Section B · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, March 30, 1999
Peck advances after only two seasons of NCAA coaching
Purdue's coach to move to WNBA
The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Carolyn Peck's coaching resume at Purdue shows two Big Ten Tournament championships, one regular-season title and now, a national championship.
Not bad for two years' work
And two years is all it will be because Peck is leaving the nation's No. 1-ranked team to become coach and general manager of a WNBA expansion team, the Orlando Miracle. Purdue's 62-45 victory against Duke in Sunday night's NCAA championship game was her last appearance with the Boilermakers.
Peck was named to the Orlando job last summer but wanted to stay at Purdue in part because the
team's two stars, Stephanie White-McCarty and Ukari Figgs, already had played for three different coaches in three years. She wasn't about to have them play for a fourth as seniors.
They paid her back by putting her into an elite group. Peck, still full of youthful exuberance at 33, is just the 11th different coach — and the
first African American -- to win a N C A A women's championship.
"It'e an
accomplishment, but there are several other African-American women that have allowed the opportunity for me, a lot of women in general." Peck said. "I didn't win a national championship because of the color of my skin. We won a national championship because of the 15 young women that are on our team and how hard they play together."
That comment was typical of Peck,
who always deflected the attention to her players. As the spotlight on the team increased during its tournament run, Peck steadfastly refused to talk about her new job and kept the focus on Purdue.
When a reporter at the Midwest Regional asked her about it, Peck shot back, "We got that out of the wav in July." End of discussion.
Now she has to start paying attention to Orlando because the WNBA's expansion draft is April 6. She's definitely going into it on a high.
"It's been great," Peck said. "I was very fortunate to start my college career with this team. They are awesome."
Purdue, which finished 34-1 with 32 straight victories, gave an indication of the kind of season this might be when it beat Tennessee, which had won the last three national championships, in its very first game. The Boilermakers won at Arizona the next time out, lost by a point at Stanford three days later and then never lost again.
But for Peck, it actually began
with an off-season trip to Europe for some exhibition games.
"When we first planned the trip, every coach that I talked to about doing it said it's the best thing for bonding when ... you feel like you've got the team to make a run," Peek said. "So that's what the trip to Europe was about."
"We got together for 10 days. We worked on things because we had everybody back. So we took what we had done last year, we fine-tuned it and we were able to add a few new things for this year."
The title game was the first since 1993 without either Louisiana Tech or Tennessee. It was just the second Final Four appearance for Purdue and the first for Duke, which had gotten there by beating Tennessee in the East Regional finals. Purdue eliminated Louisiana Tech in the national semifinals.
"I don't want to take anything away from those two programs, but the nation has come to learn that there are other good teams that are playing," Peck said.
Duval's play proves him to be best golfer
The Associated Press
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Ten months ago, David Duval tried to fend off questions about whether he was the best golfer in the world.
"I don't think it's fair for me to answer that," he said then, at the Memorial Tournament. "If I say yes, then I'm arrogant. If I say no, I have no confidence."
Now, Duval doesn't have to say anything at all. He always has preferred to stand on his results, and he proved himself Sunday in The Players Championship.
His patience tested, Duval never lost his poise. Five times during the course of the final round, he had bogey putts of at least 4 feet—one of them was 15 feet. He made them all.
"Before I teed off, I told myself that the person who wins this tournament is going to make these putts," he said. "If I wanted somebody to make it, I wanted me to do it. So let's just knock them in." On the ground greeted 57th at the
Stadium Course at Sawgrass, a tough hole when a tournament is on the line, Duval didn't flinch. He pulled a wedge from the bag and hit it 6 feet from the hole for a birdie that clinched a two-stroke victory against Scott Gump
It was his third victory this year
—no one else has more than one —
and his 10th in his last 33 starts dating
to October 1997. It was worth
$800,000, enough to put him over
the $8 million mark for a career
that began less than five years ago.
On the island-green 17th at the
More than anything, it took care of the one number that everyone had been talking about since January.
