Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 16, 1999
Kansas needs to smash top teams in the clutch
Team dropped 5 tie-breaks to two highly-ranked teams
By Melinda Weaver
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
The road is not getting any smoother for the Kansas men's tennis team as it prepares to face No. 8 Baylor and No. 28 Texas Tech this weekend
weekend. The No. 40 Jayhawks are coming off of two 5-2 home losses to No. 5 Texas and No. 21 Texas A&M.
The team held its tough Big 12 Conference opponents close, however, dropping a total of five tie-breakers.
"We played two close matches against two fine teams," coach Mark Riley said. "We need to convert our opportunities. When we have
tie-breakers and set points, we need to finish the job. I feel like at the end of the sets, we did
the job. I feel like at the end we
'continue to do what got us
in the position to win. We can
win if we finish the job."
Baylor, 18-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference, started its season 14-0 before suffering its only loss of the season to Tennessee. The Bears have been ranked as high as third nationally.
Kansas senior Kenny Powell said he felt confident the team was ready to compete against a team as good as Bavlor.
We are in a perfect posi-
Powell: Feels confident about playing the Baylor Bears.
"We are in a perfect position to play Baylor because the two teams we competed against last weekend were just as good if not better than Baylor," Powell said. "We stayed neck-and-neck with Texas, and
go out there. The Jayhawks have extra incentive to defeat Texas Tech, 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference. If Texas Tech wins Sunday, it claims the fourth seed in the Big 12 Tournament, dropping Kansas to the fifth seed.
they are a top-five team. Hopefully, we can take our confidence from the past weekend and go out there and claim a victory."
Kansas leads the series against Texas Tech 50, but Texas Tech never has been ranked higher than No.28 before.
Senior Luis Uribe said that in order to defeat Baylor and Texas Tech, the seniors needed to step up.
step up Two seniors, Powell and Uribe, have faced recent slumps, winning only one of their last combined 10 matches.
concerned to meet "We need experience." Uribe said. "We have a young team, but we showed last weekend that we can beat any team in the country. It's just a matter of working hard and having the confidence."
KANSAS TENNIS
Riley said the team had come along way, but it still needed to improve.
"We're a neckuva lot better, but it's time we finish the job." Riley said. "We have to play a complete match. We play solid, but we have to complete the match playing solid."
Powell said he believed the team was ready to reach that level of play.
"I think we showed we are ready to compete at this level, but the question is, are we ready to accept the challenge of defeating them," Powell said. "I think we can now that the guys can see that and believe in themselves. We just need to go out and put the nail in the coffin."
Women's soccer looks to continue its winning ways
By Chris Wristen
cwristen@ukans.edu
Kansas sportwriter
The Kansas women's soccer players have only one thought on their minds right now—winning.
After Saturday's tie with St. Louis and then notching two victories Sunday
against Evansville and Tulsa, they now have two wins and one tie.
The team will put an undefeated record on the line this Sunday as it journeys to St.
Louis to play a doubleheader against Arkansas at 11:30 a.m. and Arizona State at 1 p.m.
"I'm confident that we can go there and come away with two more wins, especially with the way we're improving every day," sophomore midfielder Colleen Colvin said.
Like Kansas, both opponents had losing records this past fall. Arizona State finished 7-11 and Arkansas ended at 6-11. But after an offseason full of changes, the Jayhawks have figured out what it will take for them to succeed.
"Many of the girls have had to make adjustments to odd positions, but everybody now understands their roles," coach Mark Francis said.
Despite the losing records, both opponents may prove to be formidable opponents to the Jayhawks. Kansas has been playing with a 14-player roster this spring and it will be even smaller this weekend with only one field substitute.
Freshman Melanie Schroeder, who scored the team's only goal against St. Louis, will be academically ineligible to play this weekend.
"These are going to be some tough games. It will be tougher since Mel Schroeder can't play this weekend. We will only have one sub," Francis said.
Francis said the players would benefit from the small squad.
"Having the low numbers has helped me because there are some people who have been able to play more," he said.
Edited by Jason Pearce
Women's tennis pounds Kansas State
Chiller named Big 12 Player of the Week
By Amanda Kaschube
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
The women's tennis team's dominance against Kansas State continued Wednesday as the Jayhawks swept the Wildcats 9-0.
The shutout was the Jayhawks' third of the season. Earlier in the
season, Kansas swept Brigham Young and Iowa State.
The Jayhawks improved to 9-10 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
Player of the Week.
Kansas is now 30-1 overall against K-State.
Kansas was led by junior Brooke Chiller, who now has won six of her last seven matches. Earlier this week. Chiller was named Big 12
"I was shocked when I heard the news," she said. "It came at a really good time though; it brightened up my week."
Head Coach Jenny Garrity said she was pleased Chiller won.
Sell: Won both her singles and doubles matches.
