SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1995
Kansas prepares for two Oklahoma teams
SECTION B
Canada goes south for rival
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
This weekend, Shelly Canada has bragging rights on the line.
The Kansas women's basketball team, including Canada, is preparing to face Oklahoma at 7 p.m. tonight and Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both games will be at Allen Field House.
And with weekend victories, Canada, a Sapulpa, okla., native, would have reason to brag about the No. 15 Jayhawks next time she returns home.
"It's nice to say, 'You should've come to Kansas. That's why I didn't stay in Oklahoma because we're winning," Canada, a sophomore forward. said.
Canada did have offers from both the Sooners and the Cowboys. She said that even though her family used to be Oklahoma football fans, she never considered playing for the Sooners after they briefly dropped their women's basketball team during her freshman year of high school.
"After that, I lost a lot of respect for OU just for the fact that I knew they didn't care very much about their women's program," Canada said. "In the back of my mind, I always thought if I was ever recruited by OU, I really wouldn't want to go there."
Canada ruled out Oklahoma State for another reason. She made a recruiting visit there and did not get a good feeling. Canada said.
"As much as everyone would have liked me to have stayed, I just couldn't," she said.
Now in her second season at
Kansas, Canada has fallen into the starting line-up, which includes one senior, two juniors and two sophomores. Normally, the first two players off the Jayhawks' bench are sophomores as well.
After facing Oklahoma, the Jayhawks will have less than 48 hours before Oklahoma State invades Kansas will not begin preparations for that game until practice Saturday. Canada said the team had to focus and concentrate.
Kansas' youth, which has compiled a 13-2 overall record and a 3-0 record in the Big Eight Conference, will face a veteran team in Oklahoma. The Sooners start two juniors and three seniors.
"It's not so much what we have to keep them from doing, it's what they're going to have to keep us from doing," she said. "If we can concentrate on the things we do well, they're going to be the one's with the problem."
To counter the quick turnaround time, Washington said each of the coaches on the staff had a different game to scout for and prepare. Even though the team is only keying on Oklahoma now, one of the coaches already has prepared for Oklahoma State.
"That is the way we're able to stay in a position to quickly have the information ready," she said.
The Jayhawks will need to utilize their knowledge Sunday because the Cowboys have been recognized as one of the best teams in the conference, Washington said.
Despite that, Canada said the team was motivated by last year's 60-58 loss to the Cowboys. That defeat cost the Jayhawks the Big Eight title, as they finished behind Colorado.
"They beat us, and that's real incentive," Canada said. "We want to get them back for making us look bad."
Sean R. Crosier / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore swimmer Andee Greves practices for Saturday's dual against the Georgia Bulldogs at Robinson Natatorium.
Bark isn't worse than Bulldogs' bite
By Tom Erickson
Kansan sportswriter
Another Saturday means another formidable foe for the No.23 Kansas women's swimming team.
The Jayhawks will meet the No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Robinson Natatorium. The event is free.
Kansas coach Gary Kempf said this dual would be just as difficult as last Saturday's meet in Minnesota, where the Jayhawks lost.
"It's kind of like jumping from the furnace to the fire," he said. "They're just another great program."
One of the keys to beating the Bulldogs is to swim a complete race, junior freestyler Jennifer Davis said.
"I think we will concentrate on finishing the back half of our races," she said. "Some rest will bring us up more on the back half."
Georgia is 6-0 this season, including wins against No.12 Tennessee, No.14 Alabama and No.15 North Carolina.
Tradition is a big part of women's swimming at Georgia. The Bulldogs have finished among the top 15 teams in the nation at each of the last 10 NCAA Championships.
Helping to build on that tradition is sophomore Lisa Coole, who holds the team's best times this year in the 100- and 200-meter freestyles; the 100 and 200 butterfly; the 200, 400 and 800 free relays; and the 200 and 400 medley relays. Coole earned All-American honors last season as a freshman and last summer had one of the top 15 times in the world in the 100 butterfly.
"She is here on a Foundation Fellowship, which is the highest academic scholarship at Georgia," he said. "Lisa is very versatile, and she came very close to making the world championships this last summer. Our team voted her as MVP last year, which is quite an honor for a freshman."
Georgia swimming coach Jack Bauerle said Coole also was an outstanding student.
"Our toughest match was against Alabama," he said. "They ended up 10th in the country last year and had all of their key people back."
This trip to Lawrence was arranged out of Bauerle's friendship with Kemmf.
Bauerle said he was pleased about posting a perfect record so far, but it was not easy.
"We are set for Kansas coming our way next year," he said. "Kansas is among the best the Big Eight has to offer. They have a class team and are well-respected as well as tough and very competitive."
