8B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY,OCTOBER 29,2007
CROSS COUNTRY
Wissel finishes fifth at Big 12 meet
BY TYLER PASSMORE
tpassmore@kansan.com
The Kansas cross country teams traveled to Lubbock, Texas, for the Big 12 Championship Friday with hopes of bending their finishes of last
year. Competing against a tough conference in 2007, the two teams fared well, while barely missing that mark.
Assistant coach Doug Clark addressed some of his expectations at Tuesday's press conference.
Wissel
"I think that it is hard to set expectations for this race, because you never know how the other teams will compete," Clark said. "I think that the men will finish around fifth, but if they compete as well as they can, somewhere around third."
The expectations were not quite met: The men finished seventh this year, compared with their previous mark of third in 2006. Senior Colby Wissel led the way for the Jayhawks and was at the head of the pack
for most of the race. After finishing first last year, Wissel posted another valiant effort, finishing fifth overall. With a good men's field this year and a tough course, Wissel showed why he is an All-American and posted a good time for the squad.
The other All-American on the men's side, Paul Hefferon, once again was the second to cross the line for the layhawks, finishing 21st overall. Hefferon also had a strong performance in his last Big 12 Championship, posting a time of 25:28. As in weeks past, Bret Imgrund finished third for the time and 42nd overall.
The women's team tried to improve upon its 11th-place finish from last year but, in the end, came up just short. Despite another solid performance from sophomore Lauren Bonds, the team finished 11th for the second race in a row. The women's race was competitive this year, and Bonds rose to the occasion, finishing 30th overall, 28 places ahead of her finish last year.
Bonds was not the only one to push the pace — seniors Alicia McGregor and Hayley Harbert were right behind her, finishing 41st and 47th. Harbert
finished the Big 12 Championship with her best race of the season and a new personal record.
The two teams' chance to overcome their tough luck in the Big 12 Championships comes Nov. 10, when they compete in the Midwest Regional Championships in Peoria, III.
Edited by Matt Erickson
big 12 results
Men 7th place overall
5. Colby Wissel (24.51)
6. Paul Heffron (25.28)
7. Bret Ingmund (26.08)
8. Nick Van Orsel (26.45)
9. Patrick McGowan (27.08)
Women 1th place evera
11th place overall
30. Lauren Bonds (22:04)
41. Alicia McGregor (22:12)
47. Hayley Harbert (22:23)
62. Amanda Miller (22:50)
81. Allison Knoll (23:23)
MEN'S GOLF Kansas places eighth in season's final tournament
BY BILL WALBERG
bwalberg@kansan.com
The University of Kansas golf team went into Sunday's final round of the Landfall Tradition tournament in 10th place. Glancing back to the rest of the season, it looked like Kansas would slip into the dark abyss of last place for the third tournament in a row.
But this time, the Jayahwaks caught their foothold. They placed eighth in the 12-team tournament in Wilmington, N.C. The Jayahwks finished 31 strokes behind first-place finisher and nationally-ranked
Virginia Tech. Their placing was the layhawks' second-best team finish of the fall season.
The freshman class again gave a needed boost to the team over the weekend.
Brad Hopfinger led Kansas by finishing at even par yesterday, tying for 12th place and improving from his first round start in 22nd place. Hopfinger's finish was a new career-best for the youn. Head coach Kit Grove said that he was impressed with Hopfinger's consistency.
"Brad played really well for us, and this is his second straight solid tournament, which is a great sign for a freshman golfer," Grove said.
Hopfinger's freshman companion Nate Barbee also played solid golf for the Jayhawks. He carded his final-round finish at 74, only two above par, and finished in 22nd
Junior Zach Pederson was the third Jayhawk to finish in the top 30, tying for 29th place.
The tournament marked the end of the fall season, and the Jayhawks have three months to improve on the rough first-half of the season. Coach Grove said he hoped the break would give them time to shift their focus to the spring.
place overall. Barbee also showed improvement after ending the first round tied for 30th.