"I was just so happy for her because she's had a really stressful week," she said. "Brooke's position (No. 2 singles) is just as big as the others, and it's nice she got recognized for her wins."
Along with her singles wins, Chiller also has compiled a 16-13 doubles record with partner junior Julia Sidorova. The team defeated K-State's No. 2 duo 8-6.
"We are both really aggressive players and we just have fun playing together." Sidorova said.
Chiller said the recent wins and
the Big 12 honors have given her more confidence and more of a drive to win future matches.
"Now I put more pressure on myself not to lose because I know how victory tastes," she said. "Now I have something to strive for."
Freshman Cheryl Mallaiah has compiled a five-game winning streak at No.3 singles. She is now 5-2 in the conference. Her sister Lisa has won four in a row and is now a perfect 6-0 in the conference.
Other Jayhawks also have increased their winning streaks by defeating the Wildcats.
Garrity attributed the success of the team to a new game plan.
Senior Kris Sell captured both singles and doubles wins at the No.1 position for the first time this season.
"We are concentrating on our weapons rather than the other team's weaknesses," she said. "We have more confidence when we do what we do well."
The Jayhawks travel to Oklahoma in search of two more conference wins this weekend. They face Oklahoma State and Oklahoma at noon tomorrow and Sunday, respectively.
"If we stick with our basic game plans,we can win. We just need to execute and play aggressive."
Jenny Garrity Kansas women's tennis coach
tomorrow and Sunday, respectively. Garrity said the team needed to maintain its current level of play to win in Oklahoma.
"If we stick with our basic game plans,we can win,"she said. "We just need to execute and play aggressive."
Sidorova said two victories this weekend would be nice.
Commentary
With two wins, the Jayhawks would be 5-4 in the conference and would have a winning record at 11-10 for the first time this season.
"It would definitely help improve our conference records and help get our ranking back up," she said.
- Edited by Karen Lucas
Jayhawk fans socialize more than they cheer
Football team deserves stronger fan support
I know it is only April and football doesn't start until August, but the season will be here before you know it, and so I thought I would talk about it today. Besides, enrollment is going on now, and it is time to buy your sports packages for next year. I want to encourage everyone to do so. With seven home games plus all of the basketball games, it is a steal of a deal at just $100.
The support for the Kansas football program has been a little weak in the last several years, and it is time to change that. The Big 12 is one of the best football conferences in the nation and we should be proud to be a part of that. We get to play some of the best teams in the country each year, which is reason enough to go to home games, but we ranked last in average attendance last year.
Football seems to be a social sport here at KU, basically a chance to get drunk, and it's not just the students doing so. Students show up late to the games, and they leave at halftime to go to the bars or to go take a nap and sleep off their hangovers so they can go to the bars later on.
The alumni tailgate out in the parking lots, which is great, but they don't stop when the game starts. At halftime, they're back out there. They have keg parties out in
the lots — which is illegal but no one seems to mind — and maybe they will come in and watch a little of the game until we fall behind and then they are gone. I saw this firsthand last year at the Colorado game. I was with some alumni, and as soon as Colorado scored they said, "Let's go to the car and drink some beer." I didn't go, and I got to see one of the best home KU football games in years. They got to drink some beer.
Brandon Jones
sports@kansan.com
Here's the point I am getting at: you can party, drink or go to the bars anytime, anywhere seven days
a week, but you usually can only go to Kansas football games about 5 or 6 times a year. Take advantage of the rare opportunities you have to watch the team play, watch the band march and watch the cheerleaders cheer. Games only last a couple of hours; there will be plenty of time to drink and party before and after the game. The bars don't close until 2 a.m., and they are open seven days a week. Go to the games, cheer, stay until the end and then go do your thing.
Why should you go to the games? Because college sports and college football in particular are great. Game day on the Hill is just awesome. With the complete renovation of Memorial Stadium, it is going to be even better this year. Fall is beautiful, and nothing is better on a fall day then a Kansas football game. Come watch the band march down the hill, and come roaring into the tunnel under the stadium. It sounds awesome. Watch Coach Allen and the team come walking down hill — a cool new tradition. Watch the KU band come storming out from the North Bowl and march
onto the field. Finally, watch the boys in blue take the field and fight their hearts out for four quarters.
I know that the team has not had that much success the past couple of years, but I feel that it is right around the corner. Coach Allen is absolutely great — I can't say enough about him. I think he is going to be here for a long time, and he is going to turn this program around. He is a winner, he is a good man and he will bring pride to this program.
Get behind the team now, and come along for the ride. Coach Allen is doing everything in his power to get people to come out and support his team, and he is doing everything he can to make it a team worth supporting. Get behind him like you do behind Coach Roy Williams and the basketball team. Be a true KU fan, and support all of the teams.
with seven home games next year, you will have more chances then ever to watch the team play — take advantage of the opportunities and go to the games and cheer like crazy.
Jones is a Lyndon second-year law student.
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