SPORTS
University Daily Kansan, April 1, 1985 Page 13
NCAA tournaments finally draw to a close Old Dominion wins Underdog Wildcats face Hovas
By United Press International
*AUSTIN* Texas — Tracy Claxton and Medina Dixon controlled the backboards and sparked Old Dominion's defensive effort down the stretch yesterday to bring the Monarchs the NCAA women's championship with a 70-65 victory over Georgia.
Old Dominion captured its third national title in seven years, finishing its season with a 81-31 record and 11 wins in a row.
Georgia, meanwhile, had two of its key players foul out — Olympic team member Teresa Edwards and high scoring Katrina McClain — and did not have enough muscle to firepower over the final minutes to combat The Lady Monarchs.
The Lady Bulldogs stayed in the game during the middle portion of the second half despite the fact Old Dominion claimed almost every rebound.
*OLD DOMINION MADE five straight field goals off offensive rebounds, but with 4:22 to play the Lady Bulldogs pulled even at 59-58 on a free throw by Traci Waites.
Georgia turned the ball over on its next three possessions, however, and failed to score for 2:22 while Old Dominion was running off six straight points.
Dixon scored 18 points and Claxton had 17 to pace the Lady Monarchs, who won the national championship in 1979 and 1880 when women's collegiate athletics was under the direction of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, conducted by the NCAA.
EDWARDS, WHO SCORED 29 points in Georgia's semifinal win over Western Kentucky Friday night, picked up her fourth point as the Giants outpaced out with 8:29 left having scored 11 points.
Claxton, who was voted the tournament's most valuable player, put Old Dominion in front with four minutes left after grabbing an offensive rebound. Maria Christian boosted the Lady Monarchs to a four-point lead and Adrienne Goodson made two free throws.
Georgia took a 31-22 lead late in the first half when Old Dominion went 4:16 without scoring a point, but the Lady Bulldogs could not score themselves for the final 4:22 of the first半时 while the Lady Monarchs pulled to within a point at 31-30.
That gave Old Dominion a six-point advantage with 2:27 to play, and the Lady Bulldogs could get no closer than four points after that.
By United Press International
LEXINGTON Ky. — The NCAA will measure the accomplishment of Georgetown against the commitment of Villanova tonight in its 47th annual championship game.
Georgetown's Hoyas have the look and accomplishment of a champion: they won the 1984 NCAA championship, they finished 1985 as the No. 1 team in the nation and they now themselves in the title game against a team they have already beaten twice this winter.
But Villanova's Wildcats have the commitment of a champion: as the No. 8 seeded team in the Southeast Regional, they beat Dayton at Dayton and then posted consecutive upsets of No. 2 Michigan, Maryland, No. 7 North Carolina and No. 4 Memphis State to earn the school's first NCAA title game berth since 1971.
THE WILDCATS HAVE given up either size or speed to everyone they have faced in the tournament thus far — but what they haven't give up is points. What Villanova does best is play defense — and that defense is tied to the Big East school's ability to control the tempo.
"We made a commitment to do the things
we know we can do best," Villanova Coach Rollie Massimino said. "The teams we have beaten thus far have been outstanding basketball teams — everyone but Dayton has been in the Top 20 and in most cases the Top 10.
"We knew we couldn't run up and down the court with us. We'd like to run our break, but we don't want one-pass shots. We make the extra pass to get the ball where we want it. We don't ever intentionally try to hold the ball; we just try to get a good shot. Making the extra pass does not mean taking the air out of the ball."
VILLANOVA HAS IELD its five NCAA opponents to an average of 47 points per game on 42 percent shooting. Dayton scored just under 30 points in North Carolina 44 against the Wildcats.
Memphis State shot only 38 percent against Villanova and scored 11 points fewer than in any game this season in falling 52-45 Saturday. The Wildcats held All-America forward Keith Lee to half his 20-point scoring average that day.
So Massimino doesn't intend to fiddle with a successful formula at this point.
we aren't going to try to play any differently than we have all year long," Massimino said. "We're going to do what we
think we have to do to win that game, but it might not be enough."
THE FLAW IN Villanova's grand scheme to win the national championship is that even if the Wildcats can control the tempo, it might not be enough.
Villanova jumped out to an 11-2 lead in both regular season meetings with Georgetown and held the Hoyas under 60 points in the first half. Wildcats controlled the tempo in both games.
But Georgetown, which was held under 60 points only three times in 37 games this season, still overcame Villanova, 52-50 and 57-50.
"I don't expect to see anything different."
"Georgetown coach John Thomson said.
IF VILANOVA DICTATES a slow game, the Wildcats must deal with Georgetown's half court offense. And that means ?foot All-America center Patrick Ewing, who Massimine calls "probably the best player" to play the game of collegiate basketball."
Villanova will take a 24-10 record and a five-game winning streak into the game. If the Wildcats upset Georgetown, they will have the worst record of any national champion in history. North Carolina State won the 1983 title with a 26-10 overall record.
