TENNIS: Kansas finishes its season 16-6. SEE PAGE 3B. BASEBALL: Team loses its three-game set with Nebraska. SEE PAGE 3B.
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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
1B
MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2002
Doug Pacey
dpacey@kansan.com
Poor sports records hurt senior pride
Graduating seniors, the University of Kansas ought to give you a rebate.
Not because you did anything special or put up with an outdated enrollment system, but because for the last four years, Kansas athletics have been absolutely putrid. Not counting the men's basketball team's 16-0 Big 12 Conference record and appearance in the Final Four this year, what have we got?
Zip.
Terry Allen never took us to any bowl games. The only savory win his Jayhawks had was a 33-17 upset of Colorado in 1998. Kansas and Baylor are the only Big 12 schools that did not go to a bowl game since 1995.
Coach Marian Washington's Kansas women's basketball team won 20-plus games and went to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 and 1999, but the women's basketball team has floundered because of poor recruiting. These Jayhawks were the ugly stepsisters of the men's team this season as they earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first Big 12 women's team that went 0-16 in conference play.
How about the Kansas baseball team? No winner here, either. None of coach Bobby Randall's teams have had winning records. It's a wonder how the baseball team can beat nationally ranked Texas and Wichita State, then give up 50 runs in three games to Missouri.
Heck, the athletes aren't the only ones making us shake our heads. The Athletics Department cut men's tennis and swimming and diving and thousands of dollars were embezzled from the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation last year.
Sure, small sports like soccer, softball, rowing and men's golf have had moments of success in the last four years but few people actually give a rip about these sports.
The worst part about all this failure is that less than 10 years ago, Kansas' Athletics. Department was the envy of every major college in the nation.
During the 1992-93 school year Glen Mason led the football team to a win in the Aloha Bowl, the men's basketball team appeared in the Final Four and Dave Bingham's Jayhawks played above their heads in the College World Series.
Kansas is the only college to ever accomplish this triple-feat in one school year, but just nine years later the Jayhawks are Big 12 doormats.
But this has the potential to change. The football team has undergone a facelift in the last six months, getting new coaches, players and, of all things, new uniforms.
Recruiting experts say Washington has one of the best recruiting classes in the country coming in next fall and it looks like nice-guy Randall will be fired at the end of this season.
Al Bohl, Kansas athletics director, has a full set of problems sitting in the in-box on his desk. All of them need attention. Kansas athletics will be less than pond scum if no improvements are made.
Bohl might want to call Oklahoma's athletics director, Joe Castiglione, if he needs some direction. The Sooners won football's national championship two years ago and sent both basketball teams to the Final Four this season.
The folks in Norman, Okla., don't have anything that we can't get. No one expects a repeat of 1992-93, but this all-around losing has got to stop.
Pacey is an Issaquah, Wash., senior in journalism.
Dyer shines as Blue squad rolls
Quarterback takes control in spring game
By John Domoney
Kansan sportswriter
While the Blue squad dominated the White 42-3 Friday in the football spring scrimmage in Memorial Stadium, it was the play of the man outfitted in red that had the crowd abuzz.
Junior quarterback Zach Dyer looked like he was finally ready to become a leader at the quarterback position. He completed 9 of 17 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns in front of a crowd that was estimated at 3,600.
For Dyer, it was a chance to show the fans why coach Mark Mangino had labeled him the front runner for
the quarterback position. Dyer displayed an arm that he thought might have been stronger than it was last season.
"It's something I've worked on a little bit in certain situations you have to with the quicker D-backs," Dyer said.
One of Dyer's two touchdowns was the first score of the game. He connected with senior Marcellus Jones for a 60-yard scoring strike.
Mangino said he wasn't surprised at the performance of Jones. Jones has seen frequent action in the spring after a 2001 campaign that saw him grab only two receptions for 11 vards.
Jones finished the day with four catches for 88 yards.
"I'm extremely impressed with his work ethic and his attitude is just tremendous." Mangino said. "He's
not a highly talented young man, but I think he has proven this spring that if he continues to progress the way he is he will be a guy that will be out there in the mix playing for us in the fall."
Along with Jones, senior wide receiver Harrison Hill hauled in five receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas was just as impressive on the ground as the battle for the starting running back position turned into a two-man race between junior Reggie Duncan and freshman Clark Green.
Both running backs displayed knacks for gaining yards.
Duncan gained 90 yards on 15 carries. Green followed suit with compiled 75 yards on 20 carries
SEE FOOTBALL ON GB
Donnie Amadi, defensive back and redshirt freshman, tackles receiver Harrison Hill. Hill, a sixth-year senior, was named a team captain.
CHRISTINA NEFF/KANSAN
SARA SHEPHERD/KANSAN
Junior Chris Marshall watches his drive during a round of practice hitting yesterday at Alvamar Country Club. The men's golf team will play in the Big 12 championships today.
