THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
---
SPORTS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2005
New recruits strike gold for bowling team
BY JASON ELMOUST
lemqist@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Several newcomers have brought depth to the already durable men's and women's bowling teams.
These players' participation has affected both teams' seasons. The men have won four tournaments and the women have finished no worse than eight place in each tournament.
The women's team, with four returning members from last year's fifth-place finish at the Intercollegiate Bowling Championship, has improved with the addition of two freshmen. The men's team, which has three returning members from last year's IBC, has relied on the play of three transfers.
Freshmen Natalie Bennett and Nikki Johannes are Kansas natives and originally decided to attend the University of Kansas because of their majors.
Johannes, who is going into nursing, had not even decided to join the team until this summer. She came into the season with a bad case of tendonitis in her knee and had to take off a month before getting into the action.
"It made me work a lot harder to catch back up where everybody was supposed to be," Johannes said. "We had to change a lot of things about my game, like my bowling approach."
Bennett's and Johannes' teammates consider the freshmen duo to be opposites. Bennett is the quiet, get-the-jobone bowler. Johannes is the cheerleader, considered the motivational force of the team.
"Natalie is very quiet. She contributes a lot by making the shots and the good scores," sophomore Leanne Downey said. "Nikki's definitely more outspoken. She helps us by trying to be a more motivational person and helps us with the team's spirit."
"Natalie is very quiet.She contributes a lot by making the shots and the good scores.
Leanne Downey
Sophomore
At the team's last tournament, the Maverick/Husker Classic, Bennett finished fifth overall and was named to the All-Tournament team. The freshmen's play has caught the team's attention.
attention:
"It's definitely given the four of us that have come back an extra effort to stay on top of our game," junior Kelly Sanders said. "We can't slack off because we know they're right there behind us, and if we do they're going to take over our spot."
While the women have new bowlers, the men have added transfer students to their roster.
Junior Dan Ahl transferred from Hudson Valley Community College last year. After he ruptured a tendon in the ring finger of his bowling hand, Ahl had to sit out the season. Sophomore Zach Taylor transferred from Nebraska after the 2002-2003 school year, but he had to sit out.
Taylor and Ahl practiced together and utilized the time to become acquainted with the program and each other. Junior Pat Eighamy joined the two this year when he transferred from Vincennes University.
Taylor said the three transfers were able to appreciate where each other came from and the changes each other had made.
"We're all a long way from home." Taylor said. "We've kind of used each other as a support group."
All transfers have brought previous experiences with them to Kansas. Ahl's bowling experience at Hudson Valley allowed him to become familiar with bowling on the east coast, while
"T they never put up a fight when we say 'We do this here' and they accept it totally.
Chris Diley Sophomore
Taylor and Eighmy are coming from strong, nationally-recognized bowling programs at Nebraska and Vincennes.
"They never put up a fight when we say, 'We do this here' and they accept it totally," sophomore Chris Dilley said. "They have all fit into the program well."
All three have had individual success, en route to team success. At the Blue and Gold Invitational, Eighly finished in second place, losing only to fellow teammate junior Rhino Page. At the Maverick/Husker Classic, Taylor finished in third place. Ahl has two top-five fin-
"There's no question in my mind, the men don't win four tournaments without Zach, Dan, and Pat," coach Mike Fine said. "Those guys are elite-caliber athletes and make all the difference in the world."
In addition to those five bowlers, the women's team has three other freshmen newcomers. They will add depth to the program, which loses only one player next season, Fine said. The men's team has six freshmen and a non-traditional student who could join the team next season.
The influx of bowlers selecting the KU bowling program is vindication of hard work, Fine said.
"I think it's something that everyone on the bowling team takes a lot of pride in and a lot of ownership in." Fine said. "We have a program that people want to come to participate in or think highly of us, and that is something we all take pride in."
- Edited by Austin Caster
Big 12 freshmen phenoms show talent, maturity
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — From A to Z — Aldridge to Zeno — the Big 12 Conference is bristling with an extraordinary class of high-class freshman.
Less than a year removed
from high school, they're shooting, rebounding and dishing the ball on pace with more experienced veterans, making an immediate impact in a tough league at a time when most kids are still hesitant and wide-eyed.
“There’s a lot of good ones”
Kansas coach Bill Sell said. "And
our league needs that because conferences are cyclical."
Everyone expected Texas point guard Daniel Gibson to bring a dazzling array of skills into his first season, and nobody feels let down. Gibson is averaging more than 17 points for the Longhorns.
Normanagee, Texas, has also emerged. He leads all freshmen in rebounding and is playing a pivotal role in the Texas A&M turnaround.
But Joseph Jones, a native of tiny
Richard Roby, related to NBA star Kenyon Martin, is Colorado's top scorer and has looked unstoppable, sometimes.
Nebraska's Joe McCray is one of
LaMarcus Aldridge, a 6-10 bruiser, was off to a great start for Texas until he was injured last month. One big reason No. 25 Texas Tech is challenging Kansas for the conference lead has been the smooth play of Martin Zeno.
A perfect fit for coach Bob
Knight's disciplined system, the guard has proven himself one of the league's best shooters, hitting more than 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line.
Altogether, one-fourth of the Big 12's top 20 point-producers were making plans for their high school prom this time last year.
BANT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
already swept the Tigers this season, accomplishing that feat in convincing fashion with its 60-42 victory last Saturday at Mizzou Arena. The win marked the Jayhawks' first regular-season win against the Tigers since 1999.
For the moment, Kansas holds a 12-5.5 lead over Missouri in the Border Skirmish
standings, recording victories in the sports already mentioned as well as in men's cross country and soccer. With the spring season for many sports just now starting, there's still plenty of time for Missouri to make up ground. But if the games keep ending the way they have been, Kansas is heading for more victories over its rivals.
Bant is a Colorado Springs, Colo. senior in journalism.
COLORADO
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
week after averaging more than 25 points per game in two contests.
At Texas Tech he posted a career-high 29 points, including seven three-pointers. Then, during a victory at Kansas State, he had a game-high 22 points. The San Bernardino, Calif., native was a scorching
10-of-20 from three-point range in the two games.
Junior forward Chris Copeland has done his best to fill the void Harrison left in the low post, he is averaging 13.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Marcus Hall is next on the list with an average of 12 points a game.
Senior forward Wayne Sinien said Kansas had taken notice of these players, and would place their full attention on tomorrow's game.
"Every game we play from now is a championship
on is a championship
Wayne Simien
Senior forward
"Every game is important, and every game we play from now on is a championship.
game," Simien said. "This is the time when we set ourselves apart from the rest of the league, and it doesn't matter who comes in. We are going to treat it like a big game."
The Jayhawks are riding the momentum of nine straight conference victories, and will attempt to duplicate the 16-0 conference record that Kansas achieved in 2002.
Edited by Lori Bettes