THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
SPORTS
Bowling teams hit the lanes with new talent
Newest players show promise leading into Blue and Gold Classic
By JASON ELMQUIST
jelmquist@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The Kansas men's and women's bowling teams look to two national stars to guide them through the season's second half. The Kansas bowling team has strung together several top 10 finishes in the season's first months and also look for guidance through April's Intercollegiate Bowling Championship tournament.
The men's team looked to defend its 2004 IBC title when it started its season in October.
The team had lost four members from last year's championship team to graduation. The team did not miss a beat as it started off the season with two victories at the Midwest
Collegiate Championship and the Mid-States Tournament. The team then lost top bowler, Rhino Page, for the rest of the fall semester when he headed off to play with the Team USA bowling team.
Losing Page did not hinder the team at first, as it reeled off top-five finishes in its next three tournaments. The absence of the Lawrence junior has meant more opportunities for others, coach Mark Fine said.
The team was ranked third by collegebowling.com heading into winter break. After the Colgate Invitational and the Keystone Quaker Classic, the team broke its streak of top-five finishes and it did not even finish in the top 10. At the Colgate they finished 14th overall and were 11th overall at the
Page said he wanted his return to add fire to the team.
Keystone.
"I'm going to make sure these guys are ready to play, without a doubt," he said.
While the men are working on defending their national title, the women's team is looking to improve on last year's fifth-place finish at the IBC.
So far the women have seen the same sort of success that the men have, as they have finished in the top 10 in all seven tournaments. They have finished second in two tournaments, the Midwest Collegiate Championship and the Jayhawk Classic, while their worst showing was an eighth-place finish at the National Team Match Games.
Kelly Zapf, Rochester, N.Y.
senior, was part of the past two women's teams that finished in the top five at the IBC. In her senior campaign, she has finished with three top-five finishes and five top 10s. Only once this season has Zapf not finished in the top 20 at a tournament.
Besides Zapf, the women's team has three other bowlers who returned from last year's team.
The other two slots have been filled by freshmen, who have impressed Zapf and Fine.
"All of our freshman have really stepped up to the plate," Fine said. Zapf said that she expected more from this team because she wanted to leave on top.
"We have a lot more talent than we've had in years past," said Zapf.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
KANSAS BOWLING SEASON
Midwest Collegiate Championships
Oct. 2-3
Men-First Place
Women-Second Place
Mid-States Tournament, Oct. 30-31
Men-First Place
Women-Fifth Place
Jayhawk Classic, Nov. 13-14
Men-Fourth Place
Women-Second Place
National Collegiate Team Match
Games, Nov. 26-27
■ Men-Fifth Place
■ Women-Eighth Place
Leatherneck Colgate Invitational,
Den. 4-5
Men-14th Place Women-Sixth Place
Keystone Quaker Classic, Dec. 29-30
Men-11th Place
Women-Fourth Place
COMING UP Blue and Gold Classic, Jan. 22-23 South Bend, Ind.
Last year, men were third and women were fifth.
Source:www.collegebowling.com
Baseball team needs big hitters to step up to the plate
Edited by Nikola Rowe
KANSAN file photo
Kansas third baseman Travis Metcalf attempts to get Arkansas-Little Rock's Matt Spatafora out as he steals third base. The Jayhawks lost seniors Ryan Baty and Matt Tribute to graduation and need to replace their run production.
Richardson led the Jayhawks
BY AULISA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITHER
The heart of the Kansas baseball team's lineup is gone, along with most of last season's run production. The team will look to three upperclassmen to fill the void left by Ryan Baty, Matt Tribble and Travis Metcalf — last season's Jayhawk version of Mantle, Gehrig and DiMaggio.
Last May, Baty and Tribble finished their Kansas baseball careers as seniors. Metcalf cut his career a year short when the Texas Rangers drafted him in June.
"Those are three of the best players I've coached in my career," coach Ritch Price said.
Without a doubt, the absence of the "big three," as Price refers to them, will shake up the lineup. Last season, Baty and Metcalf accounted for 50 of the team's home runs. Metcalf broke the program record when he finished
the season with 18. Baty set his own record by holding down a 21-game hit streak, the longest ever in Kansas baseball history.
Tribble committed only two errors in 226 chances in his career, and held the previous long hit streak of 20 games.
Together these guys led the team into ranking first in the Big 12 conference for batting average, hitting .316 as a team and posting their second consecutive 30-victory season. The trouble now is continuing the trend of offensive improvement without the "big three." Price said the number one task was to find suitable replacements to fill the run-producing bulk of the lineup.
All three were named to the 2005 Preseason All-Big 12 second team on January 13.
The next round of dominating hitters could be junior Matt Baty, junior Ritchie Price and senior Sean Richardson.
last year with 69 RBI while hitting a solid .332. He knocked 12 home runs and stole eight bases last season. His performance earned him the team's most valuable player honor.
Price raked in 47 RBI along with a 395 batting average.
Baty will lead off again this
Price and Baty have gained serious experience, now starting for their third year. During their freshman season they were two of only seven freshman who started in the Big 12. Coach Price will utilize their talents as he tinkers with the lineup in the pre-season.
"They are three of the best hitters in our conference." Coach Price said of this year's hitting trio. "Those three are looking forward to this challenge."
Matt Baty secured the leadoff spot in 2004 by hitting a consistent .344 and stealing 26 bases. Baty also led the Big 12 in runs scored with 62.
season, as the ability to reach base and quickness between the bases becomes increasingly important without the home run support like last season.
Richardson, who hit better than .400, will move from the two hole to the three.
Also expected to erupt at the plate is right fielder A. J. Van Slyke. Price said the junior was ready for a breakout season.
Andy Scholl will take over in the clean up spot. Coach Price acknowledged his progress last season during his first year at Kansas after transferring from Lamar Community College.
"We will do a better job of hitting with runners in scoring position." Price said.
More steals and hit-and-runs will weigh heavily into the new mix as well, he said. Whatever the goal, new leaders must emerge for the jayhawks to have success.
Edited by Lori Bettes
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