Monday, March 13, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 3
Track nets two All-Americans
By Sarah Warren
By Sarah Warren
sports@kansan.com
Kansas writer/switer
It was a bittersweet weekend for the four Kansas track and field athletes competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Favetville, Ark.
Juniors Andrea Branson and Charlie Gruber came away All Americans — Branson for the fourth time and Gruber for the second time — in the pole vault and mile, respectively. Meanwhile junior Ashley Feinberg and sophomore Ryan Speers left without medals, but with prospects for the upcoming outdoor season.
In pole vault, Branson placed fifth Friday with a jump of 13-1. The winner, Tracy O'Hara of UCLA, jumped 14-6, which broke
collegiate, NCAA meet and stadium records. Branson's constant challenger, Kansas State's Erin Anderson, placed second by recording a personal best leap of 13-05.
"Andrea was third last year, but the event is evolving very quickly," said Kansas coach Gary Schwartz. "So staying in the top eight is a great accomplishment."
Feinberg, the Jayhawks' other female pole vaulter, tore her patella tendon while attempting the starting height. She already had been scheduled to have corrective surgery on her knee this week before the additional injuries occurred.
"The doctor had told us that she couldn't have done any further damage to her knee," Schwartz said. "We hope it's not career-ending, but we don't know how
"There was no pressure, I looked around and I just focused on the race. For me it's different than running in conference, you're jumping to a new level."
Charlie Gruber Kansas mile runner
the rehab will turn out."
Sophomore shot-putter Ryan Speers threw 57-5 — three feet short of the personal best that had qualified him for the meet — landing him in last place.
Gruber, however, had a strong showing Friday when he placed third in his preliminary mile
heat. In doing so, he ousted Arkansas' James Karanu for the last available spot in Saturday's 10-man final. Karanu was ranked second of the qualifiers going into the championships, as one of two runners who previously had recorded sub-4 minute times.
In Saturday's final, Gruber finished in sixth place, missing fifth place by less than a second.
"There was no pressure, I looked around and I just focused on the race," Gruber said. "For me it's different than running in conference, you're jumping to a new level."
"In Charlie's case, that was his second-best time ever," Schwartz said. "He went into the final thinking that he was one of the heavy players, and he was. There were eight of those guys that could have won it."
Golfer hopes to work through injuries
By Michael Terry sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
When Kansas golfer Brad Davis tees off today at the Louisiana Classics Invitational in Lafayette, he will be in a position that he's never been in before. The senior will have to prove that he belongs on the golf course.
It was only 10 months ago that Davis was injured when a second-floor balcony railing that he was leaning on collapsed. He suff-
fered a fractured left heel in eight places and compacted and chipped his third vertebrae.
During the fall season Davis was given exemptions at preliminary tournaments to ride a cart, but coach Ross Randall has told him that won't be an option this spring.
"Coach has said at the NCAA Championships they don't allow the use of carts for any type of injury," Davis said. "He doesn't want to put the team in a position where I ride a cart through all the preliminary tournaments,
and we get to the NCAA Finals and I would not be allowed to compete."
Randall said that he felt bad for Davis and hoped he would have a chance to play in his last semester, but that he had to find out one way or another whether he would be able to be competitive out on the golf course.
"We're certainly a deep enough team to be OK without the services of Brad this spring," he said. "But he's worked awfully hard to play again, and it would definitely be a disappointment if he did."
n't."
Although Davis will be traveling with the team, his score will not count toward the team total because he will be competing as an individual.
"This will give me a chance to see how my back and heel hold up through 36 holes of golf and 10 to 11 hours of constant standing," he said. "If I can do it, great, if not then we'll have to see what the effects are. Either way, this is a chance for me to find out what I can do without hurting the team."
Women's golf team takes fourth place in Florida
By Michael Terry sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
By Michael Terry
The Kansas women's golf team's weekend tournament in Florida turned out to be a whole lot better than its trip home.
Even though the 'Hawks recorded their highest finish in almost a year, this weekend also brought its share of headaches, which included the airline losing all of the team's luggage.
But at the Northern Illinois University Springlake Intercollegiate tournament in Sebring, Fla., junior Sarah Mahoney, who shot a 154, led the Jayhawks to a fourth-place finish out of 18 teams. Junior Ashley Bishop and senior Sue Tessary both shot 157.
Coach Nicole Hollingsworth said that she was pleased with the team's performance but that she thought everyone could have done
better.
"A couple of players are not hitting the ball as well as they should," Hollingsworth said. "We'll take the time over spring break to work on everyone's weaknesses and hopefully be ready for the next event."
Mahoney, who finished in a tie for 11th in the individual competition, said that she played consistently throughout the tournament.
"Some of the bounces on greens were kind of crazy, but I was able to
be more aggressive on the second day and record a low round," Mahoney said. "Everyone stepped up and contributed this tournament, and I think we're all starting to come together as a team."
The Jayhawk team score was rounded out by senior Carrie Padden, who carded a 159, and freshman Tiffany Krugel, who shot a 163. Krugel recorded her first competitive collegiate round in the 70s, with a 78 in the final round.
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