Roy Stewart/KANSAN
Adrian Flood of the KU collegiate rugby team handles the ball blocks a K-State player. The game was called due to cold and against Kansas State Saturday, while Pat Roberts, No. 5, rain and ended in a 14-14 tie.
Rugby team loses to Argentina
By SUE KONNIK
Sports Writer
After defeating other U.S. rugby teams by 80 and 40 points, the Argentina Condors nearly met their match Saturday.
The Condors came away with a 30-22 victory over the KU rugby club at the rugby fields at 23rd and Iowa Streets.
"Even though we finished with fewer points, it was a surprising upset," head coach Bill Mills said. "It was monumental of our team's ability to win." And so helped so well against a great team.
In the second game, the KU collegiate team tied with Kansas State 14-14 in the heart of America Rugby Football Union Championship.
KU jumped out to a 3-10 lead in the first name on a penalty goal by David Hay.
Argentina's Penaz Ectogexyon tied the
goal in the 49 minute goal with 25 minutes
left in the 49 minute hour.
Kenny Dunn scored a try and Hay completed the conversion attempt with five minutes remaining in the first half to give KU its biggest lead of the day. 15-3.
FOR THE NEXT twenty minutes it was all Kansas. Bill Boyle's try and Hay's conversion raised KU's lead to 9-3.
With less than a minute left, Argentina's Eichbergjöny scored a try to further diminish Kuznetsov.
The Condoms weren't ready to bow out. A
pair of them remained minutes left before
pursuing the game.⁵¹-⁵³
nearly 30 minutes, until KU's Dominic Barnao scored a penalty kick to make it 22-18. KU's final score of the day came with 12 minutes remaining. The Condors went behind the maximum number of penalties before game, and KU was awarded a penalty try.
The KU rugby club will travel to Buenos Aires, on June 19 and will face the Copa America.
The winner of the game was to represent the Heart of America league in the Western Collegiate Championship in Lawrence April 20-21. The Heart of America Executive Committee will therefore have to declare a winner within the next week, Mills said.
In the second game, the teams played to a tie in the regulation 80 minutes. The teams went into two extra five-minute periods before losing the game because of the cold and rain
Women compete in bad weather
Argentina held KU's scorers quiet for
Sports Writer
By DAVE O'BRIEN
The Kansas women's track team ran into less-than-ideal weather conditions Saturday at the Ralph Higgins Invitational in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to show, or if in trouble the meet, must go on.
"We think it's important that you run under all types of conditions," head coach Carla Coffey said. "It was a little cold and wet, but we were fortunate enough not to have any injuries."
No team scores were kept in the meet, but Coffey said the Jayhawks would have fared well in the team standings.
Times and distances took on less importance than actual place finishes due to the weather, and performances were
ANNE GRETHE BAERAES won the javelin with a throw of 140 feet, 2½ inches.
Denise Buchanan won the discus with a throw of 141-10, far off her personal best of 154-7. Kari Hagby was fourth and Jara Rudizk was sixth in the event.
adversely affected in some field events and nearly all races.
Sine Lerdahl did the shot with a 49-2
toss and Buchanan was second at 47.10.
Kim Jones won the long jump with a leap of 20.0. Jaci Tyma was third.
Ann O'Connor, a freshman who has already won all-America honors indoors in the high jump, cleared 5-10 to win the event.
JULIE HALL WAS second in the triple jump with a leap of 35-11. Andrea Schwartz
Jones' first-place finish in the 200-meter
Angie Helmer was second in the 400-meter dash, Annika Sjolen was third in the 400-meter hurdles. Trisha Mangan was third in the 400-meter race. Jason Glatter was third in the 300-meter run.
The Jayhawks scored well in the 100-meter hurdles. Ann O'Connor finished fourth, Julie Hall was fifth and Andrea Schwartz was sixth.
dash was the Jayhawks' only individual victory in the running events.
Kelly Wood finished sixth in the 1500-meter run to round out individual scoring.
RN's Helmer, Jones, Laura Peart and Mangan finished third in the mile relay.
Coffey will send several athletes to the Texas Relays this week. Rose Wadman will compete in the pentathlon Wednesday and Thursday and Baeaas, Lerdahl, Buchanan, Bossch and O'Connor will compete Friday and Saturday.
Sports Illustrated pulls April Fools' Day spoof
We've been Finched. What has got to be the most successful April Fool's Day joke ever, went off without a hitch. Sports illustrated readers across the country were heard to say "O.K. they got me. I had my doubts, but they got me."
What got readers of the April 1 issue of St was "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch." Sidd Finch was curious, to say the least. Finch was described as a Harvard dropout and an aspirant monk, "almost surely a disciple of Tibet's great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa, who was born in the 11th century and died in the shadow of Mount Everest."