Success, friendship no joke for members of golf team
By Ryan Greene Kansan sportswriter
Picture this: You're at the Big 12 Conference men's golf championship, and every team competing is getting set to start at the first tee. Most teams are all business, focusing on the goal at hand and standing silently.
Then you see the Kansas Jayhawks, with their six starters joking while loosening up, and think these guys cannot possibly be for real. But they enter the tournament as one of the favorites to come away with their first Big 12 championship since 1999.
Jayhawk starters said they brought the same attitude to nearly every tournament in which they have competed this season.
"We're here to play golf, and we're here to have fun," junior Chris Marshall said. "We keep each other loose. We make each other better, and just go out there trying to get the job done."
Along with Marshall, seniors Casey Harbour and Travis Hurst, sophomore Tyler Hall, and redshirt freshmen Andrew Price and Kevin Ward comprise a starting lineup that has a tight bond on and off the course. They know when it
is time for fun and games, and when it is time to go to work.
This mentality has helped the Jayhawks finish in the top five in seven of their 11 tournaments this year, including a victory at the Stevinson Ranch Invitational in late March.
Like any close group of friends, the starters for the team have their typical lines from movies and personal sayings that they like to reiterate to loosen up, but they also can pull some practical jokes during tournamen to help.
"In South Carolina, the tee markers were I-beams from railroad tracks," Marshall said. "We snuck one into Andrew's bag, and when he picked it up, he fell flat on his face."
Three of this year's starters are in their first season of consistent action, but they have blended in nicely, including two top-10 finishes from Tyler Hall.
"Golf is not what we're all about," Hall said. "The fact that it's not all about golf makes us a better team."
Every member of the squad was quick to
Jayhawks face playoff game for spot in conference tourney
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas softball team split its weekend series with Iowa State, but the Jayhawks needed two victories to secure a berth in the Big 12 Conference tournament.
After taking the first game 5-2 and falling 6-3 in the second, Kansas must now win a play-in game to earn a position in the tournament. A sweep of the Cyclones would have solidified a sixth-place finish in the conference for the Jayhawks and an automatic bid.
"I felt like the second game we kept fighting back but were never able to get a handle on it," coach Tracy Bunge said. "We had our fate riding in our own hands today, but it's hard to overcome six runs. We have to refocus and prepare for the play-in game, because if you lose, you're done."
It was the last home series of the season for the Jayhawks, who took a 3-0 lead in the third inning
May scored on senior center fielder Shelly Musser's grounder up the middle. Musser scored on freshman first baseman Lindsey Weinstein's double over the Iowa State shortstop's head.
of game one. Senior shortstop Courtney Wright led off with a single. She was caught in a rundown between second and third after sophomore catcher Dani May reached first on a sacrifice bunt.
SEE GOLF ON 6B
With two outs, senior right fielder Leah Tabb hit an infield single that moved Weinstein to third. Tabb forced a run-down between first and second that allowed Weinstein enough time to score, making Kansas' lead 3-0.
Iowa State answered with a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI triple. But Kansas scored again in the bottom of the fifth when Shelly Musser walked and advanced to second on a Weinstein single. Musser scored, giving Kansas a 4-1 lead after two wild pitches by Cyclone pitcher Erica Martinez.
Iowa State answered again in
Kansas finished the scoring in the sixth when senior third baseman Megan Urquhart singled up the middle and stole second. Urquhart scored on a single by senior second baseman Amy Hulse, making the final score 5-2.
the top of the sixth with a home run shot to center by Lindsey Herrin.
In between games, the eight senior members were honored before their final home game at Jayhawk Field. The players' parents and other relatives escorted them onto the field. Each of the eight underclassmen spoke about one of the seniors.
Freshman pitcher Serena Settlemier got the complete-game win, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out five.
The eight seniors moved into the starting line-up for game two, including pitcher Kelly Campbell, who pitched to her sister,
SEE SOFTBALL ON 6B
Track runners fall short of nationals in bad weather
By Matt Norton
Coach Stanley Redwine said he was happy with the team's performance, but poor weather conditions again hampered the Jayhawks' marks on the track and in the field.
Seniors Scott Russell and Katy Eisenmenger and sophomore Paige Higgins led the Kansas track team to a strong showing last weekend at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
"We have athletes who are ready to qualify for nationals who want to qualify, but the weather hasn't smiled on us." Redwine said.
Kansan sportswriter
Eisenmenger (1,500-meter dash) and Higgins (10,000) just missed NCAA provisional marks in their events, but Russell was able to better his automatic qualifying mark in the javelin with a throw of 243 feet, 1 inch, finishing in first place.
Higgins said that after taking a conservative pace in the first 5,000 meters of her race on Thursday, she decided to make her move with 11 of her 25 laps to go.
"I was thinking about going with 15 laps to go, but I thought, 'this is my first 10-K and 15 laps is a lot,'" Higgins said. "But with 11 laps to go I felt like I hadn't
SEE TRACK ON 6B
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