Volume 126 Issue 107
kansan.com
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
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COMMENTARY
TRACK & FIELD
Pressure on Weis in third year
Back in the day, coaches often implemented five-or ten-year plans for building a program back up from the ashes.
After all, fans were more patient. Media coverage was confined to a segment on the news. If frustrated fans wanted to contact the Athletics Department, they would have to call. Twitter didn't exist to provide a 24-hour outlet of critiques and communication.
Twenty years ago, Kansas coach Charlie Weis would have more than three years to prove his coaching ability. Unfortunately, this year is Weis's last stand.
Edited by Nick Chadbourne
Rome wasn't built in a day.
But in the college football world, Rome needs to be built in three years or less. It isn't necessarily fair, but it is reality.
Fans were looking for improvement between Kansas' first and second years. The Athletics Department's goals reflected the attitudes of the fans. In response, Kansas improved. The wins increased, the running game was one of the best in the Big 12 and the special teams did their part in the battle for field position.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
However, the improvement wasn't as drastic as Kansas hoped it would be when it agreed to shell out $2.5 million per year over the course of five years. Kansas wanted Bill Snyder levels of improvement. Bill Snyder went 1-10 in his first year as coach after taking over a program that hadn't won a regular season game in two years. The next year, Snyder went 5-6.
Luckily for Weis, he has the tools to win five games or more. Sophomore Montell Cozart had a strong spring game, showing better awareness and vision in the running game. Senior transfer Nick Harwell, who unsuccessfully lobbied for eligibility last year, will bolster the receiving corps. Weis was touted as an offensive guru and his ability to stick with the Kansas program will rely heavily on his offenses living up to his reputation.
Kansas wasn't going to fire Weis after two seasons, especially after firing Turner Gill after two seasons. However, it shortened the leash on Weis this year. Kansas improved by a win last season. Such gradual improvement probably won't be tolerated this year. Another one win improvement, unless there is a multitude of close losses, could easily result in Weis's walking papers.
Weis was never able to get his offense in sync. Receivers seemed like they lined up in a different time zone than the rest of the offense. When the receivers did get open, Weis's quarterback was unable to deliver them the ball. This did a disservice to an improved defense.
What Kansas didn't want to see was a loss to Rice. It didn't want to see four conference losses by 30+ points. It didn't want to see the immense struggles of quarterback Jake Heaps.
Junior pole vaulter Natalie Bartnovskaya prepares for one of her final vaults of Saturday's competition. Bartnovskaya finished in fourth in the Kansas Relays pole vault invitational, clearing 4.25m (13'11.25"). She has exhausted her four years of athletic eligibility where she set two school records and contributed to the team's NCAA Outdoor Championship last year.
BEN BURCH
sports@kansan.com
Natalie Bartnovskaya was usually pretty calm before meets. But right now, her heart was racing. She along with hundreds of other athletes, coaches and fans were packed inside Anschutz Pavilion, the heat from the packed house sealed in from the cold December air outside. It was her first Division I meet, and the unfamiliarity combined with pressure to start off on a good note was too much to ignore.
and her calm confidence returning, she skipped down the runway, planted the pole, contorted her body over and around the perched bar, and Bartnovskaya's career at Kansas was underway.
After warming up for what seemed like an eternity, the time finally came, and she tried to breathe deeply as she joined the other pole vaulters on the field. But, just before she stepped out to the runway, she remembered something: she had been here before; this wasn't her first unfamiliar situation. With pole in hand
Bartnovskaya is no stranger to taking on the unknown. Born in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, she has lived in five different cities across Russia and the U.S. since she was 13, spending most of that time away from her family. She came to the U.S. with little English vocabulary and knew virtually nobody in the country. She competed in three different collegiate leagues at three separate levels, eventually finding her way to Kansas. Here, in one-and-a-half seasons, she's amassed a career that rivals the school's all-time track and field greats.
"If I set goals, I just go for it despite the difficulties that can be faced on the way,"
Bartnovskaya said. "There is nothing easy in this life, so quitting is not an option."
Bartnovskaya was 17 when she first picked up a pole. She had just returned home after spending three years away from her family at a school that specialized in training teens in Olympic sports.
"If I set goals, I just go for it despite the difficulties that can be faced on the way."
NATALIE BARTNOVSKAYA
Pole vaulter
While Bartnovskaya was good at other track and field events, her hometown coach suggested pole vaulting might work best for her. After seeing good results and taking a liking to
the event, Bartnovskaya began to agree with her coach.
Bartnovskaya was one of the only pole vaulters in her town at the time, so coaching, equipment and facilities specialized for pole vaulters was not readily available. At 18, realizing she could not grow to reach her goals as a vaulter in this environment, Bartnovskaya decided to move away again to southern Russia to join a college track and field team.