Last July, Finch approached the manager of the New York Mets AAA farm club and showed him how he could throw a baseball. Throw a baseball, he could. He was persuaded to go the Mets' training camp in St. Petersburg, Fla. He had conditions for attending the camp, however, including no publicity and no contractual obligations. The Metts agreed. This kid would not only dominate the game, he would be the game
PITCHING IN PRIVACY within a canvas enclosure at the Mets' camp, he was recorded as throwing the ball 188 mph with deadly accuracy. The Mets wanted to play baseball, so he didn't want the Mets and their fans to get their hopes up. Secrecy was crucial.
Secrecy went out the window when the story was broken by George Plimpton. The story appeared in SI complete with photographs of Finch and his current wife, Lydia. The report signed by the Mets' AAA manager, saying Finch "could be the phenom of all time."
The story was definitely hard to believe. Someone who had never played baseball was going to absolutely revolutionize the game. The Messiah had come. There were the photos, the free agent report, quotes from the Mets' manager and owner, evidence of the commissioner in baseball. The evidence was there and SI didn't say it was fictional.
BUT THAT IS exactly what it was. All of it, purely fiction. Photos, reports, quotes, everything. Fiction. An April Fool's joke taken to the limit.
Sports Illustrated managing editor Mark Mulvoy was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "So much of what we do has to do with things like drugs, salaries and now, point-shaving, things we have to do. But for once, I wanted to have fun."
The project was given to Plimpton, who arranged it with the Mets. Even the newspaper in St. Petersburg. Fla. was taken
in. Two reporters were sent to the Mets' camp but, all they got was a trophy and an April Fools' Day.
Mulvoy was also quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "I think most of our readers will say, 'It's a great piece of fiction' and will realize it was done because this was our April Fool's issue. I hope some readers don't think this somehow damages our credibility."
THE DECISION TO run the story without explanation was a gamble. Establishing and
retaining credibility is the most crucial function of any publication. It could come back on mount SI and cost some people their jobs, but it probably won't.
Most readers probably enjoyed the joke. It wasn't lies about an actual person, so no harm was done. The only people who turned red-faced were those who believed the story before the truth was revealed.
the reason that the story wasn't pushed aside as a joke is that people want to believe such a story. Nothing could capture a baseball fan like a story about a kid out of nowhere who will be the greatest pitcher of all time. That element of hope is in every baseball fan during spring training, and that hope was the life-blood of the story.
THE REALIZATION HIT hard that this would be another year of baseball without the player fans are waiting for. The Messiah who would come out of nowhere to be the greatest of all time has yet to appear.
Sports Illustrated and George Plimpton could have made it known from the beginning that it was fiction, but it would not have had the same effect.
Those two days at the end of last week will be remembered for a long time to come. Although the baseball Mesaiah has not yet reached the age of 20, he is among dozens of baseball fans for two marvelous days.
business that is Sports Illustrated has proved that with all of the problems in the sports world, sports fans still have that child-like hope. Without it, sports would be on the same level of reality as politics and economics.
We bid you a fond farewell, Sidd Finch,
And thanks for the laughs.
Golfers fail to make cut at Houston tournament
By TONY COX Sports Writer
The men's golf team failed to make the cut for the fourth round and finished 21st out of 30 teams in the All-American Golf Championships last week in Houston
After Friday's third round, the field was cut to 12 teams with the heat school, the visiting team, and the winner.
The Jayhawks faced some of the best teams in the country, KU head coach Ross Randall said yesterday. Houston was among four top ten teams in the tournament. The Cougars have been rated number one in the nation all season.
author an académie
"It's amazing to watch a team like Houston," Randall said. "They're just so good. Even though there were some good teams there, they just blew the whole field away.
THE JAYHAWKS WERE disappointed because they didn't reach their goal of making the cut. Randall said.
away.
"It's good for us in one way because it gives us a goal — you see what you have to do."
"We have some real serious shortcomings as far as our weather conditions," Randall said. "Those teams have a real advantage
because they can play year-round. We can't expect to beat them, but we want to be able to compete with them.
"We're doing the best we can and we're going to be all right, but it's going to take a lot of hard work."
BRIAN MCGREEY. WICHTA freshman, was KU's top individual golfer with a three-round score of 235. McGreey has been KU's top finisher in every tournament this season.
At Houston, McGreevy had rounds of 75, 83 and 77. His performance was typical of the team in that he had good first and third rounds but a poor second round. Randall
"We played respectably in the first round and the third round but everybody struggled in the second round." he said. "The wind was blowing, but nobody had bad scores, but we really shot high."
Jim Phillips, Dallas senior, was next for KU with a score of 236 on rounds of 78.84 and 74.
TIM JOHNSON, BARTLESSVILLE, OKA
senior finished at 239 with rounds of 82, 80 and
77, Steve Madsen, Lawrence sophomore,
finished at 241 with rounds of 78, 84 and 79.
Kevin Gustafson, Leewand junior, finished at
245 with rounds of 78, 84 and 82.
1.