Friday, April 14. 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Jayhawks head to Missouri meet
By Sarah Warren sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswrite
Shelton Ervin will be racing in unfamiliar territory this weekend when he dons his Kansas running singlet and shorts.
Not only has the freshman never seen the track where he will be competing tomorrow,but he also won't be running his normal race.
Ervin will be running the 400-meter race, half of his usual 800, at the fourth annual Tom Botts Invitational at the University of Missouri this weekend, the first of two outdoor meets at the Audrey J. Walton Track Soccer Stadium this season.
Rick Attig, vertical jumps and combined events coach, said that
most of the Jayhawks would be fine-tuning their events this weekend.
"They'll focus more on the technical aspects of what we're doing." Attig said. "There are a lot of high pressure meets in a row, and I wanted a low key meet before the Relaws."
However, five Jayhawks are headed to the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., this weekend, which will keep those 'Hawks in the pressure cooker.
"Especially since we haven't had the Kansas Relays, we've been going to this meet as an alternative," Attig said. "I think
"I'm stepping down to the 400 to work on my speed." Ervin said.
this year we're taking some of the distance runners; it's high pressure."
Kansas is sending only upperclassmen to Mt. SAC. Juniors Jabari Wamble and Charlie Gruber, as well as seniors Kevin McGinn, Andy Tate and Brian Jensen, comprise the Kansas contingent. Not attending the meet are All-American pole vaulter Andrea Branson, who will go to Missouri, and AllAmerican thrower Scott Russell, who requested the weekend off.
Although the Missouri meet is considerably smaller, competition should be stiff with Missouri Valley powerhouse Illinois State and Big 12 Conference rivals Missouri, Iowa State and Kansas State. Most teams are sending members to other invitational meets as well, but Missouri Sports Information confirmed
"I really want to put in a good effort in front of my home crowd."
LAWRENCE AUTOMOTIVE DIAGNOSTICS
Shelton Ervin
that each team was fielding many athletes.
Freshman runner
Become a MASSAGE THERAPIST !
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This weekend should challenge Ervin as he treads through the unfamiliar waters of the 400 — a race he ran in high school but has run seldom since. But, no matter how he does, he said he would feel better prepared for the Kansas Relays.
I took the week off last week to train, and now I'm running the 400." Ervin said. "I really want to put in a good effort in front of my home crowd."
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Junior mid-
fielder Colleen
Colvin head
butts the ball
during a 2-1
win against
Central
Missouri State
University Sat-
day.
Colvin will not play
this weekend
in St. Louis
because she
will be at her
sister's wed-
ding. Kansan
file photo
Soccer team still unbeaten
Injuries may hurt Jayhawks in final two spring games
The Kansas soccer team has taken its share of hard knocks this spring, but none of the battle scars have left their mark in the loss column.
By Chris Wristen sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks, with a 4-0-3 record, head into their final weekend of the spring season with two games in St. Louis Sunday. The 'Hawks will play Iowa at 9 a.m. and Indiana at noon at Chaminade Prep School in a tournament hosted by St. Louis University.
Unbeaten Kansas is seeking to match last spring's record of 6-0-1.
"My main concern is whether or not we'll have
"We definitely want to stay undefeated," said junior Emma Di Cesare, team co-captain. "But we've got some injuries." Coach Mark Francis echoed Di Cesare's thoughts.
enough players," he said.
Injuries will force the squad to play with only 11 or 12 players this weekend. Last spring, the team played the entire season with 13 players, so playing games with depleted numbers is nothing new.
Freshman Nikki Wahle has a sprained ankle, junior Colleen Colvin will be at her sister's wedding, junior co-captain Katie Lents is out with a fractured ankle, and Di Cesare will have a bone scan today to find out if she fractured her leg.
"From them I really don't know what to expect but from us we're going to be ready to give them a good game. I think we're going to jump all over them from the beginning."
With its small roster, Kansas confronts a big opponent in its opening game — a rematch with the Iowa Hawkeyes. On March 4, the teams played to a 1-1 tie in the spring season opener at the Iowa tournament.
"From them I really don't know what to expect, but from us we're going to be ready to give them a good game." Di
"I think last time we should've beat them," Francis said. "It'll give us a chance to get one back."
Di Cesare said the squad was eager to have a chance at a rematch.
Emma Di Cesare
Team co-captain
Men's golf team to fine tune swings in North Carolina
Cesare said. "I think we're going to jump all over them from the beginning."
"Individually people have gotten better, and defensively we're better overall," Francis said. "Really we're just looking to end on a good note heading into the fall."
That's the type of play Francis said he'd like to see from his team. He said he hoped Kansas would do the same to Indiana, a team that went 5-9-5 last fall and scored just 20 goals in 19 games.
By Michael Terry sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
With the Big 12 Golf Championships in fewer than two weeks, the Kansas men's golf team will be fine tuning its swings for the next two days at Bell South Intercollegiate in Cary, N.C.
The 'Hawks enter the tournament on a roll, recording three consecutive Top 10 finishes. And coach Ross Randall says the team is geared up and ready for the next two weeks of competition.
"Everyone is starting to play closer to their potential," Randall said. "If they continue to work hard and improve, I think we're going to do well."
For senior All-American golfer Ryan Vermeer, getting geared up for this weekend won't be a problem. Vermeer enters today's tournament after being honored by Golf World magazine as the collegiate golfer of the week — and for good reason. In 11 tournaments this season, Vermeer has not failed to finish in the Top 15, which includes four individual titles.
"That was a big honor for him, and it was something that he deserved," Randall said. "Being named golfer of the week not only gives him a lot of recognition, but the whole team as well. We've had two good performances in a row, and we're looking to once again compete for the title on this challenging golf course."
The 'Hawks also will be trying to prove wrong the Big 12 coaches, who picked Kansas
to finish in third place at the Big 12 Championships at Prairie Dunes Golf Course in Hutchinson, April 24 and 25.
Senior golfer Jake Istnick said he was surprised that the team was picked to finish third, especially because it was the defending champion.
"There are a couple of teams in our conference that have had little more success this spring than us," Istnick said. "But we all feel like Prairie Dunes is in our own backyard, and I think we can do it again."
Before the 'Hawks can begin to think about the Big 12 Championships, they will have to show some of the best teams from the SEC and ACC that they are a team to be reckoned with.
Istnick said this tournament would be a good gauge to see where the team stands heading into the Big 12 Championships and on to the NCAA Regionals and Championships in May.
"This is one of the toughest fields we have faced this year," Istnick said. "Some of the top teams in the country will be there, some of whom we will face at the NCAA Regionals and Championships, and we just have to go out there and play the way we know we can."
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Kansas Baseball 2000 A Great Weekend of Big 12 Baseball Action!
3-Game Series KU vs. Oklahoma
Senior Shane Wedd
Friday, April 14th:
Saturday, April 15th:
First pitch at 7 p.m.
KU students FREE with Student ID!
"Quarter Dog Night"
First pitch at 2 p.m.
Food Drive for the
Sunday, April 16th:
Penn House of Lawrence
First pitch at 1 p.m.