For the next three years, Bartnovskaya went to school and focused on vaulting. But the rapid early progress she showed over her first year pole vaulting would slow down and by the time her career there was ending, she knew she still had not reached her potential. Focused on improving, she applied for a program that set her up with many U.S. schools, and ultimately landed her at Vincennes University, a junior college in Indiana. She again set out into an unknown situation, only this time the unknown was in a foreign country.
"It wasn't really scary for me," Bartnovskaya said. "I guess because I already had traveled and done that kind of thing a lot back at home, I was kind of used to it."
Hera fearlessness translated to her meets as she and her coaches saw early that she had the potential to dominate the NJCAA circuit, which she did for the two years she was there. By the time she left Vincennes, she held the NJCAA all-time pole vault record and two NJCAA individual pole vault championships.
Bartovskaya's original plan was to return to Russia after finishing at Vincennes. But, after dominating the NJCAA, many Division I programs
SEE TRACK PAGE 7
BASEBALL
Kansas comes off loss, prepares for next series
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
BEN FELDERSTEIN sports@kansan.com
Junior infielder Justin Protacio swings for the ball in an April 1 game against Wichita State. The Jayhawks defeated the Shockers 4-2 at home. They look to do the same against TCU tonight at 6 p.m.
Kansas (22-15, 6-6) is coming off of a series loss to the TCU Horned Frogs this past weekend. The Jayhawks lost the first two games of the series but were able to avoid a sweep, salvaging the nightcap of Saturday's double-header.
The Jayhawks will host Grand Canyon University (18-15, 8-4) in a two-game mid-week series at Hoglund Park tonight and Wednesday. GCU won its weekend series against Sacramento State over the weekend at home.
Junior right-fielder Connor McKay's bat has heated up for Kansas recently. He hit three homers and drove in three RBIs over the weekend. He extended his Big 12 lead in both categories to nine homers and 38 RBIs. McKay also leads the conference in slugging percentage at .611.
McKay is batting .328 on the season and has been a catalyst for the Jayhawks hitting in the cleanup spot. Hitting before McKay is junior left-fielder Michael Suiter, who is only two percentage points away from being in the top 10 in batting average amongst the Big 12 leaders; he is third in the conference with 48 hits. Suiter will look to extend his 10-game hit streak against Grand Canyon.
Senior pitcher Frank Duncan continued his dominance on the mound this season in the finale of the TCU series. Duncan went 8.1 innings, striking out seven and allowing only one earned run in his fourth win of the season.
Duncan is third in the Big 12 with a 1.53 ERA, first with 70.2 innings pitched, and second in strikeouts with 54.
Junior pitcher Drew Morovick will start the first game of the mid week series for Kansas this week. Morovick is 6-2 on the season with a 4.91 ERA. Morovick is coming off of his worst start of the season against Iowa where he only went 2.2 innings, allowing eight earned runs on ten hits.
The Jayhawks will face freshman left-handed pitcher Bebastian Valenzuela in the series opener. Valenzuela has a 3.38 ERA on the season, making one start in his nine
Walker has 14 stolen bases on the season and is sporting a .456 on-base percentage as well. Walker's teammate, junior catcher Humberto Aranda, is third in their conference with a .363 batting average. Aranda has two homers and 19 RBIs on the campaign.
The 6-foot-5-inch righty had been on a roll as he hadn't allowed more than two runs in his four starts prior to the Iowa game. Morovick will have the task of facing junior outfielder David Walker, who is fourth in the WAC with a .360 batting average.
appearances thus far.
The Jayhawks will walk away with a win in the first game of their mid-week series if freshman right-hander Stephen Villines pitches. Kansas is 9-6 in games that Villines has pitched in and 3-1 in games since he was moved to the closer role, recording three saves. Villines has a .36 ERA on the season and is tied for sixth in the Big 12 with four saves. Villines has only walked four batters this season, struck out 17 batters and given up only 15 hits. Villines was moved to the closer role during the Oklahoma series.
KANSAS WILL WIN IF..
due to the struggles from senior pitcher Jordan Piche. If Villones comes in to pitch Tuesday, it will most likely be a save situation and the freshman is four-for-four in save opportunities thus far.
KANSAS WILL LOSE IF...
The Jayhawks will fall to the Antelopes in the first game of the series if Morovick gives up less than five runs. The Jayhawks are 7-4 in Morovick's 11 appearances this season. In three out of those four losses, he has given up five or more runs. Morovick gave up eight runs in the seven wins and 18 runs combined in the Jayhawk's four losses.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Senior center-fielder Tucker Tharp has been hot lately, seeing his batting average increase by 31 points since the beginning of the Kansas State series from .270 to .301. Tharp ranks second on the team with four homeruns, which is also good enough for eighth in the Big 12. Tharp has driven in 18 runs for Kansas this season and has played in 37 games. Tharp helped fill the void when McKay was out nursing a hamstring injury, but is solid protection in the lineup for his fellow outfieldler when they are both healthy.
Edited by Emily Hines
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