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MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TENNIS
Jayhawks fall to Sooners and Cowboys
CORBIN MIHELIC
cmihelic@kansan.com
For the second weekend in a row, the Kansas women's tennis team could not overcome high ranked dual-match opponents.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
This time the culprits came from the Big 12—No. 40 Oklahoma and No. 56 Oklahoma State—only a week after the Jayhawks suffered their first two losses of the season. The team dropped its match to the Sooners on Friday, 5-2, and followed that with its loss to the Cowboys, 6-1, on Sunday.
Kansas is now 7-4 for the match play season and 0-2 in conference play.
Junior Victoria Khanevskaya chases the ball in her singles match against Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. Khanevskaya was defeated 6-4.
Monica Pezzotti and Dylan
Monica
Windom gave
the Jayhawks an
opportunity to
gain the doubles
point with their
8-5 win over
Oklahoma State's
Malika Rose
and Kanyapat
Narrattah, but
not much went in their favor afterward.
"This is her first time she's played on hardcourt and I think she's doing pretty good."
Claire Dreyer and Victoria Khanevskaya fell to C.C. Sardinha and Isabela Miro in No. 3 doubles, 8-5, and the team would go on to lose five of its six singles matches. Several of those matches were
fairly competitive on the scoreboard, including a three-set loss by Paulina Los at the No.2 singles spot.
Despite a closer overall score, the victory against Oklahoma was never really in question. The Sooners swept doubles play before winning the first four matches to finish in singles play.
Freshman rookie Maria Belen Ludueña was the only Jayhawk to win both of her No. 3 singles matches over the weekend—a pair of split-set battles decided in a super tiebreaker. Ludueña, who is ranked 181th nationally in the ITA Singles Rankings, beat Oklahoma's Mia Lancaster, 6-3, 2-6, (10-6), before coming from
MONICA PEZZOTTI Kansas junior
behind to knock.
off Meghan
Blevins. 4-6, 6-3,
(11-9).
"I think she is adapting pretty well to hard-court," Pezzotti said of Luduena earlier this week.
"This is her first time she's played on hardcourt and I think she's doing pretty good."
Kansas will take a break from Big 12 play with a March 17-19 trip to Las Vegas, Nev. to play Houston, Idaho and Bowling Green in that respective order.
Conference play continues March 24 with a home match against No. 11-ranked Baylor.
"It's definitely going to take a lot more heart and grind on the court and who's going to want it bad,"
Windom said of the rest of Big 12 play. "Physically, in shape wise, we're No. 1 in the Big 12. I know the physical side is there."
Edited by Tanvi Nimkar
BIG TEN BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brandon Wood scored a season-high 21 points to help No. 8 Michigan State defeat No. 7 Ohio State 68-64 on Sunday in the Big Ten tournament championship game.
Spartans shine in title game thriller
Draymond Green, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in the final, was named the most outstanding player of the tournament. The Spartans (27-7) claimed their first tournament title since 2000 in a dramatic game that featured 16 lead changes.
Jared Sullinger scored 18 points and Deshaun Thomas and William Buford added 11 each for the Buckeyes (27-7), who were denied a third straight title.
The teams shared the regular season title with Michigan.
Wood transferred to Michigan State after graduating from Valparaiso last year with eligibility remaining. He received a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately because he entered graduate school. He only started because starter Branden Dawson toore a left knee ligament in
the regular-season finale against Ohio State.
Buford hit a game-winner with one second left to help the Buckeyes defeat the Spartans 72-70 on Michigan State's home court in the regular-season finale to claim a share of the title and prevent the Spartans from winning it outright.
Sullinger averaged 24 points and nine rebounds for the tournament.
Sullinger committed his second foul with 8:22 left in the first half. At that point, the Buckeyes led 18-17. Michigan State appeared to grab momentum late in the half. A putback by Green and a layup by Keith Appling late in the half gave the Spartans a 34-29 lead.
Aaron Craft scored on a putback, then Buford made a free throw after Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was issued a technical foul for disagreeing with a call, and the Spartans led 34-32 at halftime.
Sullinger immediately changed things for the Buckeyes, scoring nine points in the first 7 minutes of the second half.
ACC BASKETBALL
North Carolina comeback fails vs. Florida State
ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Carolina's big comeback against Florida State fell short, leaving the Tar Heels beaming the slow start which put them in such a bind.
The Seminoles weren't missing many early and built a 16-point lead in the first half. North Carolina fought back, cutting the deficit to just one in the final minute before losing 85-82.
"I don't think we really competed until the second half," said North Carolina's P.J. Hairston. "I'm more upset just with the fact we didn't come out with the energy we wanted."
without forward John Henson for the second straight game. Henson, who hurt his left wrist in Friday night's win over Maryland and also missed Saturday's win over North Carolina State, wasn't satisfied with how the wrest responded in pregame drills, according to coach Roy Williams.
No. 4 North Carolina played
Williams said he has a better
ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Carolina coach Roy Williams reacts during play against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament Sunday.
team with the 6-foot-11 Henson, who averages 13.8 points and a team-leading 10.1 rebounds per game. But he said he didn't want the loss blamed on his team missing the starter.
"I have no problem with my team and the way we competed, particularly the last 12 minutes in a big-time basketball game," Williams said. "We gave ourselves a chance. We kept trying to pry the door open and they kept closing the door. They made shots down the stretch."
But this one went to the wire, as North Carolina (29-5) nearly came all the way back from a 16-point deficit in the first half, P.J. Hairston missed a tying three at the buzzer.
Florida State (24-9) proved its 33-point blowout of the Tar Heels during the regular season was no fluke.
Tournament MVP Michael Snar scored 18 points the Seminoles made 11 of 22 three-point shots in winning their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
North Carolina's best chance may have come when Florida State's Okaro White missed a free throw when the Seminoles led 83-82 with 17.5 seconds remaining.
Instead of pounding the ball inside, a wide-open Kendall Marshall missed a three with five seconds left.
Marshall, who just missed his third straight double-double of the tournament with 15 points and nine assists, tugged at his jersey with his head down as he
The Tar Heels were forced to foul after Florida State came away with the rebound. Deividas Dulkys made two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Marshall, who hit a three-pointer to cut Florida State's lead to 83-82 with 30 seconds remaining, defended the shot selection after the game. He noted it was difficult to pass inside to Tyler Zeller, who had his normal double-coverage.
"We were going to get the best available shot," Marshall said. "We executed the play perfectly. Zeller set a back screen and I was able to get into the lane. I kicked it out to Reggie (Bullock). My man and Zeller's man both went with Zeller and left me wide open.
headed back down the court after his miss.
bit. It would have been nice if it went down, but that's the way the ball goes sometimes."
"I might have rushed it a little
"We didn't get off to a good start," he said. "We didn't play well in the first half. We didn't play especially well in the start of the second half, but the last 12 minutes it was the North Carolina team that I've seen recently and it was the North Carolina team that I like and we want to be."
North Carolina couldn't match the Seminoles' outside shooting, making only five of 20 three-pointers.
Williams said he was encouraged by his team's finish.
It was the first time since Maryland's title in 2004 that a team outside the state of North Carolina won the tournament.
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