Being in the Southeastern Conference is both challenging and fun, Bauer said. Seven SEC schools are ranked in the Top 25, and No. 4 Auburn is the favorite to win the conference this year.
The women's next meet will be against Iowa State and Arkansas on Jan. 28 in Lawrence.
Paul Knot / KANSAN
Kansas State junior center Tyrone Davis passes the ball around Kansas freshman forward Raef LaFrentz and sophomore center Scot Pollard. The Jayhawks will look to their inside big men when they face the Colorado Buffaloes at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Boulder, Colo.
'Hawks set for Boyce, Buffs
Haase, Williams stress defense
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Roy Williams has said that one thing his team lacks is a defensive player to stop someone like Donnie Boyce.
But the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks still will face the Colorado Buffaloes and senior guard Donnie Boyce at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Boulder, Colo.
The Jayhawks are 12-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Eight Conference, while the Buffalooes are 10-3 and 1-1.
"We don't have the defensive stopper, but what matters is it says 12-2 for Kansas," Williams said. "Kansas is going to try and play Colorado on Saturday, and we'll see what happens."
What might happen is that Boyce, who leads Colorado in scoring and rebounding with 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, will have a huge game. But Kansas sophomore guard Jerdor Haase said that as long as the Jayhawks played good defense together, Boyce's successes could be limited.
"Obviously, I know Donnie Boyce is a great player," Haase said. "But as long as we play great team defense, then there's not much need for stopping one guy."
Haase said Kansas didn't do its part in Wednesday's 78-74 victory against Kansas State. The usually sharp Jayhawks put in a dull performance against the Wildcats, he said.
However, Haase said he was pleased with the victory, especially after his play in the Iowa State game.
"It was a very big win," he said. "I don't think anybody is really satisfied with the way we're playing right now. So going into Colorado, we're not
only looking to go down there and win, but to play better."
Kansas did win against K-State but did not play better, Haase said. And the most frustrating thing was that the team could not point out any specific problem.
"It starts with intensity," he said. "If we have intensity then our defense will pick up. And if our defense picks up, our running game picks up.
"And if our running game picks up, we can get some easy baskets and our confidence built. And offensively we can play well."
Haase said that he was not bothered by Kansas playing so soon after the K-State game. He said he and his teammates wanted to start playing well.
"Actually, I kind of enjoy it, especially after not playing well against KState," he said. "We can get right back out there and try to redeem ourselves right away."
KANSAN
Boys of summer start in winter
Kansas prepares for opener in Las Vegas
By Tom Erickson
Kansan sportswriter
Yesterday was the first day of practices for the Jayhawks, who are ranked No. 24 in the Baseball America poll and No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. Two light workout sessions were held, and the team will steadily increase the level of practice in preparation for the season opener at Nevada-Las Vegas on Feb. 10.
The thought of playing baseball in January may be as crazy as having Christmas in July, but don't say that to the Kansas baseball team.
Sophomore infielder Joey DeMarco said he was ready to get to work.
"I'm really excited for this season," DeMarco said. "At this point we are thinking about getting into shape and getting together as a team."
Entering his second year at Kansas provides a different feeling for DeMarco, who became a switch hitter last season.
"I started hitting left handed in the fall," he said. "Going out and learning how to do that against good pitching was a positive thing for me."
DeMarco said he would try to help out this year's newcomers.
"The freshmen struggled last year on and off the field," he said. "Academically we had the highest GPA ever as a team this semester."
Even though the first game is three weeks away, some of the Jayhawks already are focusing on it. Kansas finished the 1994 regular season at home with the Rebels, winning two out of three games.
Senior first baseman Alex King said that the main strength of UNLV was at the plate. But King said he had mixed feelings about entering his final year as a Jayhawk.
"I would like for this program to be built to where every year there is a legitimate shot at the national championship," he said. "Our first year here was really the last year before all
this success started happening. If everybody just goes out and gives a 100 percent effort to what we are trying to accomplish on that day then
we will be all right."
Last season King platooned at first base with senior Brandon English and DeMarco was a utility infielder.
DeMarco wants to work his way into the starting lineup.
"I'd be happy doing whatever I can," King said. "Brandon is an excellent player, and we definitely need him if we are going to do what we want to this year."
"I'm hoping to play second base, but there is a lot of competition there," he said. "Our shortstop, Dan Rude, is also a pitcher, so I'm looking to get some time at short, too."
Hot starters for the Jayhawks last season were Rude, a senior, and junior pitcher Jamie Splittorff. Rude batted 409 in the first six games. Splittorff went 2-0 in his first two starts, allowing just one earned run in 15 innings on the mound.
Valerie Crow / KANSAN
Kansas senior outfielder Neil Farthing tosses the ball for sophomore outfielder Justin Headley during the Jayhawks' first practice of the spring season.