Compiled from The Associated Press.
Guard leads team in scoring,scars
The first thing people usually notice when they see Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase play is how much time he spends on the floor — literally.
A loose ball is never safe and neither are the first row of fans or the sportswriters when Haase is in the game.
"I enjoy playing the game more when I'm really into it and really intense," Haase said. "I think it's just a trait that I have being aggressive."
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
Haase's aggressive style of play and teamleading 15.2 points a game are big reasons why the No.3 Jayhawks are 19-3 overall and in first place at 8-2 in the Big Eight Conference.
"I have to put him and Jacque in separate groups during practice because they're so competitive," Kansas coach Roy Williams said.
After sitting out a year under NCAA transfer guidelines, Haase quickly has won over the Jayhawk faithful with his toughness and aggressiveness.
Although Haase's intensity might be superhuman, his body isn't, especially after repeatedly diving for loose balls.
"You get little bruises and nicks and stuff, but I can live with any of those as long as there's no major injury," he said. "And major injuries usually come when you hold back and try to not do something."
Haase almost suffered a major injury Tuesday against Nebraska when he was accidentally kicked in the head after making a layup. After a groggy Haase was helped off the court, he returned several minutes later sporting a bump on his head and a cut inside his mouth.
Haase said he couldn't explain how or why he played that way, but growing up the youngest of five children could be part of the reason.
"One thing people don't realize is that I'm pretty much two different people," he said. "On the court I'm really intense, but off the court I consider myself fairly mellow."
But Haase isn't always as intense as he was Tuesday.
"I'd always be competitive to keep up with
Haase transferred from California to Kansas in 1993. His mother, Carol, and his siblings, Steven, David, Karin and Mara, were all supportive of his decision to leave home.
them," he said. "My sisters were probably rougher on me than my brothers."
"I think that one thing that's so good about my family is that they always supported me and tried not to tell me what to do," Haase said.
But Haase's father, Gary, died unexpectedly in 1993 from a foot infection that spread throughout his body.
"He was always my biggest fan and biggest supporter," Haase said. "I always want to play well and enjoy the game because of the things he taught me."
California's coach, Lou Campanelli, was fired before Haase left, and some have said that that move influenced Haase's transfer decision. However, Haase said his decision was still directly linked to him playing basketball.
"It was mainly just the fact that I felt I was going to improve my skills and make the most of myself as a player elsewhere," he said. "I didn't fit in quite as well as I would have liked to."
Ironically, Haase's last game as a California Bear was against Kansas.
The Jayhawks defeated the Bears 93-76 en route to a Final Four appearance in New Orleans.
After California's season ended, Haase made the decision to transfer, and Kansas was at the top of his short list.
Haase's high school coach at South Lake Tahoe, Tom Orlich, called Williams, and the rest is history.
Although leaving his family and friends was hard, Haase said waiting a year to play was even more difficult.
"That was probably the most frustrating part," he said, "not being able to compete against other people and get the adrenaline flowing. As far as everything else, the players, the coaches and, obviously the great tradition, was not hard to adapt to."
A close-knit family helped the adjustment even more. Haase speaks weekly with his family.
In fact, he said he would love to visit one of his sisters during the first week of April, coincidentally the same date as this year's Final Four.
She happens to live in Seattle.
Paul Kotz/KANKAN
Kansas sophomore guard Jerd Haase's intense play is a major reason for the Jayhawks' 19-3 record. Haase received a cut on the inside of his mouth after being kicked in Tuesday's game against Nebraska, but he returned and finished with 12 points.
Forward Trapp lives up to expectations
Lisa Perv / KANSAN
FULL-COURTTRAPP:
Jennifer Trapp averages 4.5 rebounds per game this season, and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds during the Kansas-Kansas State basketball game on Sunday.
Trapp, a 6-foot-1 forward, started in all of the Jay hawks' games last season. This season, she has started in all 14 of the Kansas games, including the PowerBar Shoot Out on Jan. 28. The Jayhawks lost to the Connecticut Huskies 97-87.
The Jayhawks' success is something Jennifer Trapp keeps close to her heart, or at least her hands.
This season Trapp has used a marker to print the phrase "We Can" on one hand and "We Will" on the other before each game. Even though the Kansas women's basketball team has lost its last two games, the sophomore forward said she would continue to print on her hands.
"We can still get to our goal, which is the Final Four," she said. Pressure and high goals are nothing new to Trapp. After making the jump from Lawrence High School to Kansas last year, she had high expectations placed on her by hometown boosters.
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
Many fans may have unrealistic expectations for Trapp, said Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington.
The boosters do not realize that most players will not excel as easily as they did in high school. Players also may put too much pressure on themselves to perform at a high level.
"I think Jennifer puts a lot of pressure on herself to try to please a lot of people, and I don't think that's fair," Washington said.
Trapp said that as a freshman, she was numb from the pressure because she was concentrating on running the plays and doing her job. She started all 28 of the Jawhawks' games last year.
After averaging 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds a game last year, the level of expectation from Trapp's coaches and teammates rose.
"I do want that pressure though," she said.
Trapp is not the only sophomore who gained valuable playing time as a freshman.
She and her fellow sophomores, guards Tamecka Dixon and Angie
Halbleib and forward Shelly Canada, gained a lot of experience last year. Trapp said.
The expectations placed on the four players brought them close together.
"Everyone on the team is close, but we in particular have a kind of special connection." Trapp said.
A change in the Jayhawks' offensive set this year has forced Trapp to make some adjustments. The Jayhawks have changed their offense to feature four perimeter players and one post player instead of three guards and two post players.
With the four-guard set, Kansas is able to play up-tempo basketball, Trapp said.
But the change in offenses, in addition to the caliber of players Trapp has competed against, has lowered her offensive production. She is averaging a little more than four points a game.
"Coach Washington doesn't expect a whole lot of offense from me, but she expects defense from everybody." Tramp said.
"She's a tremendous competitor," Washington said. "There are a lot of players who will do a lot of little things. It takes everybody to be successful."
And Trapp has played defense against some of the best centers in college basketball.
Playing good defense is an aspect of Trapp's game that cannot be measured, Washington said. People sometimes overlook Trapp's contributions when they only examine the box scores.
In Kansas' two wins against Nebraska, Trapp limited one of the Big Eight Conference's top scorers, senior center Pyra Aarden, to a total of 19 points. Trapp held Connecticut sophomore center Kara Wolters, who towered 6 inches above Trapp, to eight points and eight rebounds in the Jayhawks' 97-87 loss to the Huskies.
Intramural Hoops
Poll results for the top men's, women's and co-rec intranural basketball teams through Feb. 15, compiled by Chad Rader and published in Hawks and Hoops, the official newletter of Kansas intranural basketball
No Team Red Pts
1 Dog Dound 20 1
2 Booger 20 2
3 Sza 20 3
4 Phi Delta Theta 20 4
5 The Addictions 20 6
11 The Aerial Display 20 5
18 Beta Theta Pi 20 7
20 Delta Chi 20 8
19 Sigma Chi 20 9
10 Phi PasRed 20 10
Men's Top Ten
Women's Fab Five
No Team Red Pts
1 4U2NV 2.0 1
2 K.A 2.0 4
3 KUVB 2.0 5
4 The Panthettes 1.1 3
5 The Wigs 2.0 NR
Co-RecTopThree
No team Red Pys
1 Smooth Strokers 2 0 1
2 The Aerial Display 2 0 2
3 Winosh 2 0 3
Game Notes:
Eneka Munley led No. 1
4U2NV with 11 points
11 rebounds and 10
assists in a 50-47 victory over No. 4 The Pearlettes.
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