ROWING: Team ties for second at the Big 12 Invitational. SEE PAGE 3B. GOLF: Chris Marshall named to All-Big 12 first team. SEE PAGE 2B.
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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
MONDAY, MAY 6, 2002
Andy Davies
adavies@kansan.com
Upsets,efforts characterize Kansas sports
Clutch performances, upset specials and extraordinary efforts. They make sports come alive. They inspire the birth of heroes, give hope to fans who thirst for a winning program and create legends. Kansas sports have had plenty of such moments this year. I decided to list my favorite moments from the last year in Jayhawk sports.
Kansas baseball dominates Wichita State: For one night, the Jayhawks, not the then No. 8-ranked Shockers, played like a perennial powerhouse. Kansas rolled to a 9-1 victory behind an outstanding pitching effort from freshman Chris Jones. Jones, who Shocker coach Gene Stephenson called a "slow-pitch softball pitcher," held Wichita State hitless until the sixth inning.
Jayhawk soccer defeats Missouri: For Jayhawks, any victory against the Tigers is satisfying, but this one was especially sweet. Kansas coach Mark Francis' squad defeated the Tigers for the first time in his regime on senior day and clinched the 'Hawks' highest Big 12 Conference finish ever. Although Mizzou defeated the Jayhawks the following week in a conference tournament rematch, Kansas still qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Even with a defeat to Brigham Young in the first round, the Jayhawks still finished the season with their best record ever, 13-7, and are a program on the rise.
Kansas basketball clinches a share of the Big 12 title: When you run the table in your conference and reach the Final Four, there are plenty of moments to choose from. But this one takes the prize. The Jayhawks dominated Iowa State 102-66 on Big Monday. But seeing Kansas fans' thirst for a championship finally being quenched was something special to watch. As the fans showered the Jayhawks with cheers and chants of "We're Number One," no one dared to leave Allen Fieldhouse and miss the start of the celebration.
Russell wins a national championship: Scott Russell could be the best Canadian import Kansas has ever had. It's too bad most Jayhawks fans don't know who he is. The senior won a national championship in the hammer throw during the indoor track season. That came after he established a new national record for the event during the season. Russell could capture more than one national title this year. He's chasing a title in the javelin during the current outdoor season.
Fans flock to campus: The day was overcast, drizzly and chilly, but that didn't stop Kansas fans from racing to campus after the Jayhawks reached the Final Four for the first time in nine years with a 104-86 victory over Oregon. Fans congregated on Wescoe Beach and drove around campus honking horns at anyone who happened to be around. It kicked off a week of excitement that created a buzz around the University I've never seen before.
Jayhawk women nearly pull off upset: One of the reasons many people enjoy sports is that anything can happen. Despite going winless in Big 12 games, the Kansas women's basketball team came ready to play against Texas. The Jayhawks led 34-30 at halftime but trailed by three with less than a minute left in the game. Sharonne Spencer made a layup, drew a foul and had the opportunity to tie the game. She missed the free throw, but I admired the effort of Kansas, not the result.
Devies is a St. Mary's senior in journalism.
Collison, Hinrich to return
By Brent Wasko
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas men's basketball players Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison took the road less traveled Friday.
Unlike many of their peers in college basketball, including teammate Drew Gooden, the juniors decided to return to Kansas for their senior seasons.
Men's basketball coach Roy Williams said that after having several conversations with the NBA evaluation committee, he learned that both Collison and Hinrich would have probably been first round choices if they would have declared themselves eligible for the draft.
"I gave all the information to them; I gave them some advice; we got some counsel from their families, and both decided that the option they wanted to take was to come back and play at Kansas," Williams said. "We're very happy, to say the least, that they are coming back, but at the same time, we would have been very happy for them if they would have made the decision to go."
Depending on who walks on to the team during the off season, Collison and Hinrich could be the only seniors next season. Gooden, the team's leading scorer and rebound this season, decided to forgo his remaining year of college eligibility and enter the NBA Draft.
If Collison and Hinrich had left, the Jayhawks would have had an inexperienced starting lineup.
"Needless to say, this helps our basketball team and the prospects for next year," Williams said. "But I think that everyone would have understood if they had gone. It would have been a good decision for them to make."
Collison and Hinrick were a big part of the Jayhawks' success this season, helping the team reach the Final Four for the first time since 1993.
Collison, a 6-foot-9 forward from Iowa Falls, Iowa, was Kansas' second leading scorer and
reboucher, averaging 15.6 points and 8.3 boards per game. He led the Big 12 with 2.2 blocks per game.
He was named an Honorable Mention All-American and Second-Team All-Big 12 player. Collison was especially strong during the postseason, claiming spots on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team.
Collison said he was satisfied with his decision to stay at Kansas for another season.
"I looked at all my options and then made the decision that I definitely want to stay," he said. "When I do go the NBA, I want to be as good a player as possible, and I think I can get a lot better with another year under coach Williams."
Collison said there were other reasons for him to stick around.
