THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
TENNIS
PAGE 7B
Season becomes roller coaster ride for team
CURBIN MIHELIC
cmihelic@kansan.com
A roller coaster might be the best analogy to describe the 2012 season for the Kansas women's tennis team. The ride saw its share of historic highs and rock bottom lows.
Before the season's dual play portion started, the team received news that two contributing Jayhawks would not be back in the spring. This was a huge blow to a program.
Sophomore Claire Dreyer celebrates with her teammate junior Victoria Khanevskaya after scoring a point in their doubles competition against Illinois Feb. 12 at the Jayhawk Tennis Center where Kansas won 8-0.
"We lost our No. 1 and No. 2 so everyone had to move up two spots," sophomore Dylan Windom said. "In the Big 12, I feel like an increase in two spots is very hard to overcome."
Freshman Karen Hernandez left the team after one semester, but the loss of senior veteran Ekaterina Morozova was crippling.
record through March 1 was the program's best in two decades. Ludueena, who had been in the United States for less than three months, soared to a No.118 national singles ranking as the Jayhawks shot toward the sky in January and February.
Morozova, who was clearly the team's best player, remained on the roster but was forced to miss the spring for undisclosed reasons. At one point, she was ranked No. 76 nationally in singles (No. 33 in doubles), and she is best known for her magical quarterfinal run with Windom at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's All-American Championships in October.
"Like our strength and condition coach said, 'Adapt and overcome,' Windom said. "Adapt to new things and try to overcome them. Don't make excuses for anything."
Those losses weren't apparent at first, at least in the first seven matches of the season. The addition of freshman newcomer Maria Belen Ludueña aided coach Amy Hall-Holt's starting lineup, and Kansas' 7-0 non-conference dual
However, none of the seven victories came against ranked teams, and none of those teams played in any of the known six BCS automatic-qualifying conferences.
Why is that important? Ten of the Jayhawks' next 13 scheduled matches were against teams ranked in top 75 of the ITA Division I standings.
This new level of difficulty showed immediately, as Kansas dropped the next four matches on the road to ranked opponents—North Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Just like that, the Jayhawks received a reality check and a bruise to the team's ego.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Las Vegas. Still, the team had yet to defeat a ranked opponent, despite playing its way to a solid 9-5 record at the end of spring break.
"It was definitely eye-opening playing against ranked teams, but I think we did really well," sophomore Claire Dreyer said after the team's early-March trip to Tulsa, Okla. "We just kept fighting and it wasn't really a negative weekend for us."
The season's outlook brightened a bit when Kansas won two of three matches in its mid-March trip to
Then Baylor and Texas Tech came to town—teams that would end up finishing No.1 and 2 in the conference's regular season standings. The Jayhawks fell to both, but gave the No.13 Bears a 4-3 scare, and junior No.1 singles player Monica Pezzotti notched her best singles win of the year in the team's 6-1 loss to the 18th-ranked Red Raiders.
"With Baylor we lost 4-3. It's matches where they are some of the best in the conference," Pezzotti said. "We were right there, so we need to build our confidence and believe in ourselves that we can beat those teams."
But this year's shorthanded Jayhawks couldn't get over the hump in the talent-rich Big 12. The conference only had one other unranked team Iowa State. Kansas went on to lose all nine of their regular season conference matches, closing the season with a second loss to Oklahoma, 4-0, in the first round of last week's conference tournament.
In interviews, several Kansas players said that losing had created a mental block by the end of the season, but it's barrier that Hall-Holt and her team repeatedly vowed to overcome in the offseason.
"I don't want to say that I think it got in their heads," Hall-Holt said. "Does it affect you? Yes, Does
it physically drain you? Yes. I just think with our long season, it's draining and it can wear on you a little bit."
For next year, the Jayhawks are thinking on the positive side with the entirety of Hall-Holt's senior-free lineup set to return. Hall-Holt also seems to have found a perfect fit at No.1 doubles—Pezzotti and Windom finished the season
ranked No. 89 nationally, despite playing doubles together for the first time just over a month ago.
Another plus, junior Haley Fournier, a native of Leawood, Kan., will be eligible for next season after transferring from Texas Tech in the fall. As a freshman for the now-21st-ranked Red Raiders, Fournier finished the 2010-11 season 19-11 in singles, 20-6 in
doubles, respectively.
"It's exciting for us that we're a young team because we have so much talent," Dreyer said. "Everyone is just excited to come back next year and keep going at it."
— Edited by Tanvi Nimkar
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Special Olympian impresses women's team
kgier@kansan.com
KATHLEEN GIER
Brady Tanner won three gold medals in Greece last year at the World Special Olympics Games. He practices four days a week for power lifting competitions. But after his own workouts, he devotes his time to supporting Kansas women's basketball.
Tanner participated in a Special Olympics power lifting competition on Saturday morning at Haskell Indian Nations University and when he found out the Jayhawks would be presenting the medals, he was determined to impress.
When the Jayhawks found out Tanner was going to be at the event, they contacted their coaches and asked if they could assist in some way.
The competition was split up into three different stations: dead lift, squats and bench press. Tanner attracted attention at each station. He dead lifted 450 pounds, squatted 600 and set a personal record on the bench press with 405.
"It is inspiring," Kansas freshman guard Asia Boyd said. "I would never be able to lift that much."
The Jayhawks trickled into the gym during the final round and Tanner made his way over to greet
them. They watched and cheered as he set his new personal record. Tanner let out a triumphant cheer that filled the gym and he was met by a line of fist bumps and high fives from the team.
According to Tanner's mother, Janie, junior guard Angel Goodrich and junior forward Carolyn Davis are two of his favorite Jayhawks. Goodrich appreciates his support and enjoys reciprocating.
"He comes to all of our games with his face painted and we want to do something for him too," Goodrich said.
Tanner, 32, has been competing in power lifting for 11 years for Douglas County Special Olympics. His mother and father, Janie and Gary, serve as his coaches and trainers. Between lifts, Gary would check his belt and rewrap his knees. Janie would take pictures and video of each lift and then take her seat back on the sideline thrilled to see her son succeeding and having fun.
She said the Jayhawks have been very hospitable to Brady and that makes a huge difference. When he returned from Greece, he was honored before a women's game and then joined the team in the locker room after the game.
"He understands when everyone is rooting for him," Janie said. "It is important for him to be recognized by the community."
His high school teacher, Deb Engstrom, continues to purchase season tickets for Tanner and meet him at the games. Janie credited her with starting his love of Kansas women's basketball.
Goodrich said she enjoys spending time with Brady because of his positivity.
"He is always happy," Goodrich said. "He puts smiles on our faces."
While they waited to hand out medals, Boyd and sophomore guard CeCe Harper invited Brady to sing "I Believe I Can Fly" in front of the crowd. Applause rang through the gym after their song.
Brady presented the Jayhawks with an autographed picture from the Olympics in Greece and received three gold medals from Bovd.
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"We love Brady," Boyd said.
— Edited by Pat Strathman
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