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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003
Kansas' Ryan Baty holds his ground at second base while Louisiana State second baseman Ivan Naccarata ducks a throw to first base by the shortstop. Kansas was ranked No.21 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper after sweeping Louisiana State during the weekend, its first top-25 ranking since joining the Big 12 Conference.
Advocate/Patrick Dennis
Sweep brings accolades
Coaches, media move baseball team into poll
By Daniel Berk
By Daniel Berk
dberk@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
College baseball was at its best this weekend when Kansas swept then No. 6 Louisiana State.
It was big enough that coach Ritch Price received 59 e-mails and more than 20 phone calls from coaches and media across the country.
The three victories boosted the Jayhawks' record to 9-3, and also gave them their first top-25 ranking since joining the Big 12 Conference. They were voted No. 21 by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
"In my 25 years of coaching, I have never been more proud of a team than I
The three-game sweep of the Tigers began in dramatic fashion, as the Jayhawks won 9-6 in 10 innings, capped by a home run by senior Kevin Wheeler in the 10th. Wheeler also started the game on the pitcher's mound and pitched six solid innings.
am of our team right now." Price said. "Our players rose to the competition's level and competed every pitch of the three games we played down there."
The second game of the series was postponed because of inclement weather. The Jayhawks swept the doubleheader on Sunday, taking the series. Kansas junior Ryan Knippschild notched two victories in the three games through relief pitching.
two home runs and Spanish batted.462. Price called it their best weekend ever as college baseball players.
Offensively, senior Casey Spanish and sophomore Travis Metcalf carried much of the load for the team. Metcalf ended the weekend batting .571 while belting
college baseball player,
"This weekend was unbelievable," Spanish said. "It was something that you dream about as a kid. It says a lot about the amount of talent we have on our team, and to do it under a new coach was real special."
Price said focus will be the first topic he addresses in tomorrow's practice. He gave the team yesterday off.
Now it is time for the Jayhawks to put that "unbelievable" weekend in the past and focus on the team's future games, which begin this Friday at home against Eastern Michigan.
"The bar for this team has definitely been raised," Price said. "They proved that they are capable of beating anyone in the country, so now they have to do it on a consistent basis."
Both Price and Spanish feel the threegame sweep against the Tigers will prove as a wake-up call to the Big 12 Conference.
"The competition in the Big 12 Conference is off the charts." Price said. "Hopefully, this proves to the other teams in the conference that we will be able to compete with them and play hard."
The Jayhawks will return to practice today to prepare for Eastern Michigan. Kansas plays a three-game set against Eastern Michigan and will host Arkansas next week.
"We have to carry this momentum that we have and play hard every time we take the field," Spanish said. "We have to play every game like it is against a nationally ranked team and not underestimate anybody we play."
Edited by Jason Elliott
Officials to review pushing incident
Scuffle between players leads to evaluation possibly extra running
By Shane Mettlen
smettlen@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Big 12 Conference officials said yesterday they would review the tape of an altercation between Kansas and Iowa State men's basketball players, though they do not expect to hand out any further punishment.
The incident occurred with almost 11 minutes remaining in the Jayhawks 70-51 victory over the Cyclones at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday. Tensions were already running high after Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy was ejected for arguing a charging foul on Jackson Vroman, which had already been overturned. One minute later, Vroman picked up his fifth foul and shoved Kansas forward Wayne Simien, who had missed the Jayhawks' last 11 games
with a shoulder injury. As Simien moved toward Vroman, Iowa State's Jared Homan stepped between the two and Kansas guard Aaron Miles shoved Homan from behind.
Aaron Miles
Kansas coach Roy Williams told ESPN that he would review the tape and determine what action to take.
12 office said they were waiting to receive tapes of the game so the situation can be evaluated further. This process usually takes three to five days. However, it took 10 days for the office to receive tapes and evaluate game clock issues in a game between Oklahoma and Texas Tech earlier this season.
Officials in the Big
"I was disappointed in Aaron's involvement," Williams said. "There may be some extra running for Aaron."
Both Miles and Vroman have publicly apologized for their actions.
By Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Assistant coach brings experience
Edited by Jason Elliott
"Ed's skill as an offensive line coach will enhance our entire offense," Mangino said. "His expertise in the run game makes him a valuable addition to our staff."