"I can come back and have a lot of fun next year at KU, which made my decision a little easier. This is a great place to be, and it would be hard to give up another year in Lawrence," Collison said.
Hinrich, a6-3 guard from Sioux City, Iowa, was also a key player for the lahayws this season. He averaged a career-high 14.8 points per game, making 54.1 percent of his shots from the field and 47.8 percent from behind the arch.
Like Collison, Hinrich was named an Honorable Mention All-American. He was also selected as a First-Team All-Big 12 player and was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week.
Hinrich said losing to Maryland in the national semifinals made him hungry to come back and win a championship.
"I decided that I wanted an opportunity to finish the season on a better note than we did this year, and to better myself as a player under coach Williams' guidance," Hinrich said.
Contact Wasko at bwasko@kansan.com. This story was edited by Eve Lamborn.
Juniors Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison will both return to the court next season for their senior year.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
JILLIAN THORPE/KANSAN
Shortstop Brandon Shepard sets up the front end of a double play to second baseman Casey Spanish during the second game of Kansas' doubleheader against Centenary on Saturday. The Jayhawks dominated both games, winning 12-2 and 15-3.
Jayhawks dominate weekend series
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
Ryan Baty will surely be sad to see Centenary go.
The sophomore outfielder capped a productive weekend yesterday, going 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, as the Kansas baseball team beat Centenary 5-2 to sweep the weekend series.
Kansas (21-24) won both games Saturday, 12-2 and 13-5, and won all six games against Centenary this season. This year, Baty was 12-for-26 with two
homers, 14 RBI,and five runs scored against the Gents.
"I struggled a little bit in Chicago, and I struggled the last game in Nebraska," Baty said. "I made a few adjustments with my swing, and I'm swinging at good pitches now."
The Jayhawks were up 4-0 before Centenary (15-41) could muster a run. Kansas played nearly flawless defense, turning two late-inning double plays and never giving the Gents any opportunities to rally.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 6B
Tournament run finishes for Kansas softball team
By Ali Brox
Kansan sportswriter
The magic ran out for the Kansas softball team at the Big 12 Conference tournament. After upsetting second-seeded Oklahoma Friday, the Jayhawks fell 7-5 to third-seeded Nebraska and were eliminated 10-0 in five
"I am pleased with our performance except for one inning in the previous three games," coach Tracy Bunge said. "I thought we played extremely well and repre-
innings when they played Oklahoma again Saturday.
Serena Settlemier
sented the University of Kansas very well. We played to the best of our ability."
Kansas (33-25) appeared to be in control early against Nebraska, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning.
With one out, freshman first baseman Lindsey Weinstein singled to left and moved to second when senior left fielder
Christi Musser drew a walk. Senior right fielder Leah Tabb singled to center, advancing both runners. With two outs and the bases loaded, freshman pitcher Serena Settiemier doubled to left centerfield, clearing the bases for a 3-0 Jawhawk lead.
The Jayhawks added two runs in the third. After a lead-off walk to senior third baseman Megan Urquhart, senior second baseman Amy Hulse doubled to center with one out. Urquhart moved to third, but scored on a throwing error by the Husker catcher. Hulse was able to score an unearned run as well for the 5-2 lead.
Nebraska answered in the bottom of the first. A lead-off walk, two consecutive hits and a sacrifice bunt brought Nebraska to within one run, 3-2.
Nebraska responded in the third with a two-out double to left center, and an RBI single up the middle to pull within one run, 4-3.
The 'Huskers put the game out of reach when they exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and earned the 7-5 final score.
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 3B
Track team shatters records set for championships
By Matt Norton Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas track and field team logged almost 6,000 miles this weekend in search of the nation's best competition.
Team members traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., Austin, Texas, and Iowa City, Iowa, for the teams' final meets before the Big 12 Conference championships May 17-19.
Seven athletes posted NCAA championship qualifying marks and three school records were broken.
"I think the decision to go to Stanford and the decision to go to Austin paid off," coach Stanley Redwine said.
All four runners who made the trip to Stanford took advantage of perfect weather and top-flight competition to put a serious dent in the school record books.
Seniors Katy Eisenmenger and Charlie Gruber both earned automatic qualifying times in the 1,500-meter run for the NCAA meet.
Eisenmenger cut more than eight
seconds off her personal best and bettered the Kansas record by more than five seconds, finishing third in the race with a time of 4 minutes, 17.19 seconds. Eisenmenger was the
top finishing collegian in the race and stands fourth in the NCAA with her time.
Sophomore Laura Lavoie finished 13th in the same race, r u n i n g 4:23.63. That
Katy Eisenmenger
time is an NCAA provisional mark and places her fourth on the all-time Kansas list.
Gruber won with a new personalbest time of 3:41.08, beating, among others, 2000 Olympic trials champion Gabe Jennings of Stanford. Gruber moves into second place on the NCAA men's list for the event.
SEE TRACK ON PAGE 3B
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