"Now we need to head into a little bit of a break and shore up some things for the spring season," Grove said.
Kansas resumes play in February when it tees off the spring season in the Hawaii-Hilo Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii.
Edited by Chris Beattie
Team performs well despite loss
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Alyssa Potter, Bentonville, Ark. freshman, competes in the border showdown against Missouri in Robinson Friday evening. The Jayhawks won in seven events while Missouri took nine events. The next swimming and diving meet is on Nov. 1 at home.
BY SCOTT TOLAND stoland@kansan.com
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
The Kansas swimming and diving team came up short against the Missouri Tigers in a dual competition on Friday in Robinson Natatorium, despite having several strong performances and new pool records set during the meet.
"It surprised everybody," Campbell said in reference to
The Tigers beat the Jayhawks 162-138 in the annual Border Showdown, winning nine events as Kansas won seven, several of which came down to nail-biting finishes. Behind a big home crowd, the Jayhawks gave the Tigers a run for their money before Missouri sealed the victory.
Mayrovich's record-setting race. "For doing it in the early part of the year, I was amazed. She is a very good swimmer who is realizing her potential."
"All of our coaching staff was really pleased with the team's performance" coach Clark Campbell said. "We swam really well for this early in the season. We were four swims away from being closer and maybe winning it."
In the diving competitions, senior Jenny Roberts and freshman Erin Mertz did well enough to qualify for the NCAA Zone "D" Diving Meet, which will be held in March. Mertz recorded a one-meter board victory for Kansas while Roberts finished third in the three-meter board competition.
In the 200-yard freestyle race, Junior Maria Mayrovich made Friday a day to remember as she won the race by posting a new record time for Robinson Natatorium. Her time of 1:48:85 is within two seconds of breaking the record for a Kansas swimmer. Mayrovich also claimed first place in the 100 and 50-yard competitions.
"We're putting in some good practices, and it's paid off so far," Herrman said.
Junior Ashley Ledigh took first in the 200-yard butterfly, junior Danielle Herrmann won the 200 yard IM, and the relay team of
sophomore Emily Lanteigne, senior Terri Schramka, Leduch and Mayrovich defeated Missouri in the 400-yard freestyle.
The Jayhawks face their next test in another home meet on Thursday against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The meet begins at 4 p.m. in Robinson Natatorium.
"We have a really tough opponent on Thursday," Campbell said. "It's going to be a tough chore for us."
Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
》 WOMEN'S GOLF
BY ANDREW WIEBE awiebe@kansan.com
Kansas finishes 13th
Kansas had little to do with talent level.
"The main part of it is just kind of an attitude," O'Neal said. "It's a confidence thing that they have already gone through and established in their programs."
Despite falling short of the goal of a top-ten finish, O'Neil said the team demonstrated signs of progress and fought through wet conditions once again to improve team scores each day.
The tournament field at the UA-Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate lived up to its lofty reputation this weekend as the Kansas women's golf team finished 13th out of 18 teams in Tuscaloosa, Ala., yesterday.
The tournament included 11 teams ranked 43rd or better nationally, including three teams ranked in the top ten: Arkansas, Auburn and Florida. As expected those three showed why they deserve their rankings and occupied the top three places. Coach Erin O'Neil said the gap between them nationally ranked teams and
Sophomore Emily Powers led the Jayhawks and tied for 11th place after beginning yesterday's final round tied for 30th. Sophomores Meghan Bal and Grace Thiry followed her and tied for 54th and 61st, respectively. Senior Annie Giangrosso finished tied for 80th and freshman Sydney Wilson ended the tournament in sole possession of 90th place.
"It showed they have the ability to keep up with the good teams," O'Neil said. "We can accomplish the goals that we set for ourselves, we just have to keep grinding, keep working and not settle."
Although the fall season is now over, O'Neil said players would continue to play on their own and travel to tournaments in order to continue building the foundation begun this fall.
- Edited by Rachael Gray