The victory moved Duval to the top world ranking on Monday for the first time, ending Tiger Woods' reign of 41 weeks.
Duval was a stroke behind Joe Ozaki entering the weekend. Ernie Els, Davis Love III and Nick Price were among those within four shots of the lead. But after the third round, when Duval forged ahead by one stroke, Price was the only
"I know I can beat the players. It's just a matter of being ready, being on my game and playing well."
David Duval
golfer
player still under par.
Price, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Payne Stewart, Colin Montgomerie and Mark O'Meara flirted with the lead Sunday. All of them had either a ball in the water or some other disaster.
Not Duval.
He doesn't carry a 60-degree sand wedge or try to pull off impossible shots. He prefers to steer clear of danger and let his wedge and putter ball him out.
That proved to be a winning ticket in the Players. Duval never took anything worse than bogey.
Duval becomes only the third player to be ranked No. 1 in the world without having won a major. Both Ian Woosnam and Fred Couples were at the top just before they won the Masters in 1991 and 1992.
Duval doesn't even have one leg of the Grand Slam, but he has a hat trick of impressive victories. He won the Mercedes Championships, beating a winners-only field by nine strokes in January. He also won the Tour Championship, the season-ending tournament for the top 30 money-winners. And now he has won the Players against what traditionally is the strongest field on tour.
Tom Kite is the only other player who has won those three events.
Undoubtedly, Duval will be the heavy favorite at Augusta National in two weeks.
"I know I can beat the players," he said. "It's just a matter of being ready, being on my game and playing well. It's not a guarantee I will, but I've proven I can do it. I've proven it to myself."
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Principal-Counselor-Student Conference and Community College Conference Kansas Union Wednesday, March 31, 1999
Room Schedule for Student Conferences 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Room Guide:
Rooms in the Kansas Union:
B = Ballroom — Level 5
Centennial Room — Level 6
English Room — Level 6
International Room — Level 5
Kansas Room — Level 6
Pine Room — Level 6
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Allen County — B
Coffeyville — B
Dodge City — B
Garden City — B
Highland — B
Johnson County — B
Kansas City Kansas — B
Neosho County — B
KANSAS HIGH SCHOOLS
Andale — B
Atchison County—B
Basehor-Linwood — B
Belle Plaine — B
Blue Valley HS — Pine
Blue Valley North — Pine
Blue Valley Northwest — Pine
Buhler — B
KANSAS HIGH SCHOOLS
Chaparral—B
Cimarron—B
Derby — B
De Soto — B
Downs — B
El Dorado — B Emporia — Kansas
Burlingame—B
Haven — B
Holton — B
Hope — B
Hoxie — B
Hutchinson — B
Fort Scott — Kansas
Iola — B
Jackson Heights — B
Jefferson County North — B
Jefferson West — B
Little River - B
Lyndon - B
Lyons - B
Marion — B
McLouth — B
Mission Valley — B
Moundridge — B
Neodesha—B
Nickerson—B
Kickapoo Nation School — B Kingman — B
Lawrence Free State - International Leavenworth —B
Osage City — B
Osawatomie — B
Oskaloosa — B
Ottawa — B
Paola — B
Parsons — B
Peabody-Burns — B
Pleasant Ridge — B
Quivira Heights—B
Riverton — B
Rossville — B
Russell — B
Seaman — Kansas Shawnee Heights — Kansas
Shawnee Mission East — Centennial
Shawnee Mission North — Centennial
Shawnee Mission Northwest —
Centennial
Shawnee Mission South — Centennial
Silver Lake — B
St. Thomas Aquinas — B
St. Xavier — B
Sumner Academy — B
Thomas More Prep - Marian — B
Tonganoxie — B
Troy — B
Turner —B
Valley Falls—B
Waconda East—B
Washington HS—B
Washington KCK—B
Wellington—B
Wichita East—English
Wichita Independent—English
Wichita South—English
Wichita West—English
MISSOURI HIGH SCHOOLS Lee's Summit — B Rockhurst — B