In filling the final vacancy on his coaching staff, Kansas football coach Mark Mangino might have just filled a larger hole on his team.
Mangino announced the hiring of Ed Warinner last week. Warinner will lead the offensive line for the Jayhawks. The former Air Force assistant coach brings valuable experience to the Kansas staff, as he will try to improve a Jayhawk rushing attack that finished ninth in the Big 12 Conference last year.
Air Force led the nation in rushing with Warinner at the reigns of its offensive line, averaging 307.8 yards per game. The Falcons finished with an 8-5 record and earned a bid in the San Francisco Bowl.
Air Force also had the third highest ground outputs in 2000 and 2001, both under Warinner's direction.
An Ohio native, Warinner will enter his 19th year of coaching this season. He spent 13 years at Army, including seven years as offensive line coach and two years as offensive coordinator. During his time at Army, the Black Knights led the nation in rushing three times.
Warinner also coached at Akron and Michigan State from 1984 to 1986.
The Jayhawks could use help in the running game. Kansas averaged just 126.2 rushing yards per game last year. Starting tailback Clark Green was unable to be a consistent force out of the backfield for the Jayhawks, as he managed just 68 yards per game.
Tight end coach Brandon Blaney will help Warinner with the offensive line duties. Blaney took over the offensive line position last year for the Jayhawks after the resignation of Ken Conatser two games into the season.
—Edited by Andrew Ward
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Ryan Greene greene@kansan.com
Tennis cuts didn't keep men from competing
The team was the 2000-2001 Kansas men's tennis team.
To some Kansas sports fans, it was the team that could have been. To some it was the team that it was too late to save. And to others, it was the team that no one knew even existed.
On March 4,2001, then-Kansas Athletics Director Bob Frederick announced that the University of Kansas would be cutting both its men's tennis program and men's swimming and diving program.
The cut was made to save the University $600,000 in the 2001-2002 athletic season and $3.6 million over the five-year span after dropping the programs. In the month following the programs' eliminations, the buzz among students, faculty and fellow student-athletes was negative toward Frederick's decision. The University Daily Kansan Free For All was a major forum for most opinions, but the simple fact was that when the teams existed, there was rarely anyone there to support them.
In hindsight, it was a decision that Frederick had to make, but he was still good to his word on the athletes who wished to stay at Kansas. For those who remained, he promised to fund their scholarships, but for those who wished to leave, he promised to help them find similar opportunities in other programs.
The athletes who left have moved on to programs where their efforts are more appreciated than they were here. Two examples are Pete Stroer and Eleazar Magallan — both former Kansas tennis players who have moved on to top-10 programs.
Stroer, originally from Salina, played his first two years of collegiate tennis at Kansas just like Magallan. Also like Magallan, Stroer left Kansas for a top-10 program by choosing Texas. The Longhorns, currently ranked ninth, also lean on their Kansas transfer for senior leadership. Stroer leads Texas this spring in victories in singles play with 14. He is following in the footsteps of another Kansas transfer, Rodrigo Echagary, who was a leader for the Longhorns last year and left Kansas at the same time as Stroer.
After the program was cut, Magallan headed south for the warmth of Gainesville, Fla. Magallan, now a senior, is ranked 178th in the nation in singles and, along with his partner, senior Olivier Lavant, is ranked 37th in doubles. Already this season, Magallan has moved into a tie for fifth place all-time in the Florida record books with 80 career doubles victories. As Florida, currently ranked sixth in the nation, is pushing for a national championship, Magallan's senior leadership has shown up just at the right time in the early spring. So far in the spring schedule, Magallan is third on the team with six victories in singles competition. For Magallan, originally from Saltillo, Mexico, his amateur career has taken a U-turn after heading north for two years in Lawrence. His southward journey has brought sunny results.
For Stroer, when Kansas cut men's tennis, it did not mean another step in a journey away from home, but a first step.
When men'sennis and men'sswimming and diving were eliminated at Kansas two years ago, many members of both teams decided to stay in Lawrence and finish what they started. For others, Lawrence and the University simply did not offer enough to silence their inner athletic desire.
In an era when money drives athletics, both at the professional and college level, Magallan and Stroer were just two of the many Kansas athletes who did not let the politics of sports silence the will to win.
Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., junior in journalism
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