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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
12A
FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2002
Levi Chronister
lchronister@kansan.com
Basketball? Don't forget other sports
Kansas students will be glued to a TV or radio tomorrow as the Kansas men's basketball team plays Maryland in the Final Four in Atlanta.
They may be drinking and watching with it friends at J.B. Stout's or Old Chicago, sitting with thousands of their closest friends at Memorial Stadium, or at home with a small group of pals.
What they should be doing before the game is showing their school spirit for the other Kansas teams — rowing, tennis and softball — playing in town tomorrow.
What better way to share your euphoric mood for the basketball team than by cheering on these Kansas squads? Make sure you bring a walkman, though (I'll explain later).
support them Next, move to Jayhawk Field at noon and watch the softball team play a doubleheader against Texas. The Jayhawks are 8-1 at home and need all the support they can get against Longhorn pitcher Cat Osterman. The freshman is 20-6 overall and has thrown two perfect games of the season, and could be part of a great pitchers' duel against Kansas' Kara Pierce, who threw her first career no-hitter earlier this season, if they match up in either game.
Start your day at 10 a.m. at Burcham Park and root for the rowers in their dual regatta against a tough Texas team. It is the only home competition of the season for the team, which was ranked nationally last season, so it's your last chance to support them before next fall.
Between games, travel just about a block east to the Robinson Center tennis courts and watch the tennis team try to run its home record to 7-0.
Coach Kilmeny Waterman's women are 4-0 in the Big 12 Conference and will take on Baylor at 1 p.m. Freshman Paige Brown — 8-0 at No. 4 singles—and junior Kim Lorenz — 9-0 at the No. 6 singles spot—should lead Kansas in its first outdoor match of the season.
The weather could help the Jayhawks against the Bears, who are used to those warm Texas temperatures. If the weather is bad, the teams will play at Alvamar Racquet Court on Clinton Parkway and take away the Jayhawks' advantage, but all their previous victories have come indoors.
Remember that walkman I told you to bring? Tune it to 1320 AM at 2 p.m. to listen to the baseball team take on Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks are 12-9 overall and entering the heart of their tough Big 12 schedule. They lost two of three to the Cowboys last season, but this year's team has an improved offense and the starting pitching has been stronger overall with senior Jeff Davis, Dan Olson and Jake Wright on the mound.
With a team in the men's Final Four, three teams playing in town and one squad on the radio, Kansas students will have a lot to cheer about this weekend. Just make sure to make the most of such an unusual situation.
While listening to the game, keep bouncing back and forth from the second softball game and the tennis match, both of which should last until it's time to go grab a bite to eat and start preparing for the basketball game.
Don't waste your enthusiasm Sunday while you're basking in the glow of Kansas' victory against Maryland, though. Continue showing your support by watching the tennis team take on Iowa at 11 a.m. at Robinson and listen to the baseball team's final game in Stillwater at 2 p.m.
Chronister is a Pittsburg senior in journalism.
'Hawks run wild Team steals season-high six bases
By Ryan Wood
Kansan sportswriter
From day one, coach Bobby Randall has said his Kansas baseball team was one of speed.
And now, it's starting to show.
The Jayhawks (12-9 overall, 1-5 Big 12 Conference) stole a season-high six bases against Baker Wednesday, and they hope the fleet feet will continue to run when they travel to Stillwater, Okla. to take on No. 21 Oklahoma State this weekend.
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
Junior Casey Spanish said if the team could have put more players on first, it could've stolen 20 bases in Wednesday's game.
Spanish, who has five stolen bases in as many attempts, is just one of the speedy base runners on the roster. Junior outfielder Lance Hayes leads the team with eight steals in
11 attempts. As a team, Kansas has stolen 31 bases in 34 attempts, for a 91 percent success rate.
The impressive number has been, for the most part, without what might be the fastest of them all. Junior outfielder Jason Appuhn, who has played sparingly with a shoulder injury, has just one swipe on the season. In 2001, he stole 23 bases, second on the team. "We need Jason Appuhn healthy," Randall admitted.
Kansas at No.21 Oklahoma State
Place: Stillwater, Okla
Time: Today, 3 p.m.; tomorrow, 2 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.
Radio: KLWN 1320 AM
Oklahoma State enters today's game with a 17-7 overall record and a 3-3 Big 12 mark. The Cowboys last played on Wednesday, beating Memphis 9-3 in Stillwater. Starting pitchers for both teams have not yet been determined.
Notes
Kansas outfielder Lance Hayes has led the team in steals this season, completing eight of eleven attempts. His efforts have been key to what success the team has enjoyed thus far.
Today's game is the beginning of a seven game road trip for Kansas. After three with the Cowboys, Kansas will play one game at Oral Roberts and three more against University of Texas in Austin. They return home to play Wichita State on April 7.
All three of this weekend's games will be broadcasted
live on 1320 AM. Brock Bowling will call the action
Contact Wood at rwood@kansan.com. This story was edited by Brooke Hesler.
Golfers continue to find greens
The Kansas men's golf team continued its torrid pace through the spring season this past weekend by placing first at the Stevinson Ranch Invitational for the fourth straight season.
The victory was the culmination of consistent improvement during time off between the fall and spring seasons.
"We're just starting to get things together," coach Ross Randall said.
"We were searching for a No. 5 man, and actually, Casey Harbour was struggling a bit.
"Andrew Price and Casey Harbour have picked it up. Hopefully, we'll peak around conference and regionals and then nationals."
Kansas' Chris Marshall placed third with a 213, and Travis Hurst was fifth with a 214.
Harbour continued his rebound from a tough start to the season by placing second with a score of 211 in the three-round tournament.
The layhawks made a late charge after trailing the Tigers by five strokes going into the final round.
The victory was especially sweet for Kansas after beating rival Missouri by one stroke.
before the Big 12 Championships April29.
The Jayhawks have placed no lower than eighth it their last six tournaments, stretching back to the fall, and hope to maintain the momentum with two tournaments remaining
Despite the team's recent winning ways, Randall believes some changes need to be made.
"We just need more consistent play, more work on the short game, some of the guys are still struggling with putting," Randall said. "We need to work on making better decisions in pressure situations, such as club choices."
The team has a week off before the Western Intercollegiate tournament at San Jose State April 8.
Ryan Greene
Rowers prepare for only home duel of season
By Brent Wasko
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas rowing team has waited a long time for tomorrow morning.
"I feel great to finally get out on the river to compete," senior Dana Parsons said. "It feels like we've been practicing forever."
Not only will the squad open its spring season, but the Jayhawks' duel against Texas at 10 a.m. on the Kansas River near Burcham Park will be the team's only home regatta.
The Jayhawk rowers began training for the upcoming season on Jan. 3, vying for an opportunity to race on the team's varsity eight-boat.
There are four races scheduled for the duel against Texas — a varsity eight-boat, varsity four-boat, second varsity eight-boat and freshman boat race.
Kansas and Texas boats will compete head-to-head, meaning that they will start 15 seconds apart, navigating three miles of river. Whomever completes the course in the shortest amount of time wins.
While the Jayhawks have yet to race this spring, Texas has competed six times already. Senior rower Andrea Buch said the Longhorns' added experience might provide Texas with somewhat of an advantage.
"It's a little intimidating, but I see it more as a challenge that we have to overcome," Buch said. "It think they're really locked in, and we might have some nerves and jitters to get over with."
Kipsas returns 11 seniors and 37 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished among the nation's top 25 teams for the third straight season.
Jayhawk coach Rob Catloth said he was excited to see what his team was made of this spring.
"They're quite a bit more seasoned," Catloth said. "Their previous race experience should make them a little less nervous for this Saturday. I think we're ready to go out and work hard."
Texas is coming off of a regatta in which it defeated several ranked teams, but Catloth said he thought the Jayhawks still had a good shot at winning.
"We've made a lot of improvements during the past few weeks," he said. "We just have to show our maturity and avoid sloppy mistakes."
Buch said no matter what the end result, racing in Lawrence would be a special time for the team.
"Words can't express how nice it is have friends and family there," she said. "We don't have a lot of races at home, so this one is very important to us."
Contact Wasko at bwasko@kansan.com.
Texas' tough pitching comes to town
After a sweep of Arkansas, the Kansas softball team plays host to No.23 Longhorns
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
Kansas softball coach Tracy Bunge isn't sure if there is a way to prepare for Texas' freshman pitcher Cat Osterman. Osterman brings a 20-6 record to Lawrence tomorrow as the Jayhawks face No. 23 Texas in a doubleheader starting at noon at Jayhawk Field.
The left-handed hurler threw her second perfect game of the season, striking out 17 batters, Wednesday against Baylor.
"We're going to have to mentally battle and be disciplined at the plate," Bunge said. "We have to put the ball in play. It'll be interesting because she'll only throw one game, so we will have to be sure to take advantage in the other game."
Kansas swept Arkansas on Wednesday, improving its record to 19-12. The team was able to capitalize on Razorback mistakes to ensure a pair of nonconference wins.
Offensively, senior outfielders Shelly Musser and Leah Tabb have been on a tear. Entering Wednesday's game, Musser was batting.417 and had team- beests with 18 RBI, 19 runs scored and five home runs. Tabb was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after hitting .556 in Big 12 Conference games and reaching base in all five games during spring break.
Bunge said that her team enjoyed Big
Although the prowess of Osterman can be daunting, the Jayhawks have some strengths of their own.
Time: Noon and 2 p.m.
Day: Saturday
Place: Jayhawk Field
Texas at Kansas
12 play because of the quality competition throughout the conference. As for there being extra motivation against Texas because the Longhorns were picked ahead of the Jayhawks in the preseason Big 12 poll, the team doesn't really think like that.
"Honestly, I'd forgotten about that," junior pitcher Kirsten Milhoan said. "We laughed at those polls because last year we were
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
picked to finish ninth and ended up in third. They don't really mean anything."
Kansas outfielder Shelly Musser takes a swing during a recent home game. The softball team will play Texas tomorrow in a double-header.
Contact Brox at abrox@kansan.com. This story was edited by Justin Henning.
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